Operation Fatal Diversion - Chapter One
A road trip gone wrong in the Delta Green RPG, using Mythic 2e
Published by arrangement with the Delta Green Partnership. The intellectual property known as Delta Green is a trademark and copyright owned by the Delta Green Partnership, who has licensed its use here. The contents of this document are ©SolumProtocol, excepting those elements that are components of the Delta Green intellectual property.
Photo by RAHUL KUJUR: https://www.pexels.com/photo/an-empty-road-between-green-trees-11031484/
On the Road, Maine, July 4th, 2008 - Noon
“Come on, Danny, we’re driving through the New England countryside. This is Stephen King country. Stop playing pop music, put on something with a twang or something.” Markus said over the steering wheel.
“What does country music have to do with Maine?” Danielle said derisively. “We’re basically on the border with Canada, that’s as far north as we can go without a passport.”
“They have cowboys in Canada.” Markus said defensively. I snorted a laugh in the back seat. Markus and Danielle had been bickering good naturedly since we crossed the state border this morning, and after a few days travelling together, I was finally feeling in on the joke again. I had my boots up on the back bench of the SUV and I was reading a shockingly graphic romance novel Danielle had been gushing about since we set out from Seattle. The bureau had given me a rental SUV, and the back was loaded with my suitcase and a few other personal effects that I didn’t want to leave in my apartment, like my mothers rifle and my mildly illegal shotgun. We set out two days ago and took the scenic route, hitting a few stops and cheap roadside motels until we reached the final stretch of road.
“You’re little computer’s broken Kat.” Danny said, tapping the the screen suction cupped to the windshield.
“It’s not mine, it was a gift from work. And it’s a piece of shit, everyone is always complaining about them.” I put down the book, deciding it was better to continue when alone, rather than stuck in a car with my cousin and best friend. I leaned between the front seat and looked at the computer in question. For something that claimed to be the finest in FBI navigation technology, ad it was a piece of junk. It had tried to get us to drive across someone’s lawn, into a lake and most recently down several one way streets. It had never cut out before though.
“Did the plug fall out?” I asked. Danny twiddled with the cigarette lighter attachment, but it didn’t turn back on.
“Well, we don’t need it right now.” Markus said cheerfully. “It’s a straight shot for another hour or two, lets just roll down the windows and enjoy the nature!”
“Don’t you dare roll down that window.” I said, just as Danny voiced something similar. We had made that mistake yesterday and the wonderfully cool AC had been sucked out as soon the window had cracked, replaced by an all-consuming July humidity. Markus laughed and revved the engine, and we drove for another 10 minutes before my phone buzzed. I pulled it out and looked at it, bemused. I didn’t recognize the number and I almost ignored it, but I suddenly felt a tightness in my stomach. I hit the answer button and a voice crackled on the other end of the line.
“Jones, we don’t have much time.” Landry’s crackled over the line, urgent and grainy.1
“Landry? What’s going on?”
“Look, you need to find somewhere to lay low. They’re using you as bait, Katherine. You’re in-” His voice cut out with a crackle, and I pulled my head from the phone with a wince. I looked at the screen, and it had lost all of its bars - no signal. That was weird.
“Shit Markus look out!” Danny yelled. I let out a yelp as I rolled off the backseat into the bed as Markus slammed on the brakes and began cursing.
“What’s going on?” I mumbled as I clambered back onto the seat.
“There’s a tree.” Markus said faintly. He looked over his shoulder, past me and onto the road behind us. I glanced back. The road had a slight bend, but we were the only car on the road. “I don’t want to sound crazy, but it wasn’t there before.” he said faintly. Danielle looked back at me, her eyes wide and her mouth working silently.
“Stay in the car.” I said firmly as I eased myself out onto the road and moved to the trunk. My knife had already been strapped to my back, like always, but I retrieved my pistol and holster from its gun case and buckled it onto my belt before moving forward. Landry’s call had me on edge, so I moved forward with the pistol held low. The tree blocking the road was truly huge, maybe an old growth tree and it had cracked the road and blocked the path ahead fully. There was no way around it. I spent some time walking up and down the tree, but it seemed to have been tipped over, roots and all. I jumped slightly as a loud caw echoed over the road and surrounding forest. I glanced upwards and saw a flock of black birds infesting the trees around us. I moved back to the car and climbed in the back.
