Keeper: Adrienne Mueller
Hunters: Eric Fattig, Karen Twelves, Sean Nittner
System: Monster of the Week
Supplement: Tome of Mysteries
Campaign Overview
Overview of the entire campaign here: Agents of Cisra
Adventure Log
Washington DC
Introducing…Pancake Special! Everyone’s called into Jean McCleud’s office to meet the new addition to our team. Maroon plaid suit, short red hair, sparkly fingernails, carrying a holstered frying pan. McCleud says that PS was on a covert ops team but all the other members are on a long quarantine from their last mission, so has been assigned to us.
Jessica walks PS back to the team, says that CISRA surveillance picked up something suspicious in Alton’s Bend, AZ, a small town of only 83 people. Someone who stopped for gas found the whole town empty except for 3 dead bodies who had something forced down their throat/ears. After more awkward introductions to the team, we’re off to Alton’s Bend!
On the plane…
Stasia has a vision while napping: a police car slowly rolling down an empty road, its light flashing with no sound. Both doors open, a man and a woman step out, start walking down a road of single-story houses. Suddenly both clutch their throats, seemingly choking to death (or choking themselves?). There’s something strange about the air around them.
In Arizona…
The team lands at Tucson, grabs a rental car for the long drive to Alton’s Bend. Also picks up some gas masks.
Alias names: Spears, Aguilera, Perry, Swift
40 miles out from the town and phone signal dies out.
At Alton’s Bend…
The town has a single intersection, with a one-stop gas & grocery and a small collection of houses. The bodies are still in the gas station—the county sheriff hasn’t even come in yet with the coroner.
There is something eerily quiet about the town, as if the sound is dampened. There are no birds or other animals, either.
There are two cars that we can see, the road has fresh tracks of people speeding out.
Mordecai susses out that there’s something dampening the sound in proportion to the level of noise we make. Or multiple somethings…
In the gas station…
The hoses from the two gas stands have been ripped off; petrol is pooled around them and spreading around the asphalt. This is especially bad since it took all our gas just to drive here.
One of the victims appears to be the owner of the store, an older man. He is lying prone by the register. The two others appear to have been shopping, one slumped against a shelf and another on the ground. It looks like all of them have blood from their ears, and something inserted in their mouths and ears. Upon further inspection, cloth has been shoved down their throats, and shattered pieces of a broomstick in their ears.
We hear a car pull up—the car from Stasia’s vision. Stasia runs out to try to warn them—fortunately their car locks are jammed! Malik grabbed the bell on the gas station door but drops it, and feels his throat starting to close. SP tries to help and also has difficulty breathing.
Stasia gets to the officers, is able to keep them in their car. She flashes the CISRA badge, tells them to leave by typing on her phone and holding it up to the window. She pushes their car in reverse until they’re away from the gas station. One of the officers shares a card of their address; Stasia says they’ll meet them there.
Malik and SP figure out that they’re only in danger when in close proximity to a source of sound. Malik tests this theory out by taking the bell and chucking it outside. The air around the bell wavers as it clangs off the ground. The team takes some spectral readings…it’s a whole lot of ghosts! Sounds seems to be doing something to their energy signature, but not necessarily hurt them.
The team borrows the white board with the restaurant specials on it to communicate a little faster.
Mordecai trawls his memories, and recalls George Lancaster, who was a dormmate in college at UC Berkeley freshman year. George was boring. So, so boring. But one time he told Mordecai about a meditation retreat in Arizona that he might check out. Mordecai, annoyed, encourages George to check it out. George decides to leave school and join “The Quiet.” Mordecai shares with the team that it might be a cult.
The team starts investigating houses. It seems like everyone left in a hurry—things knocked over, food left on the table. There are two houses that are locked—one near the gas station has its shades drawn, and another house near the entrance to town is locked up.
At the house at the edge of town, a woman hears PS and Malik try the lock, gestures silence from the window, and then shuts the blinds. PS gets her attention again and shows a message asking for help. PS can see two people inside—older women, perhaps sisters. The woman returns with the message that someone attacked people in the gas station, everyone else fled, they would leave too if they could. Malik asks if there’s a cult, and the second woman comes to the window to write a message—“Hansen, out in the desert, west 5 miles, gone for 20 years, haven’t heard what happened, assumed they’d left, never had any problems with them. It was called The Quiet. Our niece, Winnie, joined 20 years ago, we haven’t seen her either.” The first woman shares a photo of a girl, maybe 18 years old.
Stasia and Mordecai check out the other house, there are tire tracks from a large truck. Stasia can see through the window that there’s a woman inside. Mordecai looks in the mailbox, finds mail addressed to Lorelai and Ralph Swan.
Stasia leaves a note that they’re going to borrow the bikes left outside the house. Also mentions they’re going to see The Quiet (in case it prompts these people to follow them).
At The Quiet…
An old farm, a tattered banner “The Quiet is still….he mind.” There are four 15-foot-tall, blazing white domes, concrete & stone bleached by the sun. There are no doors or windows. There are remnants of other wooden structures, not containing much, except for the materials used to make the domes. If anything, the silence is thicker here.
SP starts digging at the edge of the dome. It takes all night to burrow underneath.
Inside a dome…
There are three bodies, one in a lotus position and two lying flat. Their hair is very long and they are deeply emaciated—but not dead. They are beyond the hope of resuscitation, their spirits cannot re-enter their bodies. One of the bodies has a photo of a man, likely their founder, with a prayer vowing to transcend and join The Quiet.
Inside the walls is inscribed, “Free your mind, free your spirit.”
The team goes back to the gas station and gathers supplies for an exorcism.
Making some noise
While moving the bodies to a central dome, one of the domes crumbles. Malik and Mordecai feel choked again, but saw in the moment of noise some of the figures. Perhaps loud enough noises give them form?
Stasia and PS pull off the exorcism that rattles the domes to the point that they crumble and turn the bodies inside to dust. BUT…the quiet is still present.
It occurs to Malik that a former director of CISRA was named Dr. Hansen! Mordecai might have even known him from years ago.
CISRA hasn’t had any director for more than three years. PS, in fact, is with covert ops to hunt down former CISRA agents/employees that have gone rogue.
Malik and PS bang a shovel on a frying pan to summon Hansen, the sound gives him some form and it’s enough for everyone to start kicking ass. PS goes down but gets back up to fulfill her destiny. Malik and Mordecai are both looking bad, Stasia panics and the killling blow is a fallen banner pole.
A chopper arrives with CISRA reinforcements (the neighbor did call Jessica!) and takes the team to safety.
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