As Caleb and Daniel ventured back up out of the basement and followed the smell of smoke, they saw a rather well dressed man with a formidable appearance holding what appeared to be a weapon that spewed flame in his hand. He was directed a channel of flame to the remaining chunks of the metallic construct that had attacked them previously, setting some of the grass on fire in the process causing smoke to go up. Nonchalantly, he moved out of the way of any burning grass and continued.

He wore a dark brown duster over a suit that despite its fine fabric had seen better days. The man's face showed age and experience, and his eyes were hidden behind dark tinted spectacles. He looked up as he saw them, but didn't seem to stop what he was doing or hesitate during one last blast before removing his finger from the trigger and looking at them.

 "Daniel and Caleb, by my guess. Am I right?" he asked as they came nearer. His voice was deep and just a bit gruff, but not unfriendly. "Where are the others?"

Daniel didn't bother masking his surprise at what he found. He nodded at the question, though slowly after a bit of a pause. "Tha's right, I'm Daniel. Who....mightcha be?" He didn't feel like sharing other information would be wise without a bit more knowledge about their new acquaintance. Daniel had never been paranoid growing up, but he had certainly learned some caution in recent days and months.

"Vernon Price," the man answered. "I guess you could say I'm a troubleshooter. I've been hired on to locate certain individuals, but it seems that in each scenario you folks have beaten me to the punch." He spoke like he was from somewhere Back East, though his accent was ambiguous.

"You folks find Grint?"

Curious, Coraline emerged from the cellar and followed the sounds of conversation to the trio of men.  With a glance, she took in the man's appearance and bearing, lifting one eyebrow at the very impressive bit of equipment he carried.  "Good day, sir," she said in greeting.  "Doctor Grint escaped, sadly.  Who hired you to locate her?  And who else might you be looking for?"

"A pleasure, Miss Hawthorne," he said. "Vernon Price."

"Escaped, you say? Well, that's a shame. I was waiting to get my hands on that slippery bi..." he paused midsentence, hesitating. "Excuse my language. I was hired to locate Dr. Honoria Grint, Dr. Vinton Radcliffe, and Dr. Edwin Wilder, not in that order."

"Let's just say they've been causing a good bit of trouble around these parts, and doing things that proper scientists find...well, improper. To say the least. Nevertheless, it seems I failed to locate any of the three. When I found out you folks beat me to the punch on Radcliffe and Wilder, I figured my best bet was to try and follow your trail, so here I am. Maybe I'm getting too old for this job."

"Who exactly is it that hired you to find them? I wasn't able to learn that much."
This message was last edited by the player at 18:52, Wed 01 Apr 2015.

"Mister Price," she offered, somewhat surprised that he knew her name.  "No one hired us.  We heard there were some disturbing things happening here and seemed to fall into the trouble naturally.  How did you come to learn of us?  I would be most eager to learn from what source you have obtained your information."

"I learned a great deal from your fellow passengers on the Union Blue train, the George Washington Express, a train that I very narrowly missed myself due to some unfortunate incidents. I went to Kinsley and I spoke to the town marshal there, Dan Phelps. Then I moved onto Dodge. Now I'm here," he said.

"Don't worry, everyone's had good things to say. So, no one hired you? Well, from what I've heard you certainly proved yourself a very capable group. I take it you're with Wyatt Earp's posse? Seems there's some trouble in these parts - though no doubt you've extinguished the source of that. Good citizens."
This message was last edited by the player at 20:39, Wed 01 Apr 2015.

Caleb listened to the others talk for a short time before he interjected. "Mind if I ask who hired you, Mister Price?" The man had no qualms about asking them the same, and turnabout seemed fair play.

"Why, certainly not. I don't mind questions generally, though I don't plan on answering this one. My employers are merely individuals who wish to maintain the common good for all on God's good earth. They aren't fond of people that go about messing with those who are dead and just deserve to get their rest," he said.

"They find it vile, and they retain my services to look into these things from time to time. With all due respect, Marshal Morgan, that's all intend to part with for the moment, unless you have a warrant compelling me to disclose more. You yourselves, good citizens, have taken up a righteous cause; so too my employers do. Not fit for duty themselves, I am the arm of their justice."

