Epilogue

It had been an epic night. The threatening storm had never unleashed its fury. Several people died, but many more monsters died. We had seen many Other Worlds. The realm of magic had been tapped. I had been driven insane, twice. And yet we all survived.

After Mandy had closed the last gate, there was a deafening pop that rolled its way through town followed by absolute silence. The dark clouds dissipated and let the stars have a fresh look at Arkham just before the warming sun rose. The monsters flying above the city disappeared. Mandy, Joe, and I met back at the Hospital where I tended to all of our wounds. We may have been a little banged up, but we would be all right.

Joe had killed two monster that night and closed four gates. He sat down on a bed and ate his unopened dinner from the previous evening. I walked over and tossed something on the bed next to him. He grabbed the small statue and looked up at me. "Where did you get this?" I told him I found it at the Historical Society just before Mandy closed the last gate. Apparently someone else had taken an interest in the statue and had stolen it from Joe. We still don't know who did it, but he could now fulfill the job of delivering the statue to the Silver Twilight Lodge, the reason he had come to Arkham.

I walked over to Mandy. I wasn't quite sure what to say. For being a University researcher, she knew how to dish out a good butt-whoopin. Her bag contained trophies from seven monster kills and the remains of five closed gates. She had lost her Tommy gun in the early hours of the morning, but the two cavalry sabers she had found quietly sat on a nearby counter. I asked her about the old tome called The King in Yellow she had carried all night. She hadn't translated it yet and she had hoped to have some quiet time over the night to research it. She just laughed when she told me that. I held out the .38 revolver she had given me before we split up earlier that night. She wouldn't take it. She told me I had needed it, now it needed me. She could be corny at times too. I asked her what she was going to do now. She would remain in Arkham and continue her studies at the University. Besides, if anything like this ever happened again, the town would need her to save them.

As for me, I decided to move on. I would miss the town and the people I helped save. It would be a while before I could sleep peacefully again there. I may return some day to visit my old friends, but for now I will continue practicing medicine in sunny Tucson, Arizona.

The secrets of that dark northeastern town would remain with me forever.

The Last Gate Closed

I left the church and went to the nearby Historical Society. I found a couple of things. The first was a parchment with the word "Cthulhu" on it, which was the same thing the man in the jail cell at the Police Station had said. That must be the name of the Ancient One threatening Arkham. The second thing I found would be dealt with at a later time.

Mandy stepped through the gate in the City of the Great Race and returned to Arkham through the gate in The Woods. She was met by the Flying Polyp. What would have driven many people insane, had little effect on Mandy. But the monster's intense horror did cause her to hesitate a moment at the scary sight. She knew her sabers wouldn't be very effective against this monster, so she pulled out her flask of holy water and threw it on the monster. The monster gave an otherworldly shriek and dissolved before her. Part of the thrashing monster flung on her and burned her arm, but that was a small price to pay for defeating the evil creature. She picked up a small intact part of it's shell and put it in her bag. With that unpleasantry out of the way, she began the procedure for closing the gate. A moment later, the last gate was gone...

Gates open: 0/8
Monsters in Arkham: 4/4
Monsters in Outskirts: 0/7
Terror Level: 3/10
AO Doom Track: 10/13

Southside Strangler Revealed

After recovering from his strange return to Arkham, Joe stood up and closed the Witch House gate.

And after hiding from flying monsters in the Silver Twilight Lodge, I made my way to South Church. I explained to the priest there how we three had been protecting Arkham by closing the gates and defeating monsters. I showed him the small humming crystal that I had picked up after closing the gate to R'lyeh in the Graveyard. He examined it and offered his blessing to one of us in exchange for the magical relic. We needed all the help we could get. So I handed him the crystal and I had him bless Mandy.

In the City of the Great Race, Mandy's situation mysteriously became more clear and soon she was able to see the return gate to Arkham in a nearby neighborhood. She headed for the gate.

At about the same time, a monster surge produced a Zombie from the gate in The Woods. But it ambled to the Outskirts of town with the other monsters.

A side story that has thus far been overlooked was that of the Southside Strangler. People had been found murdered in Arkham and the police were looking for the suspect. At one point they thought they had found him, but the killers turned out to be a Star Spawn and a Fire Vampire. Once discovered, the two monsters fled to the Outskirts. The town was now completely surrounded by monsters, causing the level of terror in town to increase.

The owner of the General Store, Ryan Dean, had enough. He couldn't risk staying in Arkham any longer. He locked up his General Store and left town. I'm glad I bought my .45 when I did.

There was only one gate left. According to Mandy's readings, if we could close that last gate this horror would be over!

Gates open: 1/8
Monsters in Arkham: 4/4
Monsters in Outskirts: 0/7
Terror Level: 3/10
AO Doom Track: 10/13

Climbing A Rope

Mandy left The Unnamable and made her way to the open gate in The Woods. She was pulled through the gate and sent to The City of the Great Race.

I left the General Store and went to the Silver Twilight Lodge. I was slowly working my way to the southeast part of town to South Church. I thought a blessing would help us in our cause.

As Joe continued his search for the return gate to Arkham on the cold Plateau of Leng, his foot slipped on the ice and he tumbled into a deep crevasse. The sides were too slick to climb back up, so he began walking the length of the crack looking for a way back up. And then he found a rope that lead upwards into a dense fog. He was getting nowhere where he was, so he climbed the rope. As he neared the top and entered the fog, he realized he had climbed out of the earth and was now in the yard of the Witch House in Arkham. He could see the open gate nearby that had sent him to the Plateau of Leng. It took a moment for the confusion to wear off.

