*** Session 16 - Cast of Characters ***

Bruno Eberhardt: A 1st generation German immigrant and seasoned police officer. He does some work on the side for Le Doux and others to supplement his income.

Chester Lee Nibbons: A younger, bookish White guy who works as Le Doux's "partner" in order to pay off a gambling debt to him.

Benjamin "Hawk" Brooks: A Black street kid turned enforcer. He works as muscle and provides information for Le Doux, for a price.


And introducing...

Frank Callahan: An Irish ex-priest looking to take down The Society.

*** Session 16 - Scene 1 (of 7) ***

After leaving their discussion with Father Pallas, Eberhardt and Nibbons head back to the car and inform Hawk what they found out about The Society of St. Peter Martyr. They quickly recap what they know: 1) The Society is a faction of the Cult of Allatou, 2) They appear to be in some sort of interfaith war with The Committee and may have killed some of their members, 3) They are most likely responsible for the monk who attacked Nibbons and burned down the funeral home which killed the Grimes brothers and Roderick Krupp, 4) They most likely took Jerboa who was being held captive by The Committee when they killed Shiva Asgara and the couple of guards at Dolly’s Theatre, 5) The Society is led by Father Peter Vernon, 6) Father Vernon is the headmaster at the St. Francis Xavier School for Boys, 7) They need to get Jerboa back in two days or Thylo will come after Eberhardt, They may or may not be wanted by the police for the death of Harry Apostolou (not to mention the Apostolou crime family), 9) Someone marked Le Doux’s office with the yellow Cathar cross of atonement, and 10) They have had no success contacting Le Doux or Madge lately so who knows where they are.

Based on Father Pallas’ explanation, Eberhardt believes it is likely The Society holds their meetings at night at the school. He also surmises they probably don’t move Jerboa around much so they should head over to the school during the day to scout the area out and see if they can locate her while there are non-cult members around. Since the school is out of session for the summer, there won’t be too many people around so they should be able to look around without being noticed if they are careful.

Hawk suggests they head to a thrift shop to get some clothing for disguises so they can pose as construction workers. They head to a nearby neighborhood shop called “Secondhand Clothes, Secondhand Rose” and pick up some outfits.

They then drive Eberhardt’s woody car down to the school. Unfortunately, there are no construction sites near the school.

Hawk wants to get a closer look at the cars in the lot so they pull into the parking lot near the other cars.  Stopping the car and getting out, Eberhardt sees one of the cars has the clergy placard inside on the seat. As he’s looking, he sees a man standing near the parking lot who appears to be trying to look in the windows of the school.

Since the man is acting strangely, they decide someone should go up and talk to him. Because of Hawk’s ethnicity and Eberhardt’s accent, they feel Nibbons would be the most convincing. He agrees to a plan to approach the man under the guise of looking for the man in charge of their construction project they are there to meet.

Nibbons walks over to the man, asking him if he is the guy they are “supposed to meet about the job.” The man looks nervously at Nibbons and then at the others. He tells Nibbons he is not the man and has no idea what he is talking about. Chester can tell the man is Irish by his thick brogue.

Chester tries to clarify he is not connected to the construction project, and the man starts to get agitated. Nibbons asks him out of curiosity what he is there for. The man looks very nervous as he looks over the men and their clothes that don’t fit quite right and their clean skin.

Without warning, the man swings a punch at Nibbons. He ducks the blow easily and counters with a punch straight to the man’s jaw that drops him to the ground.

Seeing what’s happening, Hawk and Eberhardt run over and get between the men. Hawk asks him what is going on and why he tried to hit Nibbons.

The man starts yelling that they won’t take him and he knows what they are up to. Eberhardt wonders if the man is insane.

Hawk asks the man if he is with the police. The man says he is not but he knows what they are up to and they are going down. Hawk tells him they have no idea what he is talking about and are trying to find their friend.

The man looks them over again. He tells them he knows they aren’t what they say they are, but perhaps they aren’t with the people he’s looking into either. Eberhardt asks Nibbons what he told the man. Chester repeats the construction lie.

Hawk isn’t interested in keeping up the charade. He asks the man if the place isn’t what it seems to be. The man asks what they know. Hawk says they aren’t sure, to which the man says they shouldn’t be here then since it is not a safe place.

Wanting more information, Hawk wants to know why the man is there. He says he isn’t sure he should discuss it with them. Hawk notes there are a lot of strange things going on in the city and perhaps they could aid each other if they are willing to share information.

The man starts to get impatient with Hawk’s questioning, asking the others who the Black man is and why he is talking to him. Eberhardt says he works for them.

Eberhardt exchanges introductions with the man, who gives his name as Frank Callahan. He offers his hand; when Eberhardt takes it, he uses it to pull himself off the ground.

Callahan tells the others he knows more than they do about what is going on at the school and they should leave. He asks what they are doing, which Eberhardt re-explains they are looking for a friend. Callahan tells him he’ll find no friends there.

As Eberhardt stumbles trying to explain, Callahan asks Nibbons who he is. Nibbons says he is a simple construction worker which causes Callahan to ask Eberhardt if he isn’t very bright.

Eberhardt explains they believe there is a woman being held captive inside the school they need to free. Callahan asks who she is, noting the people inside are not likely to hold prisoners. Eberhardt says he probably wouldn’t believe the story if he told him.

