(RoT-14) Everyone make a saving throw!

Wait, what?

Having somehow survived the third Waterdeep Council meeting, and despite their best attempts to get themselves executed, the heroes of the day have two options; either visit Xonthal's Tower to rescue a potential turncoat from the cult, or visit the Red Wizards of Thay to see if they can help with their rogue mage, Severin. They chose the former - especially as Nandrin is desperate to get inside a famous sage's pants tower.

Starring, in order they sit around the table:

Rodin Halfbeard, (played by Lorne) the dwarven axeman (missing tonight).
Venmir, (played by Brett) an elven clergyman, mage-ignorer.
Nyvan, (played by Jason) an elven dwarven knight, lucky death-roll roller.
Sigurd, (played by Iain) a travelling swordsman, target of the magics of...
Nandrin the Naughty, (played by Hilton), the elven mage, voted most likely to kill his companions, one by one, in great pain.

and The DM, (played by Alex), who loves to comment in blue. And writes this blog. He's also a bit of a git and likes to make life difficult for his players.

We were once more down to four (due to illness, and the lack of a melee character would prove important), It proved a good night though, with plenty of combat and lots of opportunities for the party to do some stupid shit. And they did...

The heroes had made it inside Xonthal’s Tower. Nandrin did his best to try and remember what he could of Xonthal and his construction. He knew the mage had emptied his tower of apprentices and servants over 100 years ago. He was a known master of the elemental powers, and his research had lead to many magical breakthroughs before he disappeared. He was well-known, and well-respected. His tower was hidden behind a magical maze, and no-one had seen or heard from him since 100 years ago.

They stood in a large round chamber (except for Rodin, who had seen someting shiny in the maze and ran off to investigate), which struck them as weird, as the tower from the outside seemed square. There was a pair of balconies, as well as a teleportation plate on the floor between them. Each platform had a panel on the wall - it was covered in symbols. 

After some time, they worked out that the symbols were part of an internal teleportation system, taking them from one floor to another. The first two moved them from the platform on the floor to the balconies. They decided to use the symbols one in a row.

Nyvan went first. He found himself in a corridor. filled with armed cultists. He stepped off the platform and attacked the cultists. They were unable to all attack at once, but some of them were mages and Nyvan found his body wracked with magical pain. As a last resort, he let out a thunderous smite, smashing one of the cultists into the floor, but the noise was too great, and it slammed into the rest of them, knocking them all unconscious, bar one...and it wasn’t Nyvan.

Sigurd was next, and he appeared in the hallway just as a cultist leaned forward, knife at the ready, to cut Nyvan’s throat. Sigurd moved quickly, slashing his blade across the cultist’s chest, killing him instantly before he could cut Nyvan’s jugular.

The others appeared, and most of them were somewhat shocked to find Nyvan lying unconscious, and Sigurd telling them how he had killed them all, saving Nyvan’s life.

They took a chance to have a brief rest, to ensure they were not so surprised the next time they travelled through a portal.

The next time they travelled in the same order. Once more, Nyvan found himself in a room surrounded by cultists in a room dominated by a large altar with the forelimbs of a black dragon growing from it. He leapt forward before any of them could move, slamming his blade into one of the warriors. He didn’t fall.

Sigurd appeared before the others, and instantly filled the room with silence. The others appeared, and the battle turned into a massive melee - with no-one able to use any spells. It was a long battle, but the heroes fought their way through eventually, even with Rodin still stuck in the maze. The altar was covered in notes and papers about dracoliches. They burnt most, then carried on.

From there one, they decided to travel together.

When they next went through a teleport, they found themselves in a large room, dominated by the skeleton of a black dragon. The room was once more full of cultists - and the combat was once more long and vicious - punctuated by Nandrin hitting the bad guys with a cloudkill, which nearly killed Sigurd, much to his disgust.

The next room lead to an observatory. There was a huge telescope, pointing a crystal set into the ceiling. A ladder stood nearby, and there were double-doors in one wall. As they spread out around the room, at least Venmir and Sigurd kept an eye on the doors. Which was a good thing, as they burst open and a group of cultists ran out. 

The cultists spread around the party, splitting them up and keeping them occupied. Venmir shot at the mage at the back, but then found himself in combat with the others. As the heroes fought, the mage lashed out with magic missiles, hurting Nyvan more than he already was. The others continued their focus on the melee cultists and blows were swapped, until the mage unleashed his most powerful magics, hitting both Nyvan and Venmir with a Cone of Cold, instantly dropping Nyvan, and sorely wounding Venmir. 

As the other cultists started to drop, the mage continued his magical assault (Nyvan failed two death rolls, and rolled one 20, meaning he was down to his last roll at this point - 11 or higher, and he lived, 10 or less and he died, permanently). Before long both Venmir and Nandrin turned their attentions to him. As the mage prepared a lightning bolt, he found himself engulfed in a huge pillar of flame - and when it cleared, he was dead. They rushed over to Nyvan, (who made his last roll as everyone dashed over - and with some bardic assistance from Sigurd, rolled 14). He stabilised, and they rested, before again destroying more papers on dracoliches. They also found a tiny hourglass on the mage’s corpse.

Nandrin grabbed the hourglass and they assembled on platform. He held the hourglass in the air, and pressed the button, feeling heroic and looking somewhat camp.  Nothing happened. He tried several different poses, none of which did anything but leave his companions in stitches. Eventually, Sigurd grabbed the hourglass and pressed the hourglass symbol on the panel - and they instantly found themselves in another room. 

Around the platform were a number of bodies, all cultists - most had been zapped, but one had been stabbed.

A trail of blood lead from the room. They followed it and found themselves stood in the doorway to a large chamber. Two figures stood in the middle - one appeared to be made of body parts, and the other made of layers of clay. The room was full of body parts and blood. There was also a desk, with a tempting looking chest on it. The party walked into the room and the figures turned to move towards them. They ran for the exit, and the figures moved towards them quickly. Luckily the figures stopped at the next doorway. There was much in the way of breathing relief.

The next room was a laboratory of some sort, and in the centre of it was a massive tornado, seemingly staying in one spot. The party took one look at the room and left. They walked down some stairs and found themselves in a wondrous room.

A platform stretched out in front of them. All around them was space - huge amounts of black space, punctuated by thousands of stars and galaxies. Along the platform were a number of doorways, surrounded by the black - they gaped in awe for quite some time.

Eventually they approached a door which lead them into a library - they found a hugely detailed map of the Plane of Fire, but left the room without searching. Nandrin did take a rock (which was holding the map down) to test the space room - but when he dropped it off the edge, they didn’t see it again. He advised the others to stay away from the edges. There was much eye-rolling.

Next was a storage room, full of every conceivable alchemical or magical compound. Once more, the party decided that thieving from one of the most famous mages in the history of the world was probably a bad idea, so they decided to move on.

When they entered the room beyond that, they found Iskander. He was leaning against a wall, dead from several wounds, and he was holding the blue dragon mask. Two massive hourglasses flanked his body. They checked his vitals, then nicked his dragontooth dagger, and the mask before hurriedly leaving the basement and the tower, fleeing out towards the village and instantly using their teleport scroll to return the Waterdeep.

