Operation Kerebos: Chapter Three
Catching my Breath in the Delta Green RPG, using Mythic GM Emulator
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.
Chapter 3 - Thumbnail photo The Trout Pool by Worthington Whittredge, available at https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/13315
Marriot Hotel, Summercrest - 11PM
Tracy passed out almost immediately once we got off the dirt tracks and onto the more structurally sound roads. Montford was silent as he disassembled his gear and packed it all meticulously into his backpack, and Palmer had her usual slightly absent expression as she drove us back into Summercrest. I dialed the number Landry had provided, but it cut out after a few rings. When I tried again, it went straight to voicemail. I frowned, and put the phone away, but we needed someone with medical experience to cut open this dog and tell us what if there was anything in there, and I would rather it was someone read into the situation. When we arrived at the hotel, Palmer and Montford half guided, half carried Tracy to Palmer’s room. We didn’t know where she lived, and we were all concerned about the dreams that had been mentioned in Gloria’s diary, so we thought it would be better to keep an eye on her. A sleepy looking receptionist waved me over as we entered the lobby, unaware or uncaring of the semi-conscious park ranger we were loading into the elevator. I signaled the others to go on ahead.
“Special Agent Jones?” She said around a yawn. “Sheriff Bosworth dropped this off for you an hour ago.” She handed over a manila folder with a familiar red confidential stamp on the front. I thanked her and left, flicking through it on the elevator up to the 5th floor, I was surprised to see it was the coroner’s report on Gloria’s death1. There wasn’t any new information, all as expected and in line with an animal attack. Any suspicions Dr. Giles had, he seemed to have kept to himself.
I tried Landry again, but now the line was saying it had been disconnected, which did not bode well. Palmer had set Tracy up in her bed and was talking softly with Montford when I came into the room. I handed over the report and slumped into a chair.
“I need to check in with the parents of the missing kid first thing tomorrow. We may have to split up to cover more ground. I feel like the clock is ticking.”
“Good chance the boy is dead.” Montford said bluntly. Palmer shot him a glare, but he just shrugged and extracted a can of cheap beer from the mini fridge.
“I’m not paying for that.” Palmer said sharply. Montford ignored her.
“Chances aren’t good for Daniel, but he isn’t the reason we are here. I think we would all feel a bit better if we could find him alive, mind you.” I said with a pointed look at Montford. He was still standing by the minifridge so I held out my hand expectantly, earning an eye roll and a dented can of Coors Light, which I opened and sipped before continuing. “We need to know more about these dreams of Gloria’s, and we need to know if there is anything wrong, physically, with the dead dog in the trunk.”
“What are you suggesting?” Palmer said. I took another sip of beer and pondered that question before answering.
“What do you need to research the things Gloria mentioned Palmer?”
“There’s a library in Spokane that will have local records.” She said thoughtfully. “They’ll have a computer with internet access, I can probably fill in some of the gaps.”
“What about the dog?” Montford asked.
“Safest bet would be driving it to Seattle and getting that Dr. Eckart2 to check it out. Keep the circle closed. Then, if there’s something fucked up about it, we don’t have to worry about it getting out. The problem is, we would need to drive to Seattle and back. No one is going to let you on a plane or a bus with a dead dog in your luggage.”
“We don’t have anyone locally?” Palmer asked.
“I doubt it. I could check the FBI records, see if there is anyone nearby known for discretion, but it's a slim chance with a lot of risk.”
“What about the medical examiner?” Palmer asked. I pursed my lips.
“He’s already suspicious. But he is local, and already tied into the case. Lets sleep on it.”
“If we can find a quiet, unrelated and preferably criminal doctor, it would be a lot easier to silence them if things go south.” Montford said softly, before finishing his beer and leaving. Palmer patted my arm
“He’s always like that.” She said kindly, before she retired to the bathroom. I took one last look at Tracy3, who was sleeping peacefully, before retiring to my own room. It was nearly midnight by the time I finally decided to go to bed4. Searching through the information on my work laptop hadn’t turned up anything, which was unsurprising given the rural location. I flopped into bed, and slowly drifted off, my dreams filled with snapping jaws, and silent, reflective eyes watching from the shadows5.
Marriott Hotel, Summercrest. September 24, 2005 - 8AM
I had a nasty nightmare, but I can’t recall the details. My subconscious must have picked up something though, because I woke up to call from the front desk. Sheriff Bosworth was waiting to see me, and the news was not good6.
“We’ve found Daniel’s body this morning.”7 He said. His voice cracked as he removed the Sheriff’s hat from his head and held it in a white knuckled grip. I felt sick, and my heart ached, but we still had a job to do.
“Let’s go somewhere private, Sheriff.” I said, guiding him to the elevator. He followed numbly. When we arrived in my room, he slumped into an armchair and placed his head in his hands. I placed a bottle of water in front of him and pulled out my notebook. “Where did they find him?” I asked8.
