TEXT: El Camino del Diablo 
   
  The call 
  Directive from A Cell: Multiple illegal immigrants were found murdered in the U.S. Cabeza Prieta 
  National Wildlife Refuge under mysterious circumstances. Investigate at once. Cover-up if necessary. 
  Keeper's notes 
  This scenario is an investigation of a mass murder that involves an ancient Mayan artifact. It takes 
  place in the desert during the summer of 2003. The Mexico/U.S. Border has become a very busy place 
  since the terrorist attacks of 9/11. Between 2002 and 2004, massive efforts were undertaken to 
  "strengthen" the border. With increased border protection, monitoring, and fence construction, there 
  was a massive reduction in the areas and opportunities where illegal crossings were possible. The 
  remotest of areas have became hotbeds of illegal activity. 
  El Camino Del Diablo is a historic road, dating back to before European colonization of the Americas. It 
  takes its name from the many bodies and unmarked graves that are found along the most dangerous 
  section, a 130-mile stretch from Sonoyta, Sonora to what is now Yuma, Arizona. It connects the two 
  cities through hostile terrain. Between these two cities, in this harsh and unforgiving desert, are 
  wildlife refuges. Cabeza Prieta on the U.S. side and El Pinacate on the Mexican side. The last thirty 
  miles to Yuma is perhaps the worst, containing few sources of water in an area that is known to reach 
  temperatures of 120F. 
  Various refugees spend their life-savings to risk the inhospitable desert and be led across by specialists 
  called "coyotes" who are likely to abandon them at the first sign of danger. Also, this area has become 
  a preferred location for drug-smuggling and drug deals. The location is crisscrossed with improvised 
  roads littered with burned-out, abandoned vehicles. If you add to that a strong military and border 
  patrol presence as well as park rangers and U.S. army engineers surveying, and replacing the border 
  fence, it all seems like a very busy area with the potential for human as well as natural conflict. 
  To represent the amount of activity now in the area, in game play, always let the players know that 
  there is something visible, but just out of shouting distance, be it a moving car, or an abandoned 
  wreck, plumes of smoke on the horizon, strobing flashlights at night, or something far more sinister 
  dipping behind the rise of a hill. 
  On site 
  U.S. Park Ranger Gustafson meets the agents at the entrance to the park. He's a DG friendly. There 
  are many agencies already at the site including representatives from U.S Border Patrol; the DEA; the 
  FBI; local law enforcement agencies; The National Park Service; etc. The players can quickly gain 
  control and authority over the confusion by flashing their badges and intoning the newly formed 
  Department of Homeland Security. The investigators will see many bodies, in varying states of decay, 
  lined-up facing a makeshift stone altar. All appear to be of modern victims but some appear to have 
  been killed mere moments before while others are hours old, days old, weeks, months, it continues to 
  the oldest remains which are just dust. They all appear to be bound and gagged, arranged in a line. 
  Where cause of death can be determined, all appear to of died from loss of blood by severed jugular 
  vein from a single knife stroke. If blood tests are performed, they will find evidence of an unknown 
  chemical substance (Liao) as well as cocaine. None have any identification on them although all appear 
  
