Episode I: RoadworkBackground:
Our campaign pilot takes place in and around Sam's Diner, off Highway 117 bordering the Kisatchie National Forest and some twenty miles south of Provencal, La. The characters have been driven independantly to Sam's Diner, seeking shelter from some terrible weather that's spun off from a hurricane now moving up through nearby Galveston, Texas.
ACT I, SCENE I:
The scene begins with Angelita already seated in a booth at the diner grabbing a quick bite before continuing on down the road through the storm, hoping to outrun the worst of it. Dusty Wiggins and Randy Thomas are just walking through the door to get out of the weather and they grab a booth as well. All fail to notice the Punk nervously trying to work himself up to robbing the place in the back corner booth. In a booth one away from Angelita sits the Preacher, quietly nursing a cup of coffee. Behind the counter, the Waitress and Sam the Cook.
Almost immediately the Crazy in the opposite corner, who's acted a little strangely already, pushes aside his untouched house special, buries his face in his hands and starts crying quietly. After a moment he begins getting a little louder and can be heard mumbling something incomprehensible to himself.
Angelita decides to put aside her meal and approach the man to see if she can help. Dusty and Randy begin to take notice and watch, in case the Crazy starts making trouble. Luther King then arrives and approaches the counter to order a coffee to go, walking past Angelita. He takes note of what's going on as well. The Crazy is now getting louder, crying openly and say something about, "No, I won't...I won't..."
Angelita makes a second attempt to initiate conversation with the Crazy, still maintaining a healthy distance. He finally begins responding to her though he isn't making much sense. Angelita is able to make out something about someone wanting Crazy to do "something bad" or perhaps wanting him to "come out to him". Luther attempts to discreetly advise the waitress to call the cops or something but Crazy picks up on it and suddenly becomes agitated. He stands up and staggers to the door to leave, then turns to grasp the doorframe and start crying again. While Angelita continues to try to talk the man down Dusty gets up and comes around, advising the "feller" to sit down and "hush up now" as he's upsettin' folk. This backfires, causing Crazy to lash out verbally at Dusty before beginning to bang his head repeatedly on the doorframe and babbling incoherently.
The Preacher stands and begins to pitch in with Angelita in the attempt to talk the man down before he hurts himself but they both fail and the Crazy's behavior continues to escalate. Dusty nods to Randy, who's since moved in closer, and the two initiate combat to wrestle the man to the floor before he injures himself or hurts anyone else.
Both get a good grip on the man, who immediately starts screaming and fighting to get loose. Shaking them both off, the Crazy immediately goes for Dusty. In the attempt to shake loose from the counter-attack Dusty fumbles, slips on a french fry and falls on his butt. Randy intervenes before the Crazy can take advantage of the situation and levels two solid strikes with his Brawler asset. The Crazy responds by coming after Randy, grappling and then biting him. Randy shakes him lose and drops him with a final punch to the jaw.
As soon as Crazy grunts and slips to the floor, the Punk in the back is on his feet waving a handgun and yelling at everyone to get down on the floor. Dusty picks himself up off the floor carefully while Angelita and the Preacher now turn and try to talk the would-be robber down. Sam the Cook, having already moved closer to the handgun stashed near the cash register, whips it out now to threaten the Punk. The Punk, startled, opens fire but misses the Cook by a country mile. Unbeknownst to anyone yet, a stray bullet strikes the Preacher in the gut. Sam the Cook returns fire and drops the Punk with a shot to the leg.
As the Punk hits the linoleum Luther sweeps forward and disarms him, leaving the Punk to scream and cry that he's been shot. The Waitress dives for the phone and calls the sheriff. Angelita immediately asks the Cook for a first aid kit to treat the Punk. Once she's snatched it up she heads over and performs First Aid on him. Meanwhile, the Preacher's legs finally buckle and he hits his knees, grasping his stomach and making it clear to everyone that he's caught a stray bullet in the short gunfight. Luther requests that the Waitress call for an ambulance as well and Angelita successful completes First Aid on the punk.
Felicity pulls up outside, exits her car and dashes through the front door to get out of the weather. Once inside she's a bit shocked at all the goings on but pitches in quickly to help administer First Aid to the Preacher. Randy grabs a towel from behind the counter to bind the Crazy's hands behind his back while he's still KO, so that he doesn't wake up and instigate any further trouble. The Waitress wraps up her quick call to the sheriff and dials up the ambulance service in the next town over.
When the Waitress reports there's a tree down between here and there, blocking the ambulance from reaching them until it's cleared, Luther relays through her that they'll bring the two wounded men there directly in his SUV. The dispatcher on the other end advises against moving the wounded by vehicle with the bad weather outside but Luther insists. He begins organizing things a bit, tapping Dusty to help him move the Preacher first once the girls are done tending to him.
Luther and Dusty then work together to get the Preacher gingerly to his feet and shuffling for the front door...when the lights, both inside the diner and in the parking lot, suddenly go out. Everyone is plunged into total darkness.
ACT I, SCENE II:
The Cook is quick to assure everyone that's not unexpected with the weather the way it is. There's a generator out back, he says, and will have the power back on in a moment. He leaves to tend to that out the back door. Luther and Dusty decide to head on out to the parking lot anyway, expecting the lights to come back on in a moment. A few steps outside they realize they can't see anything at all but Luther successfully Recalls the location of his SUV, so they head for it anyway.
Out back the Cook is already being murdered by the Wendigo.
Luther and Dusty reach the SUV, open the door and turn on the headlights to light up the diner. They put the wounded Preacher in the back as gently seat as possible and head back to diner to get the Punk and the Crazy. Inside they decide to get the Crazy first, leaving the Punk to cry and whine, then head for the door again. The Waitress curses the Cook, who still hasn't got the lights back on, grabs the only flashlight in the place from under the counter and heads out back to give him the flashlight and a piece of her mind. Before Luther and Dusty can get to the door hauling the still unconscious Crazy guy, three guns shots ring out from the nearby SUV. No one can see what's going on out in the dark beyond the glare of the headlights.
Everyone hits the deck until they're sure the gunfire has stopped, then Randy calls out to the Preacher who responds that they shouldn't come out there. At the same time the Waitress issues a sharp cry from out back, then comes running to report, "There's blood out there and I can't find Sam!"
Luther still has the light pistol he took from the Punk, so he decides to head out and check on the Preacher taking Dusty with him. Randy and Felicity take the flashlight from the Waitress and head for the back to check on the cook.
