Galápagos Islands: The Starry Island

20) The Starry Island
Thal’n’lai, June 29-30, 1845

A) The Island: Overview
The island has no dock, but it’s easy enough to beach the whaleboat on the copper star. Each star-point ends in a metal platform supporting an obelisk carved from the same greenish “soapstone” as the walls and ceiling. The island itself is made from natural basalt polished to a deep gray sheen. It rises 90 yards above the metallic star, and each of its seven sides is 200 yards wide, which yields an approximate width of 444 yards. Each side features a staircase beginning at the lower left corner and ending at the upper right corner. Carved into the basalt, these staircases give the heptagon a strangely rifled appearance, like the tip of some Brobdingnagian screw emerging from the lake.

Making Sense of the Foundation
The metal star appears to be burnished copper, perhaps alloyed with zinc or nickel to give it a slightly brassy finish. However, a Science (Chemistry) or Science (Geology) roll recognizes that copper would have oxidized long ago, and could never retain such a polish. There’s no pitting, no tarnishing, no trace of verdigris! A Mechanical Repair roll made while examining the edge of the star discovers a grid of tiny holes below the waterline—perhaps a filtration system? A Spot Hidden roll fails to locate the source of light reflecting from the coppery star; another apparent violation of physics.

B) The Obelisks
Each heptagonal obelisk is a 12-foot wide pillar of greenish “soapstone,” towering 90 yards above the foundation and terminating in a pyramid of gleaming obsidian. The base of each obelisk is wrapped by a mosaic made from glass, faience, pearl, and precious stone, miraculously undamaged after 50 million years. The mosaics depict hallucinatory scenes drawn from some secret history: a submerged city of hideous geometry, a singular continent adrift on a singular ocean, an interstellar war between octopoid beings and a race more vegetable than animal. Some portray chimeric creatures so terrible they must be ancient demons: a behemothic monstrosity of tentacles, snouts, and mouths; a marine god with the head of a Tyrannosaur, a mane of starfish arms, and the body of a shark; and a terrible dragon with three heads, four arms, and a fishlike tail of golden scales. Each mosaic becomes increasingly more abstract the higher it climbs up the obelisk. Eventually the scenes disintegrate into flaming tendrils of sunfire quartz and smoky pearl, double-helices winding up each obelisk to be sucked into the annihilating void of an obsidian pyramid.

Making Sense of the Mosaics
Primarily inspired by the Mythos, these mosaics are more difficult to interpret and understand than the prehistoric zoologies encountered thus far. If the Keeper is feeling generous, Cthulhu Mythos rolls may recognize certain elements; but this depends on the individual player characters, their current understanding of the Mythos, and whether or not they’ve studied relevant Mythos texts. When in doubt, keep things mysterious! Nevertheless, the Keeper should understand these panels, and may even procure visual aids from the generous world of Lovecraft fandom.

Of course, the “submerged city of hideous geometry” is R’lyeh, where dead Cthulhu waits dreaming. The “singular continent adrift on a singular ocean” is Pangea and Tethys. Although the concept of Pangea wasn’t introduced until the twentieth century, a character making a Science (Geology) or a Hard Intelligence roll understands the basic idea. (One might say they “catch the drift!”) The “interstellar war” depicts the conflict between the Star-Spawn of Cthulhu and the Elder Things. While the octopoid creatures are clearly related to the Mysterious Talisman, Schröpfer’s magic lantern slide, and the octopus god from the Gate, an Idea roll connects the “race more vegetable than animal” with the bizarre “scarecrow” guarding the caldera rim.

Now for the ancient “demons.” All three are Y’thogthim, archons of Cthulhu spawned to manifest his will. The “behemothic monstrosity” is Ghatanothoa, who first appeared in “Out of the Aeons,” the Hazel Head story ghostwritten by H.P. Lovecraft. The Tyrannosaur-meets-starfish is Zoth-Ommog, from Lin Carter’s Xothic Cycle. And the “terrible dragon” is K’th-oan-esh-el himself. These beings should remain nameless and mysterious to the characters—not even Pynchon recognizes the original form of Dagon! Having said this, the Keeper is free to call for some red-herring rolls. Perhaps an Occult roll conflates K’th-oan-esh-el with Tiamat, or an Idea roll misidentifies the builders of Thal’n’lai as Star-Spawn or Elder Things? In any event, viewing each Y’thogthim triggers a 0/1 Sanity roll, with lost Sanity points converted to points gained in Cthulhu Mythos.

