The Unspeakable Oath 22 cover by Matt Hansen
From The Unspeakable Oath 22, now available for purchase in print and PDF.
Written by Adam Gauntlett,© 2013. Illustrated by Vicente Rivera Catalá, © 2013.
The Investigators are at a second-hand market; it can be as large as Portobello in London or a small neighbourhood bring-and-buy. The eclectic selection includes everything from junk ‘collectibles’ to high-quality merchandise.
A team of organized bargain hunters is working the stalls, obviously working cooperatively. They’re comparing notes and seem to have a communal budget.
The Investigators find a genuine item with potential Occult or Cthulhu Mythos importance. The nature of the piece (book? statue?) is up to the Keeper. The bargain hunters have spotted the item too, and a bidding war begins. The bargain hunters seem willing to pay a high price for this item, but their budget may not be enough to beat the Investigators.
Bargain Hunters by Vicente Rivera Catalá, © 2013.
Option 1: Believers
The bargain hunters are members of a fringe church and have been instructed to buy certain ‘evil’ items to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands.They don’t have a lot of money and may be easily outbid, but they will report their failure to the church elders. The church then begins a campaign against the Investigators, hoping to persuade them to hand over the artifact peaceably. This may involve reasoning with the Investigators, warning the about ‘the true nature’ of their purchase, gathering on an Investigator’s front lawn in a prayer meeting, and so on. They won’t give up easily, since they’re convinced that only they can be trusted with items of such power.
Option 2: Pawns
The bargain hunters are dupes, members of an occult circle who have been tasked to get hold of this item, along with several others, by their ‘ascended master.’ They don’t have much of a budget and can be easily outbid, but they can’t risk failure and will do anything, including burglary or theft to get the item. Tracking the dupes back to their ascended master reveals that she, and ages-old wizard poising as a vampire is trying to recover items stolen from her by acolyte. The ascended master has a good line in Satanic subterfuge and won’t stop at killing to get what she wants.
Option 3: Victims
The bargain hunters are dressed in business casual and seem to have a lot of money to spend. However, their behaviour is off; it’s almost as if they aren’t used to large groups of people. In fact they are Deep One hybrids, sent by their colony to retrieve several items that were stolen from them. Their painstaking efforts have allowed them to track the artifacts this far, but at this point they are as interested in the Investigators as the artifacts, since the colony still doesn’t know who stole their treasures and the Investigators seem to be the only people—apart from Deep Ones—to appreciate their true value. Perhaps, the bargain hunters think, the Investigators know ore than they’re letting on. Do they know the thieves? Are they the thieves? Kidnap and torture may be the only way to find out.
Eager to crack open the next Tale of Terror?
This tale and more available in The Unspeakable Oath 22!