Session 14 - The Skree Farm Report
General Summary
The Hawks loaded up the hand cart from the Durns' farm with the wounded Patch and the inconsolable Leeka, the small chill box from the farmhouse, and a small can of gas found in the barn and set off down the two-track leading to the west. Almost an hour in, they come around a bend into a small group of people heading the other way.
A tough looking woman, slightly older and short, leads a large dog at the end of a thick chain. Behind her are a skinny, rat-like man in an oversized coat carrying a long barreled rifle and a humungous dark-skinned man wearing a makeshift breastplate, a long-handled axe slung casually across his shoulders. These turned out to be Katy and Mike, the dog; Prete Sprain; and Marcus. It was Marcus that seemed to lead the group, asking the Hawks who they were, where they came from, and how they came to be pulling the Durns' cart. After some tense words, Marcus instructs Katy to have Mike "check em out".
When Mike comes closer, the party notices that he doesn't have any eyes. Not that his eyes are missing or clouded over - there never were eyes to begin with. The dog bypasses Jericho entirely, as if he isn't even there, and proceeds to "sniff" the rest of the group, though the dog doesn't seem to be smelling with his nose. He growls softly at Leeka who backs far away from the beast. Katy confronts Jericho about the dog's lack of reaction to him, asking him if he is even human. Marcus tells Katy to "check his teeth". Eventually, it is determined the party is safe enough, or human enough, or whatever it was that Mike was looking for. Marcus has Prete take up position behind the cart and Katy the lead, with Mike checking out the road. Marcus says that the Mainer will have to hear the party's story and determine what is to happen with them.
After another half hour or so, the road opens up into a several acre clearing where the Skree farmstead lies. The most prominent sight is the charred skeletal remains of the Skree farmhouse, directly across from the cart path. Only the blackened fieldstone chimney stills stands, the rest reduced to carbonized planks and ash. Two men, farmhands by the look of them, are moving through the rubble, shifting the charred remains about in search of something. The fire that took the house also seems to have jumped to the large barn next to it, taking about half the roof and most of the closest wall.
Within the middle of the clearing are two men around a small portable table. One, a softer looking man, most likely one that is not a farmer, sits at the table, papers and note books in front of him. The other stands, both hands propped up on the table. This man looks like he is of two worlds. His clothes are cut in fancier styles - a waistcoat and proper trousers - but the fabric has more in common with the rough woolens the farmers wear than the style would belie. He wears a small pair of honest to goodness eyeglasses, probably a relic of Earth That Was. He looks up as Marcus leads the party over to the table.
The be-speckled man is addressed as the Mainer, which Patch remembers as being one of the two people in charge within Elmont. Specifically, the Mainer administers all of the farms and farming activity for the town. With a slightly more cultured accent, the Mainer addresses the Hawks after Marcus fills him in on how he and his party came upon them. The Mainer is highly doubtful of the Hawks' tale of 'fish people come up from the Lake'. Prete also tries to pile on scorn upon the party, but Marcus shuts him down. During their discussions, the farmhands call the Mainer over to the ruined farm house. The party sees them raise up the burnt and blackened remains of a hand and forearm pulled from the wreckage. With this, the Mainer goes over to speak with another man who had been removing and apparently cataloging the contents of another building near the cart track, speaking with him softly and placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.
After noticing that Leeka Nin is with the party, the Mainer pulls her away from the cart and takes her to one of the smaller outbuildings for questioning. Before he goes, he sends Marcus, Katy, and Prete to explore the Durns' farm and see if there is any evidence for the Hawks' story. The party requests the ability to make some food, claiming that they haven't eaten at all that day. The man at the table, one Edison Sanders who is the dutiful clerk and records keeper of the town, requests that the men remove all firearms and place them on the ground near him. Just as a precaution, you see. Jericho removes the shells from each of his guns while Volk unlocks his crossbow. Both comply with the disarmament. Edison also collects the names, place of residence, and affiliations of each of the party.
Two farmers, Horat Sczimbla and Tim-tim Connely, who previously had been standing idly behind the table are set to watch the party. Tim-tim gathers some wood and a pot with water for the Hawks to use. Both men eventually sit and join the party in preparing and consuming their meal. A woman the party noticed upon entering the clearing, sitting on a couple stumps near the building with the inventorying man, comes over. She is dressed in rough buckskins and has a longbow near at hand. Addressed prior as Sandy, she declares that the scent coming from the sizzling meat pulled from the chillbox is from an animal local to Deep Lake and nothing that comes from near Ridgetown, implying that the chillbox (or at least the meat) isn't theirs.
Near the end of their meal, Marcus and his crew reappear at the end of the cart path, sending Tim-tim running to get the Mainer who has been shut away in the barn with Leeka this whole time. The Mainer and Marcus meet back at the table. When asked for his report, Marcus replies:
"They're all dead."
Patch
Charles Volk
Jericho Caurd
Report Date
10 Sep 2020
Primary Location