Most horrible of all sights are the little unpainted wooden houses remote from travelled ways, usually squatted upon some damp grassy slope or leaning against some gigantic outcropping of rock. Two hundred years and more they have leaned or squatted there, while the vines have crawled and the trees have swelled and spread. They are almost hidden now in lawless luxuriances of green and guardian shrouds of shadow; but the small-paned windows still stare shockingly, as if blinking through a lethal stupor which wards off madness by dulling the memory of unutterable things.
—H.P. Lovecraft, “The Picture in the House
PART ONE
Boston, Massachusetts. Late September, 1926.
Declan McBride is a low-rung mobster and bootlegger who has spent the last twelve months trying to secure a larger share of the illegal alcohol trade in Boston. His main rival is Michael “Hammers” Whelan, who has been shipping in corn whiskey from somewhere in rural Massachusetts, and rebottling it as “fine” Irish whiskey.
Recently the quality of Whelan’s whiskey has improved so much that he’s killing McBride’s trade. McBride has decided that he needs to take over the operation for himself. He’s been waiting patiently to catch a lucky break, and it would appear he’s caught one.
You all received word that he has summoned you to his warehouse. It’s late in the evening, so you know something big has come up. And you all have the good sense to know that when Declan McBride summons you then you heed the call, unless you want to end up face down in the harbour.
As per his summons, you all arrive in Manny Ziegler’s new Marmon Roadster – which the lawyer has been gleefully rubbing in your faces – at the warehouse by the docks. Darkness has begun to fall. There is a slight chill in the air and a few wisps of mist coming off the water. The loading bay doors are open and light is spilling out.
There is an unfamiliar truck parked inside, loaded up with unmarked wooden crates. One of the crates has been levered open and a number of bottles of amber liquid can be seen inside.
Two of McBride’s men stumble out of a doorway to the back of the warehouse carrying what is obviously a body wrapped in sacks, and stumble awkwardly and begin to load it into the back of a car.
Stanley, looking slightly taken aback, mutters something about never getting used to this part of the job.
Manny looks away quickly–a good attorney must maintain deniability
Lulu, slightly disturbed but trying to act nonchalant, pulls out her cigarettes and waits for one of her companions to offer her a light
Grateful for the distraction, Stanley quietly offers Lulu a light.
Lulu gives Stanley a nod and accepts. Her hands shake almost imperceptibly. “Who’s the stiff in the sack?” she asks quietly.
Stanley looks around for Mr. McBride, not sure what’s expected of him in this situation. “Yeah, that’s what I’d like to know too,” he agrees.
Lenny glares at Corrigan for encroaching on his territory.
Mickey says he hopes the stiff is Damien Carmody
Making a persuasion roll to see if these hoodlums will tell me who the body is…
Roll: [52] Result: 52 Reason: whosthebody
The two goons stop in their tracks. They nervously look over Lulu’s shoulder at the Valentine brothers.
“It’s one of Whelan’s drivers: Tommy the Nose.” replies the first goon.
“Or, Tommy with the gaping fucking hole in his face, as he’ll be known now!” laughs the other.
“Though his driving days are done. He’s off to feed the fishes now.” says the first, tossing his cigarette to the ground and crushing it with his shoe. Then he nods towards the doorway from which they both emerged and says “He’s expecting you. I wouldn’t keep him waiting.”
Jimmy barks at goons.”what the hell happened?”
“The boss was working him over,” says the first as he climbs into the passenger seat, “and you know how your brother can get a bit over-enthusiastic sometimes.”
“That’s why he’s the boss” laughs the other as he steers the car towards the gates and they disappear into the encroaching darkness.
Manny: “Well. I suppose we shouldn’t keep Mr. McBride waiting. Shall we?”
“We shall, I guess” says Stanley as he starts walking.
Lulu follows, instinctively pulling closer to Lenny’s protective presence as usual.
Lenny feels reassured as Lulu pulls closer.
Declan McBride’s office is a plain room with a concrete floor and a bare light bulb hanging from the ceiling. A wooden desk has been pushed against one wall and a chair sits in the centre of the room. There are some cut lengths of rope lying on the floor. Blood is splattered over the chair and the floor, and there is a ceramic bowl of bloody water on the desk. McBride is sitting on the edge of the desk as you enter, bandaging one of his hands.
“Took a while for him to get talkative,” he grins, “but it was worth the wait.”
Manny ruefully thinks back on all the times he’s politely counseled Mr. McBride against committing crimes and then bragging about them to a roomful of people. That ship, he reflects, has sailed. Moreover, that selfsame ship has found a favorable trade wind, arrived early at its destination, and is even now taking on provisions for a return voyage.
Lulu is no stranger to the brutality of the gangster world, but while she might be bold towards McBride’s hoodlums, she knows it is wise to keep her mouth shut around the boss. Particularly when he’s apparently cheerfully beaten someone to a bloody pulp seconds before.
Lenny ponders whether McBride has put on this macabre show partly to let him and his brother know that he doesn’t need hard men to do his bloody bidding and is willing to get his own hands dirty, literally.
McBride sees the scene has made an impression on Lenny, and unsettled the others. He seems pleased with himself, confident that his control of the situation is intact and absolute.
“Watch your step there, sweetheart.” he says to Lulu, pointing casually to the floor. Looking down, Lulu sees something on the floor, just touching her shoe. After a moment of incomprehension of what she is looking at, she realizes it is a man’s bloodied ear.
Lulu kicks the ear away in horror and clings to Lenny’s arm.
Lenny grips Lulu’s arm to reassure her but it’s partly to steady himself as the sight of the ear makes him feel like retching.
McBride chuckles to himself in quiet delight at this
Lulu makes a sanity roll.
Roll: [55] Result: 55 Reason: earfear
Despite the comforting presence of Lenny, Lulu cannot stop herself from the embarrassing tears rolling down her cheeks. She is distracted from reasonable thought in a combination of revulsion at the severed ear and blood, and anger at herself for being so weak.
Manny is disgusted by the ear and the behavior…but glad that he isn’t the center of attention
Roll: [96] Result: 96 Reason: Fear the Ear sanity roll
Whoops. Manny hates being confronted with the real consequences of the crimes he enables. Cognitive dissonance hits for a sanity point loss.
He hopes someone will speak up to break the moment, but he’s too shaken to take the stage
Lenny Valentine Roll: [25] Result: 25
Mickey Valentine Roll: [22] Result: 22
Mickey keeps his cool
So what’s the story, boss? Mickey asks and lights a cigarette.
Lenny retains his composure and backs up his brother by saying, ‘Yeah, boss, what gives?’
“I’ve got a little jaunt in the countryside for you. Tommy the Nose was a secretive guy. A good guy too. We went way back. It’s a shame. But we managed to convince him to tell us the source of Whelan’s new whiskey supply. Some kinda backwoods corn distillery down in the Miskatonic Valley, not far from Dunwich. Some nowheresville called Blackwater Creek.”
“The whole operation is run by the Carmody brothers on their family farm. They grow the corn there and everything. Whelan sends trucks down there weekly to pick up their whiskey, then sticks his own labels on it.”
“I need you to go down to this Blackwater Creek first thing tomorrow and convince the Carmodys that there’s been a change of management, and that they work for me now. Offer them ten grand up front, and tell them I’ll match what Whelan is paying them from then onwards, plus 5 percent. “
“Damien Carmody and Whelan go back a long way, so he’s gonna take some persuading. But whatever else happens, you don’t leave that place without getting an agreement from the Carmodys, you hear?”
He eyes Mickey and says purposefully “Violence is definitely an option, but under no circumstances are you to kill the brothers unless you’re sure that you’ve figured out whatever it is that makes their whiskey so special, so we can make it ourselves. I know you’ve got your beef with Damien Carmody, but this is business. Same goes for you, Lenny. Keep it professional. At least try to keep it professional. Maybe let Manny do the talking.”
“It’ll be a nice trip home for you, sweetheart.” he says to Lulu. “A chance to get back in touch with old flames.” He grins knowingly at this. “Or with the land, or whatever it is you goddam hicks do.”
McBride pulls out a bottle from the desk drawer. It looks like one of the bottles you saw on the truck outside. “To tell the truth,” McBride says, “it tastes a bit funny to me, but it has a hell of a kick.” He takes a swig then passes the bottle to Manny. “See for yourselves.”
‘Sure thing, boss’, says Lenny, knowing he’s expected to keep Mickey on a tight leash. He glances at Lulu to see her reaction to McBride’s comments.
“I’d never turn down a taste of fine American whiskey.” Takes a modest gulp.
‘Got it, boss’, Mickey says and feels a thrill of anticipation at the thought of getting some blood on his own hands. This wave of excitement is hidden under his cool exterior.
Lulu is not happy at this turn of events. The last thing she wants is to return to her origins in the sticks – and in particular the Carmodys – but for Lenny’s sake, she dries her tears and gives McBride the tiniest of nods. Mustn’t ruin Lenny’s good standing with the boss.
A small, bitter part of her relishes the thought of rubbing her now-stylish city girl life and tough, strong new boyfriend in Brendan Carmody’s face. That’ll show the lying, skirt-chasing creep.
“So,” Stanley says looking at the others. “What are we waiting for? Let’s go.”
“Steady on, kid. ” says McBride. “It’s dark. Take your time to get what you all need, and you can head down at daylight. The Carmodys ain’t going nowhere.”
“Christ Manny, are you just gonna keep that bottle of hooch or what? Pass it around”
Stanley seems to be unable to take his eyes off the severed ear. He tries to play it off as if it doesn’t affect him, when it very clearly does. He even touches his own ear briefly with a visibly trembling hand, as if to make sure it’s still there.
Manny passes the bottle.
Jimmy couldn’t care less about the ear. He wants a shot of the bottle and and passes it on, then sidles up to his brother and whispers in his ear.
McBride gestures towards the warehouse. “Corrigan and Jimmy. Maybe you two take that truck down there tomorrow, and load it up. Might as well get a head start on our supply. ” He smiles at Manny. “I’m sure Manny’s itching to drive the rest of you down there in that sweet new roadster, eh?”
Manny: “I would be delighted to put it to the test on country roads, away from the city traffic.”
McBride: “Nice to see you can afford such a sweet ride. I hope you’re not cooking my books, Manny.”
“Uhhh,” goes Stanley, “Sure thing, boss”, still visibly shaken.
Manny: “Your books, sir, as as raw as the finest house salad at any restaurant in town,” Manny proclaims. “Fear not for your books, sir–but fear and pity the hapless car salesman, who, positioned between me and a bargain, finds himself standing defeated on the field of negotiation.”
McBride leaps to his feet from his desk, walks slowly towards Manny and places his forehead menacingly against the lawyer’s. “Let’s keep it that way”, he growls “or you’ll be joining Tommy the Nose in the harbor.”
He then quickly pulls away, laughing hysterically. “I’m fucking with you. The face on this mook!”
Manny fake laughs as best he can Declan grabs the whiskey bottle from Jimmy, takes another swig, then sits back down on the desk. “Alright, get the hell out of here. You’ve all got a long drive ahead of you tomorrow.”
PART TWO
THE NEXT MORNING – OUTSIDE MCBRIDE’S WAREHOUSE
It has been agreed that Lulu and the Valentine brothers will travel with Manny in his 1926 Marmon roadster. Lulu insists that Lenny rides shotgun, while she sits in the back with Mickey. Jimmy and Stanley will follow behind in the delivery truck recently acquired from Whelan, a 1922 Model T.
The day is cold, grey and overcast. The least inhospitable route from Boston involves almost an entire day’s travel through the back roads and dirt tracks of the Miskatonic Valley. The quality of the roads makes driving difficult at times, slowing the journey down significantly. The further into the valley you travel, the more rustic and unwelcoming the few settlements you come across become. From Dunwich you turn eastwards along a rural road called Hook Road, travelling for about another 6 miles.
The road eventually winds through a pass in the Dunwich Hills to within sight of the Miskatonic River, before continuing down and eastwards, along a densely wooded area, towards a small cluster of buildings in the near distance. As the vehicles make their final approach through the valley, Manny and Jimmy thought they heard a very faint, but regular beating in their ears. Slow and deep, and just on the edge of their perception. They could not pinpoint it. It seemed to come from all around them. Every forty seconds or so, but barely perceptible. Perhaps they just imagined it? A worn sign at the roadside reads “BLACKWATER CREEK”. Both vehicles are forced to a crawl due to the poor condition of the road, and you trundle across a narrow, wooden, covered bridge that spans a dry creek bed. On one side of the bridge you spy what look like the remains of three large trenches that have been recently filled back in with earth. You continue east another quarter mile, and Manny brings the Marmon to a halt in what is presumably the main square of the town of Blackwater Creek.
Calling it a town is an overstatement. It seems to have some basic amenities, namely an apparently well-stocked general store and a church. But barring a couple of shacks, what passes for the town square is little more than a patch of mud surrounded by rustic wooden buildings.
Feral dogs and half-dressed children run around, making noise and mischief. There is a slight smell of rotten fruit in the air. The sky is growing dark, and a steady drizzle is falling in the chill air.