C) The Island Mural
An 8-foot tall mural wraps completely around the base of the heptagonal island, carved directly into the basalt and topped by a 15-inch band of copper alloy. Quite different from the other bas-reliefs, this mural is entirely abstract, a sequence of alien ideograms accompanied by intricate whorls and nested spirals. Although the glyphs are probably a language of some kind, the diagrams resemble the mathematical functions Lowell scribbled across his cavern walls. Indeed, the mural seems like some kind of scientific history; or perhaps a complicated set of instructions? Or a warning?

Making Sense of the Mural
Characters may attempt to interpret the K’th-thyalei glyphs using various Language rolls. A Regular success in Chinese or Egyptian Hieroglyphics suggests the symbols are ideograms; a Hard success picks out certain patterns, noting possible cognates—“Wait, is that ba, or heart?” A success in Greek, Hebrew, or Arabic detects vague correspondences to these alphabets as well. Nevertheless, even with a series of critical successes the language remains unintelligible. (Characters familiar with R’lyeh Text or the Books of Dzyan may recognize the glyphs as a precursor to the Old Tongue, but only Pynchon is in the position to acknowledge this, and he’s not going to volunteer that information!) If anyone emerges from the communicant’s tank with knowledge of Language (Elder Thing), a success confirms the ideograms are not native to the creature in the tank.

D) The Stairs
All seven staircases lead to the top of the island. Carved to fit the proportions of the K’th-thyalei, the steps are separated by an uncomfortable distance—anyone under 6 feet tall must scramble up using his hands. Even fit climbers are quickly exhausted, as the stairs rise at a 50° angle and cover 312 yards of distance! (To put things into perspective, this is the equivalent of climbing up a 19-story building using a punishingly steep stairwell.)

E) The Caliban Defenders
If the characters are in pursuit of Ingo Quiring, they’ll find the whaleboat Ferdinand beached on the copper star. Nigel Vox and Silvio Marroquín are hiding behind the boat. (Presuming that Vox survived the standoff at the cave entrance. Otherwise the position is defended by Marroquín alone.) Vox is armed with his trusty Brown Bess, while Marroquín has Captain Butterfield’s Whittier.

Combat
Once the Miranda is 30 yards from shore, Marroquín shouts a warning from behind the Ferdinand—“We have the island defended. Turn back or die, infieles!”

Closing the Distance
The Miranda moves at the rate of 2 yards/round for each active paddle, and there’s a total of five paddles in the boat. So if all five paddles are in play, the boat may close the distance at 10 yards/round. It takes one round for a character to leave the boat and step on shore. A character who’s actively paddling cannot shoot or take cover.

The Caliban Advantage
The Whittier revolving rifle gives the Calibans the element of surprise. An extremely novel weapon in 1845, it can fire six .59 caliber balls before reloading! For contemporary characters accustomed to one-shot muzzle-loaders, this innovation will come as a nasty surprise. Silvio Marroquín is a trained soldier who understands this advantage. He plans to fire an opening shot, then duck behind the whaleboat and pretend to load his rifle. Hoping to lure the attackers into paddling forward while he “reloads,” he’ll pop back out and fire at the unsuspecting paddlers.

Round 1: Opening Salvos
The Calibans challenge the Miranda. If the player characters keep paddling, Marroquín and Vox open fire. Thirty yards is well within the base range of the Whittier, so Marroquín hits his target on a Regular success. Because the base range of the Brown Bess is only 20 yards, Vox requires a Hard success until the boat draws closer. If any player character has previously stated they are armed and watchful, they may exchange fire during this opening salvo. (This prevents them from paddling, of course.) However, the Ferdinand offers the Calibans excellent cover, imposing a –1D10 penalty die to their opponents’ Firearms rolls. After firing, both Vox and Marroquín duck behind the boat, Vox to reload and Marroquín to lure the attackers into a reckless abandonment of cover. Vox has three more rounds of ammo to spend, and Marroquín has five rounds remaining in the Whittier’s cylinder.

What if the Miranda approaches from a different angle?
If the player characters decided to approach the island indirectly, the defenders won’t have the whaleboat for cover. Instead, they’ll position themselves behind a wooden trunk carried from the boat for this exact purpose.

Round 2: Rowing and Reloading
If the player characters believe the defenders are reloading, they may decide to charge full speed ahead and cover the distance as quickly as possible. If they wish to fire at the concealed Calibans, it requires an Extreme success to penetrate the Ferdinand and find flesh. (Don’t forget the –1D10 cover penalty.) Aiming or reloading a weapon prohibits a character from paddling. A character may also take cover at the bottom of the whaleboat. This imposes a –1D10 penalty die on the Calibans’ Firearms roll, but prevents that character from paddling.