They appeared in the monastery and sent word fo Leosin Erlanthar.

Then they waited.

(RoT-13) That was a-maze-ing!

Yes, I said it.

Having somehow survived the third Waterdeep Council meeting, and despite their best attempts to get themselves executed, the heroes of the day have two options; either visit Xonthal's Tower to rescue a potential turncoat from the cult, or visit the Red Wizards of Thay to see if they can help with their rogue mage, Severin. They chose the former - especially as Nandrin is desperate to get inside a famous sage's pants tower.

Starring, in order they sit around the table:

Rodin Halfbeard, (played by Lorne) the dwarven axeman, hedgerunner.
Venmir, (played by Brett) an elven clergyman, Gorgon-bait.
Nyvan, (played by Jason) an elven dwarven knight, and part-time horsey.
Sigurd, (played by Iain) a travelling swordsman, often found hanging around toilets.
Nandrin the Naughty, (played by Hilton), the elven mage, wielder of the mightiest wand in the room.

and The DM, (played by Alex), who loves to comment in blue. And writes this blog. He's also a bit of a git and likes to make life difficult for his players.

Full strength and raring to go, the party are dying, literally, to get to the end of this module and confront the cult - but before that, there are still several issues which need to be addressed. So they find themselves once more on the road, with a simple goal - but isn't that always the case? 

The heroes got a ride to a large town near Xonthal's Tower and Leosin gave them a teleport scroll to help them get back to Waterdeep. They set off, having a fairly uneventful couple of days travel.

They crested a hill and saw the Tower, nestled inside a huge hedge maze, with the village on the other side. Having heard that the tower had magical defences, they decided to visit the village first. They headed straight for the tavern, and approached the barkeep.

"How do we get into the tower?" asked Venmir.

"You don't want to go in that there tower, you'll not make it past the hedge. And iffun you do, you'll go......" everyone leaned in as he started to whisper, "...bonkers!" he finished loudly.

"Really? The place makes you crazy?" replied the sceptical cleric.


"Yer, it surely does," replied the barkeep. "Them what goes in, don't come out the same, iffen they even comes out at all! A prime example is Crazy Derek. Old Ned said he saw a dragon flying about it before as well. It's all bonkers."

"And why is he called Crazy Derek?" asked Nyvan.

"Well, afore he went into the hedge maze, he was just called Derek. Now we call him Crazy Derek.....cos he's crazy!"

"I have some questions....," said Rodin.

"No! No more questions about the tower! It's all madness and you shouldn't go in, and I'll not answer any more questions."

Rodin ignored him. "So, what kind of magic defends the tower?"

"Are you daft, or deaf, master dwarf? NO MORE QUESTIONS!" he said as he turned his back on the party.

"Fine. Where can we find Crazy Derek?" asked Nyvan and he received directions to the house in the village farthest from the tower and the hedge-maze. They made their way over.

At first, all they could hear were ghostly ooh'ing noises, which refused to admit they were Derek. Then when Nyvan entered, Derek dropped down from his hiding spot in the eaves and pretended to ride from Nyvan's shoulders, shouting about his dwarven horsey. He also talked about how his potato had never been the same since entering the maze. It turned out that Crazy Derek was crazy and useless. They left for the maze.

Nandrin scouted the maze by flying over it, but somehow found himself being teleported across the maze every time he tried to land by the tower. After many, many attempts, he finally gave up. From the top, the maze looked like a horrid mess of overgrown plants and broken hedges, but from the ground, it looked like a perfect courtly garden.

They entered the maze, and found a clearing with eight exits and a sundial in it. The shadow from the sundial pointed forward, even though the sun was to their left. They went forward.

After several minutes of walking through the maze, they once again found themselves in the sundial clearing, but this time the shadows pointed in other directions. They realised that each time they made the right choice, they returned here with new options. They went right.

They later found themselves in a large clearing, with an island in the middle of a pond, and a pagoda above it. A monk stood near a bridge, and beckoned them over, smiling. They walked over, and he bade them sit, while he made some tea in a large kettle. The party sat patiently as the kettle began to steam, then smoke. The monk waved one of his hands and the sides of the pagoda were suddenly blocked off with massive walls of stone. The smoke started billowing out, filling the pagoda with acrid smoke.

Both Nandrin and Sigurd tried to use their powers and skills, to no avail. Panic started to set in. The smoke started to overcome them. Suddenly Venmir touched one of the walls and a hole opened, leaving room for them all to escape.

"Why didn't you do something before?" asked Sigurd.

"I was waiting for one of you to succeed first," replied Venmir.

The others tutted and grunted.

Suddenly they were beset by a large creature, with the face of the monk! It carried a huge maul and it had no legs, only visible gusts of air holding it up. Battle was joined, and the creature immediately targeted Venmir and Nandrin, slapping them about with its massive weapon. It took quite a while, but eventually they overcame the beast - although Venmir cursed soundly when he cast a powerful defensive spell and the creature died moments later.

The party left the clearing by the only other exit, and moments later appeared in the same clearing. This was repeated half a dozen times until Nandrin lost his temper and destroyed the kettle in the pagoda. Inside was a jade gemstone. He put it in his pouch, and they walked out again, finding themselves back at the sundial.

They decided to go in a different direction and checked out the shadows on the sundial. They went west and instead of finding themselves in a challenge they found themselves, after going through a maze, back in the sundial clearing. This time the shadows on the symbol had changed yet again and they found themselves having to decide which way they wanted to go.

After thinking too much they spent 10 minutes going through the maze before the heroes found themselves in a large clearing. On one side was a massive cottage and on the other were two Cyclopes, frozen in time.  There were sheep grazing in the pasture and when the characters approached the cottage, the Cyclopes came to life.

The Cyclops appeared to play a game of rock paper scissors and the loser approached the characters. He appeared to challenge them to a test of strength. He picked up a large boulder and threw it across the field. It flew 100 feet in the air and then rolled over 20 more.  He stood with his fists on his waist and looked at the heroes expectantly.

The heroes took some time to try and work out what they had to do. With spells flying and other attempts to move the boulder failing. Rodin bent to lift a stone, not realising it was three times heavier than him. Sadly, his attempt was too much of a strain on his body (he rolled a 1 on his Strength check) and he soiled his britches, much to the amusement of the cylopes and his own companions. He nipped behind a boulder to rip off his pantaloons and buried them in a shallow hole.

 After Nyvan spent some time trying to roll a large boulder, Venmir used a spell to shape it and turned it into a wheel. They rolled the rock all the way past the first one thrown by the Cyclops. at that point the other boulder broke open revealing a gem which the characters took and they left. The path took them safely back to the sundial clearing.

This time they took another exit. It took them all the way around until they came back to the sundial clearing.

This time the hero is found that the sundial pointed in four directions creating a cross on top of the sundial. They went off in a random direction and after some time in the maze they found themselves in a large courtyard with a circular pool of water running from one side to the other. Rather than touch the water Nandrin flew across to grab a gemstone hovering one foot above the center of the pool.  They left the area and once again found themselves in the sundial clearing.

