The Circle of Seven: Session Five

Tuesday, November 18, 1924

This is one of the days that the Heartfire Church has one of their open house/public worship services at noon. The investigators prepare themselves to visit the church and take the measure of what they are sure is an evil cult. After some discussion of whether to split up, spy on the proceedings, and other things, they all resolve to go to the church like normal people and see what there is to be seen. Val, for reasons known only to her, ditches her newsie outfit for a nice dress, heels, a clutch, and makeup.

Dr. Miller goes on to say that he will bring a “small” amount of money—$300, to be precise—which he plans to give as a charitable donation to the church. He will also promise to give the church more money in the future. He hopes this will ingratiate the group with the church and make it easier for them to conduct investigations.

The other investigators are shocked that Dr. Miller thinks $300 is a small amount of money.

Prior to going to the service, the investigators go over what they know and consult Fresno’s journals, the remaining old newspapers in the house, and several other sources. Val finds an article about the missing girl that Leatherman Hobbes mentioned: Molly Scott. Father Wilk and Dr. Miller find some of Fresno’s notes on the church’s odd background.

The Article on Molly Scott's Disappearance

“It was founded a few years ago and, while still small, has steadily accumulated new converts. It operates out of a refurbished barn on the north end of town and seems largely focused on missionary and charity work. It seems to be an outgrowth of the spiritual movement and has some bizarre philosophies as a result. It claims that, millions of years ago, a kingdom of enlightenment, magic, and future technology existed on the sun. Some of the people living in this city are spiritually immortal—dying countless times only to be reborn into new lives. The church leaders are, of course, two such individuals. Through meditation and other practices, they seek to find other people who are, unbeknownst to them, also immortal solar royalty. They also want to recover their people’s lost technology and share it with Earth.”

Dr. Miller is frankly aghast at Fresno’s description and doesn’t quite believe that people could believe such a stupid thing.

Dale seems increasingly nervous and pale the more the others discuss the church. When prompted by Dr. Miller, he briefly describes a past trauma. He was once employed at an ironworks. During his time there, a strange man, hired by the plant manager, began tinkering with and adding runes to one of the furnaces. The furnace later exploded, killing people and causing massive damage. Dale was sure he saw the runes on the furnace glowing, as well as a burning figure walking around inside the furnace before he fled from the scene. When he tried to return to work later, he and all his surviving coworkers found the ironworks had been razed to the ground.

Dale further speculates that the church may be connected to the Book of Black Tourmaline.

Inside the Church

The investigators travel to the church (Martin on horseback, the rest by car). They find the church’s complex to be pleasant and inviting. The refurbished barn is the focal point, but there are other outbuildings, including a storage shed, three stone dome huts each with a sturdy door and three chimneys, as well as some outhouses tastefully hidden behind fragrant bushes. There is also a whitewashed brick tower on the property, which, strangely, lacks a roof.

Going inside, the investigators are welcomed most courteously by the church members, all of whom are dressed in pastel robes with hoods. The investigators are invited to take coffee, tea, hot chocolate, and various baked goods which have been laid out on nearby tables. They feed themselves, mingle, and try to learn as much as they can.

The investigators notice two young women who are obviously identical twins, sitting on a bench in the back of the church, holding hands, and giggling to one another. Dr. Miller recognizes them as Tabitha and Madeline Thornhill, socialites and scions of the wealthiest family in town. 

Tabitha and Madeline Thornhill (aka. Aphelion and Perihelion)

Val notices a knothole in the floor near a table of baked goods that opens out into a dark void. She realizes the barn has some kind of crawlspace or basement that is otherwise not immediately evident. She then surreptitiously drops one of her earrings into the hole in case she needs to navigate this unknown space later.

Most of the conversations among the churchgoers is banal, but the investigators overhear someone saying that they, “want to make the next step, because I’m sure I’m a prince of the sun!” There is further discussion about a purification ritual that the investigators do not understand.

Dale goes searching around for any occult symbols that might link the church to the Book of Black Tourmaline or his own supernatural experiences. While studying one of the church tapestries, he loses his balance and falls. Desperate to right himself, he grabs at the tapestry and pulls it off the walls. The nearby church members rush to his aid and get him some water. They seem utterly unbothered about the damaged tapestry.

Dr. Miller uses this distraction to approach the altar, which is a reclaimed table decorated with candles and copper bowls. He picks up one of the bowls and inspects it for any occult significance, only to be startled by the sudden arrival of a young woman who rings a gong. Dr. Miller is so surprised that he drops the bowl, which lets out an answering gong noise and causes everyone in the church to turn and stare at him. The young woman admonishes Dr. Miller until he picks up the bowl, puts it back on the altar, and moves over to the seating area.

