The Circle of Seven: Session Fourteen

NOTE: In order to make it so that people aren’t sitting on the sidelines, we have agreed to place Ada inside the church with Saul and Val. We have also agreed that Martin decided to get Lincoln, his horse, and ride to the church to see what’s been keeping his friends. He arrives just as the lightning bolt strikes Dr. Miller.

Keystone Coppery

The investigators all independently realize that they cannot take overt hostile action without arousing suspicion or the authorities getting involved. They instead all decide to put on a veneer of bumbling, well-intentioned incompetence in order to prevent the church’s leaders from discovering Father Wilk in the basement.

Outside, Dale tackles a limping Zebulon before he can reach the church door, citing his concern that Zebulon is injured. Meanwhile, Dr. Miller compels Fitzwilliam Carruthers to stop Helios Rebecca. Mr. Carruthers only gets the priestess’ hat, but Dr. Miller bears Helios Rebecca to the ground and sits on her. She tries to struggle, giving up once the long shadow created by Martin and Lincoln falls across her.

Inside, Alpha Solaris (with Val in tow) goes to the door to find out what the hell is going on. Zebulon (still immobilized by Dale) shouts that someone’s in the basement. Alpha Solaris goes to investigate, all the while screaming at Val, who is still pestering her with inane questions. This distracts Alpha Solaris enough so that Saul can get behind her and throw a cup of hot coffee on her back. This causes Alpha Solaris to scream in pain and stagger around, which puts her right next to a pew that Ada is “hiding” behind. Ada sees her opportunity, grabs Alpha Solaris’ foot, and pulls her off her feet. Alpha Solaris gets a badly bloodied nose for her pains.

Outside, Zebulon shrugs off Dale and runs for the door. Dale catches up to him and Zebulon, deciding he’s had more than enough, squares up to try and fight Dale. Dale throws a vicious jab to Zebulon’s abdomen, striking him full force in his partially healed bullet wound. The blow is non-lethal, but the intense pain takes the fight out of Zebulon.

Zebulon's Day Only Gets Worse From Here

Truce?

Outside, Helios Rebecca tells Martin and Dr. Miller that she surrenders and that, perhaps, the investigators and the church can come to an understanding. The two men are willing to listen and haul Helios Rebecca into the church while a bewildered Mr. Carruthers follows.

Inside the church, Alpha Solaris staunches her bloodied nose with a handkerchief given to her by Saul. Saul uses a second handkerchief to dab at the spreading coffee stain across the priestess’ back. Val looks smugly on at the scene while Ada sits down next to Alpha Solaris and begins to whisper terrible things into her ear. Things like:

“I have met the true priestess of Hylmunder and she is not you. She is coming for you and your church and you are going to die!”

Her words have a profound effect on Alpha Solaris.

Helios Rebecca asks for a moment to talk to her colleagues privately. When the investigators refuse, Helios Rebecca begrudgingly assents and says that they might as well talk about how much the church will need to pay the investigators to keep quiet. During this conversation, and the one that follows, Helios Rebecca calls Alpha Solaris “Mary-Ellen,” while Alpha Solaris calls Helios Rebecca “Hattie”.

This causes Val to scoff and say that Mary-Ellen’s real name is actually Ruth Green. Alpha Solaris’ eyes bug out as she finally recognizes Val. She demands to know why Val is here and not cooling her heels in a penitentiary somewhere. Val mentions how Alpha Solaris betrayed her, which causes Helios Rebecca to raise an eyebrow.

The church leaders explain that the church is a con job dedicated to fleecing its credible parishioners from their money. Originally, the tenets of the church were intentionally vague “Protestant adjacent” claptrap. This changed when the church elders found the temple of Hylmunder located underneath the church grounds. They soon incorporated Hylmunder-esque trappings into their religious services and began practicing magic.

Alpha Solaris insists that the whole thing is just a con and that she never meant to hurt anyone. Helios Rebecca points out that they hurt “the girl” (Molly Scott) and lied to her family and the police about what happened to her. Dale and the other investigators point out that Nicholas Frenso was killed by a bolt of lightning similar to the one that hit Dr. Miller. Alpha Solaris insists that Fresno died of a heart attack and ignores all evidence the investigators present to the contrary.