A darker speck dropped from the smoky sky, circled and dropped, oddly enough, on Coraline's shoulder. Korpi leaned out, holding something small and solid in her beak until Cora raised a hand to recieve it: the ancient gold coin from the headless rider.

"Spath'ba," the raven intoned, then gently, very gently, laid her beak against Cora's cheekbone, just for a moment. A sensation of great and ancient power like the sensation before a storm shifted over the lady's skin, momentarily distracting from the fact that that big, carrion-stripping beak had been less than a finger's width from her eye.

The realisation that an actual attack from Korpi would be quiet as a whisper of wings, faster than most humans react, and quite devastating is as heavy and real as the gratitude expressed by the gift in Cora's hand. The thanks is clear, but so is the temperate warning: don't do that again.

Korpi tilted her head to meet Cora's gaze with her own black, curious stare, then shifted about to see if Hawthorne wanted her hair preened.

He capped the nozzle on his weapon and slung it across his back. "Looks like you got yourself a present," he said, looking uncertainly at the bird.

Noticing the scrutiny, Korpi drew herself to her full height, raising her hackles a bit.

"Korpi," she told him, definitively.

"Ah.... yes.  This is Korpi.  She isn't mine," she said quickly, as if afraid the stranger would label her as some crazy bird lady.  Truth be told, she didn't keep an animal as a familiar because of the historical connotations.  Witches had cats and ravens.  Witches thrown into the fires to purify them of their demonic influences.  The correlation was obvious to her.

While she'd started when the bird landed on her shoulder, she didn't attempt to shoo the bird away.  As it obviously wasn't an attack, she had no reason to fear the creature.  Truth be told, she'd been annoyed with the thing ever since it had harassed her and hadn't wanted it near.  This, however, felt a bit like a truce between the ladies.  Coraline wasn't going to mess with the bird so long as it didn't mess with her.

She looked at the coin in her hand, turning it over in gloved fingers before finally tucking it into her drawstring purse.  She wasn't one to look a gift-raven in the mouth.  "So tell me, Mister Price, what do you intend to do now that we have done your work for you?  If you are not otherwise engaged, perhaps you might consider lending your talents to another undertaking in the name of defending the defenseless."

Darling stops as soon as he sees Price and keeps mostly concealed by the corner of the house.

"Da," Korpi agreed, hearing her name. Since she wasn't being shoo'd away she set to capturing any ruffled strands of Cora's hair and tucking them back down, making her smooth.

"You have indeed done my work for me, though at least this time around I expected it. I suppose you could say I owe you one, and I'm in no rush to get back to where I'm headed. What's the next act for your group of Good Samaritans?" he asked, his expression indiscernible.

"The nearby town of Oakley has seen quite a bit of trouble of late.  They have been attacked by wolves and other unnatural creatures in the night.  We intend to mount a good defense there this evening in preparation of another such attack.  While it might not directly be within the scope of your employers' wishes, it certainly skirts the area of 'maintaining the common good'.  We aren't quite sure what will come in the night or how dangerous it will be, but you seem like a man with a particular set of skills that might very well be of some use." 

"Well, I'm headed back to Oakley anyway. I'd be glad to stay an extra night or two to ensure the good of the beleaguered townsfolk," he said.

"I daresay I owe them this much for taking this long to get to Grint. I should've been here sooner. Are your friends jumpy? I want to look through the house to make sure she didn't leave anything dangerous laying around that someone might get their hands on."

"Jumpy?  No, not particularly, though some are wary of strangers.  Feel free to poke about the house.  We did once already.  Not much there to find, but maybe you might see something we didn't.  I should tell the others that you're here.  They'll want to meet you, I'm sure."  She wasn't sure how ridiculous she looked with a raven picking at her hair, but so long as the bird wasn't mussing it, she didn't seem to mind.

Korpi plucked a small fragment of cellar wall from Cora's locks with great delicacy, then beak-combed gently down to the roots here and there to check Hawthorne's head-plumage was healthy and free of parasites.

Caleb was unamused at the less than forthright response to his question, but he could understand the man's position, particularly if his employers made it known that their name be kept out of it. Though if they are really concerned for the well-being of folk, then why hide?

