The Journal of Cassandra Kane: Her Adventures in the Wild Wild West

Dime Novel: A Pinch of Salt

Real World Date: March 2007

Game World Date: May 1878

Season One, Episode Three

May 21, 1878

Mr. Parker wants us to find another missing friend of Mr. Conkling & Mr. McClennan – Nikolas Klauber. An inventor who was working on a project to solve the food shortage.

Last known whereabouts was Lynchberg two weeks ago (A mining town)

Got paid! A whole $100!!!!

Need to ride to Fort Lincoln to get boat to Lynchberg (In maze)

In Lincoln men (soldiers) talk in whispers about the Lieutenant. They say he killed a group of Confederate soldiers in cold blood who had surrendered. Not sure I believe that – I’ll keep an eye on him.

Captain Jamison – We take a Schooner to Lynchberg 2-day boat ride.

May 23, 1878

On the boat ride I see a man in a derby with long hair and brown coat staring at us. Corman goes up and talks to him.

May 24, 1878

Arrive in Lynchberg. Getting off boat we see two men walking an angry woman down to the docks. Politely but firmly walk her down as she complained about the sinning (A temperance woman?) She said that her name is Caroline and she was trying to save all the sinners.

She said that they found some man dead early this morning at Mariposa Lil’s Saloon.

We meet Mariposa who said (as I guessed) that the dead man is Nikolas Klauber and if we could find out what happened because the death is hurting her business.

Room is the scene of a grizzly death. Torn apart body in the room but no gear.

Hunch:

A hand throws some bones onto the ground. The zombies (2) were pulling Klauber apart as a 3rd one shoved a gag in his mouth. The zombies were dripping with blood.

Talk to Mariposa and she says that he mainly talked to H.G. Kent (assayer & owner of the general store) and Naley Jack Jr. (blacksmith). A drunk named Jessie mentioned how his friend named Andy hates Germans.

Aeislynn & Corman go talk to Mr. Kent (since Corman says he knows him). Reggie goes to talk to Andy. Marguerite, the Lieutenant and I go to the blacksmith.

Blacksmith:

Said that Klauber wanted him to help make an invention. Said nothing had been agreed on. Also mentioned an Injun named Red Cloud gave Klauber “evil eye” looks about using Ghost Rock.

H.G. Kent

Gives Aieslynn & Corman a business card for Klauber (7 A Kingwen Street, Shan Fran) Says Klauber was trying to make an invention that changes salt water into fresh water.

Aieslynn & I go to talk to Red Cloud. Corman wants to wait until morning but I tell him that Red Cloud will be gone by morning. He still wants to wait. So Aieslynn & I go find him. He doesn’t know anything about death or who could make zombies.

Derby guy follows us but doesn’t interfere.

May 25, 1878

Next morning when Corman goes to find Red Cloud he’s is gone. Corman throws me in the water cuz of spite because I’m always right.

Hunch: On a letter that Marguerite found in Klauber’s room:

See a handwriting on paper in English, German, and Chinese. The paper rips and zombies. A waterfall of blood.

Finally decide to head to Shan Fan. Get back on boat.

May 26, 1878

Arrive in Shan Fran. Go to Klauber’s:

7A Kingwen Street. It’s a hotel “8 Immortal Hotel”.

A note to Aieslynn from Y.F. is waiting for us at the hotel. “Hope this helps”. Looks like it was Klauber notes. In the notes he mention “Harmon”

The Lieutenant meets a man called Ling Lou who takes us to meet Mr. Hou at the Jade Pavilion. Hou owns “8 Immortal Hotel” and set him up in a hotel. Mr. Hou is another backer of Klauber. Says Klauber had another contact in Los Angeles Mr. Harmond Kelly.

Klauber and two bodyguards were attacked by “bloody zombies”. The two bodyguards were killed but he escaped. Three weeks ago at hotel. Left after that.

Having dinner in the Jade Pavilion with Mr. Hou. Me, Marguerite, and Corman see Caroline (back from Lynchberg) come down the stairs. She looks surprised to see to see us. She tried to hide it but then a whole bunch of Chinamen (possible triad) bust into the restaurant. We quickly kill 4 guys. Then Caroline shoots one of the chinamen and jumps out the window. The rest of the men turn and run off. I don’t know if she’s working with them or just bad/good timing on their part.

We talk to Master Hou who says she’s a tenant who preaches the bible. We search her room and find a picture of her in a nun’s habit. Some plans for the city of Lost Angels and burned plans that we think are of Klauber’s invention.