This leaves Angelita to watch over the Punk and the Crazy, finishing restraining him for Randy, until she realizes she's been left almost alone. She panics and dashes for the back to join Randy, Felicity and the Waitress, leaving the Punk alone instead.
After running out to the SUV Luther and Dusty find the Preacher with a handgun, apparently having shot out the passenger window. He advises them to get back inside because, "Something's out here". There's a short altercation between the Preacher and Dusty, who tries to take the gun from him. Luther convinces him to give it up (but keeps it rather than giving it to Dusty) and he stays with the Preacher while Dusty goes to see what's going on in the diner. Luther and Dusty now don't like each other much.
Out back the three PC's and the Waitress find copious amounts of blood and clear signs of a struggle near the generator, although the rain blowing in under the roof out there is already washing it away. The generator also seems to have been savaged and pulled apart or perhaps damaged in the struggle. The Cook is nowhere to be found but Randy spots his handgun lying nearby. He takes it. The Waitress is nearly hysterical by now and insists they go out and find Sam but Angelita talks her into rejoining the rest of the group first, considering the potential threat the blood splatters seem to suggest.
The group heads back through the diner, reporting what they've found when they meet up with Dusty. They head all out to Luther to report, leaving Angelita to watch the Punk and the Waitress. Angelita then notices the Preacher's satchel in the booth. She secures it but decides not to rifle through it just yet.
Outside Luther decides that he, Felicity and Dusty will take the wounded down the road in his SUV with everyone else following in Angelita's car. He convinces the group to go along with that and stays with the Preacher while the rest head inside to bring out the Punk and the Crazy. Luther drops 2 PP on the Perception check but fails to detect the Wendigo lacing the road with caltrops.
ACT II, SCENE I:
The rest of the group loads up the whining Punk and the still unconscious Crazy, tossing the Crazy in the back of the SUV. Luther gets behind the wheel, Felicity and Dusty climb in and they all drive off for the road. Angelita, Randy and the Waitress climb into Angelita's car with her and set off to follow Luther. Angelita is delayed persuading the Waitress to go along, as she's still insisting they all go find the Cook. Eventually she agrees to go and deliver the badly wounded two men to the paramedics down the road, then return with the police.
Luther, driving in the lead, fails to notice the caltrops and immediately blows out both front tires out on the road. Angelita's crew pull up and jump out to help. While everyone is still moving forward to examine the tires and the road the Wendigo whisks in behind, stealthily pops the back hatch of the SUV and snatches up the unconscious Crazy out without being noticed. He's gone before anyone of the PC's can spot him. The Preacher hears the rustling but is unable to crane his head around in time to spot the Wendigo (being gut shot). The Punk does however and immediately starts screaming bloody murder. This calls everyone's attention to the SUV, where the Preacher is now yelling for them to get back inside the vehicle claiming, "It's here!" Luther, Felicity and Dusty immediately notice the popped back hatch and perhaps catch a glimpse of something making off into the darkness. The Preacher insists something took the Crazy guy into the dark but admits he didn't see it and the Punk is too busy freaking out to provide details as to what the heck just happened. It appears to everyone else that the Crazy simply woke up and escaped.
Checking the tires, Dusty steps on a caltrop takes a light hit to the foot (and calling everyone's attention to the caltrops). He successfully Resists the urushiol oil pitch the Wendigo's coated it with fortunately. The Preacher begins insisting there's a Wendigo running around killing people and that they need get the heck out of there, with the Punk pitching in with vague descriptions of a monster that snatched the Crazy guy. They finally start to panic the Waitress who's already still upset about Sam the Cook. The PC's decide that whatever the heck is going on, getting the heck out of there seems to proper solution.
Luther and Dusty decide to walk ahead of the Angelita's car, kicking caltrops off the road by the headlights, while everyone else piles into Angelita's car (the Punk in back with the Waitress and the Preacher up front with Angelita). Angelita gives the Waitress the flashlight to shine around in order to give her something to focus on, as well as hopefully keeping whoever or whatever is out in the dark at bay. Immediately it becomes clear there's no room for Dusty, Randy and Felicity in the car so everyone but the two wounded men stop and pile out to fetch Dusty's truck as well.
The Waitress is immediately nabbed while waiting near Angelita's car for everyone to get organized. The PC's can hear her scream in terror as the Wendigo snatches her but Angelita, grabbing the flashlight where it fell, fails the Agility + Athletics check to catch sight of them on the other side of the truck before they disappear. Nevertheless, everyone gets a brief glimpse of someone/something tall, vaguely humanoid and grayish hitting the woods with the screaming Waitress tossed over one shoulder. Her screams continue for only a few moments, receding rapidly in the woods before suddenly stopping.
The PC's are properly freaked out now and move quickly to load up in Angelita's car and Dusty's truck. Angelita dives into her car with the two wounded men and starts it up again. Randy pulls the truck up behind with Felicity in the back shining the flashlight frantically around. Dusty and Luther move as quickly as they can, both now armed with pistols, clearing the road for the next hundred feet until they're sure there aren't any more caltrops. Once they've jumped into the back of Angelita's car, they all hit the road and get the hell out of there.
ACT II, SCENE II:
Angelita finally gets the chance to fully interrogate the Preacher on the five mile drive to the fallen tree that's blocking the route to the ambulance. From him she learns about the Wendigo in the area and that he's come to stop it. However, he didn't expect to be shot by a robber and caught with his Hunting gear still in back of his station wagon. Weak and fearing he may not make it to the ambulance, the Preacher fills her in on the Wendigo and begs her to stop it before it kills anyone else. After conveying his passionate plea he promptly passes out.
The PC's reach the blocked road and find the two volunteer firemen clearing the downed tree with a chainsaw, though they seem to be having trouble in the rain. They find the ambulance already waiting on the other side but a drop off on one side of the road and a steep incline on the other make it impossible to get the wounded around to them easily. A paramedic finally comes across on foot, climbing the debris with what gear he can carry, to check on them and begin treating both.
After roughly fifteen minutes the tree is still blocking the road but the paramedic announces the two men relatively stable for now, advising they'll just have to wait until the road's clear enough to get them to the ambulance. Soon after the Sheriff finally arrives, pulling up behind Dusty's truck with the light bar atop the cruiser flashing. The intimidating Sheriff exits the vehicle, approaches and soon has the PC's lined up under his flashlight for questioning. From him they learned he's already stopped by the diner long enough to realize something major went down there and he's intent on having some answers forthwith. The PC's all note the Sheriff seems unusually aggressive. Completely pissed off, even.
