- Lily almost immediately rounded on Percy, blaming him for her circumstances and punching him squarely in the face.  Turning to Kevin, she demanded to know why a man of the cloth would be associating with...   ...him.  It was at this point that Milton began to crack, convinced that Lily was possessed.  He drew his gun and shot, but the bullet ricochet and grazed George instead.  Kevin managed to knock the gun away and Milton fell back.  Though tension between the group remained, they slowly returned to their resting places as the wilderness quieted around them.

- The group continued on their way to Flagstaff, making the best time they could.  Unable to reach the town by nightfall, they were forced again to camp in the wilderness.  The night was interrupted only by loud thunderclaps directly overhead - but no rain fell.

- They made it to town by late morning the following day, and were confronted near the edge of town by a pair of men asking questions.  There had apparently been a number of disappearances of late, and they'd been hired by one bereaved family to investigate.

- The group spent some time looking around the town before taking accommodations at the Goldenfields Hotel - which seemed to be the most comfortable place available.  They were enjoying their first rest indoors in several days when Kevin was awakened by a knock and voice outside his door.  A voice he recognized as the nun who'd saved his life outside of Grayfalls.  Out in the hall, the voice seemed to be coming from downstairs - and was accompanied by the smell of smoke...

- The group kept watch through the remainder of the night and, the following morning, discussed what to do.  Having no horses, their only option seemed to be walking to Flagstaff.  The took their belongings off the stage and secured them as much as possible in the lodge.  By just before midday, they had decided what to take with them and set off down the Highland Trail.

- They made good time heading out onto the plateau, covering almost half of the 30-mile distance to Flagstaff by nightfall.  Montana found them a decent place to camp, but all had the feeling it wasn't far enough away from the lodge and whatever is haunting the mountains.

- After dark, Percy went for a walk under the stars - partly to clear his head, and partly to have a "talk" with his "benefactor" - whether or not he could be heard.  He was still away from camp durning the first watch when Montana heard someone approaching the camp.  At first he thought was Percy coming back, but as the voice and footstep approached and he could make out more words, he recognized Jesse's voice.

- A darkness descended upon the camp as Jesse emerged into the firelight, putting a hand on George's shoulder and asking if he was "ready".  He eyes and the inside of his mouth were black as pitch.  A few words were exchanged, but "negotiations" were interrupted by the shadow inside Jesse's form lashing out at Montana and Kevin, and a dozen or so shadow "things" like they had seen at the lodge descended upon them.

- The insuing firefight started as Percy was making his way back to camp.  Montana's superior aim neutralized the "creature" in Jesse's likeness almost immediately, but the fight with the other shadow-things was far from over and all of them quickly found themselves set upon by two or more.  Percy thrust one into the fire - this seemed to hurt it initially, but as it was consumed the flames began giving it strength as it tried to pull him into the fire with it.  Montana began taking shots at the things on him as well as those harassing George and Milton.  Kevin had invoked his blessing which kept the group much safer than they would have otherwise been, and he began trying to destroy the others.

- As the tide began to turn in the group's favor, Lily was grabbed by three of the creatures.  She was being dragged up the side of a boulder and into the darkness when red flickering lightening began lashing out at everything around her.  She began screaming "no" and something about "not doing this again".  Even after the creatures fled, Lily contined pacing at the edge of the camp, red flickers surrounding her, as she mumbled angrily to herself - or to someone else...

- As they made their way into the northern highland pine forests, the stage was stopped a small band of apache indians.  Their leader attempted to convince or threaten Jesse to turn the stage and head back down to the plains.  He told them the "manitou" (demons) were restless in the region, and the white men only add to the unbalace.  As the gathering storm began pouring down on them and they withdrew and the stage continued on.

- After some discussion, the group decided they would stop at a hunting lodge called Howe's Camp about halfway to Flagstaff rather than risking getting caught after dark in the wilderness.  There were two men at the lodge, and they welcomed the travelers to stay for the evening.

- After settling in for the evening, however, they found the lodge beset by dark, shadowy creatures.  The resultant firefight eventually destroyed or drove off their attackers, but not before Jesse was engulfed by the shadows and vanished.  Venturing outside, they heard no sounds from the stable where their horses were sheltered, and the strong smell of fresh blood was inescapable...

- Percy sat down for an ... interesting ... conversation with the Man in the Pinstripe Suit.  He prodded the Man about his involvement with the "possessed" young girl.  The Man denied having done  anything "to" her - or even that he had any control over her ... "condition".  He did suggest to a similarity between the girl and Percy's "situation", and seemed to think it odd that Percy would want the girl to be "cured" as though something was "wrong" with her.  He did seem confident that the young girl would recover from her wounds, and alluded to her having been greivously injured before.

- The next day the three had a brief conversation with Jesse and George about the coming storm and whether they should wait for the repairs to be finished (which would take another day) or whether they should get the stage now, rig the best job they could, and continue before they were trapped on this side of the river.  The group decided they would leave the following morning.

