(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.