Tending the Garden

            I found the grave by accident. Wandering outside Dunwich, near the Aylebury Pike, there is a little path that one could easily miss if you weren’t looking for it. It’s not paved or even beaten down for I don’t think anyone has walked it in many years. Only a lonely, curious person like myself would have noticed how the grass was less tall in that section and that the trees and bushes seemed to grow away from it. Following it down the hill and into the glen, the ground leveled off until I found myself in a small clearing. In the middle, overgrown with slightly brown grass but still noticeable, was a small grave. I looked around but there were no markings nearby nor was there a house in sight. There was nothing to say what this grave was or who lay in it. By the looks of it, the grave had been there for some time. It was a peaceful place, a rare thing in Arkham County, so I laid down nearby for a quick rest. I watched the clouds pass by and listened to the birds cry out from a long way away. Every noise seemed distant and I slowly fell asleep.

            My dreams were not unpleasant. I dreamt that I was walking through the town of Dunwich and it was colonial times. The people were happy and pleasant although I felt that they were forcing themselves to be happy around me, as if I were requiring them to be happy. Arguing children quieted when I walked by and gave me forced smiles. Townspeople tipped their hats and merchants asked me to try their wares. I was happy and content and felt that these were my people, my responsibility, even though their smiles and greeting felt fake and hollow.

            I walked into a building which I knew to be my business and was pleased to find that I was a merchant of no little prosperity. My employees bustled about me. They all greeted me but none would look me in the eyes. It did not take long before one of my workers approached me with a worried look on his face. “You’re needed downstairs, Mr. Marsden.” I nodded and walked towards the back of the shop where there was a hidden staircase. It never occurred to me to question why it was hidden. It seemed to make total sense. I walked down the stairs and felt my humanity slip away under me. The scene below was utter phantasmagorical. A huge amorphous beast covered most of the floor with a multitude of eyes, mouths, limbs, hands, feet, tentacles and genitals. When it spoke, it sounded like a hoarse chorus of voices projected from a large distance away. “Marsden,” it said, “it is time.”

            I protested, saying I was not yet ready but the creature would have none of it. The time was right. In the far away cosmos of night, stars were coming together and the opportunity could not be wasted. “You know what must be done.” I nodded and called together the others. They stood in a circle around the Shoggoth. I passed the Necronomicon to the first one who read their passage as I gutted him and exposed his entrails. The circle continued until the last one completed their incantation. The air above, below and inside the Shoggoth glowed and moved as the gateway began to open. I could hear the pounding above and hurried through the last part of the ceremony. As the Shoggoth opened itself, I could see through it to the Outer Rim where the Old Ones waited. The door to the upstairs level burst open and the townspeople rushed inside with their torches. I could feel the fire burning my flesh as I screamed and awoke on the quiet hillside. Shaking my head clear, I stood up and stumbled my way back to Dunwich.

            As I walked through the streets and past the stores, the younger people shied away from me but the oldest ones glared at me with a hate I had never seen before. “He has the Marsden eyes,” they said, and I could feel them watching as I walked along to a particular house on a special street. Knocking the special code, the door opened and the group inside welcomed me. “The preparations are made, sire,” one said and I walked to the basement door. Downstairs, the Shoggoth spoke to me and began to whisper its secrets. “You’re late,” it said, “and there is much to learn.” My learning had officially begun.