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Scene 10 – Rising Action 6 of 8 – Westgrove PD
Modified proposal: Make the location less favorable
Danger: Risk honor or reputation
Who: A political or reasonable person
Waldo is awakened in the early morning hours by Clem shouting at him. Reid is there too and also, Mayor Sartain. The Mayor looks irritated and starts screaming at Waldo.
“Where are the kids, Holman? Tell us, you fucking freak!” the Mayor rages. Reid steps between the Mayor and the bars of the cell.
“Mr. Mayor, please?” Reid implores.
Waldo starts to realize how much trouble he is in. Bopper whimpers.
“We’re going to tear your house apart, Holman,” the mayor continues. “This is the end for you.”
Waldo decides to try to reason with the Mayor and hopefully Reid, too. “Mr. Mayor,” Waldo begins. I saw them at the Old Sykes House. They were in the basement doin’ devil worshippin’. I swear. I can show it to you.”
(Charm check vs. 14 vs. 8 +7 = 15. Success)
Something about Waldo’s words causes the Mayor to stop his ranting. “The Old Sykes House? We’ll find Cooper Sargent if we go there?”
Waldo’s not so sure about that. “Well, I saw him there…with people in hoods. They…they painted a big whatchamacallit? Pentathlon on the floor.”
“Pentagram,” Reid corrects from the sidelines.
The Mayor’s face changes. “Let him out, Reid.”
Reid is shocked.
“We’ll let him take us there so he can prove it.”
The deputy pauses and then goes ahead and unlocks Waldo’s cell.
Scene 11 – Rising Action 7 of 8 – The Old Sykes Place
Modified proposal: Add some reward or good news
Findings: Reveal a key location
Oracle: lacking fear
Waldo is led from the police car, Bopper tagging along. Reid and the Mayor look through the front door and see that the floor has collapsed into the basement. The Mayor says there should be a cellar entrance around the back.
Sure enough, they find the cellar door and descend down the steps. It’s early in the evening, and the sun is setting, so Reid pulls his flashlight to help them find their way past. The Mayor wanders around looking for anything. Waldo notices Bopper sniffing the ground and follows him. He comes across a locked door that leads to a room under the sideyard of the estate. Waldo tries to push it open.
(Brawn check – 8 vs. 9. Success)
Waldo puts his shoulder into it, and the door cracks, but the lock is broken. On the other side is a grimy room with an empty crate intended for a large dog. A stench erupts from the room, and Waldo gags, as does Bopper. The Mayor and Reid rush over. “I’ll be damned,” says the Mayor.
“We need to call for back-up right…” Reid is cut off when he sees the Mayor pointing a revolver at him.
“I don’t think we’re calling anyone.” The Mayor fires, hitting Reid in the stomach. The deputy falls back into the room. Waldo and Bopper rush after him. The Mayor pulls the door shut, sees it’s broken, and starts piling whatever he can in front of it. Waldo realizes he’s been trapped here with a friend who is bleeding out a lot.
Scene 12 – Rising Action 8 of 8 – Secret Room under the Old Sykes Place
Modified proposal: Make the location more favorable
Activity: Looking for some answers
Pending questions: How is the statue moving?
Waldo starts looking through the room to find another way out. There’s a shelf full of old books. Maybe there’s a secret passage? He starts tearing down the books and the shelf.
(Brawn check – 7 vs. 6+1 token. Success)
The shelf topples over on Waldo. After a beat, his head pops up from a pile of books. He notices one from the gilded letters on the cover: My Confession by Abel Schmitt. Schmitt was the man who sculpted the statue of Enoch Varney in the square. Waldo flips the book open, searching for something that might help.
(Brains check – 10 vs. 2. Gain 1 Adversity token. Failure)
Waldo finds himself more confused than when he started. He tucks the book under his arm and rushes over to Reid. Reid has gone pale. His shirt is stained with blood, which has puddled on the ground. He isn’t responsive.
(Grit check – 10 vs. 6+4+1 = 11. Success)
Despite logic, Waldo manages to stop the bleeding enough. He doesn’t know what to do next.
“Psst. Waldo”
He looks up to see the face of Old Sally Gilliam wearing her newly repaired magic goggles.
“Looks like you need some help.” Waldo is so relieved.