“We need to leave.” I said, buckling my seatbelt. Both of their eyes flickered to the holstered pistol at my belt, but they didn’t say anything as Markus threw us in reverse and drove us back the way we came.
Something wasn’t right.2 When we had first driven east along this road towards Portland, we had driven under a canopy of trees for nearly half an hour without seeing anything out of the ordinary, just trees and road and rays of sunlight.3 On the drive back, things were different.4 The digital clock on the dash and my cellphone had frozen, and the cloudless sky had darkened, causing the trees around us to become shrouded in shadow. We passed an old car, almost completely run through with rust and the front bumper was gouged and rented by something best not thought about.5 I took a long breath. This was a trap. But that was fine. Whoever had sprung it was in for a nasty surprise once I got my hands on them.
“Kat…” Danny said, her eyes locked on the car.
“Keep your eyes forward, let’s just focus on getting out of here.” I said firmly, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.
“There’s a sign up ahead.” Markus said.6 ‘Velvet Creek. I didn’t see that on the map this morning.”
“It sounds like a brothel.” I said lightly, my eyes scanning the sign. It was a battered wooden sign, the letters worn and faded. We drove past it and I glanced in the wing mirror as it wobbled slightly in the wind.
“We didn’t drive past a town on the way here.” Danny said in a small voice.
“Don’t worry about it.” I said, trying to put some warmth into my voice. “We obviously just got turned around.”
“It’s been a straight road with no turn offs for the last hour.” Markus said shakily. “Something is up.”7 The car rattled as he accelerated. “This isn’t normal. Something is happening, Kat.” His voice was shaking.
“Markus, listen to me. Whatever is happening, we will be fine. We will be ok. Just keep driving, and let’s see where we end up.” We had been driving for 10 minutes, and it was clear we were on a completely different road, narrower and far less traveled than the one we had been on earlier. Even the trees looked different, hostile and dark.8 We saw another abandoned car, this one less rusted, but in much worse shape before we drove over a small bridge and the trees opened up. Velvet Creek was a small town, a single road running through the town and back out into the forest.9 The houses looked old, but there were tools and work trucks spread throughout. Each house showed recent work. There was a large building in the center that looked like an old diner, and it looked like there was more houses off to the right, deeper into the town.
“Where are the people?” Danny said. But for the tools and trucks, the town was empty. The houses were dark, and there was no sign of life.
“Let’s keep driving.” I said calmly. “The road goes straight through.” Markus drove us through quickly and we were back in the trees in less than a minute, leaving the creepy town behind.10 The road curved around a slight bend, and we drove for less than five minutes when Danny let out a yelp and pointed. I looked and felt my mouth go dry. That same, rusted car sat on the side of the road.11 It looked identical. It must be the same car, but it couldn’t be. Danny started crying and Markus was shaking. I wasn’t feeling so hot myself, but I couldn’t let myself dwell right now. I unbuckled my belt and interposed myself between them.
“It’s going to be fine.” I said, my voice firm. We drove passed the sign again, ‘Velvet Creek’, and I murmured some words of comfort until we reached the town again. The town was still empty, and Markus sped up to drive through the town. We hit that same car again a few minutes later. We were trapped.12
Velvet Creek Diner - Time unknown, but it’s getting dark
We did a few more loops before it really sank in for the other two that we were trapped here. It was getting dark, which shouldn’t be possible. We had found the tree around noon, and it could only have been an hour, two at most, since then, but the sun hung low in the sky and cast the surrounding trees in long shadows. I directed Markus to park by the diner, it being the only location I was sure wasn’t someone’s home, and then we left the car. The cracked windows of the diner were filled with candles.13 I hadn’t noticed them from the car, but their wicks were lit, the flames flickering in an unseen wind.14 We all gagged upon leaving the car. We had kept the windows up and the AC blasting, so we hadn’t smelt it before, but the air was stained with the stink of human waste. It seemed like at least I wasn’t the only one smelling it, although it was exceptionally bad for me, a hanging unavoidable stink.
“Let’s get in the fucking diner.” I muttered, retrieving my rifle from the back of the car.
“Do you think we’ll need that?” Danny said in a small voice. I smiled at her and squeezed her arm.
