Ricardo Christe
An Investigator who follows a medical profession is awakened in the middle of a rainy night by furious banging at his front door. If opened, a desperate, haggard-looking sailor will storm in, pleading for help. He rolls up his shirt's sleeve, offering his horridly bulging arm for examination. Swelled and blackened, it appears to be affected by necrosis. The man begs for help, claiming he was poisoned by a rival.
"Duh bastar' hates me guts cos my business runs strong, an' he's a lazy, warty ol'drunkar' who can't keep ep. He's poison' me drinks! Help me please, ain't wanna die, oh Gawd!"
The arm responds to no medical treatment the Investigator can come up with. Ditto for hospitals. It appears to worsen by the hour.
1 The sailor is telling a half truth. The "rival" isn't simply jealous because of business competition, he's seeking something the sailor has: an old trophy from a shipwreck, looking like a copper bracelet with intrincate designs. The rival, actually a follower of Dagon, knows that it's a piece of Deep One jewelry, and badly wants it for his rituals. Since the sailor refuses to part with it, the cultist has cast a slow-acting version of Shrivelling, and will later contact the sailor for a bargain. But he certainly won't want the old sea-dog to get help from the Investigators . . .
2 The sailor has tainted Deep One blood, but is also cursed. His now-dead mother found the strength of will (and the help of a deceased stalwart adventurer) to break free of the bonds imposed by her monstrous consort.
Furious by such unprecedent behavior, the deep one asked Dagon to curse both she and any offspring she might have in the future. Any descendant would come to the world doomed to end his life, transformed into a ravenous human-eating monster, one far more horrible than the most degenerate deep one hybrid. Unfortunately for the sailor, the onset time for the transformation is over... but perhaps there is a way to reverse it.
3 It is actually poison - of an incredibly potent sort, indeed. A creation of a Serpent Man sorcerer the Investigator has dealt with before, and which was supposedly dead. Is it possible that the creature is alive and on the loose?
Copyright (c) 1996 Ricardo Christe