Dice In The Darkness: Cthulhu Calls

Chapter 324: The Shoggoth in Disguise as Villagers?!

In Liu Xing’s perspective, Sirius entered the era of the Soul Casket during the initial suppression of the Shoggoths. Therefore, in the Fisher’s Village of that time, there should have been some Shoggoths stationed there as well.

Shoggoths, due to their highly active cells, possessed the attribute of immortality, allowing them to live until the present day.

As for the appearance of Shoggoths, they were considered among the most terrifying mythical creatures. In the famous magic book of the Cthulhu Mythos, the "Necronomicon," authored by Abdul Alhazred, Shoggoths were mentioned. Just the thought of Shoggoths once existing on Earth evoked an overwhelming sense of fear.

So, when Panda Pig saw the Shoggoth, it nearly cost him 20 sanity points in one go.

Moreover, this raised the possibility that the hidden boss of Fisher’s Village module could very well be an elite-level Shoggoth.

This realization made Liu Xing increasingly anxious because if they had to face an elite-level Shoggoth in battle, the players would likely be completely defenseless.

Furthermore, Liu Xing believed that in Fisher’s Village, there were at least two or more ordinary Shoggoths...

Wait!

Suddenly, Liu Xing remembered something. It was from his readings of H.P. Lovecraft’s original story, "The Mountains of Madness," where Shoggoths first appeared. There was a detail that stood out—human members of the Antarctic Expedition Team had discovered a mural in an Ancient One’s city. This mural depicted Shoggoths mimicking human forms to gain favor with the Ancient Ones. This implied that Shoggoths had the ability to disguise themselves as humans!

This meant that the villagers of Fisher’s Village might be Shoggoths in disguise!

The more Liu Xing thought about it, the higher the likelihood of this speculation seemed. The behavior of the Fisher’s Village villagers was extremely odd, resembling marionettes on strings. However, if one considered them as Shoggoths in disguise, everything became clear. These Shoggoths, mimicking humans, were not skilled actors.

Now, based on this speculation, Liu Xing could piece together the backstory of this module.

Firstly, many years ago in Fisher’s Village, Ancient One Sirius and his people were under attack from the Star Kin and Deep Ones. Due to the lack of time to escape through the Bronze Gate leading to the Dreamrealm, Sirius had no choice but to die in battle. After his death, Sirius was forced to place his soul inside the Soul Casket, awaiting a companion to retrieve it and provide him with a new body.

As for the Shoggoths, who served as servants and laborers for the Ancient Ones, they were closely monitored by Sirius and other Ancient Ones because of the previous Shoggoth rebellion. It’s possible that they were kept locked in some underground private room. The reason Sirius and other Ancient Ones did not command the Shoggoths to join the battle was their fear of a Shoggoth uprising.

Thus, the Shoggoths imprisoned in the private room were fortunate to escape, as the Star Kin and Deep Ones only dealt with the Ancient Ones and did not conduct thorough searches.

Then, as time passed, Fisher’s Village underwent significant changes. A mysterious Ancient Tribe appeared in the area, although the specifics of their race remain uncertain. This Ancient Tribe discovered the Bronze Gate leading to the Dreamrealm and established contact with the Moon Beasts, who were conveniently behind the Bronze Gate in the Dreamrealm. They began a partnership.

Utilizing the advanced weapons provided by the Moon Beasts, the Ancient Tribe started attacking neighboring tribes and selling their captives as slaves to the Moon Beasts. In return, the Moon Beasts supplied even more advanced weaponry to the Ancient Tribe.

Through a stroke of luck or fate, the Ancient Tribe stumbled upon the remnants left behind by the Ancient Ones. They selected one of the structures as their holy site and began conducting ritual ceremonies there.

Next, it’s possible that the expansion of this Ancient Tribe drew the attention of the Star Kin or that their rituals triggered some Ancient One’s device or mechanism, attracting the Star Kin. Ultimately, despite having advanced weapons from the Moon Beasts, the Ancient Tribe was no match for the Star Kin when it came to facing them in battle.

The Star Kin destroyed the Ancient Tribe, and during their attack, they possibly accidentally broke open the private room where the Shoggoths were kept, finally granting them their freedom.

However, it’s also possible that due to the Star Kin’s assault, the territory of Fisher’s Village had become an isolated island. The Shoggoths, having escaped the control of the Ancient Ones, were naturally unwilling to return to the depths of the sea and be enslaved once more. For them, freedom was more precious than anything else.

As a result, these Shoggoths lived freely on this isolated island. However, despite their strong evolutionary abilities, Shoggoths still required a mimic to effectively evolve. So, these Shoggoths spent countless years without evolving any new abilities.

During this time, humans from Fisher’s Village arrived, deciding to establish their own secluded paradise on this overseas island.

When these Shoggoths saw the villagers of Fisher’s Village, they may have initially considered them their own kind, as these Shoggoths could easily mimic human appearances.

Therefore, in the beginning, these Shoggoths may have coexisted peacefully with the villagers of Fisher’s Village, or perhaps they observed them in secret, using the villagers as a reference point to initiate a new round of evolution.

As a result, these Shoggoths had gained the ability to mimic humans completely.

However, by this time, these Shoggoths might have realized that the villagers of Fisher’s Village were not their kin but a completely new species they had never encountered before. And as the saying goes, "Different species, different hearts."

Consequently, these Shoggoths launched an attack on the villagers of Fisher’s Village, killing some and devouring them.

