Summer Detour

[Stan]

Here is a summary of the Call of Cthulhu game so far. Feel free to make corrections and additions below.

Everyone boarded a bus in Boston. After chitchat and an hour or more on the road, they notice that they are on a dirtroad and start having doubts. The bus driver whips out a gun and tells them to sit down. Soon thereafter, the bus is slammed by an explosion. The bus flips on its side. After grabbing the driver's gun and hitting him, they exit the bus. The first NPC out has his head explode - high powered rifle. The characters make a stand at the flipped over bus. The assassin shoots the salesman in the gut who also casts some sort of spell that makes him go crazy and drop his gun. Then Abigail gave him a double barrel 16 gauge at point blank range.

Going over the madman, they find that he his a cop. He has a small notebook with handwritten notes on the case that he was working on - finding his wife, which led to stopping a cult. A French book about unicorns is involved.

The group interogates the salesman who is very afraid. He mentions a charismatic guy named Steve who is the scheming leader. And lots of women in his sway. The salesman gives them a strip of leather with a symbol on it that might help them. They leave the bus driver and the salesman behind on their to try to steal a vehicle from the Steve's farm. The salesman shoots himself rather than get left behind to be found by Steve.

When they arrive at the farm, they hear a church choir singing. As they start the truck, women come out and try to hug them and bring them inside. They recognize one of the women as being the cop's wife. They manage to get away, stopping along the way to pick up Bull Billings the big NPC who had been shot in the head.

The three characters, along with the librarian Beatrice Hastings and the vaudeville actor Harry Goldmine, drive to Abigail's family house in Maine, dropping off Bull at a hospital in Providence New Hampshire along the way.

Once at Abigail's, they realize that some of their baggage was left on the bus. Her dad will try to make some inquiries. The group doesn't know what to expect as the cop's notebook mentions that the local sheriff is in on it. They realize that they all have a mysterious mark on their hand that seems to glow in the dark from under the skin. It later occurs to them that the bus driver wore gloves and also took their tickets inside for a few minutes.

Beatrice suggests going further inland and has an obvious fear of the ocean. The group manages to filch two books from her purse: a French translation of the Egyptian occult book On Coming Forth by Day and the French book Dwellers in the depths. A scan of the latter book mentions dark acts and a vile Fish Tribe who used to dominate the nearby tribes in the and raid for captives for sacrifices. They don't have a great deal time with the books and put them back in the purse.

Some of the group decide to drive down to Dunwich to talk to Tex, the owner of Cuthbert's Curios. Beatrice talks to him about her book Dwellers of the Depths and about the unicorn book. His eyes pop out of his head when he sees the book. He offers to buy it but Beatrice says that she'll think about it. He says he knows a bit about the unicorn book and that they should come back the next day at 11 to give him time to do research.

On the way back to the truck from Cuthbert's they spot Bull Billing's face in the paper. It is part of the following article:

John Doe Arrives and Dies.
Police and doctors Providence are in an uproar over a strange patient death. In the evening, strangers dropped off a very large man at the All Saints Providence Hospital and quickly fled in a truck. A nurse described them as "three ruffian men covered in dust." The large man had a gunshot wound to the head and was in grave condition.

At 1:30 AM, the situation got much stranger. Police cannot get any clear description of the events as the witnesses appeared dazed. According to a janitor, "One of them fighter planes flew by the window and sent in a cable to grab the Doe. It had strange low pitched buzzing like some new kinda plane." This is contrasted with the account of the night nurse. "A bear as big as a buick ran down the hall and snatched up that poor man." This reporter cannot recall the last recorded event of a bear attach in New England. This reporter also suspects that this is an extension of the gang turf wars in Boston. The witnesses were likely drugged to prevent them from identifying the assassins. The only thing that everyone agrees on is that the John Doe is now gone. Well, not entirely. Whatever snatched him up left behind one of his legs.

The police are asking for any and all information regarding the identity of the victim, the killers, or the current whereabouts of either.

The group decided to gather regroup and stay overnight in Boston to avoid bring trouble to Abigail's house and to make it easier to blend in while doing research and waiting to meet with Tex.

I think that's it and brings it us up to the present. If you want to look things up or make contacts, we can do that in this thread or via email so that we can jump right into things when we meet next.[/i]