The young woman rings the gong again and announces the two leaders of the church: Helios Rebecca and Alpha Solaris Maxima Est. The two women enter in splendid dresses, hats with cloth tops that resemble rising suns, and Isis-style capes. As the two women approach the altar to begin the service, Val recognizes Alpha Solaris as Ruth Green, a criminal who betrayed her some years prior. Fortunately, it seems as thought Ruth does not recognize her…

The Service

The service lasts about a half an hour and is filled with saccharine affirmations and mindless, repetitive chanting. To Dale, it seems both innocuous and unimaginative, as if written by someone who wanted to create a religious ceremony but who didn’t know the first thing about religion.

At the closing of the service, Alpha Solaris and Helios Rebecca welcome their new visitors (the investigators) to the church. They also thank the Thornhill sisters for providing the funds needed to pay for various land improvements and to construct a new building to help in their charity work.

With that, the ceremony ends, and everyone returns to mingling.

Helios Rebecca, Princess of the Sun

Helios and Alpha

Father Wilk approaches Helios Rebecca and discusses theology with her. He learns that she is a former Baptist who became enlightened during a séance. She insists her faith is “basically just like his,” citing the golden rule as one of the core tenets of her church. The conversation grows increasingly circular and convoluted, as Helios Rebecca either woefully misunderstands Christianity or is warping it to suit her needs.

When he presses her about whether or not the church recognizes God the Father, she smiles and says that, “of course she does, after all, Jesus died, rose again, and brought us divine wisdom because he was the First and Greatest Ruler of the Sun.”

This statement causes Father Wilk to nearly break down in incoherent, stuttering fury. Seeing this, Dr. Miller rushes to intervene, asking Helios Rebecca for some particulars about the church. He mentions that he is interested in providing a donation of $300, “with more on the way,” which causes Helios Rebecca to excitedly call Alpha Solaris over.

Most of the other investigators cluster around Dr. Miller—and Val hangs on his arm—so that they can more closely observe the two women during this exchange. Martin, meanwhile, leaves the church to go check on his horse.

Dr. Miller once again states that he would like to become a church benefactor, but that he has a few questions first. He would also like to see the church grounds. He notes the glint of avarice in the women’s eyes as they agree. He asks to have a moment to inform the rest of the investigators, which they grant him.

While Dr. Miller hastily talks with the others and establishes a game plan, Dale notices that Helos and Alpha are having their own private conversation by the altar. Listening in, he overhears that both women are giggling with excitement at, “swindling 300 simoleans outta these rubes!”

Alpha Solaris Maxima Est, Princess of the Sun (aka Ruth Green)

What Martin Saw

Martin brings Lincoln, his horse, over to the church’s well and draws him some water. While Lincoln drinks, Martin gives the outside of the church the once-over. He is particularly interested in the three stone dome buildings out back, which seem to have a lot of firewood stacked around them. He notices that these buildings have both door brackets and a large plank of wood leaning beside the door, which means that they can be easily barred from the outside.

Curious about this ominous discovery, Martin leaves his horse to investigate the nearest building. He finds the door unlocked. When he goes inside, he sees the building is a single room with three fireplaces and a stone floor, upon which even more firewood has been stacked. Martin realizes that this building, and likely the others, are saunas or sweat lodges of some kind.

He does not have a chance to do any further investigations, however, because an angry voice calls out from behind him. Martin turns to see a man in a worn coat and hat, a shovel slung over his shoulder. The man, who Martin eventually learns is the church’s groundskeeper, Zebulon Davis, tells Martin that these buildings are off limits to the public, and grumpily escorts him back to the church.

On the way back, Martin mentions that Lincoln is his horse. Zebulon complains about horse poop ruining the church grounds. The two men get into an argument about the efficacy of horse poop as a fertilizer.

Zebulon Davis, Groundskeeper (aka Brother Sol)

The Tour

The investigators regroup with the priestesses and start asking questions about the church and its history. They learn that both women realled their past lives during seances, seeking one another out, “as if by some mystical connection.” They seem fixated on finding other reincarnated solar spirits and bringing the technology of the kingdom of the sun to Earth. When asked by Ada, the women admit to wanting to build a dormitory on church property to make it easier for parishioners to meet, worship, and do good work.

Things take a turn when the investigators insist on interviewing the newest member of the church—the better to get a newcomer’s opinion of it. This seems to make both women nervous, and the investigators suspect that this is because Molly Scott was the newest member, before her disappearance.

Dr. Miller presses the matter, insisting on talking to the newest member before he gives them any money. Helios and Alpha try to politely rebuff and distract him, but it is clear that they are either angry or scared beneath their facades. Things look like they are about to get heated when Zebulon and Martin walk in, with Zebulon explaining that he found Martin over by the huts in the back.