When the Sheriff spots a handgun tucked into the waistband of Dusty's jeans he soon has the PC's under his gun and lined up against his cruiser. He secures the pistols he finds on Dusty and Luther, as well as the stun gun from Angelita's purse and Luther's lock picks. Turning them around he continues with the interrogation after calling quickly for backup. During the course of the questioning the Sheriff behaves very strangely, even cursing and laughing inappropriately at times. Eventually he has the whole story of what has occurred up to this point, at which time another cruiser pulls up behind his. By now the volunteer firemen have cleared the road enough for the paramedics to transfer the Preacher and the Punk to the ambulance. The Sheriff then leaves the PC's under the gun of his deputy, and makes off to question those two before the paramedics haul them away.
After a few minutes the Sheriff returns, claiming the Preacher and the Punk fingered them for causing all the trouble and places the lot of them under arrest. Working together he and his deputy cuff the PC's and divide them up between the two cruisers for transport back the station. Angelita and Felicity, in the cruiser with the Sheriff, are witness to further disturbing behavior on his part as he begins chanting, "It's time. Oh, yes. Time has come. Gonna get me some. Gonna get me sooome..." Attempts to engage him in conversation by Angelita result in a frighteningly over the top response, with the Sheriff slamming the dividing glass with one fist and screaming for her to shut up.
At the sheriff's station the PC's are tossed into cells before being uncuffed. The Sheriff leaves the deputy on duty there to watch over them and departs again with the previous deputy, heading for the diner to conduct a proper investigation. After he's gone the PC's don't have any luck questioning the man on duty as he doesn't seem to know anything at all about what's going on and is clearly a little confused himself. When the PC's attempt to point out that the Sheriff doesn't seem to be following protocol here, the deputy cuts them off and it becomes clear to all that he's completely intimidated by the Sheriff.
After a little more than an hour the weather has finally let up a little outside, though it's still raining and pitch black out. The Sheriff finally returns...without the other deputy. When questioned by the officer on duty he claims, laughing inappropriately again, that the other deputy went on vacation. Before the deputy can inquire further the Sheriff soon has him cuffing the PC's again and they're escorted back outside the station and into separate cruisers yet again. The Sheriff ignores questions and the Deputy clearly doesn't know what's going on, so the PC's are left in the dark.
Presently the two cruisers pull up by the road across from the diner again. There the Sheriff has everyone out of the cars, still cuffed, and the two law officers are soon herding them into the woods, apparently following a trail only the Sheriff can see. The PC's attempt to communicate a rough plan of action to get themselves the hell away from the psycho Sheriff but a shotgun butt to the back of Luther's head convinces them to remain quiet for now. Presently they arrive at an old abandoned shack, deep in the woods.
Once there the Sheriff has the PC's arranged roughly in a circle around he and the deputy, shoving Felicity forward and knocking her to the ground in the direction of the shack. Now the Sheriff has officially flipped completely out, yelling at the shack and barely making any sense. The PC's manage to pick up that the Sheriff is trying to get someone or something within to come out where he can shoot 'em. "Ain't you hungry? I know you are! You're always huuuuungreeeh!" After a couple of minutes of mad raving the Sheriff starts leveling occasional shotgun blasts into the side of the shack. During the chaos Randy manages to hear what seem to be faint cries from help coming from somewhere beneath the old shack.
Finally the Sheriff's maniacal behavior seems to push the deputy over the edge and, with his repeated demands for the Sheriff to tell him what the hell's going on totally ignored, he draws his sidearm and has the Sheriff under the gun. Demanding he throw down the shotgun the deputy threatens to shoot the Sheriff, even as the Sheriff menaces him in return, attempting to intimidate him into throwing down his own weapon. Finally the Sheriff takes a wild shot at the deputy and is clipped in the arm by the return fire. Staggered, the Sheriff howls and makes off into the woods.
As soon as he's gone the PC's start clamoring for release but the deputy seems too shaken to think clearly. Instead he orders them back down the trail to the cruisers, where he intends to call for backup from another station. Hustling along, still cuffed, the PC's try to reason with the deputy but it's clear he's been pushed past his limits. With all the back and forth arguing and the rustling through the brush, the deputy hasn't any chance to hear the Wendigo coming up behind him. As he's bringing up the rear and has the only flashlight in the darkness, the PC's can only hear a scuffle break out and see the flashlight drop to the ground. They listen in terror to the deputy's screams and the sounds of ripping flesh, already receding quickly into the dark as the Wendigo makes off with his prey.
ACT III, SCENE I:
The PC's move quickly to snatch up the fallen flashlight. Luther, grabbing it and leading the way, is forced to run almost sideways in order to shine the light ahead while his hands are cuffed behind him. Dusty manages to spot the deputy's fallen sidearm and drops to the ground to grab it before taking off after the rest of the group.
After a long run through the woods they reach the road again but continue on, as Angelita has since informed them there are supposedly weapons and tools in the back of the Preacher's station wagon. After taking a moment to locate it in the dark parking lot, they find the rear hatch thankfully unlocked and root around inside as best they can, hindered by the cuffs. Presently Luther finds a set of heavy duty bolt cutters, which he and Dusty work together to use in freeing Randy. Randy then springs Luther, who dashes back to the Sheriff's cruiser, hoping to find the lock picks confiscated earlier (dropping 2 PP to make it so). With those he's able to quickly jimmy everyone loose from their cuffs but it's been long enough now that they're all sure the Wendigo must be out hunting for them again.
Digging around some more in the Preacher's station wagon they find and divvy up the rifle and two handguns there. Randy heads back to the two cruisers with the bolt cutters and secures the shotguns inside each as well. Felicity accompanies him and attempts to call for help over the radio but can't seem to get any response, despite trying several channels at random. The PC's are now armed and spend a few minutes arguing what to do next. Eventually Randy is able to get across to the rest of them that he heard faint cries for help from underneath the shack. Felicity then begins agitating for everyone to go back and look for survivors there, followed by Angelita giving an inspiring speech that convinces the men to agree as well.
The team quickly heads back to the shack, taking care once they hit the woods to keep their eyes and ears open for the Wendigo sneaking up on them. Once they near the shack Luther and Dusty begin to hear faint moaning out in the woods a ways off. When the team stops and listens they can all hear it and calling out they get weak cries for help in response. It's the deputy, apparently badly wounded in the woods somewhere nearby.
While continuing to yell for the deputy to cry out so they can follow his voice, the PC's move into the woods to find him. After several minutes it begins to become obvious the deputy is moving steadily away, just enough that they seem to be gaining on him but obviously drawing them further into the woods away from the shack. Angelita successfully Recalls her talk with the Preacher and his mentioning something about Wendigo's mimicking voices to draw their prey into ambushes and the PC's then come to an abrupt halt. After a quick consultation they agree they can't trust the voice in the woods and head back to the shack again.
