The Savage Letters: Elusion, The Riddle and Nostalgia

September 12 - 58

Dear Prof. G. Savage.

Of course it is well known to you that our attempts to engage our antagonist failed. This man, perhaps collection of men, are to be anything but underestimated. Their foresight stretches leagues beyond ours, and such are their abilities that we may not yet be able to explain them.

However what may seem to them as mere incidental losses present our faculty with a fine opportunity for installing permanent fixtures for our anomalous studies. I would consider this a great step back in our assumed position in the race for knowledge, a minor step back in our containment of the problem, yet a great step forward for foresight and planning. This is completely besides the fact that we have procured two more anomalous items in the process (perhaps three, see addendum). Hence it is my prerogative to present to you the farce and warning of elusion, The Riddle and Nostalgia.

Question, Mirrors, Fire, Debate, Paper.

On the unseasonably frosty night of the thirty-first of August, after expedient consultation with yourself, I gathered the wits and services of my trusted band. I detailed to them the situation: consequential evidence and circumstances are pointing directly to the notion that Isaac Prendergast participates an active role in the espionage of our mission. He possesses at least a working knowledge of his late sister's genius and production of the anomalous, and a mind sharp-focused enough to put these to singularly selfish uses. It is beyond wonder that he should take possession of his sister's estate so soon from her passing, an with hind-sight unsurprising that his insignia and impression of his seal die would appear in two instances of our investigation. The fact that he is in possession of the fisheries which operate on Loch Llenli serve to only reinforce this notion. Further his demeanour when we first and last met was cold, efficient and unwelcoming, an impression I have yet to shake and which would paint any modern man of business in an light most unfavourable. His face too struck me as untrustworthy, which may be unnecessarily bias, but I maintain my prejudices.

Regardless, there we stood, beside the swaying hedgerows of the Madistone estate, where we had assembled not three months prior, tasked with much the same mission: make entrance to the manor without incident or alert, and procure the desired items. In this case, not the Cold Lamp, but either the remnants of the collection of Dr. Prendergast in Isaac's possession or Isaac himself. I am aware my activities accelerate in criminal proportions, yet I believe, as should the department, that it does so for some greater good. The law, after all is said, exists for the protection of citizens, and what is our mission if not to protect Avon from the unknown.

We gathered by the grounds preparing our spirits for the evening. Mr. Brimley shuffled warming his hands with condensed breath, Miss Watson stood submerged in great waves of clothing whilst the boy stood in his regular summer outfittings as if oblivious to the chill. I, clad in greatcoat, issued well-wishes and initiated the advance.

Almost immediately our approach became unconventional. I confess to not be a man well-skilled in espionage nor criminal entry - an admission for which the footing grows looser by each investigation - but even I could foresee the difficulties raised in entering a house unnoticed whilst more than a dozen well-dressed men stood gazing into the entranceway. The inexplicable sight of internal candle-light casting silhouettes of overcoats and stovepipe hats upon the gravel path took us all unprepared. So we stood motionless awaiting the first of either movement or solution to be raised.

At once I was taken by the hand and led into the shadows in the perimeter of the grounds, Miss Watson captaining the way through foliage and decoration. We were taken to the sitting-room window, the very one we had made our entrance on our previous visit. Miss Watson explained to us that the route we had taken to the basement door had been well covered from sight of the entranceway and would be ideal to remain out of sight of the visitors. Amongst Miss Watson's many inobvious talents lies a great illustrative memory of architecture, to a level of detail I would only possess were I to view the designer's construction plans. I gained the impression of Miss Watson's condescending, victorious smile spreading across her fair face, an impression I would verify were it not for the mottled vortex of scarves covering her features at the time.

Confidently yet with typical silence and swiftness she plied her trade, and no sooner were we in the warm and comfort of the sitting room. In great contrast to the disrepair we had left prior, the room had been well furnished and finely decorated to a state beyond recognition. The room had an air altogether more comfortable, yet somehow impersonal as if designed by committee or algorithm. Nevertheless it made our task all the easier by the installation of carpeting, as if to directly aid our silent approach.

