Notes

Session 1: 11/6/2024 #

June 24

Location: Crown Dive Bar #

Characters Met:
- Dick: A private investigator who has lived in Handfast for many years. He shares that strange events began happening around 40 years ago, right when his daughter, Violet, disappeared. Violet was only 5 years old, and her disappearance has never been resolved.
- Alice: Reflecting on past events, she mentions that around the time Violet went missing, odd occurrences began in town, such as TVs acting up.
- Norville: Asks Dick and Alice if they’ve noticed food spoiling unexpectedly, hinting that something unnatural might be at play.

Sadie’s Visit to the Library #

Eleanor Brown, Librarian: Sadie encounters Eleanor Brown, a local librarian, who shares interesting information about Handfast:
- Town History: Handfast was founded in 1615 and remained a farming community until tourists began arriving.
- Unusual Events: Eleanor notes that strange things started happening in the 1970s, and the oddities have been recurring recently. People are discussing unusual food spoilage, and the weather has been unseasonably warm.
- Mysterious Attack: Eleanor has a gash on the back of her leg, which she attributes to being attacked by a “thing.” She doesn’t recall the specifics of the attack.

Sudden Shift in Weather: #

A sudden and intense change in the weather forces everyone to seek shelter, except for Cat and Dick, who stay outside.

Mysterious Encounter: #

A figure appears on the roof, and a young woman comes into view, saying, “Hello, you are new around here.”

Session 2: 11/13/2024 #

Encounter with the Young Woman #

A young woman appears but doesn’t give her name. Alice is shocked, thinking the woman looks like her missing daughter, Violet.
Henry fully transforms into his werecorgi form, attacking the young woman after her face briefly changes to resemble his own.
After Henry’s attack, the woman runs off. Beck and Henry try to chase her but fail.
Norville tries to talk to Alice afterward, but Alice isn’t ready to speak yet.

Sadie’s Investigation #

Sadie heads outside to search for the young woman and finds barefoot footprints leading up the road and out of town.
Sadie suspects this young woman isn’t entirely human, recalling stories of beings who were once human but have since changed.

Alice and Her Connections #

Alice heads home, and we learn she’s married to John (whom we haven’t met yet).
Dick, a private investigator, is friends with Alice. Beck, Norville, and Sadie decide to visit Alice the next day to gather more details.

After the Incident #

Henry reverts to his human form, and Beck carries him back into the bar.
The group disperses for the night:
- Beck returns to her short-term rental in town.
- Sadie heads to her van, parked close to the tavern near Handfast Children’s Park.
- Norville takes Henry with her to her home, a ranch house with a dingy basement a few blocks away on Orchard Street. She uses her skateboard to get home.
  - Observations on the Way Home:
    - The movie theater across from the bar is badly damaged by the tornado that swept through town around 10:30 pm.
    - Norville feels uneasy on her way back, noticing strange black clouds near the ground.
    - While a few buildings were completely wrecked, most of the town remains intact.
  - Once home, Norville checks Twitter. Locals are discussing the storm, but there are no mentions of strange occurrences or unusual beings.
  - She arrives home early at 11:30 pm to find her boyfriend already there; the bar usually closes at midnight.

Bar Condition #

When Norville left the bar, the window was covered with a tarp, providing only minimal security.

Session 3: 11/20/2024 #

June 25

Cat at the Library #

Cat works at the library today, where one of the windows is busted out and boarded up.
Eleanor Brown (Librarian):
- Recalls she was attacked but can’t remember by who or what.
- Still recovering from a large gash down the back of her leg.
- Mentions that the storm and recent events feel eerily similar to 40 years ago when Alice’s daughter Violet went missing.
Research on Violet’s Disappearance:
- Cat reads a 40-year-old newspaper article about Violet’s disappearance:
  - Violet disappeared in 1975 after going out alone one evening.
  - Despite searching for a month and dredging the river, no body was ever found.
  - The summer of 1975 had high river levels and a lot of rain, but the weather wasn’t unusual overall.
- Cat makes copies of the article.