Halfway back the Wendigo successfully sneaks in undetected and snatches Felicity from behind, sniffling her startled cry as well. The PC's nevertheless manage to hear the scuffle behind them and turn to find the Wendigo, with Felicity firmly grappled in front of it, about to make off with her. Luther drops 3 PP on top of his Split Second Timing asset and gains Initiative over the creature. He steps quickly to its flank to get Felicity out of his line of fire and unloads three quick blasts of buckshot at the Wendigo point blank. All three shots miss, despite the range, and the last shot even botches, striking Felicity hard in the shoulder.
Having actively dodged, the Wendigo runs off with Felicity rather than sprinting and doesn't quite make it out sight with her. With his back now to the PC's Dusty walks up a bit and unloads with both barrels of the Preacher's break loader. He lands both hits on the moving target, despite Angelita's flashlight being the only illumination to work with. Felicity attempts to take advantage of the hit to wiggle free, dropping 1 PP on the attempt, but fails and is still firmly in the Wendigo's grasp. Randy moves up alongside Dusty to fire off three shots with his shotgun hitting twice. Angelita likewise fires off two shots at the fleeing creatures back and misses completely. The Wendigo is forced to make its first Endurance check from all the violence done to it but is still ready to sprint next turn.
Before the Wendigo's Initiative point comes up, Luther tries desperately to land his last round on the creature's back and hits the creature surprisingly hard before it can flee again. The Wendigo is forced to make its second Endurance check on the run and fails, staggering and dropping in the brush.
Angelita dashes straight for Felicity to render First Aid to the shotgun wound Luther inadvertently dropped on her, stabilizing her successfully. Luther and Randy reload, dividing the last few rounds of buckshot between them, while Dusty checks the Wendigo and reports it's still alive. Luther and Randy then decide it wise to unload all their remaining shotgun rounds into the creature, hoping to keep it down until they can figure out what to do with it. After checking and finding it's still alive after all that they frantically question Angelita, who reports what the Preacher told her. That they must pierce its heart with silver or pure iron, or better yet, burn it.
Lacking any kind of silver or iron implements, they hit on the idea of burning it right away. Unfortunately, though they have a lighter, the weather has rendered just about all the potential tinder in the area useless. With nothing left but handguns to defend themselves the team is a bit panicked that the creature could come to before they can figure a way to set it on fire. Felicity drops the last of her 2 PP to recall she always keeps a can of gasoline in the trunk of her car, in case she runs out of gas. Luther then volunteers to run back and fetch it. Leaving the handguns with the rest of the team, he does so unarmed and returns after several tense minutes. They immediately douse the critter with the entire can of gasoline.
ACT III, SCENE II:
Before they're able to light the critter up Angelita and Luther detect something moving in from nearby. Turning her flashlight on it Angelita finds the Sheriff closing at point blank range with his shotgun shouldered. Though pale, wounded and still completely stark raving psycho, he has them Covered and the PC's don't move to initiate combat. He threatens everyone, raving madly that the creature is "Mine! Mine!" The PC's back off and try not to provoke the madman to shoot someone.
The Sheriff seemingly dismisses them, enraptured with the Wendigo at his feet, lowers his shotgun and draws a buck knife, intent on doing who knows what to the creature. Angelita immediately unloads with her handgun, landing all three rounds into the Sheriff's chest and dropping him stone dead before he can react.
Without wasting any more time, the PC's shove the dead Sheriff right off the critter and light it up, springing back when it convulses and roars a bit before finally twitching and, apparently, dying.
As they watch the critter burn it occurs to them that they still haven't managed to check out the shack and that there may yet be survivors in there. Randy bravely volunteers to watch over the Wendigo to make sure it burns completely and the rest of the team hike back to the shack. There they find nothing obvious within, can't hear any cries for help anywhere and almost miss the trapdoor to the cellar. Once they find it Felicity barely manages an Agility + Alertness check to avoid a booby trap in the entrance, set to drive an old rusty axe at someone's leg.
Moving more cautiously after that they eventually find the false wall along the north side of the cellar and pry it carefully open. Inside they discover a chamber dug in the earth containing the bodies of Sam the Cook and both deputies hanging by their ankles. They find the Waitress hanging as well, apparently still alive, but gagged and tightly bound. The Crazy is almost missed, curled up in the back corner, unbound and seemingly catatonic. Luther forces everyone (including the frantic Waitress) to wait while he checks the chamber. Sure enough he locates and safely trips the booby-trap blade, set to swing down at neck-level and decapitate anyone disturbing the area. Having made it safe to do so the team cuts down the Waitress and gathers the Crazy out the chamber, taking time to bind his hands behind him again (just in case).
Joining back up with Randy they find the Wendigo's remains have burned completely, leaving nothing but a vague outline of ash on the ground. Satisfied, the team hustles back to the road with the two rescued victims to load them up in Felicity's compact and the Preacher's station wagon, once Luther manages to hot-wire it.
WRAP UP:
Having decided on the way to omit references to the Wendigo the group, including the Waitress, report everything else that has occurred to the authorities in the next town. After long hours of questioning they're released and advised not to skip town until the matter has been thoroughly investigated. Randy, who slipped away before hand to avoid arrest for his outstanding warrants, meets up with them at the hospital where Felicity is recovering. There he finally gets his bite wound (from the Crazy guy) treated, as it's since become infected. Since Felicity's healing and the investigation require a couple of weeks to conclude, the team hangs around and pours over the Preacher's journal to pass the time.
Once Felicity is finally released the investigation has largely pegged the Sheriff for all the violence and murder that's occurred and they're free to leave town as they like. The Preacher meanwhile is found to have passed away from complications stemming from the gunshot wound he suffered at the diner, being pronounced soon immediately after arriving at the hospital. The Punk, his wild stories about terrifying creatures in the dark presumed to be a bid to get out jail time, has been processed and now awaits arraignment for robbery and attempted manslaughter. Disturbingly, the Crazy guy disappeared from the local hospital's psychiatric ward before he could be properly evaluated.
The team finds they've become convinced in the end, and each for their own reasons, to take up the Preacher's fallen torch. After discussing the matter at length and hearing Dusty's many tales of his grandfather, who was a Hunter decades ago, the team decide at last to join forces. Splitting up for a short time to see to their own affairs, they agree on a time and place to meet and take to the road again together. This time to bring the Hunt to creatures like the Wendigo themselves.