Round 3: Surprise!
On the third round of combat, Marroquín pops from cover and fires his Whittier! Meanwhile Vox continues to reload.

Round 4: Decisions
Combat proceeds as normal. Vox continues to reload and Marroquín continues to shoot. A Listen roll hears Marroquín addressing a third person, but it requires a Language (Spanish) roll to understand this “person” is a ghost—“Darling, not now, I have to protect Father Prospero! Yes, you know I love that dress, but not now, please baby…” Meanwhile, player characters must decide whether to shoot, reload, paddle, retreat, take cover, jump from the boat, etc.

Round 5: Vox Shoots
Vox can shoot again on the fifth round of combat. From this point on, he continues with his ¼ rate of fire. If things are going poorly, Vox begins addressing the attackers, his nerves triggering his stutter, “W-w-we can negotiate, surely? I’m a s-s-s-surgeon, I can help…” Marroquín addresses his companion’s weakness with terse Spanish, “¡Cállate y sigue disparando! mierda maricón…” (“Shut up and keep shooting! Fucking sissy.”)

Rounds 6-8: Vox Reloads
Marroquín continues to shoot while Vox reloads.

Round 9: Vox Shoots, Marroquín Takes Cover
Vox is ready to shoot again on Round 9, but Marroquín’s cylinder is spent. He readies his machete and waits for mêlée to begin.

Rounds 10-12: Vox Reloads
Vox hides behind the whaleboat and loads his final round.

Round 13: Vox Shoots
Vox shoots his last musket ball on Round 13. If pressed into close-quarter combat, Vox uses the musket’s rusty bayonet.

Alternate Strategies
The player characters may decide that paddling recklessly into Marroquín’s miracle-weapon is not a great idea, and may opt for alternate strategies. Reversing course is easy in a whaleboat, and once they get 50 yards away from the island, they exceed the Base Range of the rifle. (Marroquín would rather conserve his ammo than take potshots at Hard difficulty.) It’s possible to paddle around the island and attack it from the other side—Vox and Marroquín can shift their position, but they’ll no longer have the whaleboat for cover. Alternately, a character can leap from the boat and swim underwater. Swimming underwater imposes a –1D10 penalty die on the Calibans’ shots, and adds 1 HP of armor. (See “New Systems and Mechanics” for rules on swimming underwater.)

Of course, clever players may devise other strategies. The Keeper should remain flexible, assigning appropriate modifiers and rewarding good ideas and punishing bad ones. If worse comes to worse, they can always exhaust the Calibans’ ammo supply. Once the Calibans run out of ammo, they prepare for hand-to-hand combat. Marroquín will fight to the death—“¡Ya voy, María!”—but Vox surrenders if he’s clearly outmatched.

Aftermath
Once the Calibans have been settled, the characters are free to explore the island—Quiring may occupy the heights, but he’s not going to waste his only shot from 100 yards away. Certainly someone will be interested in the Whittier revolving rifle; but unless there’s any rounds left in the cylinder or the players brought the supply case, it’s just an expensive souvenir until they return to Lowell’s cave. Even so, the revolving mechanism is fascinating—is this the future?

Castro’s Reaction
If Castro is with the party, he has no wish to leave the whaleboat. He points anxiously to the summit of the island and moans, “¡La esposa del maestro—Ariel—el duende malo!” (“The master’s wife! Ariel! The bad imp!”) It requires an Intimidate or Persuade roll opposed to Castro’s Power score to convince him to carry on. If the roll fails and he’s forcibly dragged, a “Relive Psychic Pressure roll” with a –1D10 penalty die is required to stave off el monstruo.

Prisoner Scenario: The Starry Island

If Lowell has been cooperative, Quiring asks him about the “fantastic mosaics” and the “incomprehensible glyphs.” Seeing the Mythos-related scenes may trigger a useful Cthulhu Mythos roll for Lowell, but the K’th-thyalei glyphs remain a mystery. Quiring has studied the mural extensively, but aside from a few possible correspondences to ancient Greek, he remains as baffled as anyone else. If Lowell is unwilling, or another candidate has been brought to the island, Quiring takes them directly to the closest staircase and removes the Masque of Milan. He then orders, “Climb. The Cloven Pine awaits.” Any hesitation results in a painful prodding from Marroquín’s fancy rifle.

White Leviathan, Chapter 4—Galápagos Islands
[Back to Encounter 19, Thal’n’lai | White Leviathan TOC | Forward to Encounter 21, The Cloven Pine]

Author: A. Buell Ruch
Last Modified: 27 December 2023
Email: quail (at) shipwrecklibrary (dot) com
White Leviathan PDF: [TBD]