Pemberton Polcross

## Bio

Pemberton Polcross is an occult book publisher with his own company, Zanoni Press. He is intrigued by but mildly skeptical of the supernatural due to meeting several hacks.

## History

### 1878 (*The Secret Masters*)

Pemberton was struggling with finances and the mockery of skeptics when he met Orlando Robicheaux. Robicheaux invited him to his concert and lent him a leather bound tome, The Stanzas of Dyzan. The book revealed incredible knowledge to Pemberton and seemingly great power as well, three mysterious earthquakes happening in San Francisco at the same moment he read from the book.

Pemberton attempted to find Robicheaux to return the book and ask him questions but Robicheaux had left for San Francisco, leaving behind a ticket for him. Pemberton traveled to San Francisco where he attended Robicheaux's concert. He recognized the song playing from his book and began to chant along as supernatural creatures unseen by the crowd all turned their gazes to him. Pemberton's spell caused an earthquake and summoned a spirit from the earth made of stones, gems, and a mass of tentacles. Having proved his worth, Pemberton was welcomed into the ranks of the Order of Ancient Wisdom.

### 1879 (*Little Ragnarök on the Prairie*)

The Order of Ancient Wisdom was growing thanks to Pemberton’s book, *The Secret Teachings of the Hidden Masters*. He was sent a wooden pitchfork with runic inscriptions by a John Bender Jr. from Winfield, Kansas. Bender said he bought the fork from local artisans and had strange dreams since then, imploring Pemberton to come visit him. Pemberton and Orlando consulted Professor Jorgenson, who took interest in the item and agreed to accompany them to Kansas.

Pemberton met his fan and acolyte, John Bender Jr., whom he connected to the Bloody Benders. Bender claimed he bought the pitchfork from a man from a nearby area, Vigil, and offered to take the men there. The group set out in the morning where they found a friendly, cheerful atmosphere with houses hanging mistletoe. As they made their way to meet the village elder, Pemberton spotted a circle of large stones. He pointed them out to an excited Jorgenson but they were told not to go there as it was a sacred place. He secretly accepted John Bender Jr.'s offer to sneak out and inspect them as he joined the rest of the group to meet the elder.

The elder, Jormun, informed them they wanted the pitchfork back as it had been stolen. He offered a scythe in trade for the pitchfork and Pemberton tried to trade one of his books instead. Jormun told Pemberton that the scythe belonged to him and the fork belonged to himself. Pemberton immediately said to give him the fork. Pemberton felt the scythe calling to him but wasn’t sure what it meant, though he was excited to see it also had runes. When Jorgenson inspected it, the runes glowed and the scythe burst into flame, injuring him.

The trio learned that the villagers had come to Kansas because it was where their ancestors had supposedly come and fought the great serpent Jörmungandr, and they were foretold to fight that same battle again. Upon further questioning, they learned that legendary battle was likely to take place that same night but the conversation was interrupted by gunshots. John Bender Jr. had been discovered at the runestones and shot, though Pemberton managed to convince the locals that he'd snuck off without their knowledge. While at the circle, Jorgenson read the runes and unwittingly cast the spell to open the bridge, summoning several shoggoths. Pemberton was thrilled with the portal’s opening and congratulated Jorgenson for his first step into the supernormal.

The villagers used magic to bind the creatures and Orlando made a move to try and kill Jormun. Seeing Orlando's action, Pemberton took out the Stanzas of Dyzan and cast a spell to make the villagers stop their own spell. As the chaos continued, an enormous worm-like creature emerged from the portal. Upon seeing it, Pemberton lost his ability to speak from shock which broke his spell. There was little he could contribute to the battle so he fled the scene and escaped town. With Pemberton gone, the villagers were able to bind the creatures. As he boarded a train, a train attendant tried to take his scythe which burst into flame.