Our campaign pilot takes place in and around Sam's Diner, off Highway 117 bordering the Kisatchie National Forest and some twenty miles south of Provencal, La. The characters have been driven independantly to Sam's Diner, seeking shelter from some terrible weather that's spun off from a hurricane now moving up through nearby Galveston, Texas.
ACT I, SCENE I:
The scene begins with Angelita already seated in a booth at the diner grabbing a quick bite before continuing on down the road through the storm, hoping to outrun the worst of it. Dusty Wiggins and Randy Thomas are just walking through the door to get out of the weather and they grab a booth as well. All fail to notice the Punk nervously trying to work himself up to robbing the place in the back corner booth. In a booth one away from Angelita sits the Preacher, quietly nursing a cup of coffee. Behind the counter, the Waitress and Sam the Cook.
Almost immediately the Crazy in the opposite corner, who's acted a little strangely already, pushes aside his untouched house special, buries his face in his hands and starts crying quietly. After a moment he begins getting a little louder and can be heard mumbling something incomprehensible to himself.
Angelita decides to put aside her meal and approach the man to see if she can help. Dusty and Randy begin to take notice and watch, in case the Crazy starts making trouble. Luther King then arrives and approaches the counter to order a coffee to go, walking past Angelita. He takes note of what's going on as well. The Crazy is now getting louder, crying openly and say something about, "No, I won't...I won't..."
Angelita makes a second attempt to initiate conversation with the Crazy, still maintaining a healthy distance. He finally begins responding to her though he isn't making much sense. Angelita is able to make out something about someone wanting Crazy to do "something bad" or perhaps wanting him to "come out to him". Luther attempts to discreetly advise the waitress to call the cops or something but Crazy picks up on it and suddenly becomes agitated. He stands up and staggers to the door to leave, then turns to grasp the doorframe and start crying again. While Angelita continues to try to talk the man down Dusty gets up and comes around, advising the "feller" to sit down and "hush up now" as he's upsettin' folk. This backfires, causing Crazy to lash out verbally at Dusty before beginning to bang his head repeatedly on the doorframe and babbling incoherently.
The Preacher stands and begins to pitch in with Angelita in the attempt to talk the man down before he hurts himself but they both fail and the Crazy's behavior continues to escalate. Dusty nods to Randy, who's since moved in closer, and the two initiate combat to wrestle the man to the floor before he injures himself or hurts anyone else.
Both get a good grip on the man, who immediately starts screaming and fighting to get loose. Shaking them both off, the Crazy immediately goes for Dusty. In the attempt to shake loose from the counter-attack Dusty fumbles, slips on a french fry and falls on his butt. Randy intervenes before the Crazy can take advantage of the situation and levels two solid strikes with his Brawler asset. The Crazy responds by coming after Randy, grappling and then biting him. Randy shakes him lose and drops him with a final punch to the jaw.
As soon as Crazy grunts and slips to the floor, the Punk in the back is on his feet waving a handgun and yelling at everyone to get down on the floor. Dusty picks himself up off the floor carefully while Angelita and the Preacher now turn and try to talk the would-be robber down. Sam the Cook, having already moved closer to the handgun stashed near the cash register, whips it out now to threaten the Punk. The Punk, startled, opens fire but misses the Cook by a country mile. Unbeknownst to anyone yet, a stray bullet strikes the Preacher in the gut. Sam the Cook returns fire and drops the Punk with a shot to the leg.
As the Punk hits the linoleum Luther sweeps forward and disarms him, leaving the Punk to scream and cry that he's been shot. The Waitress dives for the phone and calls the sheriff. Angelita immediately asks the Cook for a first aid kit to treat the Punk. Once she's snatched it up she heads over and performs First Aid on him. Meanwhile, the Preacher's legs finally buckle and he hits his knees, grasping his stomach and making it clear to everyone that he's caught a stray bullet in the short gunfight. Luther requests that the Waitress call for an ambulance as well and Angelita successful completes First Aid on the punk.
Felicity pulls up outside, exits her car and dashes through the front door to get out of the weather. Once inside she's a bit shocked at all the goings on but pitches in quickly to help administer First Aid to the Preacher. Randy grabs a towel from behind the counter to bind the Crazy's hands behind his back while he's still KO, so that he doesn't wake up and instigate any further trouble. The Waitress wraps up her quick call to the sheriff and dials up the ambulance service in the next town over.
When the Waitress reports there's a tree down between here and there, blocking the ambulance from reaching them until it's cleared, Luther relays through her that they'll bring the two wounded men there directly in his SUV. The dispatcher on the other end advises against moving the wounded by vehicle with the bad weather outside but Luther insists. He begins organizing things a bit, tapping Dusty to help him move the Preacher first once the girls are done tending to him.
Luther and Dusty then work together to get the Preacher gingerly to his feet and shuffling for the front door...when the lights, both inside the diner and in the parking lot, suddenly go out. Everyone is plunged into total darkness.
ACT I, SCENE II:
The Cook is quick to assure everyone that's not unexpected with the weather the way it is. There's a generator out back, he says, and will have the power back on in a moment. He leaves to tend to that out the back door. Luther and Dusty decide to head on out to the parking lot anyway, expecting the lights to come back on in a moment. A few steps outside they realize they can't see anything at all but Luther successfully Recalls the location of his SUV, so they head for it anyway.
Out back the Cook is already being murdered by the Wendigo.
Luther and Dusty reach the SUV, open the door and turn on the headlights to light up the diner. They put the wounded Preacher in the back as gently seat as possible and head back to diner to get the Punk and the Crazy. Inside they decide to get the Crazy first, leaving the Punk to cry and whine, then head for the door again. The Waitress curses the Cook, who still hasn't got the lights back on, grabs the only flashlight in the place from under the counter and heads out back to give him the flashlight and a piece of her mind. Before Luther and Dusty can get to the door hauling the still unconscious Crazy guy, three guns shots ring out from the nearby SUV. No one can see what's going on out in the dark beyond the glare of the headlights.
Everyone hits the deck until they're sure the gunfire has stopped, then Randy calls out to the Preacher who responds that they shouldn't come out there. At the same time the Waitress issues a sharp cry from out back, then comes running to report, "There's blood out there and I can't find Sam!"
Luther still has the light pistol he took from the Punk, so he decides to head out and check on the Preacher taking Dusty with him. Randy and Felicity take the flashlight from the Waitress and head for the back to check on the cook.
This leaves Angelita to watch over the Punk and the Crazy, finishing restraining him for Randy, until she realizes she's been left almost alone. She panics and dashes for the back to join Randy, Felicity and the Waitress, leaving the Punk alone instead.
