Chill: A Tense Reunion

And also, Chill.

Last time, the envoys kinda got the heads handed to them. Mohammed, Blake, and Jordan are in the hospital with gunshot wounds, and that means talking to the police. Beth Anne is unharmed, and she calls the ranch for backup. By about 4AM, Jennifer Joyce, BB, Jeanie, Dylan, and a woman named Emily Montgomery arrive (Emily is a friend and former colleague of Mohammed, also a vet, also an envoy, also a PTSD sufferer. He recommended that she come out to the ranch to do some work and relax, and she just happened to arrive today).

The envoys talk with Beth Anne (and Emily touches base with Mohammed), and get a sense of what happened. They fall back to a hotel so that they can all get some sleep, because they don't fancy the idea of going out to the murder-farm in the middle of the night. Dylan and Jennifer do some research, and find SAVE archives about a creature called a "ravager" - essentially a serial killer who made a deal with the Unknown. Wray fits the profile. SAVE intel says that these things can die normally, but it takes some doing. Meanwhile, Jennifer finds some case history for the "blood thistle," a plant that grows from the graves of human sacrifices and can animate the bodies of the dead. It seems like they have their answers, now they just need to do the hard work of cleaning everything up.

In the morning, they call Darnell down from the ranch with another vehicle. Emily suggests just blowing the house up, while BB very reasonably points out that doing so will likely attract the attention of law enforcement and he, Jeanie, and Dylan are all on probation (as established here). They argue for a while, and eventually get some gasoline and make some Molotovs, but keep them covered up. They head out to the farm and have Darnell wait by the side of the road with the SUV, and head down the driveway. The other SAVE vehicle is still in the driveway, and the barn has burnt down, but it doesn't look like any emergency vehicles have been here.

The envoys approach cautiously. Beth Anne uses her Leave the Body discipline and searches the house, but sees no sign of Jack Gordon/Franklin Wray. They investigate the barn and find burned-up plant matter. At one end of the barn, they find the thicker stalks of the plant. Emily and Dylan dig a little (it's February, after all, the ground is frozen), and find part of a skull. This, then, was the burial site.

Inside, Jennifer and BB look around and find a lot of papers and bills on the table. Buried amongst all of that are some letters from a fellow named Alford Price to Greg Fossly (remember, Fossly used to own this house, Gordon claims he bought it, but in truth probably killed Fossly). Price and Fossly were in WWII together, and Price has apparently been writing and receiving letters with "Fossly" for years now. That might be where Wray sodded off to.

The envoys get in their vehicles and head west. When they get cell service back, Jennifer calls Price and asks if he'd be willing to sit for an interview, him being one of the few remaining WWII vets in the area. He cheerfully agrees ("Oh, I can talk forever!") and mentions that his friend Grey, also a vet, is here, too, if she'd like to talk to him.

The envoys decide that Jennifer, Emily (posing as a military expert) and Dylan (in his capacity as a professor) will go into the house and talk with Price and "Fossly," while the others will wait nearby. They don't want to attract attention; this town (Lawen, OR) only has about 200 people, most of them older.

The three go in and meet Alfie's wife Marie, who happily makes them tea and sends them down the hall to where "the boys" are talking ("just follow that awful cigar smoke!"). They get and see Price and another older man. Beth Anne, present through Leave the Body, recognizes Wray, but has to go back to her body before she can convey that. Emily Senses the Unknown and feels the hate and power coming off Wray.

They all sit down and start talking; Price, true to his word, is gregarious and interesting, and Wray, for his part, is adept at tossing in a detail now and then to make it seem like he was really there. The envoys aren't sure what to do, here. They don't want to start a fight, as that will certainly get Alfie and Marie killed, but they can't stay here all day. Finally Dylan throws caution to the wind and puts up a Sphere of Protection.

Wray immediately gets up in disgust and pain and leaves the sphere. Alfie tries to go after his "buddy," but Emily gets there first and says that she'll take "Greg" out for some air. They walk outside, and the others pull into the parking lot.

Wray smiles at Emily. "OK, now what?" he says. "Want to kill me? Do it." Emily doesn't respond. "OK, then," says Wray, and focuses on Emily...and Emily feels pain creeping in. Only for a second, and then she focuses and drives it out, and smiles again.

Wray snarls in disgust, and then turns to the window. "Fine," he says. He waves to the window at Marie, and then from inside, the envoys hear a scream.

BB and the others take their opportunity. Jordan activates her Quicken discipline and runs up to Wray, tripping him up with a staff. Wray points at the stick and it snaps, but Emily activates Feat of Strength and puts Wray in a chokehold. BB runs up and cuffs him, and they throw him in the bed of the truck and blindfold him. Darnell starts the car and they speed away.

Meanwhile, inside, Dylan and Jennifer help Alfie to the kitchen, where Marie is lying there on the floor with a bloody nose, weeping. They help her up and Alfie tells Dylan to call an ambulance, which he does. Marie, once she regains a little composure, says she felt a pain start at the base of her skull, like nothing she's ever felt. Alfie assumes it was a stroke, but Dylan knows the Evil Way when he sees it.

The envoys now have the ravager cuffed and blindfolded in the back of their truck. They drive off away from town, hoping to find a safe place to have this out. BB is still hoping to save Wray, because everyone deserves justice. We'll see, next time, if that's possible.