Callahan says he could tell him some things about the school he might not believe. But he notes it isn’t safe to be talking here, so they should head to somewhere else to discuss it. Eberhardt responds something about a cone, which causes Callahan to exclaim the Black man must be the brains of the operation since no one else makes any sense.

*** Session 16 - Scene 2 (of 7) ***

Callahan takes his car and follows Eberhardt over to the nearby "Jose Entenmann's", a Mexican café and bakery named after a combination of the owner's name and the popular German bakery in Brooklyn. At this time of day, the café is quiet and they find a table off in the corner with no one around. They sit down to a coffee and are served the traditional novelty sombrero filled with donuts and tortilla chips that the restaurant is known for.

Callahan starts by giving his name again and explaining he is a former Catholic priest. The others give their names as everyone introduces themselves.

Hawk wants to get down to business quickly. He explains they all used to work for a private detective, and as part of their investigation were looking for a woman who they believe was abducted by the people at the school. Callahan reiterates his position that they people inside the school are unlikely to take prisoners.

As Eberhardt starts to explain they may not take a normal woman, Jose stops by to see if anyone would like to sample his new blueberry cream and chocolate wafer sandwich cookies. Callahan tries one, but finds it tastes stale.

Going back to the previous topic, Callahan says the woman must be unusual if the people at the school kept her.

Hawk starts to ramble about strange things going on in the city. Callahan points out he still isn't making a lot of sense. Hawk says on this topic, he's not trying to.

Callahan lays it out for them – if they tell him what is going on he'll agree to help them retrieve the girl. Eberhardt says the woman is a cone. Callahan says he must use the word "cone" for many things and asks what kind of cone she is.

Eberhardt, confused, says she is not a cone but a werewolf. Callahan appears to believe the outrageous statement, much to Hawk's surprise. He does caution Hawk, however, that Eberhardt might not be reliable enough to take with them as these are serious men.

Callahan asks why they think The Society has a werewolf. Hawk tries to lay out the story the best he can. He explains they all started working for a detective named Le Doux. When the ex-priest asks where Le Doux is, Hawk says they don't know, he may be dead or alive as many strange things seem to happen around Mr. Le Doux. Hawk also notes Le Doux kept a lot of things to himself.

Callahan asks if they are all private detectives then. Hawk clarifies he's just muscle. Eberhardt says he was with the police. The Irishman (correctly) assumes Eberhardt got thrown off the force for saying too many crazy things.

Hawk continues on, saying their last job was to find a missing man. Confused, Callahan says he thought they were looking for a woman. Hawk tells him he'll get to that in a minute then explains about how the man was connected to a family of werewolves through his girlfriend, who is the one they are trying to find now.

Callahan asks what happened to the original man. Hawk says he is dead, with Eberhardt clarifying he was eaten by the baby monster. The ex-priest says it is all very strange, much stranger than what he thought he knew.

Hawk explains they were looking in one of the bayous for the man and a monster lived there who ate him. Callahan asks if the "baby monster" is a giant baby. Eberhardt clarifies it is made up of baby parts. There is some back and forth as Callahan tries to understand what the monster is.

Bringing things back on topic, Hawk tells how Eberhardt went to see the girl's father after she went missing and now he's threatening to kill Eberhardt if they don't find the girl. Eberhardt, for his part, says originally they thought the girl was being held by The Committee but they are apparently at war with The Society, who they believe to have the girl now.

At the mention of The Society, Callahan perks up. He asks them to clarify they know of The Society. Eberhardt explains they know very little outside of what Father Pallas told them.

Callahan says he does not know Father Pallas but does know about The Society. He tells them what he knows: the Society of St. Peter Martyr was originally a study group of Dominican priests, who see themselves as an unsanctioned arm of the Roman Curia as soldiers for the Supreme Congregation of the Holy Office; or as it was formerly known, the Inquisition.

Father Peter Vernon is head of the order, with Callahan identifying the other priests as Father Sebastian Sloane, Father Prine, Father Martinelli, and Father Bryant. He says they have a couple of functionaries as well – Sister Elizabeth David and Brother Francis. Callahan notes he hasn't seen Brother Francis around in the last couple of days.

Callahan isn't completely sure what they are up to, but has discovered it has something to do with a demon named Allatou. According to Callahan, Father Vernon was a scholar of St. Peter Martyr who recently discovered something written about Allatou while investigating a Cathar document in the church archives connected to the Interrogatio Iohannis (or translated from Latin, The Questions of John).

Doing some of his own research, Callahan discovered the document was a Greek document, a lost chapter of the Ars Goetia. According to the writing of noted occultist Aleister Crowley, the Ars Goetia is one of the five spell books of the Lemegeton, an ancient grimoire of demonology (also known as the Lesser Key of Solomon) arguably based on the Pseudomonarchia Daemonum of Johann Weyer. It describes 72 demons, but the missing chapter has to do with a 73rd demon, Allatou.

Hawk asks if he knows anything about zombis or werewolves, but Callahan says he does not; he only knows about Allatou. Eberhardt explains about the rival cult, The Committee, also being interested in Allatou. And according to "the woman", there were three Allatou cults in the area.

Callahan asks if he means the woman they are looking for. Eberhardt clarifies that it is not, he meant the dead woman. He goes on to say there have been several dead women, with Hawk lamenting they've left bodies all over town. Eberhardt explains Patricia Walker was a demonologist they worked with.

