The Circle of Seven: Session Eleven

The Death Orb

The Fresno house fills with heat and light. Saul tuns into the attic and joins Val and Dale (and the raccoon, held by Val and wearing Val’s hat over its eyes) in the protective circle. Dale completes the spell and the temperature inside the circle drops dramatically. Dale also drops dramatically, into a fetal position.

Ada flees from the orb in a blind panic, running into the basement and escaping down the shaft to the tunnels beneath Port Harbor. As she flees, the orb grows hotter, brighter, and larger. Those that remain feel it siphoning away their life force.

In a desperate attempt to stop the orb, Martin grabs the basin of dirty dishwater from the sink and throws it. Upon impact, the water causes the orb to shoot out bolts of electricity and shrink in size. For a moment, it also dims.

Oh, Right. This Thing!

Dr. Miller realizes that this thing is a lesser servitor of Hylmunder and is made almost entirely of electrical energy. He urges the others to keep throwing water on it. Dr. Miller then grabs the coffee carafe off the kitchen counter, only to discover that no one refilled it after dinner. He grouses about this as he runs to the sink.

He, Martin, and Father Wilk (who has found a large crystal punch bowl), form a kind of bucket brigade at the sink, hastily filling their containers and water at the creature.

Father Wilk even goes so far as to bless the water in his punchbowl before dumping it on top of the orb. This anointing causes an explosion of electrical energy that shatters the punchbowl and hurls Father Wilk a fair distance down the hallway. Fortunately, he is otherwise unharmed.

The orb fades away to nothing, leaving the investigators to contemplate the slightly charred and soaked foyer.

Ada

Ada reaches the bottom of the ladder before realizing that she doesn’t know where she’s going and doesn’t have any way of illuminating the cavern around her.

She takes a moment to collect herself, but as she does, she hears someone chuckling in the darkness nearby. This inspires her to ascend the shaft at great speed, slam shut the metal trap door on top, and drag a crate full of bricks over the door for good measure.

Ada joins the other investigators upstairs. Dr. Miller is in the process of calling those who hid in the attic cowardly. Saul agrees with this and feels no shame about doing so. Dale, once he hears a description of the mysterious glowing orb, seems suddenly relaxed and relieved. He sags into the couch, somewhat more blissful than the experience warrants.

Still terrified, Ada yells that there is something in the tunnels beneath the house. The investigators have difficulty coming to a consensus. Some want to go into the tunnels and explore right now, while others want to get some rest. Martin promises to stand vigil, gun at the ready, should the others decide to sleep.

Eventually, the investigators agree that other than the crude map drawn by Nicholas Fresno, they don’t know anything about the tunnels. They decide to a little tidying up before visiting the Port Harbor Library.

Dale takes this opportunity to run to a nearby store and buy several garden hoses. He hooks two of them together, attaches them to the outside faucet, and runs it through one of the first-floor windows. Just in case.

Fresno's Letter and Tunnel Map

The Port Harbor Public Library

The library is still open. Dr. Miller shows Fresno’s map to one of the librarians and asks if she knows who might have drawn it. The librarian has no idea but does tell Dr. Miller that the local expert on the Port Harbor tunnels is Professor Craegen, curator of the Old Port Harbor Seaport and Whaling Museum. Dr. Miller gets the professor’s contact information and uses one of the library’s phone booths to make a call.

Meanwhile, Father Wilk and Ada find information on the tunnels and how they feature in Port Harbor’s history.

• Port Harbor was originally three settlements: the location known as “the Old Port”, the downtown area, and the area around the Thornhill Estate. They gradually grew together over the decades and centuries.
• The Old Port was known for whaling, but also for its foundry.
• The Thornhills made their money from a controlling interest in the foundry and in the local bauxite mining industry that was active through the mid-1800s.
• There are some natural caves and tunnels on the western shores of Port Harbor, due to its higher elevation. These caves were expanded by pilot bores and mine shafts. Most of these have been closed over due to safety concerns.
• A news article from the previous year describes a local farmer being startled by the sudden appearance of John “Leatherman” Hobbes, who emerged from a cave that the farmer did not know was on his property.
• Professor Craegan seems to have a particular interest in the Port Harbor caves and has even put together an exhibit at his museum.

Dr. Miller calls Professor Craegen’s house and speaks to the professor’s manservant, Rolfe. Rolfe explains that the professor will be out until late, but that he will be happy to take a message. Dr. Miller leaves his contact information.

