Thursday, February 25, 2010

NEPA CoC #6: The Preacher and the Cross (part three)

Part Three: The Cavalry Comes to Save the Day


Steven O’Hara dashed from the Wilkes-Barre Station and used his remaining funds for a taxi across the river into Kingston. His three day train trip gave him plenty of time to plot a plan B to somehow rescue his “associates” from the inbreds of Georgia. Claiming Nathan was in trouble, and he earned a “leave of absence” from school, his wife Angi (and primarily her shotgun) was a shoo-in. A quick telegram from Philadelphia to Dr. Bowsfield in Arkham secured his cooperation.Additional help was problematic. Steven needed more firepower. Nichols and Smitty knew an enforcer named “Red” who hung out at the Angry Welshman. Some of the $5,000 from Boston was given to him to help out (and ultimately reopen his favorite bar.)


So our relief players:
  • Steven O'Hara: played by Steve
  • Dr. Bowsfield: played by Nate
  • Angela O'Hara: played by Adam
  • "Red" Russo: played by Brian
The relief squad arrived in Atlanta, procured an automobile, a number of supplies, and *gasp* a plan.

They would drive to Corina the evening of April 30th, go straight through town without stopping, and ditch the car about two miles away from the hill that the ceremony was supposedly occuring at. If Dr. Millheim and company were alive, they were probably going to be sacrificed. Dr. Bowsfield has obtained a cannister used by exterminators to spread pesticide, filled it with gasoline, and planned on burning some nearby fields to distract local law enforcement, plus some cultists. The others hide out on the mountain and wait for the ceremony to commence.

Around 11 o'clock at night, dozens of men walked up the hill, dressed in a mixture of KKK garb and the odd flame robes they had found in Boston. A man dressed as a leader/high priest, along with a number of guards, escorted the relief party's friends, as well as a Negro man and woman, to the altar.


Tying Dr. Nate to the altar, the high priest spouted off a few chants and began explaining the situation in his best James Bond villan act. It seemed that he not only worshipped a distant vengeful god, but he had discovered the ability to travel through time. He discovered that in the future, some Negro reverend would have to audacity to become President. He had found the future parents of this abomination living in Atlanta, so he had them kidnapped. "And right after we prepare our god's arrival with the blood of these Yankee bastards, we'll sacrifice the niggers and save future generations."

*BAM*

A single shot from Steven's .30-06 rifle pierced the heart of the high priest. Plenty of good Conceal rolls, plus an "02" on the shot ensured sheer chaos atop the hill. A few more crack shots between Angela and Steven created bedlam. It allowed "Red", who had been hiding in the trees behind the altar to free Dr. Millheim, and begin freeing the others.

Realizing little chance of escape, Dr. Millheim grabbed the priest's ceremonial dagger, wiped some of the priest's gushing blood onto it, and began a chant he had learned from the vile books he had studying. Soon, a huge hulking creature not of this world materialized in the midst of the cultists. It ripped apart the nearest men, and drew the attentions of the others away from the O'Haras. The sheer sight of the beast, if you could call it that, broke some men's psyches on the spot.


Dr. Millheim was one of them. Just the act of summoning the creature shook his mortal soul, and the resulting carnage snapped his last shred of reason. He turned around and ran from the creature at full speed, right off the cliff at the top of the hill, tumbling down into the surrounding woods. His slightly saner #2, Brian tried to follow him.

All the while Dr. Bowsfield discovered a newfound appreciation for pyromania. Not a single soul investigated his burning fields/woods.

After a few tense early morning hours, the party took their car out of hiding and got the hell out of Corina, dropping off Michael King and his girlfriend back at their respective homes in Atlanta. The threat, or ramblings of a madman, had been stopped.


*Aside*

On the evening of April 4, 1968, a single .243 bullet fired from a Remington 760 Gamemaster pierced the neck of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, killing him on the spot. The assassin, one Benjamin Grayford of Corina, placed his rifle back into the trunk of his car and drove to Jim's Grill for late snack and to finish up business. He had to tell Memphis Police Lieutenant Earl Clark that his services to murder the Reverend were no longer needed. Grayford did pay Lt Clark for some poorly made false documents to give to Mr. James Earl Ray was an uneducated, habitual criminal on the run, who had discovered a strong desire to worship the gods of Martyr Lambert. Ray had been told he had a secret mission to Africa, once he boarded the plane in London, his contact would provide him with further instructions. Blind obidience is a useful tool. An obviously fake Canadian passport is easier for authorities to catch the man you're setting up.


Ray didn't admit to killing King initially. Despite his allegiance, he gave up Grayford pretty easily. However the authorities had absolutely no records of a Benjamin Grayford. The only related records brought up a Benjamin Grayfjord who died in 1934. His obituary read like any other could in Georgia. Successful businessman, loving husband (wife deceased), fought in the Great War. If certain organizations had done more research they may have found and underground obituary, which could have prevented a coerced confession on the part of Mr. Ray:


Benjamin Buford Grayford b. May 1, 1892 d. September 7, 1934. Successful Corina businessman. High Priest of Time and Fire, earning that title from the Martyr Lambert in 1922. Died as a result of a home fire. No identifiable parts of the body could be discovered. Although he is gone from us now, he protects us and our children from the evils of future generations, and someday will finish the vision Martyr Lambert had first created. Ia! Ia! 41P Blackamoor? No!

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