Assignment Report - CoOA-25416 (Self-Reflections)

Assignment ID: CoOA-25416 Report Date: November 6th, 1907

Lightkeeper: Quinten Daalmans Circle Of: Obscurantist Actors

Report Filled By: Trig Boodle

Assigned Circle Members

'Ol one Eyed Pete	Sebri Ploephonk	Trigg Boodle
Corleone Waters

Did you contain or destroy a source of Bleed? Yes: [X] No: [ ]

Did you provide comfort or support for those affected by a phenomenon?   Yes: [ ] No: [X]

Did you bring something of importance back for Candela Obscura to protect or study?   Yes: [X] No: [ ]

Assignment Summary

We headed to the Library Burlesque Club to review details of the disappearance of Jack Darling. Ruby, a member of staff, had seen him talking to an invisible presence before he vanished. We searched the stage and backstage, and for a moment, I saw the flitter of a person in my vision, but then it was gone. Over the last few weeks, 8 people have gone missing from the club. 

Detective Peter Krevich's business card was stuck against the bottom corner of the mirror separating the stage and the back room where Jack Darling went missing, so we headed to the address on the card.

Sebri attempted to pick the lock at the door to the office, and although successful it is broken in the process. We review the desk full of paperwork, a sprawling detective board, and lots of filing cabinets.

My compass, which detects bleed, is reacting in the room, or so we thought. Sebri took it from me, and it was actually me where it was focused. I again see the quick vision of a person in a trench coat and a wide-brimmed hat. Despite focusing on it, I don't see him again.

We headed to the substation where we broke the gate under cover of sound of Sebri causing a scene up town in order to mask the sound. Inside the substation building, there are some offices and machines whirring. With the compass scanning the room, I saw the figure and darts up past into the office. Corleone followed me running, and moving behind us were Pete and Sebri. The figure is at the desk looking at a picture. Walking towards the figure, I made out a picture of workers standing together for a company picture or something in that vein. Looking at the photo, the man next to the detective is there. 

Sebri and Pete join us upstairs. Sebri, sensing the room, can feel that something or someone has died here. Actually, two people have died here. One of the feels distant, lower, and it's similar to the sense from Jack Darling before. The other feels more present but is also draining away. The compass is no longer pointing at me but passed the entry out of the room. 

Following Sebri's senses, we headed back to the panels that we walked by in the beginning. I went through the panels on the ground, there are two bullet holes going through the 4th panel from the bottom. There was a stain like before on the bottom. There was most of a body here but missing parts. We headed to the machine that has the missing panels from before, and we found other pieces of the body, like fingerprints. They might have been the 45 colt bullets like before.

Sebri attempted to attune her thoughts to the newly assembled panel. As she attuned to the figure's memory, she heard "it's out of control" and fear ran through her. Sebri was sucked into the machine behind her as the arms from the man reached out to pull her in. I pulled the breaker. Corleone broke a containment vial, and in the reflection of the shards of glass, the vision broke due to so many breaking into so pieces.

Sebri and I destroyed the remaining panels with pieces. Pete, with new information, reviewed his arcane texts. Pete thought we are dealing with a speculum lurker, a creature that sneaks in through reflections. They are particularly drawn to people that are feeling strong emotion. It can draw victims into the reflection surface until all of their pieces, memories, and emotions are gone.

The detective was leading us to the photo. We rush upstairs to the picture again. Corleone, looking at the picture, can see that there was something behind the picture. There was a safe behind the picture, Corleone looked through the room to find things, Pete used the address as the code. Corleone searched the desk to find more numbers. Power station decommissioning, 1-2-1908. Jack Darling in the window. The safe unlocked with the address. Inside, there is old, well-used 45 revolver. PK engraved in it, next to it is a strange, weird candle stick that seems to be made of wood. Egg crank type thing. Sebri pulled out a jar of experimental ink and gave it to me, and I threw it on Corleone. The black ink covered him but not the figure. The figure reached out and started pulling my face into his own glasses.

I saw the creature through my eyes that are no longer on this plane, 9 other smears exist in this plane. The evil figure began to flicker and he is returned to the normal plane. We closed the egg crank and it closes, leaving the beast trapped in the egg, hopefully.

Injuries (If Yes, Explain Below) Yes: [Yes] No: [ ]

Sebri was pulled partially into a newly assembled panel before the breaker was pulled.

Notes of Importance

Many new observations denoted back to Candela Obscura. With more information, we'd most likely want to dive deeper into this so that we can "finish" the assignment.

Items and/or People Recovered

Egg crank with entity inside

Lightkeeper's Notes

It saddens me we couldn't assist the girl, Ruby, in any meaningful way. The creature has been contained but that doesn't replace the loss of life and sense of security it caused. At the very least Jack was able to help them in death by pointing the girl in our direction. If I remember correctly I first met Jack Darling during the Drugged Vampire incident before I became a Lightkeeper. He was reliable man, which is something desperately needed nowadays.

The description my Circle gave of this creature is frightening. An apparent shapeshifter with some ability to travel via reflections. With how bloodthirsty it was, eight victims in only a few weeks, I do wonder how it arrived into Newfaire without us noticing. There haven't been any thinnings in the Red Lantern district since the lighthouse was constructed, and I did confirm it was stull functioning.

I delivered the artifact to the Fourth Pharos under lock and key, at least for now. Once Preston gets back I'll hand off the key so he can look it over. I have my suspicions it is one of EONS devices but I lack the experience to be certain. Though the speed at which Mr. Darling was thrown under the train by the papers reinforces my assumptions.

The electric company, Bright Skies Electric, is not a known associate or front for EONS though. For this reason I am recommending the Circle of the Proper collar to investigate the company as this is their specialty. I do not doubt the abilities of my own Circle. My Circle have proven themselves superbly capable time and time again. However they butt heads with authority more often then not and investigating this will be nothing but dealing with authority figures. 

Jens Cederskjold, Broken painted mirror - panoramio, Coloration by Michael DeBondt, CC BY 3.0

Electric Railway Journal, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Coolidge_Corner_substation_interior,_1911.jpg