Lulu feels an overwhelming sense of dread and nausea as the cars come to a stop in a place she had hoped to never see again.
“Does anyone,” Manny says, “know the precise location of our destination? Or must we rely on the helpful citizens of this charming metropolis to guide us?”
An older model T truck approaches from the road to the east and comes to a slow stop as it reaches you. Painted on the side it reads “J. Merritt – Veterinarian”. The children stop to look momentarily, then absently return to their games. A cheerful looking, middle-aged ruddy faced man with a bushy white beard, leans out of the driver’s side and greets you.
“Evenin’. Are you folks lost?”
Manny: Ah, a fellow professional! “Excuse me. doctor, can you point us in the direction of the Carmody farm?”
“The Carmodys?” He seems to glance nervously in all directions, then mutters “You want to steer clear of those folks. A fine gentleman such as yourself doesn’t want any dealings with their kind. If it’s accommodations for the night you’re seeking, you’d be better off at the Jarvey place back up that road to the north just a ways. ” He then gestures to the smaller of the two shacks on the square and says, “I’d send you to the widow Hawkins’ place, but I haven’t seen her about for a time. As you can probably tell, the town’s not got much to offer. Getting worse by the day, if you ask me. Nearest hotel would be down in Arkham, but you’ll not make that in the dark. Looks like rain’s rolling in too. Heading back to Dunwich myself, but I know the guest house there is full.”
Dr. Merritt looks over at two of the children sat on the stoop of the general store. They appear to be playing with a glass jar. “Say, Jack and Gertie? Whatcha got there?” The children glance up at him, dour-faced, then return to playing with their jar. Dr. Merritt seems visibly saddened at the slight.
Lulu: Rolling a SPOT HIDDEN to see what’s in the glass jar….
Roll: [63] Result: 63 Reason: glassjar
Jack and Gertie have gravely serious looks on their faces. Gertie seems to drop something into the jar, and then they both look at it in rapt fascination. But from this distance all @Lulu Winney can see is what looks like a mason jar filled with muddy water and sediment.
Lulu approaches the kids and stoops down to their level on the steps. “Hello there,” she says. “I’m Lulu, I lived around here a long time ago.” She motions to the jar. “Is that water from the river? I used to swim there all the time. I would collect all kinds of interesting stuff I found there. Did you find something too?”
And…persuasion roll!
Roll: [89] Result: 89 Reason: persuadekids
The children eye Lulu warily, then shift uncomfortably before getting up and sitting further down the general store’s stoop away from her.
Lulu retreats back to the group and gives a little shrug to them, as if to say “well, I tried.”
The door of the other shack opens. A male figure emerges, sits in a rocking chair, and quietly observes the scene in the town square.
Mickey thinks there’s something more here than meets the eye. SPOT HIDDEN !roll 1d100!
Roll: [10] Result: 10
Mickey would like to take a closer look at that glass jar
Mickey notices that Gertie takes an earthworm and drops it into the jar. Jack closes the lid tightly, and both children stare intently into the glass. Tiny white specks in the muddy water seem to accumulate around the worm. It wriggles violently for a few moments, but eventually seems to disappear into the ever-growing mass of white flecks. Soon there is nothing left of the worm, and the tiny flecks disperse once more. “Go get another one” whispers Jack to Gertie excitedly, as his little sister dutifully scours the dirt for another worm.
(Jimmy lights a cigarette and wanders off stretching his legs and back in apparently no direction but checking out can he get to the widow’s shack unseen)
(Jimmy rolls 24 against a stealth skill of 60 – a hard success)
Jimmy casually walks away from his compatriots, and out of the light cast from the general-store. Undetected, he makes his way towards the shack that Dr. Merritt indicated was that of of the widow Hawkins. He makes it to the porch and tries the door. It is unlocked.
It is a simple, but comfortable, two-room shack. The main room contains a table with two chairs and a small stove. The stove clearly has not been used for at least a week. On the table are a bible and some Protestant religious pamphlets. A simple wooden cross adorns one wall. A small bedroom contains a bed and a rustic dresser. All of the widow’s clothing and belongings appear to be still here. The bed is unmade.
Jimmy gives the shack and all it’s contents a thorough search, including the stove. Also spot hidden !roll 1d100
Also checks bible and pamphlets
Just the kind of well-worn family bible you’d expect to find in a home. Nothing remarkable about either it or the pamphlets.
(we will get back to your spot hidden when you give me a !roll 1d100)
Lenny is getting impatient and wants to get this job done and out of Dodge asap. He approaches the man in the rocking chair and using what he considers ‘yokel’ lingo says, ‘Howdy, kind sir, y’all mind kindly tellin’ us folk how we could to get to the Carmody’s place?’
Dr. Merritt glances up at the near-dark sky and says “Well, I’ve stopped too long, and it’s dark already. I’d best be on my way. As I said, the Jarvey farm’s your best bet for accommodations. Nate Baxter’s store there can sort you out for supplies and such. Best of luck to you.”
He looks over to the man sitting on the porch of his shack and waves cheerfully, “Night, Dick!”
The man on the porch touches the brim of his hat and nods in response.
The old truck starts up and Dr. Merritt drives off the road to the west.
Lulu shakes her head at Lenny’s attempt at “yokel.” She thinks it’s cute, but the man in the chair…well this could go either way.
As he gets closer to him, Lenny sees that the man sitting on the porch is in his early to mid sixties, lean, angular and time-worn. He sips from a tin cup. Lenny notices a hunting rifle propped against the wall beside him. He nods quietly at Lenny’s greeting and rises slowly to his feet. “Evenin'”, he replies, in a terse but not unfriendly manner.
“The Carmody’s, eh? Now what business might fine lookin’ folks like yourselves have with those ne’er do wells?”
Lenny drops the yokel act when he realises the porch dweller has them sussed as city slickers. ‘We have some business to attend to there,’ he says, trying to be as vague as possible.
The man rises to his feet. He looks in both directions down the road, and says “The name’s Dick Sprouston. I’m the lay preacher here, and the closest thing this old place has to a sheriff. Those Carmodys have been a thorn in my side these last few years, and I’m guessing by your tone, sonny, that maybe you folks should step inside, have a drink and you can tell me more about this business?”
(I would assume everyone is within earshot and viewing distance of Lenny and Sprouston’s exchange – except Jimmy, who is still inside the widow Hawkins’ shack)
Jimmy finds a slightly rusty 20 gauge shotgun and two shells under the widow Hawkins’ bed.
Lenny turns to the others and with a wave of the arm signals that they should all follow him into the shack. ‘That’s mighty kind of you, Mr. Sprouston’, he says, ‘don’t mind if we do’. He’s wary of the situation, but any information this preacher might have about the Carmodys could be valuable; forewarned is forearmed.
Jimmy walks in to the shack with a big grin on himself and looks at his watch.
The interior of Sprouston’s shack comprises a living room with a large wooden table, some hunting trophies along the walls, a simple bedroom and a kitchen with a wood burning stove. There is also a commendation from the Arkham Sheriff’s Department hanging on one of the living room walls. Sprouston lights some kerosene lamps. He invites everyone to sit, takes some glasses and a couple of tin cups, places them on the table.
“Can I offer any of you folks a drink?” he asks, producing a bottle of whiskey from the kitchen.
Jimmy says “thank you sir, we haven’t been introduced” and reaches for both the bottle and the glass to read the label and says “James…And you sir?”
“Dick Sprouston. Help yourself”
“Pleasure to meet you Richard”. “I don’t want to be intrusive,but when did your widow go walkabouts”? Jimmy looks at Lulu and with a hint of a wink says “there’s a bed for a lady waiting next door, and protection is provided” Jimmy checks her boyfriend’s response.
Sprouston looks puzzled. “It’s the damndest thing. Must be nearly a month she’s been gone now. We’ve been over her place with a fine tooth comb. No sign of foul play. Just up and gone. She’d been lost since Jeb passed. Jeb was her husband. Fine, fine , god fearing people, the both of them. She took his loss hard, but folks looked in on her regular, and she seemed in brighter spirits.”
He stares off into the middle distance.
“Damndest thing.”
“I’d say maybe you folks could bed down there for the night, but it’s not my place, and it wouldn’t be right. Jarvey place up the road can put you all up. Fine, fine, god fearing people the Jarveys. They’ll see you right. Not like their neighbors the Carmodys. I’ll grant you they make some damn fine liquor, but they’ve always been troublesome, and lately they’ve been getting out of hand.”
Lulu asks “out of hand how?”
Jimmy giggles
Sprouston takes a glass from the table, wipes it with his shirt, pours a finger of whiskey into it and hands it to Lulu.
Lulu takes the glass, says quietly “thank you” and sips delicately.
“Damming the creek for starters, and causing all kinds of trouble for the farms downstream. You probably saw it when you drove into town. That creek used to provide water for everybody. Flowed right down out of the woods and into the Miskatonic down there. Now they’ve got it dammed so they can route all of the water to their cornfields and whiskey production, and the creek’s as dry as a bone.”
“We’d rout them out, but they’ve got all kinds of out of town hired guns. The townsfolk are afraid of them.”
Jimmy is desperately trying to avoid being caught staring at Lulu
On hearing about guns Jimmy turns immediately to sprouston and pulls his jacket open to show his 38
Jimmy says “tell me more”
Sprouston acknowledges the pistol in Jimmy’s shoulder holster. “So is this the kind of business you have with the Carmodys?” he says to @Lenny Valentine. “Maybe you folks should be the ones telling me more? I’m essentially the law in this town, so I refuse to get involved. But perhaps we can come to some kind of mutually beneficial arrangement here?”
Jimmy looks directly into Sprousen’s eyes and says “you best be talking to me Richard”. “I wouldn’t want you misinterpreted and talking to the…..(check who’s watching)
Lenny sees how Jimmy is eyeing up Lulu, but for the moment he’s more concerned with the Carmody situation, so he lets it pass. He reckons the preacher seems keen on some kind of alignment and is happy to let Jimmy take the lead and the glory if it just means getting the hell out of this backwater mission accomplished. He steps back and lets Jimmy negotiate, but is ready to step in if he feels the whisky is loosening his lips too much.
Sprouston refills Jimmy McBride’s glass, hands Manny Ziegler a glass and Lenny Valentine a tin cup, and fills them both with generous helpings from the bottle. He seems slightly bemused at the notion that Jimmy is the one he should be talking to, sensing some clear tension in the room, but he turns to Jimmy and says “Well okay then…” He pours the last glass and cup, easing them towards Mickey Valentine and Stanley Corrigan respectively.
Sprouston gives you directions to the Carmody farm, going so far as to provide you with details of the farm’s layout. He pulls out a map, so he has clearly had this on his mind for quite some time, indicating that you can approach the farm from the road to the north (“near the Jarvey farm”), or from the west along a track leading to the creek (“where those university folks are”).
“They’ve got five or six men with guns, and James Carmody and his boys aren’t shy of a firearm, and the whole place is surrounded by cornfields. And those boys are always watching.”
“I am sure we can address all of our concerns through reasonable negotiations,” Manny says.
Stanley accepts the glass, and nods an acknowledgement to Sprouston.
Then he says, with a thoughtful look on his face, “Who are these university people you mentioned?”
“Oh, they came into town a few months back. Down from Mistaktonic University in Arkham. Man with a wooden leg by the name of Roades and his wife. Had a bunch of kids from the university with them. They was all digging down by the creek by the bridge there for a while. Some historical site or some such. Time’s are hard enough now for me to hold much truck with history. They had a camp setup down the track a ways near the dam. Haven’t seen much of them of late, to be honest. Maybe they left town? Nate Baxter across the way had more dealings with them. The kids was all put up the Jarvey’s barn for a time too,.”
(to Manny Ziegler) “I don’t much care how you folks resolve it,. In fact, I’d prefer not to know. Just so long as you can get the Carmodys to open up that dam of theirs and get the creek flowing back down to the river like it was before.”
Mickey sniffs at his glass and takes a cautious sip. Never know what these Carmodys mix into the whiskey, he thinks and touches the revolver tucked into the back of his pants. He is content to stand back and let Jimmy play the boss and Manny can negotiate as much as he wants but Mickey has one goal and one goal only and that is to put a bullet in Damien Carmody.
Sprouston notices Mickey Valentine’s limp. “In the War, son?”
”At Soissons”, Mickey says fiddling with the bullet in the chain around his neck. No need for the old man to know about Damien, Mickey thinks.
Lulu is looking at Jimmy with new eyes. She’s pretty impressed with Jimmy’s sudden take-charge attitude; It suits him, and she does have a thing for tough guys. Maybe, she thinks, Jimmy might be someone to take charge of the McBride business…once Declan inevitably goes too far and gets taken out. And once the Carmodys are dealt with. She feels a little guilty for having these thoughts. Lenny’s a good guy and he takes care of her.
She continues to remain silent in the background, hoping Sproulston doesn’t recognize her. She’s a long way from that skinny teenager whose Daddy was always getting in trouble ‘round these parts.