“He was on the shore of the lake, at the center of the national park.” He said numbly. “He was soaked through. His body is with the medical examiner now, but it’s clear that he drowned.”
“Did it look like an accident?” I asked, slightly more bluntly than I had intended. He flinched , and I winced, but I needed to know.
“We’ve taped off the scene. Given the suspicions you mentioned yesterday, it seemed like the best course of action.” I saw his jaw tense, as though he was holding himself back, but then he continued, his voice a hoarse whisper. “He had bruises on his arm, and neck. And someone had clearly dragged him out of the lake. My gut tells me he didn’t fall in, drown and then wash up on the shore for us to find.” Bruises could tell us a fair amount about what, exactly, we were dealing with, but the Sherriff didn’t need to think about that right now.
“When exactly was the body found?” I asked9.
“Around 6AM. People aren't supposed to camp that close to the lake, but young locals sometimes go out that way if they want to live it up a little out of sight of their parents. I don’t imagine they will for a while anymore.” he said dully10.
“I can reach out to the Coroner for details, but was the body fresh?”
“No.” He said. He breathed out heavily.11 “Look, we’ve searched every inch of that park. He wasn’t there at sundown yesterday, but he was there some time this morning. But the body was at least a few days old, Agent Jones.” He took a deep wracking breath and collected himself. “It was waterlogged, and swollen and he-” He broke off. “I think he died a while ago.” He said softly, his eyes glassy “Giles should have a precise time.”12
“Were there any suspects for his initial disappearance?”13
“No suspects. He disappeared from the yard, and no camera’s picked up sign of him. It’s a small town.” He added limply.
“Sheriff, I know this is difficult. Thank you for bringing this to me. My team and I will head to the Lake and see what we can find.” I jotted down my burner’s number and passed it to him.
“If anything comes up, call this number.” He took the paper mutely, and he looked on the verge of collapsing back into his chair and passing out. I placed a hand on his shoulder. “Take some time, John.” I said. “My people are on this. Take the time you need to grieve. Stay here for an hour or so, collect yourself, and then be the person the town needs, ok?”14 He nodded, his shoulder’s relaxing slightly, and I left to find the others.
The other agents took the news as well as one would expect. Palmer’s features looked sad, but largely unfazed, while Montford looked like a boiling pot of water about to bubble over15. Tracy was awake, standing in the corner, her arms wrapped around herself as she tapped a rhythm onto her arms.
“So what’s the plan?” Montford grumbled.
“We need to check the place they found the body before the local PD trample the place.” I said, pulling on my FBI windbreaker and fixing my badge to my belt. “We can go see the coroner later today, once he’s had time to check the body for cause of death.”
“What about the dog?” He asked. I shrugged.
“I couldn’t find any reputable, or disreputable, vets to crack it open. We can either try it ourselves, or ask Dr. Giles. I doubt we will have time to head to Seattle and back.”16
“Why do you need a vet?” Tracy asked shakily.
“We need to know if something is wrong with the dogs that attacked us.” I said. She looked at me incredulously, and I added. “Biologically, I mean.”
“Like, if it was sick?” she asked, and I nodded. “I can help with that?” She said, her voice lilting up, as though it was a question.
“Really?” I asked and she nodded again.
“Yeah. I grew up on a farm and my dad was a retired vet. I was training to be a nurse when…” she broke off. “It’s not important. I can have a look, at least. I know what a healthy dog looks like.” She hesitated a moment. “But you have to take me with you.” I tilted my head, confused at the odd request.
“Take you with us?” I asked.
“Yes. When you go the park. I can help. I have to help. And I really, really don’t want to stay here.”
“Why not?” I asked.17
“I feel safer out in the woods, to be honest.” She said, hugging herself tightly. “It’s one of the reasons I took the job.” I shared a look with the others. What I would really appreciate is if Landry would answer his damn phone so I could get him to sign off on this kind of shit, but the other two just shrugged and I needed to make a decision in the moment.
“Ok Tracy.” I said cautiously. “We appreciate your help.”
Palmer helped Tracy get ready, and we agreed to stop by one of the Ranger station’s on the way so she could change into her uniform and get some supplies for the day18. It was a little out of the way19, but it had all of the supplies we could ask for, particularly firearms, survival gear and maps of the local area. I stopped Montford at the door, before we all pilled into the car and got moving.
“I know this isn’t ideal.” I said softly. “Lets try to keep her away from any really weird shit if we can.” He gave a grunt-snort combo, which I think was Montford’s way of expressing amusement.
