Ghosts of Glencoe, Liminal Play Report

A one-shot play report for Liminal designed by Paul Mitchener.  Ghosts of Glencoe is available here for £1 it was written by Guy Milner.  My second GM experience of Liminal and now 3rd game, I really can't get enough of it.  We played this on Discord for voice and Google Jamboard to keep track of character stats and throw up handouts, maps and pictures, all worked well.

...Here Be Spoilers (and a slight amount of artistic licence)...

The crew travel to Scotland to investigate missing climbers in the wilds of Glencoe.

In the office above the newsagent's a phone is ringing, Jonathan Cooper-Clarkson, lifts his head from the desk, eyes red... glowing red, "Whisky?" he gasps.  Mortimer Dooley ignores him as he reaches over and picks up the phone.  Duncan "The Rat" Holmes and Eddie, no fixed abode, sit in the opposite corner of the office, Duncan is reading a paper and trying to ignore the enthusiastic Eddie telling him about his latest nocturnal activities.

Mortimer, straightens his back and clears his throat, "Dreamy Time Escort Agency, how can we service you?" A voice nervously replies, "He.., er, hello?  Is that Mortimer?"  The voice has a very strong accent, Mortimer can't understand it, "What did you say? Who is this?"  The voice continues, louder, "Tom McAllan, landlord of The Clachaig Inn... in Glencoe... that's Scotland"  Mortimer throws up his hands, "What. Do. You. Want!!!"

There follows a confusing and broken conversation as a public school educated Mortimer tries to decipher the deep highland accent of Tom, as it turns out, Tom has been given the agency's name by P-Division, the supernatural branch of the UK police.  The crew have done work for P-Division before, but this is the first time they've fobbed off members of the public and dumped them on the Dreamy Time doorstep.  Still, the pay is guaranteed so it's a no brainer, there's been little happening in the last three months.

Tom McAllan explains that he had three climbers disappear last month and there has been no trace of them, it happened on Beinn Trilleachan, a popular climbing spot.  Tom has had dealings with the Hidden world, he feels something terrible has happened to them and this could be just the start, he implores the group to come up and see for themselves.

Jonathan Cooper-Clarkson

Mortimer flips open his laptop and starts looking up news articles relating to the disappearance, he gets some good basic information on the three climbers, but not too much on leads.  Eddie is making a few calls to his "associates" they mention that one of the climbers, Paul Stromsoe works for Hunter Security and it would not be good for Eddie's health to delve further, someone or something powerful sits behind this company.  Jonathan is slathering on sunblock, looking sourly at Duncan, "You should do something about the weather?  It's filthy."  Duncan looks out the window, a solitary cloud is floating by, he snaps his fingers, the cloud fades and dissipates, "It's nice and it's sunny, I love it.".  Jonathan puts on his sunglasses, puts his feet on the table, opens up a bottle of whiskey, which he starts chugging on, he continues to stare at Duncan.  

The crew load everything into the van, Mortimer packs climbing and wet weather gear, always the best prepared.  Jonathan wanders out of the office and puts up his umbrella, the sun shines down, he skips quickly to the van and gets into the passenger seat, looking nervously up at the sky.  They head off onto the highways and byways of Britain to Glencoe and 8 hours later, nearly 5pm and they are pulling into the parking area of Clachaig Inn and meeting the landlord Tom, he's jovial and helpful, says he will open up the snug so they can talk in private.

Clachaig Inn

A short while later Tom is giving the lowdown on what happened, not too much out of the ordinary, weather was wet but not too serious, the climbers were capable and fit for their ages.  Paul Stromsoe ate like a horse but the rest of them were well behaved and good company.  Tom had dropped them off at the bothy at the head of Loch Etive, they were going to climb up Beinn Trilleachan, stay overnight at the bothy and Tom was to get them the next morning, but they never turned up and the bothy looked like it hadn't been slept in.

