We have:
Leanne: Chris Parker - Professor of Geology
Doug: Maximillian Hirst - Parapsychologist
Steve: David "The Amazing Kraygen" Wilcox - Stage Magician (Kraygen means Mankind, Great Lover, Optimistic...)
Our intrepid crew are contacted by good friend Josh Winscott, excited for them to come and visit him to see a discovery he has made in his recently inherited house in Providence, Rhode Island
Taking the train the following morning, they arrive to find Josh looking dusty and a little dishevelled, but with no less excitement in his voice. Over Coffee he tells them that his discovery is a series of tunnels under his new house, formerly hidden away behind a brick wall in the basement. All but Chris are left a little deflated by this news, but none-the-less look forward to spending some time with their good friend.
Josh asks his friends to join him in exploring the tunnels, which Josh, in a hushed tone, suspects might be related to the trade of enslaved persons his family was involved in the late 18th century. Given he has already had a long and arduous day, Josh suggests exploring the tunnels tomorrow, to which everyone agrees.
Unfortunately Josh is unable to offer accommodation to the investigators given the state of disrepair of the house, but suggests booking into the nearby Providence hotel, which is of good standard and reasonably priced. This is agreed and the investigators leave to book in to the hotel. Josh offers to join and pay for dinner at the hotel with them, and a time of 7pm is arranged.
After booking into the Hotel it is decided to visit the local library to see if any further information regarding the Winscott house could be established. The library in question is an independent, member-supported subscription library in the College Hill neighbourhood of Providence called the ‘The Providence Athenaeum’.
A brief discussion with the librarian (and a suitable exchange of cash) allowed access to the main library space. A few hours later and the exercise was beginning to look fruitless when Chris came up an old letter hidden behind a book. The information in the letter was as revealing, as it was concerning.
It opened announcing the death of Elijah Winscott (an ancestor of Josh) in his country house in 1811. It then went on to detail a tale told to the author by the sick Elijah that it would seem he was reticent to recount. The tale opened by chronicling how Elijah was to continue in the ‘Trade’ that had served him well. He postured that he was to dig a number of tunnels beneath the town, but upon opening up the basement beneath the house in Power Street a tunnel was found that went close to the river. It was a matter to dig the tunnel yet closer, and use this passage to shepherd Slaves to and from the town.
Once set, Elijah waited for his slaves, but they did not come. He and his men went down to investigate, and they found death. Parts of men, both black and white, strewn like rags across the tunnel. Though he did not linger, he could not account for all, nor could he note any slave women. The shadows of the caverns kept this a mystery to him. Quickly he returned and he made strong walls close to the river and beneath his home to keep out whatever may be below.
Upon reading this, knowing that the basement wall had now been removed, they all became worried for Josh and immediately travelled to his house. They entered, as yet again the front door had not been locked, and initially met with no response. But as they began to search the house Josh, bleary eyed walked down the stairs enquiring what all the commotion was about. Relieved all was well, Josh was shown the letter who was greatly intrigued by the tale, but no less determined to proceed with the exploration. He showed them the basement was all locked up and advised he was looking forward to dinner this evening.
A pleasant dinner was had by all, with much talk about the following days adventure. Josh advised them to ensure they equip themselves correctly, and with that bid them a good evening. The group unaware of such a requirement made their way to hardware store and bought several items of equipment they thought would be necessary for the exploration, guided in no short order by Chris.
Following a hearty breakfast the following morning, the investigators made their way over to Josh’s residence, to be met again with an unlocked front door. Entering the hallway they called out for Josh but met no response. Looking towards the basement door they noticed it was ajar. Fearing he had gone ahead alone; they made their way down to the basement and noticed by the opening to the tunnel a stubbed out Turkish cigarette and a lukewarm cup of coffee. Josh had indeed gone alone!
It was decided to proceed immediately into the steadily descending tunnels, hoping they wouldn’t be too far behind. Entering into the eerie twilight, it was soon apparent the tunnels were not modern in their construction, and were ancient in nature. The walls, decorated in intricate carvings, and ceiling gave off an ambient light, as if filled with candles. Max had the idea of using chalk marks on the walls to mark their way, but soon realised that the lichen covering the walls made this impossible. It wasn’t long before they came to an intersection in the tunnel marked by a gruesome sight, the ancient remains of about 6 bodies, tears and blood on their clothes, with manacles around 3 of them. Just inside the southern branching tunnel, another stubbed out Turkish cigarette was found, indicating Josh had gone this way, perhaps leaving the cigarette butt as a breadcrumb. Chris, finding her bearings, indicated the tunnel continuing west likely would lead to the river.
Choosing to follow the southern, winding tunnel, it wasn’t long before the investigators found themselves in a cavern massively decorated with strange geometric symbols, and carvings relating to an ancient race of serpents, fighting large lizard creatures they realised represented dinosaurs. Understanding this meant a civilisation of serpents millions of years ago on Earth was a huge shock and was too much for their minds to fully comprehend
Max got out his camera to take some photographs (but will only see later they were hugely under exposed and show little to no detail). Continuing onwards, it wasn’t long before they found themselves at the end of the tunnel, on a ledge overlooking some 20ft below a further tunnel, broadly running east/west.
It was decided at this point it would be better to go back to resupply batteries for their flashlights, as theirs had begun to dim. They made their way back out of the tunnels and into Providence to make their purchases. Batteries were in short supply it seems and it took visits to several hardware shops, and a couple of hours.
Heading back down the tunnels, the West tunnel was followed at the intersection, heading towards river. After about ½ mile the tunnel ended in a solid brick wall. Deciding this proved Josh had not been this way and was secure, the southern tunnel was again taken which eventually led the investigators onto the high ledge. A rope was secured to a nearby stalagmite and they proceeded to climb down. All did so successfully except for David, who slipped off the rope half way down, painfully dislocating his ankle in the fall.
End of Session 1