Once again the sundial showed the cross. The characters left the clearing by random direction and before long they found themselves in another maze within the original maze. As they considered their options the pounding of hooves rang out and a Gorgon charged out of the hedge towards them. Many of the characters were knocked over and while it was preparing to trample them to pieces, Nandrin used his Wand of Wonder which summoned a massive elephant behind him, but he didn't realise. The Gorgon breathed on Nandrin with a gaseous green breath. Fortunately it did not affect him, but it did turn the elephant into stone. It ran off again and before they could respond, it charged from a different direction. This caused a mass panic and Nandrin used his wand again and this time he blasted the Gorgon with a fireball. A diamond fell from its nostril and the party took it, moving on again.

When they return to the sundial, it once again had the cross on it. Rodin, in anger, shook the sundial and then disappeared from view. One by one the others did the same until they found themselves in the sundial clearing having fallen from the sky. On the sundial, shadows pointed at every single exit.

They spend some time contemplating their options until eventually Rodin ran head first into the hedge and disappeared. The others were surprised but followed him and they once again found themselves in the maze, but before long emerged into the clearing surrounding the tower.

On the floor was a teleportation circle and the body of a cultist lay sprawling nearby. Looking behind them they could see a straight path to the sundial clearing. Beyond that, the parth continued with an exit to the village. 

They stepped forward on to the circle and it teleported them inside the tower. They found themselves in a strange room. A human female sprawled face down in a pool of blood - she was dressed like a high ranking member of the Cult of the Dragon. On the wall was a piece of metal and scratched into it were a number of glyphs including chairs, an upside down L, a rectangle, a flame, a star, a square and a right-angled triangle.

They paused a moment to catch their breath...

(RoT-11 & 12) Where's your privy?

I won't be moment, fellas...

Our fiesty heroes have had a busy time - and found themselves with a simple set of tasks; return the giant children to their home and then act as envoys for the Council of Waterdeep - the Metallic Dragon Council. No worries, I think Nandrin said.

Starring, in order they sit around the table:

Rodin Halfbeard, (played by Lorne) the dwarven axeman, and least liked among dragons.
Venmir, (played by Brett) an elven clergyman, revealer of secrets.
Nyvan, (played by Jason) an elven dwarven knight, still getting to grips with his new form?

Sigurd, (played by Iain) a travelling swordsman, the ever-mistrustful and surprisingly diplomatic.

Nandrin the Naughty, (played by Hilton), the elven mage, prone to making promises he can't keep.

and The DM, (played by Alex), who loves to comment in blue. And writes this blog. He's also a bit of a git and likes to make life difficult for his players.

It has been well over a month since the last session. Due to jury service and a new baby (hi Harper!) we decided to move over to Call of Cthulhu with a smaller group for a few weeks. Being a lazy shit, I also failed to record the last session, so that will form the first few paragraphs of this blog entry. 

The heroes took the giant children back to Waterdeep after realising the portal in the Lost Level of the Undermountain took them to the forest a week's travel outside of Waterdeep. It was a simple endeavour, only made slightly more difficult with an argument over how to get them up there, but it was fairly swiftly resolved. 

The party then headed for the Dragon Council - which turned out to be a seriously nerve-wracking time. The dragons were not as one, and each had their own agenda, often forcing the characters to make decisions about how they might get the dragons on-board. For Nyvan, this meant giving up his magical sword and shield. For Nandrin, he promised that he would get an official apology from King Thellandrach for the Dracorage Mythal, while Rodin promised that he would return the dragonscale armour used by the personal bodyguard of Ambassador Brawnanvil, as the scales belonged to a Council Member's uncle.

fortunately, they managed to get three votes from the Dragon Council which was enough to get them to promise to assist the heroes further. before they returned to Waterdeep, one of the dragons, in human form, approached Nyvan, and returned his weapons and shield - commenting how they were of more use to him, and she was pleased they were now with a creature of honour, even if he was a dwarf, or an elf, or whatever.

They hitched a ride of Elia back towards Waterdeep, but because of the massive trust issues between humankind and dragons at the time, she dropped them off several miles from town - far enough away that her transformations would not cause alarm, and possibly harm, to a local.

The party found a large traveller's inn on the side of the road that they had visited before (it was five miles below their flying castle). they sat down to some drinks and food (and Nandrin tried to get off with the massively fat innkeeper's wife - a prospect she encouraged - much to the horror of the others).

"Where's the privy?" asked Sigurd, as he walked off to relieve himself. "I won't be a minutes, fellas."

As they revelled in their first chance at relaxing for weeks, the door burst open. In the doorway stood an armoured man, a Neverwinter Knight. He glanced around the room, then gasped and fell face forward. Behind him was a man-sized insectoid creature with a massive trident in its hand. 

As the room panicked, the roof peeled back from the walls, and the heroes looked up in horror at a huge black dragon, scanning the room as if looking for someone. It's eyes settled on the party.

They split up - Rodin charging for the door, Nandrin let off a spell which set off tentacles, holding the insectoid to the floor. Venmir fired arrows, and Nyvan threw a javelin.

The dragon breathed acid into the room and the insectoid lifted one pair of its arms and a foul gas leaked into the room, leaving anyone near him lying on the floor, choking and gasping. Other figures were behind him, shadows in the darkness.

Nandrin flung a fireball at the dragon's head. Nyvan and Venmir saw a huge bloated winged beast flying around the dragon's head, waving an axe the size of Rodin. As they watched, it disappeared from viewing, suddenly reappearing behind Nyvan, hitting him in the back with its axe. He turned to fight it.

The dragon pulled back at the walls, ripping the wall away and opening the inn to the elements. Behind the creature in the door was another similar creature, and several cultists. 

the dragon leapt forward, into another fireball from Nandrin. Venmir cast magics and Nyvan traded blows with the fat winged beast. Rodin charged, swapping blows with the insect, as its pal pulled its legs free, and charged him too. He fought them both off. Striking them both down , weakened as they were from Nandrin's spells.

Nandrin threw yet another fireball., but this one caught the remaining cultists and they dropped to the floor. Nyvan and the flyer exchanged blows, warily circling one another. Nyvan seemed to be hitting more, and harder, but the beast shrugged off his strikes.


The dragon reared back, flattening them with its wings. As the large bloated flyer leaned over Nyvan to finish him, Rodin, who had avoided the blast of air from the dragon's wings, charged across the room, somersaulted off a table and decapitated the beast. The dragon, floating above the party, dropped down and lay about him with claw and tooth for several moments, soaking up blows from the heroes, striking them hard and leaving Venmir, Rodin and Nandrin face down in the dirt after yet another wing-wind manoeuvre. Only Nyvan was left standing. Their amulets started to glow, much like Nyvan's had in the past. He flung a javelin at the beast, hoping to draw it from his comrades. He glanced down at his chest - conspicuously missing its lucky amulet which had saved his life before. Despite this, he still dragged the dragon's attention to the courtyard and stood, waiting for his death.


The dragon pulled its head back, preparing to breath down on the brave dwarf, when a sudden bolt of silver struck it in the side - it was Elia! The two massive beasts crashed into the stables, flattening them (and killing everything inside). Quickly, Elia forced the black dragon onto its back and her cold breath smothered the dragon's face, killing it. She quickly flew off.