  to be Central and South American refugees based on their clothing and ethnicities. An abandoned truck 
  is nearby as well as a cardboard box of packing material. On a successful Spot Hidden of the box, an 
  agent will discover gold-colored flakes, from the artifact. 
  What really happened 
  A smuggler known as "Jirón" attempted to bring a Mayan artifact across the border. Unbeknownst to 
  him, this artifact is unique. It houses a shard of a Lord of Tindalos. It is not enough for the Lord to 
  manifest, but it is enough to cause temporal anomalies and for Hounds of Tindalos to be drawn to. 
  Back in the time of the Maya, priests managed to dispel a Lord of Tindalos by forcing a shard into this 
  statue made from meteoric metal. The statue is gold-hued, heavy, and represents an oddly angular 
  man, sitting cross-legged. Housed inside a temple in southern Mexico, it was effectively shielded from 
  the Hounds' view. Now, the Hounds want the shard released and will attempt to force anyone with the 
  statue to complete the ritual. 
  After crossing the border, Jirón lost the mental battle for control and began preparations for a ritual. 
  He seized the opportunity to begin the Releasing Ritual (see Supplementary Material) after coming 
  upon a group of refugees waiting out the heat of the day under a stand of mesquite trees. He and his 
  men tied them up at gunpoint. 
  Jirón is not alone, shortly before the ritual was to take place, he was approached by another group in 
  the desert, three drug smugglers from Tiger Transit (Dara "Danny" Pheoung and Phongsakorn 
  Chucharoenwanitchakuul, Tcho-Tcho pg. 143 see Supplementary Material), awaiting the arrival of a 
  package from South America. They recognized the magic contained within the statue. They helped 
  begin the ritual forcing the victims to ingest Reverb (DG:C pg.147) and then sacrificing them before a 
  makeshift stone altar upon which the artifact rested. Before completion, Jirón was interrupted by a 
  team of border patrol. They fled, on foot, into the desert, Strangely, the Border Patrol was unable to 
  pursue, finding no tracks. 
  Having begun the ritual, only to have it fail, Jirón is now completely mad. The only thing he will utter 
  is: "Los perros me quiere repetir el ritual", or some variation thereof. Now, Jirón and the Tcho-Tcho are 
  heading towards the only reliable water source in the area, the Tinajas Altas (Spanish, "High Tanks"). 
  In the past, men have been found dead, their fingers worn raw from climbing the rock between the 
  nine tanks, looking for one which still contained water. More often than not, the men die just yards 
  from salvation. 
  As the men head towards the rocky crags, they also get closer to exposed rocks possessing sharp 
  angles from which a Hound of Tindalos might manifest. The Tcho-Tcho will sacrifice Jirón's men to the 
  Hounds to keep the Hounds at bay. They want to escape, keeping the idol for themselves. 
  Lab results 
  (time for tests are indicated in parentheses after each entry) 
  FINGERPRINTING: 
  Prints in the truck are of Dara "Danny" Pheoung and Phongsakorn Chucharoenwanitchakuul, known 
  members of a drug cartel (5 days): both have records for minor drug related infractions throughout the 
  country. The sheet for Phoeng includes a detailed entry by a junior agent suggesting a link to Tiger 
  Transit. The agent disappeared in 2001.  
  A few victims are identifiable by fingerprints if the agents gain access to Latin American countries' 
  databases (success on both Spanish and Persuade Roll, 10 Days). 
  
  DNA: 
  Inconclusive, the truck will show genetic markers for individuals of Asian descent; the site, markers for 
  Hispanic and Latino (10-30 Days, depending on backlog [Party Luck Roll]). 
  CHEMICAL: 
  Illegal drugs are present at the site in trace elements as well as in the blood of the better preserved 
  victims. Drug dogs are unwilling to stay at the site and useless. The metal flakes are identifiable as 
  polished remains of an ancient metal process known as depletion gilding. 
  PALYNOLOGICAL: 
  Pollen from the box's packing material indicates tropical jungles of Central America (5 days). 
  ENTOMOLOGY: 
  Any insect activity at the site would be recent (1st to 2nd instar), dating to the last few days, despite 
  the age of the remains (5 days). 
  FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGY: 
  Analysis of the remains will agree with previously stated information. The oldest human remains 
  present will appear to be several thousand years but fossilization will not have taken place (5 days). 
  On hounds and horror 
  These beasts do not willingly exist in our dimension. This world, to protect its existence, constantly 
  attempts to reject their presence. In this scenario, their primary goal is not the destruction of 
  everyone, but rather the release of the shard through the completion of the ritual. The Hounds will 
  quickly kill anyone who seeks to prevent this from occurring. However, the Hounds will attempt to herd 
  anyone in possession of the artifact back to the site where the ritual was begun so it can be completed 
  and the shard can be released, rather than kill them. 
  Completion 
  Contact with the idol will have certain effects (see Supplementary Material) including knowledge of how 
  to complete the ritual. The players must return the artifact to the altar, and complete the ritual to 
  successfully release the shard. Once released, the Hounds should depart and the temporal anomalies 
  will cease. No negative effects are incurred through the completion of the ritual. 
  Cast of Characters/Potential Encounters (not necessarily physically violent): 
  Border Patrol 
  U.S. Army Corp of Engineers 
  Native Americans 
  Drug Runners (Tcho-Tcho and Mundane) 
  Coyotes 
  Latin American Refugees 
   
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Delta Green [multi]/adventures/Fairfield Project Shotgun Scenarios/Delta Green - Adv - El Camino del Diablo.pdf