These stories first appeared in Hunt's Book of Weapons, an in-game collection of found documents curated by an unknown researcher. They are replicated here in their original format. This means that many of the stories are not presented chronologically, or in one grouping, and it is left to the reader to put together the puzzle pieces and determine to what extent they contain fact, fiction, or fable.

Prior to the launch of Hunt: Showdown 1896, the LeMat here was named the LeMat Mark II. The Haymaker was called LeMat Mark II UpperMat. Our Variant terminology was also simplified. We have updated the names where relevant, but you may still see the more period accurate names within the lore texts.

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LeMat

LEMAT MARK II. (See also, REVOLVERS, UNIQUE WEAPONS) The LeMat Mark II is the cutting-edge reproduction of one of the most iconic arms of the Civil War. The original LeMat was a cap-and-ball revolver invented by Jean Alexandre LeMat of New Orleans, which in addition to nine chambers, also featured a secondary 20-gauge, smooth-bore barrel. This was capable of firing a shotgun shell. While only a few of these were ever produced, they became iconic weapons of senior officers of the Confederate States of America during the US Civil War. The weapon had to be produced in Europe, and daredevil blockade runners came to fame bringing the weapon to the South.

The Mark II made an important development, the integration of a cartridge firing system, bringing the hand gun up to modern standards. Even so, the changes were not enough to encourage formal military adoption. The revolvers were somewhat unreliable under heavy usage, and unable to stand up to too arduous conditions. Consequently, the Mark II remained a revolver which denoted a certain status and infamous reputation.

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Unpublished manuscript, "Bad As They Seem"
Author: Hayden Collins
Undated
Bleached paper, typewritten, 8.5x11 in

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"What do you care about the fate of these twins?"

"I have sent enough people to their grave this week."

"And you'll send two more." Lynch paused to examine a copper paperweight on Huffington's desk. "But they will return. You will call them in the name of the AHA, and you will send them to the Butcher's House, to his Cold House."

Huffington raised an eyebrow. That place was the stuff of myth, not maps. But he said nothing. Lynch continued.

"You will explain to them that your medical experiments have led you to the conclusion that you have been informed as to the location of a weapon that might end this. And you will send them to The Butcher's house. I will advise them on the rest."

Huffington nodded briskly, clearly opposed, yet clearly bound to fulfill her request.

"And you will do it now. They're waiting outside."

For the first time, Huffington looked surprised. Lynch knocked on the door twice before opening it to two young women—surely not yet 20!—dressed as men for the field and heavily armed. One wore her hair tied back with a string, the other's scalp was—in part—crowned by a sheath of what looked like scales. Huffington wondered at the sight as they introduced themselves, forcing his face into a grimacing smile as he repeated the words he'd been fed.

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Unpublished manuscript, "Bad As They Seem"
Author: Hayden Collins
Undated
Bleached paper, typewritten, 8.5x11 in

-20-
Lynch sent the twins on to the smithy to prepare their weapons, staying to observe Huffington's examination of a new recruit. A nurse led the patient into the office. She was a slight woman of 25, clearly marked by the pox, and brought to the asylum by her own mother.

"Name." Huffington's tone was brusque and unfriendly.

"Nellie Crown."

"What ails you, Miss Crown?"

"Nothing ails me but my ill-tempered mother! I've my very own Angel, Doctor, I couldn't be better."

"Tell me about the Angel Nellie," Huffington said as he took her pulse. "What does it look like?"

"Don't see it, feel it. Angel's right there, Doctor Sir. Right there," she pointed to her rib cage.

"And here," she said, pointing to her lower abdomen, lowering her voice to a whisper, "Here is where the snake lives. He's quiet now, all quiet. Shhh shh shh. Let's not wake him, doctor."

Huffington opened his mouth to speak, but Lynch interrupted him. "Nellie, do the Angel and the Snake speak to you?"

"Not like you and I speak, no. Get the feeling thoughts come into my head, just from nothing, get the feeling those thoughts come from here." She looked back to the places she had pointed.

"Nellie," Lynch said, her voice sweet and rotten, her eyes on Nellie's, unwavering. "Would you mind telling me what the Angel tells you now?" And as she ended the sentence, she drew a jagged blade and ran it across Huffington's throat. The cry that had started in his throat turned into a wet choking sound as he grasped at the wound, hands red with blood.

"Oh it's very pleased ma'am, very pleased," Nellie replied, cheerful as a daisy. "The Snake doesn't like it much, but I've learned not to listen to the treacherous thing. Are you a doctor, ma'am?"

