September 28th, 1892

It has been a while since my last journal entry, since many letters have been sent, and long since receipt of any from anyone of significance, so I am worrying myself to death. There have been, since my last rantings to myself, some bits of light among the darkness: I have learned far more about myself and my newfound abilities, how to use these gifts of speed and claws, how to change myself quickly and safely. I have determined a course of action to learn my physical prowess, my medical abilities have been expanded, and I have become more aware of my physical surroundings -- so much more than I had been, it is a wonder how many mice are up in the barn loft! Not so many, now, are there? I have devoted a small bit of my attention to keeping up on my "rope tricks" so that not only am I proficient in tying people UP, I may get out of most knots easily. These are all asides, however, because of my devotion to Cynthia and her situation. It spirals out of control, and certainly out of mine. There is far more to her situation than I ever imagined! There are complications.

Complication... Meaning-- and I must forgive myself for leaping forward and not keeping up with who is whom in this passion play, but...

This Mister Blade fellow, of course. What I know about him is more disturbing by far than that which I know about Antonio.

Antonio is now a second fiddle to this part, I must first say. My observations were correct in as much as I wish this wedding to dissolve and QUICKLY but at this point the word "pawn" means so much and so little. It is possible that the letter I recieved from Antonio very recently (beginning with the words "my dear mongrel" of course) was his own sentiment, but I just wonder. How many Italians are in this family of dangerous acquaintances of Mr Essex?

If Obediah went to Italy, which I know he did, then he has seen something of the glory that is the Roman Empire, in its modern way. What I now know about some of the people attending the wedding (that I can write to myself at a time like this, that I even have time to is amazing) frightens and angers me.

Mister Blade, nee Giovanni, graduated from Miskatonic University not so very long ago, and at the top of his law class. No one liked him very well, he was not friendly, he was arrogant and cold, aggressive and unkind. This profile I have filled in from the commentary from other students and instructors of his. He is now residing in Arkham as their new assistant District Attorney! He very recently ascended to this possition after the former DA had fallen ill over the last few months, to retire, leaving the then-assistant to fill his shoes. Blade comes in, within two months even the newspapers and passers-by are saying what a fine fellow he is, how nice he is, complimenting his very essence.

However we know things about him now that are excessively disturbing! We know for a fact that he matches the description of the man who performed the "services" for dear old Auntie Sadie (whoever she was) which supplied the zombie-like sleepwalkers to converge on Less, Reginald, Mordechai and myself in Kingsport -- demanding their masters Book. When the Skinless Man (I still do not know who he is, or was, he must certainly be dead...) came for it in our hands within the Society walls itself, he and it disappeared and I wonder if he went directly back to Corbetts place? Mordechai is apparently still awaiting word from his spirit bloodhound, but I think we were just too drunk to hear it come back inside... The people who had been mindless dropped and came back to their senses enough to offer us information about a new priest they had performing the cerimony for Sadie, where that cerimony had taken place, and who their normal pastor was supposed to be.

We went to Arkham straight away, well, the next morning... Okay, the next noon. We found immediately at the cemetary where Sadie had been recently interred that the proprietor of that establishment and Mordechai had much in common, and learned that the normal priest was to be found at a Sister Marys church. On arriving to the church, however, we discovered it to be the scene of a horrible crime! The priest had been murdered in the "green" room, this we discovered after Reginald opened the sealed locks on the doors -- I swear, how many churches must I be forced to break into? The murder had happened not more than the week before, I suspect, two at most. While there, Mordechai was inspired and summoned to speak to him the dead priest himself! He had a one-sided conversation with this invisible man, but garnered certain pieces of information from him before fading:

That his killer had been in the church several weeks before, that he had in fact sat alone in a crowded church -- no one would sit beside him. That he was described as the attractive man with a gotee and mustache, wearing nice clothing and having a "city job" of some importance. Beyond this the dead man did not know, but we did know that his description matched that of the so-called priest at the funeral.

We then moved to the police department to learn more about the killing, where we were pretty much snubbed by the desk clerk. Mordechai used his abilities with his rather unnerving aura to garner the facts about the time of murder and such, and that the Assistant DA was on it, no one else was touching it, I suppose. Then that one walked from a room, and passed us.