After a brief conflab, the group decide they will head straight to the bothy and look around whilst there is still an hour of light, they will stay overnight, looking for signs early the next day.  Tom packs food and drink and then jumps into the landrover, the crew follow behind.

A little while later the fire is roaring in the bothy, Mortimer has been for a quick walk around the grounds, Eddie is warming himself in front of the fire and Duncan has headed up the trail.  Jonathan sits with a bottle in his lap, eyeing the sky, waiting for darkness.  Eventually, Duncan gets back to the bothy, feet encrusted in mud, "Nothing so far, only made it a short way up the path, pitch black now."  Jonathan takes this as his sign, "I'm off, toodle-ooh, losers.", he skips to his feet and pulls open the door, leaving it swinging open behind him as he disappears into the night.  Wind and rain blow in through the door as the others rush to close it, choice words follow behind Jonathan.

Bothy, Loch Etive

Jonathan is up on the mountainside, he can see fine in the inky blackness and his eyes spot movement down the valley.  Another bothy is a couple of miles away and he has noticed some brightly coloured cagoules gathered around the entrance.  As he waits and watches, these primary colours head into the bothy and it is not long before he can see and smell the smoke coming from the chimney and a warm, glowing light within the building.  He checks his pockets, bottles of whiskey are in both, one is empty and he tosses it behind him as he heads towards the other bothy.

Rat-a-tat-tat!  The door opens and a Charles Hawtery-look-alike pops their head out, "Oooooh, 'ello, you lost mate?"  Jonathan pushes past him and into the main room, the rest of the group look up, mouths open, Jonathan smiles, "I have come in your hour of need, I bring sustenance.", he brandishes aloft a half-drunk bottle of vodka.  A few hours later and there is a chaotic scene, the ramblers are doing the conga around the living room, they have found various drink and some of them are crawling or curled up, oblivious to the unfolding bacchanalia.  Jonathan is at the centre of this, conducting the riotous scene, eventually the group head outside, intent on skinny dipping in Loch Etive.  Jonathan bids farewell, amongst many protests, and heads back to his crew.

Jonathan enters the bothy and announces to the group, "I met some ghastly people, down the way.", he points.  "They don't seem to know anything or have seen anything, but they had some nice stuff."  He empties cans, bottles, cigarettes, scotch pies and a pineapple on to the table, "Help yourself, and... you're all most welcome." 

The morning is dull and light, persistent rain falls.  The group are gathered on the foot of Beinn Trilleachan, they are discussing the best way to scour the mountain for signs of the missing climbers, Jonathan decides he will head up the main ridge, being the most athletic and graceful, he will head on ahead, prancing and leaping up the mountainside.  Mortimer wants to look out for signs of the Hidden World, runes maybe or sign of magical goings on.  Eddie is keeping still, he has some binoculars with him and is training them on the mountainside, at one stage he sees a train of bright, red, yellow, blue and orange anoraks, heading towards them, he quickly signals to the group to get off the main trail and they wait until the ramblers, ramble onward, a few groans are heard as they trudge up the path to Bein Trilleachan.  Lastly, Duncan has been crisscrossing back and forth across this area, he's convinced they have found a trail and a fresh one, they head further up the mountain...

....by luck and a little skill, they find themselves at a pool of water, surrounded by stone, Duncan stops, the hairs on the back of his neck prick up, there is something incredibly otherworldly about this place and not a little dangerous.  He is also 100% sure they are being followed, by a shapechanger, he announces this to the group.  After some discussion, they decide to hide amongst the rocks and await the creature that is on their trail.

The Initiation Grounds

Unbeknownst to the group, these are the initiation grounds of a pack of werewolves, the Lairds of Rhum, and heading up the trail, after them, is their pack leader Draug.  Draug enters the grounds and sniffs, snarling, the cursed humans are near, maybe watching him even, he prowls around the pool, sniffing the air for a scent, this is not a good place to be, he knows many of his pack have been taken from this spot.  