“Well. Shall we accept the kind hospitality offered to us and settle in for the evening at this Jarvey House?”
And Manny addresses Sprouston. “Mr. Sprouston, I am most grateful for the whiskey and the information you’ve offered,” he says. “And, as the representative of local authority, since we are seeking to do business in the community, I would happily remand any fees we owe the community to your safekeeping–I’m certain you can make sure they would find their way to the right place.”
“The resolution of this situation with those Carmodys is all the payment I’ll be needing, thank you. It’s getting close to ten but the Jarvey place isn’t far. Tell them I sent you. They’ll see you fed and bedded down for the night. Just head east about a quarter mile, then you’ll see a road to the north. Take that, and when you get to the fork head right. Going left will take you to the Carmody place, and they won’t take kindly to strangers sneaking up on them in the dark. Nate Baxter will be closing up soon too, so if you need any supplies you might want to stop by there before you hit the road.”
Manny: “Should we stop at the general store before turning in? It occurs to me that a flashlight might come in handy, if they have one available.”
Stanley nods in agreement. “Some extra ammunition might come in handy as well.”
You say your farewells to Sprouston, thanking him for his hospitality and his assistance, then make your way hurriedly across the muddy town square to Baxter’s general store.
As you push through the door you hear a small bell ring somewhere in the back of the store.
The store is well stocked with necessities ranging from grain to tobacco to cloth to guns and ammunition. There are several barrels of local corn on display.
There is a low, annoyed grumbling and a thin, elderly man emerges from the back of the store. He manages a slight smile, but you can tell he is clearly irritated to have customers this late in the day.
“Just about to close up for the day, folks, so best make it quick. What can I do for you?”
Manny: I buy a flashlight, with a minimum of chitchat
Baxter seems quite excited at this, reaches behind the counter and places a rather sleek flashlight on the counter. “It’s one of the new Ever Readys. Got the batteries in there and everything.” He seems clearly pleased with himself. “That’ll be two dollars, sir.”
“Are you folks down from Miskatonic University to see Professor Roades, then?”
“Two dollars it is.” Manny can’t help but get drawn into chitchat, despite his best intentions. “Ah yes, the university project. What have you heard about that?”
“Oh, they came to town four, maybe five months back. Professor Roades and his wife, and a handful of students. They were digging off the road back a ways by the bridge. You can’t have missed it when you came in. Dug up the whole darn place they did. Then filled it all back in again. Strange way to make a living if you ask me. Roades said that he thought it was the site of Cade’s Rest. They were all holed up down at the Jarvey place for a while. The kids was all in the barn. Then they sent the students back to Arkham, oh, must’ve been two months back at least. The Roades’ set up a camp further up the creek after that. I didn’t have too much time for him, to be honest. But he was in here regular with all kinds of strange purchase requests, and his money was good. He hasn’t been by in over a month though. I hope he didn’t run afoul of the Carmodys. He said they were giving him trouble.”
Lulu asks Lenny to get a box of shotgun shells. She’s still afraid of being recognized.
Lenny buys a box of shotgun shells for Lulu and wonders why she’s acting so coy.
“That’ll be 93 cents, sir. Thank you kindly.”
Lenny hands over the money and says, ‘Thank you, sir. Apologies for coming in so late’.
Mickey follows Lenny to the counter and requests a box of .303 rifle rounds
Baxter hands a box of 100 rounds to Mickey Valentine. “That’ll be $1.34, thankyou. You folks going hunting?”
”Something like that”, Mickey says and hands him the money
Manny: “Cade’s Rest? What’s that?”
Baxter becomes quite animated at Manny Ziegler’s question. The subject clearly interests him. “Oh, Cade’s Rest was supposedly the original settlement here. Way back in pilgrim times. Quaker by the name of Ezekiel Cade and his family and friends fled persecution in Boston, so they moved down along the coast, sailed up the Miskatonic before they found some fertile land in the foothills around here. Or so the story goes.”
“They supposedly built a small settlement near here, and started dealing with the Sicaiook indians. The indians took kindly to the quakers, as they were the first white folks who treated them respectfully and would trade with them.”
“In return it’s said that Cade’s son Daniel was gored by a stag when hunting, and the Sicaiook took him to their sacred cave and healed him.”
“Folks being superstitious and such back then. They said Daniel wasn’t the same after the indians got done with him. And the settlers started to turn against the tribe. The story gets a bit strange after that.”
“They say Ezekiel Cade demanded to know what the Sicaiook had done to his son, and they took him to their cave to meet with the tribe elders. Cade then cursed the tribe as demons, and fled back to Boston.”
“The story is he then returned from Boston months later with a crew of mercenaries, slaughtered the Siciaook, destroyed their cave with barrels of gunpowder. And then ordered the mercenaries to slaughter everyone in the settlement. His own family included. Claimed they were all tainted.”
“Supposedly they razed the whole settlement. Burned all of the bodies. Then Cade returned to Boston, and lived in seclusion for the rest of his days.”
He chuckles to himself. “Or so the story goes.”
“I’d be happy to tell you more, but I’m afraid that if you’re done purchasing your supplies I need to close up for the night. We’re open bright and early tomorrow.”
Lenny finds all this particularly interesting and has heard this tall tale before during his time attending the university lectures given by the same Professor Roades. He says nothing about this though because his interest in history and book learning has always been met with ridicule and scorn.
“So, Roades was pretty sure he’d found the site of the original settlement. Darn near dug the whole woods up. Then the last time he came in with a doozy of an order for me.”
“He was looking for dynamite. Now, I can tell you that I do not stock dynamite in my general-store. But by golly I got him his dynamite, buecause what Nathaniel Baxter doesn’t stock, Nathaniel Baxter will special order for you. That’s my business motto.”
“For the next few days we could hear explosions north of the woods. The Carmodys were none too pleased, I can tell you. Haven’t seen Roades or his wife since. I’m hoping they just went back to Arkham. It would make my heart awful sore if the Carmodys brought harm to those folks.”
“You got any ammo for my .38?” Stanley asks Baxter, trying half-heartedly to conceal his impatience for all this nonsense. He’s here to do a job, and that’s what he intends to do.
Baxter shakes his head. “I stock shotguns, hunting rifles, and the ammunition to go with them. Not much call for .38s and such in these parts. Folks trust each other. Well…most folks anyhow.”
“I see,” Stanley says with a sigh. “Thanks anyway”.
Lulu looks up appealingly at Lenny and says “it’s already dark out, don’t you think we should head to the Jarvey place?”
“I heartily concur,” Manny says. “We appear to have an eventful day on our agenda for tomorrow.”
‘Sure,’ says Lenny, ‘Let’s get going’.
Jimmy buys shotgun shells ans a torch. Also rudimentary gun cleaning stuff
“That’ll be $3.85” says Baxter. Jimmy tosses the cash on the counter, and you all head back outside to the roadster and truck. As you start the vehicles you see Baxter flip the sign on his door to “CLOSED”. Then he stands in the window and waves you off. Glancing to your left you see the figure of Dick Sprouston also waving you off.
PART THREE
It is shortly after 10 PM
You head east for a short distance, before taking a small dirt road to the north. After a while you come to a fork in the road, and the headlights catch a crudely handpainted sign by the fork to the left that reads “NO TRESPISIN”. As instructed by Sprouston, you take the fork to the right, and after a short distance the road passes by a modest wheat field and some pastures. Two man stand in the far pasture attending to what appears to be the burning carcass of an animal.
Farm buildings begin to come into view, a white-painted two story farmhouse, and some well-appointed barns and outbuildings. There are lights on in the farmhouse, and as you approach and your vehicles come to a stop, an elderly man and woman emerge from within and stand on the porch.
“Mr. and Mrs. Jarvey, I assume?” Manny says. “Mr. Sprouston says you might be able to offer us lodging for the night. We are willing to pay well for your trouble, with my apologies for the short notice.”
“You’ve got the right place, alright” replies Malcolm Jarvey. He is a tough, wiry-looking man in his early sixties. Mostly bald, with a fringe of white hair that flicks around in the breeze. He quints, which gives him an ill-tempered look, but his manner seems quite friendly.
His wife, Edith, steps forward. She is a ruddy, plump, grandmotherly woman in her sixties. Dressed in an apron. Her white hair held in a tight bun.
“I’m afraid we only have the one room” she says apologetically. “We can put two of you up in there, but the rest of you are welcome to stay in the hay barn for the night.”
“It’s good and dry” says Malcolm, “and Edith can provide you all with blankets and pillows.”
“It’s late”, says Edith, again sounding more apologetic than she needs to given the late hour “but there’s still some stew, and we’ve got plenty of bread and milk if you folks want to come in and get some food into you before bed.”
You can’t help noticing the aroma of freshly baked bread wafting out from the house behind them.
‘That’s very kind of y’all,’ says Lenny ‘may I suggest Lulu takes the room and the rest of us bunk in the barn for the night?’
Jimmy does a little recon of the farm, keeping silent and out of the light, but is intrigued by the bonfire and makes his way towards it. As he approaches he gives a polite cough to announce his presence
The two men at the bonfire acknowledge Jimmy. The younger one smiles and says “evening”. The older one just nods and spits a thick black gob of chewing tobacco to the ground.
The farmhouse is modest and old, but well-maintained. It has been painted white recently, and looks clean, especially in comparison to other buildings in Blackwater Creek.
As you follow the Jarveys inside, you see that the ground floor has a good-sized kitchen with a wood-burning stove, a living room with a few chairs, a fireplace and a tin bath, and a large dining room where Edith directs you all to sit while she dishes out plates of thick beef stew, chunks of freshly baked bread, and generous cups of milk.
Malcolm puts some more wood on the fire and stokes it.
“That should get some warmth into you” he says. “We was half-expecting you, to be honest. Theodore – that’s our son – he’s out in the pasture with one of the hands – said he saw some folks in town. You was coming in late, so Edith figured you’d be stopping by. I scolded her for making so much stew, but she was right as usual. Haven’t had too many visitors of late. Not since the Roades and their gang. Are you folks from the university?”
“We’re just up from town–what do you know about the university contingent that preceded us?”
“The Roades crew? Oh, they must’ve arrived back in early June. They set up camp north of the woods , and they was digging down by the bridge. We didn’t see much of them, until one time back towards the end of June when we had a doozy of a thunderstorm and they were looking for better shelter. The professor and his wife stayed upstairs in the spare bedroom, – what was her name? Abigail, that’s it – and all those students – about half a dozen or so – slept in the hay barn. Nice folks., though he was a bit strange. I could see from the wooden leg that he was a veteran though. Lots of men made strange by that, and he was no stranger than most. The students helped out with chores around the farm. Old Pete – he’s our chief farm hand – tried to make out that they were a nuisance, but you could tell he was glad of the help. They stayed no more than a couple of days, then they all headed back to their camp. A week or so after that they say a truck came up from Arkham and took all the students back to the city. So I suppose it was just Roades and his wife up there after that, but we didn’t see them at all after they left our place. Don’t envy them being that close to the Carmody place. Folks in town would have had more dealings with them. Nathaniel Baxter down in the general-store would know more than me. Nice folks though.”
“Excuse me sir,” says Lulu. “I noticed some of your farmhands burning something outside. Has there been some kind of trouble with the crops or animals of late?”
Stanley nods at Lulu, then looks to the Jarveys. “Yes, I was curious about that too?”
Jarvey looks troubled. “That would be Theodore and Old Pete you saw. We had to put one of the sows down today. Some kind of sickness going around the farms in these parts these past few weeks. An infection, says Doc Merritt. Animals having litters of stillborn babies, and the ones that ain’t dead…” he shakes his head in disbelief “well, they don’t bear thinking about. We’ve just had to shoot them. Some of them coming out all decayed and covered in mould. Been hearing stories of folks being attacked by their livestock too. It ain’t right. Can’t keep burning our animals, but I’ve got to keep whatever this taint is away from the rest of them.”
Stanley’s tough guy front begins to visibly waver ever so slightly. This sort of thing isn’t supposed to bother him, not in the least – yet it does. He doesn’t know much about livestock, but he knows enough to understand that this isn’t right. But it isn’t only not right – it’s not natural – and this scares Stanley even if he would never admit it.
“Crops are gone crazy too. Wheat field outside that’s ready for harvesting? We just harvested it not a month ago, and here it is, all growed back already”
“But, uhmm,” Stanley stammers, “that’s… good, isn’t it? I mean, an extra harvest? I’m sure that happens from time to time?”
“You’d think. But it ain’t right. “
“Strange smell to it too. Like rotten peaches or some such.”
Jimmy is at the truck making sure the shotgun is clean and in good working order. He’s counting the people around him, figuring out where to duck out of sight and trying to pick up conversations. He’s not uncomfortable in the sticks, its where he buries bodies, but he likes to know the layout well.
Jarvey gets a bitter look in his eye. “Damn those Carmodys. I just know this is all on them.”
“How’d you figure that?” Stanley says, hoping that his relief at the subject change isn’t obvious.