Visit to Alice and John’s Apartment #

Violet’s Parents:
- Alice and John now live in an apartment above Fasthands Bakery on Main Street, near the post office.
  - Fasthands is famous for its croissants and its rude baker, Mary.
- On the way, the group notices a lot of debris in the river, but otherwise, there’s little sign of storm damage.
- No one answers the doorbell initially, so the group gets food from the bakery. Eventually, they enter and hear a tea kettle whistling.
- Alice says she’ll join them in a moment, mentioning that John went out for a walk.
Alice’s Memories of Violet:
- Alice shows the group a box of pictures:
  - A photo of Violet at 1 year old.
  - A 5-year-old photo: Violet loved being outdoors and couldn’t stay in one spot. Everyone in town adored her since there weren’t many young kids around.
  - The group notices that Violet had a distinct freckle and looked older (around 15) in the face they saw last night.
- Alice shares that Violet disappeared at dusk while playing outside. Around the same time:
  - The weather was unreasonably hot, flooding occurred, and TVs across town malfunctioned.
  - No one had any idea where she went.
- Sadie launches into a 20-minute theory about Violet being abducted by aliens.
- The group stays until lunchtime but gains no new insights.
- Sadie tries to steal a photo but is caught by Alice.

At the Park #

Cat, Sadie, and Beck head to the park, where they observe:
- Parkgoers: Three kids, an older man, a woman with a toddler, and a father with his son.
- Injuries: The older man and the woman have similar injuries to Eleanor’s leg wound.
  - Rosa (the woman):
    - Attacked three days ago just after dusk. She doesn’t remember who or what attacked her.
    - Lives near Alice’s old house, close to where Violet disappeared.
  - Ray (the older man):
    - Attacked the day before Rosa.
  - Eleanor was attacked two days ago.
Sadie and Beck spot a shadowy figure. They investigate and find footprints and broken branches in the trees, indicating the figure had been heading toward Sadie’s van.

Other Details #

The Bakery:
- Max (married to Mary, the rude baker) and their son Sam are well-known in town.

Norville at Work #

On her way to work, Norville passes the damaged movie theater.
A large, football-player-sized man pulls Norville into the movie theater.

Session 4: 12/04/2024 #

June 25

Henry’s Morning #

Waking Up: Henry wakes up on Norville’s couch (unclear how he got there initially) and sneaks out without alerting her. He heads home uneventfully.
- At his house, he reads in the paper about everyone’s refrigerators malfunctioning at the same time.
Returning to the Tavern: Henry heads back toward the tavern, where Eli, the bartender, is working.
- Eli mentions Constance was attacked while walking her dogs. She doesn’t remember the attack clearly (details were unclear during gameplay).
- Henry notices the movie theater door is off its hinges. Eli thinks the damage was caused by the storm.
Exploring the Movie Theater: Henry decides to investigate the movie theater.
- Front Entrance: He finds the damaged doors stuck and difficult to open.
- Back Entrance: He discovers an unlocked back door and enters.
- The Projector Room: Heading upstairs, he finds a partially open doorway. Inside, Norville is bound and shackled on the floor. She has been there for 30 minutes.
Confronting the Creature: Norville’s abductor is muttering, “Should I take the blood now?” and “You are not Violet.”
- The creature is clearly not human, with sharp hands and long fingernails.
- Henry is spotted and the creature tries to capture him. Henry attempts to use puppy dog eyes, but the creature is unaffected.
- Norville struggles to escape while still bound, managing to get past Henry.
- The creature follows Henry, prompting Henry to go full were-corgi.
The Fight:
- Henry bites the creature and then works to free Norville by biting through her ropes.
- The creature catches up, but Henry bites it again, visibly weakening the creature.
- The creature blocks the door, but Henry manages to escape to get help.
- The creature uses Norville’s blood to wipe its hat, cloaks itself in shadows, and vanishes.
- Why did the creature want Norville’s blood?
Aftermath: Norville escapes, picks up Henry, and they head back to the tavern.

At the Park #

The Shadowy Figure: Sadie and Beck investigate a shadowy figure, finding footprints and broken branches in the trees leading toward Sadie’s van.
- The van’s engine starts.
- Beck runs after the van and grabs the door, but her feet are dragged along the street.
- Sadie tries to stop the van by standing in its path, but Cat tackles her out of the way and is hit by the van. The van speeds off, and they lose sight of it.
Deciding Next Steps: The group initially plans to report the stolen van to the police on St. Albans St., but instead decides to investigate Pleasant St.
- Cat calls the police while walking. Officer Ed answers; he’s stressed due to the recent surge in attack reports.

