Goupil Masquerade

Overview

A masquerade soirée hosted by Monsieur Goupil at Maison du Corbeau in Lyon, with Savarin as the true orchestrator. The investigators attended in disguise and witnessed the Choir’s supernatural and human horror combined for the first time — a Formless Spawn summoned through an aperture in the floor, and a child sacrificed with a tuning-fork blade.

What Happened

The investigators obtained invitations through various means — dropped, pickpocketed, or given by other guests — and attended the soirée in their masks. Behind the social facade, the evening concealed a secret ritual in a hidden chamber.

Emma and Thomas overheard Goupil discussing the secret ritual with masked guests on a balcony. Elsewhere at the soirée, Georgiana recognised the Greek myths Goupil was passing off as his own exploits. The investigators followed two masked guests in an attempt to steal their ritual tokens.

Thomas sweet-talked Victoire Lenoir while Marina tried and failed to lift her token. Emma then quarrelled with Thomas over his talking to another woman, creating a distraction so that he could try to take it himself.

In the ritual chamber, Georgiana recognised the significance of the Orphic and Sumerian musical inscriptions set into the black marble floor.

They witnessed the ritual: a Formless Spawn rising through an aperture in the floor, and a child sacrifice performed with a tuning-fork blade. The party observed everything and did not intervene. They left traumatized, carrying knowledge they could not set down.

Sanity Impact

SAN losses from witnessing the ritual were significant. Seeing the Formless Spawn: 1/1D6. Witnessing the child sacrifice: 1D4/1D20.

Campaign Significance

The masquerade was the investigators’ first direct witness of the Choir’s supernatural and human horror combined. The decision not to intervene — whether from shock, tactical calculation, or helplessness — weighed on the party throughout the rest of the Lyon chapter.

The Masks

The Formless Spawn