The Old Port Harbor Museum

Dr. Miller insists on visiting the museum immediately. Several of the others, particularly Ada, say that the museum is probably closed, and that it would be weird for seven people to visit it at night. Dr. Miller is not dissuaded by this. Dale offers to pick the lock on the museum door if it is closed for the night. Ada feels a headache coming on.

The investigators visit the museum, only to find that it is indeed closed for the day. After searching around the perimeter, Dale finds a window that offers a reasonably good view of the professor’s tunnel exhibit. With a bit of careful positioning and a good deal of squinting, the investigators learn the following:  

• Some caves on the shores of the Abbanaset River were used for smuggling and as stops on the Underground Railroad. Erosion and other issues with the shoreline have sealed the holes, and no one seems to know the location or condition of the caves.
• A cavern called “Candle Cave”, which is decorated with hundreds of candles, was a favorite hangout spot for miners back in the day. It is likely located somewhere beneath Altergarten (the district where the Fresno House is).
  
• Sieben Haus, a local landmark, is reputedly built over one of the pilot holes.

Several of the investigators notice a gaunt figure in a dark, concealing garment, is watching them from behind the pumps of a nearby gas station. Dr. Miller, Dale, and Father Wilk run over to intercept the figure, but they disappear without a trace. The trio call out to the figure and receive no response.

They rejoin the others just as a police car pulls into the museum parking lot. The two policemen in the car ask the investigators what they’re doing loitering in front of the museum at night. They harass the investigators, but eventually let them go.

The Tunnels

The investigators return to the Fresno House and continue bickering about what to do about the tunnels. This comes to a head when Martin stomps down into the basement, moves the crate of bricks, throws open the trap door, and all but orders the others to go down and have a look.

In the stunned silence that follows, Father Wilk is certain that he hears someone calling faintly for help.

This galvanizes most of the investigators to get down into the tunnels. Ada hands out flashlights and everyone but Val and Saul descend. They reach a small, natural cavern at the base of the ladder and spot two tunnels heading off at roughly a 90-degree angle to one another. Father Wilk calls out and receives a reply from the righthand tunnel.

As the investigators travel down the tunnel, they notice it is dangerously unstable in places. They soon come to an area where the ceiling ahead of them has collapsed, imprisoning and half-burying an older gentleman with an impressive, fluffy white beard.

This man, it turns out, is none other than Professor Eric Craegen.

The

 

It seems that the professor was out exploring the Port Harbor tunnels when the floor gave way. He fell, became trapped, and feared that he had reached the end of his road, both metaphorically and literally. He is extremely grateful to the investigators for coming to his rescue.

The players quickly unearth Professor Craegen and offer to escort him back to the Fresno House. The professor accepts and is astonished that there was another tunnel beneath the tunnels he was exploring. “And it leads to the Fresno House! Extraordinary!”  

The professor proves to be very amiable and chatty, if a bit eccentric. Dr. Miller notes his almost blithe recovery from his predicament and begins to worry that the professor is a dangerous, insane maniac. He is also concerned by a discrepancy between something the professor told him and what Rolfe, the manservant, told him over the phone. Dr. Miller warns Martin, who vows to stick by Professor Craegen, just in case.

The investigators return to the cave beneath the Fresno House and ascend to the basement. Father Wilk goes first, followed by Dale, Professor Craegen, Martin, Dr. Miller, and Ada.

The moment the professor reaches the basement, Father Wilk grabs him by the lapels, shoves him against a wall, and demands to know the truth. Professor Craegen is quite taken aback and tries to reason with Father Wilk as the rest of the investigators climb up after them.

Again, Ada

Val hears the commotion above and, fearing the worst, makes ready to climb up to the basement to intervene. She shines her flashlight around as a final precaution and happens to see a four-toed, clawed footprint near the bottom of the ladder.

Ada earns an Olympic medal in ladder climbing, interrupting Father Wilk’s interrogation of Professor Craegen by shouting, “There is a two-legged, humanoid, clawed…THING…roaming around the tunnels!”

The Circle of Seven: Session Ten

Al’s Apartment

The investigators discuss their options over breakfast and decide to investigate “Al,” Maude Collins’ crony who happens to live in Wilton MacKnight’s apartment building. All of them go on this mission apart from Father Wilk, who stays back at the house.