The courtyard was full of dead peasants, travellers and merchants. The same was found in the ruins of the inn. Dozens lay dead, maybe even one hundred folk. Everywhere was crying, moaning and screaming in pain. Venmir moved around, offering assistance.


As Nyvan stood in disbelief, a contingent of Waterdeep Guardsmen rode up. Nyvan and his friends explained what had happened to the guards, who gave them their horses to enable them to return to Waterdeep.


As they mounted their horses, Nandrin looked around. "Where is...," and as he spoke, the door to the privy opened and Sigurd walked out.


"What happened out here? I disappear for five minutes to have a crap and you lot destroy the inn! Typical!" he said, mounting the horse put in front of him. He rode off, leaving the others staring at his back.


They returned to Waterdeep and after some errands, attended the Council meeting.


They reported on their actions. Firstly, King Mellandrach went crazy at Nandrin, who had made promises for him relating to the Dracorage Mythal, but eventually consented, considering it a matter of honour. When he found out his son was involved with the cult, he grew angry, and the entire room grew cold. Eventually he left, vowing that the elves were marching to war.


Rodin tried to convince Ambassador Brawnanvil to get his guards to give up their armour. At this stage, Venmir piped up, pointing out that the dragon who had provided the scale for their armour, had a relative only ten feet away. The gallery gasped - Waterdeep had been under attack from dragons and thousands were dying, yet the Council had a dragon, hidden, among them. The scandal for the Council would be tremendous and long-lasting. Lady Silverhand had the room cleared and made Venmir precisely aware why his actions were unwelcome, inappropriate and downright irresponsible. Venmir decided to defend his actions, which only made Lady Silverhand even more angry, and she gave him a massive dressing down, in front of the Council and his companions. Ambassador Brawnanvil thought it was so funny that he made his guards offer up their dragonscale armour.

The party were then made aware of two further tasks in front of them. They Red Wizards of Thay had asked for an envoy to discuss the current situation. Leosin had been approached by someone saying they would give the Council the Blue Dragon Mask, if they rescued him from a place called Xonthal's Tower (a place well-known to mages, as Xonthal was mage recognised world-wide for being powerful, knowledgable and secretive).


They decided to make for the tower first...

(CoC -5) The Plantation

The investigators journey down to South Carolina comes to an end.  Back up to 4 investigators now.

Mike McDowell - Snakeye to his friends
Horatio Campbell - Not a fan of doorbells
Woody Winklestein - Still trying to make a name for himself.
Colorado Smith - PTSD waiting to happen.

The Dream

Mike found himself in a dark room, darkness surrounding him.  The sounds of thousands of snakes slithering and hissing made his skin crawl.  In front of him, with their backs turned he could see Colorado, Horatio, Woody and another familiar person couldn’t quite make out.

Unable to control his actions, Mike raised his double barrelled shotgun, aiming squarely at his colleagues backs.  Before he could pull the trigger, reptilian hands burst out of the ground around him, grabbing at his ankles and his clothes, pulling him down into the darkness.

Seconds later he was on his back surrounded by reptilian humanoids, wicked beaks in place of any normal features. Twitching with excitement they eyed up their prey.  Then, in a flash they began pecking at his face in a flurry of blood and scaly flesh.

Mike woke with a start and loud scream, startling Colorado, Woody and Horatio who where looking down on him in concern at his unconscious state.

“Jesus Mike, no time for a nap” snapped Woody.  “Lets get back to the house, we should probably clean up.”

Joe, who was still upset by the bloody destruction of his mother, decided it would be best to return to Reverend Hilson for safety.  Saying his goodbyes he headed north up the river bank to the wooden bridge.

The group decided that they would return to the plantation house and have a few words with the Gist brothers.

From down the river, they could hear singing and the sounds of numerous boats moving upstream.  Diving for cover, they waited until they saw the source of the noise.  Heading towards the dock where numerous boats, canoes and pontoons, full of singing and dancing sharecroppers, whites and blacks alike.

The investigators waited in their hiding place until all of the visitors had passed.   It seemed like they where all headed to the plantation house.  After a few minutes they followed.

Arriving at the house, the investigators noticed that tables and benches had been set out in front of the house.  Laden with food and drink, it seems they had stumbled onto a large gathering. 

More sharecroppers and locals where arriving by car, truck and bicycle.  At least one hundred and fifty people now occupied the small grassy area in front of the house.

Caleb was standing on the veranda as the investigators arrived.

“I would strongly suggest you fellas get yourselves inside.  These local festivities can quickly get out of hand and as you may have already noticed, they don’t tolerate strangers” said Caleb with a wry smile.

 “What’s going on?” ask Horatio, surprised by the sudden appearance of so many people.

“Just some religious get together.  I’m retiring to my room for the night; I suggest you boys do too.”

With that, he turned and walked back inside the house.

The Rise of Colorado

The group entered the house and headed straight to the study to see if they could gain any more information from the books they had found earlier that morning.

In the study they found Elihu and the maid Elly sitting comfortably on the couch, they both seemed to ignore the investigators, seemingly lost in their conversation.

Albert was in his normal seat by the window, he nodded as the group entered but quickly returned to his vigil out of the window into the back garden.

Woody headed straight over to the bookshelf where that morning he and Mike had found the books regarding the worship of Kukulcan, only to find that the books where missing, replaced with the actual ‘Minutes of the Colleton County Agricultural Society’.

“What the hell?” fumed Woody. “They’re gone!”

“Right! I’ve had enough of this!” snapped Colorado, drawing his pistol and shoving it in Albert’s face.

“What the hell is going on here and where the hell are those books?”  Asked Colorado angrily.

Elihu rose to his feet, “Woah, no need for that my friend.”

“Shut up you” shouted Colorado.  “Woody, watch that one”

Woody shrugged his shoulders and lifted his shotgun up towards Elihu, who promptly sat back down.

Mike noticed that during the commotion that Elly had fled from the room.

“Hey wait” he shouted, running after her.

Catching up with her in the living room, Mike grabbed her arm.  “Stop right there, we need to talk to you” 

In a flash Elly turned revealing a straight razor in her free hand, to Mike’s surprise from up the sleeve on the arm he was holding shot out a small multicoloured snake.  The small coral snake lashed out biting Mike on his wrist, causing him to let go of Elly who dashed out of the front door into the crowd that had built up on the front lawn.

“What do you know of Yig” asked Woody aggressively. 

“Nothing” stammered Albert; it was obvious to Woody that he was not telling the truth.

“Don’t lie to me Albert” countered Woody.

With Colorado’s pistol barrel now being pushed against his head, Albert broke down.

“My brother Caleb, he worships a being named Yig or Kukulcan.  A snake god of the ancient Indians, maybe dating back as far as the Incans and Mayans.  I’m afraid he has lost his mind.”

“What about the sorceress under the swamp, Saaruxia.  What about her?” asked Woody, grimacing as he watched Colorado thrust his pistol against the unarmed man’s head.

“I have no idea what you are talking about, I swear” cried Albert, visibly terrified.

Colorado turned his gun on Elihu, who by now had stood up, obviously concerned for his friend. 

