Session 7 — Mystery 3, Part 3

What Happened

The Arrival at Noon

Three scruffy, dirty-looking people ride into Hole. The leader is dressed in stolen finery — presumably Jed Hatchett, confirmed later by Ms March. Alongside him rides a younger version of himself, presumably Cord Hatchett, and a snarling, broad-shouldered woman with a build resembling an evil cheerleader or gymnast, presumably Crystal Hatchett. The team does not meet any of the three within the session.

The trio rides to the sheriff's tent. Jed dismounts, pulls back the tent flap, and looks inside. He sees the empty cage. He shoots the snoozing Coot O'Dougal in the head.

BRENDAN: Now I'll never find out how old he is!
NAT: He's doing the big sleep now.

Sheriff Coot O'Dougal is dead.

Shadows move outside the Randy Saloon as other Hatchett gang members stalk the sides of the building, searching for Earl.

Preparing for the Fight

Upstairs, Merv sees Ms March looking out the window and advises her and Cuthbert to run. Then Merv suddenly becomes calm and goes slack.

CUTHBERT: Merv, Merv, what are they doing? How do you know that they're there?

(Can Merv sense the location of other gang members?)

Ms March heads downstairs, passing Belinda and Dan Randy on the way.

Doctor Webb overturns all the tables in the bar area for cover and hides behind one with his varmint rifle. Alfie borrows Dan Randy's shotgun and stands behind the bar.

Dan Randy became a pacifist after the war.

Cuthbert tries to gather blood from Merv for a spell but notices that Merv is not bleeding as much as expected — a blown-off toe should generate more blood than this.

MS MARCH: Dan, you may want to head upstairs and barricade yourself.
DAN RANDY: You're not going to put yourself in harm's way, are you?
MS MARCH: Of course I am, Dan Randy!

Ms March lines up four whisky shots on the bar. Alfie drinks one of them, unaware that Ms March intended these for the Hatchetts.

The Attack

Thundering footsteps storm up the external staircase. Two gun blasts ring out simultaneously — one upstairs, one at ground level. The downstairs kitchen door is busted through. An entrance upstairs is also shot up.

MS MARCH, calling to the Hatchetts: You just had to knock!

Two more simultaneous gun blasts. Retta emerges from the downstairs kitchen. Her face is slack. She does not react to Ms March's offer of whisky.

Upstairs, two people burst in and head towards Merv's room, heads down and guns drawn. One of them is Max — she has Cuthbert's full attention as it is clear he is attempting to interfere with what she wants. Max enters the room with an older man — a new recruit or hired hand that Ms March has not met before.

Ms March does not like being ignored. She stands on a chair and fires Sunday Morning upward through the balcony floor above her.

MAX, looking through the new hole in the floor: I'll deal with you later.

NAT: What do I want to say? It has to be something cool. FUCK.
MS MARCH: You will deal with me now!

Alfie vs. Retta

Downstairs, Retta does not react to having a shotgun pointed at her.

RETTA: Now do you want to tell me where Earl is?

Alfie protests that he does not know where Earl is but admits Earl was at the saloon earlier.

ALFIE: If you move, I will shoot you.
NAT: Ms March is both proud of you and pissed off she doesn't get to shoot first.
ALFIE: Du musst dich abkühlen.

Alfie shoots Retta square in the stomach. She shows little fear or pain. Retta shoots Alfie — he is now incredibly hurt. He ducks behind the bar.

ALFIE: Bitch.

Doctor Webb uses his reassuring calming tones to inform Retta that Earl is not in the building. Upon hearing this, Retta turns to leave. Ms March immediately shoots her with Sunday Morning, inflicting terrible harm — blasting her left back shoulder. Retta stumbles forward and turns around to shoot Ms March back. She hits. Then Retta leaves.

DUNCAN: Something is wrong with these people.
SEAN: Yeah. We should set her on fire.

Merv and Max

Upstairs, Merv and Max both react strangely when the gunshots go off below — both go stumbly. The hired hand, who stayed outside the room, has less of a reaction. The cousins exchange looks. There is clearly a battle going on in Merv's mind.

Max and Merv begin to walk in unison. Merv looks to Cuthbert pleadingly.

Max shoots Merv in the head. Merv is dead.

Cuthbert's Shot

Cuthbert considers summoning a monster — a howler, perhaps — but magic of this strength would take too long solo. He pulls out the 45 Colt he does not fully understand. He cycles through his options: chalk for a spell, then his sword, then back to the gun. He puts himself in the hands of the fates. Remembering Ms March's advice to always point the firearm away from yourself, he shoots. He burns a Luck point.