Edith Jarvey makes busy and chastises her husband. “Oh now, Malcolm. These folks don’t need to be fussed by our troubles. I’ll go fetch you all some pillows and blankets.” She leaves the room and heads upstairs
“Those boys turned wild from their time in the big city. ” says Jarvey. “Rumor is they’re in the moonshine business, and they’ve got armed men over there. Their father, Jimmy, is a good man. But I ain’t seen him in more than a month. Their corn has been growing out of control. Ten foot high it is, and encroaching on our line. We’ve asked Dick Sprouston to do something, but he’s been dragging his heels”
Jarvis lowers his voice to almost a whisper. ” And last month I saw the eldest Carmody boy standing out in their fields, naked as the day he was born, and…letting critters…rats…bugs…spiders…crawl all over him. I’ve been afraid to tend to my own fields since. I leave it to Theodore and the hands.”
“And you’re saying… he was naked?” Stanley says in an unsteady voice. “You’re sure?”
“Sure as you’re all sitting right here in this room” says Jarvey
“Brendan Carmody was doing that???” Lulu exclaims, and almost immediately mentally bites her tongue. She didn’t intend to give away that she knew the Carmodys.
Edith returns, her arms laden with pillows and woolen blankets. As she enters the room she lets out a sudden, sharp cry, dropping all she is carrying to the floor. She looks embarrassed, and rubs her right hand slowly along the side of her jaw, as though in pain.
Lulu runs over to help. “Are you all right?” she asks Edith. She motions Lenny to come help too.
Lenny rushes to help Lulu with the old woman. He’s wondering what is going on in this strange town. Could the weird happenings be linked to some toxic run off coming from the production of whisky up at the Carmody place and polluting the water? There has to be a logical explanation, he reassures himself.
Edith looks even more embarrassed at Lulu’s attention. “Oh yes, dear. Thankyou. It’s just my gums. They cause me pain occasionally. I must look foolish.” She straightens herself again and smooths her apron down with her hands. “I’ll go and fetch Theodore, and he can show you boys out to the hay barn.”
Edith heads out to the porch. Malcolm starts filling his pipe. “It’s her teeth” he mutters quietly. “As you can tell, my wife and I are no spring chickens anymore. But her teeth are growing back. Don’t ask me how, but she’s teething like a baby. It causes her awful pain. Hoping to get her to a dentist in Arkham next week.”
“Something,” Manny thinks to himself, “is rotten in the village of Blackwater Creek.”
”You know Brendan Carmody?” Mickey asks Lulu
Stanley looks relieved. “Oh, I’m sure that’s it,” he says looking at Lenny. “They messed up the water or somethin’.”
Lulu gives Mickey a look like “we’ll talk later.”
Lulu is hiding something, Mickey thinks but lets it drop, for now, because he doesn’t want to upset Lenny. Mickey decides to keep a close eye on Lulu.
Jarvey lights his pipe, then claps his hands together in announcement. “Well, it’s past eleven and high time decent folk were abed. We’ve got two beds up in the spare room, and Theodore will show the rest of you out to the hay barn. It’s not much, but it’s warm and dry, and we’ve got plenty of bales in there to lay on.”
Edith calls to Theodore Jarvey from the front porch of the farmhouse, and he shouts, “Coming, Ma!” He then turns to you and says “I’ll say she’ll be wanting me to show you where you folks’ll be sleeping tonight.” He strides off towards the house. The old farm hand gives you another wary glance, spits a slow, thick, black glob of chew into the dying fire, and walks slowly after Theodore.
Edith Jarvey instructs Theodore to “show some of these folks to the hay barn. Pete, can you carry some pillows and blankets?”
Old Pete touches the brim of his hat, nods, and silently spits another gob of chew onto the ground.
Manny accompanies them to the barn, and casts about for a comfortable spot to set up his nest.
‘So, I take it we’re all sleeping out here and Lulu will take the room?’ Says Lenny.
”Sounds good to me”, Mickey replies
“Seems fair,” Stanley agrees.
Edith Jarvey leads Lulu upstairs to show her the spare bedroom, while Theodore Jarvey and Old Pete the farmhand show the men through the farmyard to the hay barn. Before they part company Lulu thinks she sees a glimpse of recognition in the younger Jarvey’s eye.
Although the Jarveys grow some wheat, the main business appears to be livestock, mainly cows and pigs. One barn is given over entirely to cattle. A large straw stack, covered over with tarpaulin, stands outside. Another barn houses stalls for the pigs. There is one, large fenced yard outside this barn, containing nine sows and one large boar.
There are also two smaller pens, used for younger pigs destined for slaughter.
An open cesspit dug into the ground lies at the back of this barn, and is used mainly for pig excrement. Semi-feral farm dogs and cats wander around the place. The odd chicken scatters at your approach.
Old Pete just stays silent, continually spitting out disgusting gobs of black chaw.
Theodore Jarvey seems a little nervous around you, but tries to make some small talk. “So, are you guys friends of Louise? Is she back to see her Pa?”
Manny: “I’m sorry–Louise?”
Theodore looks puzzled. “Louise. Louise Winney. The girl back at the house. We used to kick around together when we was kids. Well, she and Brendan did. Me and Damien was a bit younger than them two. Her and Brendan took off for Boston. We was all sure they was gonna get hitched. They must’ve broke up though, cos Brendan came back on his own. Then him and Damien went back to Boston. Brendan said there was good work to be had. Damien wanted me to go too, but my folks needed all the help they could get here. Big city changed Damien, and well, haven’t spoken to him in a long time.”
“Meh!” Old Pete breaks his almost monk-like silence with a shrug “Good riddance to em!” and he spits a particularly chunky mass of chew from the side of his mouth.
“She looks a bit older and fancy”, says Theodore, “but I’d recognize a girl like Louise anywhere.”
Mickey: So this is what Lulu has been hiding. Her connection to the Carmodys could prove to be useful. If she is to be trusted. Mickey thinks this but doesn’t want to say it aloud while the Jarveys are within earshot.
Theodore and Old Pete escort you to a large barn. It appears to be given over to storage for hay and feed. The upper level is filled with spare timbers, many of which are rotting, and there are spider webs everywhere. The lower level is packed with bales of hay. Theodore hangs a kerosene lamp from a hook on a post, and you all begin to stake out spots in the hay with your blankets and pillows.
“It’s not the Ritz”, says Theodore, “but this place is warm and dry. Sleep well.”
And he and Old Pete turn and head back across the farmyard, but not before the old farmhand gives you all one last wary look and spits yets another chunk of black chaw into the dirt.
Manny: “While I am here in a merely advisory capacity, and your tactics are yours to decide,” Manny says, “I will remind you that our remit is to obtain the cooperation of these distillers, with their operation as intact as possible–including, ideally, its operators. I am hoping that the promise of an extra five percent of their revenue, and of the protection we can offer, will entice them to cooperate and continue producing their product on behalf of our employer.”
“Though I, for one,” he continues, “have no great desire to consume another drop of said product. It seems to carry an odd taste, and an even odder…intangible something.”
Lenny is mulling over the revelation that Lulu was involved with Brendan Carmody. McBride’s comment about her making a trip back home and ‘old flames’ had seemed odd to him and he knew she might have had something of a past, but he’s disappointed that she didn’t feel like she could tell him about it. What else is she holding back, he wonders. On the other hand, her connection to the Carmodys might be useful in making deal a with them. Or it might be a hindrance. Time will tell.
Time spent in the trenches has thought Mickey to be aware of his surroundings. He takes a little wander around the barn and climbs to the upper level to have a look.
Rolling a spot hidden
Roll: [84] Result: 84
Mickey does a thorough search of both levels of the barn, but apart from spider webs and the occasional barn rat, finds nothing overtly suspicious about the place. He returns to where the others are almost all already sleeping, extinguishes the kerosene lamp and crawls under his blanket. It has been a long, strange day.
As Mickey sleeps, he dreams that feels the enveloping, smothering presence of his mother. He hears her voice calling out to him, crying for help, frightened and lost. Begging him to come to her.
————————————————————–
Edith leads Lulu to the upstairs of the farmhouse. There are three bedrooms upstairs: one master bedroom for the Jarveys, one for their son, Theodore, a small room that appears to be given over to a sewing room, filled with many bolts of cloth, and a pedal-operated sewing machine. Edith leads you to the guest bedroom.
The room has two, narrow wooden single beds, with hard mattresses. A ceramic washing bowl and water jug stand atop a wooden dresser, and there is a solid oak wardrobe next to it. There is a nightstand between the two beds with a lit oil lamp on it.
“I filled the jug with warm water in case you wanted to bathe before bed, and there’s a bible in the nightstand in case you wanted to do some praying. You’re the first visitors we’ve had since Professor Roades and his wife. But I keep it clean and warm. Well, it’s awful late, so I’ll be off to bed myself. We’ll have breakfast for you all in the morning.”
She exits the room and gently closes the door behind her.
Lulu decides to take a quick look around the bedroom, and a short flip through the Bible. Rolling a spot hidden….
Roll: [74] Result: 74 Reason: spothidden
Lulu sits on the side of one of the beds and thumbs through the tattered family bible. She stops at Mark 16:17-18
“And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
She puts the bible back in the drawer, and as she does so, notices a crumpled ball of paper on the floor behind the nightstand. She picks it up and straightens it. It appears to be a hastily-written, then abandoned letter.
Lulu tucks the letter away in her purse. Lenny seemed very interested in the story of Cade’s Rest; he’ll want to see this letter, and he will know what to do next.
She prepares for bed, but her mind is racing. She’s pretty sure Theodore recognized her, and while it was bound to happen, she’d hoped to remain low-profile a while longer, and she was disturbed at the story about Brendan Carmody. She wonders how to get Mickey alone tomorrow without arousing Lenny’s suspicions or jealousy – she knows Mickey hates Damien Carmody, and maybe he can help her with her plans for Brendan. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.
Lulu turns out the oil lamp and falls asleep.
As she sleeps she feels the enveloping, smothering presence of her mother – a mother she never knew, as she died birthing Lulu. She hears her voice calling out to her, crying for help. Begging her to come to her.
As Stanley Corrigan sleeps, he dreams that feels the enveloping, smothering presence of his mother. He hears her voice calling out to him, crying for help, frightened and lost. Begging him to come to her.
PART FOUR
Shortly after 3 A.M. everyone on the Jarvey farm is sharply awakened from their sleep by terrible sounds emanating from the farmyard, and seemingly from other surrounding farms in the distance. The rain hammers against the metal roofs of the barns. The pigs and cows make squeals and bellows of tortured distress. The dogs howl, and the cats scream like frightened babies. Amidst it all are the clear, agonizingly tormented screams of a man. The screams, howls and bellows are unceasing and increasingly desperate.
Those in the barn are in complete darkness. You can see nothing in the blackness.
Manny wakes up in confusion after a strange dream. “What…did you all hear that?”
The mayhem continues to grow in ferocity outside. You are still in utter darkness.
Lulu sits bolt upright in bed, switches the oil lamp on, and listens, bedcovers clutched to her chin.
Stanley quickly gets up on uneasy feet. “What on earth was that?!” he exclaims in obvious fear. “What’s going on?”
Lenny immediately thinks of Lulu alone in the house and curses himself for suggesting she take the room, leaving her isolated and vulnerable. He hopes the screaming is coming from somewhere other than the house. Maybe she’s safer up there, he tells himself.
Mickey is clutching his revolver with both hands peering into the darkness of the barn. He is convinced someone is watching him.
Manny: “Blast! Mickey, do you still have that lamp? Can you get it lit?”
“Ah! My new flashlight, just the thing!” Manny fumbles with the fancy new flashlight until he gets it fired up. Then, he looks around the room…and finally shines it out the window.
As Manny shines the flashlight out of the window you see Malcolm and Theodore Jarvey hurry from the front porch of the farmhouse. Malcolm carries an oil lantern and shotgun and seems to be hurrying towards the pig barn, while his son rushes towards what appears to be the figure of Old Pete convulsing on the muddy ground.
You then spot something out of the corner of your eye, and scanning the flashlight around the inside of the barn, you pick out your confused companions hastily trying to get their bearings. But something more sinister catches your eye. The beam falls upon a large number of brown barn rats, numbering more than a dozen, all arranged in a semi-circle in front of the hay bales upon which you were all sleeping. The rats sit raised on their hind legs, staring at you all. They clearly have been there for quite some time, possibly all night. They do not move. They ignore the flashlight beam. Their focus is entirely upon you all.
From the window of the guest bedroom, Lulu sees the same scene unfolding with Malcolm and Theodore Jarvey in the farmyard.
Manny is filled with revulsion–how long have those horrible creatures been there? Were they crawling on us during our sleep?
”Oh it’s just rats”, Mickey sighs with relief. ”I like rats. Smart creatures.”
Lenny shudders, he only fears a couple of things in life. One of them is rats.
Lulu hurriedly gets dressed and runs down to the kitchen, hoping Edith will be there too.
Edith stands by the open front door, anxiously looking out over the farmyard. Lulu goes to her.
“Malcolm’s afraid that Brutus is going to kill the sows. We’ve never seen that boar act like this. BE CAREFUL, MALCOLM!”