Through the ornamental jades and textured crimsons of gentrified décor we crept until reaching the main hall. There we had an uninterrupted path to the basement door out of sight of the main entrance. On our approach no footfall was heard on the oaken floor, no hushed voices or motion of any kind as if the visitors were content or compelled to remain asleep in the doorway. We did not let this trouble us taking it simply as a sign from fortune herself for our approach to the basement. Nevertheless some curious feature of the new installations sat unwell with me, although I would not know fully why at the time.

Our entrance to the basement was uneventful and disheartening. Whilst rudimentary furniture and work surfaces had been reinstalled, seemingly once more for used of observations and scientific processes, the room was void of any equipment or writings. It was by no means derelict, having seen use since at least two days prior, but nought of interest could be garnered at the time. Despite a most thorough search by the combined strengths and wits of Brimley and The Boy (respectively), nought could be garnered. In low spirits we abandoned the basement to collect thoughts and determine how best to progress with the Isaac situation.

Progressing through the doorway and back into the sitting-room, The Boy was the first to explicitly notice the curious structure erected above the entranceway to the manor. Upon distant inspection the structure appeared to be hurriedly built of ill-fitting wooden supports suspending an angled mirror above the door. Still hearing no indication of movement or discussion we thought it best to inspect the curiosity. Of the group I was the one most experienced with such bizarrities and so preached caution to the party as we emerge.

From our emergence we saw that the curious structure was far from isolated. The entire hallway, the stairwell, landing and a fair amount of the ceiling were polluted with assorted sizes, qualities and manufactures of mirror. From hand-held compacts hung from yarn to full dresser-mirrors, from the sharpest reflection to the crudely polished metal, this elaborate labyrinth seemed erratic and yet curiously precise. The focal point of this arrangement was a large oval oak-lined dressing-mirror stood facing the entrance, a hoard of winter-clad businessmen staring into its reflection. The men showed no signs of movement since our entrance, and an ill-timed collision of Mr. Brimley's with a porcelain vase elicited no displacement of their foci. Safe in the belief that these men were of no threat we approached the system of looking glasses to assess the situation.

I had perhaps prepared myself for something of this nature, understanding the potential control and manipulation of the man we were to subdue. I had become complacent with the surreal in the last few months, yet had developed an instinctive distrust of the path my own curiosity leads me on. My friends, on the other hand, have built no such protection.

We approached the group of gentlemen, Mr. Brimley offering defence from the front. The appearance of the fellows seemed not to be one of intent concentration, nor fear, nor of any significant emotional distress but more akin to being lost in thought. Testing our lucks and limits led us to discover that no amount of noise we made would stir the men from their musings. Alas, whilst The Boy, Miss Watson and I had the foresight to keep a safe distance, Mr. Brimley had approached a little too close. Whilst we were lost in our bemusements Mr. Brimley had gazed into the glass and adopted the vacant yet thoughtful posture of the lost men. Having fallen prey to its mysterious spell I urged caution that neither of my conscious party approach Mr. Brimley, instead that whatever ghastly projection is being sent through the building by this circuit of mirrors be traced to its roots. With hindsight my optimism seemed ill-places, that this condition were reversible unlike the fate of the victims of the Kalopsia Fractal. Nevertheless I lay in debt to the man hypnotised before me and remained confident that I could go some way to its repayment.

We ascended the stairs as best we may keeping our eyes from any and all reflective surfaces. Stumbling through the landing I noted a singularly heavy structure ahead bending the floorboards to its centre. Staring at our feet we made our way toward the object. My touch informed me that the object was a significantly large concave mirror, the scale of which I had never felt before. This was positioned at an angle to the doorway it sat beside and concluding this was the source I made entrance.