Much to the investigators’, and Zebulon’s, astonishment, Alpha proclaims that the groundskeeper is the newest member of the church, and that he can give them the tour that they requested. Zebulon takes this in stride and says he’ll show them around. The two women depart and Zebulon conducts the tour, pointing out the fruit trees (which Helios Rebecca is absolutely crazy about), the ornamental shrubs, and similar. The roofless tower was, apparently, a grain silo that was too expensive to take down. Helios and Alpha had Zebulon whitewash it to make it look nice and hope to get enough donations to dismantle it sometime later.

After the tour, Dr. Miller asks if he can talk to Zebulon somewhere privately. Zebulon shrugs and invites him into the tool shed. Most of the investigators follow, with Martin and Saul going back to the cars.

In the Shed

Entering the shed, the investigators notice an empty wheelbarrow that has curious brown stains in the bottom of it. Ada is so unnerved by this discovery that she excuses herself to go to the cars and tell Saul and Martin what she’s seen. She stops along the way to officially thank and say goodbye to Helios and Alpha. The women say that the investigators are welcome back “anytime” and load Ada up with books and pamphlets about the Solar Kingdom.

In the shed, Dr. Miller starts laying out $20 bills in front of Zebulon and begins asking some very pointed questions about the church. Zebulon explains the following:

• He is a member of the church and goes by the name, “Brother Sol.”
• The two women live on the property, in private rooms at the back of the church.
• The two women have a mysterious patron or backer, a man who Zebulon doesn’t know and who doesn’t live in Port Harbor. The man comes the first night of every month to meet with the women. He brings a briefcase and drives a very expensive car.

Dr. Miller asks Zebulon about Molly Scott and her disappearance. Zebulon says that he doesn’t know for sure, but he thinks that Molly ran off with some boy and may be living somewhere down the coast now. Bridgeport, maybe.

Based on what they know, and on the presence of dried blood in the wheelbarrow, the investigators suspect that Zebulon is lying.

Dr. Miller sighs and returns the money to his wallet. Zebulon looks stricken as he does so. Dr. Miller says, in an offhanded sounding way, that maybe someone close to the church knows what happened to Molly, and maybe they’re afraid of talking about it because they can’t get away. Dr. Miller insists that he is a good person, and that he will happily provide money for such a person to leave town in exchange for this information.

Zebulon cracks. He grabs Dr. Miller by the elbow and frantically spills his guts. He says that Molly is dead and that her body is buried here, on church property. He was too afraid to talk to the cops or the family during the initial investigation, and none of them were able to discover the body.

He goes on to say that he can’t leave just now, because doing so might make the priestesses suspicious. He says he can help the investigators sneak onto the property later and help them unearth Molly’s body.

When he is asked for more details, Zebulon draws a crude map on a scrap of paper. As he does so, he explains that Molly went through the church’s ritual of purification, which was supposed to help her regain her memories of her past lives. This ritual involves being put in one of the saunas for hours and hours at a time. Molly didn’t take it well. She had some kind of seizure and died before they could get her out. Helos and Alpha ordered Zebulon to bury Molly’s body under the stone floor of the middle sauna.

The investigators thank Zebulon for his help and propose to return later that night to do a little excavating.

Zebulon's Map, with the Investigators' Annotations

 

The Circle of Seven: Session Four

An Odd Expression of Grief

Dale attempts to tackle Dr. Miller before he can reach Saul. This results in the two men rolling around on the carpet, ineffectually slapping at one another. Ada tries to coax Dr. Miller back to his senses while Father Wilk kneels in supplication before Val—who gamely goes along with it.

Father Wilk sees his deceased, former mentor, Father Anatoli, standing before him. Father Anatoli tells Father Wilk that there is darkness and evil in Port Harbor, and that he must be vigilant, so that he can take the fight to the corrupt, the degenerate, and the unbelieving.

The Late Father Anatoli

In the midst of all of this, Saul sneaks over to the door and lets himself out. This allows the sounds of the conflict to reach the main lobby of the bank. Saul sees that several people are already concerned, and Neil Letty (the bank manager) is already on his way to investigate, with another man at his side.

Saul insists that everything is all right, and that his companions are just having trouble processing their grief in the wake of Mr. Fresno’s death. The man with the bank manager introduces himself as Dr. John Brinkley, a psychiatrist. He tells Saul that he is available if he or his companions need treatment.

Dr. Brinkley steps away from the situation, but Neil Finney pushes onward into the conference room. Fortunately, both Dr. Miller and Father Wilk have recovered sufficiently by this point to at least put up a good façade. Dr. Miller tries to brush off the bank manager’s concerns, but he is having none of it. Father Wilk fares significantly better, however, when he rises to his full—nearly seven foot—height and commands the bank manager to leave. He does.