- The three spent this day hiking back out to the Wollart Claim to check on Lisa and Una - and to see if they could find any trace of Mack.  Stopping by the cave, they found most of the dead animals hanging from the tree were gone - though the ropers were still present.  The only ones remaining seem to have been recently hung.  They also noticed that they could not feel the "presence" inside the cave.  They found a pack and some firearms, but no sign of Mack.  Inside the cave, they found piles of animal bones - and a few human ones.

- Continuing to the claim, they found Una inside the one-room cabin still in bed and breathing lightly but steadily.  Kevin offered what blessings and purifications he could, but admitted that the remaining healing would be up to the passage of time.  Montana had stepped outside when Lisa came walking around the side of the house.  She was startled to see them, but they managed to calm her down and talk a bit.  They inadvertently brought up some past traumatic memories about the girl and the family and Lisa eventually began to break down.  When they left, she was curled up in the bed, crying next to her sleeping daughter.

- As they left, Montana mentioned that he'd noticed blood on Lisa's apron.  Walking around the house where she'd come from, Percy found a dead fox with a length of rope tied around its neck, and several more lengths of rope nearby.  Following a path to the top of the hill, he found a small cemetery of sorts with two gravestones - one for Lisa's husband Alexandre, and one for their 12-year-old son John.

- The group returned to town and made ready to leave, making it across the rising ford as the rain began and continuing north toward Howe's Camp and Flagstaff...

- After further discussion with the stage operators, the group vote overall was to go ahead and let the local wainwright repair the stage properly, even if it cost more and set them back several days.  Jesse, the man technically "in charge" was the only dissenting voice, but was hesitant to go against everyone else on the journey (including 4 paying customers) and so he ultimately relented and made the necessary preparations.

- In the meantime, Kevin, Percy, and Montana joined with three townsfolk to find the bear that came through and killed a couple of men two days previous.  They tracked the enormous creature northeast across the river and up into the hills north of town, eventually coming to a cave opening, outside of which was a tree from which hung a couple dozen dead animals.  As they contimplated whether to go in or dynamite the entrance, they caught sight of a young girl who told them they should leave - becoming increasingly hysterical, talking about her "daddy".  Somehow, Montana recognized the girl as the daughter of a man he had saved from a burning building in Grayfalls three years earlier.  It was then that thick black smoke began pouring out of the cave.

- The group pulled back from the cave entrance.  Snarls, growls, and moving shadows began to issue from the cloud of smoke, and the townsfolk began shooting at it, but when this had no effect, quickly ran.  A woman - presumably the girl's mother - then arrived, looking for her daughter, Una.  As she began dragging the hysterical girl away from the smoking cave and the strange men, Percy pursued them - only to see a bright flash of light as the woman collapsed unconscious and Una began to float up off the ground, staring at him through yellow eyes and telling him threateningly that he "should have listened".

- Believing the girl to be possessed, Percy and Montana immediately attacked - Percy's 'bolt' spell nearly killing her.  As the woman regained consciousness, Kevin was over the girl, using his divine blessing to save her life - though she was still greivously injured.  They carried her back to her house, and advised the woman, Lisa, as to her care and need to see a doctor.

- The three returned to Clark's Ford where they had a brief conversation with one of the men who'd accompanied them - he hadn't seen the other two, nor did he have any interest in pursuing the matter futher.  After Montana and Kevin retired for the night, Percy was having a drink at the Sagebrush saloon when he saw a familiar man in a pinstriped suit.  The man smiled, and walked over to his table asking "So, what do you think of miss Una...?"

- As the shootout began, Jesse and George managed to press the stage foward while Percy, Kevin, and Montana exchanged a few bullets with the bandits.  There were relatively few casualties on either side by the time of their escape.  George was the only one who'd taken a particularly hard hit, and Kevin was able to call upon his Higher Authority to heal it before anyone really knew what had happened.

- The group proceded on to Gainer, where they spent a somewhat uneventful evening at the run-down hotel along the Highland Trail.  The following day they discovered the right rear wheel of the stage had developed some issues.  A few spokes were fractured and it was flexing worryingly.  This slowed their progress somewhat.  During one of their stops, they were meet by a traveling preacher who warned them about a beast that had recently come through Clark's Ford and killed a couple of men.

- Upon arriving in Clark's Ford, Jesse went to find a wainwright to repair the stage's wheel while the others headed to the Sagebrush saloon.  There they met a few men organizing a hunting party to go after the bear that had killed their friends...

- The group finalized plans to take Carlson's stage coach north to Flagstaff the following week, making preparations as were necessary.  Both Percy and Kevin sought out Ms Mason at different times and for different reasons, but Father Delworth eventually succeeded in getting her to (grudgingly) agree to join them, convincing her that she was involved with what was unfolding.  Meanwhile, Percy passed the time at the card tables, and Montana spent some time getting to know the Armstrong miners at the Dollar Saloon.