The plan is as follows: Val will dress to the nines and try and sweet talk Al out of his apartment to go on a date. While he’s out, Saul, Ada, and Dr. Miller will sneak into the apartment building and do some poking around. Dale and Martin will park the car near the building and keep an eye out for trouble.

The plan goes surprisingly well, at least at first. Val successfully gets Al to leave the apartment. He briefly makes a call to someone and tells them that he is borrowing the car before driving Val to a nearby restaurant for lunch. Val tries her best to get information out of Al, but he is taciturn and monosyllabic, so this does not pan out.

Dr. Miller, Ada, and Saul enter the apartment. This is facilitated by Val, who was able to tape over the locking mechanism on the front door without Al noticing. The apartment is barely furnished and has no personal touches at all. While this is weird, it does make the apartment easy to search. They find the following:

• Three bottles of liquid barbiturates, one of which is only partially full.
• Sets of new clothing and shoes in various sizes and styles.
• A photo album containing pictures of people that don’t seem to be related to Al. One of these photos is of the fancy woman that the investigators spotted earlier in the week.

Ada suspects that the people in the photos are “masks” and that the clothing that seems to be for other people are to be used when Al changes form.

The Fancy Woman

An Unexpected Visitor

Out on the street, Dale and Martin spot Dr. John Brinkley—their acquaintance from the bank—walking up to the apartment building. Concerned that the doctor is going to foil their plans, Dale gets out of the car and slips into the apartment building by the back door.

Dale wanders up to the third floor, under the pretext of visiting Wilton MacKnight in his apartment. As he arrives, he sees Dr. Brinkly approaching Al’s door.

Dr. Brinkley knocks. The sound terrifies the trio investigating Al’s room. Ada and Saul quietly slip through a window and flee down the fire escape while Dr. Miller hides in the closet.

Dale also knocks on Wilton’s door, all while keeping an eye on Dr. Brinkly. No one answers. When Dr. Brinkley pulls some keys out of his pocket, Dale desperately hails him and draws him away from Al’s apartment.

The two men have an altered and stilted conversation as they leave the building. Dr. Brinkley confesses to not remembering Dale from the bank and seems embarrassed. Dale tells Dr. Brinkley that there was a robbery at the bank, and that the investigators’ safety deposit box was one of the ones robbed. He suggests that Dr. Brinkley contact the bank to make sure his valuables are all in order.

As they step outside, Dale notices Ada and Saul coming around the building. He gestures for them to get back while he makes sure Dr. Brinkley leaves the area.

As Dr. Brinkley departs, he tells Dale that he, “hopes you find your book.”

Dale realizes that he never mentioned the contents of the safety deposit box…

Coming Out of the Closet

Dr. Miller listens to Dale and Dr. Brinkley’s conversation in the hallway and waits, sweating, in the closet, for the two men to go downstairs. Once he can no longer hear their footfalls, he resumes his search.

He discovers an oval wooden picture frame hanging backward on a nail in the wall of the closet. He takes the frame off the wall and turns it over. It is a mirror, not a picture, and the wooden frame is engraved with several curious runes that Dr. Miller suspects are Mythos-adjacent.

He tucks the mirror under his coat and flees the apartment.

Another Worrying Phone Call

The investigators return to the Fresno House to regroup. Upon seeing the mirror, Ada posits that it might be magical, and that it might be what allows the “Masks of Adaru” to change forms.

The investigators do some digging on Dr. Brinkley. No one picks up when they call the number on his business card. He is also not listed in the yellow pages of the Port Harbor phone book.

Speaking of phones, the telephone rings. Dr. Miller answers it. The person on the other end has a soft, raspy, ragged voice and does not identify themselves. They say, “the priestes of the sun plan to kill you tonight. Be ready.” Then they hang up.

Upon hearing this warning, Dale flees upstairs. He searches Fresno’s journals for the ritual to empower the warding circle in the attic and immediately heads there to return the circle to full strength. Nothing anyone else says can convince him to abandon this pursuit. He is certain that the Luminous Church will try to destroy them with magical fire, and he will be ready, damnit.

Val stays in the attic with Dale for company and moral support. She brings the raccoon, who mostly behaves itself.

The rest of the investigators prepare as best as they can. Martin cleans and oils his gun. Saul makes dinner. The others go through the house and scavenge what weapons and supplies they can for the inevitable onslaught. Ada arms herself with a cricket bat that was too nice for the Detherages to take to the dump.