Fearful that this room would contain some malicious purveyor of paralysis I instructed the others to remain on the outside of the room with their eyes closed and to listen for any cries of distress or rather sudden silences. I called instructions to the others that we should continue talking to one another, and were I to cease, they should assume the worst and attempt rescue. Upon entry my feet swept a wake through a swathe of discarded and crumpled paper on the floor of the room, either crunching underfoot or launching chaotically as pushed. I could feel the warmth of a still-burning fire at the far end of the room, its flickering light illuminating the littered floor. The room, from my view, seemed well-furnished and particularly characterful for the home, although singularly red throughout. The surfaces themselves were not of particularly heavy hue, nor indeed themselves red, simply as if a crimson light were cast upon all surfaces. This was neither unsettling nor menacing, simply noticeable.

As I waddled with half-closed eyes I collided with a table in the room's centre, nearly stumbling to my side by surprise. Looking up instinctively I saw upon the table an open envelope with green and red mottled wax seal, held upright on the table in a prismic fashion, with a calligraphic question written in green ink. The question was a riddle, a particularly interesting one I recall thinking at the time, and one I shall not repeat here. I stood for some seconds pondering the riddle attempting to solve it in my head, and before long the answer came to me. For what little it helps, I felt strangely satisfied for its conclusion.

Immediately I became once again aware of my situation, and fearfully averted my gaze to my feet once more. My curiosities peaked in my wonder as to why I should let the dramatic gravity escape me to solve a simple riddle. Perhaps this was the anomaly, I thought to myself and gave myself tentative permission to search the rest of the room normally. To my allies this had not gone unnoticed, and though I assured them that I had returned to my senses they seemed unnerved.

I raised my head and examined the room I stood in. I stood in a small personal study or library, with dark yet pale green wallpaper, deep mahogany cladding and reddened carpet strewn with countless papers, still bathing in a reddened glow. As I wittered to my companions on some obscure topic of little current interest, my attention was drawn to the fireplace at the far end of the room. A heavy flame burned there with an overtly red hue, not worrying but strangely comforting. I stood talking for some time, simply gazing into the flames, before eventually turning away. In doing so I noticed that the conversation had moved on significantly from the topic I remember. When I enquired Miss Watson insisted that we had been in meandering discussion for a good few minutes, whereas to me it felt more akin to less than half of that.

Speaking my thought process aloud I explained the situation in the room, whether to their satisfaction or my clarity: the time lost to the riddle on the card and the memories lost in the fireplace. Before long of muttering hypothesis aloud my tiring mind connected the two, and I instructed the two to join the others in the hall, still tasking the precaution of avoiding eye contact with mirrors. Without hesitation I kicked the central table, sending the riddle floating into the mass of discarded paper, and followed the others down the landing and into the hall.

There we stood watching Mr. Brimley and the assorted men in the entrance gradually returning to focus in varied and staggered delays. Mr. Brimley was among the last, and later admitted he was most surprised to see that we had ascended the stairs without his noticing. The men began loudly and aggressively (as aggressively as gentlemen may) demanding to see Isaac Prendergast. We confessed we wished the same, and the men spread through the building, finding no other signs of habitation. As our investigation continued, so did theirs and in time they made their way from the house without incident or concern. A full list of names and associated businesses was procured by The Boy and should be found alongside this letter.

It emerges that the men came to collect many outstanding debts from Mr. Prendergast, including those procured against the value of the manor house. It seems the man had upped and fled from the debtors for some unknown reason and left the property abandoned. Whether a direct consequence of our endeavours and his foresight into them, or something unrelated the flight remains to be explained.

As you are aware, under my recommendation Madistone house and some four acres of attached grounds were immediately purchased by the department from the debtors for a greatly reduced amount and hence becomes university property, an investment I am sure neither you nor the department shall regret. Once the peculiar mirror system has been dismantled and normality is resumed (as best it can for a house of such cursed history) I believe the house would make a suitable place for collusion of intellects and housing of curiosities, the grounds being well-defensible and conspicuous enough to avoid full-scale invasion.