"As for the first, I'm glad to hear it. As for the second, no." Lynch cleaned her blade on Huffington's jacket, stepping across his convulsing body. "Now, if you would care to join me, I'd like to discuss your future employment."

And as Huffington took his final breath, Lynch led Nellie from the room.

LeMat Starshell

RN: Rather, it was allowed to fester. No firm hand was taken in regulating its spread, so spread it did. If training was given to those headed into the bayou, many lives would have been saved. Basic precautions. The list goes on.

LeMat Incendiary Ammo

RN: What was the secret weapon that Collins wrote about? Was there something of the sort? While it would explain how things wrapped up, you would think that something that powerful would have been more fiercely contested. Maybe we'll find more evidence of it, though my personal theory is that Collins was exaggerating the power of something very real.

LeMat Carbine

LEMAT MARK II CARBINE. (See also, REVOLVERS, UNIQUE WEAPONS) As the LeMat Mark II's infamy grew, other versions of the same weapon started emerging around the US, featuring various attachments or modifications. Though the extra barrel, for one shotgun shell, made the LeMat Mark II a highly effective revolver in close quarters, its heavy frame made it difficult to aim. To compensate for this disadvantage, a rifle stock was attached to the handle for increased accuracy and smoother handling. In addition, the extended barrel increases the overall power of the revolver and reduces the spread of the shotgun shell.

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Pages Recovered from the Journal of Sister Sophie-Angeline
Found in the Ursuline Convent, New Orleans
Blood stained, handwritten, mostly indecipherable
1/2

July 1, 1895

Praise the Lord! A bishop will honor us with his presence in a few days. Mother Laverne asked me to skip all my duties to tend to his chamber. She also insisted we make acquaintance as he is renowned for his wisdom in ailments of the soul. May I find redemption at last? No matter. I should not occupy my mind with such expectations, for now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation. Amen.

July 5, 1895

The bishop finally arrived. We gathered in the chapel shortly after his arrival. Mother Laverne was in the front row and filled with amazement and admiration. But when I saw him, my hopes died. This man carries no hope of redemption.

I remember him from the brothel. His cold blue eyes. His small, impish hands. The unnaturally orange face, framed by sickly blonde hair. My stomach churned in disgust when he said if we did not obey the Lord and follow his commandments to the letter the fruit of our womb would be cursed! That Devil, he dared taint God's words with his hypocrite's tongue! He is no bishop. He is no holier than the Devil himself. I must leave before he recognizes me. Lord, grant me strength!

July 6, 1895

A terrible omen, or perhaps a revelation. Sisters discovered a body impaled on the main gate this morning. It was the ranch owner who disappeared after the DeSalle shootout. May God have mercy upon his soul. It was a terrible sight to witness: Two marigolds were sitting in his empty eye sockets, and devilish symbols had been carved on his forehead. But what chilled us to the core was something else. When they took the body down, we saw his bare chest covered with deep incisions, all forming an inverted cross still dripping blood.

The lawmen arrived shortly after to inspect the body. They contemplated if we needed protection, but Mother Laverne dismissed them, saying the Lord would protect us. But then, strangest thing happened when I returned to my room: A woman greeted me with crazed eyes, full of excitement and expectation. Before I could say a word, someone else covered my mouth from behind. A sudden pain, a rush of ecstasy, and my heart started racing as the other woman looked me in the eye.

"Come find us," she whispered, "if it's redemption you seek." She leaned on the bed and left a letter and a revolver with two barrels, and a stock attached to its handle.

Then, the woman behind me loosened her hand. I turned yet could not see her face hidden behind a veil. They started towards the door together, looking at each other, and left. God knows how long I stood still staring at the door, but I came to my senses when a sister opened it in panic. The bishop had gone missing.

LeMat Dragon Breath

RN: While it did come to an end (though if you believe the pessimists and conspiracists it's still going on) the costs were grossly magnified, to an unbelievable amount. What I would give to go back, have the resources we once did, and do the affair over again!

LeMat FMJ Ammo

RN: Whether this weapon of Lynch's was Collins' invention or whether it really existed, we'll never really know. But we do know that there was a plan, a way to stop this before it became as bad as it did, that fell through.

LeMat Carbine Marksman

LEMAT MARK II CARBINE MARKSMAN. (See also, REVOLVERS, UNIQUE WEAPONS) With the widespread use of the LeMat Mark II, different handlers found very different primary uses for the revolver. After the Carbine modification's success, many found a scope the ideal variation to capitalize on its newfound stability. This was long after production had been discontinued by its first manufacturer, but an easily produced standard for the scope attachment did emerge among gunsmiths. This was deeply frustrating for the first young gunsmith to create the variation, who spent years chasing down the thieves of his blueprints. Eventually he discovered other gunsmiths had simply come to the same practical conclusions as he had.