In the Cthulhu Mythos world, humans were considered a "delicacy" because many mythical creatures enjoyed feasting on them. Perhaps the taste of humans suited the palate of these mythical creatures perfectly.

So, Shoggoths were no exception.

Having tasted humans, Shoggoths naturally knew how delicious humans were. However, Fisher’s Village was isolated overseas, and the Shoggoths had also learned about the basics of human society through their observations.

In the Cthulhu Mythos, though mythical creatures might appear as monstrous beings, they were not like the mindless monsters often seen in human movies. On the contrary, most mythical creatures in the Cthulhu Mythos possessed intelligence surpassing that of humans.

As a result, Shoggoths knew that they couldn’t simply break out of Fisher’s Village and openly hunt humans, as that would surely draw the attention of the Island Nation authorities and potentially the entire world. This would lead to their ultimate destruction.

Therefore, these Shoggoths devised a plan to attract humans from the outside world into Fisher’s Village through various means. In the Shoggoths’ view, the best method was a honeytrap.

After all, as Confucius said, "Food and sex are among the most basic human desires."

So, Matsui Yui began to leave Fisher’s Village, seeking suitable targets, forming relationships with them, and ultimately claiming to return to her hometown for marriage. She would then bring these unsuspecting individuals to Fisher’s Village. Meanwhile, the Shoggoths left in Fisher’s Village would feast on them. Over time, these Shoggoths also learned to act, deceiving the humans who arrived at Fisher’s Village, or rather, their prey.

Liu Xing closed his eyes in thought. Although his theory was daring, the probability of it being true had exceeded eighty percent. He just needed to confirm a few more details to validate his theory.

The first detail was whether there were still any actual humans among the villagers in Fisher’s Village.

At present, Liu Xing believed there were likely genuine humans in Fisher’s Village, but he could only confirm the presence of Matsui Ichiro and Matsui Yui, or perhaps just Matsui Yui, and the elderly member of the Inoue family.

In summary, Liu Xing believed that the Shoggoths initiated their attack on Fisher’s Village after Li Yongjie left the village. If Matsui Ichiro’s words were true, then those two letters were likely fabricated by the Inoue family years ago to frame Matsui Ichiro in their bid to seize the position of Village Chief. This would allow the Inoue family to paint Matsui Ichiro as a secret cult missionary plotting against the village, making the Inoue family heroes for defending against the evil.

However, if Matsui Ichiro’s claims were false, then he would be a fraudster, and for the Shoggoths, he would be far more valuable than the villagers of Fisher’s Village.

In the end, the Shoggoths decided to keep some of the humans who were useful to them. The most critical roles were played by Matsui Yui, the "bait" responsible for luring outsiders into Fisher’s Village, and Matsui Ichiro, the "fishing rod" responsible for determining whether these outsiders were safe to consume.

As for the other villagers in Fisher’s Village, the Shoggoths had brainwashed them into becoming "extras" because there likely weren’t many Shoggoths in Fisher’s Village, making it impossible to fully mimic a complete village.

The elderly member of the Inoue family might have regained some sanity for certain reasons. However, Liu Xing believed that this elderly Inoue family member’s role in this module was merely a distraction.

The second detail was why the Shoggoths drew those Composite Magic Arrays in the villa.

As mythical creatures, Shoggoths could learn many magic spells, so their ability to draw these Composite Magic Arrays was reasonable. As for the magic array associated with the Great Old One, Liu Xing believed it was probably intended for offering to the Ancient One.

As for why the Shoggoths drew these Composite Magic Arrays, Liu Xing currently thought the best explanation was that the Shoggoths wanted to ensure that the offered prey was safe to consume. After brainwashing these victims, the Shoggoths would then mimic their appearances and use various means to convey information to the outside world that these prey were prepared to commit suicide. This way, they could avoid investigation by the Island Nation authorities.

Thinking about it, Liu Xing couldn’t help but sigh. He hadn’t expected this module to have so many hidden elements and a series of distractions. In just a few days, he had changed his thoughts so many times, and each time he felt like his ideas were almost certainly correct.

Liu Xing felt a headache coming on.

"Although I took the medicine Ling Ishikawa gave me earlier, just thinking about those Monsters makes my heart race, my blood pressure rise, and an indescribable sense of fear lingers in my mind, leaving me still trembling," Panda Pig said with a shudder.

While the origins of the Star Kin and Moon Beasts were known to some, the Shoggoths in this case were unknown to anyone. After all, in the modern context, Shoggoths appeared relatively rarely because most Shoggoths remained hidden in the cities built by the Ancient Ones. The few stray Shoggoths had mostly become subordinates or symbiotic creatures of other mythical beings, or servants to powerful wizards.

So, none of the player’s character cards in attendance knew about the existence of Shoggoths, which was understandable.

However, as a professional, Zhang Jingxu felt the need to express his opinion, "Well, if we could communicate with the outside world right now, I could contact my master. I believe my master might have knowledge about the mythical creature you described, Panda Pig. This way, we could understand our enemy better and prepare to deal with these mythical creatures."

Ling Ishikawa couldn’t help but chime in, "If we could truly communicate with the outside world, our top priority should be sending a distress signal to get us out of Fisher’s Village, this place of danger..."

The atmosphere grew somewhat awkward.

At this moment, Liu Xing knew it was time to speak up. "Uh, I think I might have a way to learn more about this mythical creature. Sirius should be aware of the existence of this mythical creature since this was once his territory, after all."

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