Scene 13 – Climax 1 of 4 – Town Meeting
Modified proposal: Cause frustration, stress, or worry
Oracle: dangerous finding
The citizens of Westgrove are gathered at the town hall for a meeting regarding the kidnappings. The Mayor oversees the meeting, banging a gavel as the townsfolk argue and shout amongst themselves about what is going on. He tells the people they are going to talk about what is going on, but he has to tell them that Deputy Wheeler has gone missing. Wheeler’s son, Eric, sits in the crowd, teary-eyed over this news. Rita Hyde sits among the crowd, feigning concern.
Waldo busts in the doors, followed by Bopper and Sally Gilliam. Reid is in Gilliam’s beat-up station wagon parked just outside.
“Doc Winslow!” Waldo shouts. “Reid’s been shot. He needs your help.”
The good doctor stands and rushes out to check on the deputy. Eric stands. “My dad. He’s alive?”
“He Is, Eric. No thanks to the Mayor here. He shot ‘im!” Waldo replies.
The Mayor shouts at Deputy Clem. “Waldo! He escaped the jail. Shoot him before he hurts someone!”
Clem is a little hesitant about drawing on his buddy.
“Clem, buddy.” Waldo pleads. “You gotta trust me. He hurt Reid.”
(Charm check – 6 vs. 7. Success)
Clem takes his hand away from his holster. “I think we need to see how Reid is and take everyone’s statement, Mr. Mayor.”
The Mayor glances at Rita Hyde. She casually gets up as the room descends into bigger chaos than before and moves towards a side door to slip away. Waldo spots her, too, and makes a dash.
(Flight check – 12 vs. 11+1 token = 12. Success)
Waldo cuts Hyde off. “Exactly where do you think you’re going?” He smirks, imagining he’s saved the day.
Hyde clutches the Celtic cross necklace and mutters something. The ground shakes. A wall shatters and falls away as the statue of Enoch Varney stomps inside the town hall, reaching for Eric Wheeler. Waldo can’t let Eric be taken or hurt.
(Flight check – 14 vs. 19. Success)
Waldo knocks Eric to the ground, feeling the statue’s fingertips graze his back. “Run!” Waldo orders Eric. Hyde mutters something but slips through the statue’s hole. The statue follows her into the night.
Scene 14 – Climax 2 of 4 – Streets of Westgrove
Random proposal: Meet or recall a notable character
Character: Old Sally Gilliam
Oracle: separate rules
Waldo and Bopper pile into Sally’s station wagon. She tells Waldo to drive as she dives into the backseat, digging through piles of junk and esoterica, searching for something.
“Rita is the other witch I had been sensing,” Gilliam explains. “I could sense her dark magic all over this town for the last few years, but I couldn’t pinpoint where it was coming from.”
Waldo is slightly flabbergasted despite everything he’s seen. “You mean Rita Hyde is a literal witch? Like Margaret Hamilton, ‘I’ll get you my pretty’ witch?”
“Witches aren’t like the movies, Waldo.” Gilliam corrects him.
“Ain’t that sumthin’,” Waldo says to himself.
“You know I’m a witch, right?” she inquires.
Waldo goes wide-eyed. “I thought you wuz just a strange old lady. A real witch. How about that?”
The Enoch Varney statue hurtles a park bench towards the car, and Waldo attempts to avoid it.
(Flight check – 10 vs. 4 + 3 Adversity tokens = 7. Failure. Gain 1 Adversity token)
(I chose to spend those tokens because the difference between the target and your ability roll does affect how bad the failure is.)
Waldo swerves, and the car goes off-road through the park in the square. He manages to pull into the Rose Brothers Barbershop parking lot. A quick check in the rearview and Waldo sees the statue disappear around a corner. “What can you see with the goggles?” he asks Gilliam.
She adjusts her magic-detecting goggles. From her POV, a visible trail of magical energy is heading out of town. “Head that away!” she orders Waldo, who reverses the wagon and follows her lead.
Scene 14 – Climax 3 of 4 – The Old Sykes House
Modified proposal: Bring someone quite inconvenient
The station wagon pulls into the driveway of the old abandoned house. Waldo hops out, followed by Bopper. Gilliam checks the back of the station wagon and emerges with a 12 gauge shotgun. “You think we’re gonna need sumthin’ like that?” Waldo asks. His eyes are wide as he watches her load it with shells.
“I don’t want to get caught with our pants down,” she retorts.
