Diary of Kuranes (waking)

December 31st 1964

Xavier Hellstrom. Such power. From what that man Jonathan said about his "visions" (I'll have to look into that more later), XH must have spent quite some time preparing this elaborate trap. I fear had I not woven that first counterspell in exactly the way I did, the defenses on the box might have proven a near impossible challenge.

I must say, XH made an interesting choice in spells… and to delay, interesting choice indeed. I'm not sure if he would have been as happy with a quick evisceration spell or a simple fireball. He wanted those original Prometheans to stew, to try their best to find a solution and fail. And, should they survive, they would have had quite the message.

I gather I've made a powerful enemy by allying myself with the foundation. Hellstrom, what would you have done if you were in my shoes?

I figure I should mention some of the less important things this evening brought, namely my fellow Prometheans. They all seem to be fairly skilled in some way or another, perhaps in ways I've yet to see. I might have been a tad too… myself around them, not realizing how entangled we'd become. It would be wise to befriend them, far easier to get what I want.

I'm not sure I can stomach that Elaine creature though. It might stretch me to the limit holding back from turning her into a little piggy for my Kieluu to devour. I'm curious if she might be smarter in the form of semi digested zoog food. Still, even dull tools have a use. At least she will keep Kieluu on his toes, if he displaced a pebble I would be shocked if she didn't fire a round at it.

Jonathan as mentioned above is of interest, as is Genda who besides obvious talent with spirits has a little power in him. I could swear I noticed looks of fear from the great man… directed at me? He can't see Kieluu can he?

Lisa however, intrigues me. She clearly has power, although not as varied as my own. She spoke of teleporting in such a way it seemed she might excel in that class of magic. She chose to live in the guest house closest to mine. Perhaps Kieluu and I should try and make the Avoid spell permanent.

I just realized I have only touched on the biggest news, becoming a Promethean. This should be an interesting diversion. Imagine this world with higher mana, it's certainly no Celephais but perhaps a step closer to getting me there. Speaking of, perhaps I can pry Magdalena for a little more information on this "silver key" once she returns, or at least get a chance to look through some of her brother's belongings. I'm tired of hearing Kieluu's LEGENDS of the man, perhaps there is some truth to the tales but i'm sure he's not as fantastic as fabled.

I'm curious what we might come across in our assignments.

January 4th 1965

Magdelena returned today. We sat for breakfast and discussed some possible courses of action for the Prometheans. She felt a particular mansion in Pasadena was a good place to start.

One amusement was when Elaine pressed her for information on something… probably inane, I couldn't be bothered to recall what. Magdalena lied, and I have to give our silly gun child some credit, she caught on. Best part, she called Mag' out on her lie without flinching. I hate to say it, but I like her a little bit more than before. Of course, a shiny turd is still a turd though.

When everyone left I made sure to ask her about the silver key. She responded as expected, only knowing what Randolph storied. Although, she does believe it to be an actual key, not some code for something else. Even with a spell to cause a more favorable reaction she wouldn't allow me access to Randolph's belongings. Seems I might need to butter her up a little more.

We made our way to the house and before even stepping foot inside, Genda got so scared he started to vomit. That kind of weakness disgusts me, but coming from such a big man it is pure comedy. He didn't do this only once either. One time, I just couldn't help myself, I made him fall right into his own sickness. The look on his face! It really was a treat. Sadly, after a while Lisa felt the need to be a spoil sport and magically cleaned him up. She stole the joy I got watching him squirm in shame and discomfort… just like she stole that book.

The book she took is clearly magical in both content and nature. At the moment I assume, as does Lisa that this is The Book of Gates. A great discovery… although I'm sure not as "world changing" as Lisa would like to think. Anyway, after snatching it up, she wouldn't part with it for even a moment. I guess she's not as sharing as she likes to make others think. She should understand such items of power belong in my hands where they can be used properly.

I found it amusing that she doesn't have the skill to cast a spell to read unknown languages. Even sillier was her insistence to learn Persian rather than allowing me to read it by spell. She says she believes this wont work, which is ridiculous. However, what do I care, if she takes the time to learn the language I'll just borrow her skill with it, much easier than starting from scratch.