The Attack Begins

Shortly after sunset, Martin, who is keeping watch out of an upstairs window, spots a bright light coming down the street. At first, it looks like it might be a motorcycle headlamp, but Martin soon realizes that the light isn’t attached to anything and doesn’t seem to be produced by anything. It’s just a sphere of independently moving light, about a hand’s width across.

He shouts down a warning to the others as the light veers off the road and travels straight to the Fresno house.

The investigators have only moments to prepare before the light sphere phases through the front door. It glows with a soft, yellowish radiance, and hovers about three feet off the floor.

Ada runs up to the light sphere and takes a swing with her cricket bat. The bat passes through the light sphere seemingly without doing anything to it.

The light sphere’s radiance increases in brightness and intensity until it is blue-white and painful to look at. Ada, who is closest, feels as though she is standing next to a bonfire. Her clothes are hot. Her skin hurts. Behind the light sphere, Ada sees that the wallpaper in the front hall is beginning to smoke…

 

The Circle of Seven: Session Nine

Up Close with Maude Collins

Dr. Miller interrupts Maude as she’s about to get into her car (the same one containing three very large, angry-looking men). Val follows Dr. Miller while the rest of the investigators watch from the house. Val intentionally antagonizes Maude and the men in the car. When one of the men tries to get out to pound Val into the pavement, Maude brings him to heel with a wave of her hand.

Dr. Miller asks Maude the following questions and receives the following answers.

Are you related to Ellie Dunn? No, who’s that. She’s in Kendrick? Poor dear.

Why have you given up asking us about the book? Well, you’ve searched the whole house and it’s not here, so I though I’d pursue other avenues. Give me a call if it turns up.

What do you know about Hylmunder? It’s some kind of pagan god, I think. Has to do with light and energy? How curious that you’d ask me about that.

Okay, what do you know about Adaru? I’ve…hm…I’ve never heard of that. (She’s lying)

How about Tiovvoru? Well, he's a fire deity. The rage of fire, specifically. They call him "The Consumer" and they say that every fire is a portal to his domain. He's often confused with Hylmunder, for obvious reasons. But really, doctor, are you going to ask me about every pagan deity you’ve ever heard of? I must be going.

The Monsignor

Monsignor Gregory Montag

After Maude leaves, the rest of the investigators decide to take a little break and plan their next move. Father Wilk takes this opportunity to visit Saint Dymphna’s church (also the site of the hospital and Catholic school of the same name), so that he can talk to Monsignor Montag, the highest-ranked Catholic in Port Harbor.

Saul drives but does not go with him into the meeting. Instead, he takes out a pack of cards and starts playing a unique, Germanic form of solitar on the car hood.

Father Wilk discusses his concerns with the Heartfire Church, including their bizarre faith, the fact that they may be a cult, the fact that they may be a con, and their likely hand in the disappearance of Molly Scott. The monsignor agrees that the church is a problem, but he can’t do anything without evidence of wrongdoing. Father Wilk recalls something that Val told him about Alpha Solaris Maxima Est—namely that she’s a former confidence woman whose real name is Ruth Green.

The monsignor is delighted to hear this. He writes Ruth’s name on a piece of paper and prepares to visit the police station to tell someone all about it. As the monsignor is halfway out the door, Father Wilk asks him about the religious affiliation of Chief Murphy. The monsignor replies that the chief is a Catholic (albeit a lapsed one), and that he has been trying to get Murphy to come to church for the last several years.

Moishe Danziger

A friendly, older man notices that Saul is playing a Germanic solitare variant and strikes up a conversation. Saul soon realizes that the man is, like him, a German immigrant, and so switches to German. This makes their conversation quite a bit easier.

The man introduces himself as Moishe Danziger. He lives with his wife in Altergarten, relatively near the Fresno house. He invites Saul to Temple Tephareth Israel for the religious services and community and listens to Saul’s recollections of the very strange few days he’s had in Port Harbor.

The two men laugh about, “that’s what you get, hanging around with Gentiles,” just as Father Wilk emerges from the church and hops into the car. With a wink and a smile, Moishe toddles off.

Moishe Danzinger

The Hot Dog Man

Once the car is back at the house, Dale takes it over to the train station to talk to Charlie (of the Charlie Dogs). Several others, including Saul, go with him. Dale asks Charlie about the bank robbery, but Charlie admits he hasn’t heard or seen anything. The investigators depart without any new information, but with bellies full of hot dog.

