The Circle of Seven: Session Twenty-Two

The Monster

AAAAAH! AAAAAAAAAAAAH!

As the monster charges down the darkened hallway, Ms. Delacroix primly turns and runs up the ramp to the surface. Father Wilk thinks he sees a mortally wounded Saul Frenkl stagger out of the shadows and rushes to his side to render first aid. Almost everyone else draws their guns and opens fire. Most of the bullets strike home, ripping the monster’s flesh to shreds and spraying black ichor all over the walls, but it continues onward, undaunted.

Ada suddenly realizes that only the monster’s head is vulnerable to injury. She grabs a piece of metal pipe and, in an uncharacteristically reckless act, charges the monster. Ducking under a pair of its clawlike hands, she swings the pipe upward and caves in the monster’s skull. It collapses, thrashing, and Ada leaps on top of it, beating it to a bloody pulp. She has never felt so alive.

Martin tries to pull Ada off of the dead monster. Alfie, hearing Father Wilk’s cries for help, rushes to his side to help with Saul. He discovers that “Saul” is a pair of bulging, sodden paper trash bags stacked on top of one another. “Saul’s” grievous stomach wound is simply a rip in the side of one of the bags, which is disgorging used coffee ground and other detritus. Alfie only makes the tear worse as he treats “Saul,” but fortunately this causes Father Wilk to recover from his delusion.

Meanwhile, Dale runs upstairs, gun in hand, to look for Ms. Delacroix.

A Disorderly Encounter

At the top of the ramp, a panicked Ms. Delacroix is approached by one of the orderlies, who assumes she is one of the kitchen staffers. He asks her if she is okay as Dale runs up the ramp to join her. The two still panicking investigators try to blame Ms. Delacroix’s fright, and the sounds of gunfire from downstairs, on her—or Dale—dropping a tray. They both talk over one another and the orderly and are unable to get their story straight.

During this baffling display, the orderly realizes that Dale has a firearm. He tries to keep Dale calm while slowly retreating to a nearby phone on the wall—presumably intending to call for help. Dale, not wanting to hurt the orderly, tosses his gun at his head, but misses. Ms. Delacroix, who does want to hurt the orderly, whacks him in the ear with her cane before fleeing up the hallway.

As she retreats, Dale notices that they have emerged in a long hallway that connects the main entrance to the sanitarium with the kitchens. Down at the main entrance, another orderly and the woman the investigators saw outside have paused their argument to look up at the source of the commotion. As the second orderly steps out from behind his desk, Dale desperately tackles the first orderly, throwing them both onto the carpeted floor of a nearby office.

Dale hopes to overpower the orderly and escape, but the orderly has had some experience wrestling agitated patients and manages to keep a firm grip on Dale. Dale tries to break free, tearing his shirt in the process, but does not get very far before the second orderly—followed by the very curious woman—step into the office.

Dale, realizing that he is beaten, uses thermal mastery to rapidly lower the temperature in the office in an attempt to intimidate his way out of the situation. The two orderlies (who Dale learns are named Eugene and Glen) are taken aback. Believing that that Dale is yet another kitchen employee and tell him that if he leaves the sanitarium now and never comes back, they won’t press charges. Dale agrees and the two men frog march him down the hallway to the main entrance. The woman follows.

As Dale walks down the hallway, he realizes that Eugene, the first orderly, is the same orderly who was guarding Dan Heidekker’s isolation room. He also realizes the second orderly is G. Grainger, who Alfie bribed during the investigators’ previous visit to the hospital.

He is almost out the door when Glen pulls a syringe out of his pocket and tries to inject him. Dale swings the door hard enough to knock the syringe out of Glen’s hands. He makes a cutting remark before fleeing off into the night.

While this is happening, Ms. Delacroix has escaped through the kitchen out the way the investigators initially came in. Discomfited by the experience, she returns to her Duesenberg for a calming cigarette.

Glen Grainger

The Morgue and the Boiler Room

Downstairs, the other investigators venture down the dark hallway to see where the monster came from. They soon encounter a wall of knife switches and a pair of double doors that lead to, among other places, the morgue. Martin tries the switches and discovers they turn the lights in the hallway back on. He wonders if the monster had a human assistant, as he doubts it was smart enough to turn off the lights on its own.