The investigators decide to leave the book in the bank for now. They also decide to go back to the Fresno place, so that they can rest and process what’s happened.

On their way out of the bank, Dr. Miller approaches Dr. Brinkley to see if he can learn more about the man. He finds Dr. Brinkley instantly unlikeable and impossible to read, but somehow familiar. A brief “conversation” between the doctors yields no new information about the man, other than that he has a practice in Westbrook and had come to Port Harbor to open a new bank account. Frustrated and exhausted, Dr. Miller is eventually convinced to leave the bank with the others.

Neil Letty, Manager of the 2nd National Bank

I’m Thinking Lincoln

The investigator reconvene at the Fresno residence and catch Martin up on what happened at the bank. Father Wilk describes his visitation. Dr. Miller apologizes and says that he has no memory of what occurred after he started reading from the book. Saul, who seems quietly, but extremely, affected by the incident, hides himself away from the others and tries to calm down.

It is nearly 5:00 pm, so Martin gets ready to go to the train station to pick up his horse. Dale offers to drive him in the Fresno car. At the station, the pair run into Charlie (of the Charlie Dog). They buy hot dogs and engage in pleasant conversation with Charlie. They learn that Charlie’s business is rather slow at the moment.

Dale has the idea to hire Charlie to set up shop at the Fresno place the following day to sell hot dogs to the investigators, the Detherages, and anyone else who happens to show up. Charlie is amused by this prospect and agrees. He also tells the players what he knows about Nicholas Fresno. This turns out not to be very much, as Fresno had no close friends in town apart from a hobo named “Leatherman” Hobbes, who wanders around a lot. Charlie also mentions that Fresno died hiking Ringrose Mountain, of an apparent heart attack, and that Hobbes was with him at the time.

Dale and Martin thank Charlie for the dogs and the information. They sign for Lincoln, Martin’s horse, and bring him to Crosstree Farms for stabling. They return to the Fresno house and share the information they got from Charlie with the others.

A Side of the Tracks

It is a cold, rainy, unpleasant November night, but the investigators decide that they should try to track down Mr. Hobbes as quickly as they can. They travel to Duchess Diner, which is near the train station, to both get a bite to eat and see if there are any hobos around that match Hobbes’ description.

After dinner, the investigators head out into the railyard near the station, where they find several hobos warming themselves around a large, burning drum. The hobos are skittish around the investigators and are uninterested in talking to them, at first. However, between some kind words from Dale and an offer of money from Martin, one of the hobos—a man named Carl—is convinced to open up.

Carl says that John “the Leatherman” Hobbes doesn’t ride the rails or come into town very much at all. Hobbes apparently walks a regular circuit that takes him as far west as Killingworth and as far east as East Lyme. He usually keeps away from populated areas, preferring to walk and camp out in the woods. Carl suggests that the investigators might have good luck poking around in the woods north of town. If Hobbes is in the area, that’s where he’ll be.

Up Ringrose Mountain

The investigators travel to Ringrose Mountain. It turns out to be a mostly civilized mountain with an attached park. There are numerous walking trails, campsites, and an observatory at the top.

The investigators are lucky to find two working flashlights in the back of the Fresno car. They take them out and shine them on a nearby map board. They learn that there is a large pavilion midway up the mountain. Since it is likely to be unoccupied and dry at this time of night, they decide to start looking there first.

A trip up the mountain paths in the chilly drizzle eventually leads the investigators to the pavilion. It is dark inside, but there are obvious signs that someone has been here recently. A small campfire has been lit in the massive firepit in front of the pavilion, with a bubbling tin of beans sitting on top of it.

The investigators call out for Hobbes and receive a nervous answer from somewhere deep inside of the pavilion. The investigators explain that they are the current heirs to the Fresno estate, and that they just want to have a talk. This coaxes Hobbes, a scruffy man clad in homemade leather garments, out into the firelight.

Jonathan "Leatherman" Hobbes

Over the course of a very spooky conversation with Hobbes, the investigators learn that he was with Frenso when he died. He claims that Fresno was killed by a bolt of lightning out of a clear blue sky. He insists the investigators not believe the story they tell in town, about how Frenso died of a heart attack. It’s not true.

Hobbes also tells the investigators that Fresno was in the process of gathering evidence about a young woman who went missing. This woman was a member of the Heartfire Church, and Fresno was convinced that there was a connection. Hearing this makes the investigators even more determined to figure out what’s really going on at the church.

Dale asks if Hobbes would like to come and stay at the Fresno place, but he refuses. He says that, much like “the Wanderin’ Jew o’ legend,” he is cursed to wander by a strange power that he does not name. He tells the investigators his usual route, in case they need to find him to talk to him.

The investigators eventually take their leave of Hobbes, leaving him to his fire and beans. They walk back down the mountain trails to the car, with much to think about.