June 20, 1978

Excerpts taken from Marcus P. Kellum’s personal journal.

Cover dated June 20th, 1978

following the loss of my notes, i resolved to start my studies fresh and from a different angle.
in the past, i had been content to be an invisible observer. it seemed that my observations had drawn attention, and it was with consideration that i made my conclusion. i would have to take a more active role in this.

i would have to protect myself with powerful counter-spells and arm myself with offensive weapons that would make a man shudder.

my meager savings allowed me to book a flight to turkey. there, i hoped to find my way into the toros mountains and the ancient hidden cave that was said to be nestled there.

at first, my journey led me upwards into the hills with great ease. owing to my health and general motivation, i was able to reach the goal of my trek in a acceptable amount of time. my goal, mt. kizlarsivrisi was a subject of great intrigue. not only was it the greatest peak in the olympus chain - a fact that was not lost on me - it seemed to be a dark mammoth that stood like an angry giant amid the beautiful valleys and dales of that region.

many of the locals in the nearby town where i made my camp told me of ghastly stories that truly chilled me. stories of kidnappings in the night, strange lights, and a local sect of men and women who hid in the hills that surrounded the region.

despite the fact that i was shaken by these tales, i strengthened my resolve for the trip ahead. on the morning of the last day, i set out with a backpack filled with the normal gear i would need. this included multiple recording devices as well. i knew that i would need to document as much as i could over the days ahead, so i supplied myself with two cameras, a tape recorder, and this notebook. no, it wasn't just clothes that i carried in that backpack. i had made a point to gird myself with as many tools as i could to make my job easier. one such tool was the antique pistol i purchased in a ankara back alley. i stress the word antique for the pistol was possibly from the world war one era. i cleaned it as best i could, but i had an ominous feeling that it had not been fired in at least fifty years.

finally, i set out. the morning was bright and only thin wisps of clouds dotted the sky. by mid-afternoon, i had reached a sandy plateau just south of the summit of the great mountain. here it was that i began to make my search for the lost cavern. going mostly on memory, i was able to find a small, rocky outcropping that was covered in sporadic brush. i got close to the stone wall and investigated with fingers and eyes. i was looking for a symbol, a letter, anything that would point out the whereabouts of the cave in question.

by nightfall, i had encircled the spur of rock twice and my search had resulted in nothing. i drew a heavy sigh and returned to my camp, there i set about making a fire and putting together my tiny tent. after a frugal meal, i arranged my sleeping covers and settled down. surely the light of the morning would aid my search. hours after i had drifted off, i was awoken by fitful dreams. in these dreams, i was walking in the night. i was walking on the same plateau, however it felt as if i were in another time, perhaps thousands of years ago. the night air was hot, and the many stars were my only light source. i walked on and on until suddenly i burst through a tangle of blasted trees and bushes into a clearing. the clearing was nondescript. the normal sandy stones and weather beaten rock was all around me, but a strange site filled my eyes as they were drawn to the center of the clearing. at the center was a spire of black. a column that stood out against the native rock like a splinter thrust into the thumb of a giant. it was about sixty feet tall and made of what appeared to be black glass.

slowly i approached the spire and reached my hand out to touch it's smooth surface. the second my hand came into contact with the column, a jolt of dread washed through me. i was overwhelmed by a feeling of loathsome exhaustion. the stone felt as if it were drawing the very life force from my flesh. a loud clap of thunder rolled across the sky and i was jolted awake. as i struggled with my sleeping wraps, i was alarmed to note that a storm had moved into my region. tall dark clouds gathered together and blotted out the winking stars. the clouds seem to be gathering to me - or at least to some defined point near me, for they rolled forward at a great rate until they neared my area where they slowed to a crawl.

i gathered myself up out of my tent and glanced around my camp. the air was dry and a sickly wind swept over the plateau despite the threat of rain due to the clouds overhead. as i looked to the east, i became aware of some sort of action going on behind the spur of rock that i had been searching. i crept towards the commotion as silently as i could, cursing my boots as they crunched over the blasted ground. as i neared the stone, i concluded that the noises i had heard were mechanical in nature.

imagine large iron arms sliding over a plate of steel. it sounded as if the hinges of hell itself were groaning back and open. i peered around a wall of stone in the general direction of the noise and my eyes were greeted with the unwholesome site of a wide yawning opening in the area i had been searching only hours before.

never would i have guessed that this seemingly solid ground was a ruse that hid the massive entrance to god knows what. it looked as if the very ground itself had fallen away to reveal the hidden portal, but i knew that not to be true as a quick glance at the ledges of the hole revealed the source of the heavy metal noise i had heard. great sliding doors, fashioned to look exactly like the native rock, had been pulled back, exposing the great penning.

someplace, deep in that open passage, i heard the clamor of beings. suddenly, i became aware of my peril.

the camp!