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Letter to Unknown
Author: Unknown
Single bloodstained loose sheet, 8.5 x 11 in.

Have you ever been strung up by your foot from a tree? It wasn't my first time, but my foremost thought was that I had to concede you were right about the two strange ladies: the nun and the blonde lady did this to me, of course. It gave me a fantastic view of the Crematorium to watch as the nun threw herself ferociously at the Spider, her partner keeping a distance back to patch her up. An entertaining display to be sure, sullied a shade by my blood draining into the blonde one's bucket.

I write to tell you that I am safe and recovering as we speak—they did eventually cut me down, but left me to bandage my own wounds with leaves and vines. Although they kindly honored my request to keep intact the waistcoat you gifted me! Regrettably, my goal of finding who continues to pay these bounties shall remain unfulfilled. I was certain this path was the clever one to take, but I was left to die on that tree under a polluted moon, and so the structure of this enterprise eludes me.

Fear not that I will betray my oath to you, Father. That man's final thought will be the taste of gunpowder and desperate fear. Nor will my humiliation at the hands of two witches to go unpunished. As it happens, I can see them returning home now when I peer through my LeMat's scope. It is time to pay them a visit.

They will give me answers, or I will shoot them. The choice is theirs. Hopefully they choose answers, for they were fascinating companions before knocking me out cold, and I hope to spare their young nephew Kevin from sorrow.

LeMat Slug

RN: Huff's death further compounded the problems. If he'd been removed, peacefully, we might have stopped the Hunters from fracturing. But with his assassination went any glimmer of an authority. Lynch would sooner kill them all than unite them.

Haymaker

LeMat Mark II "Haymaker" (See also, REVOLVERS, UNIQUE WEAPONS) Based on the design of the LeMat Mark II revolver, the Haymaker has been modified to feature greater bullet power. The original LeMat Mark II has been expensively overhauled to fire long ammunition while being weighted down to negate recoil. That expense makes this a rare modification, but a powerful one.

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Journal of Micah Mitchell
Handwritten, paper-bound, 5" x 7"

May 4, 1893

Cousin Jonah won't stop flappin' his trap about this Bayou Boogeyman down in Louisiana. Says that countless have disappeared without a trace, but someone is out there coverin' it all up. Says that there's a rumor goin' around that whoever finds this boogeyman and kills it will be paid. Based on what little Jonah heard, sounds like it's probably a bear gone off its rocker. I've killed plenty of bears in my time. Thinking of bringing my Haymaker to Louisiana and show them how it's done.

May 8, 1893

Finally here. The journey was rougher than expected. Made a point to steer clear of any sort of town. There's a sickness spreadin' around the state, and I'll be goddamned if I catch it in the name of bragging rights. The further I get into the swamps, the stranger things get. There are sounds in the night that defy anything I've ever heard, human or animal. Last night, I came across a strange skeleton. Human. Looked like it once belonged to a lady with severe spinal deformities.

May 10, 1893

Jonah, you numb-skulled son of a bitch. I should have never come here. The dead walk the earth as though Hell is full, just like the preacher used to promise at church. I'm currently on my way back, Bayou Boogeyman be damned. Just have to make it through this last area in Lawson Delta before I'll be home free. There are men around here who shoot each other to shit, hardly blinking at the monsters that stumble around them, like they're in a world of their own. I've been hiding and sneaking since yesterday morning. I'm tired and scared.

May 12, 1893

I found the Bayou Boogeyman by accident. Weren't no bear. Not even close. It was some ungodly atrocity that sent a river of beetles to cover me from head to toe, crawling over my face, forcing themselves down my throat while I garbled out a scream. It moved with the shadows and slashed my flesh open with its impossible blades. In a last moment of desperation, I shot my Haymaker blindly. The bullet penetrated the wall and landed squarely in the thing's head, pissing it right off. Others rushed in to help, then. Those Hunter folk. They told me that if I wanted my share of the reward money, I'd have to take an oath, and an injection.

You can imagine where I told them to shove their reward.

I should be home by the end of the week. Lost my Haymaker in the squabble and don't care one bit. I won't be shooting anything for fun anytime soon.

Haymaker Poison Ammo

RN: One has to wonder how word of the Hunt reached such distant ears, even if muddled beyond recognition with the "Bayou Boogeyman" story. If this man's account is to be believed, it's a wonder he survived the blades and fury of The Assassin at all.

Haymaker FMJ Ammo

RN: Looks like the penetration power of Micah's Haymaker saved his life in the end. A stroke of luck, indeed.

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