The Devil's Due

The Devil's Due

Preface

It is no accident that Sheriff Johnny Behan has found himself in the position of power he occupies. Arguably one of the most influential people in Tombstone, he has the power of the law behind him, which he often uses to pursue his own interests. He can harass and arrest those who stand in his way, and set free or stymie investigations into his allies. People who have wronged him or oppose him tend to mysteriously find themselves the targets of the Cowboys, with whom he shares sympathies--that part is no mystery or secret! How he can hold on to his elected position makes all the locals scratch their heads, though, and they can only chalk it up to people playing fast and loose at the ballot box. But what is anyone going to do about it? Everyone knows that if they go digging too deep, the last hole they dig might be their own when some Cowboy friendly to Behan comes a-knockin'.

Background

In 1881, there was an election debacle regarding the office of Pima County Sheriff. The election results were thrown out, and by the time things were resolved, the eastern part of Pima County, Arizona where Tombstone lay had been split off to form Cochise County. Due to the election results dragging on for so long from the aforementioned debacle, the territorial governor sped things up quite a bit and used his power of appointment and declared Johnny Behan would serve as the County Sheriff for that first term; the new county needed a sheriff, after all. Many called foul at this. Behan had not even been in the running. He had a long career up to that point in various government offices and businesses, notably running a bar and hotel in Tombstone that was a frequent hangout for the Cowboys.

Prior to all this, before coming to Tombstone, Behan had faced numerous personal losses and embarrassments, and some believe he may have been at the end of his rope . After some time in Tombstone, this personal anguish found Johnny Behan at a crossroads in his life, and where the barriers between this world and the spirit world are tenuous, crossroads are where influence from the other side can find the weak-willed and desperate.

Behan chose to leave town to escape his problems and begin anew. He crept away in the night so as not to have to answer any difficult questions. Just outside of town, when he finally had to make a choice as to which direction to travel on his flight, he stopped. He considered what he was doing, what he was leaving behind. He couldn't outrun a telegram. Wherever he went, news of his departure would get there before he did. Without realizing it, Johnny Behan's turmoil and weakness called out to a power from the beyond, a stranger that met him at the crossroads and made him promises. Behan was suddenly invigorated by the words of this stranger, not even pausing to question the irregularity of it all--such is the charm of fell powers--and he turned back around and returned to his life in Tombstone. Everyone seemed to forget about whatever peccadilloes had him so worked up, and a few months later, Governor John C. Frémont, seemingly out of the blue, appointed him Sheriff of Cochise County.

For all these favors and more down the road, the Stranger at the Crossroads exacted a price from Behan. The Sheriff's behavior became ever more corrupt and underhanded, perhaps to pay an ever-increasing toll for the Stranger's favors. Whatever the case, in recent months, Behan has moved his offices to the brick courthouse and jail building, or "Castle Behan," as some locals have started calling it, and rarely ventures out onto the streets without an entourage of least two armed men with him. Since carrying firearms is not allowed on the streets of Tombstone, these men are hastily deputized as needed by Behan. Many people call foul at this, as well, since many of his "deputies" are just local thugs.

Behind the scenes, Behan has stumbled upon the bill that the Crossroads Demon has levied for all of his assistance. Since their meeting, the ills that Behan had to commit seemed relatively small, and seemed palatable to one such as he. But, as time went on, and the tally of damnation mounted, the evils asked for in pursuit of favor became too tough to swallow, even for one with as faulty a moral compass as Johnny Behan. Now, he fears the wrath of not only the men he has wronged in the past, but is terrified the Crossroads Demon may pay him a personal visit, and he vainly hopes that some amount of bodyguards, brick or iron bars will stop the Stranger when it is time for a certain bill to be paid.

If agents of the DTI start making a name for themselves in Tombstone, Behan may seek their assistance with his problem. Once again, he is at the end of his rope, but now, running away is simply not an option.

Dramatis Personae

(In Likely Order of Appearance)