In the yard cats and dogs attack each other. Dead chickens lie strewn here and there in the mud, clearly torn asunder by the larger animals.
Theodore, meanwhile, is desperately trying to help Old Pete, who lies convulsing on the ground, screaming inconsolably, and crying for his mother. Theodore looks helplessly around the farmyard, yelling for assistance.
Lulu sprints across the farmyard to the barn to rouse her traveling companions, terrified that they are as dead as the trampled chickens.
Lulu opens the barn door, causing the rats to scatter.
Stanley is relieved to see the rats go, but then he looks to the door and sees Lulu standing there. “Lulu!” he cries out, “What’s going on?!”
The cacophony of Old Pete’s screams and of the animals seems to only intensify.
Stanley continues, “And who’s that screaming?” He suddenly springs into action, bolting towards Lulu and the door to look outside.
Theodore rolls Old Pete onto his side. The old farm hand screams in agony, calling over and over for his mother. Then he goes into a sudden spasm, making grotesque gurgling and choking noises.
Theodore shouts in panic, “I think he’s swallowing his tongue! Help me, somebody please!”
“Does anyone know first aid?” he cries.
Stanley runs up to them and throws himself down on his knees next to the convulsing man. “What happened? Why is he like this?”, he demands. “Quick! Get a piece of wood or something to prop his mouth open with!”
Theodore rushes off to find some wood.
He could be mistaken. But amidst all of the confusion and noise, Stanley is certain he can hear his mother’s voice again. Calling to him. Pleading.
Black, viscous liquid fills the old farm hand’s mouth, spilling down his chin and cheeks, and spurting from his nostrils. Though he can no longer form words, he still makes shrill, gurgling screams.
Theodore quickly returns with a solid-looking piece of wood
He hands it to Stanley.
Stanley takes the wood and goes to put it in between the man’s teeth. But when he sees the black liquid he pulls his hands back in revulsion. “What the fuck is going on here?” he spurts out, then collects himself for a moment before attempting to grab the man’s jaw and insert the wood with grim determination.
Stanley Corrigan Roll: [72] Result: 72
Stanley attempts to insert his fingers into the farm hand’s mouth, but is so overcome with nausea at the sensation of the black liquid on his fingertips, that he simply falls on his knees to one side, vomiting.
The old farm hand continues writhing in agony.
Manny has been helping by shining his flashlight on the poor soul
Lulu hands her shotgun to Mickey and runs to Old Pete’s side, shoving Stanley out of the way.
Lulu Winney Roll: [21] Result: 21 Reason: firstaid
While Theodore manages to hold Old Pete’s mouth open with the wood, Lulu gingerly places her fingers inside. The black, sticky fluid covers her hand as she searches desperately for his tongue. His eyes fix upon her in a gaze half of terror, and half of mercy. Lulu’s hand sinks further into his mouth, sunk almost to the wrist in the gurgling mass of black ooze. She feels his teeth slide liquid-like from his gums, down her arm and onto the ground like gruesome pearls. She finally grasps his tongue and eases it from his throat, back into his mouth. As she does so the old farm hand coughs a tremendous gush of the bilious liquid, showering Lulu and Theodore, before his body and breathing become somewhat relaxed again, and he lies quietly on his side, softly calling for his mother.
“God bless you, Louise”, says Theodore “I think you done saved him.”
As Malcolm Jarvey approaches the pig barn, the wooden side wall bulges, then shatters. The hulking form of Brutus the boar comes charging through the debris. The enraged animal hurtles towards the old farmer, who drops his oil lantern as he fumbles to ready his shotgun.
The black liquid is disgusting, but not much worse than the time Lulu, as a child, had to help birth a calf. She wipes the muck from her hands onto her dress and sits back before the loud cracking of the pig barn startles her back into adrenaline mode again.
Manny Ziegler will also need a sanity roll for witnessing Old Pete’s nasty nuggets – deduct 3 if failed)
Manny Ziegler Roll: [72] Result: 72 Reason: Manny’s Descent Into Madness
Manny: Damn it
Despite all of the commotion going on around him, Mickey notices that all stiffness in his leg is gone. His once-pronounced limp appears to be completely gone. Most remarkably of all, he managed to steal a glimpse, and the horrific scarring from the work that the half-blind butcher of a stockyard veterinarian that McBride calls a doctor did on him is gone. The skin on his thigh smooth and undamaged.
Mickey takes a tentative step. He jumps up and down. There’s no denying it, the pain and the stiffnes in his leg is completely gone. What the hell is going on here, Mickey thinks. But then the noise from outside brings him to. ”I better go see what’s happening and bring Lulu the gun”, he says to Lenny and walks out of the barn. There’s a barely noticeable smile on his face and his step is as light as a feather.
Lenny rushes to join his brother outside and is almost sure that Mickey is walking completely normally without a limp. Maybe he’s just imagining it and the chaos and confusion has started playing tricks on his mind. There’s no time to think about though, they have to get out to protect the others and get the shotgun to Lulu.
Before Malcolm Jarvey has time to raise his shotgun, the boar crashes into him and past him, sending his gun flying from his hands. The old farmer collapses into the mud. After running for about another 30 feet the boar stops in its tracks, turns, and charges towards Malcolm again.
Lulu strains to hear through all the commotion. Under it all, there is a voice. A familiar voice. But why familiar? Her mother died giving birth to her. Lulu never heard her voice. But she feels, unmistakably, that it’s her.
Lulu gets to her feet and wanders, almost dreamlike, towards the voice. Where is it coming from? She barely notices Mickey and Lenny emerge from the barn, where she left her shotgun.
As Stanley’s fight-or-flight instinct kicks in, he finally remembers that he has a gun. He pulls it out as fast as he can, and takes aim at the charging boar, intense focus on his face.
Managing to push his fear aside, Stanley takes the shot with grim determination. A sudden sharp bang pierces the air, and the bullet impacts the side of the boar.
The boar goes crashing into the mud. Bleeding profusely, it seems animated by pure rage. Rising on its legs again, it continues its charge
Manny draws his pistol in a panic and fires a wild shot in the general direction of the boar, to no effect.
Mickey aims his revolver at the boar and shoots
Result: 1d10 (6)
Lenny fires his pistol at the boar.:
Result: 1d100 (87)
The Valentine brothers calmly approach the rampaging boar, raise their pistols and fire in unison. His brother’s fails to find its mark, but Mickey’s bullet strikes the boar directly in the centre of its forehead, and the animal collapses lifelessly into the dirt.
Almost at the same instant as the boar’s demise, and as abruptly as it began, all of the chaos and cacophony simply stops. Even the rain seems to cease in its ferocity. The animals calmly return to their rummaging and rambling, as if nothing had happened. Apart from the rain, the farmyard is utterly calm and quiet. Old Pete slowly rises to his feet, looking dazed and confused, then quietly spits a black chunk from his mouth into the dirt.
The farmers stare, warily and nervous, as Ziegler, Corrigan and the Valentine brothers stand in the middle of their family farm with revolvers drawn.
“I’m…I’m guessing you folks ain’t from the university after all”, says Malcolm Jarvey sheepishly.
Stanley puts his gun away with an annoyed look on his face, exclaiming “Can someone PLEASE explain what is going on here?!”
Theodore Jarvey looks at Stanley, shaking his head. He is plainly as baffled by these events as Corrigan is.
Stanley looks around as the annoyance on his face fades into confusion and anxiety. “Does anyone else hear that? I thought I heard…” Stanley’s voice breaks a little bit as he hesitates,”uhh, a woman’s voice…”
Old Pete’s expression changes to one of puzzlement. “My momma? Did you hear my momma too? She’s around here somewheres. I heard her.” He looks anxiously around him, as if looking for someone.
“Your mother?” Stanley stares at Old Pete. “You heard…” Before he can finish his sentence his expression once again changes, this time to one of frustration and fear. “There’s something weird with this place, something’s wrong! I’m telling you, it’s not natural!”
Edith Jarvey rushes from the porch and helps her husband to his feet. “Poor old Brutus”, he sighs. “I don’t know what got into him, but he darn near had me.” They both seem extremely nervous at the sight of armed men on their property, afraid to look any of you in the eye.
Stanley looks around to see if anyone looks hurt.
Lulu stops abruptly and shakes her head, snapping out of her trance. She walks back to join the rest of the group, retrieving the shotgun Mickey dropped before he shot the boar with his own pistol.
Malcolm Jarvey clears his throat and works up the courage to address you all. “Now, we don’t want no trouble here. We’re just christian working folks. I do appreciate your help here, and you’re welcome to finish out the night in the barn. But I suggest you folks be on your way come sun up. No disrespect meant. We just don’t want no trouble.”
Theodore watches Lulu emerge from the barn holding the shotgun. There is a look of deep hurt and confusion in his eyes. She is clearly not the girl he remembers anymore.
“I am inclined to agree with Mr. Corrigan,” Manny says, still breathing heavily. “There is something very wrong with this place.”
“Don’t worry Mr Jarvey,” Stanley says, “trust me when I say we have no intention of starting here any longer than necessary. You’ll get no trouble from us.”
“Is it absolutely necessary,” Manny says quietly to Stanley, “that we even stay the night? Much as I would hate to disappoint Mr. McBride, I don’t see how anything good can come of this place.”
“Well,” says Stanley, “you’ve got a good point. But I don’t want to return empty handed either. I’ve seen what happens when Mr McBride is disappointed. I’m sort of attached to my ears, and I prefer that they remain attached to me too.”
“I don’t know about the rest of you,” Stanley continues, “but I’m going back to sleep. First thing tomorrow morning I’m getting the hell out of here to finish the job we came here to do. Good night.” And with that, Stanley turns around and heads back into the barn.
Lulu turns to Lenny and says “No way am I staying by myself after all that. I’d rather sleep in the barn.”
Manny reluctantly settles in to try to sleep. Operant word being “try” You all curse Jimmy McBride, who somehow managed to sleep through all of the preceding mayhem. You all agree he is clearly a McBride. Leaving the kerosene lamp lit, you settle down for an uneasy but uneventful remainder of the night, still certain there are tiny eyes watching you from the darkness.
As Mickey sleeps, he dreams that feels the enveloping, smothering presence of his mother. He hears her voice calling out to him, crying for help, frightened and lost. Begging him to come to her.
As Lulu sleeps she feels the enveloping, smothering presence of her mother again. She hears her voice calling out to her, crying for help. Begging her to come to her.
She also dreams of a strange sound: a very faint, but regular beating in her ears. Slow and deep, and just on the edge of her perception. It seems to come from all around her. Every forty seconds or so, but barely perceptible.
As Stanley Corrigan sleeps, he once again dreams that feels the enveloping, smothering presence of his mother. He hears her voice calling out to him, crying for help, frightened and lost. Begging him to come to her. He also dreams of a strange sound: a very faint, but regular beating in his ears. Slow and deep, and just on the edge of his perception. It seems to come from all around him. Every forty seconds or so, but barely perceptible.
PART FIVE
You awake to see the first, faint light of dawn through the cracks in the timbers of the hay barn.
“How is everyone feeling this morning?” Manny asks. “I am the very picture of poor nerves and ill premonitions. And I venture that some of you may feel the same?”
When he awakes, Mickey notices that Lulu and Corrigan look pretty rough. Slightly bloated. Their skin seems pale and shiny, as though they are feverish.
Stanley feels ill, like he’s overeaten. He feels badly hungover. His mouth is sore. Running his index finger along his gums, he feels blister or boil-like growths on them. He can hear a very faint, but regular beating in his ears. Slow and deep, and just on the edge of his perception. He cannot pinpoint it. It seems to come from all around him. Every forty seconds or so. Constant, but barely perceptible.
Lulu mumbles something incoherent and buries her face in Lenny’s shoulder. She is not feeling at all well, and her ears seem to be playing tricks on her.
She hears a very faint, but regular beating in her ears. Slow and deep, and just on the edge of her perception. She cannot pinpoint it. It seems to come from all around her. Every forty seconds or so. Constant, but barely perceptible.
Lenny notices that Lulu looks slightly bloated and pale. She says she doesn’t feel well. He then notices that Corrigan looks similarly rough. Manny Ziegler was right when he said there is something very wrong with this place.
”Yeah, I can’t wait to leave this godforsaken barn.” Mickey says. ”Anyone else having weird dreams?”
“‘Weird’ would be a substantial improvement in the state of my dreams,” Manny answers. “If we are bound and determined to carry out our task today at the Carmody farms, shall we proceed and be done with it?”
“Though…and it pains me to say it…should we have a look at the late boar’s domicile to see what may have caused its outburst?”
Lulu suddenly remembers the note in the Bible she found last night. She digs it out of her purse and hands it to Lenny, explaining where she found it. “I thought this might interest you,” she says. “You know all about those old legends and stories.”
