Call of Cthulhu - Session Four

For the time being I'm no longer going to use the word summary in the title for my RPG session writeups, as they aren't summaries.
(Previous sessions - one, two, three)

Continuing Thursday 28th April 1921


The party all made it back to Riker's place to be met there by Riker's 12 yr old son Eugene. Doc crawls into the back of the central door model T and pulls a blanket over himself, still feeling extremely shaken from the ordeal (player was unable to make the session.)

• Eugene thinks they are G-Men come to help his father and get rid of the bad people in Oak Valley. Rosalind plays along. No one else objects to the notion
• He's not aware of people missing but people do occasionally leave the area
• Mentions that Garber's place is all messed up and can take the party there
• He's not seen anything strange in the woods, just heard his dad and Mr Garber talk about it
• The Simons don't have any kids in the school. He knows were abouts they live
• Father Marston came to his school with a lady. The chatted to the teacher and the students.
• His dad is inside the house drinking

Archie and Rosalind go inside the house to check on Mr Riker, while the rest wait outside. Nick asks Jimmy what he saw at the clearing and they start trying to rationalise it. The come up with the theory that perhaps it was an escaped elephant with bits of branches stuck on it's tusks.

Mr Riker is glad to see that everyone made it back alive. When everyone started yelling and running, he thought it best to get out of there.

The group decide to have Eugene lead them to Garber's shack. Nick gets his M1917 Enfield out of the car and passes it to Jimmy, knowing from the war that Jimmy is a better shot (there was some discussion as to what firearms the players would have brought along with them. Due to the player of Gino not being there for this and the previous session, they decided his weapons to be unavailable). Rosalind borrows a lantern in case they are still out after dark. The shack is a couple of miles away further north and cannot be reached by car. They eventually reach the shack - a small two room dwelling half collapsed near the creek, and find the interior in a mess. Someone has very obviously searched and destroyed the contents of the dwelling.

After searching the shack as well as the immediate surrounds the party does not find anything of interest except for a bolt action .22 rifle that has survived. Any tracks in the area having likely been washed away like the tracks at the site Garber's body was found. Ralphey could not pick up any scent.

The party head back to the Riker residence. Getting near to the house they smell cooking and the aromas are surprisingly mouth watering. When they get to the house, dusk setting in. Abe Riker advises them he's put some grub on for them as he feels a bit ashamed on running off on them plus his boy seems to have taken a shine to the group. Jimmy places Nick's rifle back in the boot of the car as they head inside and join the Rikers for dinner. Abe appears a bit drunk, but that has not prevented him from cooking up some venison stew which the group finds as tasty as it smelt.

Towards the end of dinner a couple of the group here sounds outside indicating something has disturbed the chickens in the yard. Jimmy goes and has a look out one of the front windows and can make out the shapes of some people walking towards the house. Outside is dark, with a spring rain coming down. Jimmy thinks that something seems odd about the people in the way they are walking. It reminds him of wounded soldiers in the war with their slow staggering lurch towards the house.

Rosalind has a look out the back window and can make out some shapes there as well. Jimmy asks Abe if he was expecting company. Abe opens the front door, swaying and starts yelling at the people approaching asking who they are and what they want.

As they get closer Jimmy can make out that the people approaching the house appear to be in their Sunday best. Rosalind grabs a lit lantern and illuminates one of the figures approaching the back of the house. She lets out a scream as she sees the decaying face with maggots crawling over it. People jump into action and start barricading the doors to the house. Abe has three firearms. Abe grabs his .30-06, Nick the double barrel 12 gauge and Jimmy the .22 bolt action. Archie grabs a fire poker, Rosalind and Adam cast iron skillets from the kitchen.

Everyone eventually witnesses these undead trying to get into the house with only Abe being overwhelmed by the sight of them, recognising some previous residents who had died and were buried in the local graveyard.

After a harrowing fight with the undead managing to break into the house from several sides, Rosalind nearly succeeding in setting the house alight around them and Jimmy nearly killed from bites and punches from the undead, the party are victorious.