Nightgaunt Attack Palais Kinsky
Date August 7-8, 1814 (midnight to dawn)
Location Palais_Kinsky, Vienna
battle
Outcome: Nightgaunt killed (Adrien delivers killing blow). Charlotte Thorne too severely wounded to continue — retires as Juel's PC. Mythos horror confirmed as physical reality for the entire party.
Participants
- Nightgaunt — attacker
- Emma_Wentworth
- Georgiana_Wentworth
- Adrien_de_Montferrand
- Charlotte_Thorne — severely wounded — retires
- Varrio_Harrowmont — witness; fainted at the sight
- Thomas_Wyndham
- Pemberton
Overview
Between midnight and dawn on the night of August 7–8, 1814. The Harmonic_Engine’s resonant frequency, having reached 87% operational purity, thinned the dimensional membrane separating Vienna from the Outer Spheres. A Nightgaunt — a creature of shadow and hunger that feeds on the terror of its victims — crossed over, drawn to the harmonic beacon emanating from the Sealed Anatomical Theatre. It hunted in Vienna’s streets and tracked the party to Palais_Kinsky.
Combat Summary
The Nightgaunt broke into the Palais Kinsky during the late hours. Combat occurred across multiple rooms on the upper floors. Key beats:
- Georgiana_Wentworth identified the creature as a Nightgaunt from her reference tome (Revelations_of_Glaaki)
- Georgiana_Wentworth drew swords in her nightgown — tactical combatant at close range
- Emma_Wentworth bit the Nightgaunt’s neck, tearing away flesh — a campaign-defining moment of brutal courage
- Charlotte_Thorne took a three-clawed slash across the shoulder. The wound was severe enough that she has been unable to continue field operations since
- Varrio_Harrowmont fainted at the sight of the creature — PTSD response linked to witnessing Moreau’s death hours earlier
- Adrien_de_Montferrand delivered the killing blow
- Thomas_Wyndham subsequently maintained an armed vigil outside Emma’s door for the remainder of the night
Why This Matters
- First Mythos entity encountered in Chapter 3. Previously, Vienna’s horror had been human — knives, institutional corruption, cult infiltration. The Nightgaunt proves the Engine is not merely a mechanical atrocity but an extradimensional gateway.
- Charlotte Thorne’s retirement. The Nightgaunt’s wounds forced Juel’s original PC into permanent convalescence. She writes letters of retirement to Harcourt and Honoria on the morning of August 8 and becomes a Keeper NPC.
- Juel transitions PCs. Katherine_Ward is dispatched by Harcourt to join the party on August 8.
- Varrio’s PTSD is established. The fainting moment is a psychological vulnerability the campaign carries forward.