Monday 12 May 2014

Deadlands - Coffin Rock (Part 2)



PART 2:
Quick spoiler alert: Coffin Rock is a pre-written Deadlands scenario. If you haven't played but think you might and don't want spoilers it may be worth not reading the post, although there are previously discussed alterations. (Part 1 here)

Since I last wrote, things have become even stranger. Our Chinese friend has caught up with us, which has been a mighty large help, what with having some sort of fighting experience and all. Ran into him in the saloon and he's busy telling us he's been here months, but we all know that ain't the truth. I've kinda given up keeping track of time, tell the truth. Don't seem much point any more.

Anyways, we ran through our news and he ran through his and a goddamn posse rode through town, causing a ruckus, so out we hightail and they start laying into our shaman, so a bit of gun fire ensues and what do you know? that damn church bell starts ringin' soon as any dead body hits the floor. Well, this is getting a bit too much, as you might say, so we wait for it to quiet down and saunter to the church. Turns out someone's gone and replaced our horses, too. Shame, I liked that beast.

So we get to the church and I dunno what I saw on that window but I don't want to look at it again, that's for sure. Musta been quite a sight though, earnt me a white streak through my locks. Get into the bell tower and it's a bit strange but there ain't no rope to ring the bell, nor anyway to get to the top of the tower, and as we're looking the bell rings again, nearly deafening us, so we stumble out, ears ringing and hear an almighty crashing from the cemetery. Our Chinese partner, he reckons he saw two shadows running off, but I dunno - I didn't and my eyes are usually pretty sharp for that sort of thing. Well, what can we do but investigate? So into the gloom we go and we find John Daly (remember him? He's the one who founded the town and who murdered when his mansion was burnt down)'s mauseleum with John Daly walking out. Now, before we can panic too much, the preacher reminds us that he's told us there's more to this world than meets the eye and this is just one more of those things and I guess it's not so different from those see-through people we saw by that train that time, 'cept solid and rotting.

Well, we lay that man back to rest and I can only he hope he found his peace this time. Figured best thing to do would be to burn the body and we didn't want to do that in town so we headed for the hills. Still dark as you like so we were led by the noise rather than sight of a fight and find a young woman beating off some men seemed to be made of burning, blood-soaked mud, using the end of her colt like it's a club. Struck me as a strange way to fight, but seemed bullets don't bother 'em so there I end up, smacking 'em with the handle too. And believe me, those things hurt if they hit you. Another reason I like my guns, but if they're not gonna hurt the things...

Well, this young lady is none other than Shelley Pearl Daly, the daughter of John Daly and rightful heir to what remains of Coffin Rock. So once we've rescued her she helps us burn her father's body and we head back to town. Long story short, the place is still pretty messy and we think maybe it's time to check out that crazy dancing man on the rock that everyone 'cept me's been seeing. So off we go, Shelley in tow, and meet this person. And boy is he glad to see us. Seems his totem spirit guide has been taken prisoner by the craziness that's swallowing this town and could we help rescue it, thank you? So we agree and sleep in his camp and head back to town when we wake - only we musta overslept by a way cos it's high noon once we get out and when we arrive in town and it's still high noon and...

Well, we headed to the general store to sort out our bits and pieces and on the way through past the assayer’s office, we see a mob and learn he's been murdering people for the copper. Our man of God, he won't stand to see an innocent man condemned, so we try to find out the truth of it and sure enough he's been killing 'em, only it ain't exactly like he's got a sound mind to be doing the killing knowingly, like, so we manage to talk Bryce into taking him into custody and then we'll get him sent off to some asylum. Bullets flying and all that but seems to work and we head to the general store, which more or less collapses around us.

Thought the hotel might be a good place to pick up what we needed and there's Karl, the manager all ready to hang himself to join his wife, and there she is, all hanging by the door, only she ain't there really so that gets messy, but we managed to subdue Karl and tied him somewhere safe to sleep it off and then headed for the mine. Met some ghosts on the way in, dead miners been sacrificed to raise these demon that's holding on the spirit guide, so we agree to help them and they kinda walked into us - creepy feeling, that. But we walked down and their souls found their bodies (those blood-mud-men when we helped Shelley? More of those) and they kinda melted away so that was ok.

And the spirit guide (Tacheen or some such) was there, held by blue ropes of light over this pit of lava and as we arrived I saw some lowlife jump into the lava but it was like a door into somewhere else, so once we'd dealt with the mud-men, we spoke to Tacheen who kicked us through back to town (not the nicest way to travel, but speedy, it being still high noon once we got there) and we all landed out of any reflective surface you like and high-tailed it to the church. And sure enough, it was the Reverend Cherval who'd jumped ahead of us and sure enough, there he is chanting from behind the alter from some big, creepy lookin' book and the sight of him near enough gives Shelley a heart attack. I swear, I put 2 or 3 rounds right into him but he didn't even blink. All these followers started fighting us too and then this DEMON appears out of the altar (just as creepy as the preacher warned us). So we carry on fighting and the preacher uses holy water from the font at the front and that seems to startle the demon so Shelley and the shaman and me, we all start throwing the water on it whilst shooting the followers and the Chinaman and the preacher try to take down Cherval... and eventually the demon sinks back into hell and tries taking the whole church with him - the last of the followers fell down the pit with him and we got out as fast as we could, through the doors, through windows...

Well, the Chinaman and the preacher, they stayed and tried to make sure Cherval was good and gone to, only instead he vanished right before our eyes, with that big book of his, and so they came out of the church too, as the floor was pulled from under them.

I don't think I'll be going back near one of those places any time soon. Never was all that devout anyway; seems to me that if a church ain't safe from a demon then there's no point going there.

And there we are, shaking and licking our wounds when Marshall Bryce and his cronies show up. There's a look in a man's eyes just afore he goes for his gun and that look was in Bryce's. I knew what was coming and guess I was just a wee bit more shaken by this whole event that I knew, cos if we didn't have the rightful owner of Coffin Rock on our side I'd be resting in jail for murder and he'd be fine with self-defence for I'm sure I went for my gun just before he did.

It's a while since I've been shot that hard and must be a miracle of the words the preacher said over me that I'm alive at all. Not so Bryce. My bullet tore right through him, cut a nice hole through his body and he won't be troubling Coffin Rock no more.

And it still ain't the nicest place, but I reckon with what we've done it can get there.

1 comment:

  1. You saved the town from a mortal villain, the Marshall, and a spiritual one, the demon. But what of the preacher.... mwhahahaha.

    Rereading so as to remind myself of stuff. I'd forgotten the creepy time dilation and reflective surfaces stuff :)

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