Back to the Bank

By the time Dale and company return to the house, the others have hatched a new plan. They want to talk to one of the bank tellers—specifically, the one who insisted he was out sick the day before, but who another teller claimed was in all day.

Fortunately, the bank is still open for a few more minutes, so the investigators head over there post haste. Mr. Letty, the bank manager, apologizes once again for the robbery and asks if they have other questions or concerns. The investigators reassure him that they are only there to take some money out of their account.

During the transaction, Dr. Miller is able to talk to the bank teller in question, Wilton MacKnight. Dr. Miller’s friendly and persuasive demeanor wins Wilton over, and he admits to Dr. Miller that he has been having quite a few headaches and health issues. He arranges for Dr. Miller to come by his apartment at 6:00 later that evening to do a house call.

Visiting Wilton

Wilton MacKnight at Work

Promptly at 6:00 pm, Dr. Miller goes to Wilton’s apartment. He is accompanied by Val, who has disguised herself as a nurse, and by Ada. Wilton welcomes them into his tidy, but sparsely furnished apartment, and offers them either tap water or the half-full bottle of milk that was delivered earlier in the day. The trio declines.

Dr. Miller gives Wilton a physical, while Val assists and Ada looks over the apartment. Wilton turns out to be in good condition, though he complains of the occasional headache and of being laid up in bed for a couple of days every month. This has occurred for the past six months or so.

Dr. Miller also learns that Wilton’s usual doctor, Dr. Gardener, hasn’t seen him in several months. It turns out that Wilton is self-medicating with some cough syrup that Dr. Gardener gave him about a year ago. This is unfortunate, but not necessarily untoward.

Val leaves Dr. Miller’s side to help Ada search. She discovers a curious occult symbol that has been carved in an unobtrusive place on Wilton’s bed. She then steps out into the hall to get a good look at the immediate surroundings.

While there, she notices one of Wilton’s neighbors—a very large man shaped roughly like a refrigerator—has come out of his apartment to take the trash out. Val lays in wait for the man to come back. When he does, she realizes he is one of the three men who was in Maude’s car earlier in the day.

Thanks to her disguise, the man doesn’t recognize Val. She pretends to be a poor, lost nurse looking in vain for Wilton MacKnight’s apartment. The man grunts and points at Wilton’s door, before trying to escape into his own apartment. Val tries to continue the conversation, but the man proves to be not at all chatty. She manages to learn that his name might be Al before he leaves her alone in the hall.

Meanwhile, inside the apartment, Dr. Miller searches Wilton’s bedroom. Vall has not yet told him or Ada about the occult symbol, which proves to be disastrous. Dr. Miller accidentally touches the symbol and immediately loses consciousness.

Panic ensues. Ada and Val carry Dr. Miller out to the couch while Wilton frets and stammers apologies. Once Dr. Miller is situated, Val runs outside and uses the hall phone to call the Fresno house. Val maintains her vocal disguise (something akin to a Southern belle) and speaks in code, so as not to arouse the attention of Al, who might be able to hear her talking on the phone from his apartment.

After a bit of confusion, Father Wilk realizes that it’s Val who’s calling, and that Dr. Miller is in trouble. The cavalry bundles into the car and drives over to Wilton’s apartment.

A Voice and a Discovery

The others arrive and use gentle percussion to bring Dr. Miller around.

As he regains consciousness, he hears a woman’s voice speaking. It says, “oh, Doctor Miller. It seems that I have you now. How unfortunate for you.”

He awakens on Wilton’s lumpy couch, with the rest of the investigators staring down at him.

A frantic Wilton offers the new arrivals some tap water or the half-bottle of milk from earlier in the day. The investigators refuse, until Val gets an idea and insists that someone get the milk—and the bottle. Martin asks and is given the bottle of milk. When Wilton fetches it for him, Val notices that there is a second, empty milk bottle in Wilton’s ice box. She takes it when no one is looking.

Father Wilk searches the apartment, using the pretext that he is “saying blessings” to move around unimpeded. He also notices the occult symbol carved into Wilton’s bed.

This information is shared with Dr. Miller, who, fearing that he has been woken up too soon, runs back into the bedroom and vigorously grasps the symbol. Once again, he goes unconscious.