Hawk asks the ex-priest if he is carrying a gun. Callahan states his belief in relying on his fists, admitting he wasn't able to take down the construction worker (sarcastically referring to the largely-silent Nibbons). Hawk offers him a silver butter knife but Callahan says his faith will protect him just fine.

Callahan isn't worried about the threats of zombis or werewolves, but does say he believes The Society is up to something dangerous for the whole city along the same lines as The Committee and the other cult they mentioned.

Eberhardt explains they first came across the cult when they were investigating the death of the Senator's son and that the cult was attempting to use the Senator's daughter as a host for Allatou to possess. He goes on to say they took out that cell of the cult. Callahan is impressed, having read something about that occurrence in the paper.

When Eberhardt asks him how he got involved in things, Callahan explains how he left the church because of the corruption and hypocrisy. Eberhardt suggests he should join the Lutherans, as they left the church for the same reasons a long time ago. Callahan quips he wants things to get better with the church, not worse.

Callahan goes on to explain he first became aware of the neo-Inquisition group after the death of a student at the Xavier school named Kip Adamson. His investigation revealed the youth died after Father Vernon and his group tried to perform some strange, unsanctioned type of exorcism on him.

Hawk breaks in to make sure Callahan believes in evil and the Devil, explaining everywhere they go someone seems to be unleashing some evil supernatural force on them. Callahan says he himself has performed exorcisms and knows the power of Satan is real, joking he has seen things that would make Hawk's balls shrivel and fall off (thinking back to his time with Father Merrin in Africa).

Continuing, Callahan says the cult under Father Vernon may believe their cause is righteous but they have committed great acts of evil and so have fallen under the spell of Satan and need to be stopped.

Hawk asks if Callahan saw them bring in a girl or anything like that during his investigation of The Society. Frank says he did not, explaining he only recently identified where they have been gathering (at the school). Eberhardt asks where they are when they are not gathering for cult activities, and Callahan explains all the men still serve as active priests.

The two men continue to negotiate, but do come to an agreement to help each other to deal with the cult and save Jerboa if it is possible. Callahan notes he also still needs to figure out what The Society is up to, as he has not had a chance to research the Ars Goetia.

Hawk wonders if the Henri Bouget book would be helpful at all. The ignorant Hawk refers to it as a "book of Satan's spells", but Nibbons produces it and explains it was actually a book for witch hunters to identify witchcraft. Callahan glances at it, and notes there might be something useful in there but it would require much more study.

The former priest then asks who is in charge on their side, and all three declare it was Le Doux. Callahan wonders what happened to Le Doux, but the others aren't sure, just that the man's brain went to mush before he disappeared from the hospital.

Around this time, a couple of uniformed cops enter the bakery to grab some donuts. Eberhardt recognizes them as officers James Crockett and Richard Tubbs. Tubbs recognizes Eberhardt and Nibbons and greets them.

After exchanging pleasantries, Tubbs explains Detective Rivera has been looking for the two of them about their boss, Le Doux. Eberhardt says they are out looking for him themselves.

Tubbs tells Eberhardt he probably shouldn't say anything, but Le Doux is wanted for a couple of murders. According to the officer, Le Doux apparently shot some Greek auto shop owner in his office then murdered his cousin and set fire to her building (they have witnesses at the apartment building and assume he must have ran across the Greek man first). Eberhardt chokes up a little at the mention of the murder of Apostolou, mentioning they know nothing about that a little too quickly. Luckily, the officer does not pick up on it.

Eberhardt starts rambling on about all of the bad things going on lately and how he is talking to Callahan about going into the priesthood. Tubbs, confused, says it might be the best thing for him. The two cops then grab a dozen old fashioneds and head out, with Crockett mumbling something about needing to hurry because "Sarge is on the warpath this morning."

Callahan is very confused about what he just heard, saying Le Doux sounds like a madman. Eberhardt agrees. Hawk reiterates many bad things have happened to them over the last few weeks and clearly Satan has taken over Le Doux and made him kill people (especially, Hawk and Eberhardt note, that poor Greek man).

Getting back to the matter at hand, Hawk talks about how The Committee had Jerboa, but they believe The Society took her. He wants to know what Callahan knows about Xavier, but the ex-priest knows little more than that it is where they hold their meetings of the Society of St. Peter Martyr; he says he has heard general rumors about strange things going on there, but nothing specific or actionable.

Eberhardt believes they need to go in and investigate now, posing as janitors or construction workers. Callahan points out they don't look or talk very convincingly and will get themselves killed if they try. Hawk still wants someone to go in to perform some recon and suggests Nibbons and Eberhardt go in.

Since The Society isn't active during the day, Eberhardt suggests they go in then first. Callahan points out they aren't there every night either. Hawk suggests since it is a school, someone could go inside and pretend to be looking for a school.

Callahan is worried they could be recognized. Eberhardt says he would have had hair before so they may not know him. Eventually, they agree to have Eberhardt use some of Nibbons' disguise kit and go inquiring about the school for his son, Heinrich.

*** Session 16 - Scene 3 (of 7) ***

After disguising himself and changing into his suit, Eberhardt heads to the school where he gives his name as Karl Soynig. He is introduced to Sister Elizabeth David who he tells he is recently from Sturnstein, Germany, and wants to enroll his son Heinrich in school.

