Long Corridor Incident Draft

Overview

In Autumn 1813, Marina_Garrick was dispatched to Tarryford by Lord_Percival_Harcourt on her first mission for the Order_of_St_Aelfric. She was to attend the autumn ball at Northlake Hall, hosted by the Northlake family, and investigate reports of irregularities in the village. This was the The Long Corridor adventure from the Regency Cthulhu handbook (Chaosium).

The Party Assembles

Marina stayed at The Four Feathers inn, accompanied by Miss_Eleanor_Finch as her maid. At the ball and in the village, she encountered the local investigators who would become the campaign’s core party:

• Emma_Wentworth — 17, gentlewoman of Tarryford
• Georgiana_Wentworth — 20, Emma’s sister, researcher
• James_Bennet — 22, gentleman poet of Tarryford (Jay’s first PC)
• Jane_Radcliffe — 23, con artist posing as a lady (Juel’s first PC)

What Happened

The investigation centred on Northlake Hall and its Long Corridor — a portal to a dark extradimensional realm inhabited by Horrors, squat headless humanoids with torso-mounted eyes and fanged mouths. The portal took a couple of days to fully open.

First Expedition

The investigators entered the Corridor early in the investigation and got out before the Horrors could reach them. That night, one of the creatures escaped through the portal into the estate grounds and killed sheep — confirming that the threat was real and escalating.

Warning the Northlakes

The party warned the Northlake family that their daughter Elizabeth was in danger. The family began preparations to flee the estate.

Second Expedition

NPC men and servants from the estate were armed and went into the Corridor alongside the female investigators. Georgiana_Wentworth had figured out how to control and close the portal — she performed a blood ritual at an altar on the other side. The ritual worked, but the Horrors then descended on the group.

Everyone ran for the portal. The armed men stopped to shoot at the pursuing creatures, covering the ladies’ retreat. The Horrors caught them and killed them. James_Bennet, running with the group, was overtaken — the creatures dismembered and consumed him. His death slowed the Horrors enough for the remaining investigators to escape through the portal.

James Bennet’s death was the first PC death of the campaign.

Campaign Significance

The Long Corridor was the moment the campaign expanded from Marina’s solo adventures to a full table of players. The survivors — Marina, Emma, Georgiana, and Jane — formed the nucleus of the party that would go on to London, Lyon, and Vienna. The Wentworth sisters, Tarryford locals, left their home village to join the Order’s work.

Georgiana’s role as the one who solved the portal — figuring out the blood ritual and performing it under pressure — established her as the party’s occult problem-solver, a role she carries through to Vienna.