With the significant events relayed to you I proceed without pause to the investigation of The Riddle and Nostalgia.

The Study: The Riddle and Nostalgia

We returned to the room to test my hypotheses regarding the items of freakish entrapment. Instructing the others not to enter until I returned, I made my way into the room, procured the Riddle from amongst the scattered sheets, and placed it into my pocket. I then instructed the others to walk into the room, whilst I counted to one hundred.

Bemused, they did so almost instantly looking at the fire on the far side of the room. Mr. Brimley stayed at the entranceway staring at it, whilst the other two gravitated towards the fire, all comfortably gazing into the flames. It was by 30 that Miss Watson's attentions moved, whilst Mr. Brimley's and The Boy's reached the limits of 55. Each confessed that all they could remember of the situation was the start of my count, up to 5, and then a sudden jump to the number which signalled the end of their fire-gazing.

Its purpose determined, I extinguished the fire at once before examining the fireplace for a chemical or mechanism. Duly a series of piping was discovered beneath the ashes. Subsequent demolition of the surrounding fireplace lead to an untraceable network of copper and lead pipes and canisters throughout the building leading to this fireplace. Their purpose, source or method of initiation are unknown, although a fire may be lit in the hearth at any time and the same effects will be imbued to the fire.

Nothing appears expelled from the pipework when a fire is not lit, although it is supposed that when lit sufficient air is drawn from the area to draw whatever is contained within into the flame. Any fire lit in the fireplace glows with a slightly redder flame than one might expect. The temperature of the flame is similar to that of any other fire in some similar hearth, it shows no abnormal physical signs, its peculiarities lying primarily in the minds of those who observe it. As such physical observation is difficult, but not impossible. It would seem greatly unwise to ignore the possibility that the mechanism which ensures this effect is related to that which imbues the Cold Lamp with its abnormalities.

Staring at the flame will induce a warm, comfortable feeling in the viewer and for a short time - greater than five seconds but not exceeding a minute - the viewer will simply stare at the fire. The viewer may actively engage in conversation, although will not consciously follow any specific or demanding narrative in the flow of discussion. When focus is broken from the fire the the viewer experiences a brief moment of dizziness and pause before resuming all natural processes. Thereafter the viewer will have no knowledge of the duration they had been observing the fire and no immediate conscious knowledge of what, if anything, was discussed in the time being. However, when interrogated with specific prompts (precise sounds and aromas appear the most potent) the viewer may remember the subject and key details of what had been discussed, minus any actual conversational details. The viewer tends to describe these memories as being specific though as if far away, akin to an old but cherished memory. When the fire is viewed subsequently all memories lost from previous viewings return temporarily only to disappear again once distracted.

Since installing workstations into the manor and further cautious experimentation has been carried out, we can conclude that no ill effects are observed from prolonged or repeated exposition to this 'Nostalgia' fire. It is the suggestion of Dr. Keplar that a practical use of such a tool would be to inform some participant of information of great importance to be transported undetected. They duly forget the information, and thus may not relinquish it to any opponents or antagonists unless reminded of triggering details. This could be useful for the purposes of espionage and I should not put it past the intelligence of Isaac Prendergast to have already put it to this use with his recruited youths.

Moving to the papers in the room, the vast majority of sheets were either empty or had been scrawled and blotched upon by large quantities of ink as if to hide the contents. A few sheets contained notable symbols, but nothing akin to any known alphabet. These have been cross-referenced with the historical, linguistic and political wings of the university and have raised no correlation to any existing language or cipher.

One of the two sheets that can be read, however, is that with the riddle. It is written upon medium-grain paper, cream-coloured in black ink and in particularly calligraphed handwriting. The overtly ornamental cursive writing is distinct but does not impair the reading of the note. Some contradicting issues are raised by the immediate understanding of the viewer, the singularly bizarre writing style and lack of any similar writing on the other papers. This leads to the tentative conclusion that either the letter existed before its use and penned by some other hand or was somehow constructed using the indecipherable symbols and what is read is merely trickery on the eye or mind. Upon opposing ends of the sheet are two broken halves of a green and red mottled wax seal. When joined together a clear calligraphic 'I' is to be seen imprinted in the seal.