Caleb listened to the back and forth with Coraline and nodded at the mention of looking around. "I'll walk with you through the house as well. Might be there's something of interest we missed the first time through."

Gabby arrives, hauling the green field generator with him, puffing a bit as he gets to the top of the stair. He looks around and spots Price. "Oh. Howdy." He says.

"Certainly. I'd be glad of the company, Marshal. What's in that chest over there?" he asked of the chest that was sitting awkwardly near the front of the house.

Caleb looked over at the chest in question. "It contains letters between private citizens. Does the name Snead ring any bells?" He walked with Vernon as the man explored the premises, mostly keeping an eye on the newcomer, but also poking around to see if there was anything they had missed previously.

"Snead?" he asked. "Can't say that the name rings a bell."

Vernon conducts a routine sweep of the house, accompanied by Caleb, though appears to find nothing of interest as he goes through the contents of each room. His search method is methodical and efficient. A small house, the search doesn't take long before he concludes that it is inconclusive.

As they emerge again, he taps the chest with his foot. "Mind if I take a look?"

Caleb paused a moment with a flat look on his face and only the occasional blink indicating he was something besides a statue. After a few moments in this manner, he responded. "I s'pose not. Just don't get that firestarter too close to the paper."
This message was last edited by the player at 19:50, Tue 07 Apr 2015.

He studies Caleb's strange expression with concern, but cracks a smile at the comment. "I won't whip out my firehose if you don't," he said, leaning down to crack open the chest. He thumbs through the letters, scanning them quickly and then takes a look at the notations on the outside of the blueprints, though he doesn't bother unrolling them. He puts everything back like it should be and closes the lid after a couple of minutes.

"Probably shouldn't leave this laying around. What do you plan to do with it?"

"That has yet to be decided," Coraline said as she leaned against the porch.  "I think that stolen blueprints should rightfully be returned.  I'm sure someone would be very grateful to see them again."  She tilted her head in the direction of the barn.  "We found a room used for animal sacrifice and ritual beneath the barn, but that's all been set on fire to cleanse the area or purify it or whatever the shaman intended."

Not liking the tilt and not keen to go inside, Korpi took off for the porch roof. Her talons could be heard clicking over the wood until she stood at the porch edge, surveying the things on fire warily.

Deciding to keep an eye on things the raven launched herself back to the air, easily finding hot lift to circle higher.

Gabby, hearing a voice he doesn't recognize, trudges around the building, hauling the shield generator with him. "Where do you reckon I should set this thing, Caleb?" He asks as he comes into view. He squints at the man in the tinted spectacles. "Howdy." he says.

"A good notion, ma'am, returning stolen property," he said to Coraline.

"Hello, Mr. Clarke," he said to Gabby. "That's an interesting device. Do you mind if I have a look?" He extended a hand to see if Gabby would let him examine it.

Gabby raises an eyebrow. "Yes, I do mind. Who are you, and how do you know my name?" He keeps the device gripped in his hands.

He calmly withdrew his hand. "My name is Vernon Price, and I'm a troubleshooter that was hired on to take in hand some individuals who have been conducting strange experiments on the dearly departed. The three people I was initially tasked in bringing to heel were Dr. Radcliffe, Dr. Wilder, and Dr. Grint. In the course of my work, I discovered that I had narrowly missed the opportunity to deal with these individuals, and the interviews I conducted of passengers on a train you shared were kind enough to recount in detail the events. I have detailed descriptions of everyone in your adventurous group of companions. I took these descriptions in the hope that I could track you all down since I figured I'd find you all here. From what I've been told, you appear to be a prospector, carry a shotgun which you put to efficient use from time to time, and are a garrulous and loquacious individual with a generally gregarious disposition which is only sometimes interrupted by small episodes of cantankerous behavior. I have spoken with your companions Miss Hawthorne, Marshal Morgan, and your nephew Mr. D'Alex. Now I believe the only ones I haven't met are Mr. Darling and the indigenous man you picked up in Dodge City. Miss Hawthorne has convinced me to provide some assistance in a matter concerning the beleaguered citizens of Oakley."

