Express Train to Hell
The Adventure
Fear Level - 2
The posse find out the location of the cult's HQ (or are lead there), talk to the Marcus Freeman and the cultists, and discover Kent's little plan, realising they are probably too late to stop him!
The posse should either have found Zacharia's map of the farmstead which is easy enough to read, just follow a trail East for 4 miles then head off the trail northeast up a broken track. The farmstead is the only collection of buildings within a mile of there.
Alternatively any captured cultists will be able to grudgingly take the posse to the cult's HQ.
Any posse member originaly from this part of the country will know where the farmstead is on an Area Knowledge (5) roll, a raise may also tell them a little about the cult itself - numbers etc.
If the posse have found none of these clues then perhaps the Sheriff or Deputy knows about the weirdo's and their farmstead, just to keep the adventure going...
DEPUTY ADAMS
Quickness 3d8 Strength 4d8 Vigor 4d6 Shootin':Shotgun 3d8 Fightin':Brawlin' 2d10 Overawe 4d6 Faith:Mormonism 3d8 Guts 3d8 Size 6 Wind 14 Gear Pump-Action Shotgun (see gizmos page)
It should take the posse about an hour to get to the farmstead at a steady pace on horseback or half an hour if they go at a pair pelt. If they really want to push their horses they could do it in about 15 minutes but this would tire the poor beasts out.
Deputy Adams will take a Steamwagon, which can easily keep pace with the posse and can carry any posse members without a horse. It has a Gatling Gun mounted on it's side in case of trouble. Salt Rattlers have been known to appear on this side of the city after all...
As the posse approach the farmstead they will no doubt be spotted (unless it is dark and the posse are making an effort to sneak up on the cult - difficult if there is a steamwagon with them!). During daylight hours one or two cult members will be tilling the fields, which grow corn and potatoes, or feeding the livestock and horses. They stop what they are doing when the posse approach and one will go to fetch Marcus Freeman, the new cult leader.
The farmstead is split up into a few different buldings:The Farmhouse: A large whitewashed two-storey building facing south. It is basic but well looked after and clean. The senior 11 cultists lived in the rooms in this house in two specially built wings behind the main building. Freeman has his own room in here too, on the ground floor and Carlton Kent has several private rooms around the house. Seminars and lectures take place in the house, as does all cooking and eating. The basement has a secret door leading to another underground room, which in turn has a secret entrance to Kent's study, which is off limits to all cult members, even Marcus Freeman, for the time being. More on this later...
The Dormitory: At the rear of the farmhouse is a long wooden single storey building capable of housing up to twenty cult members, who all have small but seperate rooms. All the remaining cultists live in here but are in the process of moving their few belongings into the now-vacant rooms in the main building. There is nothing of interest in here, but don't tell the posse that!
The Stables: There are only one or two horses left in the stables now - the cultists took most of them with them to Hopper's Creek where they sold them to pay Ace for helping hijack the train. There is nothing of interest in here.
The livestock: A few cattle and sheep are kept in this simple square barn when the weather is bad. When the cult need meat they slaughter and process the animals in here too. Basic supplies are kept in this barn. There is nothing else of great interest.
Outhouses: Only the most determined of hero's will poke around in here. There is nothing to find anyhow.
Marcus Freeman will come out to meet the posse when they arrive, dressed in his white robe of office. He has done nothing wrong and so does not fear the posse, he will be polite but points out that this is private property belonging to the Sacred Gate followers but will answer any questions the posse have. If they treat him politely in return, he may even invite the posse inside but says that weapons are forbidden within the perimeter of the low fence which surrounds the buildings.
If the posse ask about Zacharia then Freeman will confirm he is a member of the cult responsible for recruiting inside Gloom City. He does not know what the blueprints mean or who Ace Stark is. He says Zach is not here, he has gone to make the ultimate journey, to Heaven. He will not reveal where that is taking place, just that it is not anywhere near here. If pressed he will become tight lipped on the matter saying the cult keeps their affairs private. The Deputy cannot make him talk but he can order a search of the house, much to Freeman's chagrin. If the posse ask about Kent then Marcus is more than happy to talk about the man's plan to take his followers to heaven. He expains that Kent is now the Messenger inhabiting a mortal body, Kent's own spirit has gone to a "better place", and soon Freeman will be the vessel for the Messenger when it's spirit returns from it's immenent journey. He becomes rather dreamy and glassy eyed at this point. If Marcus is sure that the posse have no hope in getting to Hopper's Creek or the station on time he may not be so guarded as to what he says, after all he personally has done nothing wrong, Kent is going to do no harm (as far as he has been told) and the posse cannot stop him anyhow. He may reveal that Kent left for Hopper's Creek last night and sent the three cultists to Zach's room to bring his belongings back and provide a deception for anybody trying to stop the cults plans. He does not at this point mention anything about hijacking the train. If the posse wish to search the place the only area that will bear fruit is the main farmhouse. Marcus protests but will accompany the posse on their search. There are photographs of Kent around the foyer of the house, dressed in black and wearing dark glasses, and a more recent photo of the group who will be making the journey to Heaven - Zacharia among them. Many rooms in the house have a very odd feel to them, the colour scheme is an stark mix of blacks and whites and the lecture room has white sheets and candles decorating the place. There is one room downstairs that Marcus forbids entry too. It is Kent's study, he says that the room is sacred and that only the Messenger may enter. Anybody else who tries to gain entry will surely die as the room is supernaturally protected by the forces of Heaven, only one of Heaven's messengers may enter.The only way to combat this is to open the door without touching the handle - ie shooting the lock off or barging it in with a Strength (11)Strength test loses the hero the difference in wind as they damage their shoulder!). Harrowed characters are immune to this magical trap and can touch the handle as normal, requiring a Lockpickin' (7) check to open the door.