“What about you?  What do you know about all this? Why are you so friendly with that bitch of a maid?  Yesterday you couldn’t stand her.”

Colorado moved towards Elihu, intent on whipping him with his pistol.

“Calm down my friend.”  Said Horatio, moving between Colorado and Elihu.  “Maybe we should all calm down?”

“Fine” huffed Colorado, “let’s tie them up and then go see where Caleb has got to with those books”

A little reluctantly the rest of the group bound and gagged Albert and Elihu, they then decided to start their search upstairs.

Checking first to make sure their own gear was still intact the group decided to search the rooms one by one.  Horatio standing out on the landing, while Mike kept an eye out on the stairs to make sure nobody followed them up.

A search of the bathroom and Caleb’s room revealed nothing.  The third door though was locked.

Colorado, still in a fury from the altercation downstairs began kicking at the door with no avail.  Mike, not happy with the amount of noise being made, gave a hand.  With a massive shoulder charge he smashed the door inwards.

Almost instantly he reeled backwards, the stench from the room almost unbearable. 

“Smells like a friggin’ reptile house in there” he choked, while heading immediately back to his vantage point without even looking into the room.

Woody, feeling brave, strode into the room.  Until in the darkness he noticed a large, squat shape in the corner of the room.  “Quick, Horatio, bring my torch!” he flustered.

Cautiously he raised his shotgun, ready to blast whatever inhuman monstrosity was lurking in the darkness of the room. 

Horatio returned with a flashlight, shining it over Woody’s shoulder. 

Colorado and Woody both tensed up, ready to unleash a barrage of lead and destruction on whatever it was preparing to pounce on them from the darkness.

They both breathed a sigh of relief when the inhuman monstrosity turned out to be bundled up bedclothes from the large bed in the centre of the room, rolled up in the corner.

In the room they found a chest, which Woody opened cautiously.  Inside he found some small bottles of herbs, a human skull, a flag with some strange markings on it and a rusty old sabre.

The group concluding that this was probably the Obeah Man’s room.

While the group searched upstairs, Colorado decided he would go downstairs and check on his prisoners.

On entering the study he came across the body of Albert, still tied up and gagged in his chair where they left him minutes earlier.  His throat had been cut, ear to ear, blood still gushing from the open wound.

Lying on the floor, still bound but without his gag was Elihu.

“It was Elly, she came back to finish us off, she ran out through the front door, quickly, you can still catch her” gasped Elihu, trying to wriggle free of his bonds.

In complete silence Colorado drew his Colt .45 automatic and fired two rounds into the prone Elihu Winsworthy, killing him instantly.

Hearing the shots, the rest of the group quickly ran down the stairs into the study.

“What the hell have you done?” stammered Mike, shocked by the bloodshed.

“Winsworthy must have killed Albert and he tried pinning it on the maid.” replied Colorado without remorse.

“But his f***ing hands are still tied” shouted Woody

“But his gag was off” countered Colorado

The rest of the group looked at each in stunned silence as Colorado reloaded his pistol.  Woody bent over the body of Elihu Winsworthy while Horatio attempted to find a pulse on both bodies.

“We best get out of here” said Woody, pocketing Elihu’s car keys. “If the locals see this mess they’ll lynch us for sure”

“But we still have to save this girl and destroy the sorceress remember? Said Mike.  “The Obeah Man said we have to make sure the ceremony takes place.  That’s when Saaruxia will be at her most vulnerable. We need to get out there and do something”

The Ritual

The group quickly gathered their belongings and ran out the front door of the house.  Colorado suggested using the back door, but by now his stock had dropped to a point where nobody was really listening to him.

No sooner had the door shut behind the last member of the group; multiple gunshots rang out from the darkness in front of the house. 

The large group of cultists must have moved off into the swamp, leaving some men behind to make sure they weren’t followed.

The investigators dived for cover on the veranda narrowly avoiding being hit by bullets and debris flying through the air.

“Quick, back inside” shouted Mike over the sound of gunfire. 

The group quickly crawled back inside the house.  Woody locking the door once they were back inside.

“Right, lets get out the back” shouted Woody.

“Wait” cried Mike “Where’s Horatio?”

“I’m oot here ye bastards!” shouted a voice from the other side of the front door.

Realising his mistake Woody unlocked the door to allow Horatio to enter the house, by now though the gunfire had abruptly ended.

“You should have rung the bell” joked Mike to a thoroughly unimpressed Horatio.

Cautiously, Horatio looked over the sill that had previously shielded him from gunfire.  All was silent out in the darkness. 

Using his torch, he searched the surrounding area finding numerous dead bodies.  All armed sharecroppers, all with what seemed to be snake bites on their bodies.

On one body, Horatio saw a massive Cottonmouth, coiled and staring straight at him.

“Umm… thanks?” Horatio nodded to the snake, which without a sound slithered off into the undergrowth.

Regrouping, the investigators headed off towards the clearing in the swamp where they had found the altar earlier in the day. 

Their path took them past the shack with the blue door, which was now standing open.  Deciding to look inside they found a horrible sight. 

On the floor lying next to the bodies of two of the guards they had met earlier was the body of young Joe.  Seemingly he had taken the rescue attempt of his sister into his own hands and although he had managed to fell two of the guards it seemed like the others had gunned him down.

Showing very little emotion the group headed towards the ritual site, constantly looking behind them, Mike’s vision still fresh in their minds.

On arriving at the clearing the investigators saw that the large group of revellers had arrived and that the ritual was just beginning.  Many of the assembled sharecroppers and local folk where armed with clubs and machetes.  Many more had crude instruments and drums which they now beat and shook to a slow tempo.

In the throng of people the investigators could make out Elly, dressed in long silver robes carrying two extremely large Diamond-Back Rattlesnakes draped over her shoulders, mingling with the crowd.

To their horror they also saw what seemed to be a large upright serpent-man.  Wearing a long black coat and top-hat the creature eased through the crowd, many of the revellers stopping and throwing themselves at his feet begging for a blessing.  The investigators assuming this was in fact the Obeah Man’s true form.

Suddenly, next to the altar stood Caleb, dressed in flowing silver robes he stood with his arms stretched out into the sky.  Joined by Elly and the Snake-man, Caleb began a chant which echoed around the swamp.  The beat of the drums getting faster and faster.

Flames from a cauldron reaching high into the sky, sparks and smoke erupting forth. 

It was then that the investigators noticed the snakes.  Thousands of them, coming up from the ground and out of the undergrowth, entwining themselves among the assembled cultists.  Twisting together to form large mounds of writhing scales. 

The smell from the dancing workers combined with the scent of masses of snakes was enough to turn even the strongest stomach.

With Mike’s vision still in his head, Woody turned to see if there was anyone standing behind them.  There was. 

Managing to escape the snakes that attacked his men when they where positioned to ambush the investigators outside the mansion, Big Rafe Bodeen was sick of hiding in the shadows.  He had been paid to murder the investigators and wasn’t going to disappoint.

He was just about to pull the trigger on his shotgun when suddenly, without a sound, multiple scaled hands erupted from the ground around him.  With a shriek he tried to fire his shotgun, but in an instant he was pulled down under the ground.

Stunned by what he had witnessed, Woody alerted the group to what he had just seen.