Sister Elizabeth says she is not familiar with the town, but he says it is a small town near the Bohemian border. She asks him his business, and he explains he was an artisan working at the Lachlan crystal factory (who he insists are the finest makers of lead crystal in Germany).

Impressed, the nun suggests he might be able to assist with the stained glass repair they need. She mentions he’ll need to talk with Father Vernon, the headmaster, about actually enrolling. According to the nun, he is away at business at the moment. In the meantime, Eberhardt convinces her to take him on a brief tour of the school. Outside, Hawk tries to keep an eye on the school from a distance but is ran off by a patrolman.

Eberhardt doesn’t really listen to the nun talking about the school, and instead keeps his eyes peeled for anywhere Jerboa might be hidden. He notes he does not see a basement, but there is an entrance to an attic near the bell tower. He also notices there are still some students in attendance as part of summer school. He is also introduced to a few random priests and monks, but none have the names of the other members of the cult.

As the tour is winding down, she asks him if he believes it would be good for Heinrich. She also asks about his age, which Eberhardt gives as 15. The nun says he will fit right in, and notes that Father Vernon has many special correction programs for the older boys to maintain strict moral discipline. Eberhardt says they do not have any behavioral problems in Germany.

They then move back to the headmaster’s office where Father Vernon is waiting. The unassuming middle-aged priest greets Eberhardt. They discuss Eberhardt’s fictional child for a while until Eberhardt can ease his way out of the conversation and head back to the others. At the end of the meeting, Eberhardt sets up an appointment for noon the next day for Father Vernon to meet the boy, with the priest noting he has a study meeting tonight that will keep him up late.

The father also as about the boy’s behavior. After Eberhardt reassures him, the priest goes on a soliloquy about how as a recent immigrant Eberhardt has likely noticed the city is full of sin and debauchery. He says one day soon a real rain will come down from the heavens on this city to wash all of the filth off the streets.

*** Session 16 - Scene 4 (of 7) ***

Meanwhile, Callahan and Nibbons have been doing more research on the Ars Goetia back at Nibbons' apartment. They don't find anything on Allatou specifically, but Callahan spots something about a spell related to demons called the Bornless Ritual, or the Preliminary Invocation of the Goetia; he also recognizes it from Catholic lore as the Rite of Invocation. The ritual is described as the opposite of the Rite of Exorcism – it is designed to call forth a demon and trap it in a human host.

Nibbons considers the possibilities and realizes what The Society is up to. They aren't worshippers of Allatou; they are intent on using the spell to summon Allatou into a demonhost to control it as their weapon in their Inquisition against the city (which they see as corrupt). Callahan is terrified at the idea, noting a demon-possessed werewolf could be unstoppable and a threat to the whole city.

When Hawk and Eberhardt arrive, Eberhardt tells the others what he found. Hawk notes that it sounds like they might be performing their ritual that night. Callahan notes that they will all be there that night, which will make them their most dangerous.

Hawk wants to know what Callahan's intentions are towards The Society. Callahan says he wants to crush them, as they are a threat to the entire world. Hawk makes sure he clarifies he is willing to kill them. He then offers Frank a gun, but Frank insists his faith will protect him.

After some discussion, the group concludes the meeting is most likely taking place in the attic. Hawk suggests they use the fire escapes again and get into either the second or third floor of the building where the dorms are.

There is some concern about what will happen if Jerboa has been taken over already. Callahan believes he can exorcise the demon from her, and re-assures Eberhardt that it would not involve injuring her.

Hawk wonders what would happen if Jerboa were killed, which Callahan clarifies would release Allatou into the material world. He warns they do not have the capability to destroy a freed demon and clarifies their mission is to exorcise Jerboa if she has already been possessed (to send the demon back to its home plane) and destroy their copy of the spell document so they can't use it again.

*** Session 16 - Scene 5 (of 7) ***

Later that night, they make their way over to the school. Choosing a more secluded location in the parking lot, the four men make their way over to the fire escape.

Callahan wants Eberhardt and Hawk to go up first while he and Nibbons keep watch, since they are the muscle. They aren’t so sure about that plan but agree.

Hawk looks around outside for anyone around. He doesn’t spot anyone but can see the faint glow of candlelight coming from the attic area. He tells the others they may have already started the ritual.

He and Eberhardt head over to the fire escape. Hawk heads up first, quietly. Eberhardt follows, making a bit of noise.

At the top, Hawk pries open the window carefully and slides inside. Eberhardt follows behind. They can see they are in one of the hallways of the dorm halls.

With everything clear, Eberhardt signals for the others to come up. Callahan makes quite a lot of noise as he heads up, much to his frustration.

Up in the hallway, Hawk and Eberhardt hide themselves. A few seconds later, one of the doors of the dorm rooms opens and a boy sleepily heads into the hall. He wanders over to the window and spots Eberhardt.

Before the kid can make any noise, Hawk smacks him hard in the back of the head with his brass knuckles. It appears to crush part of his vertebrae, as the kid collapses on the floor. He flops around and makes noise.

When Callahan comes up, he sees the two standing over the dying child. He quickly takes out his knife and euthanizes the boy.

Nibbons follows in through the window and sees the three standing over the dead child. He starts to wonder if he’s made a serious mistake in choosing his companions.

Callahan whispers to Hawk to check the room. Hawk hears a gentle snoring inside; the student’s roommate appears to still be asleep. He quietly closes the door.

