First seen in Gull's first dream, apparently at a labyrinthine university. It seemed “wrong,” pointing at the sky like an angry yellow finger. It was both flat and round, both tall and squat. It was covered in squirming symbols and etched with stars that had “too many points.”
A similar monument was featured in a painting on the walls of Dr. Losandro‘s office, presumably made by Ulver Zandalus. In Chapter 22, Gull realized that while he somehow must have associated the monument (a stela) with the Sincomakti School, he didn’t think one actually resided there.
Upon arriving in Thrushmoor, the party observed two star stelae atop two of three prominent local hills (Crocus Hill and Gladiolus Hill).
In Chapter 39, the party investigated the star stela atop Crocus Hill, realizing quickly that it was an artifact. They also recalled that Dora once claimed that, historically, there had been three standing stones in the town, even though there were only two now. Rony touched it, and heard a faint susurrus of whispering that threatened to drive him mad. The party felt certain that these monuments would be quite at home in the city from their first shared dream back in Briarstone and that they were clearly tied to the worship of Hastur.
In Chapter 51, a blazing column of light was seen blasting out of Iris Hill and into the night sky. Then another erupted from the star stela atop Gladiolus Hill, where humanoid shapes were seen to be gathered. The air in Thrushmoor lit up and wavered, vibrating in pockets where reality seemed to oscillate between two locations—the Thrushmoor of here, and a Thrushmoor of Carcosa, and in the Thrushmoor of Carcosa, Iris Hill was replaced by a windowless tower with battlements. However, the stela on Crocus Hill failed to complete the triangle—because the heroes aboard the Sellen Starling prevented them from being there. The figures on Gladiolus Hill scrambled away from the standing stone, as whatever was intended to be the Great Harvest ended.
In Chapter 52, the party found that one Skum had sacrificed himself while touching the star stela atop Crocus Hill and that the stone was slightly glowing. Atop Gladiolus Hill, they found the murdered bodies of several prominent locals and a stone that was glowing much brighter. Rony put on an unholy symbol of Hastur and touched the star stela, getting an almost electric jolt upon contact. He was again flooded with an overwhelming flow of telepathic impressions and whispers, but they threatened to drive him mad and he couldn’t make sense of what they were saying.
When Dora tried the same experiment, she was able to gain a clearer understanding of the functions of the artifact. She learned that anyone wearing the symbol of Hastur could use the city stride ability to move around town, leaving a mural of Carcosa on the wall one stepped out of. She also learned that anyone wearing the symbol could use the sinister whispers ability to touch the stone and deliver short whispered messages to anyone or everyone wearing the same symbols within range of the stones, or that one could receive a whispered message from another symbol-wearer by touching the stone. This explained the assassins’ behavior outside Lelwyn Hasok’s house on the night of the “Great Harvest.” It could also be used for telepathic communication between two people touching two different stelae. Charges were to be replenished through ritual sacrifice. Dora could sense that there were further levels of activation beyond the stones current states.
First Reference: Chapter 8
Other Notable References: Chapter 22, Chapter 37, Chapter 39, Chapter 51, Chapter 52