”Good luck with that.” He said.20
Knights Lake National Park - 10AM
Palmer was driving while I went over some of my notes in the backseat, trying to ignore the smell of dead dog, and the tension in the car. My phone rang and I reached for my burner, only to realize it was my personal cell, which I thought I had turned off. Montford glanced at me impassively, and I rejected the call, returning to my notes. Landry wouldn’t call my personal number, and anything else could wait, but it started buzzing again, so I glanced at the screen, and instantly recognized Danielle’s number. I rejected the call again, but saw a flurry of text messages come through, all from Danielle and all from the last few hours. Danielle worked nights at a trendy bar in downtown Seattle, and it looked like she had stayed after work for drinks, judging by the increasingly sloppy and nonsensical messages, but one thing was clear; she was pissed off at something. The phone rang again and Montford’s impassive look shifted to one of mild disapproval. I cleared my throat awkwardly.
“Can you pull over Palmer? I’ll make this quick.”
“What the fuck Kat, where have you been?” The slurred voice of my best friend yelled at me through the phone.
“Danny, I’m working right now, it’s an important case, can I call you back in a while?” I asked soothingly. I didn’t add preferably when you have sobered up, but it took a bit of self control.
“No.” she said petulantly. “I needed you last night, and you didn’t answer your door, and then your cousin tells me this morning you’re out of town! What the hell!” I winced. I used to be so good at communicating, but it had been getting harder to keep tabs on everything since starting work with the Program.
“Danny, look, I’m sorry, but I’m hoping to be back soon, as soon as I wrap up this case-” She didn’t let me finish, launching into a tirade that was extremely hard to follow, but still left me feeling slightly hollow. I’m not sure what happened last night, but Danielle wasn’t the type to get messy drunk, not since her freshman year at least, and the fact she was still so out of it at 10 in the morning had me worried. I couldn’t stop a deep seated fear that something horrible had happened while I was away21. I waited for her to finish, still not sure what, exactly, she was upset again and proceeded to offer a series of soothing, half murmured assurances.22 I don’t know what part of that set her off again, but she ranted at me until she passed out and I heard her snoring over the phone. I took a moment to pull myself together, and then pulled out my notebook, flipping to the last page and jotting down the one thing I had managed to parse from Danny’s rant. A name; Nikolai Romanov. He was a regular at her bar and a good tipper, but that was all I knew. I snapped the notebook closed and took a deep breath before returning to the the car. Montford opened his mouth but I shot him a venomous glare, and he shut it, quickly. The rest of the drive to the Ranger Station passed in a blur of anxiety as I tried to get my mind back on the case.
Took a few liberties with that interrupt scene, but a fumble is a fumble! The Interrupt scenes and Random Events have been coming in fast the last few scenes, which I love because it keeps me on my toes! Let me know what you think.
Oracle: Any surprises in the report? Unlikely - 62 No.
Veterinarian and Delta Green Friendly, see Operation: Haruspex for details!
Oracle: Sleeping Peacefully? 50/50 19 Yes.
Skill: Criminology -20% (For Rural Location) - 55/35
End Scene. Chaos Factor: 6. Test Scene - NPC Negative - Daniel Martinez “Stop Building” Follow up Questions in next footnote.
Oracle: Is DM dead? 50/50 27 - Yes. Killed by humans? 55 - Yes & Random Event “Arrive Agreement.” NPC Action - Sheriff.
Sanity: 53/52 (Helplessness) -1 SAN (It’s not in my notes, but this would have been Kat’s breaking point.)
Oracle: Did DM drown? 50/50 - 10 Extreme Yes. Found Near the Lake? Likely - 41 Yes.
Oracle: Body found close to the time we found Tracy? 50/50 -76 - No.
Oracle: Does he know how long the body had been dead for? Unlikely - 10 - Yes.
Oracle: Did it look like the body been moved - Likely - 03 Extreme yes.
Sanity: 68/51 (Helplessness) -1 SAN
Oracle: Any Suspects? Unlikely - 63 - No.
Skill: Persuade 82/87
Oracle: Is Tracy awake? 22 - Yes. Random Event. Current Context “Distrust Environment”
Oracle: Does Tracy have any medical skill? Unlikely - 01 - Extreme yes. Hot Damn
Oracle: Does Tracy Distrust the Town? 50/50 100 Extreme No, Feels Safer in the forest
Oracle: Is her uniform at a Ranger Station near the lake? R Very Likely - 86 - No.
Oracle: More Guns? 50/50 45 Yes.
End Scene. Chaos Factor - 6. Test Scene 2 - Interrupt. (PC Negative - Deposit Personal)
Sanity: 37/50 (Helplessness) 0 SAN
Persuade: 99/87 Oh No. Bond Reduced by 1d4 = 4 0_0
I think the best part of using mythic is the unforeseen paths it takes you down - challenging your expectations and making you develop the story in a way you would never have normally dreamed of.
Something that really sold this session for me was how shaken up the sheriff was. Our heroes may be (somewhat) accustomed to awful, awful things, but the death of a child absolutely would shake up a small town sheriff, and the contrast between him barely keeping it together and the team's brusque inquiries really sold how differently the agents see the world. You get more than a little warped when working for Delta Green.