*** Session 16 - Scene 6 (of 7) ***

Eberhardt looks around for a janitor's closet they can move the body to. As he finds one, he spots Sister Elizabeth David hiding inside. She apparently has been watching him and quickly strikes, extending her rosary into a garrote.

Putting up his hand, Eberhardt blocks the garrote from strangling him. He then knees her right in the abdomen but it doesn't faze her too much.

Meanwhile, Hawk hauls the body back towards the closet. He can hear some commotion inside as the two continue to struggle.

When Hawk gets there, he sees the evil nun trying to kill Eberhardt. He punches her in the face but she manages to take the punch.

Releasing her garrote, Sister Elizabeth takes out a crucifix and removes the bottom to reveal a blade. She slashes out at Hawk but he manages to avoid her.

Hearing all the noise from the fighting, Callahan and Nibbons head over. They spot Hawk punching the sister again. This time, she collapses to the ground, unconscious. Eberhardt takes her crucifix knife for himself while Hawk ties her up and gags her.

Callahan tells the others he needs to perform a quick rite. When they step back, he cuts the woman's throat; the red blood getting all over her black and white habit. Hawk is shocked at the cold efficiency of the ex-priest as he grabs her rosary garrote.

*** Session 16 - Scene 7 (of 7) ***

With that out of the way, the men make their way over to the attic. Callahan cracks open the door and calls out “Vernon” in a (bad) falsetto, hoping to lure the cult leader down.

The attempt does get some attention, as Callahan hears someone coming down the stairs. He quickly shuts the door and steps back.

The door crashes open, revealing a large man in a full suit of medieval plate armor. It is adorned with a tabard of the Knights Templar and he is wielding a large sword. Hawk realizes this must have been the man who killed the guards at Dolly’s.

The knight steps forward and swings his sword, slicing Callahan across the chest. It is a bad wound, and the ex-priest stumbles backward as he tries to get away.

Behind the knight, Nibbons considers what to do. He knows his weak .25 pistol won’t be terribly effective against the armor and decides to try and knock the man over by slamming into him from behind. The knight stumbles but doesn’t go down.

Hawk, trained in expert street fighting by his friend James Kelly, goes for a kick in the back of the knight’s knee. The knight drops to one knee.

Eberhardt looks around for a fire extinguisher, but does not find one nearby. He then tackles the knight, taking him down to the ground.

With a booming, unnatural voice, the knight says something about “Who dares defile the body of Azrael?” as he throws Eberhardt off of him. The German manages to roll with the throw and avoids being injured.

As the knight is getting up, Hawk tries to raise the visor and jab the knight in his eye with the knife. However, as he opens the helm he realizes there is no one inside – it is an empty suit of animated armor. It is quite a shock to Hawk.

In the back of the hall, Callahan is trying to bandage his wounds as best he can with materials he finds in the janitor’s closet. When he hears Hawk yelling about there being no one inside, Callahan becomes worried the suit of armor is housing the power of an angel of death and might not be able to be stopped.

Nibbons, however, tries to put the knight into a bear hug. But Azrael breaks out of it off almost immediately.

Eberhardt pulls out the crucifix knife and puts it between him and Azrael, hoping his faith will keep the creature at bay.

Azrael says something about Hawk being an infidel and moves to stab him with his sword. He catches the man in the shoulder, wounding him.

In response, Hawk makes his way to the steps. As he heads up, he readies both his pistols, intent on killing everyone up there.

At the janitor’s closet, Callahan looks around for anything that may help. Seeing nothing, he realizes his best bet is to attempt to exorcise the spirit from the armor and heads back to the others.

Hearing Azrael calling Hawk an infidel, Nibbons tries a tactic of telling Azrael they are Christians. The ploy fails, and the knight hacks Nibbons in the arm with his sword.

Eberhardt, still using the crucifix, attempts to maneuver his way around the knight and back to the stairs. He starts heading up.

Meanwhile, Hawk reaches the top of the steps. He sees the five priests standing around Jerboa, who appears to be lying down on some kind of altar.

Hawk goes in guns blazing, shooting wildly at the men with both pistols. He downs one of the men.

Down below, Callahan starts calling out to Azrael with the rite of exorcism. The power of Christ does appear to compel Azrael, as the knight is clearly driven back. Nibbons watches in awe.

Azrael cowers back, stepping back in the hall away from Callahan. The ex-priest continues his rite, the holy water boiling as it strikes the armor.

Callahan tells Nibbons and Eberhardt to head up the stairs. When they get up, they see Hawk firing at the cultists. Eberhardt tries to help out, but misses.

Upstairs, shots continue to ring out as Hawk and the others turn the attic into the O.K. Corral. Another of the priests is shot and falls to the ground as the rest start charging Hawk.

As Callahan continues to weaken Azrael, the cultists start beating on Hawk and Eberhardt. Hawk responds by pulling out his chain belt and whipping one of the men with it.

Eberhardt elects to stab out with the crucifix knife. He stabs one of the men in the neck. Nibbons, stuck in the back, can only watch as the remaining cultists beat on Hawk.

Down below, Callahan’s exorcism completes. Azrael collapses into an inanimate set of armor. Frank then heads up the stairs as student begin emerging from their rooms. He shuts the door behind him.

At the top, Nibbons manages to get at one of the cultists on Hawk. He punches the man, knocking him out. Eberhardt finishes off the one fighting him with a second stab.

