And we’re back for another chilling and intriguing episode of Saga of Sundry: Darkling Gate. After the last episode, the Montgomery triplets and Kitty Larke are staying the night at Longford House. It’s a ‘thank you’ for saving little Charlotte Dartmoor in a chance encounter in the woods. Charlotte’s moody uncle, Jonathan Dartmoor, invited the triplets and Kitty to shelter from the storm with them.
Augustus is resting in another room, but Aurelia and Arabella are gently poking and prodding at Jonathan, trying to get a better idea of what the hell is going on with this haunted-ass house’s legacy. (Arabella later says, “Of course it’s haunted!”) Jonathan is of little help, his mood quiet but shifting constantly between strained politeness and an almost cold standoffishness.
Kitty explores the various artifacts and paintings, occasionally pointing out when one of them was procured by her personally. She eventually finds smooth stones with perfect holes in them. Arabella and Aurelia remember their dead little brother Archibald, and how he called these faerie stones. He said if looked through, it would allow the gazer to see Other Home, the imaginary world he shared with his siblings as a child.
Kitty, curious, removes one from the display case and looks through it. It doesn’t take long for her to see a vision of an eight year old boy with blood gushing from his mouth. It startles her to the point she drops the stone, a behavior that seems unlike her. But hey, Nicole got a 1 on her sanity roll, so she brushes it off semi-convincingly. When later asked by resident genre-savvy Arabella if she’s “really never had any strange or unusual experiences” Kitty militantly insists she has not. Lying liar who lies!
“Man’s quest for knowledge, quest for ownership, or…imperialism. What have you.” —Kitty Larke
Meanwhile, in true Lovecraft fashion, Augustus is being plagued by a horrible nightmare vision. He’s back in the forest they found Charlotte in, but the world has a terrible, threatening liquidity to it. He encounters a knight slumped against a tree, and within the helm is Cornelius Longford himself, dead former master of the house. Cornelius implores upon him: “Blood of my blood, flesh of my flesh. Shut the door. Shut the door. One of ivory and one of horn. They will not allow me to stay long.” Needless to say, Augustus is extremely freaked out when he wakes up, urgently telling Aurelia to shut the door. He looks down to see if he is holding the knight’s helm in his hands.
Once Gadson (or Daddyson, if you so desire) has prepared their rooms for the night, Jonathan suggests they all turn in and speak more in the ‘clarity of morning’. This is shortly after a conversation with Arabella when she tried to compliment him as a parental figure for Charlotte, and he immediately stiffened and clammed up. Gadson goes to guide them upstairs, but the squad chooses to try to persuade the deeply creepy butler to open up just a bit about his previous master.
And lo, she succeeds! He reveals a little, but the siblings thank him profusely all the same, mentioned what a great help he’s been, and how much they appreciate his services. While Ross’s lip did not wobble, mine did when he (as Gadson) replied with: “It’s the kindest thing almost anyone has ever said to me. No one ever thanks me for anything. You’re not making fun of me, are you?” BREAK MY F*CKING HEART WHY DON’T YOU!? And to think the exchange came out of Kitty, Augustus, and Aurelia’s repeated remarks about how hot Gadson is and how appealing his rear-end is.
“This house is never silent with the way those clap!” —Kitty Larke
Nicole was on fire with lines this episode. After their exchange with Gadson, the group is off to bed, with Aurelia and Arabella bunking together, and Augustus and Kitty with their own rooms. Aurelia and Arabella seem to have no interest in sleeping, and it doesn’t take long for Augustus to sneak over to talk with his sisters, mostly about Archie and ‘Other Home’. The triplets ultimately decide they should do a seance, to which Ross reacts with a very arched eyebrow, a sigh, and then a resigned, “I’m not gonna yuck your yum.” Great sign when the DM does that.
Arabella has dubious experience conjuring spirits, and suggests next steps, and so of course more investigation is needed. It’s somewhere around this time that Kitty yells through the wall: “STOP WHISPERING AND GO TO SLEEP.” The triplets then proceed to continue talking, lowering their voices just a touch. Eventually they harass Kitty into helping with their schemes with a tiny bit of reverse psychology.
Aurelia, knowingly: “I bet she can’t help us if she tried.”
Kitty: “…F*ck you! I’m coming!”
The crew goes out to explore in the depths of the night. It doesn’t take them long to find a painting with an image of a knight slumped against a tree, just like in Augustus’ nightmare/vision. Augie starts rambling to himself about doors and the closing of them, and keys of course, before letting out a scream and grabbing his head. He tries to explain what happened, but is somewhat at a loss.
“It was like an overlap of memory folding in on itself.” —Augustus Montgomery
The crew then finds a slim book hidden behind the painting. The triplets and Kitty immediately settle down to read, with Kitty’s Greek coming in handy for her to translate the title: Prosopon Paracosmos. The mask of the other world. The author rambles like a madman, just walls of text with no punctuation. Ross describes him as “To be kind: eccentric.” However, when the faint sound of creeping footsteps erupts from outside the room, it distracts the group from their dissection. Kitty, being insane, goes to investigate the source of the noise. The triplets wisely hang back with the book.
Kitty may find more than she bargained for in the darkness, I’ll leave it at that. It was a great episode, both in terms of keeping my heart rate up and making me giggle repeatedly. The lore is so interesting in this Regency Call of Cthulhu campaign, and the Darkling Gate crew has crafted immaculate vibes, only enhanced by Ross’s excellent narration, acting, and knowledge of both art and history. And that’s to say nothing of the acting and comedy chemistry of the whole cast!
Go watch it! You can find Darkling Gate on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts! Do it for the creepy hot butler, if nothing else…