Session 1 — Mystery 1, Part 1

What Happened

The session opens on a woman — Cathy Cranfield — soothing her fussing baby, Lilybelle Cranfield, while her husband Joseph Cranfield sleeps in a chair and their son Artemis Cranfield sleeps by the fire. She puts Lilybelle in a cradle behind a curtain, but the baby's cries seem to come from outside. Cathy opens the door to darkness — then turns back to find the baby safely in her husband's arms. A bad dream, or something else?

A few nights later, the gang reconvenes at The Randy Saloon. Alfie is playing piano when a brawl breaks out between a father and his two teenage sons squaring off against another man over what sounds like a land dispute. Alfie shifts tempo to try to cool the room. Cuthbert puts himself between the fighters and takes a bottle slash across the shirt (fortunately, chest plate). Dr Webb calmly talks down the father and sons, who leave with a threat: "Let's solve this another night. We now know where he sleeps."

The man Cuthbert saved is Joseph Cranfield — a man in his thirties with a full beard. His family moved to Hole about a month ago and built a homestead North of town. His wife is Cathy; his children are Artemis (school-aged, taught by Ms March) and Lilybelle (ten months, has a cough). Their nearest neighbours are the Durgin family, who believe the Cranfields killed one of their pigs. The Cranfields say the Durgins have been terrorising them ever since they arrived.

Dan Randy chides Alfie for not wearing the Randy's house hat. Ms March says Dewey ate it. Dan serves Ms March unwatered-down whiskey.

The gang promises to visit the Cranfield property the next morning to investigate.

Overnight, Cuthbert's magic pocketwatch vibrates — a message from the Order: "The youngest Durgin must never produce offspring." Cuthbert writes back asking whether castration is on the table. He receives no reply.

The next morning, Ms March rides ahead to the Cranfields' alone — Dewey is constipated from the hat and can't go fast. The others eat Dan Randy's pancake buffet (Alfie at a 10% discount) and hitch a ride with Inkwell Girtle in his cramped mining cart, after Dr Webb agrees to examine a rash on Inkwell's butt.

At the Cranfield homestead, Ms March finds a tired Cathy at the door with Lilybelle on her hip. The house is neat and well-tended with a small garden and free-range chickens. Ms March settles Lilybelle and snoops for human footprints outside — finding none from outsiders, but discovering large paw prints in an arc around the house, widely spaced, heading North towards the mountains.

The rest of the team arrives (past the considerable evidence of Dewey's digestive distress). Cuthbert examines the tracks with his ancient sword — and by lying down next to them. The prints match creatures described in the Order's bestiary: walking on all fours, long stride, multiple individuals — possibly howlers. Not werewolves.

Dr Webb treats Lilybelle with his magic balm, soothing her cough to coos, and promises to check in again. Ms March shoots a rattlesnake lurking in the bushes and fashions its rattle into a baby toy. Dr Webb pockets the venom to attempt antivenom.

The team rides to the Durgin homestead — large, dilapidated, cobbled together from different woods, with animal traps laid every ten feet around the perimeter. A gun pokes out of a smashed window. Patriarch Hamish Durgin demands they disarm. The team negotiates: they'll put down the long guns but Ms March keeps Sunday Morning, and Luke Durgin — the eldest Durgin son — comes outside to talk while scopes stay trained.

Luke is beefy, pockmarked, and filthy. Hamish originally had ten sons. Only two remain: Luke and Richie Durgin. The team offers condolences; Hamish tells them to shut up. The Durgins' pig was slashed up; some blood remains on the ground but they've already eaten it. The session ends abruptly when Ms March accidentally asks Luke about his butt, and a gun fires from the house.

The Mystery

Clues Found

• Large paw prints in an arc around the Cranfield Homestead, heading North towards the mountains
• Creatures walk on all fours (rules out werewolves); wide, long stride; more than one — possibly howlers per Cuthbert's Order bestiary
• No human footprints outside the Cranfield house besides the family's own
• Cathy Cranfield heard whistling ("She'll Be Coming Round the Mountain") from the direction of the Durgins the previous night — possibly summoning the creatures back?
• Animal traps laid every ten feet around the Durgin property
• Order message to Cuthbert: "The youngest Richie Durgin must never produce offspring"
• The Durgins' pig was slashed up (not killed cleanly — doesn't fit a normal prank; also, pigs aren't killed at night)

Outcome

Unresolved.

Key Characters Met

Loose Threads

• Order message: Richie Durgin must never produce offspring — why?
• What made the paw prints around the Cranfield house? Investigate North towards the mountains
• Follow up on the Durgins — session ended with a gunshot
• Dr Webb owes Inkwell Girtle a proper butt exam
• What happened to Hamish Durgin's other eight sons?
• Was the Durgin whistling meant to summon the creatures back?

Moves & Highlights

• Alfie — shifted piano tempo mid-brawl to try to calm the room
• Cuthbert — physically stepped into the fight; took a bottle slash, survived thanks to chest plate; received the Order's cryptic message about Richie Durgin; lay down next to the paw prints to measure them
• Dr Webb — de-escalated with calm reasoning ("there is room for everyone"); treated Lilybelle Cranfield with his magic balm; extracted the rattlesnake's venom for antivenom research
• Ms March — rode ahead to the Cranfields alone; shot a rattlesnake with her Winchester repeater (it exploded) and made a baby rattle from it

XP & Advances

• XP gained:
• Advances taken:

Notes

Memorable quotes:

MS MARCH: Don't you ever tell that man what his name means.

MS MARCH: Is this our business?
CUTHBERT: I'm going to make it our business.

MS MARCH: They're weird but harmless.

MS MARCH: A woman wielding a shotgun in one hand and a baby on her hip in another. This is the greatest country in the world.
(sheds a single patriotic tear)

HAMISH DURGIN: What did you feed that thing?
MS MARCH: A little hat.

ALFIE: I will keep my ears open and my nose shut.

CUTHBERT: So are you taking bets on this or what?

MS MARCH: I don't understand why y'all chasing ghosts.
CUTHBERT: Well, first of all, it's fun…

Other notes:

• Cuthbert has not heard of Germany
• Dewey is constipated from eating Alfie's Randy Saloon hat
• Dr Webb made a mental note to attempt a prank
• The team is still deciding whether to tell Dan Randy what "randy" means
• Cuthbert's solution to property disputes: piss in a line