Hallowe'en, 1878....
Joseph Curwin has long been dispised by the neighbours of his farm in the Northwest Territory. The Crowsfeet avoid his lands, saying "bad medicine" and walking ghosts haunt the place. And the strangest thing is that people have been talking this way about Curwin for at least thirty years, and Curwin is by no means an old man....
Recently, however, things have gone from bad to worse. He has been having an ongoing feud with Znowing Gwoutinski, a local immigrant farmer and now it seems that Curwin has kidnapped local school teacher and Gwoutinski's fiancee Anne Apple.
Gwoutinski rode to Fort Strange to inform the police. Inspector Yongestreet's troop, along with the farmer, have ridden out to save Miss Apple. As they arrive, Curwin is starting some infernal ceremony involvoing Miss Apple, calling up his god...Tchouyou!
| NWMP | Zombies |
|
Inspector Youngstreet Sargent Major Monton One company mounted rifles (NWMP) Znowing Gwoutinski (pistol only, cannot engage in close combat) |
Joseph Curwin, Wizard Zombies |
The Curwin Farm
The night was dark, and Inspector Yongestreet arrived at the Curwin farm shortly after
dark but well before the moon had risen. He didn't know what was going on at the
ill-reputed farm, but he intended to find out. The small column progressed openly
down the main pathway to the farm, Yongestreet in the lead, with Gwoutinski on the
right flank.
Meanwhile, unbeknownst to them, Joseph Curwin had begun his evil ceremony. Poor Miss
Apple was chained cruely to a rough hewn rock which was covered with sinister and
disquieting runes. She struggled feebly against her shackles, terrified of her
fate at the hands of the sorcerer. Curwin intoned his incantations, tonight was the
night dread Tchouyou would be returned from his resting place, and Anne Apple would
be the means of his return. But her rescuers had to be stopped. Having previously
raised a legion of undead zombies from the old graveyard near the farmhouse, Curwin
sent a unit of them to the head of his drive. There the Mounties would be stopped.
Progressing down the roadway, the column soon encountered Curwin's evil obstacle. The
dark shapes standing in their path came to light. Unholy monsters standing between
them and duty. The group was startled, perhaps a little frightened, but they took heart
in their company and their mission, standing their ground. The column deployed and
Yongestreet ordered his troops to fire, but after several vollies only one of the
monsters had fallen!
Thinking cold steel might be a match for the undead evil, Yongestreet ordered a charge
with sabres drawn but again only one creature fell. Then came Curwin's next suprise for
the police. A second group of zombies crashed through the trees joining the line. They
clashed again, dropping another zombie and sadly losing a constable. Yongestreet fell
back within rifle range, and returned to chipping away at the beasts with fire from the
Snyder-Enfields.
"This is taking too long," complained Gwoutinski, "he might be killing my poor Anne!"
Realizing he was right, Yongestreet knew it was time for action. Splitting his command,
he left Sarget Major Monton with half the troop to keep the zombies busy while he with
the other half troop and Gwoutinski dove into the forest, looking for a path to the farm.
The Sargent lead a charge against the monsters, which only resulted in the loss of another
corporal reducing his forces further.
Emerging from the forest, Inspector Yongestreet found himself behind the zombies and with
a clear path to the farm. Torn between the need for haste and the desire to approach
the evil wizard in force, Yongestreet hesitated. Seeking finally to free up his troops,
he ordered a round of fire on the Zombies from behind their position. The volly was,
however, ineffective and the fight at the path head continued.
Knowing now that stopping Curwin was the only hope, Yongestreet lead his band away to
find the wizard. Curwin, however, was aware of their approach and sent his two
bodyguard zombies against the Mounties. Rounds of fire, followed by a charge
and withdraw brought down one of the evil undead but one still stood in the path.
In a brave and bold thrust, Gwoutinski charged. He wheeled past the monster, just
escaping its clutches and made straight for the bizzare ritual site behind the barn.
But the sorcerer was by no means finished. Another trio of monsters burst from
the overgrown, unhallowed fields, making straight for the intrepid Yongestreet.
In a cowardly attack from behind, the Zombies were able to kill another
constable, leaving only Yongestreet and one constable against three monsters.
The zombie that had missed Gwoutinski on his mad charge, took chase after the farmer
and only through remarkable horsemanship was he able to ward off the fiend's attacks
and continue his charge against the wizard. He fired at the gallop, missing Curwin,
his aim most likely disturbed by the discovery of his beloved Anne's horrible
prediciment.
Calling on his zombie, Curwin willed it to attack the farmer again, and again through
astouding equestrian ability Gwoutinski avoided the monster. The attack, however,
unmanned him enough to force his attention away from his beloved's plight, and onto
his own. He loosed two totally ineffectual shots at the undead thing so recently
clawing for his throat, and now seemed doomed.
Yongestreet, however, saw an opportunity! The way ahead now clear, he and Constable Johnson
charged across the farmyard to Gwoutinski's aid. Curwin shouted a curse in some strange,
unknown language and seeing that he was prepairing some further supernatural evil for
them, the thee men fired. Joseph Curwin fell dead next to his dank stone altar, and
with him too went the animated corpses that had been his servants.
Sargent Major Monton arrived just as Yongestreet and Gwoutinski were releasing Miss
Apple, who was shaken but unharmed. The farmyard was secured, and the house searched, but
no further evil turned up. Several books of great age and questionable content were
seized, the bodies of those unfortunates recently ill-used were returned to their rightful
place and Curwin's body was removed to town for proper burial in concecrated ground.
The following morning, All Saints Day, saw Znowing Gwoutinski and Anne Apple married. And,
more sinsterly, the disappearance of Joseph Curwin's body from the church. It's
whereabouts are currently unknown....
Return to the dispatches to read about more encounters.
Q Division, Beyond the Grave
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