Once again, he hears the voice, “Dr. Miller, here you are again. What on earth are you doing? Is this how a psychiatrist typically deals with things? No wonder there’s so many patients in Kendrick that seem to be beyond hel—”

Once again, Dr. Miller awakens. As he does, he sees Val scraping away the symbol with a knife she has acquired from somewhere.

“Yes, this might be the culprit,” Val says, enthusiastically. “This is a certain type of varnish that has toxins in it that cause hallucinations. Where did you get this bed?”

“Secondhand, from a store in Old Town,” says Wilton, baffled.

“Ah, okay, well, you have to be careful getting things second hand. We’ll analyze a sample of this later, back at the office, but I wouldn’t sleep in your bed for…oh, at least a week? Right, doctor?”

Dr. Miller agrees as he gets up off the floor. The investigators depart a short time later, with a baffled Wilton wishing them a good night.

Thursday, November 20, 1924

Read All About It!

The investigators get some rest. The next morning, Saul goes out to get some food for breakfast and also picks up a child’s chemistry set. He puts the set and his pharmaceutical skills to good use to see if Wilton’s milk has anything unusual in it.

The half-full bottle of milk is entirely normal, but the residue in the empty milk bottle is thoroughly laced with some powerful barbiturates. This leads the group to suspect that Maude Collins and her band of merry men have been periodically drugging Wilton MacKnight in order to impersonate him and get access to the Second National Bank.

On the heels of this discovery, the morning newspaper arrives. The story about the house fire bears startling similarities to the circumstances of Nicholas Fresno’s death.

Alarmed, Dr. Miller makes a call to one of the people in his underground doctor’s network. He learns that the fire did indeed happen at the house where Zebulon Davis was being treated, and that Zebulon “checked himself out of the hospital” at about the same time that the fire started.

The Circle of Seven: Session Eight

Content Warning: Descriptions of mental illness. I have tried to be sensitive in portraying the individuals described below, but I may have made mistakes in places.

 

Wednesday, November 19, 1924

Dr. Miller, Father Wilk, and Dale meet with Dr. Neumann, FMD of Kendrick Sanitarium, in his office. The trio notice that, in addition to the de rigueur brain in a glass jar of formaldehyde, Dr. Neumann has several other grisly medical samples. Most of these are eyes and teeth, preserved in their own glass jars. A few amputated fingers are also visible. 

Dr. Neumann says that he is happy to have Father Wilk pray over the patients while Dr. Miller consults on the more interesting ones for a case study. He says that Dr. Miller will have full run of the hospital except for the more troublesome patients in the High Conflict Ward.

Dr. Miller, assuming that the patients in the High Conflict Ward probably know the most about Mythos goings-on, insists that he and Father Wilk be allowed to see these patients in particular. After a heated discussion, Dr. Neumann agrees, but insists on having three burly orderlies shadow the trio for their safety.

Before the trio are allowed in the locked ward, they are asked to turn out their pockets for anything sharp, pointy, or dangerous. Dr. Miller is given a stick of charcoal to record notes. Dale surrenders all of his belongings and the others are quite surprised to discover that he has been carrying a pistol since his arrival in Port Harbor. After some commentary, the trio’s personal items are locked away and they are escorted onto the ward.

Martin

Martin’s aimless, shellshocked wanderings bring him and his horse, Lincoln, to Chester, Connecticut. Despite having sent a letter to the Fresno house explaining his actions, he decides to stop at the post office and asks to use their phone. The desk clerk obliges and Martin calls the house.

Ada answers the phone and is bewildered when she realizes that Martin is on the other end. In the short conversation, Martin explains that Zebulon shot at him first and that he merely defended himself. He also mentions that, where he comes from, when there’s a gunfight, the guy who’s left standing gets the rope. Ada is baffled by this and asks Martin when he’s coming home. Martin replies that he doesn’t know. He just wants to lay low for a while until the heat’s off.

Martin Craven, Who Finally Has Character Art

After Martin hangs up, he notices the postal clerk seems to be paying him an undue amount of attention. He suddenly realizes that the postal clerk likely heard his half of the phone conversation, including the key detail that Martin shot someone. Martin tries to play it cool as he leaves the post office, saddles up Lincoln, and rides out of town.

Fifteen minutes later, he rounds a corner to find a police car waiting for him. He is manhandled, searched, and taken into custody. The cops, upon seeing Martin’s hat and finding his .44 handgun, start calling him Wyatt Earp. They antagonize him, likely in an attempt to get him to do something stupid, but Martin doesn’t fall for it.

