[ public ] text | un: astudyinviolet

[astudyinviolet]

Type: Text
Sender ID: astudyinviolet (Sherlock Holmes)
To: Public
Subject: Who is familiar with this entity?
Warnings: The worst book club ever, talk of eldritch horrors, potential poking at the 4th wall for Sherlock

I made the purchase of ‘Encyclopedia Necronomica’ earlier but had not the opportunity to make a study of it until now. Having done so, I must ask: who is familiar with the entity pictured here? What do you know?

I shall include photographs from the book and of my sketches in reference to imagery related to my world.

Furthermore, if anyone else wishes to reference or compare this book with entities encountered recently, I am at your disposal.

S.H.

[ Sherlock had some sense of mind to not study this particular book while feverish and ill. He should be praised for that, honestly, because he spotted something frightening familiar when he finally did.

Wait a minute, when did Arthur Conan Doyle write about Holmes going up against Cthulhu? ]

[ photograph of a book page which claims there are Cthulhu-type entities out there that are almost squid-like but impossible to say without more research ]



[ A sketch of the painting, including the frame ]



[ A sketch of only the Cthulhu statue (no Sherlock) ]



[ A sketch version of the above image ]



[ A sketch pulled further back of a nondescript figure sinking in water with Cthulhu looking up at them from deeper below. ]

Comments

text | un: astudyinviolet

[astudyinviolet]

No, there does not seem to be a shortage, and it makes me wonder if there is some biological reason for that color to be so prevalent in creatures of the deep.

[ But even if it were some biological adaptation, that won't stop Sherlock's concerns or fears. ]

What did this Vepar do? Was she or her followers involved in untold horrors?

[crystalrepose]

She didn't seem to have any attendants beyond her offspring; she was more an obstacle in our path like a storm, rather than a machinating spider. Other beings above the water were more than capable of that; they might even have sent Vepar to bar our way.

Vepar was still a formidable obstacle; her humanoid segment was at least a third as tall as the foremast, and she lifted the entire galleon on its stern more than once.

Her offspring were as tall as a person and aggressive as a rabid animal, and even after her demise there seemed to be no end of them.

[This time there are slightly scribbly black and white sketches of Vepar and her horrible, horrible babies attached to the message.]

[astudyinviolet]

[ As if women needed to be any scarier to Sherlock as it is. Women are very powerful and very terrifying. ]

She seems more like the mythical Scylla from stories in my world, less a god and more a monstrous force of nature and obstacle. She had a counterpart called Charybdis that created whirlpools. I do not know of anything like Vepar's children. I have seen a worm with many sharp teeth or fangs, but it is not the same.

[ He attaches a sketch of what he describes. ]

[crystalrepose]

[Sorry about scaring you with women, Sherlock.

It will happen again.]

I remember reading something like that about Scylla in myth, though in the Guild's records the creature with her name was different; there were many of them, hidden in massive clam shells in deep water. There seemed to be a person hiding in there like an octopus, and if one got too close she'd spring out to attack.

I have thankfully not encountered anything like that worm creature. Not yet, anyway.

[That'd be a slightly unpleasant speedbump.]

[astudyinviolet]

[ It will happen again. ]

I did not expect someone to recognize her name. Her appearance varies between myths and artistic depictions, so I could not say which is the accurate one for a proper comparison. She caused many a sailor their deaths in the tales.

That worm creature was quite unpleasant, and I do not know what it was called.

[crystalrepose]

The Guild encouraged us to keep our hands and minds busy, and there were no shortage of books in its archives. Though there were plenty Shardbinders were not supposed to have access to.

[Like, say, human experiment logs that Miriam found anyway.]

If it was in those archives, I'm certain Johannes would have mentioned it. He's quite diligent about that sort of thing.

[And things like reminding Miriam to eat food and sit down and rest for more than five minutes.]

[astudyinviolet]

Johannes? I assume he is another Shardbinder?

[ That wasn't a name Sherlock recalled Miriam ever mentioning to him. Not like Gebel, at least.

Also, is it the fate of Johns across the worlds to tell someone to eat and rest? ]

[crystalrepose]

[That sure seems to be a recurring theme.]

No, he was--is, an Alchemist, and a dear friend of mine and Gebel's since we were small.

He'd have more answers for you about the beings written in the Guild's bestiaries; I can only really help with ones I've encountered.

[astudyinviolet]

[ Someone save all the Johns.