Passing through the double doors, the investigators discover doors leading to a pathology lab, an underground parking area, and the boiler room.

They find the pathology lab fastidiously clean, with no signs of human remains. Overcoming their squeamishness, they check the vaults in the room and find that these are empty, clean, and smell faintly of ammonia. Alfie finds several patient files on the table, which are stamped DECEASED. They all seem to have died of natural causes and are all slated to be buried in the sanitarium’s cemetery. Alfie finds the DECEASED stamp in the drawer and wonders if he could use it on Dan Heidekker’s file to end the sanitarium’s search for the escaped patient.

The investigators proceed to the boiler room, which is both very large and very hot. They notice a line of chairs has been awkwardly arranged across one side of the room. On closer inspection, the chairs appear to be a makeshift barricade to keep people from falling into a very deep, very dark hole in the floor.

The investigators toss in a small stone and listen as it hits the ground and then splashes into (presumably) some water. Ada calculates that the bottom of the hole is somewhere between 70 and 80 feet down. Inspecting the edge of the hole, she finds a torn scrap of white canvas clinging to it. She takes it, suspecting that it comes from a shroud or body bag.

The investigators are all fairly certain that this is the surface entrance to the Shaper of Flesh’s lair that the gravetenders told them about, and that someone has been inadvertently creating monsters by dumping corpses into this hole. Exhausted and more than a little creeped out, they decide to leave.

Ada opens the door onto the underground parking lot and sees several vehicles, including something that looks like a hearse or ambulance. She also finds a ramp leading out to the surface, which the group takes. They find emerge near the sanitarium’s two garages and retreat to their cars.

On the way, they spot the angry woman walking back to her own vehicle.

Crissy O’Keefe

Seeing that the woman is clearly upset—and also carrying something that looks like hospital records—Alfie takes a risk and hails her. The woman is quite startled but recovers quickly and eventually introduces herself as Christine “call me Crissy” O’Keefe.

In talking to her, the investigators learn that she has been trying to get Kendrick Sanitarium to release her aunt’s remains, only to be stonewalled each time. She mentions that she has numerous legal documents, including a court order from a Middletown judge, that proves that she has a right to her aunt’s remains and personal effects. She says that she keeps getting the runaround from santarium staff and, especially, from Dr. Neumann.

Ms. O’Keefe also mentions that no one in the family was aware that her Aunt Gertrude had been a resident of the sanitarium for ten years. When she finally discovered this, she went to visit her aunt only to learn that she had died a few months previously, and that the sanitarium had already interred her in their cemetery.

The investigators are sympathetic. Alfie suggests taking the story to Catherine Planchett at the Port Harbor News-Reader. He also mentions that the sanitarium is also facing a bit of a scandal—what with the escaped patients—and that they may become much more cooperative if they are aware they are about to receive more bad press.

Ms. O’Keefe thanks the investigators and drives off in her car.

The investigators return to their own cars, only to discover that Ms. Delacroix’s Duesenberg is gone.

The Caravan Ride Home

After leaving the hospital, Dale took a circuitous route to the parking lot, so that the orderlies would not be able to track him to his friends’ cars. He passes by Ms. Delacroix’s car and sees smoke curling out of the window but passes her by without acknowledging her. This annoys Ms. Delacroix, who stubs out her cigarette and follows him. They have a whispered exchange through the car window—with Ms. Delacroix driving and Dale walking—in which Dale explains himself. After hearing this, Ms. Delacroix eventually lets Dale get in the car and pulls over to the side of the road.

A few minutes later, they are passed by Crissy O’Keefe’s car and then approached by the rest of the investigators in their cars. After more whispered conversations through car windows, the investigators head home for a well-earned rest.

On the way home, Ada, who has been riding an adrenaline high, finally realizes she is covered in black ichor that smells strongly of a campfire. She has a little freakout, and Alfie offers to let her stay at his place and use one of his fancy bathrooms to clean herself. She accepts.

The investigators part ways. Ada cleans herself up and goes to bed. That night, she dreams that she is in a cavern, naked and standing waist deep in black water. She looks at her hands and is horrified to realize that her fingers are twisting, growing, shrinking, merging together, and separating.