My time will be taken up instead by reading the diary of Jacob Jansen from 1963 and possibly earlier ones if I find them. Also, it seems Jansen was as much a lover of art as I am. A large number of the paintings were by Austin Spare a fellow magician. Many use paint imbued with magic. I'll have to analyze those when I get a chance.

Lets see… oh yes, the brain. I guess Jansen got in over his head and gated a giant brain here from some other plane of existence where these things roam around sucking mana from the atmosphere. It too requires some study, although I must be careful as this entity is quite powerful.

January 5th 1965

I am so furious. Why didn't we take those paintings before we left the house the first time. Stealing? From who? Why do we care about debt collectors? Also, I wish I was given a little more information on the forces we are up against. OSI comes in and just stops our investigation of the house. I wasn't done! Now I have these journals with info probably made worthless once OSI douches out the place. Beautiful and magical works of art just gone. Not even to mention the brain.

I wonder what they will do to it. I only barely buttered it up. The telepathic link I established allowed me to see such wonders. His world is unlike anything I have ever seen. I intended on later asking the brain permission to truly search it's... mind... its self... that's confusing. I doubt it would have let me, but to take possession of such a great creature would have been amazing. Now, that sliver of a hope is impossible. Although, I might try and connect to it when I'm not too busy, see what OSI has done, assuming our agent "friend" kept his word and didn't just destroy the brain.

Also, I'm going to have to have a conversation with the others about magic. I was shocked to see Lisa... the other mage of all people... strike the OSI agent immediately after I dazed him. Unbelievable!

Jonathan showed a little more of his skill with psionics today much to my annoyance. It seems he noticed I was holding back some information and chose to pry it out of me instead. I might just have to keep up a spell to hide my thoughts while around him. I'm sure it took a lot of guts to stand up to someone such as myself. He should be glad that I am trying to keep a nice show going here or I could have made life uncomfortable for him. And yet, I'm growing to like the guy; he doesn't seem to be afraid to make the hard choices. That I can respect.

And Keaton, such an oddity. From my knowledge of him he must be in his 60's or 70's but looks to be around 30. He has no idea how this is so either. I've heard of magic that does as much but such a spell would require great energy and skill. Perhaps I'll pry him for a bit more information next time we meet. Kieluu tells me I shouldn't care and that I always have "tentacles in every crack" (a zoog expression of being nosy that I find hilarious for other reasons).

Anyhow, I got the painting I admired so much on my first visit to the house. It's the one titled "Mystic Dreamscape". I'd never analyzed a magically created work of art before. I regret to say it is much harder than I expected. I have some skill in painting but certainly not as much as Spare. This coupled with my magic helped me see just how time consuming such an inquiry might be. I chose instead with a heavy heart to leave the paintings for Quinn so he could arrange for a specialist to study them. I think I'll be sore over losing those other works for some while, especially the large one.

January 18th 1965

I have not been writing recently as it has been pretty boring here. Most of the others have been of with Tropet training. I however spent most of my time reading these journals and correspondances. They were mostly dull mundane life. However, there were a few interesting tidbits. Perhaps I'll enter my notes in here later. The last two days I spent with Lisa. She was teaching me that breathing technique she learned from one of her previous mentors, Wei I believe. I'm surprised at how efficient it is in these low mana environments. Perhaps I have depended on magic too much. In the dream the world is far different. You don't get this exhausted from simple spells. At the very least you are able to regain your energy much quicker. It will come in handy i'm sure.

I'm curious to know if she noticed Kieluu practicing as well? I think he has a bit of a crush on her. Well, I guess it would be more appropriate to say he thinks she looks tasty. She has clearly been pushing herself hard trying to learn skills to help her study that book. It was fun watching her obsess for a while, but now that i'm done with my studies I'm antsy to see what knowledge The Book of Gates holds.