After running out to the SUV Luther and Dusty find the Preacher with a handgun, apparently having shot out the passenger window. He advises them to get back inside because, "Something's out here". There's a short altercation between the Preacher and Dusty, who tries to take the gun from him. Luther convinces him to give it up (but keeps it rather than giving it to Dusty) and he stays with the Preacher while Dusty goes to see what's going on in the diner. Luther and Dusty now don't like each other much.
Out back the three PC's and the Waitress find copious amounts of blood and clear signs of a struggle near the generator, although the rain blowing in under the roof out there is already washing it away. The generator also seems to have been savaged and pulled apart or perhaps damaged in the struggle. The Cook is nowhere to be found but Randy spots his handgun lying nearby. He takes it. The Waitress is nearly hysterical by now and insists they go out and find Sam but Angelita talks her into rejoining the rest of the group first, considering the potential threat the blood splatters seem to suggest.
The group heads back through the diner, reporting what they've found when they meet up with Dusty. They head all out to Luther to report, leaving Angelita to watch the Punk and the Waitress. Angelita then notices the Preacher's satchel in the booth. She secures it but decides not to rifle through it just yet.
Outside Luther decides that he, Felicity and Dusty will take the wounded down the road in his SUV with everyone else following in Angelita's car. He convinces the group to go along with that and stays with the Preacher while the rest head inside to bring out the Punk and the Crazy. Luther drops 2 PP on the Perception check but fails to detect the Wendigo lacing the road with caltrops.
ACT II, SCENE I:
The rest of the group loads up the whining Punk and the still unconscious Crazy, tossing the Crazy in the back of the SUV. Luther gets behind the wheel, Felicity and Dusty climb in and they all drive off for the road. Angelita, Randy and the Waitress climb into Angelita's car with her and set off to follow Luther. Angelita is delayed persuading the Waitress to go along, as she's still insisting they all go find the Cook. Eventually she agrees to go and deliver the badly wounded two men to the paramedics down the road, then return with the police.
Luther, driving in the lead, fails to notice the caltrops and immediately blows out both front tires out on the road. Angelita's crew pull up and jump out to help. While everyone is still moving forward to examine the tires and the road the Wendigo whisks in behind, stealthily pops the back hatch of the SUV and snatches up the unconscious Crazy out without being noticed. He's gone before anyone of the PC's can spot him. The Preacher hears the rustling but is unable to crane his head around in time to spot the Wendigo (being gut shot). The Punk does however and immediately starts screaming bloody murder. This calls everyone's attention to the SUV, where the Preacher is now yelling for them to get back inside the vehicle claiming, "It's here!" Luther, Felicity and Dusty immediately notice the popped back hatch and perhaps catch a glimpse of something making off into the darkness. The Preacher insists something took the Crazy guy into the dark but admits he didn't see it and the Punk is too busy freaking out to provide details as to what the heck just happened. It appears to everyone else that the Crazy simply woke up and escaped.
Checking the tires, Dusty steps on a caltrop takes a light hit to the foot (and calling everyone's attention to the caltrops). He successfully Resists the urushiol oil pitch the Wendigo's coated it with fortunately. The Preacher begins insisting there's a Wendigo running around killing people and that they need get the heck out of there, with the Punk pitching in with vague descriptions of a monster that snatched the Crazy guy. They finally start to panic the Waitress who's already still upset about Sam the Cook. The PC's decide that whatever the heck is going on, getting the heck out of there seems to proper solution.
Luther and Dusty decide to walk ahead of the Angelita's car, kicking caltrops off the road by the headlights, while everyone else piles into Angelita's car (the Punk in back with the Waitress and the Preacher up front with Angelita). Angelita gives the Waitress the flashlight to shine around in order to give her something to focus on, as well as hopefully keeping whoever or whatever is out in the dark at bay. Immediately it becomes clear there's no room for Dusty, Randy and Felicity in the car so everyone but the two wounded men stop and pile out to fetch Dusty's truck as well.
The Waitress is immediately nabbed while waiting near Angelita's car for everyone to get organized. The PC's can hear her scream in terror as the Wendigo snatches her but Angelita, grabbing the flashlight where it fell, fails the Agility + Athletics check to catch sight of them on the other side of the truck before they disappear. Nevertheless, everyone gets a brief glimpse of someone/something tall, vaguely humanoid and grayish hitting the woods with the screaming Waitress tossed over one shoulder. Her screams continue for only a few moments, receding rapidly in the woods before suddenly stopping.
The PC's are properly freaked out now and move quickly to load up in Angelita's car and Dusty's truck. Angelita dives into her car with the two wounded men and starts it up again. Randy pulls the truck up behind with Felicity in the back shining the flashlight frantically around. Dusty and Luther move as quickly as they can, both now armed with pistols, clearing the road for the next hundred feet until they're sure there aren't any more caltrops. Once they've jumped into the back of Angelita's car, they all hit the road and get the hell out of there.
ACT II, SCENE II:
Angelita finally gets the chance to fully interrogate the Preacher on the five mile drive to the fallen tree that's blocking the route to the ambulance. From him she learns about the Wendigo in the area and that he's come to stop it. However, he didn't expect to be shot by a robber and caught with his Hunting gear still in back of his station wagon. Weak and fearing he may not make it to the ambulance, the Preacher fills her in on the Wendigo and begs her to stop it before it kills anyone else. After conveying his passionate plea he promptly passes out.
The PC's reach the blocked road and find the two volunteer firemen clearing the downed tree with a chainsaw, though they seem to be having trouble in the rain. They find the ambulance already waiting on the other side but a drop off on one side of the road and a steep incline on the other make it impossible to get the wounded around to them easily. A paramedic finally comes across on foot, climbing the debris with what gear he can carry, to check on them and begin treating both.
After roughly fifteen minutes the tree is still blocking the road but the paramedic announces the two men relatively stable for now, advising they'll just have to wait until the road's clear enough to get them to the ambulance. Soon after the Sheriff finally arrives, pulling up behind Dusty's truck with the light bar atop the cruiser flashing. The intimidating Sheriff exits the vehicle, approaches and soon has the PC's lined up under his flashlight for questioning. From him they learned he's already stopped by the diner long enough to realize something major went down there and he's intent on having some answers forthwith. The PC's all note the Sheriff seems unusually aggressive. Completely pissed off, even.
