The Eclipse Ball

Overview

Location: The Eclipse Ball.

Key Themes: The Carlyle Estate Auction, Mukunga's deadly plans, and the apocalyptic chaos during the solar eclipse.

Focus Areas:

• Unravelling the cult's motives
• Jacob's descent into the unknown
• A battle against Mukunga amidst a surreal green-tinted dreamscape

Key Events and Developments

Prelude to Chaos

Carlyle Estate Auction: Hosted at the Roosevelt Hotel's 56th floor penthouse, the event is an extravagant affair with jazz, champagne fountains, and influential guests. Abigail and Imelda secure invitations, Jupiter sneaks in as a "Brooklyn Orphan," and Mickey manoeuvres the party to gather intel.

Auction Highlights:

• Art and books of arcane significance:
  • The Crawling Chaos (art): Signed by Marcus, depicting a haunting figure.
  • Life as a God (book): Diary by Montgomery Compton with an upside-down ankh on the cover.
  • The King in Yellow (book): A play about a city of gold and amber.
  • An amulet owned by Roger Carlyle: Features imagery similar to the cover of The King in Yellow.

Abigail acquires the Amulet after the auction, though its effects prove unsettling.

Guest Interactions:

• John Scott: A collector with a silver ring bearing a symbol of the Black Goat of the Woods. He offers Jupiter a book from the auction in exchange for examining his ring. Replaces the ring's gem with a greenish-blue stone and mentions the name Damaka of the Carvetii.
• Erica Carlyle: Resplendent in a white dress, she commands attention but hints at underlying distress, mentioning recent seizures potentially tied to arcane influences.

Solar Eclipse and Reality Distortion

The Eclipse Begins: During the total eclipse, the building opposite the Roosevelt explodes in slow motion, with pieces floating as reality warps. Light cycles through green, red, blue, and yellow, each altering the dreamscape:

• Green: A surreal tint over the world.
• Red: Sand fills the air; giant whales spout sand in the sky.
• Blue: Underwater scene, Abigail dons the Amulet, and water forces her to dance to an ethereal tune.
• Yellow: A City of Gold and Amber appears, recognized by Imelda.

As the lights transition between colours, an unsettling force is pulling the inhabitants of the party and New York City towards the edge of the building - convincing them to walk to their deaths.

The Fight with Mukunga

Mukunga M'darie Appears: Mukunga arrives with five African American cultists during the green-tinted phase. Dressed in a metal headdress, Mukunga demonstrates immense power: exploding the balcony, destroying the private area, and ashing bullets mid-flight, turning them to dust.

Battle Ensues: Tentacles descend from the sky as cultists step off ledges, falling to their deaths. Jupiter rushes toward the Woolworth Building, where a black cube is being raised into the air. Mukunga is ultimately killed and looted, though the destruction he caused lingers.

Jacob's Transformation

Woolworth Building and the Black Cube: Jupiter encounters a green-glowing black cube, surrounded by individuals with symbols engraved on their foreheads: Skin Book symbol, upside-down ankh, bat-like symbol, and a Chinese character.

Jacob's Role: Jacob appears, now glowing with green eyes, as he interacts with the orb. Forced to release the orb, it begins to crackle. Jacob leaps into the orb and disappears entirely, leaving his fate unknown.

Aftermath and Grim Discoveries

Streets of New York: Littered with dead bodies after the chaos. Symbols carved into the floor include the Skin Book symbol, upside-down ankh, Chinese character, and bat-like symbol.

Eerie Clues: Some individuals reveal they haven't seen the sky in years, trapped in stone rooms. One describes a horrific man with a feathered cloak and bowels everywhere. Cryptic instructions suggest: "Go there and find it - JuJu House."

Elsewhere: The bodies of Douglas Fells, Millie Adams, and Ellen Anderson are discovered to be tied to stakes.

Unfolding Mysteries

Jacob and the Green Sphere: What has Jacob become, and where did the sphere take him?

Mukunga's Death: How will Mukunga's absence affect the cult and their plans?

Eclipse Ball Aftermath: What further arcane activities will follow the eclipse, and how will the Carlyle Foundation respond to the destruction?

JuJu House: What secrets remain hidden there, and how does it tie into the larger cult activity?