Fractures Appear
Molly Scott, High Priestess of Hylmunder
Molly Scott prays quietly at Hylmunder’s altar, while Helios Rebecca stares at her, enraptured.
Most of the investigators return to the church proper to discuss options and to search for the plates. Even Saul comes back from the car to see what’s going on. Martin remains in the cavern temple to keep an eye on Molly. He tries to talk to her several times but gets no response.
For the moment, Dr. Miller and Father Wilk choose not to reveal that they know where the plates are. They keep mum as several of the other investigators search the church and grounds for the plates. Ada’s searches yields fake ids belonging to Alpha Solaris. Val immediately pockets them. Dale searches the saunas, finds no plates, and becomes increasingly agitated.
Meanwhile, the rest of the investigators discuss their options, as well as possible repercussions. This seems to boil down into the following:
- We should give the plates to Molly because we promised we would, and we don’t want her on our bad side. She could be a powerful ally against the other nightmarish monstrosities plaguing Port Harbor. We also kind of like her and feel badly for her.
- We should not give the plates to Molly. She is an eldritch abomination who is capable of killing effortlessly and without remorse. While she once was a person, she isn’t one anymore. We don’t know what she’s capable of, and we don’t want to make her stronger for fear of what she might do.
Dale Plays with Fire
It should be noted that Dale is not handling this very well. He wants the problem solved one way or another, and he wants it solved now.
After returning from his fruitless search of the sauna, Dale lights the candles on the altar in the upper church, sits down in a pew, and begins neurotically mumbling to himself. The other investigators realize that Dale—whether knowingly or not—is casting some kind of summoning spell.
They try to get him to stop and mostly succeed. In doing so, they learn that Dale was semi-consciously trying to summon part of the fires of Tiovvoru to “solve the problem.” He impatiently tells the others that if they don’t find the plates or figure something else out soon, he’s going to complete the ritual and burn the whole place to the ground.
Pledged to Hylmunder
It should be noted that Dr. Miller is not handling this very well, either. Not only has he been badly injured by magical lightning, but he is also secretly terrified that he is being hunted by the Hounds of Qiru Yawar. He became convinced of this when he discovered that one of his patients had been torn to pieces by the Hounds.
Dr. Miller has noticed that Molly Scott is very powerful, has the backing of Hylmunder, and isn’t afraid of anything. He wonders if he could get Hylmunder’s blessing and protection.
To that end, Dr. Miller suddenly runs back down into the basement. The rest of the investigators follow him as he reaches the altar, walks up to Molly Scott, and demands to be put in touch with Hylmunder.
Molly Scott accepts and burns a symbol into Dr. Miller’s forehead with the tip of her finger. Dr. Miller feels the world fall away from him and finds himself hurtling through a limitless expanse of neverending light and energy. As he travels, a booming voice calls out to him and asks what he is seeking there.
Dr. Miller replies that he wants protection from Qiru Yawar and his Hounds. The voice proclaims that he shall have it, provided he obeys “the true priestess” in all things and recovers the plates.
With a horrified scream, Dr. Miller returns to the waking world, surrounded by his concerned and traumatized friends.
“I know where the plates are,” he says, as he makes his way back up the tunnel to the church.
The investigators follow him. Father Wilk is very worried. Dale, conversely, is happy that they’re getting somewhere.
Saul, for his part, has had more than enough of this insanity. He returns to the car and offers to drive Fitzwilliam Carruthers back to the Port Harbor train station. Mr. Carruthers gratefully accepts the offer.
Recovering the Plates
The rest of the investigators follow Dr. Miller to the outhouses behind the church. Dr. Miller explains that Father Wilk stole the plates previously and threw them down the hole in the privy.
Father Wilk tries to explain his reasoning for doing this, that he firmly believes that Molly Scott is dangerous, in league with a demon, and should under no circumstances have access to the plates. While he pleades his case, Dale pushes past him, enters the privy, and digs around in the excrement. Heedless of the filth, he quickly recovers all eight of the plates and tucks them into a nightsoil-streaked stack under his arm.
It is here that a scuffle breaks about between the investigators. The two factions roughly boil down into those who want to give Molly Scott the plates right now (Dale and Dr. Miller), and those who either want to withhold the plates from her or find a way to use the plates against her (everyone else).
Val displays some exceptional fighting skills, knocking Dale down without effort. This gives Father Wilk time to plead his case. Dale seems to relent, at least at first, but then goes into the church, slams the plate onto the altar table, and resumes his ritual chant. He tells the others that they have until he summons whatever he’s going to summon to figure out a solution, otherwise he’s going to burn the church to the ground.
Burn it All Down!
Father Wilk works quickly. In the better light, inspired by Dale’s threat, he recognizes that the golden plates are written in Enochian—the cypher language created by Dr. John Dee. Scanning the plates, he discovers that each one is a spell or ritual of some kind. One of them seems to allow the practitioner to create “an obsidian servant of Hylmunder”. This seems to be an undead creature of similar abilities to Molly Scott. Father Wilk is relieved to discover that the spell is reversible, allowing practitioners to destroy the servant if necessary.
Dale completes his ritual moments after Father Wilk finishes his translation. A fiery tear in space rips open above the church’s altar, giving the investigators a brief and horrifying glimpse of an infernal realm. One of the flames from that place leaps through the tear and zigzags around the room, igniting everything it touches.
It is possible that the ritual, or the creature it summons, is enough to get Molly Scott’s attention. She comes up from the basement with Martin and Helios Rebecca in tow. As she steps into the church, Father Wilk starts casting the reversing spell. Dale points at Molly and orders the fire creature to destroy her.
Molly Scott hurls destructive energies at the players, to little effect. The fire creature ignites her, burning away her layers of black garments and revealing a charred, partially denuded skeleton beneath. Ada, among others, notices that sections of Molly Scott’s bones have been replaced with black crystalline deposits.
As Molly fights off the fire creature, Father Wilk pronounces the final words of the spell. Whatever powers had brought Molly Scott back to life flee her in that instant, and she collapses lifeless to the floor.
The fire creature continues to wreak havoc, and the flames consuming the church quickly burn out of control. The investigators grab an insensate and raving Helios Rebecca before fleeing the church and grounds, managing to get away long before the fire department arrives on the scene.
The Local Paper Reports on the Aftermath
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