The Circle of Seven: Session Seven

At the Police Station

Upon reaching the police station, Father Wilk and Saul are escorted into an interrogation room. After a few minutes, they are joined by Chief Murphy, who wants to have a friendly chat with them. It is anything but. The chief insults both men’s character and suggests that they were trespassing on church grounds for nefarious purposes.

Several minutes into the chat, Alexander Sebastian steps into the room. He upbraids Chief Murphy for not letting him know that his clients were here and wants to know if the chief was deliberately trying to prevent Saul and Father Wilk from getting access to legal representation.

It quickly becomes apparent that Chief Murphy hates Saul and Father Wilk for unspecified (but possibly racist) reasons, and that he is also afraid of Father Wilk. Father Wilk presses this advantage to keep the chief on his back foot. Seeing this advantage, Saul expertly manages to turn the whole “friendly chat” around. He counters all of Chief Murphy’s veiled accusations by saying that they were trying to bring in a witness to Molly Scott’s death and illegal burial. He demands to know why the chief isn’t spending every effort to find Zebulon Davis and bring him in for questioning.

Chief Murphy abruptly ends the interview. Mr. Sebastian gives Father Wilk and Saul a lift back to the Fresno house. His relationship with Chief Murphy is touched on. The chief doesn’t like Mr. Sebastian, either, because “he likes to get results, and he finds that due process often hampers that.”

Police Chief Denny Murphy

Martin’s Adventure

Martin is the only one of the investigators still remaining on church property. He waits until the coast is clear, fetches tools from the storage shed, and gets to work excavating the floor in the central sauna/smokehouse. He finds the floor very easy to break and clear, which troubles him. He finds nothing digging in the dirt beneath the floor, which troubles him a lot more.

Briefly overcome by fatigue, he takes a moment to rest. While catching his breath, he hears the sound of one of the church doors closing.

Martin sneaks over to the church and spots an open window in the back. He heads towards it, only to turn his foot in a divot on the lawn. With a yelp, he goes tumbling into one of the well-manicured hedges. As he struggles to extricate himself, he hears the unmistakable sound of a shotgun misfiring. Looking up, he sees a shadowy figure in the open window, hastily ejecting and reloading a shotgun.

Martin leaps to his feet and draws his .44. The shadowy figure empties two barrels of buckshot in Martin’s direction, but the shots go wild. As the figure turns to flee, Martin opens fire, catching them in the side and sending them toppling to the floor.

Holstering his gun, Martin climbs through the window and frantically searches for a light switch. When he turns it on, he discovers, to his shock and horror, that the mystery shooter is none other than Zebulon Davis. Panicking, Martin tosses the empty shotgun away and spends several minutes trying tending to Zebulon’s wounds. He manages to staunch the flow of blood, but not before getting covered in the stuff and tracking it throughout the back section of the church.

Crime Scene Cleanup

The phone rings at the Fresno house. Ada answers it and is shocked to discover that a frantic Martin is on the other end. Martin stammers that he has shot someone at the church, that the person is “doing really bad” and needs a doctor. Before Ada can ask any clarifying questions, Martin hangs up.

A baffled and worried Ada relates Martin’s message to the others. There is a lot of discussion about what they should do and whether or not they should do it. They eventually agree to go to the church and find out for themselves what’s happened there.

Upon arrival, they meet up with Val, who has finally found her way out of the forest and back to the church grounds. They find the church grounds quiet and undisturbed, but quickly notice the lights that Martin left on in the house.

Entering the church, they find Zebulon unconscious and in critical condition. The investigators are aghast, because Martin never told Ada who he shot, and Martin isn’t here to give an accounting of himself. While Dr. Miller tends to Zebulon, Dale grabs towels and sheets and uses them to mop up Zebulon’s blood and scrub away Martin’s boot prints.

After another frantic discussion, they decide to bring Zebulon back to the Fresno house before trying to figure out what to do next. Ada searches all the cabinets in the house for anything that could be used for wound care while Dr. Miller makes a few discreet phone calls. He apparently has access to a private network of doctors who provide medical care for—certain parties—while remaining anonymous.

An hour after he makes the call, a large, unmarked car arrives at the Fresno house. Two men cart Zebulon off, place him in the back of the car, and drive away. No words are exchanged.

Saul, horrified by everything that’s happened, starts packing up to go home. The others convince him to at least wait until morning. He reluctantly agrees and everyone goes to bed.

What Happened to Martin?

After his phone call, Martin washes off Zebulon’s blood as best as he can and hightails it over to Crosstree Farms to get Lincoln, his horse. He is aided in his escape by one of the buses of the Port Harbor Transportation Authority, who picks him up by the side of the road and takes him to the farm’s bus stop.

Martin saddles Lincoln and rides northeastward out of town. By dawn, he reaches the still sleeping town of Salem, Connecticut. While there, he draws the eye of some early-rising locals, sees a few fliers advertising a Klan rally for the following day (Thursday), and mails a letter to the Fresno house explaining everything that happened.

He also peruses a copy of the morning paper, but finds nothing about the incidents at the Heartfire Church.

