Adam Gauntlett
Archie Haversham, rich gadabout and amateur naturalist, wants a Great Auk carcass. (The Auk is a flightless seabird that phyiscally resembles a penguin. It became extinct in the late 19th century, but rumor had it that colonies of the birds might still exist in some inacessable spot. Stuffed specimens and skins fetched astronomical prices; in the early 20th century, a specimen could be worth as much as £350.)
Haversham has heard that Ivor Oleg, an arctic explorer, has a stuffed Auk for sale. Oleg is asking £400 for it. Oleg is also dropping hints that he knows of a colony of Auks near the Arctic Circle that until now have avoided contact with man. Haversham is desperate to conclude the Auk deal, but he is bedridden with a broken leg and can't conduct the negotiatons himself. Someone will have to go in his place.
1 Oleg is a thief. He stole the Auk carcass, and several other things, from Martin Ponsonby, another rich naturalist. Ponsonby is a paranoiac. To him, Oleg's theft isn't just a theft. It's part of a grand conspiracy to steal Ponsonby's life's work. In addition, people who buy the Auk from Oleg aren't just unfortunate dupes to Ponsonby. They're all in on the plot. Ponsonby's attitude is that his enemies must be destroyed, (socially and legally, not murdered), and he has dispatched private investigators to recover the Auk and gather dirt on his foes.
2 Oleg is selling a genuine Auk. However, he also wants to con Haversham into funding another Arctic expedition. To that end, Oleg will spin tales of Auk colonies hidden away in the inacessable regions of the world. Oleg will try any story if he thinks it will get him funding. If the investigators hint that they might be interested in, say, hidden temples to forgotten gods lost somewhere in the Arctic snows, Oleg will be more than happy to tell lies about such things.
3 Oleg has been driven insane as a result of his contact with alien gods deep in the Arctic wastes. He thinks it is his duty to gather victims for the Old Ones. He uses the Auk carcass and his story of more Auks out in the arctic to gain funding for another expedition. Oleg intends to be the only survivor of this expedition. The others will be left for the God to devour. Oleg has other specimens from his last trip to show to prospective buyers. Fragments of tablet with strange inscriptions, odd carved statuettes made from whalebone, and other odd things that might alert Mythos scholars that Oleg found more than Auks on his last trip out.
Copyright (c) 2001 Adam Gauntlett
Adam has written for Call of Cthulhu, Ars Magica, and has contributed several Tales of Terror.
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