The Wages of Sin is Death

The strangeness of the old cabin was punctuated by a rabid bear trying to consume our scout, Jimmy, who more often than not finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time. Thankfully, Mumple was up to the task and dispatched the creature before it could do irreparable harm.
 
With a darkening sky and our scout a bit worse for the wear from the day's adventures, we regrouped and took shelter inside. The cabin itself was unsettling, but what lay in the root cellar was horrifying. The remains of the three mystery women were there, evidently killed by "The Artist" by his broadsword but what happened post-mortem was even more indignities from the strange "black tar otter" that we had been tracking up the river.
 
A few hours of investigation turned up some facts, and a good deal of speculation:
 

• The three women were named Maurice MacTaeer, Eve Strossler, and Ceri Terfell. All three met their end by sword.


• The cabin contained a number of items that belonged to the women, including two blasphemous books that appear to deal with witchcraft or worse. The books were in foreign tongues, but it appears one deals with a "black otter king spirit" with which the women may have struck some kind of devil's bargain for powers or protection that in the end did not save them.


• The cabin also housed the belongings of "The Artist"--the dead man found at the Devil's Rock Pile--including a broadsword that bears the same sigil as the fob on the body, and a carpetbag bearing the initials "J.A.L.".


• It seems "The Artist" had been tracking down these three women for some time, and he killed them without hesitation. J.A.L. seemed to have been a member of some kind of heretical order.

 
After an extremely unsettling night, we decided to take the bodies back to town for the local officials to bury as well as to deny the strange tar-dripping creature continued access to their remains in what had become it's nest. Returning to the "Hell on Wheels" camp, we were able to convey that a bear had killed the missing men and that the bear had been dealt with, but strongly encouraged caution due to other strange animal behaviors. In fact during our absence, a trio of buffalo had stampeded through the camp.
 
Returning to town for some rest and recuperation, the sheriff was given charge of the women's' remains, given their identities and photos, and "The Artist" was indicated as a murderer. All will be buried in short order and the matter is considered closed.