TheStarsAreRight:JohnElwar
John Elwar is a writer/seaman hailing from San Francisco. Elwar started in the game at 08/1931 in San Francisco. He was working the docks in San Francisco and had published a short story in Weird Tales titled the Thing from the Tundra. At that time another dockworker and friend of Elwar’s by the name of Jock Mahoney disappeared. Jock had been involved in liquor smuggling and at first Elwar thought that Jock may have run afoul of the mob. In searching for Jock, Elwar went to the boarding house where Jock resided. The woman who ran the house also noticed that Jock had not been around for several days. Elwar gained access to Jock’s room and found it empty and apparently had never been occupied. There were no furnishings or personal effect belonging to Jock. In addition, all of the surfaces had a thin layer of dust seeming to confirm a lack of occupancy. A search of the room did turn up a locket containing some strands of red hair. Did it belong to Jock? Where did he live and why use the room in such a way? There is no way of knowing, but Elwar found that the locket was made by Tiffany Company probably around 1890 to 1892. Elwar went about his business, but with a slowly rising sense of dread.
Soon afterward Elwar began to receive parcels from the Cornwall, England area. Each parcel contained a letter to Jock from a woman (named Laura) who addresses him as Donald. Each letter was dated in 1893 and the first three, which were received about a week apart, referred to the woman’s daily activities and a desire for Donald (Jock) to return. The letters aroused Elwar’s suspicion and seemed to confirm that foul play was involved in Jock’s disappearance. Elwar decided to leave San Francisco because of the letters and thought to travel to the East Coast, possibly picking up maritime work, with Europe as a final destination. He remembered Jock talking about family in Inverness, Scotland, so possibly the old man was there in hiding.
In New York Elwar received one last parcel containing a letter addressed to Jock. The tone and nature of this letter was different. It spoke of “dark forces” and advised to seek out a man unknown at that time to Elwar, but later encountered as Carl Ellis. Elwar departed New York aboard a tramp steamer bound for Scotland unnerved by the whole affair. The parcels were no trick of the mob, their tactics tended towards the less subtle.
Working aboard ships across the Atlantic and up into the North Sea Elwar eventually made port in Inverness Scotland and began working on the Augusta Queen. While in Inverness Elwar asked around for Jock and found some relatives, but nobody had seen the old man for many years. The Augusta Queen departed from Inverness on December 14, 1931, for the Faroe Islands in the North Sea. Aboard the vessel Elwar met Carl Ellis, the aforementioned gentleman, who fit the description in the letter received in New York. Intrigued, Elwar spoke with Ellis, who claimed to never have known Jock and so the mystery of the letters went unsolved. Elwar arranged to accompany Ellis and his group ashore at the Faroe Islands.
Ellis’ companions for the voyage were Rebecca Hopkins and Auda Abisi along with Erick von Drakheim and two small girls the latter three keeping to themselves during the trip. There was also the German, Henrik Mueller, an artist hired to sketch one of the Faroe Islands and Jack Redland an itinerate professor enroute to see family on the island.
At the island Elwar found that Ellis had made the trip to check on an unusual stone outcropping, which had some importance to Ellis’ family members. The outcropping consisted of a flat rock surface containing a small cave like chamber that Ellis said had previously been closed. Three tall piles of stones bordered the rock outcropping and one of the piles was broken. In touching one of the intact pilings Elwar and Redland felt an odd heat and fluidity that was unnerving to say the least.
Ellis performed some type of rite with the help of Auda in order to determine what had caused the hole to be open. During the rite Elwar felt and sensed odd sensations. A force beyond nature appeared and was manipulated by Ellis with the help of Auda. There was a sense of danger that defied explanation associated with the scene. At the completion of the rite Ellis and Auda were greatly fatigued with the effort and displeased with results. Ellis related his fear that the occupant of the cave, who he called the “Lady”, had been released and one of the guardians that resided within the stones pilings was destroyed. He also recounted the death by lightning strike of a man during a previous visit to this site two years ago.
After the rite Ellis and the others traveled aboard the Augusta Queen to the main island in the Faroe chain while Elwar stayed behind with Henrick Mueller who had been tasked with sketching the island for a benefactor in England. During this time Elwar chanced by the outcropping and saw some sort of odd disturbance present. Elwar believed it was prudent not to investigate further, but to report the incident to Ellis at a later time (at which time he discounted the occurrence).
Upon the return of the others the Augusta Queen made for port in Aberdeen, Scotland. At that time Elwar collected his wages and decided to throw his lot in with Ellis and the others on their trip to Bailey, England. Perhaps Elwar could make the trip to Cornwall in search of Jock. During this time Ellis informed that the “Lady” now possess a woman by the name of Constance who is a relative of Ellis’ wife and was in the Bailey area. The group left for Bailey in the company of an American who was picked up in the Faroes. This chap left for London on his own business and though not seen again his presence was felt by all.
For unknown reasons our trip had become more urgent due to the winter solstice and we arrived in Bailey at a late hour on the evening of December 21, 1931. Without rest the group trudged out into the cold hills of Bailey at a location apparently important to Ellis. Along the way the group encountered an individual named Andrew who seemed to know Ellis, but referred to him as Galileo. Andrew was described to Elwar and the others as one of the Fey, an unnatural being who could gain control over a person like the fairies of myth. Andrew’s nature was queer and his manner left the viewer with a feeling of disgust. At the end of the discourse Andrew demonstrated his nature by seeming to fade from sight. The episode reminded Elwar of old Jock Mahoney. Could the gent have been one of the Fey? Elwar felt as if trapped in a maze of confusion and untruth.
Further along Ellis found the location in the hills that he sought. With the aid of Auda and Rebecca he intoned another rite, which caused a line of unnatural energy to rise and travel along the ground to a nearby church. This force traveled along in a line, heating and melting the snow to the astonishment of all present. This energy was a source of sustenance of the “Lady” who occupied the church and feed in brooding solitude. Drinking her fill, Ellis proffered, would lead to an outcome best not spoken of.
The effort of the rite caused Ellis and Rebecca to lose consciousness. While Rebecca began to recover somewhat slowly Ellis remained unconscious. Auda made for the church with the intent to confront the occupant. Auda’s violent intent however, was cut short by a stout piece of wood across the back of the head. Erick saw the futility in continuing without Rebecca and Ellis in their present condition and so laid wood to the violently insane Auda. Slowly Ellis came awake, but Rebecca suffered from a debilitating weakness and returned to the town coaxed with the gentle ministrations of Mueller. Together they took the troubled Auda who had still not recovered from the whopping good blow.
Ellis requested the assistance of Elwar and Redland in a rite meant to stop the “Lady” from continuing to feed on the unnatural energy. Elwar gave his consent while Redland gave something that could be construed as consent if interpreted in such a way. Ellis also provided them with an elixir he dubbed the “aqua vita”, which seemed to provide power and vitality. In providing their assistance Elwar and Redland learned to harness an inner power and transfer that power to another (in this case Ellis). This process left them weak and struck with a feeling of diminishment. Ellis instructed those present to adopt false names and summoned forth Andrew again to assist if required. Elwar chose the name Silverthorne after his sister’s cat that ran away for no apparent reason last winter, but was still close to his heart. Conducting the rite Ellis intoned eldritch phrases and alluded to blasphemous powers, which again caused the rise of preternatural energies culminating with the planting of a branch in the dark soil. The rite was completed in a noticeable lack of effect, but Ellis deemed it successful and the group retired to the town of Fieth, England tired and in need of rest.