When the Sheriff spots a handgun tucked into the waistband of Dusty's jeans he soon has the PC's under his gun and lined up against his cruiser. He secures the pistols he finds on Dusty and Luther, as well as the stun gun from Angelita's purse and Luther's lock picks. Turning them around he continues with the interrogation after calling quickly for backup. During the course of the questioning the Sheriff behaves very strangely, even cursing and laughing inappropriately at times. Eventually he has the whole story of what has occurred up to this point, at which time another cruiser pulls up behind his. By now the volunteer firemen have cleared the road enough for the paramedics to transfer the Preacher and the Punk to the ambulance. The Sheriff then leaves the PC's under the gun of his deputy, and makes off to question those two before the paramedics haul them away.
After a few minutes the Sheriff returns, claiming the Preacher and the Punk fingered them for causing all the trouble and places the lot of them under arrest. Working together he and his deputy cuff the PC's and divide them up between the two cruisers for transport back the station. Angelita and Felicity, in the cruiser with the Sheriff, are witness to further disturbing behavior on his part as he begins chanting, "It's time. Oh, yes. Time has come. Gonna get me some. Gonna get me sooome..." Attempts to engage him in conversation by Angelita result in a frighteningly over the top response, with the Sheriff slamming the dividing glass with one fist and screaming for her to shut up.
At the sheriff's station the PC's are tossed into cells before being uncuffed. The Sheriff leaves the deputy on duty there to watch over them and departs again with the previous deputy, heading for the diner to conduct a proper investigation. After he's gone the PC's don't have any luck questioning the man on duty as he doesn't seem to know anything at all about what's going on and is clearly a little confused himself. When the PC's attempt to point out that the Sheriff doesn't seem to be following protocol here, the deputy cuts them off and it becomes clear to all that he's completely intimidated by the Sheriff.
After a little more than an hour the weather has finally let up a little outside, though it's still raining and pitch black out. The Sheriff finally returns...without the other deputy. When questioned by the officer on duty he claims, laughing inappropriately again, that the other deputy went on vacation. Before the deputy can inquire further the Sheriff soon has him cuffing the PC's again and they're escorted back outside the station and into separate cruisers yet again. The Sheriff ignores questions and the Deputy clearly doesn't know what's going on, so the PC's are left in the dark.
Presently the two cruisers pull up by the road across from the diner again. There the Sheriff has everyone out of the cars, still cuffed, and the two law officers are soon herding them into the woods, apparently following a trail only the Sheriff can see. The PC's attempt to communicate a rough plan of action to get themselves the hell away from the psycho Sheriff but a shotgun butt to the back of Luther's head convinces them to remain quiet for now. Presently they arrive at an old abandoned shack, deep in the woods.
Once there the Sheriff has the PC's arranged roughly in a circle around he and the deputy, shoving Felicity forward and knocking her to the ground in the direction of the shack. Now the Sheriff has officially flipped completely out, yelling at the shack and barely making any sense. The PC's manage to pick up that the Sheriff is trying to get someone or something within to come out where he can shoot 'em. "Ain't you hungry? I know you are! You're always huuuuungreeeh!" After a couple of minutes of mad raving the Sheriff starts leveling occasional shotgun blasts into the side of the shack. During the chaos Randy manages to hear what seem to be faint cries from help coming from somewhere beneath the old shack.
Finally the Sheriff's maniacal behavior seems to push the deputy over the edge and, with his repeated demands for the Sheriff to tell him what the hell's going on totally ignored, he draws his sidearm and has the Sheriff under the gun. Demanding he throw down the shotgun the deputy threatens to shoot the Sheriff, even as the Sheriff menaces him in return, attempting to intimidate him into throwing down his own weapon. Finally the Sheriff takes a wild shot at the deputy and is clipped in the arm by the return fire. Staggered, the Sheriff howls and makes off into the woods.
As soon as he's gone the PC's start clamoring for release but the deputy seems too shaken to think clearly. Instead he orders them back down the trail to the cruisers, where he intends to call for backup from another station. Hustling along, still cuffed, the PC's try to reason with the deputy but it's clear he's been pushed past his limits. With all the back and forth arguing and the rustling through the brush, the deputy hasn't any chance to hear the Wendigo coming up behind him. As he's bringing up the rear and has the only flashlight in the darkness, the PC's can only hear a scuffle break out and see the flashlight drop to the ground. They listen in terror to the deputy's screams and the sounds of ripping flesh, already receding quickly into the dark as the Wendigo makes off with his prey.
ACT III, SCENE I:
The PC's move quickly to snatch up the fallen flashlight. Luther, grabbing it and leading the way, is forced to run almost sideways in order to shine the light ahead while his hands are cuffed behind him. Dusty manages to spot the deputy's fallen sidearm and drops to the ground to grab it before taking off after the rest of the group.
After a long run through the woods they reach the road again but continue on, as Angelita has since informed them there are supposedly weapons and tools in the back of the Preacher's station wagon. After taking a moment to locate it in the dark parking lot, they find the rear hatch thankfully unlocked and root around inside as best they can, hindered by the cuffs. Presently Luther finds a set of heavy duty bolt cutters, which he and Dusty work together to use in freeing Randy. Randy then springs Luther, who dashes back to the Sheriff's cruiser, hoping to find the lock picks confiscated earlier (dropping 2 PP to make it so). With those he's able to quickly jimmy everyone loose from their cuffs but it's been long enough now that they're all sure the Wendigo must be out hunting for them again.
Digging around some more in the Preacher's station wagon they find and divvy up the rifle and two handguns there. Randy heads back to the two cruisers with the bolt cutters and secures the shotguns inside each as well. Felicity accompanies him and attempts to call for help over the radio but can't seem to get any response, despite trying several channels at random. The PC's are now armed and spend a few minutes arguing what to do next. Eventually Randy is able to get across to the rest of them that he heard faint cries for help from underneath the shack. Felicity then begins agitating for everyone to go back and look for survivors there, followed by Angelita giving an inspiring speech that convinces the men to agree as well.
The team quickly heads back to the shack, taking care once they hit the woods to keep their eyes and ears open for the Wendigo sneaking up on them. Once they near the shack Luther and Dusty begin to hear faint moaning out in the woods a ways off. When the team stops and listens they can all hear it and calling out they get weak cries for help in response. It's the deputy, apparently badly wounded in the woods somewhere nearby.
While continuing to yell for the deputy to cry out so they can follow his voice, the PC's move into the woods to find him. After several minutes it begins to become obvious the deputy is moving steadily away, just enough that they seem to be gaining on him but obviously drawing them further into the woods away from the shack. Angelita successfully Recalls her talk with the Preacher and his mentioning something about Wendigo's mimicking voices to draw their prey into ambushes and the PC's then come to an abrupt halt. After a quick consultation they agree they can't trust the voice in the woods and head back to the shack again.