Lenny reads the note and immediately has his interest piqued. So, the cave exists and they were going to dynamite it? Where are they now, though? Did they fall afoul of the Carmodys or has it something to do with the strange goings on of the night before? The crossed out lines on the note are truly bizarre. It must be something to do with the water being contaminated by the Carmody still. But they all ate and drank with the Jarveys and only Corrigan and Lulu seem affected this morning. For now he tells Lulu he’ll take a closer look at the note later and agrees with Ziegler that they should proceed to the Carmodys after checking out what happened to the boar. Maybe they can see what it was eating and drinking?
Lenny and Manny agree to investigate the pig barn. They leave the others in the hay barn, and as they approach the pig barn they see Malcolm Jarvey and one of his farm hands busily patching the broken timbers where Brutus the boar had smashed through just a few hours prior. Jarvey still eyes the two men warily, but greets them with a pleasant-enough “Mornin'”.
“Good morning!” Manny says with false joviality. “Is there any sign of what may have set that beast upon its violent rampage!”
Malcolm Jarvey takes a break from his repair work, regards @Lenny Valentine and @Manny Ziegler, takes off his hat, and slowly scratches his head.
“Not a darn thing. All the animals have been acting a bit strange these past few months. But we’d never have expected that from old Brutus. We’d heard stories about other farms. But you try not to believe such things. I blame the Carmodys. Ever since the creek starting flowing again a few months back, and they built that dam and started digging those blasted irrigation ditches of theirs.”
He gestures over at the overgrown Carmody cornfields encroaching on his property.
“I mean, would you look at their cornfields? Must be 12 foot high at least. It ain’t natural. “
This chimes with what Lenny has been thinking: that it’s connected to the Carmody’s whisky business. Perhaps they’ve accidentally released lead into the water in the creek; it’s been known to cause aggression and delirium in people and animals. He remembers reading in the library about rum being poisoned in the 18th century in stills by a component called ‘the worm’. Indeed, it had been blamed by Benjamin Franklin for poisonings in Boston in 1786. Are the Carmodys using something similar in their process? ‘Tell me, Mr Jarvey,’ he says, ‘are you sure this all happened when the creek started flowing again?’
The old farmer seems almost offended at the question. “Sure as the day is long. Creek’s been bone dry two hundred years or more, and we never had no problems. At least folks say it’s flowing again. I’ve not been by that way to check, for fear of running into those boys. But that’s what folks are saying. Something’s growing them crops for them. Dick Sprouston and the other civic leaders wanting that dam opened up so they can get a share of the water. But I don’t want nothing to do with it. It all smells like bad business to me.”
Manny nods sagely, drawing on his complete lack of knowledge of all things agricultural
While Lenny and Manny are speaking with Malcolm, Lulu seizes the opportunity to sidle up to Mickey. “Do you REALLY think the Carmodys are going to just roll over and let Declan take over?” she asks him.
Mickey looks at Lulu as she speaks. She really doesn’t look well. There are small black-grey blisters in her mouth. Mickey feels a wave of concern but then remembers what Theodore said about her going off with a Carmody. ”I’m counting on the Carmodys putting up a fight”, Mickey says and touches the bullet in the chain around his neck. His leg might be healed but Damien Carmody is still gonna get what’s coming to him. ”What is the story with you and Brendan?”Mickey asks. ”Do you know anything that will help us get to him?”
“I know he’s a lying, cheating louse who promised to marry me and then took every penny I had then dropped me in the gutter,” says Lulu. “The things I had to do to survive…” she trails off. “I haven’t seen him since, and for all he knows I’m still that young girl who’d do anything for him. Maybe that could be advantageous…especially if he thinks I’m rich. Brendan craves the finer things in life, and a higher station, but I guess being the elder brother and all…his job is to maintain the family farm.”
Lulu shakes her head ruefully and continues: “Brendan is so vain of his good looks. Even as a boy he had the face of an angel and the charm of the devil, and he’s used it to get his way ever since. Well, not any more…”
Lulu puts her hand over Mickey’s and leans in to whisper conspiratorially. “I know Declan told us not to kill the Carmodys, but…” She opens her handbag and quickly shows Mickey the small flask of vitriol she is carrying. “Accidents happen, don’t they? People get killed by a stray shot…and angel faces can easily be spoiled.”
Mickey stares at Lulu in awe and says ”A woman after my own heart.” After blurting that out he suddenly feels uncomfortable. He starts walking out of the barn. ”Better join the others.”
Manny steps away from the farmers and says to the assembled party from the city, “I suppose there’s little point in delaying our visit. Shall we proceed to our destination?”
Stanley is getting impatient. He wants to get on with it and do the job, so that he can leave all this behind him as soon as possible.
Lenny doesn’t want to rush into anything without some kind of plan. ‘Before we leave we should mull it over and decide how to proceed ‘, he says. He can see his brother is champing at the bit and this worries him.
“But of course,” Manny says. “If our plan is to negotiate in a civil manner, I humbly suggest that I take the lead in the conversation. But if you are contemplating a more…active…approach, then I willingly defer to the expertise of others in such matters.”
“Well,” says Stanley, “if you ask me, I think we should be civil until it’s time to not be civil anymore.”
You bid your farewells to the Jarveys, who seem clearly relieved at your departure, and climb back into your vehicles – Ziegler, Lulu and the two Valentine brothers in Ziegler’s roadster, and Corrigan and McBride following in the truck.
The morning is clear and still – no sign remaining of the previous night’s tempestuous events, apart from the occasional rain puddle.
The vehicles make their way southwest along the road from the Jarvey farm back towards the town of Blackwater Creek, then turn right at the fork, pass the “No Trespisin” sign and follow the road northwest towards the Carmody place.
The road up to the Carmody farm is a bumpy, muddy track and runs for a little over a mile before it reaches the edge of their cornfields. Here the path becomes dark, the corn becoming tall enough to block out the sky, and covered with spider webs. There seems to be constant movement among the stalks, and you always feel that there are eyes upon you.
There are potholes and rocks all the way along the muddy, uneven surface of the track—given the state of the track, and still with no sign of the Carmody farm, it is dangerous to drive through the fields much faster than walking pace.
You come to the end of the dirt track, and begin to see daylight again as you arrive at the center of the Carmody farm – a handful of rather decrepit buildings in a clearing in the cornfields. The air is heavy with a sickly sweet aroma of rotten fruit.
The regular beating sound in Stanley’s ears has grown in intensity. Still quite low to be difficult to discern, but loud enough to be distracting. It seems to come from all around him. Every forty seconds or so. As the vehicles entered the clearing of the Carmody farm, he was sure he heard his mother’s voice again. Whispering.
The largest building is a barn that appears to have been repurposed as a distillery. There are a number of brewing vats and two large, industrial-scale stills, as well as dozens of wooden barrels. Damien Carmody is here with two of his farmhands/hired thugs, working on the still.
There is a second, smaller barn across the yard, which seems to be used solely for storing barrels of whiskey.
One smaller building serves as a garage, holding the Carmodys’ truck as well as an old Model-T Ford. Next to the garage is a larger shed filled with farming equipment.
An old tractor stands parked in the yard, next to the garage.
There also appears to be a horse stable.
The corner of the yard holds a grain silo.
At the north end of the yard stands a two-story wood-framed house. Out front, a long porch holds a couple of rotten chairs and a collapsed swing seat.
There is a woodshed attached to the side of the house, and a water pump and trough near the front porch.
Seeing your approach, Damien Carmody says something to his men and they disperse casually – one to the garage, and the other to the stable. Carmody calmy and slowly walks towards your oncoming vehicles, wiping his hands with a rag, and spitting derisively into the dirt.
Manny gets out of the car slowy and calmly, keeping his hands in sight.
With one hand Damien Carmody places the rag into one of the pockets of his overalls. He calmly reaches his other hand behind his back, and leaves it there. Manny can sense he is sizing him up. Then his gaze passes over the other passengers.
“Mr. Carmody, I presume!” For all his bluster, Manny actually has a way of putting people at ease–a good-natured charm. “Greeting on this fine morning. I am Manny Ziegler, an attorney from Boston. My client has a business proposition for you that would result in a significant increase in your profits. I’m sorry to arrive unannounced, but if you could grant me a small portion of time from your busy day, I believe all parties involved can make out quite well.”
Give me a charm or persuasion roll, 1d100 (22)
Total: 22
“A business proposition, eh? How about all these other folks step out of these automobiles first? Then we’ll see if there’ll be any business proposed or otherwise. “
“But of course! Now that we have your welcome, I will bring my associates out to make their introductions!” Manny gives a polite nod to the occupants of both vehicles.
You hear the distinct sound of hidden rifle bolts clacking into place.
The cornfields that surround the farm sway noticeably, though there is no discernible breeze.
You also hear the desperate, muffled cries of a man coming from the farmhouse.
Lulu steps delicately out of the car, then casually leans against it, takes out a compact and starts reapplying her lipstick.
The regular beating sound in her ears has grown in intensity. Still quite low to be difficult to discern, but loud enough to be distracting. It seems to come from all around her. Every forty seconds or so. As the vehicles entered the clearing of the Carmody farm, she was sure you heard her mother’s voice again. Whispering.
Lenny also steps out of the car, hands clearly visible so as not to spook Carmody. When he hears the cries coming from the farmhouse he is taken aback, but he doesn’t show it. The voice of the man in the house sounds vaguely familiar to him. He nods at Carmody, says hello and introduces himself.
Carmody sniggers. “Well, well, well. If it isn’t Mister Leonard Valentine. And is that your shitheel of a brother back there too? Didn’t I kill him? Oh well. And Louise Winney? Why, we got ourselves a regular old reunion right here this fine mornin’. You back here to drag that deadbeat of a father of yours out of the streets…or have you been missin’ my brother’s sugar?” He spits a large glob of black liquid onto the ground, and when he smiles you can see that his mouth is filled with grey/black pustules and what teeth he has remaining are utterly black. “Either way, sorry honey, but you’re in for a disappointment. Your daddy’s a lost cause. Always has been. And Brendan’s moved on to better and finer things than the likes of you.”
He turns to Manny. “Well? I’m listenin'”
Manny: “I think we can remove personalities from the discussion and proceed to the cold hard facts. My employer, Declan McBride, is interested in distributing your fine product. He is willing to exceed your current compensation rate by five percent. A happy and winning outcome for all!”
“Five percent, eh? I dunno. Whelan’s been working out pretty sweet for us. You able to back that up with upfront cash?”
“Mr. McBride said we could offer you ten thousand up front,” Manny says, “to demonstrate our good faith.”
Carmody lets out a whistle. “Ten grand! Now that is an impressive sum of money to be talkin’ about. But talk is cheap. I’d be a lot more impressed if I was to see that money.”
The pained, muffled cries continue to emanate from the farmhouse. Carmody acts as if he hears nothing, but there is no way that he does not hear them.
“Of course! We will retrieve it for you as soon as we have arrived at a tentative agreement.” Manny tries to block out the screaming.
Carmody pulls a revolver from behind his back and points it at Manny. “How about you retrieve it right now?”
Lenny slowly moves his hand towards his pistol but doesn’t draw it. It seems that a civil negotiation is probably not going to happen. He was sure of that even before the revolver had been drawn because of those screams coming from the house.
Manny tries to keep his cool and conjure up a smile. “Ah, quite the forceful negotiator, Mr. Carmody! By all means, if you want to delay things a while while we drive back to town, we are at your service. I had hoped to firm things up now, including our initial delivery plans, and then drop by with the advance payment on our way of town, so that we needn’t disrupt your operations twice in a day.”
“You think I’m some kind of chump? You show up here claiming to want to do business, but you show up with no money, and with the Valentine brothers, that Corrigan fella, and that goddam psycho,” – he nods towards Jimmy McBride. “Looks like a goddam murder squad to me. Seems to me like you’re all here to settle some score with me and my brother. Now either show me you’re serious, or get back in those automobiles and get the fuck out of here.”
“Murder squad? Mr. Carmody, we merely wish to demonstrate that we will be able to contend with any unhappy competitors offended by a new business arrangement.” Manny says. “And very well–you’ve called my bluff, well done. I have the money in the car–I simply wanted to ascertain that you were a serious business partner, and you have amply demonstrated that you are. If I might be so bold, I would be happy to go into the the car and retrieve the advance payment forthwith.”
He gestures at Manny’s car with the revolver. “Come on. Come on. The day’s a-wasting here and I got a delivery to make to Arkham.”
The cries from the farmhouse continue.
Carmody lets out a loud whistle, and another of his thugs, rifle slung over his shoulder, hurries from the distillery barn and comes to a halt beside him. “Billy here will look it over.”
Manny pulls the satchel out of the car and hands it to the friendly thug
The thug takes the satchel and runs back to the barn and out of sight. Carmody smiles his black-toothed smile and spits onto the ground again. “Won’t take long. Billy’s real book smart.”
A few tense minutes later you hear a distinct code whistle from the distillery. Carmody places his revolver back into his belt. “Looks like we’re good. Thank Mr. McBride for his generous offer. So, 5% on top of Whelan’s 7, is 12%. We can get you 100 cases a week starting next week.” He spits a thick black glob into his hand and extends it to Manny.
Manny hesitates, spits delicately into his hand, shakes, and ponders the science of amputation.