Hawk chain whips the remaining cultist, Father Vernon. Nibbons punches him as well but the priest still doesn’t go down. Instead, he strikes Hawk, knocking Hawk out.

In the back, Callahan makes sure to slit the throats of the other priests while Eberhardt heads over to Jerboa. Callahan then stabs Vernon, downing the man.

Nibbons tries to treat Hawk, but isn’t able to rouse him. Meanwhile, Eberhardt helps Jerboa off of the altar.

However, as she gets up he sees she now has a reddish glow around her. When she gets off the altar, Eberhardt sees she is floating in mid-air. He knows they are too late – Allatou has already taken control of the body and now they face the power of a demonhost. Callahan worries the ritual may not have even completed the binding, which would leave Allatou free to do whatever it wants…

*** Session 16 - Session Notes ***

Dueling vacations have been causing a bit of delays. This write-up is actually for the session we had two weeks ago, I simply didn't have time to write it up before leaving town.

And because I got back late on Friday, our next session won't be for another couple of weeks. After that, it may settle down a bit (though the Eberhardt player does have a new baby due soon).

This session introduces the Le Doux player's new character, which is really his new take on Father Mulroney from the previous campaign. We discussed several different character concepts but this one fit into the current storyline best.

The session went very well (despite the large gaps between sessions lately). And I made sure The Society themselves were introduced and taken out quickly (after all, there are still tons of threads out there from other past sessions).

The recap at the start of the session notes was actually taken from a recap I sent the players prior to the start of the session.

Other notes from the session:
* The thrift store name is a play on the name of a thrift store from Stephen King's stories. The Hawk player originally suggested Goodwill, which did exist at the time but wouldn't have been that far south.

* It took forever to get the other PCs to actually talk straight to Callahan, despite the Callahan player and I continuing to hint strongly they should do so. This is another of those situations where I get annoyed players get too into "playing the character" instead of just playing to genre conventions.

* The "Jose Entenmann's" joke was a reference to the fact the snacks for the night were a box of Entenmann's donuts and a bag of Doritos all poured into this tacky novelty sombrero chip and dip holder the Callahan player owns for some reason.

* Similarly, the sandwich cookie comment was about how the Eberhardt player didn't bring some blueberry Oreo cookies to the game because they became stale.

* Since Callahan was supposed to be investigating The Society, I took the opportunity to give all kinds of exposition on them.

* Again, the priests and other related characters for The Society are based on a mashup of two different John Saul novels.

* Obviously the comment about Callahan working with Father Merrin in Africa is an Exorcist reference.

* And, of course, officers Crockett and Tubbs (and detective Rivera) are all references to Miami Vice.

* It was a bit too pat having the cops stumble in and give exposition on Le Doux, but I wanted to avoid the group going on a tangent there.

* The plan to investigate the school by posing as a prospective parent is probably one of the group's best (after their initial terrible ideas).

* I had the ritual be in the attic because of the whole no-basements thing (oddly, on vacation I stayed at a hotel in New Orleans in the business district that did have a below-ground level so they must exist in places).

* Father Vernon's soliloquy is an homage to Taxi Driver., but also there to verify the cult's goals.

* Since the players were having a hard time putting the pieces together, I had Nibbons roll an occult check and just gave him the answer of what the cult was up to.

* The whole concept of the demonhost in this context is along the lines of the Warhammer 40K universe (specifically as presented in the Eisenhorn novels). In fact, I imagine The Society as a group of radical inquisitors.

* The kid in the dorm got killed because Hawk wanted to use his brass knuckles to sucker punch the kid from behind and rolled really bad.

* Sister Elizabeth with her crucifix knife and rosary garrote is an amalgamation of various times I've seen those sort of tropes used. In my mind, I picture the character more along the lines of Linda Hunt's character from the film If Looks Could Kill (she isn't a nun, but is a master of disguise).

* Azrael is more of a play on the character from the Batman comics combined with the trope of the enchanted set of armor (or in this case, demon-possessed). The PCs even debated using the Disney tactic of just taking the armor apart. The sword wounds at Dolly's were intended as foreshadowing that the cult has some kind of heavy hitter on their side.

* Nibbons' use of the "We're Christians!" tactics was cause for much hilarity.

* A couple of the players were very much expecting the twist at the end of the session, since clearly The Society themselves weren't much of a threat.

*** Session 17 - Cast of Characters ***

Bruno Eberhardt: A 1st generation German immigrant and seasoned police officer. He does some work on the side for Le Doux and others to supplement his income.

Chester Lee Nibbons: A younger, bookish White guy who works as Le Doux's "partner" in order to pay off a gambling debt to him.

Frank Callahan: An Irish ex-priest who helped take down The Society and is looking to stop Allatou.

*** Session 17: Scene 1 (of ***

With the demonhost of Allatou in front of them, Callahan tells the others to step back. He starts to walk forward with his crucifix and holy water vial, but a burst of hellfire emerges from Jerboa causing a large explosion.

The building begins to collapse on top of the investigators. Nibbons manages to get out of the way, but Eberhardt and Callahan are hit by some of the falling debris. Everyone is then partially buried.

Nibbons and Eberhardt dig themselves out after a moment. However, they do not see Callahan or Hawk. Chester begins calling out for the former priest and spots him partially buried. He begins digging him out.