It becomes clear that, of the three, Helios Rebecca is the only one who seems remorseful about some of the church’s crimes. Zebulon seems unconcerned about their evil acts, while Alpha Solaris seems entirely justified by it.

Helios Rebecca - The Least Awful Cultist

Father Wilk

In the temple, Father Wilk hears the lightning strike and feels responsible. Taking the gold plates and extinguishing all the torches, he feels his way up the tunnel back to the church basement. As he goes, he hears parts of the commotion and subsequent conversation going on above. He takes some time to replace the movable shelf and sweep the floor to hide his tracks. Then he sneaks up the stairs to the storage room door.

After listening to the conversation for a moment, he decides that decisive action is called for. Concealing the plates beneath his robes, he leaps into the main church hall, clutching at his groin and shouting, “that’s not the bathroom! Where on earth is the bathroom? For the love of God, tell me where the bathroom is!”

Helios Rebecca offers to direct Father Wilk to the church outhouses. Val follows along, just in case. Father Wilk excuses himself, enters the outhouse, and quickly separates the plates from the iron ring holding them together. He then drops the plates one at a time into the effluvia below, watching as they sink out of sight.

Outside, Helios Rebecca asks Val for more particulars about her former relationship with Alpha Solaris. Val paints a less than rosy picture, saying that Helios Rebecca should prepare herself for Alpha Solaris’ sudden and inevitable betrayal. Helios Rebecca thanks her for the advice.

Father Wilk exits the outhouse and all three return to the church.

Into the Basement

The conversation swiftly deteriorates once it becomes clear that the investigators are not keen on taking a bribe to keep quiet about the church. Ada makes things worse by continuing to whisper awful things to Alpha Solaris, including that Molly Scott is the true priestess and that she is coming for her revenge.

Alpha Solaris is clearly terrified and insists, multiple times, that this is impossible, and that Molly Scott is dead. When the other investigators back up Ada’s story and claim that they have seen Molly Scott, Alpha Solaris promises to show them and heads down into the basement.

Dr. Miller stays in the church to tend to his wounds, and Father Wilk takes the opportunity to tell Dr. Miller about the plates and what he did with them. Meanwhile, Saul, who suspects this is not going to end well, and Mr. Carruthers, who has had quite enough of this, retreat to the car.

The rest follow Alpha Solaris as she grabs a shovel, swings open the shelving unit, and heads off to the underground temple. Zebulon and Helios Rebecca follow, the latter grabbing flashlights off of some of the shelves.

They reach the temple area to find that Alpha Solaris has tossed aside one of the rugs that marks out the processional path to the altar. She begins to dig in a patch of floor that is noticeably lower and more loosely packed than the dirt around it. After a few moments of frantic digging, she drops on her hands and knees and begins tearing into the dirt with her fingernails. In a ragged voice, she shouts, “Hattie. Zebulon. She’s not here. She’s not here. Where did she go?!”

As if on cue, Molly Scott, still garbed in her layers and layers of black fabric, phases through the wall and into the temple. Alpha Solaris screams in terror as Ada shouts, “she comes for you, your end is at hand!”

Zebulon pulls a revolver from his pocket and fires three shots into Molly Scott. This phases her not at all. As she walks calmly over to Alpha Solaris, Dale disarms Zebulon with such force that he breaks the man’s wrist.

Alpha Solaris Maxima Est, As Her Empire Crumbles

Showdown

Saul and Mr. Carruthers hear the gunshots. Saul falsely identifies them as more mysterious thunder. Both men remain in the car. Father Wilk and Dr. Miller, on the other hand, fear for their friends and run down into the basement.

They arrive as Molly Scott, who now stands before a kneeling and filthy Alpha Solaris, demands Hylmunder’s golden plates. Alpha Solaris says they are in the altar. Martin calmly goes to get the plates but finds that the secret chamber in the altar is empty.

This enrages Molly Scott, who denounces Alpha Solaris. She whispers that Alpha Solaris has squandered Hylmunder’s power, is a false prophet, and deserves the ultimate punishment for failing to scour the earth in advance of Hylmunder’s coming. With a strength that her slight frame belies, Molly Scott lifts Alpha Solaris up by her neck.