“That’s our way under the swamp” he shouted, pulling the hammers back on his shotgun.  “Let’s get in there!”

Mike dived headlong into the hole that Rafe Bodeen was just pulled into, Horatio and Woody following suit.

“I’ll just wait here and see what happens, first chance I get I’m taking Caleb out” he muttered to himself, the others unable to hear him over the sound of the drums.

 The Fall of Colorado

Through the crowd Colorado could see two large sharecroppers carrying a young girl to the altar.  Placing her down on the altar in front of Caleb, Elly and the Serpent Man, Colorado took careful aim with his pistol.

With the drums reaching their crescendo, Caleb raised his sabre into the air above his head.  Just as he was about to swing the razor sharp blade down on young Cassy, Colorado fired two rounds from his pistol with amazing accuracy, hitting Caleb square in the chest with both., sending him reeling backwards into the swamp, dead before his body even hit the ground.

The drums stopped, many of the cultist shocked to see their leader slain turned to see where the shots had come from.  The scores of snakes that where slithering aimlessly around the clearing now had a purpose.

Colorado, fearing for his life, turned to run, but it was no use.  He hadn’t noticed the masses of poisonous snakes that had been slithering around him when he had taken the shots at Caleb.

Without a sound they struck at him, burying their fangs into his legs and abdomen, injecting their toxins into this bloodstream. 

With his last dying breath Colorado saw the maid, Elly crouch down next the young girl on the altar and with a flick of her wrist slice the young girl’s throat from ear to ear.

The rest of the group, unaware of what was transpiring above, followed the narrow passage down into the depths of the earth.  After a minute of frantic scrambling through the dirt they arrived at a large domed cavern.

Obviously hand carved and many years old the cavern was lit by torches in brackets along the walls.  Almost two hundred foot across, the cavern had seven more alcoves similar to the one that the group entered the chamber from.

Almost in the centre of the room, the investigators could see four small, lithe reptilian humanoids, all with beaks instead of mouths standing over the still screaming body of Big Rafe Bodeen.  Pecking at his face and tearing off chunks of flesh from his upper body.

Un-noticed the group moved closer to the creatures, catching them by surprise the investigators opened fire, two of the creatures falling to the ground before they could even react.

The two remaining creatures moved to attack the group.  One of them, unharmed in the initial attack leapt at Mike, grabbing him by the shoulders, its wicked beak gouging Mike’s right eye out of its socket.   Roaring in pain, Mike threw his head back, away from the creature’s razor sharp beak. 

Horatio coolly aimed his Mauser at the creature and with one shot blasted a hole clear through its head, sending the creature to the ground with a sickening thud.

Woody, frantically trying to re-load his shotgun was attacked by the last remaining creature.  It too leapt onto his shoulders, intent on ripping out his eyes.  Woody turned his head just in time, the creature instead catching Woody on the side of his face, opening a large wound.

At the same instant Woody discharged his shotgun, sending the creature tumbling to the ground almost ten feet away.  Severely wounded the creature rose to its feet with a snarl.

Now, on the other side of the room, the group could see a large shape, slowly dragging itself towards them.  It was a snake, but unlike any snake any of them could imagine.  Its body as thick as a bus and almost one hundred foot long, large atrophied limbs dangled uselessly by its side.  It reared up, determined, it seemed to swallow the entire group whole.

Just then, from the left hand side of the cavern the group saw Elly, somehow floating down through the wall and in front of their eyes seemingly changing shape.

First taking the form of an enormous serpent-man, much like the one they had seen on the surface, but at least fifty foot taller.  Then again, resembling a cobra with a large white crescent shape on the back of its neck.  

“Yig!” hissed the ancient sorceress.

And with that the Great Old One, Yig flashed its tail around crushing the remaining reptilian creature and wrapping its coils around the sorceress.

Much to the investigator’s horror they noticed that instead of killing the sorceress, Yig was in fact attempting to breed with her.

Fearing for their lives the investigators turned to flee the cavern.

After only a few steps though, they found themselves slumping to the ground in a deep sleep.

They all shared the same dream.

In it, they were dressed in long ceremonial robes and holding large ornate candles.  Chanting words they couldn’t understand. 

In front of them the two enormous reptiles coiled around each other, writhing together in tandem.  Suddenly, Yig sliced into the belly of the sorceress and withdrew a large golden egg.  Transforming into his serpent-man form he approached the investigators, holding the large golden egg.

“Prepare for your blessing” a strange soothing voice echoed in their heads, as each of them was bathed in a strange golden light.

They all awoke at the same time, still underground, the cavern now totally empty.

Fleeing back to the surface they saw the blue flashing lights of multiple squad cars.  Not knowing how long they had been asleep, it seemed that the local law enforcement had raided the area and arrested most of the cult members.

They saw Sheriff Trucks and Reverend Hilson standing among the handcuffed cultists.  The Reverend pleased they had escaped the “Den of Satan”

Lying on the floor, his body blackened and swollen they saw Colorado, his pistol still clutched in his hand. 

“Anyone care to tell me what happened here?” asked the sheriff, flipping open his notebook.

(CoC -4) The Plantation

Down to 3 investigators but the journey to South Carolina continues

The Arrival

With business concluded at the Walterboro Country Store the investigators climbed back into Elihu Winsworthy’s immaculate Anderson Touring Car and head off on the short drive to the Gist Plantation.

Albert had successfully managed to obtain a double barrelled Remington shotgun for Woody and a lever action Winchester for Colorado.  Mike bought everyone bowie knives.

After a couple of miles the group arrived at the Edisto River.  A large plank bridge could be seen spanning the river.  It seemed to be crudely assembled but quite sturdy.

“Here’s the old bridge.  When we cross it the river, we are on the plantation.  Be on your guard.” Remarked Albert quietly.

As the car approached the bridge Winsworthy halted the vehicle, everyone could see that several planks from the centre of the bridge had been removed.

“Why in the world…” Winsworthy muttered to himself, the locals must have been doing some work on the bridge.”

“Should be simple enough to put them back, could do with some help though” he smiled, getting out of the car.

Suddenly a shot rang out from the other side of the river and a bullet hit Winsworthy’s door, sending him diving onto the ground, face first into the mud.  

Albert froze in the passenger seat, not sure what to do while Mike, Colorado and Woody all exited the car, taking cover behind it as another shot rang out, hitting the door above Winsworthy’s head.

“We need to get across that bridge” shouted Woody.  

“OK, go!” replied Colorado, drawing his pistol and sprinting off towards the bridge.  Woody followed.

“I’ll stay back here and cover you.” Said Mike, unconvincingly, firing a couple of rounds into the under-brush on the other side of the river.

Woody and Colorado quickly made it to the centre of the bridge, firing off shots as they ran.  

First to the gap in the bridge was Woody, who strode up to the gap confidently and without a pause leapt into the air.  Unfortunately, he miss-judged his take off and fell clear through the gap in the bridge, down into the murky water ten feet below with a loud splash.

Colorado was more graceful in his attempt and cleared the gap without any fuss, narrowly avoiding another bullet from the hilltop sniper and took cover behind a large Cypress tree on the other bank.

