"Jonah Hex - 2 Gun Mojo!"

The Adventure

Chapter 6 - Showdown at Zombie Creek

Doc Cross tries to create his batch of Ultimate Zombie Juice without upsetting the "locals", it's up to the posse to put a stop to Doc Cross and his undead supermen!

Doc Cross should get to the accursed Apache burial ground that night with a little time to spare (unless the posse have a way of beating him to it - presuming they know where they're going). He immediately gets to work on his elixir knowing that the Apaches, Confederates, or the Posse will be hot on his tail. Besides, he's run out of his Mk I Zombie Juice and his "friends" may collapse at any moment without a top up. His new batch of Mk II juice only needs one shot to keep a zombie alive and mean for sevearl years with the bonus of being brainy to boot!

Burial Ground at Indian Creek

Fear Level 4

The accursed burial ground is situated in basin type terrain, not far from a shallow creek (Indian Creek). The ground is hard and rocky and a few trees and cacti have managed to thrive long enough to form a light wood circling the burial ground. The term "burial ground" is a bit misleading as this tribe of Apaches build 8 foot high scaffolds for their dead to rest on. They are "buried" six foot over rather than under. The bodies are wrapped in blankets to protect them from buzzards and laid out on their own individual cradles above the ground out of the way of coyotes. About 20-30 of these funeral cradles are scattered around an area about a hundred yards by a hundred. Take a look at the cover of Ghost Dancers and you'll get the idea.

The ritual

The Doc gets his zombies to collect firewood and lights a bonfire in the middle of the burial ground. The natuarl dip of the area prevents the fire from being visible for miles around but local Indians avoid this place no matter what so the Doc has little to worry about. He figures the Confederates and the Posse are most likely dead anyhow. He positions his wagon near the fire and has the three dead Price gang members laid out in a line between the wagon and the fire. The plan is to read from the book of Doches and infuse the power of the book and the burial ground into their rotten bodies. They will then provide the primary ingredient in his new batch of zombie goop which he will proceed to cook up on the spot and feed to his group, one dose being good for a few years and restoring their former intelligence (although they will still be a slave to the mad Doc). He'll then have the means to create a larger group of super zombies with which to terrorize his former bosses at the Massachusetts State University, and anyone else who gets in his way. He'll also get his revenge on Wild Bill Hickok if he gets chance. His Wild Bill will be more than a match for the Harrowed original with this new zombie goop

The posse arrives...

Try to time the posse's arrival so that the Doc has already started the ritual. His remaining zombie cohorts have been stationed away from the fire (apart from Wild Bill who stays close to the Doc) and are to attack anybody who enters the burial ground. If the posse do not spot them or choose to attack then the undead freaks fight to the last. Remember they can only be destroyed by beheading, causing 10 wounds to the head, or total "dis-assembly". The Doc will speed up his ritual to empower the three Price corpses with unholy energy, he can make the zombie goop anytime, he just needs to make them into a workable ingredient here and now. He then sets Bill to defend the camp while he fetches some elixirs of his own from the wagon. A Greek Fire or two, maybe some Slumber Gas or a Choking Powder will help him out in the struggle. Take a look in Smith & Robards for some ideas - the Doc has any Elixirs you feel appropiate

If the posse avoid the zombies on patrol and wait to see what the Doc is up to then he happily finishes his ritual and then whips up his new zombie juice which he feeds to his zombies. They will now not require commands from the Doc to do anything, they fight with cunning and determination and generally prove to be a more difficult foe. Jonah Hex (if still with the posse) will probably not let things get this far. He wants to settle up with the Doc now before he decides to escape again.

Make the climax as exciting as possible, the Doc will not run away anymore and fights to the last unless all his zombies are destroyed, in which case he begs for mercy. If Doc Cross is killed first then his zombies continue with their last command, be it to fight, guard the camp, or light the fire. They have no sense of self preservation and will only fight if told to.

If things go bad

The Doc's zombies may be stupid but they don't go down easily. If the posse are already in bad shape when they reach the burial ground then perhaps you can make things easier on them by having one or two of the Doc's zombies already succumb to the lack of zombie juice. They have simply keeled over and "died" on the way to the burial ground and the Doc brings the bodies with him and lays them alongside the Price gang, he'll use them as an ingedients too.

If the posse are outclassed during the fight with the Doc and are about to lose it all through no fault of their own then they can always recieve help from an unexpected quarter. The dead Apaches in the burial ground stiffly rise from their scaffolds to wreak revenge on the Doc for entering their cursed place of rest! The Walkin' Dead Apaches are not evil but neither are they too fussy about whom they wreak their vengeance upon with their nails and teeth! Some have even been buried with weapons so their spirits can catch food in the Happy Hunting Grounds. 20 or 30 of these Walkin' Dead will no doubt prove more than a match for the Doc and his Zombies and they will overwhelm him with their superior numbers. The posse should thank their lucky stars if this happens and get the hell out of Dodge before the Indians turn on them too! After the battle the undead braves return to their cradles and do not stir again.

UNDEAD APACHES

Strength           4d6
Quickness          4d6
Fightin':Brawlin'  3d8
Fightin':Tomahawk  3d8
Hits:              60 (Take half damage to limbs/guts)
Claws/Bite:        STR+1d4
Terror:            7
Pace               8/16

Undead

Bounty
Stopping the Doc's mad scheme!: 1 red chip (each)
Each of the Doc's zombies killed: 1 white chip
Defeating the Doc but with the help of the Undead Indians: 1 white chip (each)
Destroying all the Doc's evil Arcane texts/elixirs: 1 white chip

These rewards may seem a little stingy but consider the fact that a red chip each for a posse of 4 is the equivelent of 8 bounty!

Aftermath

Hopefully the heroes are victorious and have destroyed the Doc's zombies and dealt out frontier justice to the alchemist himself. His wagon contains a few bits and bobs, Ł200, worthless junk, alchemic ingredients, a few Elixirs (of you choice), and formulae for his Zombie Goop MkI &II (although you need the Book of Doches and occult knowledge to make the MkII goop). There may even be a Relic of some kind in the wagon of miracles if you're feeling particularly generous!

If the posse blow it and the Doc makes his formulae, feeds his zombies and gets out of there then maybe the posse can catch up with him another time, perhaps on the way to Deadwood to settle things up with the real Wild Bill. After that he plans to burn the Massachusetts State University to the ground, killing all the staff within who will be held under guard by his loyal superzombies. Who knows, he may even make zombies out of the defeated heroes?