December 17, 1924

The next morning, Ada goes downstairs to take breakfast with Alfie, only to discover that she is also taking breakfast with Merle Cottonwood, Jr. (a family friend of the Davenports and one of the candidates for first selectman) and Alfie’s parents. The conversation becomes very pointed, considering Ada is not married and older than Alfie. Alfie’s mother is horrified, but also curious. Alfie’s father is smugly approving. Merle, for his part, tries to stay out of the conversation and pushes his food around on his plate.

Desperate for anything to alleviate the awkwardness, Alfie calls the Fresno house and all but orders the rest of them to come over. They do. The usually unflappable Ms. Delacroix becomes nervous and quiet when Mrs. Davenport starts grilling her about her life, habits, and a recent trip to Paris.

“How did you find Paris, Ms. Delacroix?”

“Well, I got on a steamship and eight days later…”

“Ohohoho. How very droll of you, my dear. No no, what I mean to say is did you enjoy Paris?”

“Yes.”

“And what did you do there?”

“Things…”

Mr. and Mrs. Davenport

On the other side of the table, Mr. Davenport regales the other investigators with today’s plans. He is going to take Merle (or, as he calls him, “Cottonwood!”) down to the town square to do a bit of gladhanding and promotional work for the campaign. He is hellbent on helping Cottonwood get elected, and he wonders if the investigators would like to help pass out fliers and talk to people.

Father Wilk demures, saying that he cannot get involved in politics due to his vocation. Mr. Davenport replies that it’s all right, as Cottonwood is Catholic and so is Father Wilk. This prompts Merle to remark that he is, in fact, Presbyterian, which astonishes Mr. Davenport.

Mrs. Davenport suggests that perhaps not everyone would like to be so coarse as to perform politics in the cold. She begins to say that anyone of more genteel breeding could stay at the Davenport home have tea, and discuss the…

She is interrupted by Ms. Delacroix, who proclaims in no uncertain terms that she would love to help young Cottonwood with his campaign. She immediately stomps off into the foyer to get her coat. The others follow her.

Campaigning

Merle Cottonwood, Jr.

Mr. Davenport insists on walking to the town square. As this requires them traveling for the better part of a mile in the bitter cold and snow, Ms. Delacroix takes her Duesenberg. Father Wilk, desperate to be out of the way, hops in the back seat. Everyone else walks.

Mr. Davenport makes a comment about Alfie’s “lady friend,” prompting Alfie to take Ada’s hand for the look of the thing. Unnoticed by all except Father Wilk, seeing this gesture causes Merle to react as if someone had stabbed him in the heart.

As they walk to the town square, Alfie and Ada question Merle about his platform. Merle responds very woodenly about wanting to improve the town and make Connecticut’s most vibrant seaside community. Noticing that his heart isn’t in it, Alfie and Ada ask if he believes everything he’s saying.

Merle hastily replies that he has been coached on what to say, but he is not a public speaker and, therefore, has difficulty sounding natural. He seems to grow excited, and then frantically asks Alfie—who is an actor—if he can teach him how to act more natural and say his lines with conviction.

This prompts Alfie and Ada to ask, “do you really want to do this?”

Merle casts a surreptitious glance at Mr. Davenport’s retreating back and mumbles quietly, “oh no, God no. Please help me get out of this, Alfie. I don’t want to do this…”

The Circle of Seven: Session Twenty-One

Estelle LePage

Desperate for a change of pace, Alfie calls up Estelle LePage and asks if he (and his six friends) can meet her for coffee. She suggests the nearby, and unusually named, Flat Cat Café.

Business at the café seems a little slow at the moment, which works out well for the investigators’ plans. Estelle (“call me ‘Stella.’”) arrives a short time after they do, with her two tiny fluff dogs (Daphne and Lucy) in tow. The conversation is animated, albeit a touch awkward, as Estelle and Alfie reminisce about old experiences at Port Harbor High, people they once knew in town, and similar. The rest of the investigators drink their coffee in relative silence. Several of them are convinced that that Estelle is eerily familiar.

Estelle "call me 'Stella'" LePage

Investigators observing Estelle find her to be witty, charming, urbane, and also deeply frustrated. Since her family fortunes have fallen and she is no longer able to play the role of Port Harbor socialite, Estelle is at a point in her life where she doesn’t know what to do next. She mentions that she is working on establishing a charity, but it is clear from the discussion that all she has are vague ideas at the moment, with no idea how to implement them.