And then a monster surge. A Flying Polyp flew out of the gate in The Woods. That is not what Mandy would want to see when she returned through the gate. A Mi-Go flew out of the gate by the Witch House, but it immediately flew upward and went to the Outskirts of the town.


Gates open: 2/8
Monsters in Arkham: 4/4
Monsters in Outskirts: 5/7
Terror Level: 2/10
AO Doom Track: 10/13

Monsters Above

Mandy left the Great Hall of Celeano and returned through the gate to The Unnamable in Arkham. She immediately closed the gate. Unfortunately she was not able to seal the location.

Joe left Independence Square and passed through several neighborhoods to get to the Witch House in French Hill. As soon as he neared the house, he was drawn into the open gate next to it. He was sent to the cold arid Plateau of Leng.

I left the Police Station and entered the nearby General Store. I still had $5 on me and if the store had something that would help our cause, I was willing to spend some cash. The most useful thing they had in stock was a .45 automatic. I could use a little more steel courage. Besides, the revolver Mandy had given me was a little lonely. So I spent my $5 and planned my next move.

No one was around, but there was another fizzle of electricity in the air near Independence Square. Sealing that location was one of Joe's best moves of the night. So far it had prevented two other gates and monsters from appearing.

The winged Mi-Go in the Northside streets took to the air. Now there were three monsters watching the Arkham streets for people. Everyone couldn't hide indoors forever.

Gates open: 2/8
Monsters in Arkham: 3/4
Monsters in Outskirts: 4/7
Terror Level: 2/10
AO Doom Track: 10/13

Independence Square Is Sealed

Having spent a second stay in the mental ward, I was ready (I hoped) to get back into the action. The nearest gate that needed attention was halfway across town at the Witch House. And I did not want to spend any more time than I needed to in the streets with the two Nightgaunts circling in the dark skies above, so I made my way to the Police Station and took cover.

In the Great Hall of Celeano, Mandy finally saw the return gate to Arkham and made her way to it.

Joe went through the gate returning him to Independence Square from The Dreamlands. Unfortunately, the Dark Young he had avoided earlier was still there. And this time it saw him! Having already seen the horrific monster previously, he was able to withstand its horror. In one swift movement, Joe brought out both his .45 automatic and the Derringer. "Open up and say AH!!!!" Joe screamed as he fired at the monster. It was probably more luck than skill, but the bullets found their way through the monster's tough exterior to the its vulnerable interior. He barely made it out of the way before the monster crashed to the ground beside him. He pulled off a chunk of the thick hide. He began to shake as his body reacted to the adrenaline rush. He recovered quickly, he wasn't done there. He turned to the gate and performed the closing procedure and... the gate closed. Having found the clues necessary to seal a location, he finished off the location by magically sealing it to prevent any new gates or monsters from appearing there. Then he sat down to catch his breath.

One of the men in the holding cells of the Police Station tried to intimidate me with stories about the things he'd seen. Sheriff Engle apologized and said the man was a drunk. But I knew of the things he spoke of. I had seen some of them. In fact, he mentioned something about Cthulhu. I would have to ask Mandy what that name meant... if I ever saw her again.

What were the chances of Mandy finding a second cavalry saber in an Other World? Much higher than the three of them saving Arkham from a sleeping Ancient One. She saw it lying near a stone well and picked it up. She wondered if she could wield both sabers effectively at the same time. I bet she would soon find out.

While resting at Independence Square, Joe felt the air sparkle with a slight shock, then smelled a burnt fizzle. He was sure it was a gate that tried to open. Luckily he had sealed the location. He rolled his eyes. They just wouldn't give up!!!

Both Nightgaunts hovered over the streets of Arkham, looking for prey. Almost everyone was safely indoors by now. Only a brave, or foolish, few still dared to walk the streets.

Gates open: 3/8
Monsters in Arkham: 3/4
Monsters in Outskirts: 4/7
Terror Level: 2/10
AO Doom Track: 10/13

University Searched

In The Dreamlands, Joe continued his search for the return gate to Arkham. I paid another $2 for some mental recovery at the Asylum. What a hero I had turned out to be. Mandy left the Black Cave and ran across town to The Unnamable in the Merchant District. With no monsters around, she entered the gate and was sent to the Great Hall of Celeano, the same Other World Joe had explored earlier that night.

Shortly after she arrived in the Great Hall, a Cultist attacked Mandy from the shadows. It was hardly a match for the veteran traveler of worlds. She collected the trophy as the Cultist lay dead at her feet.

A new gate appeared in the Woods in the Uptown neighborhood. We really needed to get that location sealed. A Warlock came through the gate and wandered to the Outskirts of town. The Nightgaunt that had been guarding the Witch House gate finally took to the skies looking for prey. It now circled overhead with the other Nightgaunt.

And for some mysterious reason, the three main buildings at the University were closed for a short period. I believe they were searching Mandy's office for clues as to what connections she had with what had been going on in town. People had caught glimpses of her, but not for long. In fact, they wouldn't find her any time soon for she was once again in an Other World. Little did they know she was helping to save their lives.

Gates open: 4/8
Monsters in Arkham: 4/4
Monsters in Outskirts: 4/7
Terror Level: 2/10
AO Doom Track: 10/13