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The Mayor of Marblehead

The Mayor of Marblehead is the unnamed, bloated and near-translucent head of the town's Board of Selectmen, who also preaches the sermons in the Sons of Adam church in place of Amos Shaw.
Type NPC
Aliases The mayor; the new priest; replacement preacher
Affiliation Marblehead Board of Selectmen; Sons of Adam
Status Alive (as of Summer Service 04); not seen afterwards
First appearance Summer Service 03 (as the unnamed new priest)
Played by Andre (game master)

Description

The mayor's skin has a pallor that Andre describes as "opalescent translucency," and his body is swollen like a drowned man's. In the church he is the most advanced case of the town's glow that Andrew Howard sees (Summer Service 03). At the selectmen's meeting he, the chief of police and a few others are the most bloated people in the room (Summer Service 04). In manner he is polite but hostile. Andre tells the players that the council gives off the vibe of fanatics who are not necessarily insincere (Summer Service 04). He is never given a name.

History

The Summer Service

The new priest. At the early service, Andrew finds that the priest from the previous visit is not in the pulpit. A stranger, glowing even more than the congregation, preaches against doubt and the secular world. At communion he studies Andrew and says "Blood of Christ." Andrew keeps the wine in his mouth; his Manipulate Someone roll fails with a 6, and the priest watches him leave, clearly not believing that he swallowed it (Summer Service 03).

Threats to the scientists. The EPA field journal found in the lighthouse basement records that the missing survey team was threatened by senior town officials, including the mayor, after they went before the Board of Selectmen. Kurt Larson admits that his first impulse is to kidnap and interrogate the mayor (Summer Service 03).

The selectmen's meeting. At the 6:30 p.m. meeting in the town hall, Andre reveals that the mayor was the replacement priest. Shaw, whose house looked as if someone had exploded in it, also attends and shows early bloating. The mayor asks how the investigation is going. Asked about the scientists, he says they came to the board just over a week earlier, mentioned that they were making little progress and might return to Washington for resources, and were not heard from again. He adds that the tone of their questioning, which accused the town of poisoning its fish with agricultural runoff, "was not very well received here." Asked what is behind the sicknesses, he answers "Satan": the second coming is imminent, and as "game day" nears the devil must work in the open. He calls the dead fish "a blight" curable only by prayer and "preparation for the eschaton" (Summer Service 04). See Second coming and eschaton.

He says that Jester "probably should have talked to some of us" before inviting the team, so that the board could have worked out the timeline, and gives Jester a look that makes him sink in his chair. When Kurt asks about the melted shoreline, the mayor suggests lightning or dynamite fishing, and tells the chief of police, "Jimmy," to look into it (Summer Service 04). The session ends with the team debating arrests and the mayor still in the room.

The mayor does not appear in Summer Service 05 or Summer Service 06. His fate is never stated.

Relationships

  • Chief of Police: takes orders from the mayor at the meeting.
  • Jester: rebuked by the mayor for not warning the board.
  • Amos Shaw: the mayor preaches in his place; Shaw sits in the audience at the selectmen's meeting.

Memorable quotes

Quote

Andre (as the mayor): "As we get closer to, let's call it game day, you know, the devil is going to be forced to undertake more and more of his works out in the open." (Summer Service 04)

Quote

Andre (as the mayor): "Only through diligent prayer and preparation for the eschaton can we rid ourselves of this curse." (Summer Service 04)

Trivia

  • Summer Service 03 never identifies the new preacher; Summer Service 04 reveals that he is the mayor.

Appearances