While Manny makes the deal, Lulu is inwardly bristling at Damien’s insults, and her head is killing her, but she manages to put on a sweet smile and says “Wow, I barely recognize little Dimmy Carmody, all grown up and running a business. I’m impressed. Where IS Brendan, anyway? I’d love to bury the hatchet and have no more hard feelings.”
Carmody looks dismissively at Lulu. “Oh, he’s around”, he says absently, then quickly turns his back to you and begins to walk back to the distillery barn. “He’s always around.” And when he says this, the cornfields all around seem you rustle. “Y’all are welcome to take forty cases back to McBride on that truck of yours, as a good faith initial delivery. Billy and the boys can load it for you.”
The tortured, muffled cries still come from somewhere within the farmhouse
Damien Carmody and Billy start heading over to the garage, and after talking for a brief moment, Carmody climbs into the truck, the bed of which is covered with a tarp. No doubt, the whiskey delivery to Arkham he mentioned. The truck starts and he heads down the track past you, tipping his hat and smiling his gruesome smile as he drives by. Then the truck continues down the muddy road through the cornfields, and out of sight.
Stanley shifts uneasily, not at all comfortable with the muffled cries.
“Well,” Manny says. “Shall we get our whisky and move along?”
Jimmy takes your truck over to the garage, where Billy and another Carmody thug begin to load crates marked “lettuce” onto the bed. Billy tells you that this will take about an hour. “Yis can walk around and check out the operation. But stay out of the house.”
Manny has used all the reserves of his calm and courage with the gun brandished on him at point blank range. He is looking to others to take the lead at this point, he is cashed.
Lenny decides he needs to find out who is screaming in the farm house because he thinks he might recognize the voice.
Result: 1d100 (45) – stealth
Total: 45
Lenny sees an opportunity while the men are distracted loading the truck, and he quietly heads to the farmhouse.
It is two-story wood-framed house. Out front, a long porch holds a couple of rotten chairs and a collapsed swing seat. There is a woodshed attached to the side of the house. Lenny tries the front door and, finding it unlocked, opens it and gingerly slips inside.
Inside the house, everything is covered with mold and strange growths. In places it looks almost like the wood of the house has started growing again, sprouting small branches. The mold has also impregnated all of the fabrics and soft furnishings. Some of the growths look almost like spoiled fruit and others like sickly white roots. The stench of ripe decay in the house is overpowering.
The kitchen/dining room which makes up the ground floor contains a wood-burning stove, holding a number of pans. The pans contain remnants of some of the growths. The leftovers on dirty plates on the kitchen table confirm that the Carmodys have been eating these growths.
There is a strong, terrible odor emanating from the top of the staircase leading to the second floor.
Lenny finds no evidence of a door leading to a basement, though he still hears muffled cries coming from somewhere within the house.
Lenny searches for a hidden door to the basement. !roll 1d100!spotthidden
!spothidden: 1d100 (36)
Total: 36
Lenny finds no basement door, but does discover a back door to the house. Through the filthy window in the door, he can just make out what appear to be rusted storm doors at the back of the house. Other than the front door, and the stairs leading up to the second floor, he sees no other exits.
Lenny exits through the back door and goes to see if he can gain access to the cellar through the storm doors.
The doors are fastened with an extremely rusted old chain and padlock.
As Lenny pulls at them, he hears the same muffled cries, clearly excited and agitated at the sound of the chain being moved. Very muffled and distorted, but Lenny is now certain that it is a voice that is familiar to him.
Lenny looks around and sees a decent sized rock that might break the rusty padlock. He picks it up and brings it down on the padlock.
! Str: 1d100 (31)
Total: 31
The old lock smashes easily, and Lenny quickly removes the chain and pulls open the metal storm doors, revealing a set of rickety wooden steps leading down .
As he begins to descend the rickety wooden steps Lenny is immediately struck by an overpowering stench of human urine and feces. He struggles to hold back the vomit from rising in his throat. Pulling a handkerchief from his jacket and holding it over his nose and mouth, he continues down the steps to find himself in what appears to be some kind of root cellar. The room is low-ceilinged, dark, cramped, and musty with earthen walls and floor. It is filled with junk, murky old jars of preserves and rusted farm equipment. The mould and growths Lenny saw in the house are even more evident down here, poking out of every surface, and as he looks around he thinks he sees occasional movement, as if some of the growths are wriggling like fat white worms.
A slurred, distorted voice calls out from the darkness, “Oh my! Leonard? Leonard Valentine, is that you my old friend?”, and as Lenny strains his eyes he can see the ragged form of Henry Roades chained to the wooden supports on the far end of the cellar.
“Please, Leonard, for the love of God!” Roades cries, gesticulating wildly “Get me out of this place!”
’Professor Roades, I thought it was you I heard!’, Lenny says, as he takes the rock he used to break the padlock and smashes it against the chains hoping he’ll be able to break them and release him.
! Strength: 1d100 (80)
Total: 80
As Lenny strikes the chains with the rock he notices that the professor’s clothes are torn and filthy, his hair and beard are wild and matted. He lies in a shallow pool of water that has seeped through and trickled down the cellar wall behind him. But Lenny is horrified to see a grotesque approximation of the man he once knew. White growths, like those seen on the walls, protrude from all over Roades’ bloated body. His grey, oily skin has split in several places and oozes thick, putrid, sweet-smelling black pus, which congeals in small pools around him. Roades’ missing leg has grown back, replaced by a hideous approximation of a human leg, but black, glistening and capped with a deformed cloven hoof. The white, wormlike protuberances also fill his mouth, distorting and muffling his speech.
“Please, Leonard,” he pleads. “They took Abigail, my wife. Burned the camp. The cave. I have to get to her. Please, get me out of here!”
He holds out a small journal in his hand, and you see that his fingers have begun to fuse together, so that is resembles a claw rather than a human hand.
! Sanity roll: 1d100 (89)
Total: 89
Result: 1d8 (7)
Total: 7 – sanity loss
! INT roll: 1d100 (14)
Total: 14 – successful intellect roll
Lenny lashes out in blind terror at Professor Roades, bringing the rock down upon the grotesque abomination’s head again and again, until the the professor’s gurgled, pleading screams fade into blackness.
PART SIX
When the blackness fades, Lenny finds himself lying on the ground, surrounded by tall, discolored corn stalks. He struggles slowly to his feet. Looking around he sees thousands of insects swarming around his feet, and feels a menacing, watching presence seemingly all around him in the corn. The corn stalks are blackened, oily, and secreting the same black ooze he spied in the Carmody farmhouse and basement.
Reaching into his pocket, he pulls out what appears to be the journal Roades held in his hands. He then notices his own hands. Their knuckles bloodied, their skin torn, and stained black with the blood of his old friend.
He can hear the voices of his companions. He has no idea how much time has passed, but it is still daylight, and no-one appears to be looking for him. He pushes his way through the cornstalks until he finds himself at the back of the Carmody farmhouse again.
Lenny gains the phobia scoleciphobia – a fear of worms and other writhing, wriggling things. Add it to the phobias on your character sheet. You will gain a penalty die whenever trying to do actions while in the presence of anything that triggers your phobia. He also gains Professor Roades’ journal.
As he begins to get his bearings again, Lenny sees that Carmody’s thugs have just finished loading the truck with the whiskey crates, and are covering with straw and a tarp.
“Lenny,” Manny says, noting his bedraggled and bloody state. “What on earth happened?”
The thugs are too preoccupied to notice Lenny. They head back to the distillery barn.
Lulu rushes over to Lenny and begins wiping the blood off his face with her handkerchief.
Lenny has no memory of what happened with Roades and says ’I don’t know, it’s the weirdest thing, I just remember going into the cellar behind the house and I woke up like this in the field. How long was I gone for?’
“I didn’t notice you leaving. Not too terribly long, I should say.” Manny looks him over. “You don’t remember? You look like you’ve just come out of a slaughterhouse!”
’I woke up amongst the cornstalks covered in blood, there were insects swarming all over my feet’ Lenny replies, ’Must’ve been clobbered by one of these Carmody goons when I snuck into the cellar. I thought I recognized the voice screaming from the house. It was coming from the cellar. I busted the lock on the storm doors and opened them, but that’s the last I remember’.
Lulu begins to feel like she is becoming disassociated from reality. She feels like she is losing herself, and that she is becoming somehow connected with all living things around her. It feels empowering to her.
Mickey looks at his brother covered in blood and he is filled with rage. ”C’mon it’s time to put a bullet in these Carmodys”, Mickey says and reaches for his gun.
When Mickey reaches for his gun, all of the surrounding cornfields rustle violently, as though being shaken by a strong wind. But there is no wind. Then they are still again.
Lulu puts her hand on Mickey’s arm and shakes her head at him “not yet.” “We should look around, see what’s so special about the whiskey,” she says to the group. “Maybe if we know the secret, we can take over…” she trails off. “I forgot how much I missed country living,” she says absently.
Lenny is in no mood to stick around and sees no reason not to get out of Dodge now they have the whisky. He needs to rein in his brother and Lulu is beginning to behave very strangely. ’I say let’s get out of here ASAP. We have what we came for’.
Mickey looks at the corn field and then he turns his head towards Lulu and Lenny. Lulu doesn’t seem like herself and the corn field is giving him the creeps. Lenny might have a point about getting out of here but there’s no way he is going to leave without getting back at Damien. Still, best to be smart about it, Mickey thinks and returns his gun back to the holster. Mickey nods begrudgingly at Lenny. ”Whatever you say bro.”
Manny agrees. “The sooner, the better.”
“I humbly submit that we each get into our respective vehicles,” Manny says, “and proceed to put a good deal of distance between ourselves and this benighted place.”
Lulu doesn’t want to leave. She suddenly realizes she still has seen no trace of Brendan Carmody, and idly wonders where he might be. She wanders towards the cornfields, as if in a dream, and is soon surrounded by rustling stalks and faint sounds that might be voices, if she strains to hear enough…
Everything about this place gives Stanley the creeps. He can’t wait to get out of here, and makes no secret of it.
Lulu stumbles blindly, deeper into the cornfields, until you all lose sight of her and only the movement of the stalks give you any indication of where she might be.
“Lulu! Where are you going!”, Stanley yells after her. “Having her wander off into the countryside is there last thing we need right now,” he mutters to himself as he goes to catch up with her.
Stanley also vanishes from sight into the cornfields. You hear him repeatedly yell Lulu’s name. Lulu does not respond.
Lulu finds herself surrounded by towering stalks of corn. Many look rotten, with black and green viscous liquid dripping down their stems. That strong, sweet, sickly odor permeates everything. The stalks seem to move constantly, and rats, snakes, insects and spiders scurry all around her – unperturbed by her presence. She feels as if she is being constantly watched, and again hears her mother’s pleading voice in her ears, stronger and clearer than she has ever heard it. “Please, Louise. Help me. Save me from this darkness. I feel so lost without you.” The voice seems to come from all around her: from the corn, the vermin, the insects, the earth, the air. She stumbles blindly, deeper into the cornfields.
Lulu presses on through the corn, before wandering into a small clearing in the field, though still surrounded on all sides by the towering stalks. The ground seems to be moving, then she realizes that she is standing in a layer of teeming insects, worms, and rats. Lulu has a brief, lucid moment of disgust, then looking towards the centre of the clearing she sees a figure, humanlike, but large, brutish and hideously deformed – its body a mass of pustules, open wounds, and root-like growths. One of its hands resembles a claw, and the other a grotesque parody of a goats hoof. It seems to command the creatures around it like an orchestra conductor, and the insects, rats and snakes swarm over its body in a sickening, macabre dance. She realizes, in horror, that she has finally found Brendan Carmody.
Lulu fumbles for the jar of vitriol and hurls it at the abomination that was once Brendan Carmody, but her half-catatonic state results in a half-hearted throw and Carmody easily avoids the acid, which splashes to the ground, dissolving insects and rats into a putrid, hissing soup. Perhaps Lulu meant to miss? She can feel Brendan’s essence interspersed with her own and everything else around them. She is he and he is she, and they are the rats and the snakes and the cockroaches and the corn and the dirt and the air and the sun. Carmody raises his disfigured arms skyward and a hundred rats swarm Lulu.
Lulu seems to want to turn to run, but she is in such a daze of confusion. She wants to run, but she also just wants to stay. She hears her mother’s voice calling to her, begging her to come to her. She hears the heartbeat of the earth welcoming her.
The thing that was Brendan Carmody lets out a gutteral moan, raises its deformed arms skyward once more, and the vermin around it slide from its body in a writhing swarm towards Lulu.
In another brief moment of lucidity, Lulu shrieks in horror at the creatures swarming her body, and manages to run further away from the creature behind her, which she hears emit another inhuman moan.
Stanley plunges deeper into the cornfield. He finds himself surrounded by towering stalks of corn. Many look rotten, with black and green viscous liquid dripping down their stems. That strong, sweet, sickly odor permeates everything. The stalks seem to move constantly, and rats, snakes, insects and spiders scurry all around him – unperturbed by his presence. Looking desperately around him, he does not hear Lulu respond to his calls, but he sees a trail of broken stalks and follows them as quickly as he can to try and catch up to her.