While I was not able to sense him, the others clearly did! Both Mordechai and Reginald felt him go by. We then got the information about Blade that we know, his tenure as DA. By the time he left, we also heard others speaking of his vacation in Boston coming up.

And that he would be at a wedding.

This set me on edge, suffice to say.

An obvious Italian and somewhat disturbing one, going to Boston? And this after my recipt of the aforementioned letter to the Mongrel? I was about to follow Blade off, but Mordechai convinced me not to. We wandered around the town discussing things.

But I now know things about his past: his name had been Giovanni and has been changed. Mordechai knows the Giovanni from his studies of the magical paths -- as NECROMANCERS of Italy who have been in charge of their whole structure for CENTURIES. It would follow that this Blade is a necromancer.

Far far more sinister, though, is that he was clearly working to get Corbetts book back. "The Master deisres his Book" was what the Skinless man said. He was under the control, direct or indirect, of either Corbett or of Blade at the time.

Facts: Corbetts body regenerates. We know this now, I wish so much that I had known this before, when we had destroyed it the first time. If that creature will come to haunt me again, I would far rather kill it than die, but if I must forfeit my soul to anyone it WILL NOT BE HIM. His soul apparently rested in the book we took from his church, the Diary specifically. Mordechai confirmed this, with his strange vision. Blade may be either working for Corbett, attempting to free him or get his soul back so he might deal with him, is being used by Corbett -- I fear this last because this is exactly how he planned on having me by his side! Perhaps, Blades power has come only lately as Corbett attracted him? Since he is now "well liked" and such a nice fellow, it follows that his mind controlls work on the living but may not yet work over the dead?

What more power could someone want? If he had been unpopular in school, perhaps his ego needed a boost and Corbett provided it? I remember the deal, all too well, as spoken from the dry, dessicated lips of that corpse that walked... That I could have power, knowledge, all at such a "small cost"! But that cost, I must remember, was far too high. Perhaps the cost for Blade was a bit of his personality? Perhaps he is doing the ancient dead man a favor, in exchange for more?

I know that the contemplation church was into the "Giver of Secrets" or some such, is this his contact? I know there is a larger master that Corbett responded to, or at least I suspect there was. The chain of command is the only thing in doubt here.

If Blade is working FOR Corbett he may have some amount of control left over himself, and may be goaded into rebellion against his master.

If Blade is USING Corbett, he might need the soul book for his own nefarious purposes and power not the least of them.

In any case, Blade apparently is going to be attending CYNTHIAs wedding. It cannot be anything else, there are far too many coincidences here, I cannot ignore them. Cynthia has not written me in quite some time, and I fear that she may be controlled somehow.

Perhaps by Antonio, perhaps Blade? I doubt that this Blade is the same man, for Antonio does not match his description. If they are related, I fear the worst. Cynthias father may be controlled himself, or given the slightest more nudge in the way of greed that he wants things and will be easily manipulated to getting them by any means possible. I am also afraid that any correspondance that I have sent her has reached the wrong hands, and that my secrets will be found out? I have detailed my abilities to her, so that she may be prepared to face them with me, but now I am dangerously close to destroying myself with even trusting her!

I cannot bear that thought, but there are many more things on my mind.

Antonio and Cynthia may very well have found happiness.

All I can do is interrupt things and hopefully I will not have to put a bullet in anyones back during their moment of joining.

Though the thought has entered my mind. Mongrel indeed. If that is his way of challenging me, that will be fine. I can assault his ego as easily as anyone elses, perhaps much moreso. Blades as well, he will be easily manipulated into using power on me, giving the others a chance to hit him with anything they have. I do have a personal stake in this, and he may find it intriguing. He may find it laughable, as Antonio apparently does.

But he will know differently after the fact.

If Blade has in fact made a deal with Corbett, I might assault his ego by telling him how weak he must be to be wrapped around the old corpses fingers like he is. He has taken the easy way, the cheaters way, and is now simply a pawn. That would get me going, I think, it ought to work on him. That he is a weak or subordinate member of this crew is the only thing I can work with, not knowing any more.

Must I go back to Corbetts place, and face him again? I fear that if I must, I may not be of much use in a fight, not even with my new skills. The fear that I have in me is in fact overpowering. I dread seeing the glowing eyes, the rasping voice, the sickly smell of him and his dead wrappings. Perhaps Blade wants the secrets of becoming a Lich himself? If that is all, I think he can be left to his own business. So long as he is not involving Cynthia -- or her family?