Alice’s Old House #

Arriving at the House: The group visits Alice’s old house, where Violet went missing.
- There’s no sign the van passed by.
- Sadie uses a tile tracker, but it doesn’t locate the van.
Meeting Ray: Cat knocks, and Ray (from the park) answers. He’s in his 70s and has the same kind of cut on his arm as the other victims. Ray invites them inside.
- Ray calls for Nancy.
Sadie’s Observations:
- Victims of the attacks have kids or grandkids but are attacked late, at dusk.
- The girl from earlier mentioned she was “looking for a kid” but rejected Henry in were-corgi form, saying, “It isn’t him.”
- Notably, no kids have been attacked, only adults walking home or outside at night.

Back to the Tavern #

The group decides to regroup at the tavern to share their findings and plan their next move. They consider keeping watch near the park tonight to see if the girl returns.

Session 5: 12/11/2024 #

June 25

Opening Scene #

Sadie’s van is found in the woods. Violet steps out of the van and is seen speaking with the same creature that abducted Norville.

At the Tavern #

Eli is working at the bar.
Norville tends to Henry’s injuries. He is transforming back from were-corgi form and has a broken arm and leg from falling in the theater.
The rest of the group arrives at the tavern.
Norville texts Sadie to head to the back, and the party follows.
Cat persuades Eli to let them into the back room.
Norville calls an ambulance for Henry.
Sadie and Norville travel with Henry to the hospital, while Beck rides with Cat on his motorcycle.
Sadie and Norville lie to the hospital staff, saying Henry was hit by Sadie’s van.

Hospital Waiting Room #

Norville shares details about the attack at the movie theater.
Sadie begins to connect the dots:
- Violet and the creature appear to be working together.
- Both seem to be searching for a specific child.
- The creature’s bloody hat may be linked to the cuts found on victims.
Norville goes to check on Henry in his hospital room.

Henry’s Hospital Room #

A nurse checks on Henry, and he asks her for ice cream from across the street. She agrees and wheels him out.
Sadie and Beck follow discreetly.
Henry tries unsuccessfully to convince the nurse to leave him alone.
Cat attempts a diversion with a fake insurance story but also fails.
After a series of distractions, the group manages to bust Henry out of the hospital.
They catch a bus back to Handfast.

The Park #

The group gets off the bus at the park around dusk.
Sadie’s van is pinging nearby, indicating it is at the park.

Session 6: 12/18/2024 #

June 25

The Park #

Violet is at the playground when the group approaches.
She says she is there for Max, the boy spotted earlier at the playground.
As Violet walks toward Max, Beck blocks her path, and Sadie stabs Violet.
The football player-sized creature appears, hopping the fence.
- Cat sets the creature on fire using magic.
- The creature swings an axe at Beck, dealing 3 harm to her arm.
- Beck retaliates, shooting the creature with her shotgun.
Sadie connects the dots:
- The creatures are targeting kids to make another “Violet.”
- Violet reveals that the townsfolk have not upheld their end of some bargain.
Sadie and Beck head toward the van.
Officer Ed arrives at the scene and questions Cat, Norville, and Henry (in werecorgi form) about reports of gunshots.
- He later speaks with Sadie and Beck, but they avoid giving him any useful information.

Leaving the Park #

Sadie drives Beck to her rental to recover.
Cat takes Norville and Henry on the bike, but as Henry transforms back into human form, both Norville and Henry fall off.
- Cat uses magic to heal them.
Back at Norville’s home, her boyfriend Lucas mentions that none of the stores in town have refrigerated items available.

Session 7: 01/15/2025 #

Summary of what happened the past few days: #

Sadie
- Spent a couple of days fixing up her van and making a corkboard diagram of the mystery.
- Got permission from Ely to park her van behind the Crowne for a few nights.
- Will likely be at the Crowne every night.
- Seems to be the only one comfortable around Beck.
Norville
- Will be working at the Crowne.
- Has a crush on Jaida the Wiccan (as does Cat!).
- Will have a “session” with Jaida where she’ll share everything that happened and ask for advice/help, especially about Sadie and the burlap-sack-headed monster.
- Got a cleansing from Jaida and learned that the monster is in a book of creatures and is bad news.
Cat
- Has a crush on Jaida the Wiccan.
- Saw Jaida at the library reading Wiccan books, which got him interested.
- Has a switchblade athame.
- Started learning more of his magic powers
Henry
- Nicaara speculates that he’s napping and drinking to recover from his injuries.
- (No info from Brian yet on what Henry’s actually up to - Clay is waiting for an answer!)
Beck
- Would be interested in working with Sadie to go over what happened and try to get ahead of any future monster attacks.
- Is motivated to protect the town.
It seems like Norville is taking the lead on investigating the supernatural side of things, while Sadie is focused on more practical matters and Beck is concerned with the safety of the town.

