olethrosdc's Journal: On - Scene I

I knocked on the door - there was some shouting, muted by distance or intervening walls, in a language or manner that was not at the moment intelligible. It could have been a reply, or a command - or, however strange this might seem, a pained complaint. It could have been anything, for I did not know who or what would be found here. Some information pertaining to the thing I sought had led me up the rickety stairs to this wind-ravaged attic apartment. The man, if indeed man he was, had been spoken of as holding the knowledge, the essence of the thing - or perhaps the thing itself. But presently my line of thought was interrupted as a leering face, with a strangely blank stare and hair that strayed in all directions at once, appeared at the space revealed after the sudden and particularly noiseless opening of the front door.

The strangely unemotional face showed no traces of surprise, though its otherwise blank stare seemed to conceal a great deal of primitive curiosity. Suppressing a certain feeling of nervousness that had slowly built up in me during the long, silent moment at the threshold, I managed to utter something concerning the purpose of my visit. The peculiar rubbery features of the stranger wrapped into a hideously contorted face as he pulled his lip backs in a grotesque grin. He explained in an elaborate manner that I would not be worthy of his master's attention and that they are currently performing an eldritch ritual that requires their full attention thus I would not be able to gain admittance at this time.

The servant, for I now could clearly perceive that this must be the unclean servant of the man I was seeking, had scarcely finished his servant when a few short, sharp syllabi were issued with undeniable authority from a room within. The servant's face became a mask of comic annoyance as he opened the rickety door for me, thus permitting my entrance. As I stepped through the threshold, the creature leaned forward and whispered to my ear in a theatrically confidential manner that the master was not so well these days. My investigative look as to what exactly he meant provoked merely a blank stare and a faint retraction of the lips in what may or may not have constituted a smile.

As we walked through the dimly lit corridor, illuminated only by a flickering neon light, I took the opportunity to observe the interior of the man's lodgings. Nothing, save the servant's presence indicated to occult activities having ever taken place within, yet, as we approached the curtained, closed door at the end, a feeling of dread arose within me. The creature opened the door, revealing a bearded figure within, seated comfortably in a luxurious couch and poring over a deck of ordinary cards that were arranged in rows in the table in front of him. He cursed under his breath as he pulled a card from the deck, slamming it furiously upon the table.