The High Conflict Ward

There are perhaps twenty or so patients on the ward, all gathered into a common area that opens out onto a fenced in yard. A phonograph plays classical music to soothe the patients. Its actual effect on the patients is debatable.

They are briefly acquainted with Dr. Samuel Timmons, the police department’s somewhat frantic and unpleasant medical examiner. Dr. Miller dislikes him and his use of pretentious words immediataely.

Father Wilk consults his Bible and says a few prayers for the sick. In between his prayers, he whispers “Hylmunder” and “Tourmaline” to see if they get any response. At least one patient seems to notice this.
The trio meet three patients of particular interest. They are as follows:

Paul Jamison

Paul

An excitable man asks Dale for a smoke and a light. Dale apologizes, saying that he left his lighter and his cigarettes at the watch station. The man introduces himself as Paul Jamison and asks Dale if he could maybe go out, grab cigarettes, and come back in again. He becomes increasingly agitated but remains friendly. 

One of the orderlies mentions that Paul isn’t allowed to have cigarettes or lighters. Especially lighters. When Paul starts to whine, Dr. Miller produces a pack of cigarettes and a lighter from his jacket pockets. Dr. Miller suggests that Paul accompany him out to the yard for a smoke and a private chat.

The orderly condemns this in strong terms. Dr. Miller replies that that if the orderly refuses to let him proceed with his therapeutic techniques, he will have the orderly brought to Dr. Neumann’s office to be disciplined. Dr. Miller also mentions the strange “trophies” of eyes and teeth in the FMD’s office.
The orderly immediately backs down, terrified. 

Dr. Miller escorts Paul out into the yard. Dale goes to a barred window to watch the encounter Paul gets his cigarette, but barely smokes it. Instead, he stares into the embers and starts talking to “his friend” that he hasn’t seen in a while. Dr. Miller asks the name of this friend and is told that he is known as “Tiovvoru”. 

Paul encourages Tiovvoru to visit him at the sanitarium, which disturbs Dr. Miller. He says that Paul’s smoke break is over, and that he needs to put out his cigarette. Paul crouches down on all fours to stub out the cigarette, but in doing so, draws a curious sigil in the dirt. As Paul happily heads back inside, Dr. Miller scuffs out the sigil with his heel.

Dale goes outside to confer with Dr. Miller. After hearing about the encounter with Paul, Dale says that “Tiovvoru” is the thing that destroyed the foundry where he used to work. After hearing that Paul drew something on the ground, Dale goes to great lengths to obliterate any possible remnants of the sigil.

Daniel Heideckker

Daniel

A haggard man hails Dr. Miller and asks for his medical advice. He says that he was once a sailor until midsummer the previous year. One June night, a freak storm blew in out of nowhere, churning up the waters of Long Island Sound. His ship was headed for shore when the Port Harbor lighthouse went out. As Daniel’s ship tried to get its bearings, the crew received a distress call from another ship, the Dionysus. 

Daniel’s ship sped to the Dionysus’ rescue. They found it half-sunk in the middle of the sound.  Daniel helped with the rescue efforts, he saw what he is sure was a huge creature looming beneath the water, peering up with gigantic, lantern-like eyes. 

He says that, since that day, he has been unable to return to work or even look at sound or sea. He confides that even murky puddles are troublesome for him sometimes.

Dr. Miller asks why Daniel hasn’t discussed this with Dr. Neumann or the other staff. Daniel replies, somewhat obliquely, that he wants to keep all of his teeth. Dr. Miller ignores Daniel’s response and says that he promises to come back to treat Daniel’s phobia with some exposure therapy.

Ellie Dunn

Ellie

A woman who sits huddled in the corner, with her hands over her ears. She relaxes her posture and removes her hands any time Father Wilk starts praying. Once he stops, she returns to her fugue state. The trio notice that she immediately returns to her fugue state when Father Wilk whispers, “Tourmaline” under his breath. 

They have as private a conversation they can manage with the woman, whose name is Ellie Dunn. She tells them that she hears horrible whispers and secrets all the time, except for when certain music plays or when Father Wilk prays. When asked when this started, she cryptically informs them that it happened, “when I learned too many secrets in the house with the strange angles. One night, I woke up to see a blind woman standing at the foot of my bed. She read secrets of the universe, a list of all my sins, it went on forever. Ever since then, I hear her voice. She never stops.”