Once that’s done, he rides Lincoln into the woods, sets up camp, and gets a little shuteye.

He wakes up shortly after noon, with Leatherman Hobbes standing over him. After a brief and somewhat awkward conversation, the two men agree to share lunch. Over a meal of cold beans and jerky, Martin tells Leatherman what’s happened. Leatherman only replies with seemingly disinterested grunts until the very end.

“So, you say this Zebulon told you where the body was an’ to come up at night to find it?”

“Yeah.”

“An’ this Zebulon was the same one that shot at you?”

“Yeah.”

“Seems t’ me that he led you into a trap.”

Martin is relieved that he may not have gunned down an innocent person but is also worried that he has no way of letting his friends know this. He thanks Leatherman for putting things in perspective before saddling up Lincoln and riding off in a random direction.

A Visit to the Psychiatric Hospital

Kendrick Sanitarium

While Martin goes on walkabout, the other investigators confer in the Fresno kitchen over breakfast. Dr. Miller says that he believes that the Church of the Ten Heartfelt Fires is a front for a cult of Hylmunder, a Mythos deity of limitless energy and destructive power. Ada and Father Wilk also mention the Book of Black Tourmaline, and that it is the work of yet another Mythos deity.

“Plus,” says Ada, “there’s those tunnels running underneath the town that we should explore at some point.”

The investigators also discuss their dismay at finding nothing about the trespassing at the church in the newspaper, as well as no mention of the aftermath of the Zebulon shooting. They worry that this means Alpha Solaris and Helios Rebecca are keeping quiet for their own nefarious purposes.

With Martin in the wind and with themselves feeling at a loss, the investigators decide to visit Kendrick Sanitarium. Dr. Miller thinks that some of the patients there might know something about the occult goings-on in town. Ada, Dale, and Father Wilk go with him, while Saul and Val stay back at the house.

The nurse at the sanitarium’s front desk is pleasant enough, but warns that Dr. Neumann, the facility medical director, is extremely busy. She is immediately contradicted by Dr. Neumann, who arrives and enthusiastically shakes Dr. Miller’s hand. He has read all of Dr. Miller’s papers and is excited to meet him! He clears his schedule and promises to show Dr. Miller and company around!

While all this is happening, Father Wilk offers to do prayers with patients of a Catholic background, while Ada and Dale pass themselves off as Dr. Miller’s research assistant and a driver, respectively.

Terrible News

Meanwhile, back at the Fresno house, the doorbell rings. Saul peeks out the window and is dismanyed to see Chief Murphy standing on the front porch. He debates pretending not to be home but becomes worried that doing so might be illegal. Reluctantly, he opens the door.

Chief Murphy seems none to pleased to see Saul either. He tells Saul that he is not here about the church issue, but something more important. The Second National Bank contacted the police station at dawn that morning to let them know that several of their safety deposit boxes had been burgled in the night. One of these boxes was, of course, the investigators…

The Circle of Seven: Session Six

Prelude to Being Stealthy

Prior to leaving the church grounds, the investigators promise to help Zebulon escape later that evening. They propose parking at Ringrose Mountain, near the church, around 7:00 pm. They hope that Zebulon can get away from the church and join them. He agrees to the plan.

On the way back to the Fresno place, Val reveals that she knows Alpha Solaris Maxima Est. Val knows her as Ruth Green, a small time criminal and con artist. Val says that Ruth framed her for a crime that caused her some trouble with the law. Val is very angry with Ruth and wants some kind of revenge.

Back at the house, the investigators discuss whether they should go to the police or search the church property for more evidence. They decide to split the difference. Father Wilk calls Alexander Sebastian, Mr. Fresno’s lawyer, and tells him he has a legal matter he wants to discuss. Father Wilk says that Zebulon knows where the body of Molly Scott is, but that he is in fear for his life if he comes forward. Father Wilk says that he and his friends will be retrieving Zebulon later, and plan to bring him to the police station so that he can make a full accounting of his involvement in the cover up. He asks Mr. Sebastian to meet them at the police station and serve as Zebulon’s council. Mr. Sebastian agrees to do so.

A Map of the Church

Back at Church

The investigators travel to Ringrose Mountain, park their car, and wait for Zebulon. He does not arrive. Fearing foul play, the investigators go looking for him at the church. Father Wilk and Val stay with the car while the others trek off through the wilderness.

They reach the church grounds without incident and begin exploring. Everything is very quiet, and there are no signs of foul play. They peek through a lit-up windows on the back of the church and see an empty bedroom.

At this point, for reasons of her own, Val ditches Father Wilk and goes alone to the church to do her own investigations. Father Wilk, concerned for Val’s safety, goes trekking off into the woods after her. His search does not go well.

He first encounters a young couple making out in a small clearing, whom he terrifies with his 6’7” height, long beard, and voluminous vestments. As the couple flees, the young lady promises that she will go to church on Sunday.

Father Wilk resumes the search, only to step into and trigger a fox trap. He screams very loudly.

At the church, the investigators split up. Dr. Miller, Saul, and Ada try to get a better look at the mysterious “silo” on the property, while Dale and Martin go to investigate the second smokehouse, which is Molly Scott’s alleged burial place.