• Johnny Behan
  
• Iago Mercado
  
• Father Roscommon
  
• Phineas Draycott
  
• Doc Rouska
  
• Lazarus
  
• Zombies
  
• Possessed Gunslingers
  
• The Crossroads Demon
  

Ultimately, the only permanent way to protect the Sheriff will be to get the Crossroads Demon to tear up the contract at the place the deal was first made: a crossroads just outside of town. Of course, Behan doesn't know about any contract; he didn't sign anything from the Stranger at the Crossroads that fateful night. The Stranger just gave him a pep talk and convinced him that wondrous things would happen, and that they would be in touch. Then, woundrous things started happening for Behan. The contract only came into existence when Behan's evils manifested themselves beyond the normal scope of salvation: when one of his acts of unjust greed resulted in the death of an innocent man. At this point, through the manifest power of the demon, the terms of the simple contract for Behan's immortal soul were etched in fire on the flesh of the victim. A sufficiently well-versed man of the cloth or native shaman or medicine man might be able to identify the Stranger as a Crossroads Demon (especially if they ask Behan about where they met the Stranger or his state of mind prior to the meeting), and may even deduce the demon's methods. If no such agents (one with any ranks in the Devotion skill) are currently in the employ of the DTI in Tombstone, Iago Mercado could fill them in, as they might seek out his aid in crafting items that might help fight a demon, which would naturally cause him to inquire as to the nature of the demon, since not all of them are created equally. Additionally, Father Roscommon may be able to help them, as such entities often preyed upon the souls of his poor, beleaguered countrymen back in the old country of Ireland. Behan probably has no idea that any of his deeds have directly caused the death of any men, so he would be at a loss to tell the agents where this contract is located. However, once the team figures out that a contract exists, either Phineas Draycott or even Doc Rouska may have spotted the strange markings in an unknown language burned into the flesh of a man but a few months ago. If the body is exhumed, the patch of flesh can be removed and brought to a showdown with the Crossroads Demon. To defeat the Crossroads Demon, the agents must engineer a method by which the Demon destroys the contract in flesh with his own hand. The easiest method of which would simply be to use the contract as a sort of shield, and take a hit from the fell beast while wielding it, and hope to survive.

If the agents pursue this investigation, there will be a few points at which the Crossroads Demon will be roused to interfere. When the team speaks to whichever local (Draycott or Rouska) discovered the contract, the Demon is first alerted to their interference. Since either location will have corpses at hand (Draycott is an undertaker while Rouska is a physician/mad scientist trying to bring people back from the dead), the demon will animate a number of corpses and start a fight before the agents can depart. Note that if the players go out of their way in an attempt to meet either of these NPCs away from their offices (or, in the case of Doc Rouska, her residence, where she also has corpses stashed), the zombies may come from Boot Hill (and may even be zombie gunslingers armed with the shooting irons they were buried with!) or may simply come from the NPC in question's office, if they are nearby. The next encounter would occur when the players attempt to exhume the body of the contract-bearer. This encounter would consist of a number of locals, one of whom is possessed by the Crossroads Demon. There is a bit of leeway as to who the locals could be, but by default can be a small group of Cowboys who are following their small gang's leader (who has been possessed for the express purpose of coming out to the cemetery to interfere). Depending on how the fight with the zombies or at the graveyard goes, it may be advisable to have a non-combat scene or two after each scene to allow the PCs a chance to heal up before their next big encounter. If the fight with the zombies starts to go south for the players, one or more friendly locals will come to assist (suggestions are Iago Mercado armed with some goodies that will help put down the living dead, Father Roscommon, or even Marshall Virgil Earp). If the players are defeated by their foes at the cemetery, the possessed gang will leave them for dead and absond with the contract, which will have to be recovered.

With the contract in hand, the agents should always feel like the eyes of the demon are upon them; knowing that the demon can possess others, they should be made to feel leery of anyone who gives them a passing glance (and they should feel like the locals are taking more note of them than usual for no apparent reason). Destroying the contract would sever the connection with Behan and make him safe for a time, but the Demon can simply come back and enforce a new one, or turn his attentions on some other hapless soul. This is an option, but the best outcome will involve the agents luring the demon out to the crossroads and confronting him there; a fight where the deal was made will sap the demon of some of his powers, and allow for his permanent defeat if the agents best him. When they are ready to face the demon, they will have to lure him out. This might involve the demon possessing a posse of locals to chase down the PCs as they race out to the crossroads. This may give the players a chance to whittle down the demon's reinforcements before the final confrontation.

During the chase to the crossroads and the final battle, it may not be evident at first glance which combatant is possessed by the demon. During the chase, the demon will always have his minions ride ahead of him. If the vessel of the demon is killed outside of the crossroads area, he will jump vessels (which takes a combat round, during which all members of his posse are weakened, making any combat checks as though their attribute were decreased by one column). At the crossroads, the demon loses the ability to jump vessels. If his mortal shell is defeated, the victim's flesh burns away to reveal the demon's true form, and any minions who may be left alive are released from their possession. They will somehow instinctively know what has happened to them, and the coercion on their freedom will cause them to go into a rage, at which point they would help in the fight against the demon.

The demon cannot be bested by normal means. Even if he is denied of his minions, he can still jump to another body; upon taking enough wounds and succumbing, anyone nearby (NPCs first, naturally) will instantly metamorphose--in a puff of black smoke stinking of brimstone-into the demon's form! If he is defeated again, when he jumps bodies, the shell reverts back to the body he occupied (and this person may be able to be revived after the fight). Thus, it might be possible for a PC to become possessed, and the players may have to fight one of their own! The demon will carry on the fight until the players either manage to get him to destroy the contract, or until he manages to defeat the last PC.