The Devil's Knowe - Part 5

While some of the party may decide to search for the missing child, the rest of the party can continue with their archaeological ministrations. At this stage, there are two targets for them to focus upon – the Watcher and the Devil’s Knowe. The first is largely a matter of grilling the Reverend along the lines of “what the Hell was he thinking?” Obviously, as an archaeological aficionado, he should have known better than to just dive into digging at a known site of Neolithic interest, and his arguments along the lines of “but it was just a small site” should hold no water with the archaeological purists in the party (even the argument that it was on Church land so technically it is Church property, holds no water). That being said, it is a relatively small site, so we’ll deal with it first.

The Cist beneath the Watcher

The Reverend reveals that, after digging at the base of the standing stone, he found a small stone box made of ancient slabs, about a metre square. He has photographs back at the rectory along with detailed measurements on a sketch drawing. Within, he found a skeleton and several stone artefacts – a broken Neolithic mace, several flint knives and a handful of small beads made of amber. He can show the party where the cist lies if they are inclined towards digging up the site again (not a good idea, archaeologically) and can show them all of his notes, drawings, photos and finds. In terms of best-practice, it behoves the party to go over the Reverend’s findings before reaching for the shovels, but let the players do as they like.

From perusing the Reverend’s notes, it’s clear that what he has done lacks a certain methodological approach, but could have been much worse. Of primary concern is the fact that – as he reveals – he was afraid that his digging might have caused the standing stone to become unsteady: to combat this, he dragged several wheelbarrow’s worth of gravel moraine to the Watcher and piled it about its base. Such infilling by material not naturally located in situ is a clear contamination of the site and deserves censure.

Going through the Reverend’s notes takes about four hours and, after this, the party members so doing are free to make Spot Hidden Rolls: those who make the rolls notice that the feet of the (headless) skeleton in the cist have strange, backward-pointing spurs, as if the feet of the individual had a weird rear toe, or claw, like a bird. The image is not completely clear, and some might argue that what they’re seeing are either the bones of another skeleton, lying below the revealed one, or are partial skeletal remains added to the grave along with its main occupant. Archaeology Rolls, or Idea Rolls stemming from a character’s previous reading, reveal that partial burials are a regular feature of Orcadian Neolithic exhumations. The final answer can only be revealed by once again digging-up the body.

Once again, the party gets to decide if this step is necessary or not.

The Dig Continues...

Two things are of concern in addressing the Devil’s Knowe: the accelerant that was used to cause the fire has seeped into the peat covering the mound and may well have drained through to the interior of the cist; this means that the contents may have been affected by the fire. Secondly, peat being flammable, anything of interest within the soil covering might well have been affected, or even destroyed. In most archaeological digs, the material removed from a dig – dirt, soil and other types of “fill” – is sieved before being discarded. This generally involves the material being immersed in water and then strained through mesh pans to catch any small items or material held with the fill. An Idea Roll by any party member with suitable skills will indicate that this is the way to go here. The party should divide themselves into teams with some members clearing the site, others approaching the opening of the cist, and the rest sieving the fill to locate any overlooked finds. The Reverend, who has chosen to accompany the party to the dig (his help no longer welcomed by the villagers), will help in this latter task.

Those characters addressing the opening of the mound will see that the presumed cist is covered by three parallel slabs of Orcadian stone. Gaps between these stones are plugged with heavy clay which is soon removed to reveal that there is a space within. The stones need to be cleared off before they can be removed and, if the party is doing its job properly, this should take the better part of a day to accomplish.

The party members sieving the fill will soon discover something interesting: within the peat are many small seeds, dried and withered, of a dark brown – almost black – colour. Also, soon after they begin, the water in the tub that they are using develops a yellowish scum on its surface – a powdery substance within the soil floats up from within the fill. Those making an Idea Roll, or with skills in Botany, will notice a resemblance to pollen which often collects in spring puddles in a similar fashion. The presence of the hawthorn bushes nearby may be a convenient explanation for this detritus; however, the players may wish to take samples of these substances for later identification. If no players choose to do so, the Reverend, when he sees the seeds, will take one and bite into it, to see if he can tell what it is. He reports that it is bitter, but an unfamiliar type of grain.

Those who have decided to clear the site of its hawthorn covering will have a heavy day of slogging work, and will take 1D2 points of damage from thorns before the day is over. If any of them have Occult skills of significance, have them make Idea Rolls while they work: If successful they may recall that hawthorn is often used in magical traditions as a ward against evil. They can act upon this morsel as they see fit. Otherwise, their day is fairly routine until the following:

Strange Encounter...

Those characters who have decided to go in search of the missing child, Elsie, are in for a bizarre meeting. (That being said, if no-one in the group has made this choice, then the party has a bizarre meeting at either the Watcher, or the ‘Knowe, whichever site they have decided to investigate.)

The encounter happens when the party (or its subset) are near the Watcher, or the ‘Knowe, preferably towards evening when the weather is starting to take a turn for the worse. At the Devil’s Knowe, the most likely ones to be involved in this encounter are those clearing the site outside the mound. The party members need to make a Listen Roll; those successful hear a strange “clop-clop” sound, like the footsteps of a horse. Investigating, the players will have to make a Spot Hidden Roll on the Resistance Table versus a Hide Skill of 55%. If unsuccessful, the party members will hear the sound a few times further, fading into the distance; if successful, they will spot a shadow lurking, either in nearby underbrush, or just within sight in the mist and rain. If they approach, they will see the following creature:

Once it realises that it has been seen, the creature snaps its teeth together at the viewer(s) – “clop-clop!” – and sprints off into the foul weather. The witnesses must make a SAN Roll – 0/1D6. Pursuit will be ineffectual: the creature – much like a rabbit – seems especially designed for running uphill, and will quickly leave any human followers behind. If any dogs are present, they will strenuously avoid attempting pursuit, whining and cringing away from the being.

Let the party mull this over...

To Be Continued...