Ada looks away. Val watches in barely concealed excitement. The rest stand rooted, overwhelmed by horror, as Alpha Solaris begins to glow brightly red on the inside and a beam of white energy shoots out of her shrieking mouth. Alpha Solaris quickly blackens, filling the air with a sickly sweet, cooked pork smell.

Molly Scott discards the charred corpse without a second thought before turning to the other two church elders. Helios Rebecca, thoroughly overawed by the horror, throws herself on her face and vows to serve Hylmunder forever. Zebulon snarls at Dale to give him back his goddamn gun.

Dale does so, but only after snapping out the cylinder and dumping the remaining bullets and spent brass. Zebulon scowls at him.

“What do you say, Zebulon?”

“Screw you, lady.”

Molly Scott extends her hand. The air around Zebulon becomes dangerously cold. He quietly slumps down to the floor and expires, the heat of his body completely drained away from him.

“Now,” says Molly Scott. “Fulfill your promise to me. Find me those plates.”

The Circle of Seven: Session Thirteen

Leaving No Trace 

The investigators clean up the ritual site and return to the Fresno House to sleep. As soon as his head hits the pillow, Dr. Miller fears that he has forgotten something at the site. He borrows the car and drives back out to the pond, only to find that the missing item was in his other pocket. He thoroughly searches the area, just in case, before returning home to go to bed. 

Saturday, November 22, 1924

The investigators sit around the breakfast table and discuss plans for dealing with the church. They think that blowing up the hidden altar to Hylmunder might be the easiest way to solve the problem, so Dale and Martin head out to a farm supply store in Salem, CT to buy dynamite. They easily convince the proprietor that they are going to do a little dynamite farming to get their fields ready for next season, and come away with several sticks, a detonator, and some rope. 

Back at the house, Dr. Miller wonders if throwing a party mightn’t be the way to go. He suggests that if they can throw a big enough shindig to attract Port Harbor’s elites, they might be able to also draw in Alpha Solaris and Helios Rebecca. While some of the investigators remain at the party, others could go destroy the altar. Dr. Miller is so pleased with this idea that he immediately calls Fitzwilliam Carruthers, his party planner. Mr. Carruthers is delighted at the prospect of throwing a big party in Port Harbor and promises to drive out right away to discuss the matter. 

The investigators remember seeing an ad in the paper from the Luminous Church about a Thanksgiving party they are planning to host next week. Before anyone can stop him, Dr. Miller calls the Luminous Church and asks to speak with one of the priestesses on the phone. He gets put on with Helios Rebecca and tells her that he wants to help turn the church’s Thanksgiving party into a soiree to remember. 

Helios Rebecca is baffled by this sudden generosity but seems unwilling to refuse the offer. She invites the investigators up to the church for a more in-depth discussion. Dr. Miller agrees and says that he will bring along his party planner. 

Fitzwilliam Carruthers 

Before too long, Mr. Carruthers arrives in a cloud of exhaust smoke, having accidentally (but enthusiastically), run his car up on the curb and onto the Fresno House lawn. He disembarks with two large suitcases, makes introductions, and begins showing off samples of silverware, linens, curtains, and other sundries to the investigators. Eventually, Dr. Miller manages to get a word in edgewise, telling Mr. Carruthers that they are going to be giving a full presentation at the Luminous Church. Mr. Carruthers is delighted.

Everyone but Martin (and maybe Ada, because her player was sick) makes plans to go to the Luminous Church. Val once again dons her ingenue disguise, planning to attend as Dr. Miller’s arm candy. This draws a raised eyebrow from Mr. Carruthers, who planned Dr. Miller’s wedding. However, the party planner is a consummate professional, and doesn’t say anything. 

The Esteemed Fitzwillam Carruthers, Party Planner

The investigators arrive at the church, where they are greeted in a friendly, if skeptical, way by the church leadership. Two tables have been pushed together in the center of the church to provide a meeting space, and coffee and pastries have been provided. The investigators meet with Helios Rebecca, Alpha Solaris (who still seems not to recognize Val), and a slightly limping and pale Zebulon Davis. 

Dale asks Zebulon if he’s all right, which draws a lot of grunts, hisses, and eyerolls from the other investigators. Zebulon, however, seems not to notice, and says he hurt himself working around the grounds. Mr. Carruthers dazzles everyone with his brisk patter, his samples, and his reasonable price points. He suggests a red and green theme before rejecting it for being too Christmasy. He also suggests hanging up some curtains in the church to make everything more festive. 