Waldo swallows. His throat is dry. “I thought you’d just do some magic on ‘em,” he says.
Gilliam chuckles. “Nothing as magical as a shotgun blast.”
“Put it down,” a familiar voice chimes in. Gilliam and Waldo look up to see the Mayor pointing his gun at them. Gilliam goes to put the shotgun on the ground. Waldo decides to bumrush the Mayor.
(Brawn check – 7 vs. 3. Failure. Gain 1 Adversity token.)
Waldo causes the Mayor to wobble, but he regains his balance and kicks Waldo in the stomach. Our hero crumples. He feels the barrel of the gun against the back of his head. “Kick the shotgun over here,” the Mayor orders Gilliam. She does as he says. “Around the back to the cellar door.” Gilliam helps Waldo up. Bopper growls at the Mayor under his breath.
They get to the cellar door, already open, and descend. There is Rita Hyde, the Enoch Varney statue, and Cooper Sargent bound and gagged on a wooden table.
“Just in time for the ceremony,” Rita smirks. “And the old witch, too? Can’t wait to burn her alive afterward.”
The Mayor pushes Waldo forward. Bopper bites on the man’s pant leg. The Mayor tries to shake him off. Waldo takes a chance to swing around and try to clock the Mayor.
(Fight check – 9 vs. 11. Success)
The Mayor trips. Waldo pulls one way, and the force of the punch directs him the other. The handgun and shotgun clatter to the floor. Waldo, Rita, and Gilliam all jump for them. Waldo tries to grab the shotgun.
(Grit check – 7 vs 3+1 = 4. Trigger Lucky – spend 2 AT to reroll. 7 vs. 3. Failure. Gain 1 Adversity token)
Rita trains the shotgun barrel on Waldo. “The power of Satan makes me faster than you, bumpkin!”
Waldo looks genuinely confused. “I thought you were all against the Devil and that stuff?”
Rita looks at Gilliam and then back to Waldo. Gilliam is clenching her jaw. “It’s you dullards that make this all possible.”
(Oracle question: Does Rita shoot Waldo? Answer: No.)
Intent: wants what you have
Rita seems to realize the truth while contemplating what to do next with these people. “You’re so innocent for a grown adult, aren’t you, Waldo? Quite powerful, hm?” The Celtic cross necklace glows, and the Enoch Varney statue stomps forward. “Snatch him,” she orders. Waldo attempts to dodge the golem.
(Flight check – 13 vs. 14. Success)
Waldo rolls out of the way. Rita trains the gun on Gilliam. “It’s her and the boy or you. Your choice, Waldo.”
There’s nothing else Waldo can do.
Scene 15 – Climax 4 of 4 – The Old Sykes House & Somewhere Else
Modified proposal: Add some reward or good news
Waldo is held in the palm of the statue. Rita is finishing up binding Gilliam and Bopper. Even with a gag, Bopper still tries to bark his opinion. She pulls the ceremonial dagger from her robes and mutters some words in another language. Through holes above them, Waldo can see clouds gathering in the sky, a storm brewing. The blade falls. It stabs Waldo in the heart. His blood spills. The world fades. Darkness.
oracle: moving transformation
Waldo blinks his eyes and finds himself lying on a white table in a white void. “Hello? Old Lady Gilliam? Bopper? Anybody?”
An octopus comes swimming through the air from above, materializing into the white void. Its body changes colors and patterns as it swims around Waldo’s head. The colors and shapes are some of the most unusual Waldo has ever seen, and his brain can’t quite come up with words for them. He hears the words in his mind.
“And just who the hell are you?” it speaks.
“Uh-uh-uh, I’m Waldo?” the man replies.
A beat. An annoyed cluck…of a tongue? “She sent you, didn’t she?”
“She as in…Rita?” Waldo asks.
The octopus stopped, floating in mid-air. “Yeah. She keeps thinking that if she sacrifices children, I will give her some power or something. I’m not sure how she came to that conclusion. It’s pretty fucked up, and I thought I made that clear to her. Now she sends me some sort of man-child.”
“I’m Waldo,” the man chimes in.
“Cool,” the octopus continues. “You know what would be fun? I’m going to send you back, okay? But first, I want to make some changes.”
The octopus starts to crackle and glow with demonic energies. We see Waldo’s face lit up by the glow. “Ain’t that sumthin’!”
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