Elihu had by now managed to crawl entirely under the car, while Albert cowered in the front seat with his head in hands.  

Mike continued firing his pistol at where he thought the shots where coming from.  The sniper returned fire and bypassing all cover, managed to clip Mike’s shoulder, sending him diving for cover.

Woody clung to the nearest support pillar, soaked but unharmed.  Suddenly from the opposite bank he thought he noticed something large slide into the water, heading in his direction.  With that, he clambered up the pillar, clinging to the top with all his might.

By now the firing had stopped and Colorado circled his way towards the hill, pistol ready.  

What he found on the top of the ridge was not what he was expecting.  Lying face down on the ground was the sniper, a young, white male, shabbily dressed in coveralls and wearing a straw hat.  Crawling away from the body was the largest snake Colorado had ever seen.  In a panic he fired a round at the fleeing snake, grazing it, speeding up its retreat.

A quick search of the body revealed a slight scratch, obviously a snakebite on the man’s ankle, the skin already swelling and turning black.

By now, Mike had fished Woody out of the Edisto River and Elihu and Albert had composed themselves.  Colorado returned to the group and shared what he had seen.

“Did you search the body?” questioned Woody.

“No, why would I?” replied Colorado.

“I’ll do it myself then” huffed Woody as he stomped off up the hill, squelching with every step.  

“Can you get his rifle for me please?” shouted Mike after him.

Finding only a couple of dollars and half a dozen spare rounds for the .22 rifle, Woody returned to the group.  

“Let’s get this bridge fixed and get out of here” said a visible shaken Albert.

The Plantation

After fixing the bridge and travelling another few miles, the investigators arrived at a slightly higher section of ground.  Before them they saw a large riverside plantation, dominated by a house on a low hill.

The house was obviously once a magnificent example of Southern plantation architecture.  Two storied, a large screened porch completely surrounds the ground floor.  The peeling white paint is splotched in many places with grey mould and the porch screen is riddled with holes.  From the roof, several lightning rods reach towards the sky.

About two hundred yards down the hill is a small but sprawling hamlet of shanties and tin-roofed farm buildings.  Most are in poor repair and some have even collapsed.

A cluster of sharecroppers, mostly women and children are gathered, staring at the newly arrived strangers.  A shed with a blue door stands out among the buildings as it seems to be guarded by four men with shotguns.

The group are ushered in to the house where they meet the Butler, Ben, the cook, Bess and the maid, Elly.

On the back veranda they finally meet Caleb Gist.  A tall, tanned man in somewhat worn white riding clothes.  Handsome in a disreputable way, with dark eyes and a commanding manner.  He greets the group with an elegant bow and a handshake like a dead fish.

Seeing some of the group are armed, he says “The police are already taking an interest in the affairs of this plantation, gentlemen, so I hope there won’t be any trouble.  The Sherriff tends to look very harshly on unnecessary gunplay in his jurisdiction.”

“We just got shot at on the way in!” replied Mike, showing the wound on his shoulder. "Someone just started shooting at us on the bridge!”

“The locals are sometimes weary of strangers, it must have been someone from one of the

other nearby plantations or farms having a bit of fun." said Caleb.

“He's dead now” interrupted Colorado, “a cottonmouth bit him and slithered away”

“Strange behaviour for a cottonmouth” muttered Elihu, still visibly shaken from the ambush.

“Enough of this depressing talk, would you gentlemen care for a tour of the plantation?”

The tour seemed to go on for hours, Caleb leading the investigators around his plantation, showing them the hamlet and the path down to the river.  Once it was over, Caleb left the group in the hamlet and excusing himself headed off towards the outbuildings.

The group wandered over to the shed with the blue door they had seen earlier.  

“Hi fellas, what ya guarding?” enquired Woody.

“We got some troublemakers in here” replied the largest of the four guards.

“Can I take a picture?”

“Not inside”

“Ok, how about of you gentlemen then?” asked Woody politely.

“Fine” replied the guard

“Say cheese”

They said nothing.

Not to be put off, Woody approached a young lady carrying a large bag on her back.  

“Hi there, would you like to make a couple dollars?” he asked, holding out the money he had recently found on the deceased sniper.

“Sure would master” replied the girl

“Who are they guarding in that shed?

“Just some miscreants, dangerous folks, we is told to keep away.” And with a flash she grabbed the money from Woody’s hand and carried along on her way.

On returning to the house the group entered the study where they found Albert looking through the bookshelves as if looking for something in particular.  

Obviously not finding what he was looking for, he sat down in a chair near the window and stared blankly outside until the group retired to their rooms to freshen up.  After checking their rooms for holes in the wall and air grates, they sat down and discussed their next plan of action.

It was agreed that they would see what happens this evening and then take a look around either tonight or the following day.  They still weren’t sure who to trust.

A knock on the door quickly ended such discussion.  Opening the door Woody came face to face with Elly, the maid, pretty as a picture, with a slight glint in her eye.

“Dinner is served, master” she winked.

“Thanks!” replied Woody, slamming the door in her face.

Dinner

Dinner was an awkward affair, the entrée; some kind of unidentifiable soup was eaten in near silence.  Albert not saying one word to his brother, only occasionally joining conversation with Elihu, who was sat beside him.

The silence was broken during the main course.

“Is there a Big Rafe Bodeen working here?” fired Woody, out of the blue.

“Why yes there is, he’s my overseer.  Why do you ask?” replied Caleb

“Why was he at Albert’s house recently, chasing Joe, shouting something about him stealing his money?” asked Woody, clearly fired up.

“Bodeen hasn’t left the plantation in weeks, he’s been way too busy to be running around the country chasin’ after that boy Joe.” Replied Caleb coolly.

“Joe and his family left the plantation a while back, not seen hide nor hair of them since.”

“Albert?  Care to tell Caleb who was at your door the other evening?” countered Woody, looking at his colleagues for back up.

Albert looking down at his plate whimpered “I don’t even know who Rafe Bodeen is, it was Joe who said it was him at the door.”

“Ha!” laughed Caleb, “see?  I told you that Joe was nothing but trouble! Anyway, who wants desert?”

“Not me” huffed Woody, annoyed at the silence of the others.  “We should be getting some rest, it has been a long day”

Woody stomped off upstairs, pausing slightly to see if anyone would follow him.  Mike excused himself and went outside for a cigarette.  Colorado remained at the table, excited by the thought of desert.

“Bastards” Woody muttered under his breath.

That night the investigators decided to all share the one room, rather than split themselves up.

The night passed uneventfully.  The following morning the investigators decided to take a look around downstairs in the study.  

Mike and Woody checked the bookcase where Albert had been searching the day before while Colorado kept watch on the door.

Five books caught Woody’s eye.

“Minutes of the Colleton County Agricultural Society”

The books seemed harmless enough, but on closer inspection it seemed that the covers where in fact fake.

Woody passed a book to Mike and started reading the first one he had come across.  

It was a translation of a book called “Cult of Kukulcan” from Spanish to English by a Findley Gist.  The book written by a Father Juan Martin faithfully describes the worship of Central American primitives and the study of their snake god Kukulcan.  