I thought about attempting to analyze the book magically from afar but i'm unsure if that would cause any trouble. Assuming it isn't prohibitively difficult which is also a possibility as I've never tried such a tactic. Hopefully, our meeting with Mag will go well tomorrow and I'll have something new to occupy my time.

January 19th 1965

Today we met Microft Jones III , the foundation's financial advisor. We were given a 10k credit line and invoices for larger purchases. I've always had to scrimp and save to buy anything special so this could be a real change of pace.

Magdalena of course had a reason for setting this up. She recently inherited a magic typewriter from the estate of Benton Tuttle. Although the enchantment was a minor spelling correction one, she found it important to investigate the items he willed to others. I was pleasantly surprised when Mag pulled me aside after the meeting and told me a little more information on the silver key. Apparently it was last rumored to be in the possession of a school teacher, Joel something like Mantain, Manson or similar. He was last seen in the old Arkham area in 1932, so I'll have to find a way to search him out.

Anyhow, Nathaniel Peterson, the lawyer who settled the estate led us to the auction, pawn shop and Goodwill he used frequently. He also gave us a few leads on other items he had more specific information on.

Since the Pawn shop was so close we chose to quickly check it out. Through a spell or two I found a bicycle and a pocket watch. I could tell immediately that the bike had some form of movement magic placed on it and the watch a protection spell of some sort. I just handed these in to Quinn when the day was done so who knows what is truly on them.

When we made it into the Goodwill I was overwhelmed by the sheer amount of garbage and chose to use a spell to point me in the direction of the nearest magic item rather than sift through it all with enhanced vision. Sure enough I found a flashlight. Further analysis showed it to be a darklight, this could come in handy to hide my troublesome glowing eyes.

I decided to check one last time for another magic item before leaving. This damned world with it's terrible mana levels caused me to fail spectacularly. A swarm of illusory gnats swarmed all over me. Kieluu of course found this to be the highlight of the day and wouldn't stop his snickering. I chose to purchase the light for myself rather than use the foundation's funds as it was a mere 5 dollars!

Later in the day I came upon my second find. This washed out, trashy detective (Max Finton) had been bequeathed a flask, lighter and cigarette case. He knew they were magical, providing an endless supply of their contents. He lost the case and lighter and with a simple spell I found them quickly enough. The room was so foul that Kieluu shrieked away in terror… so I pocketed the items as my fee for having to experience that horror.

It was a bit unnerving but the man was wearing a pair of glasses which I presume allow him to see invisible things as well as perhaps magical ones. I'm sure he saw Kieluu but luckily was too drunk or doped up to connect it to reality. He of course was unwilling to part with the glasses. But the flask he gave away for a steal, 200 dollars. I didn't have the money on me so he said I could pick it up tomorrow.

January 20th 1965

I guess Genda is auditioning for a role in some movie (Frankenstein or something) to get a chance to meet with William Tuttle, the cousin of Benton. William was given a mask which by all accounts is "special" at least. I guess Benton used to talk to the masks he owned, and never let his cleaning lady go near them.

This cleaning lady, Lorelai, I forgot to mention it but we met her yesterday. She was given a treasure, which she of course ran out and sold instantly. It was a rare statue, maybe only 7 or so in existence, of a raccoon raising its arms to the sky. If I remember correctly it has an enchantment on it to make jewelry held long enough by it to increase in value. 200,000 is a lot of money, but such a piece is surely worth much more.

Anyway, I realized I might be stranded and had to give Elaine some charm so she would drive me to pick up my flask. Of course when we got there Finton was passed out, clearly under the influence of something. He as expected raised the price to 300 and wouldn't budge. Knowing that this was a bargain, I couldn't help it and tossed him the cash. Had Elaine not been there I might have just made him forget he ever owned such a thing… maybe even taken those glasses. Ha that would have been cruel… oh well, I know where he lives.

