Links to historic material that figures in the game (anything not on the list hasn't been approved and may not have happened in our alternate world):

Mystery of the skulls
The Hartwell Family
The Red Horse Tavern

Downloads:

Map of Concord
Character Sheet

Other notes:

The Ripper's Letter

Marty, Mike J. and I built a dice roller a couple of years ago, here it is by request, it reamins unfinished:

The Flash Dice Roller

Important Information:

The Characters
The Non-Player Characters
Places of Interest






Back to Danceofthedead.com

February 12, 1889 - The party arrives in the dark of the night at Longfellow's where they hear of the horrible plight of two of the towns less reputable women. They've been slain in a manner similar to the recent murders overseas in the Whitechapel district of London, England. The mayor pleads with the Major, Francois AWOL legionnaire, and the recently arrived Doctor Gibson to accompany him to the town's morgue, his expalnation is vague in that he doesn't want to panic the townsfolk unduly. In the corner sits a lithe gambler who intrigued by the night's proceedings takes note and shuffles his cards inconspicuously.

The four men and the Mayor's attractive niece Ethel retire to the morgue in hopes of gleaning more accurate information as to the nature of these unspeakable crimes. The gambler remains behind, in order to bide his time. About an hour after they've left he is startled to observe some oddly dressed men enter the inn, and not finding what they are looking for they just as quickly leave - Elmer Horne, the gambler, easily makes a connection between the night's events and heads out into the storm to warn the good Mayor and his companions.

At the morgue Doctor Gibson examines the body of S. Pennywhistle and finds that her brain pan and sinuses have been stuffed with buttercups and lily of the valleys. She's been eviscerated and expertly dissected (while live) by what appears to be someone with medical expertise. Ling Ho, the morgue assistant, terrified by the spectacle returns to his room where he has a brief exchange with Elmer Horne before Horne is able to subdue him at gunpoint and head out into the morgue to warn the Mayor about the masked men whom he has just observed laying an ambush for the party.


One of the two figures found with the two murdered women.

Horne unfortunately arrives too late as the party has already headed out the front door in an effort to return to the inn and hopefully find Pennywhistle's missing sister whom Francois knows biblically. Ethel is the first to exit the morgue and is immediately gunned down by the masked men. Francois rolls out into the street with his feet in the air firing between them, his boots a makeshift shield. The party spreads out into the street, Gibson heroically trying to revive the stricken Ethel.

The rascal Horne moves to the door and having a gunfighter's presence of mind he manages stay behind cover where he expertly aims and blows out the brains of one of the assassins. Francois has also struck one of the men from the top of the carriage - he falls back in a spray of gore. Meanwhile a desperate Gibson contends with a retracted artery and is bathed in Ethel's blood, he knows full well that she is seconds from expiring - finally in a final Herculean effort he is able to stabilize her amidst the flurry of gunfire, bullets throwing up dirt around him.

The remaining assassins take flight and the carriage flees to the west with Francois and the Major in dogged pursuit on foot, following their tracks before the storm obliterates them.

Elmer and Doctor Gibson return to the Inn where they procure horses and rustle up Doctor Clem Stuart who agrees to come with them and minister to the stricken Brookbank. When they return to the morgue, Ethel and the Mayor are gone as if they'd never been there, only some spattered blood remains.


One of Ethel's assassins

Upon reentering the morgue the two doctors and Horne find the unfortunate Ling hanged in his small room and a number of the pickled specimens removed from the morgues laboratory. Elmer rides out with Gibson and they meet Francois and the mayor on the old west bridge where the two have found the carriage of the assassins crumpled in the frozen river bed, slowing sinking into the ice and littered with the rider's corpses, minus their hands and feet, and clothed only in their pants and undershirts. Identification is impossible and the culprits appear to have vanished up river's shoreline in an effort to hide their tracks. There are three bodies. The confused party heads back to the morgue. Who were these masked men? Were they trying to kill Ethel or did they have a different target in mind?

July 21, 2003 - The nightwind blows cold and hard amongst the buildings of historic Concord; driving rain and sleet chill the soul as you walk the streets, hoping that soon you will come upon the goal of your late night foray, Longfellow's Wayside Inn. For various reasons you all make your separate ways to the old tavern, curious as to why the mysterious Doctor Ishmael Caruthers has need of your presence so urgently. The waning moon barely lights your way as you descend on the relatively lively inn.