Once again the curious effects of this object are to be found not in its composition or construction but more in its effect on an observer. Whomsoever looks upon the letter and reads the riddle thereon is compelled to gaze approximately in the region of the letter until they themselves have solved the puzzle. No attempts at rousing the reader either audibly, physically or obstructing their view will have any effect until the reader solves the riddle. Fortunately the task is not at all difficult and the problem is solved by most in under two minutes. Even Mr. Brimley, a man for whom quick wits and analysis are by his own admission sparse, discovered the solution within this time. Once solved, the reader feels a wave of satisfaction and may continue their business unabated.

It is perhaps interesting to note that all the time the reader remembers the solution from a previous viewing they will incur no more of the compulsive effects of the riddle. The compulsion is irrespective of whether the subject has been told the solution prior to reading: the reader must follow the logic to the conclusion themselves and are thereafter immune. It is possible that once the solution is forgotten over time that the effect may return, but that would require long-term testing.

Some in the department have taken to using the riddle as a measure of intrinsic intelligence, among both prospective students and the staff alike. Something of a competition is being waged amongst the staff as to who breaks from the puzzle the soonest. Dr. Brighting currently holds the record at 15 seconds, although for a ranked list one may contact Prof. Trott. The item is currently in a cabinet in the west ground floor sitting room, and it is recommended it stay in that room permanently, or at the very least at significant distance from the nostalgia flame.

Whilst apart these to items possess little threat to the viewer, together they are a significant nuisance, if not danger. To view the riddle in such a way as the fire is in view shall lead to the reader seemingly become snared in a loop of compulsion to solve the problem, whilst simultaneously being unable to focus on it. Whilst they may make some progression through the logic, by the time any significant progress is made the head is compelled to forget what has been learned. The result is an unbroken loop of persistence to solve a problem which cannot be focused on.

It seems that Isaac Prendergast is either well-versed in the machinations of these unnatural devices or, perhaps more likely, possesses the knowledge to create them - a familial trait perhaps. The system of mirrors in the landing and entrance hall served specifically to project the image of the riddle surrounded by the nostalgia flame to the entranceway. Presumably the door was left deliberately ajar such that when the debtors arrived for collection they became ensnared in this paralysing loop. This much was deliberate, although the second of the readable sheets leads to the conclusion that there is more to his talents. The sheet reads:

Question.
Mirrors!
Fire.
Debate.
Paper.

It appears this was a command of some description, for somebody to fetch mirrors, light the fire and fetch more paper. The commands for the question and debate are as yet unknown, but since they have been crossed through they may simply have been for personal reference.

Whilst we may have gained a centre of operations it is entirely possible we may have gained a powerful enemy as of this investigation. It cannot have escaped the attention of Mr. Prendergast that his old manor has been freshly inhabited and I doubt it shall be long before he discovers its new owner. This man, or perhaps conglomeration of men, seem(s) to possess skills over or possession of subjects and abilities we do not understand and have no way of predicting.

I recommend additional security measures be implemented on the grounds of Madistone house, that each and every member of staff at the department exercise extreme caution when opening letters and post, taking care to observe the seal, and that the whole situation be taken with extreme seriousness. The clear similarities between the Riddle and the Postmaster's Secret indicate that any number and any extent of manipulations may be cast upon us at any time. Nevertheless should the weight of the situation impair the spirits of any member of staff, we shouldn't fail to remind them that the Nostalgia flame is always present, should one need a short period of comfort to forget.

I trust this finds you well,

Yours,
Nicholas P. Henderson.


Addendum.
The combined interior length of the main first floor landing and adjacent rooms measures 112 feet. The exterior width of Madistone house is approximately 97 feet. This may require looking into.