- The night before their departure, Kevin was awakened by Father Silas Butler, the older priest who had been something of a mentor to him for the past few years. In his failing health he had been known to have episodes of delirium - and this seemed to be one.  Father Butler was pounding on Kevin's door in a panic, asking where he was going and rambling about "falling into darkness".  Kevin did his best to calm the man, who eventually collapsed onto the floor.  Before he lost consciousness, his voice darkened and he whispered a final question to Kevin: "Are you coming to see us? It has been so long..."

- The following morning at sunrise, the stage headed north.  Jesse Carlson had spoken with marshall Haney about the threat of indians, and while the marshall said they'd noted increased movements/activity, he didn't think a trip north was necessesarily "unwise", but to be cautious.  As their journey progressed late into the afternoon, the stage slowly came to a stop and the group could hear shouting from outside.  Stepping out, Kevin noted the presense of a young apache indian in the road demanding payment for use of the road (for the "spirits"), but that the native's companions on the hillside and behind bushes and rocks nearby where, in fact, white men attempting to disguise themselves as indians.  As the tense "negotiation" began to fall apart, one of the men on the hills stood up and yelled "Dammit, just shoot 'em, boys!"...

- The three enjoyed something of a reunion at a casual card game with Miss Lily Mason and a couple of other saloon patrons until the others had left - at which point, father Delworth produced the flyer he'd found about a "revival" in Flagstaff - a revival that claimed Father Mandrake (whom he believed dead) and the ominous words "LEST YE BURN" at the bottom.  He'd been in conversation with a local stage operator by the name of Jesse Carlson who was making preparations to head north in a few days.  Believing Lily Mason was somehow also connected with these events - after all, she had been in Grayfalls three years earlier - Father Delworth attempted to pressure her into joining them.

- In the midst of their conversation, escalating tensions between a couple groups of miners present errupted into a brawl.  Some punches were thrown and some attempted to talk the belligerents down - ultimately succeeding.

- The following day, Montana made his way to the address he was paid to deliver the envelope to.  The man at the address, a Li Jun Zhoa, did not seem at all happy to see him.  He gave Montana the promised payment, and requested that he wait until evening for further conversation.  When Montana indicated he was just paid to deliver the message and didn't know anything else, Zhao's mood seemed to improve - he told Montana not to worry about returning, and bid him good day.

- While Kevin and Montana struggled to assist the town with the growing inferno, Percy found himself among the hail of now bullets frozen in time and making a deal with a man he suspected of being "the devil".  Luck was seemingly on his side, and his two-pair beat his opponent's pair of 7s.  The man made good on his promise to get Percy "out of this little scrap", and he found the bullets that had been streaking toward him deflecting with bright flashes of light - much to the horror of his assailants, who soon fled.

- Montana saw a final figure walk out of the smoke of the saloon.  The man's clothing and even some of his skin was clearly burning, but he didn't seem bothered by it. "Oh, children." Montana heard him say "the time has come at last..."  Mandrake's bellowing voice could now be heard above the howling wind as well, pronouncing condemnation on the doomed town.  More buildings caught fire, and those that had been burning began to collapsed.  Humanoid figures, covered in flames and with gaping mouths, began slowly walking out of the blazing structures - extending burning arms toward any who wandered too close.

- By this time, the streets were crowded with people fleeing the burning town.  The three did their best to help townsfolk escape to a nearby hillside where survivors were gathering.  They all knew it was too late for Grayfalls, however - fear was saturating the landscape and the town would never recover.

- Three years later, these three would happen to meet each other again in a saloon in Phoenix - along with a Miss Lily Mason, an acquaintance of Percy's from Grayfalls and whom he thought he'd seen fleeing the town the night of the fire...

I've been wanting to run Deadlands for a long time, so when Tim made an offhand comment about wanting play, we decided to put a game together.

Characters:

- Percy Walker [Tim] :: huckster

- Kevin Delworth [Patrick] :: priest

- Montana Grim [Stephen] :: gunslinger

Highlights:

- We started the campaign with a flashback to the events of 3 years ago - before Percy made his "deal" and Kevin's "conversion".  It was one particular night in the tiny town of Grayfalls in Arizona Territory they were awakened in the night by the town burning down.

- Each of them attempted to help however they could.  Stephen ran into a burning building to rescue a distraught woman's husband, Patrick ran to the small catholic church to rescue Sister Blowers (the nun who'd recently saved his life), and Percy escaped his burning hotel room, stopped a fight between folks arguing over which building the water pump should be used on and pulled a clerk away from some outlaws taking the opporunity to rob the assay office.

- As events unfolded, a number of the townsfolk began displaying signs of insanity and/or fanaticism - they began interfering with efforts to fight or contain the fires, shouting proclamations of divine fury being levied against the town - and that to prevent the burning would be going against "the almighty".  Back at the church, Kevin could hear the bellowing voice of Father Mandrake above the howling wind and roaring fire - claiming gods judgement had justly come upon the town.

- Percy was making his way back up the street when he was suddenly ambushed by a group of men.  As they all fired their guns at him. time seemed to slow to a stop and he was confronted by a dark man in a suit, standing next to a card table and offering a "deal"...