I was worried about them getting involved with simple CRIME families. Necromancers are a whole world apart. Dare I gain THESE enemies? I do not want to run from every enemy that I meet, but neither do I want to simply add them to a pile, take a number and wait your turn to beat on us... If we are considered enemies, or even just myself, what use am I to the group? Where should we go? I would have to abandon my post as a scientist, or accept this other rather dubious offer that Mordechai and I have been given.

On that: who is Doctor Ross, or Mister Cross? Or mister Ross? Whatever his name, he is the same man with an expensive automobile, an unreadably disturbing driver (why would a man of this impressive stature and appearance be driving someone around? Is he also a bodyguard? or personal servant?). But both of us were invited to see the facilities, they are building something in Arkham and we may yet investigate it. It is a new company, but it may not be to the moral liking of my family. I do not want to work for the government if I must be making weapons, or political machinery. I do love science, and I do love to hurt things, but I do not approve of all the uses that I fear my inventions may be put to. But if we do accept, if the place is on the up and up (unlikely) perhaps they can offer some kind of defence?

Perhaps they too know of the Giovanni? I can understand why my own inventing abilities have been requested, I am reasonably talented and can actually produce a number of new interesting devices, and I am certainly interested in having a permanent job, but what Mordechai says about the offer that he got is disturbing to both of us. They want him to investigate how the bodies they supposedly have already on hand for experimentation have been affected. If he finds them already dead, that is indeed one thing. If he finds they were still alive before they were experimented upon, that is another thing entirely and we both know that we would have to either swallow our pride and live with it, or stop it entirely.

Not a prospect either of us wants to work with. Perhaps it would be best to simply ignore them? Hoping that they do not find people of our caliber (either in the inventing or medical fields?) and they may face setbacks. But I fear that even if we do decline, they will still be around, and we may find ourselves on the bad end of this deal even by declining it. It does not need to be said that I do not want any government after my hide in addition to necromancers, mafia, or soulless corpses...

It occurrs to me that my life has hardly been in my own hands for so long now, that perhaps what I need is to get away from it all, take my chances with stopping the wedding and stealing Cynthia back, and perhaps just moving as far away as possible? Idle dreams, and I am not necessarily a dreamer.

I have not had a Dreamland experience in a while. Perhaps I ought to, or attempt to contact Cynthia there. Perhaps I ought to send her a telegram with simple words to the effect that she will remember when asleep, it is underhanded, but these are desperate moments for me. I must see her, at least to know that she will be well treated and happy, if not free.

Some small consolation to my own condition is that my students do not appear to either know or care if they do know, about my shapeshifting abilities. They are dilligent and good workers, keeping up on their studies. I have entrusted the task of corresponding to the University to Jennifer, she seems eloquent in her writing, and does a very good job of emulating my own writing patterns. I merely must read over results and sign my name to them, and that is a relief that I believe they can see. If they do not know, they are surely willing to put up with so much from me, and not add to my dilemma. For that, I am thankful, and should the need to thank them personally arise, I hope that I may do so with an amount of dignity.

Speaking of dignity, the closing words of Antonios letter to me brought bile to my mouth. How dare he (or whoever wrote that appalling letter) insult my own family! How dare he refer to me, my mother and my homeland with such disrespect? If these words are his own, then he shall in fact rue the day that he put his words to the telegrapher! I wonder what the conveyer of those words thought, when writing them out? I mistrust telegrams, however, ever since that regrettable incident nearly two years ago which found me the focus of a horrid set up! I know that my words did not include "want to kill you and you are next" or anything of the sort! I still wonder, how in the world that heinous telegram was forged, how mine was known and interpreted! Perhaps this is the same phenomenon? Perhaps I offer Antonio too many outs, and perhaps I am a fool for not immediately flying into a rage (well, thats done, my students must have heard my response to that letter!) and surely ought to include leaving my mark on that Italians sorry genetic line!

I will close and save this information to myself, in the hopes that I might review it some day and that others do not think poorly of me. I am dangerously close to implicating myself and should I find the need, all of these papers must be destroyed, or I will find myself hanging from a beam or before a firing squad! I do hope that paranoia and mistakes do not rule my world, soon.