Eberhard looks around for Jerboa, but the smoke is still clearing. He can see the night sky through a large hole she apparently blew in the roof. He decides to check for Hawk, and digs out the man before he suffocates.

Callahan has a bad head wound. Nibbons applies first aid to revive him. Against all odds, he manages to get the man breathing again. The ex-priest barely opens his eyes for a moment then falls back unconscious; he’s stabilized, but will need hospital care (as will Hawk).

Eberhardt and Nibbons work together to take Hawk down the stairs and get him outside. They will need to come back for Callahan.

The scene in the hallway downstairs looks like there was a mad rush by the students to get out. A body of one boy on the floor suggests he was trampled to death. They carefully make their way down to the ground floor of the building.

By the time they emerge from the front doors, a fire truck and a couple of police cars have arrived. Eberhardt waves them over and tries not to talk, instead pointing to Hawk to indicate he needs help.

The police officer, misunderstanding, believes Hawk must have started the fire since he’s a Black man. Eberhardt runs back into the building to help Callahan and avoid questions while Nibbons does what is natural and plays dumb.

Nibbons claims to be a passerby who just stopped in to help. The cop tells him to move along as he and another officers handcuff the unconscious Hawk and leave him over to the side to wait for an ambulance to show up.

Meanwhile, Eberhardt makes his way back up to the attic but the smoke has grown thicker; the building still appears to be at least partially on fire. He looks around but still does not see Jerboa.

Eberhardt makes his way over to the altar and finds the missing pages of the Ars Goetia the cult was using to perform the Rite of Invocation. He stuffs them inside his jacket then rushes back over to help Callahan.

The German has troubles lifting Callahan and the two tumble down the stairs into the upper hallway. By now some of the firemen have made their way inside the building. One of them throws the unconscious man over his shoulder and tells Eberhardt to leave things to the professionals and get out of the building.

Bruno elects to leave via the fire escape and make his way back to the car. He finds Nibbons waiting there. Eberhardt explains the firemen took Callahan and Nibbons confirms the police took Hawk. They agree they need to get out of there.

As they pull out of the parking lot, the two men can see Callahan and Hawk being loaded into ambulances. They decide to meet up with them at the hospital later. In the meantime, they head back over to Nibbons’ apartment to regroup.

As he rides in the car, Nibbons fails to notice the burning form of Allatou flying along in the sky following them…

*** Session 17 - Scene 2 (of ***

At Nibbons' apartment, Eberhardt tries to detail what they know. All of The Society have been killed, but Allatou is still at large along with the remaining cell of her cult, The Committee. He wonders what The Committee may do now.

Eberhardt isn't sure exactly what to do, and feels they need to get Callahan to help them since he understands Allatou and the cults better than he does. The two men take turns cleaning themselves up and changing clothes, then head back over to the hospital.

Coming up with a plan, Eberhardt tells Nibbons to claim to be the brother of the man in the fire at the school. Nibbons plays along, heading up to the desk to ask about his brother.

The nurse asks Nibbons for his brother's name. She asks if he came in under another name. He explains the man may have been unconscious so they may not have his name; Nibbons gives a brief description.

The nurse recognizes Callahan's description, but notes Nibbons and he don't look much alike. Nibbons says they have a broad family.

When she asks his name, Nibbons gives his last name instead of his first one. It confuses the nurse, but Nibbons tries to say there was another marriage in the family. She looks at him suspiciously and asks for ID. She tells him to wait there while she checks with someone.

After a moment, a police officer comes out and asks to speak with Nibbons, handing him his ID back. The officer asks him to confirm he is there looking for Callahan. Nibbons responds that he is, again saying he is part of an extended family.

Nibbons continues on a bit too much, saying something about how he hasn't seen his brother in a while but heard he was in the area. The officer, catching the comment, notes Nibbons said something about a fire.

Thinking quickly (but less coherently), Nibbons rambles on about how he heard there was a fire in the area his brother lived in and was worried his brother was in it. The officer asks how Nibbons knew about the fire, and Chester says something about himself being the in the area and hearing the sirens, and then being unable to find his brother.

The officer, increasingly incredulous, asks Nibbons to confirm he thought his brother would randomly be involved in a school fire. Nibbons says he thought he'd just try and check.

Continuing the interrogation, the officer asks what he'd be doing in a school fire. Nibbons blathers on about his brother liking churches and architecture so he thought he might be checking it out. Nibbons does admit his brother can be a little strange.

The officer says it must run in the family. He tells Nibbons he will need to come downtown to talk with some detectives. Nibbons goes along willingly.

As they get to the car, he puts the handcuffs on Nibbons "for his protection" and pats him down. He finds Nibbons' piece; which Nibbons explains is his personal weapon. He says something about the area being a little rough, which causes the officer to joke about it being dangerous when he's out looking at architecture. Nibbons insists that is his brother, not him, but the officer suggests it is dangerous when he's out searching fires for his brother.

*** Session 17 - Scene 3 (of ***

Back inside the hospital, Eberhardt watches Nibbons get hauled away. He forms another plan, sneaking back inside the hallway beyond the lobby to look for some doctor’s clothes to disguise him in.

The good news is he quickly finds a doctor’s coat. The bad news is when he turns around, he’s facing a security guard.

As the guard moves to grab him, Eberhardt throws a punch at him, but misses. The guard strikes back, hitting Eberhardt across the jaw.