Halfway back the Wendigo successfully sneaks in undetected and snatches Felicity from behind, sniffling her startled cry as well. The PC's nevertheless manage to hear the scuffle behind them and turn to find the Wendigo, with Felicity firmly grappled in front of it, about to make off with her. Luther drops 3 PP on top of his Split Second Timing asset and gains Initiative over the creature. He steps quickly to its flank to get Felicity out of his line of fire and unloads three quick blasts of buckshot at the Wendigo point blank. All three shots miss, despite the range, and the last shot even botches, striking Felicity hard in the shoulder.
Having actively dodged, the Wendigo runs off with Felicity rather than sprinting and doesn't quite make it out sight with her. With his back now to the PC's Dusty walks up a bit and unloads with both barrels of the Preacher's break loader. He lands both hits on the moving target, despite Angelita's flashlight being the only illumination to work with. Felicity attempts to take advantage of the hit to wiggle free, dropping 1 PP on the attempt, but fails and is still firmly in the Wendigo's grasp. Randy moves up alongside Dusty to fire off three shots with his shotgun hitting twice. Angelita likewise fires off two shots at the fleeing creatures back and misses completely. The Wendigo is forced to make its first Endurance check from all the violence done to it but is still ready to sprint next turn.
Before the Wendigo's Initiative point comes up, Luther tries desperately to land his last round on the creature's back and hits the creature surprisingly hard before it can flee again. The Wendigo is forced to make its second Endurance check on the run and fails, staggering and dropping in the brush.
Angelita dashes straight for Felicity to render First Aid to the shotgun wound Luther inadvertently dropped on her, stabilizing her successfully. Luther and Randy reload, dividing the last few rounds of buckshot between them, while Dusty checks the Wendigo and reports it's still alive. Luther and Randy then decide it wise to unload all their remaining shotgun rounds into the creature, hoping to keep it down until they can figure out what to do with it. After checking and finding it's still alive after all that they frantically question Angelita, who reports what the Preacher told her. That they must pierce its heart with silver or pure iron, or better yet, burn it.
Lacking any kind of silver or iron implements, they hit on the idea of burning it right away. Unfortunately, though they have a lighter, the weather has rendered just about all the potential tinder in the area useless. With nothing left but handguns to defend themselves the team is a bit panicked that the creature could come to before they can figure a way to set it on fire. Felicity drops the last of her 2 PP to recall she always keeps a can of gasoline in the trunk of her car, in case she runs out of gas. Luther then volunteers to run back and fetch it. Leaving the handguns with the rest of the team, he does so unarmed and returns after several tense minutes. They immediately douse the critter with the entire can of gasoline.
ACT III, SCENE II:
Before they're able to light the critter up Angelita and Luther detect something moving in from nearby. Turning her flashlight on it Angelita finds the Sheriff closing at point blank range with his shotgun shouldered. Though pale, wounded and still completely stark raving psycho, he has them Covered and the PC's don't move to initiate combat. He threatens everyone, raving madly that the creature is "Mine! Mine!" The PC's back off and try not to provoke the madman to shoot someone.
The Sheriff seemingly dismisses them, enraptured with the Wendigo at his feet, lowers his shotgun and draws a buck knife, intent on doing who knows what to the creature. Angelita immediately unloads with her handgun, landing all three rounds into the Sheriff's chest and dropping him stone dead before he can react.
Without wasting any more time, the PC's shove the dead Sheriff right off the critter and light it up, springing back when it convulses and roars a bit before finally twitching and, apparently, dying.
As they watch the critter burn it occurs to them that they still haven't managed to check out the shack and that there may yet be survivors in there. Randy bravely volunteers to watch over the Wendigo to make sure it burns completely and the rest of the team hike back to the shack. There they find nothing obvious within, can't hear any cries for help anywhere and almost miss the trapdoor to the cellar. Once they find it Felicity barely manages an Agility + Alertness check to avoid a booby trap in the entrance, set to drive an old rusty axe at someone's leg.
Moving more cautiously after that they eventually find the false wall along the north side of the cellar and pry it carefully open. Inside they discover a chamber dug in the earth containing the bodies of Sam the Cook and both deputies hanging by their ankles. They find the Waitress hanging as well, apparently still alive, but gagged and tightly bound. The Crazy is almost missed, curled up in the back corner, unbound and seemingly catatonic. Luther forces everyone (including the frantic Waitress) to wait while he checks the chamber. Sure enough he locates and safely trips the booby-trap blade, set to swing down at neck-level and decapitate anyone disturbing the area. Having made it safe to do so the team cuts down the Waitress and gathers the Crazy out the chamber, taking time to bind his hands behind him again (just in case).
Joining back up with Randy they find the Wendigo's remains have burned completely, leaving nothing but a vague outline of ash on the ground. Satisfied, the team hustles back to the road with the two rescued victims to load them up in Felicity's compact and the Preacher's station wagon, once Luther manages to hot-wire it.
WRAP UP:
Having decided on the way to omit references to the Wendigo the group, including the Waitress, report everything else that has occurred to the authorities in the next town. After long hours of questioning they're released and advised not to skip town until the matter has been thoroughly investigated. Randy, who slipped away before hand to avoid arrest for his outstanding warrants, meets up with them at the hospital where Felicity is recovering. There he finally gets his bite wound (from the Crazy guy) treated, as it's since become infected. Since Felicity's healing and the investigation require a couple of weeks to conclude, the team hangs around and pours over the Preacher's journal to pass the time.
Once Felicity is finally released the investigation has largely pegged the Sheriff for all the violence and murder that's occurred and they're free to leave town as they like. The Preacher meanwhile is found to have passed away from complications stemming from the gunshot wound he suffered at the diner, being pronounced soon immediately after arriving at the hospital. The Punk, his wild stories about terrifying creatures in the dark presumed to be a bid to get out jail time, has been processed and now awaits arraignment for robbery and attempted manslaughter. Disturbingly, the Crazy guy disappeared from the local hospital's psychiatric ward before he could be properly evaluated.
The team finds they've become convinced in the end, and each for their own reasons, to take up the Preacher's fallen torch. After discussing the matter at length and hearing Dusty's many tales of his grandfather, who was a Hunter decades ago, the team decide at last to join forces. Splitting up for a short time to see to their own affairs, they agree on a time and place to meet and take to the road again together. This time to bring the Hunt to creatures like the Wendigo themselves.