Alfie, hoping to get more information from Estelle, plays up the concerned childhood friend role. This overture of sympathy (complete with laying his hand atop hers), causes Estelle’s carefully constructed façade to shatter. She bursts into tears, leading to another prolonged moment of silence. This is only alleviated when Ada gently shepherds Estelle outside to calm down and talk.

One Estelle is out of earshot, the investigators quickly compare notes. Alfie is disturbed to learn that his childhood friend might be associated with Maude Collins and her associates. The investigators conjecture why such disparate people as Estelle, Maude, Kent, and others are working together. This spirals into a conspiratorial conversation of how many unique members of Maude’s group there are, who is secretly whom, and whether Estelle’s dogs may, in fact, be two of Maude’s “heavies” in disguise. Alfie makes a careful study of both dogs, who are behaving themselves at the table, and assures everyone that Daphne and Lucy are just dogs.

Outside, Ada tries to calm Estelle while at the same time trying to get more information from her. She doesn’t get much—just enough to confirm that Estelle’s concerns, frustrations, and fears seem to be entirely genuine.

Estelle and Ada return a few minutes later, but it is clear that the coffee klatch is at an end. Estelle says her goodbyes and leaves Alfie with the check. This leads to Ms. Delacroix and Val fleeing the scene before they have to pay. A baffled Alfie notes that he was perfectly content to get the bill, and wonders what everyone else is on about.

Adaru

Upon returning to the Fresno House, Ada suggests having another look through the Fresno journals and going over their old notes to see if they can learn anything else regarding Maude Collins’ group. Ada, Dale, and others eventually compile the following:

• Adaru is an entity similar in power/scope to Hylmunder.
• She is most commonly referred to with feminine pronouns and by the epithet, “The Lady of the Seven Faces.”
• She lives in a realm called the Panoptica Solopsistica, a vault covered with inward-facing mirrors.
• She rules over physical appearance and emotion and rewards her most loyal followers with the ability to control both.
• Fresno mentions that he knows the “Masks of Adaru” are in Port Harbor and are up to something, and that he laments being unable to easily identify them.

Dale points out that Clayon Kent did seem to be able to control emotions, reminding everyone of Kent’s recent rally/riot. Dale also mentions almost succumbing to rage and bloodlust at the beginning of the riot that he was just barely able to control.

The investigators ponder what exactly the Masks are after, and how the Book of Black Tourmaline fits into their plans. It seems clear that Kent, at least, wants political power, though his ultimate goals are currently unclear.

They discuss performing their ritual to speak with the deceased (which they previously used to contact Molly Scott) but ultimately decide against it.

The Return to the Sanitarium

Instead of performing another ritual, the investigators decide to try and seek out the “monster” in Kendrick Sanitarium. At Val’s urging, Alfie purchases several uniforms so that the investigators can disguise themselves as kitchen crew.

For the second time in as many days, the investigators wait until nightfall and drive up to the sanitarium. As they arm themselves in the parking lot and undergo a final inspection from Val, several of them notice a small car tearing up the icy road to the sanitarium. Concerned that they have been spotted, the investigators quickly hide out in their cars—all except for Martin Craven, that is, who steps out of the car and draws his gun in preparation of confronting the oncoming driver.

The mystery car comes skidding to a halt in front of the sanitarium. It’s driver, a furious, middle-aged woman, leaps out, marches up to main entrance and begins pounding on the front door. Martin, somewhat relieved that the woman didn’t notice him, holsters his gun and listens as the woman shouts at whatever luckless individual happens to be on night duty.

The Angry Lady

“…then you will telephone Dr. Neumann and get him out of bed this very minute. I have, as previously requested, received an injunction from the court in Middletown, and I refuse to be delayed any longer. I do not care who you have to inconvenience, but I will not be leaving the premises without my aunt’s remains!”

The investigators take advantage of this distraction to slip onto the sanitarium grounds and make their way to the back entrance of the kitchens. As luck would have it, their arrival coincides with a large delivery of flour from a nearby mill. They join the kitchen employees who are bringing in the delivery and manage to enter the sanitarium without being challenged.

The Attack

From here, the investigators retrace their steps to the isolation rooms in the sanitarium basement and begin to conduct their search. They soon arrive at a junction in the labyrinthine hallways where a sloped corridor leads back up to surface level.