The priestesses are overwhelmed at all of this attention—and decoration—and ask why the investigators want to help with the party. Dr. Miller replies that they’re new in town and they want to make a good impression. 

The Snooping Begins

At some point, someone brings up the number of attendees. Dr. Miller enthusiastically says he would like to invite as many people as possible. While the church leadership balks at this, Mr. Carruthers says that it’s doable, but they may have to set up some overflow tents on the grounds. He, of course, has several options, including a 40x30’ tent that is “just delightful”. 

Dale offhandedly mentions the smokehouses in the back and says that they could be converted to small dining rooms without too much difficulty. Mr. Carruthers, of course, wants to inspect them. He arranges a guided tour that includes himself, Dr. Miller, Dale, Zebulon, and Helios Rebecca. This leaves Saul and Val sitting at the table with Alpha Solaris. 

But what of Father Wilk? 

The good reverend is ill at ease being at the church again and decides it would be best if he not sit in on the negotiations for doctrinal reasons. Instead, he starts wandering around the church to look for clues. 

He first inspects the wooden table that the church uses as an altar. He wasn’t sure if Molly Scott had said the golden plates were hidden inside of the church altar or the secret stone altar. He manages to give the altar a quick going over and finds no sign of the plates. 

Father Wilk then starts poking around in various side rooms. He is aided by Val who, upon seeing his intention, begins to distract and annoy Alpha Solaris with a breathless string of verbal twaddle. Her nattering soon irritates Alpha Solaris so much that the priestess excuses herself to make more coffee. Saul, who seems to be enjoying this, says that he’s perfectly happy to take another cup. Alpha Solaris retreats into the kitchen. Val follows her, to the priestess’ barely concealed dismay. 

Father Wilk discovers stairs leading down beneath the church. He takes them and finds himself in a storage room whose walls are covered with shelves. Remembering that Val had dropped an earring down here on their first visit to the church, Father Wilk gets down on his hands and knees to look for it. He soon spots a glint of silver on the ground and well behind the shelves on the western wall. He also realizes that those shelves alone are mounted on well-oiled casters. 

Carefully, so as not to draw attention from above, Father Wilk rolls the shelves aside, revealing a concealed tunnel. After pocketing the earring, he places a hand on the tunnel wall and follows it into the pitch blackness. As he progresses, he soon begins to hear Mr. Carruthers’ voice. The party planner seems to be describing Dr. Miller’s wedding and is getting quite choked up by the memory. 

As Father Wilk draws closer to Mr. Carruthers, he blunders into a sconce affixed to the wall ahead of him. Feeling around, he finds a torch, which he quickly lights. Using the torch to illuminate his way forward, he steps into a large chamber containing Hylmunder’s secret altar. He approaches the altar and looks up to see the brick shaft of the roofless silo looming above him. 

Father Wilk searches the altar and quickly discovers a loose brick, which conceals a niche containing the gold plates. He is intrigued by the strange language engraved upon the plates and is convinced that he has seen it somewhere before. He attempts to translate them, but is so focused on discerning their meaning that he accidentally starts sounding out the words aloud… 

What Father Wilk Found Beneath the Church

A Bolt from the Blue 

Up above, the tour of the church grounds continues. Zebulon and Mr. Carruthers seem to agree on a good place for one of the party tents. As Mr. Carruthers starts describing the decorations and the various catering stands, the others notice the acrid smell of ozone in the air. As they watch, Mr. Carruthers’ well-coiffed hair starts to stand on end. 

“Why are you all staring at me like that?” 

Dr. Miller, fearing what is about to happen, leaps for Mr. Carruthers and tries to pull him to the ground. The doctor does manage to push Mr. Carruthers out of danger just as a bolt of lightning strikes. The bad news is that the bolt strikes Dr. Miller, who collapses stunned and badly injured. 

A booming crash of thunder resounds across the compound, rattling windows and shaking the ground. Zebulon and Helios Rebecca turn to look at one another, horror dawning on their faces. “Basement!” shouts Zebulon, grabbing Helios Rebecca by the wrist. “Now!”

