Welcome to the Island

An unfinished ritual, a legacy best forgotten, and the family that won’t let the past die.

## Bell Island

Bell Island is located in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, off the BC coast in Canada. The island itself was settled in 1859 by Captain Sturm Bell and his crew after their ship ran aground. Only one family remains who lay claim to settler heritage, direct descendants of Captain Bell himself.

When the island was first settled, the remains of a small native tribe that had once lived on the island were found, but where the natives themselves had gone there was no clue. All that remained were long-cold cook fires and some stoneware.

The island has a population of barely 500 people, most of them artists and musicians. There is a weekly farmer’s market, fishing charters and whale watching tours, and three beachfront hotels which are full all summer long. Even during the colder months the hotels see business, as the island’s beauty draws visitors all year round. The ferry from Nanaimo runs every hour, taking roughly 30 minutes. It has room for about 15 cars.

## The Arrival of Sturm Bell

Captain Bell let his crew believe the ship had crashed due to fog and the choppy water. The truth was he was drawn to the island by a voice in his dreams. A voice that had burrowed deep into his brain after many years at sea, that called to him like a siren out of ancient lore. He knew not what he would discover on the island, only that he must go there.

It was Captain Bell himself who discovered the remains of the native tribe, and he hid away what he found. Among the stoneware was a crude idol of a fish. To anyone else, it would be nothing more than a rendition of a fish made by a people who worship the spirits of animals. To Bell, it was something out of his deepest nightmares, and he knew the thing’s name.

*Rybyshk*

Bell also found a large bone, not unlike a human finger bone only far larger, ending in a curved bony talon, sharper than any blade or fishhook the old sailor had ever encountered.

## The Ritual

From deep within his dreams, Bell had learned a ritual of worship, or so he thought. Grasping at the fading fog of his nightmares as he woke each morning, he wrote down what he could remember in his journal. Though the ravings made little sense to anyone else, to Bell they were gospel. They were science, step-by-step instructions to finally draw forth Rybyshk, the creature of his dreams, who would give humanity the love they so deeply desired.

Sadly, Bell was rather far off the mark.

What he had written down were the beginnings of the ritual Call Forth Those From Outside, specifically to summon the mind of a Greater Deep One, Rybyshk, who slumbers in the rocky shoreline just off Bell Island. Rybyshk’s psyche is adrift from many years of silent rest, and the ritual has been slowly drawing it back to the body.

Eventually as more people came to the island, Bell married and had children. He passed down his legacy to his children, and now the Bell family worships Rybyshk in secret. On the night of every full moon, the farmer’s market goes all day and night, complete with music and dancing. This is when the Bell family performs the ritual, claiming that it is an ancient rite passed down from the Old Country(though they never elaborate on what country that is). Unfortunately, the ritual is never fully completed.

The fact that the ritual has been started but never completed so many times, drawing forth eldritch energies and calling to the psyche or Rybyshk, has begun to take a toll on the minds of the locals.

The ritual the Bell clan performs involves an accordion, a pan flute, the tolling of a bell, and a song sung in what they claim is very old Norse.

For more information on the ritual, see page 175 of the Delta Green Handler’s Guide.

## The Murders

The last three times the ritual was performed, a body was found on the beach. The method and cause of death was the same each time. They were split open from just below the jaw, down the chest halfway down the stomach. One slice, made by an incredibly sharp implement.

The first body belonged to a lone visitor to the island, Anthony Barnes(32). He was a photographer from Chicago, sent by National Geographic to capture the natural beauty of Bell Island. He is survived by his wife Cynthia(30).

The second belonged to Ming Liu(50), the mother of a family visiting from Toronto. She’d wanted to take this trip forever. Her husband, Chao(47), and their children Fei and Feing(twins, 12), returned to Toronto, distraught.

The third belonged to Petra Malone(23), a surfer from Tofino. She was on a trip with friends.

All three bodies are currently being held in the Nanaimo City Morgue.

Each time a body was found, the beach around them was extremely disturbed, as if at least a hundred people had been present, based on footprints in the sand. As the beach is a high traffic area, and no witnesses have come forward, this was chalked up as regular foot traffic, nothing more.

The truth is the Bell family, along with over 90 other community members, were there. The bodies were sacrificed to Rybyshk, then everyone went home, and woke up the next morning feeling a little sore from the late night walk, but otherwise having no evidence or memory of what they’d done.

But the Bell clan knew, and they will do it again, as many times as they need to. The problem is, these sacrifices do nothing. They use the old Deep One talon found by Sturm Bell to slice the victims open, which draws the attention of Rybyshk, nothing more. The full moon is of no importance, they think it has some special meaning, but that’s just further perversion of the true ritual, passed down through generations.

## Artifacts

### The Talon

The bony talon discovered by Sturm Bell belonged to a Greater Deep One killed by Rybyshk. A successful Unnatural roll is required to identify it for what it is, resulting in a 1/1D4 SAN roll VS the Unnatural. If wielded as a melee weapon, the razor-sharp claw inflicts 2D6 damage.

### The Idol

This stone idol is the size of a small dog, and depicts an angry fish with large eyes, huge teeth, and bony spines along its back. In truth it is a depiction of Rybyshk. Anyone who makes this realization triggers a 0/1 SAN roll VS the Unnatural.

### The Journal of Sturm Bell

*In English.* Study time: 1D4 days *Occult: +2% Unnatural +1% SAN loss 1D6*

Each page in this rambling journal elaborates on the ritual to summon Rybyshk, yet many entries contradict those that came before. It has been annotated over the years by Bell’s descendants, and after studying the text anyone familiar with the Occult or Unnatural(skill of 30% or higher) can tell that they are getting dangerously close to getting it right. Whether they ever will, or if Rybyshk’s machinations upon their minds will simply cause the cult to self-destruct, remains to be seen.

## The Bell Clan

### Nancy Bell(65)

The matriarch of the clan, Nancy runs Sturm’s Rest, the only pub on the island. Her husband, Eric Waters, died just last year at the age of 70. Nancy is a direct descendant of Sturm, and never changed her name upon marriage.

### Thomas Bell(35)

Nancy’s firstborn, Thomas works at Sturm’s Rest.

### Adrienne Bell(32)

Thomas’ wife, a stay-at-home mom who cares for their two children, Olivia(3), and Charlie(1).

### Lisa Bell(28)

Nancy’s second child, Lisa lives with her mother and sells shell art at the weekly markets.

### Sally Bell(22)

The youngest of Nancy’s children, Sally runs a bookshop in the town square.

## The Agents

When the third body is found, this triggers some flags, and Delta Green is alerted. There are a couple of possible ways to bring in your agents.

If they are with The Program, the third in what is now a series of ritual-style killings draws the attention of analysts, and a team of agents are scrambled. Since the first murder was a US citizen, the agents can be sent to investigate and bring the body home.

If they are Cowboys, a DG friendly at the Nanaimo City Morgue can tip them off. Any number of official covers could get them into the morgue or onto the island to investigate, however being that it is an international opera they won’t want to attract more attention than they need to.

The opera can begin whenever you like. Upon the next full moon there will be another murder, and perhaps this time, they’ll get it right.

## Credits

Welcome to the Island was written by Lex for the 2018  shotgun scenario contest.

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 © Lex, excepting those elements that are components of the Delta Green intellectual property.

Welcome to the Island is not available here under CC-BY-SA.