Eddie lets out a whimper on seeing the beast, Duncan clamps a hand over his mouth, Eddie has a problem with werewolves, wolves, probably even puppies.

"Waaarrgghhg!", Draug sees a man dressed in black, with sunglasses, waving a bottle at him and lurching forward, the werewolf, leaps to close the distance, twists his head and sinks sharp incisors into the man's thigh, shaking from side to side as they tear into flesh, blood flows.  Then stars come out as a bottle breaks on Draug's head, blood fills his eyes and he steps back, shaking away the red liquid and snapping out with his jaws.

Draug the dishevelled

Draug sees three more mortals step forward, one of them is looking at the sky, his hands twisting in strange and complex patterns, a bolt of lightning arcs from the sky, hitting the ground near Draug and sending the werewolf, rolling across the slabs of stone.

Where the blood has spilt on the slabs, black smoke is hazily drifting upward and around the pool a mist is starting to form, hemming in the group.

Jonathan looks at the gash in his black, leather trousers, red blood pumps out of the rips, "Mortimer, be a good fellow...", he gestures.  Mortimer rushes forward and, with eyes on the werewolf, tries to bandage the wound and stem the flow of blood.  The wolf bows down stretching flat on the ground and starts to shake and quiver, before too many moments have passed, a dishevelled, toothless man is lying on the rock in front of them, an ugly gash runs down his forehead, bloody running freely.  He gasps at them, "You fools... ...we're moving into the Ghost Realm!"

There is a standoff, the group are gathered staring at the man, he is facing them, swearing and gesticulating.  Duncan is off in his own world, pondering the knowledge he has of ghost realms, it's not good, easy to enter, hard to escape, humans can't stay there or they become ghost themselves, but he thinks he may be able to recognise the exit, if it was presented to him.

Draug is calmer now, he sits hunched, he's been explaining they are in the Ghost realm of Glencoe and their lives are likely to be forfeit, his clan have had many members taken by the ghosts.  He thinks, ponders and then goes up to Mortimer, "A deal?  Yes, a deal.  I will show you the climbers you seek, I know where they are, in return you will rescue my clan if any still live.  A deal, now shake on it, yes?"

Mortimer turns to the others, "Should I?", the others shrug or look down at the ground, Jonathan points at his leg, "He bit me!".  Mortimer makes a decision and shakes the filth-encrusted hand of Draug.  At that moment the mists around them swirl, showing a route down the mountain to a castle, no castle should be here according to the map and all around the same mist, thick and undulating.  "Ahhh", shouts Duncan as a soldier, clad in the MacDonald tartan steps out of the mist, a spear pointed directly at him, he is quickly joined by two others, then six, then twelve, they surround the group.  One of them steps forward, "You have no place here!  Ellis MacDonald, will know what to do with you, if you are not foul, you should not fear his justice, but you, laddie...", he gestures at Draug, "...you should be afraid!"  They are marched down the path towards the castle.

The Ghost Realm

Ellis MacDonald sits on a seat in the main hall of the castle, Draug is forced to the floor in front of him, the others stand behind him.  Ellis speaks, "This creature and his kind have no place in our realm, too many have disturbed our lands, we put a stop to it now... destroy it!"  Two soldiers come from behind and pin Draug to the floor, another draws a dagger and pulls back Draug's head.  Mortimer shouts out, "Wait!", not skipping a beat, Jonathan steps in front, noticing the scowl on Ellis' face, "Please sire, one moment, we have unfinished business with him, he owes us a debt..."  Jonathan continues on, waxing lyrical about the honour and commitment that is shared with the creature, the pathetic, awful, flea-bitten creature.  At length Ellis raises his hand, "Enough, your words have moved me, I will think on this, I will send for you within the hour, fates will then be decided.  Go know."  Draug whispers at Jonathan, "Flea-bitten, eh?  You're more like a flea, you blood-sucking freak!"  