Cuthbert shoots Max square in the throat — inflicting twice the usual harm. Max's throat explodes outwards.

Outside the room, the hired hand flinches. Despite being unable to see each other, Max and the hired hand bring out their guns and shoot at Cuthbert in perfect unison.

Cuthbert burns his second Luck point and dives off the balcony. He briefly blacks out but avoids all harm from the gunfire. He lands in the bar area with the rest of the team.

The End of Retta

Doctor Webb burns his second Luck point to avoid accidentally killing Alfie while treating him. He uses his Healing Balm to successfully stabilise and partially heal Alfie.

DOCTOR WEBB: The team has not slept and may expect to take more damage from a further fight — but the balm will help a little for now.
ALFIE: Thank you, Doctor Webb.

Meanwhile, Retta is moving slower than before — staggering away. Ms March pursues and shoots her again with Sunday Morning, blowing her jaw off. Retta stumbles to the ground and falls.

At the exact moment Retta collapses, two thuds sound from the balcony inside. Max and the hired hand have also fallen dead — simultaneously.

Ms March shoots Retta in the head to make certain. The head explodes. She then shoots off one of Retta's big toes — so she and Merv match.

Ms March runs back inside.

The Aftermath

Cuthbert uses blood magic to heal his injuries — draws a circle of blood, then snorts it off the ground. His wound cleans up and closes.

(Ms March witnesses all of the above but her brain does not register it.)

Doctor Webb's preliminary examination of Max and the hired hand yields no results. He cannot determine why they died at the moment Retta fell outside. The question hangs in the air.

Ms March looks out of a window for further gang members. She sees none. The street outside is quiet. Curtain twitchers peer from their windows, checking whether it is safe to come out. Ms March signals them to stay inside.

Dan Randy, Belinda, Fine, and Ellie Mae emerge from their cover.

Belinda is unsure what just happened but thinks the team has taken down the Hatchetts. She claps Alfie on the arm in congratulation.

ALFIE: Ow!
DAN RANDY to Alfie: Ms March — is she okay?

Alfie reassures Dan Randy that Ms March is okay, for now.

Brain Investigation

Alfie and Cuthbert, both bloodied, swap notes on what they each witnessed — including what Cuthbert saw happen to Merv. The hired hand dying even though no one attacked him directly is striking.

CUTHBERT: Alfie, how are you with gore? Because I'm going to need your help with something nasty.

(Alfie looks at his own acid-burned hand.)

CUTHBERT: Alright, grab a couple of breadknives and meet me upstairs.

To investigate the suspected mental connection between the gang, Cuthbert and Alfie cut open the heads of Max and the hired hand to access their brains. Alfie successfully cuts through the skulls while keeping his limited magic senses active.

ALFIE: I guess piano hands can also be surgeon hands.

Alfie feels a familiar pull towards the two brains. His magic is drawn towards the skulls. He drops the knife and steps back — something is there, but he is not certain it is safe for him specifically to investigate further.

CUTHBERT: If this works, what should we ask it?

Cuthbert puts his hands into both brains as if they are gloves. He successfully makes contact — sensing a wide-reaching connection. While no longer connected to the Hatchett gang, a presence remains within the brains. The reply to his question is not spoken: it is simply dropped into his head.

CUTHBERT: Where are you?
PRESENCE: E V E R Y W H E R E.

Cuthbert is abruptly ejected from both brains but is not hurt.

The Barn

Ms March and Doctor Webb step out onto the quiet street. A tumbleweed rolls by.

DOCTOR WEBB: It's quiet…
ALFIE (from inside): Too quiet… Do you think they have Earl?

Three horses are hitched outside the barn by the Randy Saloon. Ms March recognises them as the steeds ridden by the three who arrived at noon.

The curtain twitchers silently signal asking whether it is safe to come out. Ms March signals them to stay inside.

Doctor Webb steps in front of Ms March to give her cover as she assesses the situation. She cannot discern anything. Together they head to the barn and unlatch the heavy door — a two-person job.

The afternoon light illuminates four bodies.

Three of the Hatchett gang have collapsed. They have surrounded Earl.

Earl is kneeling in the centre of the circle. He has been shot in the head. Blood pools around him.

Earl is dead.

