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Description
From the casebook of Charles Wyndham Ashby, Investigator of the Strange

September 29, 1920

Location: Northamptonshire

Subject: Missing Person - Claud Keech

"My investigation into the disappearance of Claud Keech has reached a most unsatisfactory conclusion.

He was, it appears, one of those individuals who, driven by a reckless thirst for knowledge or power or both, succumb to the dark allure of Ptoliboros. With misguided confidence, they attempt to summon entities from that nightmarish dungeon-city, believing they can control these godlike beings, harness their powers and gain gnosis.

Little do they realize the grave dangers that lie ahead. Ptoliboros, with its endless staircases and abysses, so reminiscent of Piranesi's Imaginary Prisons, is a city far beyond human comprehension. The entities that dwell there are not to be trifled with; they are old, older than the stars, and their motivations are unknowable.

The dilettantes draw sigils and recite incantations, believing they can bind the entities to their will, but the very act of contacting Ptoliboros is an invitation to chaos and madness. The wards they place around the entity are frail and easily breached. The extradimensional horror breaks free of its bindings and turns on the one who summoned it.

These dabblers find themselves facing a being of unimaginable power and malevolence. Their feeble attempts at control are shattered and they become the prey of the very being they sought to command.

This, I believe, was fate of poor Claud Keech. I found all the usual paraphernalia - the occult books, the inscribed sigils, the remnants of burnt offerings. And I found the spoor of an Umbral Crawler, one of the protean horrors that dwell in the liminal places on the edge of the city. Of Keech, all I found were a few tattered shreds of clothing, scattered as though torn from his body in a desperate struggle.

The implications of this discovery weigh heavily upon me. I fear that Claud Keech has become another victim of Ptoliboros and its alien inhabitants. My discovery will bring neither comfort nor closure to his loved ones.

The field where the summoning took place has been absorbed into the hinterlands of Ptoliboros. I have informed the Ministry and trust that they will take appropriate measures to contain the threat."

Created using Midjourney and Leonardo

Description
From the casebook of Charles Wyndham Ashby, Investigator of the Strange

September 29, 1920

Location: Northamptonshire

Subject: Missing Person - Claud Keech

"My investigation into the disappearance of Claud Keech has reached a most unsatisfactory conclusion.

He was, it appears, one of those individuals who, driven by a reckless thirst for knowledge or power or both, succumb to the dark allure of Ptoliboros. With misguided confidence, they attempt to summon entities from that nightmarish dungeon-city, believing they can control these godlike beings, harness their powers and gain gnosis.

Little do they realize the grave dangers that lie ahead. Ptoliboros, with its endless staircases and abysses, so reminiscent of Piranesi's Imaginary Prisons, is a city far beyond human comprehension. The entities that dwell there are not to be trifled with; they are old, older than the stars, and their motivations are unknowable.

The dilettantes draw sigils and recite incantations, believing they can bind the entities to their will, but the very act of contacting Ptoliboros is an invitation to chaos and madness. The wards they place around the entity are frail and easily breached. The extradimensional horror breaks free of its bindings and turns on the one who summoned it.

These dabblers find themselves facing a being of unimaginable power and malevolence. Their feeble attempts at control are shattered and they become the prey of the very being they sought to command.

This, I believe, was fate of poor Claud Keech. I found all the usual paraphernalia - the occult books, the inscribed sigils, the remnants of burnt offerings. And I found the spoor of an Umbral Crawler, one of the protean horrors that dwell in the liminal places on the edge of the city. Of Keech, all I found were a few tattered shreds of clothing, scattered as though torn from his body in a desperate struggle.

The implications of this discovery weigh heavily upon me. I fear that Claud Keech has become another victim of Ptoliboros and its alien inhabitants. My discovery will bring neither comfort nor closure to his loved ones.

The field where the summoning took place has been absorbed into the hinterlands of Ptoliboros. I have informed the Ministry and trust that they will take appropriate measures to contain the threat."

Created using Midjourney and Leonardo