The Circle of Seven: Session Twelve

Exit Craegen

Ada’s panicked shouting brings an early end to Father Wilk’s interrogation of Professor Craegen. With Dale’s help, the professor calls his manservant, Rolfe on the house phone. Rolfe comes to pick Professor Craegen up, leaving the investigators to discuss Ada’s latest horrifying find.

The footprint’s description reminds Father Wilk of a bit of folklore he once heard in seminary. Before the graveyards of Eastern Europe were sanctified by the Church, they were guarded by mythical guardians of a most fearsome aspect. These creatures killed and ate anyone who trespassed in the graveyards at night, especially to desecrate the bodies of the dead.

The investigators study Fresno’s journals to see if he ever had an encounter with such creatures. Sure enough, he does mention speaking to “the gravediggers” on several occasions. He provides a ritual to summon the gravediggers to parley, most of which is centered on the preparation of a large quantity of barely cooked and oddly seasoned meat.

Ada spots some marginalia in which Fresno writes, “be sure to bring enough for everyone!”

Exhausted, the investigators agree to go to bed. Martin, Father Wilk, and Ada watch the cellar in shifts in case anything should emerge into the basement. Nothing does.

Friday, November 21, 1924

Dr. Miller sets out early in the morning to buy pastries from a nearby bakery.

Over breakfast, the group decides (with misgivings) to perform Fresno’s “gravedigger” ritual. Ada studies the ritual while the others procure and prepare the meat, herbs, and spices.

Saul has no interest in going into the tunnels again. He hides in his bedroom and refuses to come out.

The rest of the investigators return to the tunnels and follow Fresno’s crude map to a crossroads. There they lay down their meat and perform the ritual. As Ada chants, the scent of the meat becomes ever more potent and stranger, until…

The Gravediggers

A large group of fanged, clawed, and disturbingly human-looking creatures emerge from the darkness. They fall upon the meat in a ravenous frenzy, fighting amongst themselves for the choicest morsels.

The sight of the creatures unnerves the investigators, with Martin becoming so badly frightened that he stares at the wall for the rest of the encounter.

Once the creatures have eaten everything—including the bones, they deign to answer the investigators’ questions. The investigators explain that Fresno has died and that they are his heirs. The creatures refer to them as “the Heirs of Fresno” for the rest of the conversation and tell the players:

• That they serve an elder being called the Shaper of Flesh.
• That they existed before humanity “came down from the trees”.
• That they are aware of the powers infiltrating Port Harbor (the Masks of Adaru, and so on).
• That Hylmunder and Tiovvoru are different beings.
• That there is another creature walking alone in the tunnels, who does not need light to see. Ada assumes this is one of Maude Collins’ masks. The creatures scoff at this, saying that the Masks are merely human. This other being was something more.
• The tunnels beneath Port Harbor connect to an even deeper complex of tunnels unknown to the surfacers. These tunnels ultimately lead to the Shaper of Flesh.
• Dr. Miller asks about Qiru Yawar, a being that has not previously been mentioned. The creatures say that Qiru Yawar is a primeval hunter deity who leads a pack of relentless hunting dogs.

A Gravedigger

Dale offers some pieces of jerky to the creatures. This causes a bloody scuffle between two of them. The winner eats the jerky, spits it out, and begins licking the ground. They curse Dale, saying that the meat is too dry and tastes wrong.

The meeting ends a short time later, with the creatures returning from whence they came. Before they leave, they say that they can be summoned again, but warn that the investigators must, “bring enough for everyone.”

The rattled investigators return to the surface and try to figure out just how many creatures were watching them in the dark. Martin is uncharacteristically quiet. Ada thinks it was anywhere from 6-10. Dale is pretty sure there were dozens—or hundreds—of creatures down there.

Later, Dr. Miller fills everyone in on the Shaper of Flesh. “It is said that the Shaper of Flesh came to Earth billions of years ago. he stalked the surface of the still cooling planet and was delighted by the colonies of protomatter that grew there. For a time, he busied himself by sculpting it into bizarre and horrifying lifeforms.”

Unexpected Visitors

Saul, who is hiding in his bedroom, hears two people talking in front of the house. He grabs a glass, places it on the wall, and listens in on their conversation.

From context clues, Saul realizes that the speakers are women who have been sent by the leaders of the Luminous Church to check on the house. They think the house looks all right but wonder if they ought to knock on the door to find out if everyone inside is okay.