"If you don't wish to let me have a look at that contraption you've got there, I won't hold it against you. However, if I can take a look at it, I would be glad to arrange for meetings with a few buyers. If it is of any value, and your apparent possessiveness indicates that it might be, you could see a considerable sum coming your way," he said.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:01, Mon 06 Apr 2015.

"Uh huh." Gabby says. "Well, I reckon we can use all the help we can get dealin' with Quantrill and his deaders if they come this way. Still, if'n you know all that you might also know that you knowin' of those three is a mite suspicious, especially seein' as we blundered into all o' them on our own. So you might find me a bit 'cantankerous' on account o' that."

He hefts the device. "And as fer this thing, well, valuable ain't the word I'd use. Dangerous, more like. Dr. Grint is nuttier than two fruitcakes stuck together--ain't sure I'm sanguine about sellin' anything she worked on to anyone who'd want to buy it. I didn't haul this thing out here to sell it--I just figured I'd rather not have it here for any other loon to trip over."

"In your place, I suppose I might not trust me either, so I won't hold that against you, Mr. Clarke," he said. "To be truthful, it is a little bit suspicious that all of you managed to somehow, as if by chance, stumble upon these three highly questionable individuals. Maybe I should be suspicious of you." He paused to smile.

"I'm not, though...you managed to deal with them quite handily, which allays some concerns I might otherwise have had. I'm not sure calling in the Agency was the best idea, though. Radcliffe would've been better off with a bullet in his head, but there's no use crying over unspilled milk."

"Still, I think some of your concerns about me may be allayed as I assist you in your upcoming adventure. As for that gizmo, if you're not selling it, you should consider destroying it. I can also aid you towards that end as well."

Wheeling about on high, the warm wind whispering over her feathers, Korpi surveyed the burnt and smouldering areas for signs of imminent grassfire. The strange iron devil with the badly-made snow goggles had turned the remains of the iron bear into hot lumps that caused the turf below to steam in indignation.

Noting all this, a distant shine caught Korpi's eye and she sheered off southeast to examine the thing.

It was a large shiny thing, about the size of a female reindeer kneeling down; Korpi circled, saw that it had halted in the grass at the end of its track and risked dropping down to investigate. The iron deer didn't move, her antlers tilted lazily between sky and earth. Korpi drew herself up, hopped over, circled warily around the tail end, feinted, hopped back again and finally nipped the soft part of the wheel the iron deer seemed to have for legs, immediately jumping back again.

"Kaa!"

Korpi watched to see what the iron deer would do, poised warily on tiptoe.

In reply to Vernon Price (msg # 35):

"Oh, already doin' that." Gabby says. "Sure. Once we make sure Oakley's protected. I reckon the output o' this machine might come in handy fer that." He huffs and heads over to his mule, to tie the thing on. "But first things first. I gotta get some salt." He sets the device in his wagon, ties it down with a rope, then tosses some old blankets on it for good measure. Then he moseys on back to the kitchen of the house to look for enough salt to help out Sky Dog's workings. Not knowing how much that would be, he just started taking all of it.

He doesn't seem bothered in the slightest by Gabby's disposition, instead moves around the side of the house at a sound he catches, running into Mr. Darling who was standing there stock still.

"Ah...the reporter, unless I miss my guess," he said.

Randolph is just as suspicious of this man as Gabby, perhaps the first idea they've shared in common.

"Yes, I'm Randolph Darling," he says with an edge to his voice, "And before I welcome you to our posse, I'd like to know just who you're working for and what you've been hired to do.

"Are you collecting bounty on their heads or trying to get hold of their plans and journals? It makes a difference."

"Well, then I'll just have to wait on your welcome, which I'm in no rush for, by the way," he said with a grin. He didn't look ruffled, put off, or the least intimidated by Randolph's manner.

Daniel nodded at the general sentiment concerning Oakley. "The more, the merrier. Folks in Oakley need all the help they can get if this Quantrill fella is comin' for 'em."

Price wandered off before Daniel could ask him a few other questions he had in mind, but it appeared there would be time enough still.