Although the good father dismissed the worship practices of the Indians as “the work of the devil” he was an accurate observer. The last chapter of the book describes “spells” to summon, contact, bind and call Kukulcan.

The book Mike read was a touch more distressing.  Labelled “Findley Gist’s Journal of Experiments” this foul work describes a series of ineffectual but lurid occult experiments performed upon unlucky slaves.

From eye gouging to fingernail removal on to extreme cases of bowel removal and intestines tied around victim’s waists. There was more, but Mike was turning an odd colour.

The pair where interrupted by Ben serving the morning coffee.  

After they had finished their coffees the group decided to take a walk around the surrounding area hoping to run into Rafe Bodeen and maybe find out exactly who was in the shed with the blue door.

The Swamp

They decided that Woody would attempt to keep the guards at the shed busy while Mike and Colorado circled round and listened in at the back.  On seeing that the area was swarming with sharecroppers that plan quickly dissipated and Mike decided to use bribery instead.  

Five dollars later and none the wiser the investigators regrouped at the edge of the swamp.

They decided to follow the path which apparently led to a small dock on the Edisto River.  About halfway down the track the investigators found a barely used trail heading off into the swamps.

They decided to investigate.  

After a few hours wading through the inhospitable terrain the group came across a small, raised clearing on which was a small stone hut.  In front of the hut, burning smokily was a small fire amidst a circle of large rocks.  A black man, sat in front of the fire, staring into the flames.  He wore a black coat without a shirt, a top hat and from his belt hung an odd metal hammer.

The group approached cautiously, but with their weapons by their sides.

“Good day” shouted Woody

The figure at the fire looked up, smiled and then disappeared as if made of smoke.

“What the….” Wondered the group in surprise.

Just then from behind a large Cypress tree walked the same figure they had just seen.

“Greetings” he said, with a beaming smile on his face, clearly bemused by the investigators shock.  “Please join me around my fire”

The investigators sat down as if compelled to do so.

“Are you the Obeah man from the Plantation?” they asked.

“Yes” replied the strange man. “Until recently I was living in the mansion alongside Caleb Gist.  When he knew his brother was coming and bringing companions he ordered me to withdraw to this shack and keep myself hidden.”

“Why would he do that?  What is he hiding?” asked Woody, hand on his pistol.

“It is not fate that brought you all here.  You serve a greater purpose.  Caleb Gist and his followers worship the great Yig, a serpent god far beyond your comprehension.  Over the years he has been holding ceremonies paying his respects to the Great Old One.  But recently it has been made aware that deep under the swamp in an ancient temple a sorceress named Saruuxia has been siphoning off the power generated by these ceremonies.”

“Yig commands that Saruuxia be destroyed.  Obey and succeed and you will be held in great regard by the Great Old One.”  Said the Obeah man, staring into the flames.

“What if we refuse?” queried Colorado

“Then you die a painful death” replied the Obeah man staring at Colorado, fire reflecting in his eyes.

Woody starting reached for his pistol holstered on his hip.  Until he noticed the snakes…..

Three enormous Cottonmouths slithered among the investigators legs as if from out of nowhere, sliding gracefully and silent through the group and circling the Obeah man.  White crescent shapes on the backs of their heads, much like the snake Colorado had shot at the day before.

“I’m in!” stammered Mike, to the shock of the others.

“Where do we find this ancient temple and sorceress?” asked Colorado, slightly shaken by the site of the massive reptiles.

“Her temple lies deep under the swamp, the exact location is unknown.  She will be at her most vulnerable tonight.  Caleb and his cult are holding a sacrifice in Yig’s name.  Rest assured that I will not allow any harm to come to Cassy.  But the sorceress has to be destroyed.”

Woody, paying closer attention to the Obeah man that the others, noticed a snake-like tongue flicker from the man’s mouth.  He tried his best to point this out to his colleagues without alerting the Obeah man, but they just assumed he was losing his mind.

“But how do we get under the swamp” asked Colorado again.

“Who knows?” replied the Obeah man “perhaps something will open up for you”

Scared and a little confused the group left the clearing

They decided to search the area a little more hopefully finding a way under the swamp to the temple.

After wondering in the swamp for an hour or so they came across a small stone altar in a clearing due south of the Obeah man’s shack.  Searching the area they found nothing that might aid them in their quest to find the temple or any way under the swamp.

While searching Mike heard a loud scream, cut short.  

“Quick! This way” he shouted running off towards the river.

Down on the river bank they saw a thin, scrawny woman on her knees apparently holding something under the dark, murky water.

“Hey! What are you doing?” Shouted Woody

Coming closer they could see it was in fact a women holding a small child under the water in an attempt to drown it.

Woody ran at the woman trying in vain to get her to let go of the boy.  Colorado raised his shotgun, scanning the woods.  Mike quickly raised his rifle, firing a warning shot into the air.

The woman slowly rose to her feet and turned to face the group.  Its expressionless face and sunken features, similar to those of the beast that attacked them on the train.

Her throat though was slit open, revealing severed arteries and destroyed vocal cords. Maggot infested as though the wound had been laying open for days. Her fingers worn down to bony points, skin and nails missing as if chewed off by hungry vermin.

This sight alone caused Mike to fall to his knees, clutching at his eyes.

“I'm blind!” he roared, falling face-first into the mud on the river bank.

“Help me!”

The feral woman turned and swung a wicked, clawed hand at Colorado, missing by mere millimetres.

Woody, quickest to recover, raised his double barrelled shotgun intent on cutting the creature in two.  But in his haste he fired his rounds off prematurely catching the beast in the leg, tearing flesh and bone alike.

Colorado also fired his shotgun, catching his foe a glancing blow in the abdomen.

The creature, still standing flung a fist out catching Colorado on the side of the head, sending him reeling and with one last burst of unholy energy leapt at Woody determined to rip his throat out.

Woody barely managed to deflect the woman's wicked talons with the butt of his shotgun, sending the creature onto its back in the mud.

Standing on its damaged leg to stop it wriggling, Woody reloaded his shotgun, aiming it at the woman's head.

"Time for the Boston Ball-Buster err Brain-Buster" he corrected himself noticing the woman's lack of balls.  

And with a well placed shot he fired both barrels point-blank into the creatures head, showering everyone nearby with brains and skull fragments.

"MA!" yelled Joe, running over to cradle the destroyed corpse of his mother in his arms.

Mike, still blinded was lying on the ground holding his eyes and moaning.  Colorado and Woody tried to calm him down with soothing words and liquor.

A few minutes later once everyone had calmed down, Woody confronted Joe.  

"What are you doing back here Joe?  I thought you had gone off with Reverend Hillson?"

"I was worried about my Ma,  I came back to the plantation to find her, but all I found was this!" He cried pointing at the remains of his mother.

It was then that Woody noticed a white crescent shape under Joe's right arm.  He started to load his shotgun.

"What the hell is that!" he shouted, pointing at the mark under Joe's arm.  "What do you know about the serpent god?"

"I don't know nuthin'" screamed Joe, crying again.  "I found it under my arm at about the same time I started getting those weird dreams.  I don't know nuthin' I swears it."

"This is getting too odd for my liking." Mumbled Colorado "I think we should just burn the place down and run"

"Who said that?" wondered Mike feebly