“Hopefully not hun, but this is a bit fucked up right? Better to be safe than sorry.” I said gently. This was going to be difficult. I had to get my work face on, but I really didn’t want Danny and Markus to see that side of me. I left my vest and shotgun in the back of the car, it was underneath everything and I didn’t want to be outside while it was dark if I could avoid it.15 The door to the diner was chained and bolted, and I could see a bar on the other side.
“Wait here.” I said. I left my rifle on my back and drew my pistol as I moved around the outside of the Diner.16 I found the source of the smell easily enough.17 A man in his middle years was slumped against the wall. His wide brimmed glasses were broken, and his shirt and tie were torn and spattered with blood. He had been disemboweled.18 His guts were in a pile in his lap. The body couldn’t have been more than a day old, although it smelt a little older. He was sitting on a trap door with a padlock, so I quickly frisked the body and sure enough, found a key. I felt a twinge in my head as I ducked down by the hatch and winced, taking a step back. After I dragged the corpse off the door, I took a closer look and noticed something familiar.19 I ran a finger along the unnaturally curved lines that had been engraved in the stone wall. This was a sigil. I had been in a case three years ago where my main suspect, Tabitha Abel, had tried to make sigils like this, to ward off unnatural creatures. This was similar, but slightly different. Looking at the thing gave me a slight headache, but I could touch it easily enough. What was it for? Was it supposed to stop killed this guy? All the more reason to get inside. I dragged the body a bit further away and threw some debris over it so the others couldn’t see it before calling for Danny and Markus.
“There’s a basement. It’s getting dark, so let’s check it out and maybe get some rest. Did you bring some books from the car?”
“I don’t really feel like reading.” Danny said softly, looking around at the trees.
“Maybe you should have brought other genres rather than just glorified pornography.” Markus whispered. She elbowed him, but I felt myself relax slightly. They were adapting, slightly, for better or worse. I unlocked the twin doors that were in the ground and flipped them open, and we headed down into the darkness.20
I’m mixing things up a lot this mission. Firstly, we’re off the books, this is everything coming up to catch up with Kat for what she has been up to since 2006. With her current Sanity, this could well be the last mission she goes on. For anyone who has seen the TV show ‘From’ this opening might seem familiar. I wanted to take that theme and run with it in Delta Green to see what I get, as I feel like there was a lot of cool Mythos vibes in that show. Thanks for reading!
Oracle: Is he warning me about a trap? Likely - 35 Yes
Oracle: Is there an endless road? Likely - 85 No
Forest Descriptors - “Combative Ambush’
Oracle: Clocks working? 50/50 84 No
Sanity (Unnatural) 79/33 -1 Sanity - Project onto Jesse - 0 Sanity lost
Little Town Name Generator - ‘Velvet Creek’ Any details on the sign? Unlikely - 75 No.
Oracle: Markus more believing of the Unnatural after last mission? Very Likely - 12 Extreme Yes
Oracle: Do we reach the town quickly? 50/50 - 38 Yes.
Domicile Descriptors - Investment Tools. Any people? 50/50 - 98 Extreme No.
Oracle: Does it loop immediately? 50/50 07 Extreme Yes
Sanity (Unnatural) 45/33 (0/d4) =3 Project 3 onto Jesse - 0 Sanity lost.
End Scene. Chaos Factor 6. Test Scene - 5 Altered Scene - Add and Object
Object Added - Candles (From Little Town)
Rogue Handler Smells - Human Poo. Only Kat smells it? Likely - 93 - No
Oracle: Door open? 50/50 100 Extreme no.
Source of the smell? Likely - 55 Yes Random event - PC Positive - Roll x2 Discover table (Protection +1) and take best. Is the source a corpse? Very likely - 56 Yes.
NPC Archetype - Town Clerk. Is the corpse old? Unlikely - 68 No.
Oracle: Organs still there? 50/50 19 Yes
Is it the Elder Sign? Very Likely - 96 No.
End Scene. Chaos factor 5. Test Scene - 5 Altered Scene - Add an Object
Love the name Velvet Creek! Is that from Mythic?
That escalating feeling of unsettle is kind of the trademark of this AP. From the broken GPS to the looping road, it's SO good, damn.
I love the atmosphere and dread in this episode! Very well done!