Session 1: Peru Part 1

Friday Evening, March 18th, 1921

The party arrives at the Bar Cordano in Lima to find Augustus Larkin sitting in the corner with a cheerful black man and a taciturn Latino. Introductions are made; the former is Jesse Hughes, a folklorist, and the latter Luis de Mendoza, Larkin’s assistant. Larkin explains that he suspects a lost hidden pyramid may be hidden to the southeast, and reveals two golden artifacts he bought from farmers near the city of Puno; a cup and a pendant. While Larkin seems to be in poor health, he has made arrangements for the expedition to depart on Monday morning. Casey is suspicious, because the artifacts appear to be from vastly different times and cultures.

Larkin tells the group that he has made reservations for them at the Hotel Maury, then he and de Mendoza depart for their own rooms at the Hotel España, while the group members stay at the bar to have a drink. Hughes reveals that he has been working with Larkin under an assumed identity; he is actually Jackson Elias, an author of some repute specializing in works that expose the inner workings of so-called “death cults” around the world. He is in Peru investigating the kharisiri, legendary fat-sucking vampire creatures, stories of which have been told in Peru since the 16th century. He finds Larkin’s expedition, as well as the story about buying the golden artifacts from farmers, highly suspicious, such suspicions only compounded by dark rumors he’s heard about de Mendoza; locals say the man is himself a kharisiri.

Before parting ways for the night, Elias tells the group about a local archaeology professor whose assistance Larkin has strangely refused. Professor Sanchez has also been researching the pyramid that Larkin hopes to find, so the group agrees to join Elias in visiting him the next morning.

Saturday Morning, March 19th, 1921

The group arrives at the professor’s office and learn more about the pyramid. He tells them his assistant Rizzo has been working on translating a document written by a conquistador who is supposed to have discovered the pyramid in the 16th century. She should already have returned from collecting a related artifact from the department’s storage room, so the group goes to find her.

They discover her desiccated corpse lying under a toppled shelf in the storage room, a gaping hole torn open in her front chest. Eli feints in horror, Leonard examines the body, and the others run off to inform the professor and get help. On their way they encounter Jackson who says he heard someone cry “Fire!” and was going to investigate. They continue on, but when they arrive at the office they find de Mendoza, his mouth transformed into a hideous aperture of dripping fangs, attacking the professor and dropping some sort of squirming larva into his mouth.

De Mendoza flees through the open window of the professor’s office. He is winged by a bullet shot by Lucas, but it doesn’t even slow him down. Archibald uses to medical training to induce vomiting in the professor, and captures the creature de Mendoza put in the professor’s mouth. He regains consciousness, and is distraught to learn about the death of Rizzo, informing the group that all he remembers of the attack was de Mendoza’s horrifying mouth.

In the meantime, Casey returned to the basement to assist Leonard in investigating the body. Leonard photographs the scene and finds a notebook labeled “The Confessions of Gaspar Figueroa” (see right) in Rizzo’s pocket. They also find a sort of golden plank with strange non-repeating geometric shapes and some odd features. In addition, there is a hand-shaped section of burned skin scorched onto the plank, as though someone tried to grab it while it was very hot, although it is perfectly cool now. Casey repacks the plank in its box, and after Eli regains consciousness the group reunites in the professor’s office and decide they need to go to the Hotel España to check in on Larkin. Before they go, the professor gives them the original text of Figueroa’s confessions, and on the way they stop at the Hotel Maury to pick up some weapons. When they arrive at Larkin’s room at the Hotel España, they find him lying unconscious in his bed, an overwhelming stench of sickness in the air and a bottle marked “heroína” on his nightstand. Archibald examines him and finds track marks on his arms and a strange tattoo covering his chest; it appears to be the shape of a man but with something like a tentacle for a head. Elias, a fluent Spanish speaker, goes to call for a doctor while the group decides to investigate de Mendoza’s room.

They fail to pick the lock to his room, but thankfully it is adjacent to Larkin’s so Eli gains access by jumping from one balcony to the other. Eli lets the rest of the group in and they examine the room, but it appears to be immaculate and unused. They are about to leave when Leonard discovers a strange metallic mask hidden under the mattress. It is made of an unknown metal, polished mirror smooth on one side, and seems to exert a strange attractive force. When Eli examines the mask his eyes roll back and he passes out once again.

Meanwhile, a doctor has arrived and informs the group that while he can revive Larkin, the man needs to be taken to the hospital. Larkin regains consciousness, but he shudders and his eyes go all black for a moment. With a strong voice free from the wracking cough that plagued him just the day before and acting like a completely new man, Larkin informs the doctor that he will not be going to the hospital. He refuses to answer any questions about his tattoo, and when he is informed about de Mendoza’s attack on the professor he says only that de Mendoza had been coercing him into looting the pyramid, and he would not longer be a part of the expedition, which would leave on Monday morning as planned.

The party regroups at the Bar Cordano to discuss what they have seen, and Eli, having regained consciousness, tells them that when he looked into the mirror-polished side of the mask, he saw terrible visions; orgiastic rituals of violence and death, tendrils rising from a ruined pyramid, and a dead world floating in space. Elias tells the party that the best source for more information about the kharisiri is Nayra, a wise woman in the city of Puno near the site of the supposed pyramid. Having read Figueroa’s confession, they decide they have no choice but to continue with the expedition.