Reggie and the Lieutenant go off to see if anyone knows the woman. Corman stakes out across the street. Marguerite stays in Caroline’s room and Aieslynn & I take the next room down to wait and see if she comes back.

About an hour later we hear gunfire from the street and I go check it out. Through the window downstairs I see Reggie bleeding almost dead on the ground surrounded by thugs who are pointing guns at the Lieutenant and his man. I use my cards to get them off him and then gunfire starts back up. Turns out there were more guys pointing guns at them from down the street. Don’t know if I would have risked their lives if I could’ve seen those guys. By the time we’re done 12 men are dead – various different thugs, Chinamen, white, etc.

One of the Lieutenant’s men (the rest were out patrolling the docks) said that word was Caroline had hopped a boat to Lost Angels. So after spending only 8 hours in Shan Fran we got back on our boat to follow her.

May 26-39, 1878

Boat ride to Lost Angels.

May 30, 1878 Thursday

As soon as we dock Marguerite says that she can sense that an artifact (she doesn’t know what though) that’s her family is here. In the center of the city. And it’s not supposed to be here.

We ended up only 3 hours behind her boat. We can hear the church bells ringing and there must be some special service today. In the giant cathedral Reverend Grime “summons” food for the people. It’s a pretty bad con – lots of misdirection and it’s easy to fool folks. Corman and I eat some of the food while the others check out the church – as best they can that is.

Marguerite really wants to find that artifact – but I try to talk her out of it. There’s no way we can storm around this church looking for that thing and survive. We’d get killed. We’d need something like a Divine Intervention to make it out of the heart of the city alive doing something like that. (That’s what all the books say.)

Later – I go with the Lieutenant and his mentor, a Priest, to find out about Reverend Grimme. Caroline is one of Grimme’s elders – an original member he brought with him.

Marguerite, Corman, Reggie & Aeislynn find Mr. Harmon Kelly and while talking to him there’s an attempt on his life. So he come clean and said he had a proto-type on an island 2 hours way from Lost Angles.

We get to the island and start packing in on board when we see bones get thrown and 7 blood zombies formed. Then Caroline DeCarlo walks in and spills her guts (tell me your evil plan!!) to us.

She said that the Reverend ordered us killed & the device destroyed in order to keep famine in the land.

Then make the South rise again in the desolate land and to control the populace with hunger. “So we will control this land and these people who are sheep so when we are hungry we will eat them and they are fools and already eat flesh.”

I gotta say I felt a bit sick at that point!

On the shore we can hear the Lieutenant’s men shooting at something. They were attacking more blood zombies. Guardian Angels (Grimme’s soldiers) from Lost Angels showed up looking for the traitor and helped the Lieutenant’s men. They said that Reverend Grimme had sent them to find her and to thank us for stopping her. He said he would give us a blessing.

We figure we should go back and see the Reverend to find out with this is all about. See if we could find out more about him. We’re damn certain that he lied about wanting her killed and us rescued. But we want to keep Mr. Kelly and the device safe so him with the Lt’s men for protection back to Fort Lincoln. We figure we’ll either be attacked back at Lost Angels or we’ll just catch another boat home.

We meet the Reverend in his private chambers. He thanks us and says that a friend of Caroline’s, named Maria, betrayed her and he’ll be interrogating her.

He then hands me a small chest filled with $500 in gold.

I can’t help but use my hunch on him.

Hunch: Grimme’s story

After the Great Quake I see Grimme, Caroline, and a bunch of people walking through the wasteland. People starving. No food. They turn to cannibalism. But Grimme refuses. He doesn’t eat. He dies. The people eat him. He comes back to life. Leads people. He summons monsters with his chanting – at sermons – and then he fights them off. His followers increase. He creates the city of Lost Angels. VERY BAD MAN.

I guess Grimme figures out what I did because he then stood back and summons two demons. They, the Reverend, one of the Guardian Angels in the room attack us. The other Guardian Angel in the room must have felt bad for us because he started attacking the Demons. Marguerite runs out of the room looking for her family’s artifact – she keeps saying she felt the pull. The rest of us try and fight. We can’t hurt the demons at all. Reggie & Corman are cut down. I can’t seem to move. The Reverend keeps trying to hit me with his staff. But the magic washes over me harmlessly.

Then, as if it couldn’t get any stranger – a giant snake slides out of the back room. It looks at all of us. I felt my vision go dark and then when I could see again I was on the boat with Mr. Kelly and the Lieutenant’s men. All of us were.

See!!! Divine intervention!!! Just like I said!!