The Study: This is where Kent's manitou really let his hair down. What appears to be blood has been splashed up one wall for no apparent reason, charcoal pictures of trains on fire with skulls instead of locomotives are strewn about the place, in one corner a pile of metal crucifixes have been twisted into unrecognisable pieces of metal or simply snapped in two and charred by fire. A ram's head sits grinning at the posse on Kent's desk and a large occult symbol has been painted on the ceiling with the blood of the dead animal. The manitou had to let his frustration at playing the caring cult leader out some how!
It takes a Guts (7) check to view this scene of devilry.If the posse Search the place they can find Kent's diary. Up until six months ago it is perfectly normal, describing new mebers to the cult, detailing ways to earn money for the fund, hopes for the future, and describing the "messenger" who visits his thoughts and his intention to give up his body as a vessel. The last "normal" entry is a farewell note saying his mortal soul is going to a better place as the messenger is going to enter his body later that night. Then it suddenly changes and only a few more entries have been added. These are written in blood and in an arcane languge, requiring an Academia:Occult (7) check to pick out a few key words. Such as "Robbery", "Hourglass", "Train", "Hijack", "Explosives", "Hopper's Creek", and a destination: "Hell!".
If the posse score a 9 on their Search test they will find the hidden trapdoor into the secret basement. If they fail this roll then let them make a Cognition(9) roll as well, if passed they hear faint wails coming from below them, and if they say they are searching the floor in particular they need only a Search(3) to find the trapdoor.During all of this Marcus Freeman is staring bog-eyed at the scene in the room, he was not prepared for this and is as shocked as the posse to discover that Kent was not who he seemed, perhaps even more so. He sits down in the corner and begins to sob.
A ladder leads down into a pitch-black, cold, damp basement which has been fashioned into a dungeon. There are 4 cages in a square room at the bottom of the ladder, two of them containing prisoners. 3 women in one and four men in the other. These are the unsuccessful applicants to the cult who Kent secretly hid away down here for use when he needed replenishing. His manitou could not keep hold of Kent's soul without the constant weekly boosts from the souls of these wretches. They are cold and scared and one or two of them have lost thier marbles. Kent's maniotu has left enough food inside their cages to keep them alive for a few days before its return. Cage number three is empty but the fourth houses a few dead bodies, mere skin and bones after Kent has sucked their essence from them. 9 bodies are piled up in here, facing outwards toward the prisoners to keep them nice and scared. Whenever he uses his soul-suck powers he does so in full view of the poor prisoners just to let them know what fate awaits them...
The posse can free these souls easily enough by breaking the padlocks off or picking them with a Lockpickin'(7) roll. At first the prisoners scream in terror, they think the posse have come to get them, and it takes a Persuasion(9) check to calm them down and stop them from lashing out. When freed they sob continuously but the remaining cultists will look after them well enough - none of them knew anything about the prisoners.
When Freeman discovers this he goes into more fits of bewidered sobbing - his whole world and beliefs have come crashing down around him! If the posse think to question him further he is more forthcoming with his answers. He explains Kent's plan to hijack the train at Hopper's Creek at 1700hrs but says it is more than 100 miles from here and they will not reach it in time. The next train isn't until 2000hrs and it wouldn't catch it anyhow. He says Kent was going to use some sacred relic or other to open the gateway to Heaven and send through all the cultists and the passengers.
If Freeman is allowed to wander off he goes to a secret cupboard under the stairs, takes a shotgun from a rack, and shoots himself in the head.The remaining cultists are left in a confused, anxious state.
Deputy Adams is suitable disgusted with the whole incident and does what he can for the prisoners. He knows where Hopper's Creek is and says there is nothing fast enough to catch up with the train now. Horses would not make it, the steamwagon hasn't got enough speed and the train has too much of a headstart for another to catch it before it reaches Denver. He is stumped. If the posse are also stumped (and do not recall the whole Rocket-Car thing) then maybe the Deputy can have a flash of inspiration along the lines of: "Hey, I just remembered something! Hell, it's so crazy it...might ...just...work!", and then mentions the Rocket Car (the Danites were planning to saboutage it y'see). Or maybe the posse have a plan of their own, perhaps involving Ornithopters or Gyrocopters like in the Fortress Of Fear adventure, but the Rocket Car is by far the fastest option.
Either way they'll have to think of something fast if they're going to stop Kent's evil plan!
Posse do not hurt any of the cultists too much: 1 white chip
Posse discover Kent's study and his plans: 1 red chip (each)
Free prisoners: 1 white chip
Prevent Freeman killing himself: 1 white chip
Come up with a particularly inovative plan to stop train: Appropiately coloured chip