Pooling at the base of the ramp is a puddle of viscous, black fluid that smells strongly of burned wood. Droplets of fluid lead off down one of the hallways for a short distance. Dale also happens to notice a twisted bit of rebar sticking of a damaged wall, whose rusted, jagged edge is also coated in the black fluid.

Although they lack expertise in most scientific and medical disciplines, the investigators take turns trying to identify the fluid. They don’t learn anything definitive, but they all suspect that the fluid is blood of some kind, and that they probably shouldn’t touch it with their bare hands.

Any further inquiry is interrupted by the appearance of a hideous, hunched shape that flashes across the far end of one of the connecting hallways. Martin and Ms. Delacroix ready their guns and shout warnings as the distant sound of a flipping switch echoes up the hallway. As the banks of hallway lights are extinguished one after the other, a tall, slender, slimy creature races out of the darkness toward them, letting out an earsplitting, inhuman cry and reaching out with several pairs of long, taloned fingers.

The Circle of Seven: Session Twenty

A Look in the Mirror

The players suggested a slight retcon. During the dinner with Mr. Kent, Ada excused herself, got the mysterious mirror that Dr. Miller had found in “Al’s” apartment, and hung it up in the Fresno House living room.

Toward the end of dinner, Mr. Kent excuses himself to use the bathroom. He is taken aback when he sees the mirror hanging up. Dale tries to get a good look at Kent’s reflection, hoping that the mirror will show him Kent’s true form. It doesn’t.

While Ms. Delacroix challenges Father Wilk to a game of hearts—during which she happily cheats—most of the rest of the investigators take positions around the house to watch Kent. Dale goes out to smoke on the porch. Alfie hides in the laundry room across from the bathroom. Ada walks into the kitchen and is mildly scolded by Mr. Carruthers for getting underfoot. Martin watches Dale from the front room windows.

Val, who is still in disguise as a cook and is posing as a caterer, cleans up.

Kent leaves the bathroom and does not see Alfie. Alfie startles Kent when he comes out of the laundry room. They have a chat before Kent excuses himself. Rather than go back into the house to say his goodbyes, Kent slips out the front door, only to be startled by Dale. After a somewhat tense interaction, the two men shake hands. During this, Dale casts Thermal Mastery and lowers Kent’s body temperature to somewhat dangerous levels. With teeth chattering, Kent excuses himself and disappears into the night.

Alfie suspects that Kent has done something to the bathroom and goes to investigate. In addition to finding nothing, he also whacks his head on the corner of the sink. The noise brings Ada, who also had intentions of searching the bathroom. After she helps Alfie up, they both search and notice that the mirror above the sink is currently crooked.

Alfie closes the bathroom door while Ada runs water from the hot tap. Moments later, the mirror steams, revealing a strange symbol. Ada recognizes it as being similar to the one carved into Wilton MacKnight’s bed frame. She obliterates it with a towel.

Clayton Kent, When He Was Warmer

Put Up For the Night

Mr. Carruthers and his caterers clean up and leave, but not before Mr. Carruthers pays Val for her excellent service. This attracts eyerolls from the other two caterers.

Once they’re alone again, the investigators discuss plans. Some want to visit the cannery to talk to Mr. Kent’s coworkers. Others want to visit Mr. Kent’s home to look for clues. Some of them become rueful that they are once again engaging in, “a little B&E.” They decide to table any plans to investigate Kent until the next day.

Besides, they have a more pressing matter to attend to. They need to find a place to hide Dan Heidecker. They talk to Dan about this and find him extremely grateful for all of their help and also happy to do whatever they think is best. He is, however, somewhat insistent that the investigators go back and, “free everyone else from that monster!”

Father Wilk sits with Dan and presents him with the book on introductory small boat boating that he bought at Stolas Books. Dan is charmed by the purchase and starts going over it with Father Wilk. In the meantime, the others decide to put Dan up in the Sutter Root Inn, where some of them stayed on their initial arrival to Port Harbor.

Dan is fine with this. The investigators give him some supplies and some money and drop him off. They ask him to lay low for a while and go out as little as possible.

Since the inn is near the train station, Dale swings by to see if he can get an evening hot dog from his friend Charlie. Alas, Charlie seems to have closed up his cart for the day and is nowhere in sight.

