"His name is William too?"

"No, my name is William. He just goes by Mr. DeVille everywhere. No first name at all." William thinks about this. "If I didn't have a first name that would be even cooler."

"What were they interested in? Did you know the specifics? Particularly relating to... gods, myths, rituals, the occult?"

"Oh, yeah, all kinds of occult stuff. Have you read Roby's book?"

"Not yet. I think a friend of mine found a copy the other day."

"It's weird as shit."

"Did he ever talk about The King in Yellow to you?"

"He wouldn't shut up about that guy."

"Was that true from the day you met him? Or do you remember when it started?"

"It was true the whole time I knew him. Just kind of tuned it out, you know. --Do you want to hear something incredibly spooky?"

"Absolutely."

"So I was reading a bit of Roby's book out loud, and he was reading it with me-- one of the parts in German. And then I felt weak and collapsed on the floor, all panicked, and I saw a vision."

"Of what?"

"I was walking in St. James' Park, like I do every night, for inspiration. I had just crossed the small suspension bridge, you know, the one to the south across the lake? And I was looking at the buildings on Whitehall."

"I knew it wasn't a dream. It was so detailed, so normal. Everything was totally right, from the ducks to the paperboy."

"I reached into my pocket for a penny to buy a paper and then I heard a step behind me. Saw a man with a sharp face, quite tall. His eyes met mine. He said for me to keep still, please, and then I felt a sharp pain and started falling. I closed my eyes and when I reopened them I was looking up at the sky, and then the paperboy's white face, and I tried to make a joke but I couldn't."

"And then I-- died."

"In the vision."

"And I woke back up and then Roby was looking at me with this absolute horror on his face and he said 'I'm so sorry, I can't change what you saw.'"

"I don't know why he'd think he could, it was my spooky death vision."

"You weren't kidding. That is spooky."

"Isn't it though???" He sounds DELIGHTED. "Anyway, that's the coolest Roby thing I know. Mostly he didn't talk much and when he did it was all about Carcosa."

"Could you direct me towards any of his friends?"

"I've lost contact with all of them, sorry."

"Well, if you remember anything else, I'm always interested."

"While you're here do you want to hear my latest?"

"I'd love to."

William's latest could, in fact, be called 'music', for a reasonably broad definition of 'music.'

It's not particularly to her taste, but it sounds like he's having fun.

Meanwhile--

"Hello, darling, how was your horrid time at the horrid place?"

"Well, I was either in a room that was cursed or literally poisonous, so sleeping did not work out as well as I would have liked. That's part of why I wanted to talk-- along with your good company, of course-- have your dreams been giving you trouble?"