The guard tries to hit Eberhardt again, but the German takes out his crucifix knife and stabs the guard in the gut. The wound doesn’t take him down, but does wound the man.

Responding, the guard yells for help as he takes out his baton and starts beating on Eberhardt. Bruno escalates the action again by pulling out his pistol. He tells the guard to freeze as he backs away from him.

The guard backs off a bit, but Eberhardt hears men coming from the other direction in the hall. He tells the man to give him his keys.

Taking the keys, Eberhardt makes a run for it. He rushes past the man and back down the hallways. He runs around multiple hallways until he can get a little bit ahead of the men pursuing him.

Suddenly, a gurney comes out in front of him. He jumps and rolls over the top of it, continuing to run. He spots a place to hide and ducks in.

Just as he’s starting to get hidden, he hears someone call out they’ve spotted him. He makes a run for it again, with one of the guards throwing his baton at Eberhardt.

The baton misses, but another guard open fires with his gun. Luckily, he misses as well. Eberhardt responds by firing out wildly, hoping they will back off but they continue to pursue.

Eberhardt looks around, but is too panicked to find an exit. As he looks around, a shot hits him in the shoulder. He falls unconscious…

*** Session 17 - Scene 4 (of ***

A few weeks later, Hawk and Nibbons stand before Judge Luther Charbonnet in the state Criminal District Court. They are being represented by Bart Maurice, who has worked out a plea deal with Assistant District Attorney Michael O'Rory for them for the charges against them in the Xavier school arson charges. They plead guilty to a misdemeanor trespass charge.

As Nibbons is a licensed private investigator with no criminal record, he ends up with a small fine and some community service teaching a local youth stickball team (The Mighty Mallards). Hawk, as a Black street punk with a rap sheet, gets 30 days in the parish jail.

Nibbons is pleased not to be heading to prison, but laments he owes money again, needing to come up with a way quick to pay the court costs and his lawyer.

As he leaves the courthouse, he knows it is getting close to the time for Eberhardt and Callahan to get discharged from the hospital so he heads over there. He knows Eberhardt is scheduled to be transferred to the asylum but Callahan will likely be able to just walk out as the police have not yet filed charges against him for the arson.

Callahan meets up with Nibbons in the lobby. He asks what happened and Nibbons says he spent some time in jail.  The ex-priest clarifies he meant what happened with Jerboa, and Nibbons explains about the explosion and fire.

Frank then asks what happened to Jerboa. Nibbons says he hasn't seen her and she hasn't been in the news. Callahan suggests that is unusual, as a demon will typically fixate on anyone it considers a threat. He wonders if Allatou is still keeping an eye on them.

Callahan says the first thing he needs to do is get a new crucifix and some holy water. They start by trying to find a crucifix in the hotel gift shop, but find the store is all sold out so they instead plan to head to the local Catholic store, The Mustard Seed.

*** Session 17 - Scene 5 (of ***

Meanwhile, Eberhardt is being transferred to the mental hospital in a truck. As the truck heads down the city street, he hears a loud thump on top of the car. He calls out to the driver to ask what the noise was, but the driver tells him to be quiet.

Lying on the padded floor in his straightjacket, Eberhardt tries to warn the driver there is something on the cone. As the driver turns to tell him to be quiet again, a furry, clawed hand rips through the top of the truck cab and attacks him.

The truck veers off and crashing into a tree. Eberhardt braces himself to avoid injury. As he starts to try and stand up, the back door of the truck is ripped off.

Eberhardt sees the angry werewolf standing before him, taking him a second to realize it is Thylo. Thylo throws the door across the street as he growls out to Eberhardt to ask where his daughter is.

Thylo rushes over and grabs Eberhardt by the neck as the man tries to explain he found her. Thylo asks him where, and Eberhardt tries to explain she was captured and they need to see a man named Callahan to help them as Callahan knows where she is.

Using his claws, Thylo rips the straightjacket off of Eberhardt and commands him to take him to Callahan. Eberhardt explains Callahan should be getting out of the hospital soon.

Heading over to a nearby parked car, Thylo rips off the driver’s side door and tells Eberhardt to get in. Eberhardt nervously gets inside and is surprised to find he can get it started by hotwiring it.

Once he gets inside the car, Thylo transforms back into his human form. Eberhardt isn’t sure the bald, tattooed man wearing rags will attract less attention than the werewolf. As they drive, he tries to make small talk.

Thylo isn’t in the mood. He asks Eberhardt where he’s been. Eberhardt explains he was in the hospital and shot by the people who took Jerboa. Thylo suggests they should have killed him, as it would have been much less painful than what he has in mind for Eberhardt should they not be able to get his daughter back.

Eberhardt tells him there is no need for that, as they found his cone. Thylo is confused what cone he is talking about. Eberhardt says he said daughter. Thylo warns him not to try and trick him with his “city words”.

Driving as fast as he can, Eberhardt heads over to the hospital. Just as they pull in, he spots Nibbons’ car pulling out of the other side of the parking lot. He can tell there are two people in the car.

Eberhardt speeds over to catch up with them. Unfortunately, he fails to notice Little Jimmy hobbling across the parking lot on his crutches. The kid goes flying as he is hit by the car. The hit and run incident is very traumatizing to Eberhardt (not to mention the parents of Little Jimmy, who look on in abject horror at the death of their crippled son).