Upon returning home, Ada decides to do some research in Fresno’s journals. Exhausted by the previous day and night’s exertions, she passes out on one of the books. When she awakens in the morning, she discovers some information in her book pillow that suggests a link between the Shaper of Flesh and the thing in the sanitarium.

Mental Patient Menace! From the Port Harbor News-Reader

December 16, 1924

The investigators go through their morning routines. Alfie, who has gone back home to sleep, is awakened by the news that he has received a calling card. The card turns out to have been dropped off by Estelle LePage, who indicated her desire to meet up with Alfie some time.

Alfie arrives at the Fresno House to find his companions worrying over an article in the Port Harbor News-Reader. Apparently two people went missing from the sanitarium the previous evening—Dan Heidecker and another fellow named Abner Foote. The police and sanitarium staff are searching for both men and have warned that people should be cautious going out of doors. They also insist that women not go unaccompanied.

Discussing the matter over breakfast, the investigators decide to speak to the gravediggers in the tunnels beneath Port Harbor. Ada thinks that the gravetenders are somehow related to the monster in the sanitarium, and wonders if the monster was made by their patron, The Shaper of Flesh.

A small party ventures forth from the house to buy the meat and spices needed for the ritual. Prior to departure, Father Wilk borrows a pair of Dale’s overalls, shaves off much of his hair, and walks with a limp. He does this to disguise himself as Abner Foote, in the hopes of either confusing the man’s pursuers or forcing them into error. Father Wilk is gratified when several people on the street stare at him nervously, before hurriedly crossing the street.

Martin insists that the investigators don’t need to purchase good meat—skirt steak is fine. This does not stop Ms. Delacroix from insisting on seeing the butcher’s finest cuts of meat. This laborious process takes a half hour, after which time Ms. Delacroix decides to buy the first cut of meat the butcher showed her.

With packages in tow, the investigators return home to complete the ritual.

A Friendly Message from Estelle

Treating with the Gravetenders

Everyone but Dale and Alfie make the trek down into the tunnels and down to the crossroads. Once there, Ada performs the ritual and then orders everyone to turn off their lights.

The gravetenders arrive moments later and greedily feast. Ada allows the others to turn their lights on only when their guests have finished their meal. She then begins to question them, and learns the following:

• The Shaper of Flesh lives in a cavern “at the center of the earth,” but sometimes his essence “comes up” and shapes whatever life it finds.
• There is a connection with the Shaper of Flesh and the monster in the sanitarium.
• The gravediggers imply, but do not directly state, that there are tunnels beneath the sanitarium.
• There are tunnels that connect the underground areas in East and West Port Harbor, but they run beneath the Abanasse Rivert. The gravetenders say that traveling these tunnels takes a long time, and suggest the investigators bring plenty of snacks.

Ada terminates the questioning before too long, as the gravetenders keep mentioning food and still seem keenly hungry. Once they depart, Ada leads the others back to the access shaft leading to the Fresno basement.

Officer Robinson

Alfie and Dale spot one of Port Harbor’s finest wandering around the neighborhood. The officer eventually comes up to the Fresno House and knocks on the door.

They let him in and are introduced to Officer Robinson, who tells them that he is following up on leads regarding the escaped mental patients mentioned in the paper. He tells the two men that there have been credible reports that Abner Foote has been seen in the area, and he’s been asking locals if they’ve seen anything.

Dale, for unclear reasons, immediately explains that Father Wilk had an accident, which he is still recovering from, which has caused him to limp. He also says that Father Wilk has borrowed his coveralls. This inadvertently foils whatever plans Father Wilk had for dressing like Abner Foote, and also baffles Officer Robinson.

At the same time, both men hear their companions calling up from the basement to ask if the coast is clear. It’s not, and the two men do not handle the situation terribly well. Fortunately, by the time a curious Officer Robinson ventures down into the basement, everyone has climbed up the shaft.

Ms. Delacroix questions Officer Robinson, suspecting that the man is lying about visiting every house in the neighborhood. She asks him what the neighbors said, and Robinson dutifully reads back their responses, which he recorded in his notebook. Ms. Delacroix, realizing Robinson is telling the truth, immediately loses interest in him.

Shortly thereafter, a frankly bewildered and overstimulated Robinson makes his goodbyes. The investigators share what the learned from the gravetenders and plan their next move.