quickly, i rushed back to the camp to disperse my belongings and hide them as best i could. who (or what) ever was behind the subterranean tumults surely would consider my encroachment an attack of some sort. i had to make it appear as if nobody had been there. having done so, i silently went back to the hidden portal. again, i glanced around the last rock wall and gazed at the area. the door was still open, a wide mouth of evil, speaking directly at the sky. around it, various humanoid types were busy setting up what appeared to be machinery of some sort. they all wore dark robes, but in flashes of moonlight i was able to discern some basic facial features. all of them appeared human, but there was an almost antagonistic leer to their features. something in their eyes and mouth was strange. it could have been described as frog-like, and i realized that i had seen these features before in some of the many denizens of Innsmouth, the town of my current household.

i could not describe the use of the the machines they were working with, if that is what the tall metallic things were, for i had never seen anything of their kind before. the metal appeared to be aluminum, or some such alloy that contained aluminum. the surfaces were a burnished dark color and they rose above the plateau like flag poles with ridiculously large bases. i was led to believe that the pieces were heavy by the way the beings were struggling with them.

they struggled, but it also could be seen that they handled their machines with the greatest of reverence. after an hour of watching their toil, i discovered that they were placing these flag poles in a rough circle that girded their doorway in the earth. with the machines in place, the humanoids slunk away, perhaps finding a place of cover for the fireworks that surely would soon take place. i pressed forward, seeking a better angle to watch, but my foot caught upon a loose snag of stone. i lurched forward and fell to the ground, scraping the palms of my hands, but that was not my worry.

the loose rock about me began to slide down towards the gaping maw of the door. pebbles and small stones cascaded down, stirring up a clamor that surely would give away my position. i rolled to my left and sought to hide myself behind a windswept bush. i had hidden myself just in time, as a number of the workers below glanced up in my general direction. their eyes had the dull gleam of red in the darkness of the night.

such racket must have been common, they only gazed for brief seconds, and then went back to their work. a rolling boom echoed out of the portal. the very rocks i rested on seemed to reverberate with the deafening sound. the humanoids were all out of site now, having reached places of cover. the gathering clouds overhead had darkened, and sky seemed to swirl inward on the hole in the ground. a hum began to build up and scream forth from the flag poles that were arranged around the doorway until the sound went up above my range of hearing.

a dull glow began to reach up from the portal in the ground and each flagpole was enveloped in the baneful light. the darkness of the clouds stood out in stark contrast to the light, and the two seemed to wrestle for a moment until finally, the darkness was sucked down towards the hole. i had to rub my eyes at the huge dust storm that was now swirling around me. the clouds themselves seemed to be yanked from the sky and down into the hole. light flashed, so bright i had to shut my eyes, and then suddenly everything stopped. the eerie light slowly retreated back away from the machines and faded into the doorway. the sky became normal again, and the whine sank back down to a hum, and then finally disappeared. i scrabbled to my feet and moved as fast as i could towards the opening. as i closed on the door, i had to check my pace. the workers had all but disappeared inside the cavern, but i had a strange feeling that i was being watched as i drew near. i entered the darkness of the open mouth. immediately, i was buffeted by a sharp coldness that emanated from the darkness below. ahead of me, dim light could be seen.

i watched closely as the humanoids walked further down the tunnel towards i knew not what. the floors were smooth, but not worn smooth. they felt as though they had been fashioned by machines. the walls did not look like any normal cavern's walls that i had ever seen. they looked more like the calm cinder block walls of a hospital or prison. scattered here and there on those walls were runes and glyphs of the like i had never seen before.

suddenly, the tunnel stopped and opened up on a large, five sided room. tunnels branched off from the room at each of the pentagram's angle. on the wall was a continual mosaic that depicted horrific forms emerging from some long forgotten ocean. the beings held what appeared to be spears with which they herded small man-like forms. some had tentacles, some had crab-like claws, but no matter what they used for grasping, every one of them seemed to be grasping a weapon and using it on the damned souls that they subjugated.

my breathing was loud in the room, and i suddenly realized that i needed to be out. some inner instinct told me to flee, to run as fast and as far as i could from this place. i backed slowly up the tunneled hallway i had come and was hit with a wave of feeling that reminded me not so much as dread but more of drowning. i clutched at my chest as i stumbled towards the portal and escape. i drew nearer to the only exit i had seen and a dull groan moved through the earth. the doors! the doors were closing again.

whatever work the fiends below had started was now accomplished. they were sealing off the outside world and if i did not hasten my steps, i would be sealed in as well. in the gloom ahead, i could see the mighty doors grinding towards a closed position. i re-doubled my pace and made it to the warmer, breathable air of the outside world. i made my way back to the place were i had set up my camp, gathered my tools and tent.

a plan was already growing in my mind. this gate had to be shut. this portal through which the denizens of the deep could gain access to my world must be closed.