Also, he has noted that "was--is" in that message, but he won't press for information now. Maybe later in a more private setting. ]

What information you have is still valuable. While knowing what that worm creature is called would be helpful, it is not essential. What is essential is to avoid being eaten by it.

[crystalrepose]

[All her old friends are dead :c

Except one, and one other that got resurrected offscreen that she doesn't know about.]

Yes, I agree.

Would you like to converse about this elsewhere? I believe I could help more if I could see this book in person.

[astudyinviolet]

[ :c ]

I am currently at the S.H. Detective Agency, but I could return to Surasthana Cafe.

[ This is a study that might be improved with kulfi and coffee. ]

[crystalrepose]

The cafe, then, if you don't mind moving your notes there.

[It was a bit late, but Miriam's sleep schedule was hardly a regular thing. And the extra charges on her ring of returning hadn't all been burnt up today.]

[astudyinviolet]

I shall see you there then.

[ Sherlock would need to head back to the cafe anyways if he wanted to sleep, so returning there wasn't an issue. ]

-> action

[crystalrepose]

[It didn't take long for Miriam to get there; one very startled flock of pigeons later, she hopped down from the rooftop she had warped in on. It seemed safer than hoping no one was crossing the street at the same time--she'd so far never...encountered that issue, but she'd exploded many a monster back home that way. Best not to leave it to chance.

In either case, Miriam was quiet and mindful walking in as; more like the cafe were a library than coffeeshop. She got some tea for herself, and sat down in one of the booths to wait. In the meantime, the Shardbinder sketched idly on some of the paper she'd brought; this time of a gaunt hound that seemed all gangly legs and haws that gaped too wide.]

action!

[astudyinviolet]

[ Sherlock uses his ring to return him to his apartment on the second floor of the cafe. He walks down with the book in hand along with his casebook. Without much of a glance, the barista on duty shakes their head and starts making Sherlock a coffee. ]

What is it that you're drawing there?

[crystalrepose]

[Miriam stops when she looked up, giving a little wave without her elbow leaving the table. The sketch seemingly hasn't progressed very far, but not having to flesh out the anatomy much certainly helped.]

Something called a gieremund; one of the hound creatures I encountered before in the same place as Vepar. A bit snappish. [She says, while sketching in its teeth.]

[astudyinviolet]

It looks like a creature belonging to some old family's legend, the kind that creates fantastical stories and cautionary tales to pass from one generation to another. What might have been an underfed an violent stray had grown to become a hellhound in repeat tellings.

[ Although, Sherlock does not doubt they exist in Miriam's world. ]

Are they solitary creatures?

[crystalrepose]

[Miriam paused in the middle of sketching, looking thoughtful.]

...perhaps...that was how these ones were used. The place I encountered them was...not entirely of this world or another, and summoned over the ruins of the Alchemy Guild. And the Guild had been trying to scare its patrons to continue valuing their services.

[And then the supernatural was shaped by superstition.]

But for the most part they were solitary, yes; sometimes I'd see them alongside a different monster, but it showed no particular camaraderie. Only a single-minded purpose, like a hunting hound never taught how to stop. [A grimace.] Or a starving dog that'd spotted food.

[astudyinviolet]

[ At the last comment, Sherlock frowns in a similar manner. A starving dog that spotted food reminds him of two other dogs who were out alone and starving, and he has a fondness for dogs in general. ]

Has anyone ever tried to feed such a beast and befriend it?

[ Although perhaps there lacked any opportunity to try if the Alchemy Guild were using them for their own means. ]

[crystalrepose]

[The Shardbinder sighs through her nose, and stops sketching for a moment.]

...I do not know. By the time I encountered them, they were already leaping at my throat.

[astudyinviolet]

Ah, that is a shame. Under such circumstances, there is no opportunity.

[ And leaving food in certain locations may attract the beasts without any connection of it being provided by a kind soul. ]

How did you dispatch them?

[crystalrepose]

Quickly. As with any other assailant.

[Another sigh.]

...though I fear that may not have been enough. I encountered more of these creatures further down, where reality and nightmare became blurred even further. They became larger, even more savage, and wreathed in flames. The picture of a hellhound.

[astudyinviolet]

"Where reality and nightmare became blurred even further"...

[ Sherlock is all too familiar with how such a place can be. ]

To think they could transform, like a larva into a wasp, yet such is the nature of a nightmare, is it not? To take something that is already unnerving on its own and multiply their ferocity to horrific heights? The Guild would have people fearing those creatures and call for their aid and protection. Though, I do not doubt they had more ways of inspiring that fear.