“The Life and Deaths of Gustaf Urnst”

“The Life and Deaths of Gustaf Urnst” (1LD04)
by Will Hindmarch

Game Master: Brian   Players: Adam, Erin
Game Date: 23 October 2016

Characters: The Doctor, Riddell
Adversaries: Gustaf Urnst, The Ogri, The Krynoid
Allies: James Sampson, Connecticut State Police
Time: 23 October 1938 CE
Space: Connecticut, United States, Earth; Andes Mountains, Peru, Earth

 

Synopsis: Gustaf Heinrich Urnst is a man whose name has fallen into legend. Once upon a time, the fabled writer, explorer, and occultist’s foolhardy forays into the great unknown left him stranded on twentieth century Earth. Now, the Doctor desperately needs his help in resolving a conundrum of cosmic scale. What is the origin of the mysterious standing stones discovered on a number of disparate planets? What secrets do their indecipherable hieroglyphics conceal? And what role do these alien objects play in bringing about mass extinction?

Arriving at Urnst’s New England estate, the Doctor and Riddell discover that the man is missing once more—along with great swaths of his house! In the cellar is a single stone stele, an alien artefact that pulses with a strange and dreadful power. In a flash the Doctor and his companion find themselves atop the Andes mountain range, fighting for their lives as they navigate a lethal labyrinth of blood-thirsty living rock. At its centre, John Riddell finds himself face to face with an old rival, and the Doctor discovers the horrible truth behind a mystery that has haunted him throughout his travels. There is an eldritch evil that has reached across the galaxy to deliver death to a hundred worlds. Here, on the planet Earth, it has touched the mind of Gustaf Urnst—and he has been hideously transformed.