As the women muster up their courage to knock, Saul flings open the front door. Standing on the porch are Sisters Ray and Penumbra, who had brought the welcome basket several days before. They are shocked at the state of the front hall (which is still damp and slightly charred) but are glad to hear from Saul that everyone is doing all right.

According to the women, Alpha Solaris had a premonition that the house might have come to harm. She dispatched them into town to warn the investigators or help them if something bad had happened. They also wanted to let the investigators know that the Alpha Solaris and Helios Rebecca want to apologize for the “misunderstanding” fro a few nights ago. The investigators are, of course, always welcome to visit the church.

Saul realizes that Ray and Penumbra are clueless flunkies, sent by Alpha Solaris to see if the death orb had done its work. He tries to subtly pump the women for information. Most notably, he learns Zebulon had an accident a few nights ago, and was taken to a hospital in Boston. He has just returned to the church and, while still recovering, is doing well.

Preparing for a Seance

While reading Fresno’s journals the previous evening, Ada discovered a ritual that allowed the participants to speak to souls that have passed on. She suggests performing this ritual to try to speak to Molly Scott. The ritual requires a “tunnel” made of fabric, stakes, and poles (symbolically connecting the physical and the spirit world), and a source of water (used to convey the whispered words of the dead).

Dale, eager to help, procures a washtub from the garage and starts filling it up in the living room. The others like his hustle but think that maybe the house is not the best place to summon the spirits of the dead. While Dale carefully empties the washtub, Martin suggests that they set up the ritual at the pond on the property of Crosstree Farms (where he boards Lincoln).

Ada wants to wait until after midnight to do the ritual, because that’s when spirits are most active, and because she doesn’t want anyone seeing what they’re doing.

The Second Ritual

Late at night, the investigators venture out into the freezing November weather to perform the seance. Ada, freezing and overwhelmed, laments the course that her life has taken. She has a promising career. And a professional reputation. And colleagues that respect her.

Her intrusive thoughts are interrupted by the others, who inform her that they have set up the fabric tunnel.

Dale produces the ruins of Molly Scott’s handbag. Using this as a focus, the investigators perform the ritual and whisper Molly’s name into the pond. The water becomes eerily flat, like the surface of a mirror. Dale gets down on all fours and puts his ear to the water, listening for a response.

But none comes.

As the investigators quietly whisper about what to do next, several of them see that a slender figure, wrapped in a dark cloak, has appeared at the far end of the tunnel. This is no spirit, but a physical being. The figure seems confused and frightened as it lifts its gaze to the investigators.

“Oh, thank god,” they say, in a hoarse whisper. “It’s you.”

The Summonee

Molly Scott

The figure is Molly Scott, who was compelled to appear thanks to the power of the ritual. She admits that she was afraid that the priestesses had tried to summon her. She also admits to calling them to warn them of the church’s impeding attack, and of following them around town the previous night.

“I wanted to make sure that you survived.”

Molly tells the investigators the following:

• Alpha Solaris and Helios Rebecca are false worshippers of Hylmunder, using his power without honoring him. She, however, is a true priestess of Hylmunder, and serves him with her entire being.
• She died from heatstroke and suffocation after being locked in one of the saunas for a purification ritual, which the priestesses claimed would allow her to ascend to the next level of the faith. When no one heard her cries or her knocking, she decided to give herself wholly to the being the church allegedly worshiped.
• She died shortly thereafter but rose again only to find herself buried and in darkness. She dug herself free, escaped, and has been quietly watching the church (and others) to find out what happened to her.
• The ritual room under the “silo” contains a true altar to Hylmumder, erected long before the priestesses came to the area. Molly says that there are plates of gold, inscribed with rituals of Hylmunder, hidden inside the altar.
• Molly says that she cannot do much for the investigators at present, but she does want to help them stop the Luminous Church and end the false worship of Hylmunder.

Dale tries to offer Molly what’s left of her purse. While she recognizes it as belonging to her, Molly says that she no longer has any need of it and says that Dale may either keep it or get rid of it, as he sees fit.

Dale, curious about the properties of the pond while it is under the effects of the ritual, immerses his hand in the water to see what will happen. Nothing does, but this disturbs the other investigators so much that Ada immediately ends the ritual and allows Molly to return from whence she came.