Nothing like the charm of a Dhampir to get you out of a tight spot, or into a tighter one, thinks Eddie as they are led down into the dungeons.

Ellis MacDonald

Two guards accompany them down to the dungeons, Draug is thrown into a cell with, by the way, they greet him, the remains of his pack, captured recently by the ghosts.  The crew pass another cell, hearing groans, they spot a single figure, lying on the floor, the guards stop, "He is dying." they say coldly, "I can help", replies Mortimer, let me in and I will treat him, "Surely you don't want to be responsible for his death before Ellis decides his fate?"  The ghost guards look at each other and open the cell.

Ghostly soldiers of clan MacDonald

Mortimer sees that this is one of the missing climbers, Paul Stromsoe, Duncan also sees that Paul is another shapeshifter, a werewolf.  Paul is bandaged and treated as best he can be, the guards are impatient though, prodding Mortimer with the shafts of their spears, "Enough, he will live, come now."  "Gentleman, gentleman, listen to me, I have a proposition..." the honeyed words of Jonathan drift into the cell, the guards turn, dreamily moving towards his voice.  Jonathan continues, "You are needed, Ellis calls you, you must go to him."  They nod slack-jawed, turning and stumbling up the stairs.

Mortimer looks on, then turns to Paul, "We have little time, where are your friends?", Paul looks distraught, "They are dead, slain by the ghosts. We must leave, we will all be dead soon enough or ghosts at least, we cannot stay!"  As they gather around and help Paul to his feet, they hear a cry from Draug, "I know how to get out and I found your missing climbers.  Remember the deal?  Do NOT betray me, a werewolf curse is powerful, let us out, we are bound to be butchered otherwise, LET US OUT!"

There is now a screaming match between Jonathan and Draug, which basically consists of Jonathan trying to charm the werewolf into giving them the secret of escaping, whilst Draug insists they first open the cell.  Paul interrupts them at last, "I know the portal is in that cell",  he points, "but I don't know how to open it."  Jonathan, his face red with anger, whirls round and strides to the cell door, pulling it off its hinges he sends it clattering into the courtyard.   Draug continues to alternate between pleading and threatening.

They gather in the room, only a small bed exists, but this triggers a vision with Duncan, he sees a single drop of blood falling through the air, hitting the snowy, white sheets, then a flash.  Quickly he asks Mortimer for a penknife and runs it across his thumb, blood appears and he lets it fall onto the bedsheets... ...many things happen, Draug starts screaming at the top of his lungs, "You be cursed!  The Deal, honour the deal!!", loud bell chimes ring through the castle and there is a roar of many voices above them.  On the bed the cover is wavering and the group feels its pull, a void appears in the bed, a whirlpool, stretching down and down.

Mortimer looks at Draug, the others look at Mortimer, then one by one they jump through the portal, spinning, flying, lights blink out... Mortimer is last to go, he hears the cry of the ghosts as they run to the cell, looks back at Draug, sighs and dives headfirst into the portal.

Exit pursued by a ghost

The group slowly awaken by the pool, the mist has gone, they gather their things and help Paul to his feet, they quickly make their way down the slopes, back to the bothy and to their van.  On the way back to the Inn, Paul explains he is a clan member of the Jaeger pack, he'd been on his way up here to investigate signs of another wolf pack entering this area, his two friends, who were not shapeshifters, often helped him on such scouting missions.  

Paul explains he will need to speak to the head of their clan, Martin Jaeger on what to do next, a possible rescue mission, but that would stir up trouble with the ghost realm, or perhaps hunting down the remainder of the Lairds of Rhum and get things back to normal.  He points at Mortimer, "Oh my boy, I really hope those ghosts do away with Draug, for your sake!"  Mortimer fidgets in the back of the van, "We all made the deal, didn't we?" he whines, "We all thought it was a good idea?".  The rest of the crew look out of the window, only Jonathan looks at him and offers him a swig of his hip flask, "What a simply ghastly time, wasn't it?"