Val, who has scampered through woods to the church, is already at the smokehouses. Realizing that the smokehouse doors can be barred from the outside, Val takes pains to gather up the bars and hurl them into the woods. She then begins picking over a large pile of ashes in the back of one of the smokehouses—likely the remnants of previous ritual fires.

Val spies the badly burned remains of a woman’s handbag, just as Martin spies a figure hunched down behind one of the smokehouses. He approaches, drawing his gun. Val hears him and turns, drawing her gun. The Keeper is surprised how heavily armed everyone is as Val and Martin both whisper, “oh, it’s you!” before putting their guns away.

Dale joins Val and Martin and demands to know why Val stayed with the car if she wanted to investigate the church. Val provides no solid answer to this question but does show the two men the handbag. They all suspect that it belonged to Molly Scott and was burned after the police investigation into her disappearance went cold.

The “Silo”

Dr. Miller, Saul, and Ada are about to investigate the silo when Ada hears a scream from the woods. She and her friends go to investigate and find Father Wilk trapped in the fox trap. They free him without difficulty and, after a brief investigation by flashlight, Dr. Miller confidently says that Father Wilk has avoided serious injury. Father Wilk joins the others in their silo investigation.

They are soon joined by Dale, who has come over to let the others know that Val is there and what she has discovered. They are baffled that Val offered to stay with the car if she wanted to come investigate, but Father Wilk says that he is at least glad to know where Val is.

Back at the silo, the four men easily hoist Ada up so that she can pull herself over the lip of the silo and see what’s inside. In the beam of her flashlight, Ada sees that the silo is more like a chimney, with a subterranean chamber somewhere beneath it. She also sees a raised circular platform with a golden, sundial gnomon on it. The platform also seems to be decorated with an occult symbol that possibly relates to the sun.

Hearing this, Dr. Miller insists on getting a look at the platform himself. He is also lifted into position. When he sees the platform, he undergoes a bit of a shock. He realizes that he recognizes the sun symbol from his previous occult research. It is a representation of Hylmunder, an entity associated with various forms of energy. Hylmunder is often depicted as a sphere of burning white light, and his only goal is to sear all imperfections from the universe.

When the others lower Dr. Miller to the ground, he is mumbling to himself about the church being a real cult and his suspicions that Molly Scott might have been offered up as a sacrifice to Hylmunder. He also mutters something about, “they control energy. A bolt from the blue. An energy bolt. They murdered Fresno with magic.”

The others manage to snap him out of his ruminations, only to become aghast as Dr. Miller explains that they need to go down into that chamber and do more investigations. His companions’ protestations are drowned out by the sound of approaching police sirens.

 

What Was Below the Silo

Cheese It, The Cops!

Two police cars drive onto the property. Two officers get out of the first one, while a solitary officer and his two bloodhounds disembark from the second. Dale, Ada, and Dr. Miller flee the scene, running pell-mell through the woods back to their car. Father Wilk and Saul, on the other hand, decide to go have a talk with the cops.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the church grounds, Martin and Val hear the approaching police and their conversation/confrontation with Father Wilk and Saul. Martin insists that Val leave the evidence in situ, and that he will stay and watch over it until the police come and investigate it. Val, who has a criminal record, decides not to take a chance with the police and runs into the woods on the north side of the property.

Father Wilk and Saul’s interaction with the police does not go well, at first. They are ordered, at gunpoint, to put their hands on the nearest police car, where they are roughly searched. They are then told they are under arrest for trespassing with criminal intent.

At this point, both Alpha Solaris and Helios Rebecca come out of the church, dressed in housecoats and nightgowns. They sob to the police about how afraid they were and thank them for coming to their rescue.

Saul points out that, earlier in the day, the two women had invited them to come back to the church, “any time,” and that, if the church is a “real” church, it is open to the public at all hours and not subject to trespassing laws. This confuses the three cops, who begin to question Alpha Solaris and Helios Rebecca.

Father Wilk takes his opportunity to explain that he had come to the church to get Zebulon, whose life he believes is in danger, and bring him to the police station for his safety. He goes on to say that he has already arranged this with Mr. Sebastian, who should be at the police station waiting for him. He tells the cops that this is all in connection with the missing girl.

The two women say that Zebulon is not on the property and is likely at his home in town. This directly contradicts what Zebulon told the players (who said he lives on the property), so Father Wilk demands to know Zebulon’s address so that he can be contacted to “sort everything out.”

The cops, dismayed that this situation has no easy answer, orders Saul, Father Wilk, Alpha Solaris, and Helios Rebecca get in the cars and come down with them to the station. They say that the chief is going to sort this situation all out. Helios Rebecca is allowed to fetch her address book, which has Zebulon’s contact information.

Epilogue

Ada, Dr. Miller, and Dale reach the car and drive back to the house, where they wait for word from the others.

Martin waits for everyone to leave before venturing into the second smokehouse to see if he can find Molly Scott’s body.

Val manages to stop running just long enough to realize that she has become utterly lost in the woods north of the church. She shouts an obscenity at the overcast sky as the credits roll.