This disturbs Father Wilk and Dr. Miller, who both had dreams of a similar experience after reading from the Book of Black Tourmaline. The two men quickly rally, and Dr. Miller asks Ellie for the Queen of Tourmaline’s name. Ellie warns them against learning the Queen’s name, which is hidden in the Book of Black Tourmaline, before immediately regressing into her fugue state.

The Bank

Floor Plan of the 2nd National Bank of Port Harbor

Father Wilk, Dr. Miller, and Dale conclude their business at Kendrick Sanitarium and return home. Ada breathlessly recounts her phone conversation with Martin. After that, Saul says that they all need to go down to the bank to check on their safety deposit box.

At the bank, they meet with Neil Letty, the bank manager. He apologizes for the theft and breach of security and hopes that the thieves left their safety deposit box alone. Despite his hopes, the investigators are not surprised when they open their box and find the Book of Black Tourmaline missing. 

Mr. Letty escorts them to his office so that they can fill out some paperwork for legal and insurance purposes. On the way, Ada overhears a whispered conversation between two bank tellers. One of them insists that they were out sick the previous day. The other insists that they were at work all day. Ada suspects that this may have something to do with the robbery, and files it away.

Dale breaks off from the group and looks over the vault and the bank’s other security measures. Everything seems in order, with no sign of breakage or tampering. It seems to Dale that whoever broke into the bank had all the necessary keys and combinations and did not need to resort to force.

A Busy Afternoon

The investigators return to the Fresno house and share what they have learned. Ada recounts the conversation between the two bank tellers and the investigators begin to wonder if one of the robbers sneaked into the bank disguised as the sick teller.

Dr. Miller has a sudden, very loud, eureka moment and runs upstairs to consult Nicholas Fresno’s journals. He returns triumphant and points out a passage in one of the journals that reads:

“The followers of Adaru are becoming very troublesome. It’s because of all the Masks they wear. I don’t know that I can trust anyone from town anymore. There’s no telling if any of these people are who they say they are. I wish there was a reliable way to tell who is a Mask and who isn’t.”

The investigators discuss the implications of this when the phone rings. The person on the line is Millicent, the secretary from Dr. Williamson’s office in Providence, RI. Millicent isn’t sure why, but Dr. Miller is on Dr. Williamson’s list to cover for him at the hospital during emergencies. Apparently, Dr. Williamson’s home on Cape Cod burned down, and he needs to go out of town to take care of all the paperwork.

Dr. Miller is baffled by this but begins to suspect that Dr. Williamson is one of the doctors in his private network. He suspects that he has just received a coded message telling him that something has happened to Zebulon Davis.

Before he can pursue the matter further, the phone rings again. This time it’s Mabel Ohlmsted from Mr. Sebastian’s office. She’s calling to let the investigators know that Martin has been arrested, and that Mr. Sebastian has gone down to the police station to serve as his counsel. 

Back at the Police Station

Before he can pursue the matter further, the phone rings again. This time it’s Mabel Ohlmsted from Mr. Sebastian’s office. She’s calling to let the investigators know that Martin has been arrested, and that Mr. Sebastian has gone down to the police station to serve as his counsel.

The investigators go to the police station to support Martin. They are met by Mr. Sebastian, who says that the allegation is based on the account of someone overhearing a conversation in which Martin said he shot someone. Since there’s no corroborating evidence (of a shooting or anything else), Mr. Sebastian suspects that Martin will be let go within the hour.

Val pipes up to say that she was the one that Martin shot at. The rest of the investigators, and Mr. Sebastian, watch in confusion as Val goes over to the side table in the police department’s conference room. She laboriously tears most of the paper off of the straw, leaving only the bit at the tip, which she cheekily blows into Mr. Sebastian’s chest.

Mr. Sebastian chuckles and leaves to go inform the police. Martin is released ten minutes later.

Catching Up

The investigators return to the Fresno house, where they learn about Martin’s walkabout and fill him in on what’s been happening while he was away. They once again start to plan their next move, only to be interrupted by a knock on the front door.

This time it is Maude Collins, who has once again come by to ask after Mr. Fresno’s rare book. The investigators tell her that they haven’t found it yet, and Dr. Miller notices that Ms. Collins looks particularly smug as she turns to leave.

Dr. Miller also notices that there is something…oddly familiar…about Ms. Collins. This prompts him to follow her as she walks across the street to a car in which three very large men sit.

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.