Saturday Night, 10 PM Location: Crown Dive Bar

At the Bar #

Patrons: Dick is present; Alice is not (she is at home).
Norville talks with Dick:
- He mentions that there’s more weirdness in the town than they realize.
- Dick appears hurt and avoids discussing Violet or the past, which clearly brings him pain.
- He reveals that he stayed in town for a reason but insists that revisiting the past won’t help.
- Dick tells Henry he knows he’s not really 8 years old.
  - Henry briefly turns his face into werecorgi form and warns Dick that no one will believe him about it.
  - This visibly unsettles Dick.
- Dick warns Norville, “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll stay away from Alice and all this.”
Revealing Information:
- Norville tells Dick she was abducted by “Football Man,” whose name is Bonecruncher.
- Sadie reveals the group has seen Violet twice.
- Dick is unsurprised they saved Max from being abducted and hints that he knows Violet was abducted in the past, possibly understanding more than he lets on.
Dick agrees to help but imposes two conditions:
1. They must stop talking to Alice about it.
2. They must not harm Violet.
- When the group attempts to lie about not hurting Violet, Dick sees through it.
- Angrily, he fires his gun into the ceiling, ending the conversation abruptly.

Leaving the Crown Dive Bar #

Sadie:

Stays in her van by the bar.
Beck comes back to inform her about Bonecruncher’s presence.
Sadie drives Beck back but sees flashing police lights near Violet’s house.
The session ends as they drive toward the scene.

Beck:

Initially heads toward her Airbnb but hears loud footsteps running toward her.
She pulls out her shotgun, but Bonecruncher vanishes before an encounter occurs.
Beck goes back to inform Sadie about seeing Bonecruncher.

Cat:

Heads home with a girl he met at the bar.
- On the way, he notices a police car outside Alice’s old house.
  - The county sheriff and Officer Ed are present, with lights off.
  - Two people stand outside, and Cat sees Violet’s body nearby.

Norville:

Closes up shop and heads home on her skateboard.
Stops by Dick’s place, worried about him.
- As she looks through the window, the porch creaks, and the lights flip on.
- Dick steps out, and Norville confirms he’s okay.

Session 8: 02/12/2025 #

Saturday Night

At Violet’s House #

Beck and Sadie approach Violet’s house and see Cat in the front lawn.
The deputy on the scene is not Officer Ed.
Cat tries to tell everyone everything is fine, but Beck thinks he’s in trouble, so she checks on him. Sadie leaves to avoid attracting the attention of the police.
Cat says they need to leave. Beck hides, but Cat fails to escape.
Cat uses the deputy’s phone to call his parents, and his parents come to pick him up.
Beck heads back to her Airbnb. Sadie is there, and they catch up on what happened.

Sunday Morning

Jaida’s House #

Norville heads to Jaida’s house.
Jaida takes her toward the woods to “show her something.”
When Henry goes to get the paper in the morning, he swears he hears Norville (Jaida’s house is nearby). Henry heads that way and approaches Norville and Jaida.
There is a “circle” in the woods. In the ground is a sigil with small and large footprints.
Jaida shows them a book of fey creatures. She says the big guy with Violet is not of this world. According to the book, he is a redcap and has to kill to live. You cannot kill a redcap with brute strength. The only way to kill a redcap is to either prevent him from getting his cap wet or take his hat from him.
Jaida says the big guy is dangerous and is likely here for someone else.
Rumor has it that Handfast is sustained by other worldly powers. The prosperity of the town is not entirely natural. Jaida thinks taking another kid must be part of the contract or a consequence of not keeping the contract.
Jaida tells Henry she’s sorry when hearing he is a werecorgi, but it is unclear why.
Norville cuts her hand to try and open the portal, but it doesn’t work.
Jaida recommends that Norville get the rest of the crew before trying to go through the portal.
They try to leave without leaving any sign they were there, but Henry leaves werecorgi hair.

Dick’s House #

Norville, Henry, and Jaida go to check on Dick.

Crown Dive Bar #

Cat heads to the bar looking for Sadie, but does not find Sadie or Beck there. He goes back to grab his bike. There is no one there anymore at Violet’s house.