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Randall M Ceah and Rolling with the King

Dec 27, 2024

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Wish I had some "King in Yellow" Dice here. Can never have too many dice. :D

[ Randall M. Ceah, interdimensional traveler, journal entry for 12/18/2024 ]


After my encounter with Shub-Niggurath, I went to a dimension I frequented. One where beautiful monster women were plentiful. There I met with an old drinking acquaintance of mine. A lamia [a snake woman] who is a practicing doctor.


She also has unrequited feelings for her fellow doctor at their clinic.


I am not callus enough to pursue a woman whose heart belonged to another. So, we shared a few drinks and I paid for hers in the end. I will admit to having an attraction to my lamia friend but could not act on it, even after a long night of drinking.


I could have paid for the company of a monster woman like the good lamia doctor. Though, I was too inebriated to properly find such companionship. And once again I hit the randomizer on my interdimensional door device. And I walked, or more stumbled, through the door and into another dimension.


I awoke, hungover and still slightly inebriated, in a world with black domes and monolithic towers. I was familiar with the destination I had found myself in. But I never ventured into it before because the ruler of the domain had many stories behind him.


Stories of utter madness and despair.


This place I found myself in was none other than Carcosa, the domain of the King in Yellow. I was familiar with the “Yellow Sign” and of “Him Who Is Not To Be Names.” The Interdimensional Explorers Academy had lectures on Carcosa and the King. And all of the lessons warned of the danger and the terror.


It was a place no sane interdimensional traveler would dare venture into.


But I was so in a daze from drinking that I wandered into a black dome without thinking. Drink from the dimension I came from was designed to intoxicate monsters. And my biology was human and less resilient then most of the monster species. It did not take much monster drink for a human like me to get drunk.


I staggered up the spiral stairs in a monolithic tower.


Whenever I witnessed anyone who was inebriated doing things that they otherwise would not do, I was always fascinated. Especially if they perform feats that went beyond their physical limitations. The actions of active drunks was something to behold.


And here I was, without any common sense or self preservation, rambling and raving like an arrogant buffoon, ready to face the King in Yellow head on. I was ready to stare at the embodiment of madness and despair in his masked face. Oh, that’s right, he wears no mask.


What came over me? Why was I risking my life to face the King?


Was it my frustration that a monster woman I desired was romantically infatuated with her co-worker? Was it the fact that my friend Mister Buck Bloom continuously texted me pictures of his “Burnt End”? Or was it because the accursed randomizer on my interdimensional door device continuously sent me to the domain of an Elder One?


Cthulhu, Dagon, Shub-Niggurath, and now the King in Yellow!


I screamed, I stomped up countless stairs, I shivered from the aeons that surrounded me. Yet in my drunken stupor, I felt invincible. I was one of those active drunks, going beyond my limits. I cared not for the future and went to face the King in Yellow.


I finally found myself in a dark chamber with a jagged throne. There on the throne was a man in tattered yellow robes. He “wore” a white mask and had on a crown of golden thorns. And in his lap was a dark wooden tray with dice.


The dice were black and white. He scooped them up and rolled them with a decayed hand. His movements were filled with sorrow and apathy. Even in my drunken state, I could tell something ailed the King.


“Are you an explorer?” asked the King in Yellow when he finally took notice of me.


“No, just a tourist!” I admitted. I then sat down on the throne room floors. It was surprisingly warm for solid stone. “And sometimes I explore, randomly. I am just passing through Carcosa at random right now. Sorry for the intrusion.”


“I do not mind,” said the King as he rolled the dice again. “I appreciate the company, even if it is just in passing.”


“What troubles you, King?” I asked.


“A good friend of mine from earth passed on many moons ago on this day,” said the King. “I remember many I befriended who have passed on but I am cursed with omnipotence. I can never forget.”


I looked up the day. It was the 16th of December. I looked up important people who had passed on the day. And I discovered that Sir Robert W. Chambers had passed on the day in 1933.


Chambers was the author of “The King in Yellow” which was the work that made the King famous.


My sympathies went to the King. For an eternal entity like him, a century was as fleeting as a second. And memories that were a century old tended to remain fresh. My condolences soon became pity then guilt.


Here I was! A drunken tourist making a fool of himself in a foreign land. The King was lonely and I was intruding on his misery. I shook my head before making my decision to help alleviate the King’s sorrows.


“What are you playing, King?” I asked.


The King tilted the tray so I could see the dice more closely. The black ones had white letters. And the white ones had black letters. They seemed to belong to some children's game from earth.


“This odd person left these scattered all over my throne room,” said the King. “They just appeared then disappeared in a flash. They left this business card behind before leaving.”


The King hovered off his throne and moved on tendrils of black towards me. I did not flinch because I saw worse in the last few months alone. He then showed me the card his previous visitor had left. The initials “T.T.T.” were on it.


The Terrible Time-Trasher once again! They had the gull to prank the King in Yellow, of all beings? I made a mental note to find and confront this joker once I sobered up.


The King then sat across from me and placed the tray between us. He rolled the dice in front of me and I rolled them with him. He did not ask me to play with him but I did so nonetheless.


We made up some rules since the Terrible Time-Trasher did not leave any behind. Our goal was to roll the letter dice and spell out names. I took the white dice and the King took the black.


In our first round, we rolled at the same time then spelled out names.


I spelled out “Lamia” and the King spelled out “Bierce.”


In round two, I spelled out “Centaur” and the King spelled out “Chambers.”


In round three, I spelled out “Mermaid” and the King spelled out “Lovecraft.”


In the fourth round, I spelled out “Harpy” and the King spelled out “Carter.”


In the fifth and final round, I spelled out “Cyclops” and the King spelled out “Pulver.”


“Something seems to be on your mind, tourist,” said the King.


“You as well, King,” I said. “It seems you are spelling out the names of those you miss.”


“And you seem to be occupied with monsters,” said the King. “And were we keeping score? I have not been. Have you?”


“We were to keep score?” I asked. I then laid on my back and rubbed my face. Our game had given me time to sober up. “I feel lost at times.”


“Same, I can project myself across the multiverse and still cannot find a cure for my loneliness,” said the King.


“Why not become a true interdimensional explorer like me then?” I asked. “Astral projection can only do so much. Experiencing something in a tangible, physical sense, is more rewarding.”


The King gave it some thought. “I never thought about physically leaving Carcosa. Actually, I have been wanting to explore the multiverse and meet new and interesting people.”


“I’ve been an explorer for years and it has enriched my life,” I said. “I could give you a referral to the Interdimensional Explorers Academy. You would just have to go as an avatar that would not frighten the staff or drive your fellow students mad.”


“That would be wonderful! Thank you, kind tourist!” said the King.


I then left the Academy’s information and my handwritten referral with the King. It was not until I left Carcosa that I realized the error in my generosity. I just unleashed a notorious cosmic deity onto the multiverse. Since I was the one who left him a referral, the staff at the Academy will soon get in touch with me on the matter.


My troubles will be many quite soon.


For now, I am laying low in my favorite dimension and looking to have drinks with many fine monster girls. Hopefully my funds will last through this extended vacation. And this time, the randomizer on my interdimensional door device will be turned off.


Oh, and as a token of thanks for my help, the King gave me the letter dice. I have no use for them so I sent them to Mister Buck Bloom. Hopefully, sending him a peace offering will end the constant texts of his “Burnt End.”
















Please note, this was a work of fiction. Any names, places, products, or Lonely Kings in Yellow featured in this work are purely fictitious. Any resemblance of actual persons, living or dead, are purely coincidental. The actual date of this work being written is 12/23/24. And remember, he wears no mask!

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