The Mystery

Clues Found

• Sheriff Coot O'Dougal was shot dead by a Hatchett gang member at the sheriff's tent — the empty cage was what triggered it
• Retta showed no fear or pain when shot; her face was slack and unresponsive; she was notably slower after being severely wounded
• Max and the hired hand acted in perfect unison — raising guns at the same moment, without being able to see each other
• When Retta died outside, Max and the hired hand died simultaneously upstairs — two thuds at the same moment
• Cuthbert sensed a wide-reaching connection in Max's and the hired hand's brains — a presence still there even after death
• The presence's response to "where are you?": E V E R Y W H E R E
• Earl was found dead in the barn — kneeling, shot in the head, surrounded by three collapsed Hatchett gang members
• Merv was not bleeding as expected before the fight — a blown-off toe should produce more blood

Outcome

The Hatchett Gang — Resolved (the gang is defeated). The mine entity is an open thread.

Key Characters Met

Loose Threads

• The boy near the mines North of Hole still needs to be retrieved (To be resolved in the break between sessions — the party has a general idea of the location)
• What is the presence that said "EVERYWHERE" in Max and the hired hand's brains?
• What is the pulsating hum in the mines? What happened to August March?
• What are the implications of the connection between the gang members (simultaneous deaths, perfect unison)?
• Ms March aims to source semiautomatic guns for Colin Whipsmart — future thread

Moves & Highlights

• Alfie — borrowed Dan Randy's shotgun; held the line behind the bar; confronted Retta at gunpoint ("Du musst dich abkühlen"); shot her in the stomach; took return fire and went down badly; recovered via Doctor Webb's balm; assisted Cuthbert's brain investigation with piano-hand precision
• Cuthbert — tried to collect Merv's blood for a spell (too little); witnessed Merv's death; cycled through options (howler / chalk / sword / gun) and chose the Colt; burned a Luck point to shoot Max through the throat (double harm); burned his second Luck point to dive off the balcony and survive the return fire; investigated the brains with Alfie; made contact with the "EVERYWHERE" presence
• Doctor Webb — overturned all tables for cover; held the bar with the varmint rifle; convinced Retta to leave by telling her Earl wasn't there; burned his second Luck point to avoid killing Alfie during treatment; stabilised Alfie with Healing Balm; led the investigation of Max and the hired hand's bodies; stepped in front of Ms March to give cover outside; found Earl in the barn
• Ms March — lined up whisky shots for the Hatchetts (Alfie drank one); fired Sunday Morning through the floor at Max; demanded Max deal with her now; shot Retta twice — terrible harm, then jaw off, then head and toe; came back in to find Cuthbert snorting blood circles off the floor (her brain did not register this); stepped out with Doctor Webb and discovered Earl's body

XP & Advances

• XP gained: +2 (solved the mystery; saved someone — the kid in the cave; learned something new about the world — the mine's haunted; learned something new about the Hunters' secrets and backstories — Ms March wants information about what went down with the Hatchetts and her brother in the mines)
• Advances taken:

Notes

Memorable quotes:

BRENDAN: Now I'll never find out how old he is!
NAT: He's doing the big sleep now.

MS MARCH: You just had to knock!

NAT: What do I want to say? It has to be something cool. FUCK.
MS MARCH: You will deal with me now!

ALFIE: Du musst dich abkühlen.
(Translation: "You must cool yourself")

ALFIE: Bitch.

DUNCAN: Something is wrong with these people.
SEAN: Yeah. We should set her on fire.

ALFIE: Ow!
(after Belinda clapped him on the arm to congratulate him)

DAN RANDY: Ms March, is she okay?

ALFIE: I guess piano hands can also be surgeon hands.

PRESENCE: E V E R Y W H E R E.

DOCTOR WEBB: It's quiet…
ALFIE: Too quiet… Do you think they have Earl?

Closing credits (lyrics: Nat / tune: Billy Joel)

🎵 open his head, Mr piano hands 🎵
🎵 surgeon his skull this noon 🎵
🎵 cause we're all spending luck 🎵
🎵 may be totally fucked 🎵
🎵 but this may yet not be our doooooom 🎵
(la da da dee da da...)

Other notes:

• Dan Randy is a pacifist — became one after the war
• Alfie drank one of Ms March's four intended Hatchett whisky shots unknowingly
• Cuthbert remembered to point the Colt away from himself before firing — applying Ms March's advice from Session 6 (probably)
• Ms March watched Cuthbert snort blood circles off the floor and her brain simply did not engage with this information
• The Randy Saloon piano has a hidden whiskey compartment; this session nobody needed it
• Dan Randy is the last remaining character from the saloon who knew about the gang and survived — Coot, Merv, Earl, and all the Hatchetts are dead by end of session