Elaine may have chanced upon a great item, a golden gun once owned by William Randolph Hearst. I couldn't help but giggle when the seller offered it to her at cost (600 dollars) and Elaine countered with 1000… without seeing it first! I secretly hoped the gun wasn't even magical as that would be comical. However, I sensed some form of destructive, possibly necromantic magic on it and although curious… It's not my gun. Worse… it's Elaine's, so Quinn can analyze it. I thought about not telling her it might be dangerous but then thought about my safety.

Late afternoon we headed to Carrington House where a large number of items were sent to auction. We had great luck meeting with Lloyd Carlson (one of the auctioneers) who told us a great deal of information on prices and who bought which items. I also put myself on the auction's mailing list. Hopefully in the future we'll find out about these items before they get sold off.

January 22nd 1965

Xavier Hellstrom enters the fray again. I'm unsure if he has any knowledge of our activities but I feel we must plan as though he does. When we inquired about the Red Book at Bixby books, the owner informed us that it was stolen the very night after the auction. Since the guy didn't give me time alone with the safe, later that night Lisa and I teleported into the shop. We found the burglar to be a gaunt man, bald headed, eyebrows gone too, with wire-framed glasses ( I magically created images of the night the book was stolen). Mag later confirmed this to be Hellstrom, but refused to believe he could still be alive. I find her assertion to be naive, a mage as powerful as X would have a failsafe should something go wrong.

My knowledge of The Red Books is enough to know that these are very dangerous texts. Each one is said to allow the summoning of a particular demon, and each one grants the reader a… quirk. I know of the book of Madness, suicide, and murder… and I think that's all the known ones. I'm curious which one X has. I wonder if a murderous person like X would be affected by a magical compulsion to murder. Would it do away with calculation, make him kill anyone he sees?

Whatever it is I'm sure X has a plan, and I have no idea how best to figure it out. I fear that attempting to scry any information on X will alert him to us. Especially if he does not know we are here. However, lacking that knowledge will surely get us killed.

We went to the book shop yesterday, these past two days blur together a bit as I cast a spell to allow us to stay awake through the night will no ill effects. In the same safe X stole into was an envelope which glowed in a way similar to The Book of Gates or as Lisa has now taken to calling it "Kitab al-Babi". I could have told her that ages ago. If she wants to believe she is some chosen one, lets let her have her delusions. Coincidentally, the envelope contained four pages from the book, actually a large page cut into quarters. Lisa quickly pocketed it once the shopkeeper handed them over.

We then traveled to Anaximander's Maps which is run by a man who calls himself such. The shop has clearly been wiped of mana through the use of magic or some other intentional means. We knew going in that two of the maps were magical and of course those had sold. Anaximander turned out to be very rude and entirely unhelpful, refusing to reveal the identity of his customers.

We returned to try the same spell used in Bixby Books. I can't help but respect him, he had enchanted his storefront to create an illusion of himself staring in, obscuring the real customers the spell exposed. He noticed what we were doing and came out to have a laugh at us, telling us to come see him when we figure it out.

Even though the night was barely through Elaine insisted that we leave as she deemed this unimportant to our investigations, the maps not being harmful. One of the maps was of The Dreamlands, I can't let that go. I'd rather meet with 'Ax on my own anyhow... Figure what out? That it was an illusion set through some linking spell?

When I later asked Mag about 'Ax she declined to comment. When I pressed the matter she simply said that she does not believe him to be "that" Anaximander. I don't like secrets that are not my own. I did a little research on the store and couldn't find much. One interesting fact however, the store is built in the same site Magic Moe's once occupied. The social club was burned down in the mid 20's at the onset of the Fire Magic Wars resulting in multiple deaths including the proprietor. I have no idea what this could mean, but it stands out.

I write this now as I wait a few hours until perhaps 2am. This is the second night I won't sleep. I properly identified the bike I found earlier in the week and plan on using it to head over to 'Ax's to see if he has a time he leaves the store... or sleeps. I might even attempt to have Kieluu use the darklight to hide me as I cast some longer spells. Getting a good analysis will help me to break whatever it is 'Ax has placed on his doorstep. Perhaps like me he would appreciate someone with guts standing up to him. He is a curiosity that I must understand.