Recap: Sessions 1-2

Since this is the first recap and we're already four sessions into the game, this is going to be more of a bullet list than a summary of what's happened so far; the next recap will cover the third and fourth sessions, and then there'll be more detail in future recaps.

Of course, if one of you guys wants to do the recaps — especially if you do it in character— well, that'd be awesome. Along those same lines, I'd also like to encourage you guys to feel free to post your observations, ideas, discussion, etc. to each other; and again, if you do it in character, even better. In fact, if you do things like that and write it as your character (as a journal entry, for example), there'll be a bonus in it for you — something along the lines of a bump in sanity or a skill, a new item or contact ... I'll make it worth your while, toots.

At the same time, this is supposed to be fun and I don't want it to be a chore for anyone, so don't feel obligated and don't stress about it.

Here's the recap (if I miss anything, add it in the comments):


El Paso, Texas; October 1927; Saturday

The Funeral: Things start at the funeral of Maggie Brisbane, a popular local waitress/bartender and would-be actress.

Pita and Ford are recruited as pall bearers when they are struck by sudden dizziness and a odd, dislocated buzzing. Pita only saw a blur, but Ford clearly saw the body tumble from the dropped casket as the top of the skull flew off, and he got a good look at the cleanly scoured, almost bleached, brain pan.

The group questioned the Mortician, but he refused to answer any questions. The mortician's assistant, Martin, was obviously rattled but told the investigators the body was discovered nearly three months ago. The case was kept quiet by the police department's Lt. Franklin.

As the funeral broke up, Ford noticed two men who seemed out of place and very interested in the casket.

The Wake

The investigators went to The Tap, formerly Maggie's main place of employment and where a now poorly attended wake took place. People there included cops, thugs, neighbors, etc.

Nacho, the manager, told the group what he knows (mostly rumors), and also that Maggie came in just before her disappearance. She came in with "a negrito who was up to no good" and a "squirrely little drunk."

The group also talked to a Belligerent Journalist, who was drunk and especially antagonistic toward Igor. He did take a shine toward Paige, and particularly to Pita. After some sweet talk and more booze, the reporter told them he was there the night Maggie's body was found, hanging halfway out of a storm drain near Smelter Town with the top of her head removed and her skull scooped clean.

He told them the body of Ced, a black bootlegger, was also there, with his throat slit so deeply he was almost decapitated. From what he could tell, it looked as if Ced had done it to himself. Finally, the journalist told them a cop named Lt. Franklin was in charge of the investigation and was the one who quickly clamped it down.

Saturday night; Maggie's house

The group investigated Maggie's house, which was partially destroyed by a fire three months earlier. Half the house is damaged, but the group finds:

Evidence of Maggie's opium habit

Maggie's journal: Paige flipped through it and found references to "I'm painting again," frequent dreams, and "taking the samples to a chemist." It also mentioned how she was trying to track down information with Cedric Jones and Benton Spring. Paige recognized Spring as a history professor and casual acquaintance from Texas Western College.

Paintings: Igor and Ford made their way into the basement. Paige and Pita caught up to them, and together they found a stack of canvases leaning against the wall. When they turned them around they see nightmarish visions of the city, a skeletal and misshapen tower, and a shadowy figure blotting out the desert moon. Everyone is affected, and Paige screamed and nearly passed out.

Around midnight and after the group had gone to their homes, Pita had dreams that were disjointed and fuzzy; they faded quickly. At the same time Ford also had a nightmare, but his was much clearer and he dreamed of the tower from the paintings.

Sunday; Spring's Apartment

The group met and decided to check out Spring's apartment. The apartment was trashed, but it was unclear if it had been ransacked or if it was always like that. The investigators interviewed the Flapper Neighbors, an Old Man who lives downstairs and the Landlord. The landlord told them Spring was committed to the new sanitarium at least four or five months ago and wasn't sure he'd seen him since; he wasn't concerned since Spring had paid his rent a year in advance.

Gateway Halfway House and Clinic for the Mentally Ill

The group went to the still fairly new sanitarium — which specializes in treating drunkeness and insanity — and met clinic administrator Dr. Watson. Watson was polite but unhelpful, then cold, finally turning his back on the group and re-entering the clinic. Igor decided to pick a fight with the Orderly (which quickly become three orderlies), while Pita and Paige tried to distract the Admitting Nurse and Ford (after pretending to use the phone) grabbed the entire "S" drawer from the filing cabinets and nimbly escaped through the lobby.

They ran to Ford's car and drove off. As they motored away, Ford told the others that he recognized Dr. Watson as one of the men he noticed at the funeral. Hearing sirens, the group drove downtown while rifling through the files until they found Spring's. Avoiding the cops and parking in a pay lot, they noticed many of the files were marked "candidate for audio therapy," including Spring's. Leafing through the file they saw Spring was committed by Professor Dan Flanagan, the Dean of History; that the file included a note saying Dr. Watson was to be the only one working with or consulted about Spring; and that Spring was rejected for audio therapy but was slated for "advanced therapy."

The College

The group dumped the rest of the files in a trash barrel and decided to drive to the college to talk to Flanagan. Igor, injured in the fight and deemed too belligerent by the group, waited in the car while everyone else met the dean. He's snooty and pretentious, but told them Spring showed up at his campus residence at 3 a.m. one night, railing about tenure, his intelligence and generally being abusive. That's when Flanagan had him committed, "for his own good."

Flanagan also mentioned Spring had been hanging out with "unsavory types," and the only colleague who would still associate with him was a chemistry professor named Daniel Rogers. When the group asked how they could find Rogers, Flanagan told them he was severely injured in an explosion that leveled the Chemistry Building (the group remembers that this happened the same day as Maggie's house caught fire, since it was fairly big news and there was speculation that the two disasters were related somehow). Rogers is now in a coma.

Since they were already on campus, the group decided to go by the ruins of the Chemistry Building. While clambering over the rubble, Ford found a ruined strongbox. Inside were two broken test tubes, and one intact tube containing a thick and oily liquid. The liquid is impossibly black and while it looks like sludge, it moves almost like mercury; it's so slick it almost seems barely even touch the sides of the test tube.

Ford and Igor both had a sudden strong urge to open the vial; Paige, who was holding the test tube, was also fascinated by it, but was unexpectedly — and savagely — attacked by Pita.

Pita desperately wanted to open the vial.