Result: 1d100 (95) Total: 95 dexterity roll (fail)
As he runs ever deeper into the cornfield, Stanley finds himself confused and lost. Pausing to catch his breath, he sees no sign of Lulu in any direction.
“Oh great,” he mutters to himself. “Now we have two lost idiots in this god-forsaken field instead of one.” Stanley looks around, desperately trying to catch sight of Lulu, or at least some indication as to what direction she went.1
spot hidden: 1d100 (48) Total: 48 (fail)
He thinks he sees some movement a short distance south of him. Or is it north? Or east? Or west? He catches his breath, yells for Lulu again and rushes towards the movement.
“Lulu! Damn it, how far could she have gone?” Stanley tries to suppress the creeping fear that threatens to engulf him as he struggles to make his way through the field.
He presses on through the corn, before collapsing into a small clearing in the field, though still surrounded on all sides by the towering stalks. The ground seems to be moving, then Stanley realizes in horror that he is kneeling in a layer of teeming insects, worms, and rats. He scrambles to his feet in disgust, then looking towards the centre of the clearing he sees a figure, humanlike, but large, brutish and hideously deformed – its body a mass of pustules, open wounds, and root-like growths. One of its hands resembles a claw, and the other a grotesque parody of a goats hoof. It seems to command the creatures around it like an orchestra conductor, and the insects, rats and snakes swarm over its body in a sickening, macabre dance.
san: 1d100 (76) (fail)
1d6 (6) Total: 6 – sanity loss
int: 1d100 (82) Total: 82 (fail) – no insanity
Regaining his composure, Stanley turns heel and runs through the corn as fast as his feet can carry him. He doesn’t care which direction he runs to, just as long as it is away from whatever that hideous monstrosity was. Above the sound of his labored, panicked breathing, and the cracking of cornstalks, he hears the scurrying of what sounds like hundreds of rats scurrying madly in pursuit of him.
Result: 1d100 (65) Total: 65 – Dexterity roll – success
The vermin seem to be ever closer. Stanley feels tiny bodies scurry up the backs of his legs. With a final, desperate surge of adrenalin, he goes crashing through the corn and comes tumbling and screaming out of the cornfield within sight of his companions. The rats disappear back into the field behind him.
One look at Stanley tells them he’s a physical and mental wreck. His clothes are torn, his face bleeding, and his voice fails him as he looks wild-eyed at you. “T-T-There was…” he stammers, pointing a trembling, scratched-up hand in the general direction of the field. “In the…”, his voice trails off.
“Stanley! Did you find Lulu? Where is she?” shouts Manny.
Manny decides to try to rally the wild-eyed lad. “Corrigan! Come on, lad, snap out of it! Where’s the girl?”
psychology for what it’s worth: 1d100 (29) – a hard success
Stanley gives Mickey a ragged, wild-eyed look. “We’ve lost Lulu, okay? Forget about her! Just… We have to get out of here! This whole place is cursed, nothing good will come from staying another moment!”
Manny is torn. He’s no hero, he knows that. He is terrified, and he wants to do nothing other than get in his car and drive away as fast as the road will allow, with or without his companions. But he knows that if he abandons a defenseless young woman to the horrors of this place, he’ll leave the last reserves of his self-respect to rot and wither with the corn.
”Well, that settles it, we won’t be leaving without Lulu”, Mickey says. ”Let’s go find the Carmody sonsofbitches and make them get Lulu back. There’s no way I’m going into that corn field and neither should any of you.”
Lenny would like to get out of there too, but he can’t leave Lulu. There is no way he’s going back into the cornfields though, so he thinks Mickey’s idea is the most logical under the circumstances despite the fact he has his own agenda. The Carmodys know this area and must know where anyone who goes into the corn will end up. He ignores Corrigan and says, ’Mickey’s right, going in there is futile, let’s get the Carmodys to find her’.
You hear another rustling from the cornfield, and amongst the thick stalks you just make out the figure of Lulu wandering, seemingly aimlessly, towards the edge of the field.
“There she is!” Manny shouts. “Grab her and let’s get out of here! Lulu, come out of the field, we’re ready to leave!”
Lulu appears to hear Manny’s cry and turns towards you all. But as she draws closer, what you encounter barely resembles the girl you all knew. Vermin swarm her entire body. Snakes curl around her face. Insects and worms filling her nostrils and mouth. Rats tear at her skin, which has become grey and oily, covered in weeping wounds of black and grey pus. The creatures of the field eagerly crawl into the wounds, filling her, devouring her from within. Lulu’s body shambles aimlessly, in grotesque, jerky movements. It is difficult to discern if she is actually moving by herself at all, or if her body is simply animated by the creatures within it, like some maggot-filled animal carcass. She seems to look at you, through eyeless, ant-filled sockets, and says in a calm, almost whisper-like voice, “Oh, mother, isn’t it wonderful?”, before what is left of her body is rended and shredded, and collapses to the ground as empty, insect-covered clothing, and the vermin disperse back into the stalks of corn.
“You see?!” shrieks Stanley, “I told you we lost her!’
Mickey throws up.
“She’s gone, good lord. Into the cars, let’s get out of here!” Manny doesn’t wait for an answer as he sprints toward his prized vehicle.
Jimmy takes off for the truck, grateful that the thugs have finished loading it up. Being the boss’s brother did NOT sign him up for this mess.
Stanley doesn’t waste any time heading for the truck either.April 11, 2021
Lenny is dumbstruck. He moves towards his brother and says, ’C’mon, let’s get out of here before whatever got Lulu gets us too!’
Lenny barely has time to scramble into the back of the roadster before both vehicles screech out of the Carmody farmyard, the truck spilling a couple of crates of whiskey that fall with a crash to the ground. Billy and the other thugs in the distillery, curious at all of the commotion, step out just in time to see you drive hurriedly out of sight. Heading back down the Carmodys road the cornstalks seem even more oppressive than when you arrived – dripping with green and black liquids and teeming with insects and spiders’ webs. Thousands of tiny eyes seem to stare out at you from within the stalks on both sides. You finally clear the fields, reaching the fork in the road, and turn towards the town of Blackwater Creek, but as you do so you notice figures emerging onto the road from the ditches a short distance ahead. As you get closer, you see that it appears to be some sort of posse made up of about half a dozen locals. You recognize Baxter, the shopkeeper, and at their head is Dick Sprouston. They all appear to be armed, most with pitchforks, but some with shotguns. They form a line across the road, clearly attempting to block your passage.
With a little distance from the field, Manny is a bit less frantic, and doesn’t want to run over a bunch of people. He slows to a stop, and yells out the window, “we are on a tight a schedule! Might you permit us to move on, and you can carry on your business with the Carmodys as you see fit?”
“Looks like we’ve got ourselves some bootleggers here, boys!” shouts Sprouston, and you see that he holds his old police revolver in his hands. “I think the federal authorities in Arkham will be mighty interested in talking to you folks. I suggest you get out of your vehicles, and keep your hands where we can see them.” He then signals to the others, who raise their shotguns and farm implements towards you. Then, with another signal from Sprouston, the posse slowly begins to approach you.
“Are you mad?” Manny speaks with an air of indignance. “We have this batch of herbal remedy and disinfectant, at the express wish of the Boston Hospital for Orphans! And time is of the essence for some of those poor benighted moppets!”
“One last warning” says Sprouston. “All of you out. Guns on the ground. Then on your knees and hands behind your heads.”
Manny slowly gets out of the car…ready to leap behind it for cover if his trigger-happy companions decide to take the path of non-passive resistance.
Mickey carefully reaches for his gun. There is no way he is going to let this old hick lock him up.
Lenny also reaches for his gun. He wants out of here, come hell or high water.
Manny keeps up a reassuring patter as he gets out, to hold the attention of the mob
Mickey draws his gun to shoot, but Sprouston’s police training has clearly not left the old man, and he aims his pistol at Mickey. Sensing that the younger man won’t hesitate to pull the trigger, Sprouston attempts to dive into the ditch to avoid being shot.
Mickey draws his gun and fires two shots at Sprouston
Sprouston attempts to jump into the ditch, but the old man is no match for a stone-faced killer like Mickey Valentine. Both of Mickey’s bullets find their mark, hitting Sprouston with deadly precision in the chest, and killing him instantly. The “sheriff” collapses to the dirt road in a pool, not of blood, but of black ooze. The others in the posse, now led by Baxter the storekeeper, after a brief moment of apprehension, raise their weapons and continue to approach the McBride Gang.
With grim determination, Stanley takes aim at Baxter and fires a single shot.
Unfortunately though, there was more of “grim” than of “determination” in Stanley’s state of mind.
The shot misses by a wide margin, striking a nearby tree branch.
Jimmy throws open the driver’s side door of the truck, crouches behind it for protection, and fires his handgun once at Baxter before ducking down again.
Baxter drops his shotgun, clasps his guts with both hands, then slumps to his knees on the road, gravely wounded. The same black fluid oozes between his fingers and from his mouth.
Lenny aims his gun at the last armed townsperson and shoots.
Distracted by the unnatural gore oozing from Baxter, Lenny fires off a shot, but misses. Baxter fumbles in the dirt for his shotgun, grasps it in his slimy hands, and trying to focus through his dimming eyes, squeezes the trigger.
The shot misses all members of the McBride gang, but peppers the entire passenger-side of Manny’s brand new Marmon roadster with buckshot holes.
The shotgun slides slowly from Baxter’s grasp, and he collapses unconscious into the dirt.
Manny runs for cover behind his car
Mickey strides past Manny towards the townsies, firing as he goes.
Both bullets strike the shotgun-wielding townsie, who promptly drops his weapon and collapses into the ditch, howling in pain. Terrified by the killer amongst their ranks, the remaining members of Sprouston’s posse drop their farm implements and flee into the woods, leaving the McBride gang standing over their dead and gravely wounded comrades.
———————————————
Boston, Massachusetts. March 12, 1927.
Manny Ziegler points to another place in a document. “And…here!” he says. Jimmy McBride scratches his signature with a fountain pen. “Is that it? Are we finally done here?” Ziegler pats the signature with blotting paper, adds it to the sheaf of other documents on the desk, shuffles them and places them into his briefcase with a satisfied grin. “If you wish to stay above board with the authorities, then correct paperwork is everything. And yes, we are done.” And with that he doffs his hat and heads towards the office door. He turns, nods towards Jimmy and Lenny Valentine, who stands leaning in one corner of the room, cheerfully says “Until next Friday then, gentlemen!” and leaves the room.
Jimmy lights a cigarette. It had been over five months since their escape from Blackwater Creek. They had returned to Boston, raising the alarm with his brother. Insisting he order the warehouse barricaded, for the Carmody Brothers and whatever carnival of freakish devils they were in cahoots with were sure to come and exact revenge upon them. And indeed the Carmody Brothers did come, but not as Jimmy had expected them to. Instead a single truck loaded with their whiskey arrived, just as Damien Carmody had promised, unloaded its cargo and departed. And then every week after that a whiskey shipment arrived from Blackwater Creek. No armed posses. No surprise revenge attacks. Just business.
And what a booming business it was. Declan McBride could barely meet the demand. His “Irish whiskey” was so popular. Word spread like wildfire around the greater Boston area of its medicinal properties. He doubled the price, and still they came.
And business continued to boom, but so did the rumors. Talk of sickness caused by the whiskey. Of changes in people. Of a strange, grey/black pox among the vagrants and unemployed laborers of Dorchester. Jimmy had seen his own brother succumb to it. The grey, oily skin. The rambling, incoherent conversations with himself. The dreams of their mother he insisted on retelling. But Jimmy already knew of the dreams of their mother. So did the Valentines, and the driver Corrigan, and the lawyer. And they all had the good sense to avoid the Carmody whiskey like the plague. And as they did so, and time passed, so did the dreams, and the voices, and the blisters. Mickey Valentine’s limp returned, but he felt it was a small price to pay. It let him know he was truly free of it. Their refusal to imbibe of their own product earned them the nickname “McBride’s Temperence Unit”. But despite the ill-effects, the demand for the whiskey never ceased. In fact it only seemed to grow.
And then Declan departed for Blackwater Creek. To see their mother, he said. There were rumors that he was not alone either. Tales of an exodus of people from Boston and outlying towns, have begun to circulate, saying that all of these people are travelling to Blackwater Creek, as though answering a call. Talk of strange cults in the hills near Arkham. Bah, there’s always talk of some damn thing or other in the hills near Arkham.
They all discussed whether they should stop selling it. They’d made more money in five months than in the previous two years combined. Ziegler wants them to diversify. To get out of this “rotten, cursed business” as he calls it. And maybe he’s right. But Jimmy and his comrades know better than to drink it, or to recommend it to their friends and families, so why the hell should he care? Besides, it’s St. Patrick’s Day this weekend. The biggest earner of the year. “Maybe next week” Jimmy thinks to himself. “Maybe we’ll get out of it next week.”
THE END
Thankless Roll Players 