Finding no further objection from the man at the moment, Price moved around him and walked the periphery of the home until he found the door leading to the basement, which he promptly entered. "Hello down there!" he called.

Gabby, having found all the salt he's likely to, heads back around, following Price to the basement.

Finding after some experimentation that the iron deer was extremely placid or possibly asleep, Korpi cautiously landed on top of her and marched down her back to hop up on her antlers.

"Nice to meet you, Sky Dog. I'm Vernon Price," he said. "I don't know much about portals to spirit worlds and such, but it sounds dangerous. I don't suppose you know how to close it?"

With the house explored and the newcomer examining the basement, Coraline ventured over to where the barn was still aflame and smoking to give Abaddon a hand.  She'd heard how easily fires caught on the prairie and how devastating they could be, so it was in all of their best interest to keep the entire place from burning.  One good wind sweeping flames toward the town and the entire settlement could burn to the ground.

"Hello there," he said cheerfully in a musical tone as Coraline arrived.

"Watch your step. Not too close to the house. Come around back where I am," he said, directing with his finger the path that she should walk.

"Would you like to learn a trick?"
This message was last edited by the player at 15:18, Mon 13 Apr 2015.

Contact with the metal antlers was met with a blow from some source Korpi could not determine, the concussion stinging right down to the shafts where feather met flesh.

"KAAAA! AAK AAK AAK!"

Having hit the grass in a startled fluttering heap, Korpi quickly righted herself and puffed herself up as large as possible at the still-unmoving iron beast.

"KAAAAAAA."

Daniel heard what sounded like pained squawking from Korpi and quickly moved toward where she was making noise. "Korpi? Korpi, ya' alright?" Concern creased Daniel's face as he considered the bird's situation.

Caleb swiftly walked behind Daniel, more curious than concerned at what might have caused the commotion.

It wasn't hard to follow the sound across the field into the taller grass; by the time the pair reached the raven she had found a nearby stump to scold from and was using language that would surely cause any hard of hearing Russian nun to self-combust mixed in with rough croaks and grating growl-like sounds.

The object of this highly focused ire seemed to be a gleaming steam velocipede, lying idle at the end of its track.

Gabby steps out of the basement and begins looking around for Korpi. He spots Danial and Caleb, and hears a torrent of deep-throated Russian from a nearby stump. He hustles over. "What happened? Sky Dog just jumped like he'd been jabbed with a hot poker, then he asked me to check on the bird."

With no imminent threat apparent, Randolph sits down with his gatling across his lap and his back against the house. He begins jotting notes in his notebook.

"Kaaaaaaaaak," said Korpi. She straightened and de-puffed a bit at the others' presence, but didn't take her attention entirely off the iron deer in case that one took it into her head to charge.

The velocipede shows no signs of movement, activity, or aggression.

Korpi didn't trust it.

Her eyes lit up at Abaddon's question.  "Of course.  I am always interested in new tricks."  Carefully walking the path he'd indicated, she picked up her skirt as she stepped through the grass to join him.  "Do you mean a silly little card trick or something a bit more interesting?"  Her eyebrow arched with curiosity.

He pointed at the burning barn, more pointedly to the soil around the barn. He picked up a small pebble and tossed it next to the barn.

"Quicksand," he said with a grin.

Walking out of the house, he made his way towards his vehicle, only to see Caleb, Daniel, Gabby, and a bird apparently staring at it.

"Never seen one before?"

Price was shortly followed by an extremely bemused-looking shaman, drawn to the knot of people. He broke into a jog as Korpi pushed off the stump, failed to gain height and hop-flailed into an awkward trot amongst the long grass.

"What is it?" Sky dog asked, kneeling to pick Korpi up on his wrist. His expressiom darkened in the shade of his hood at a semi-verbal account from his sister.

Daniel moved closer to the disturbed bird and knelt down. "S'alright, Korpi. Don think it'll hurt ya if ya don't touch it." Daniel was curious about the vehicle, though, so after speaking with Korpi, he stood and approached the vehicle, looking all around it to see if there was anything interesting that he could see. Of course he had little to no knowledge concerning mechanical contraptions. Still, it was shiny and interesting.

Vernon slipped on a heavy looking glove and flipped a couple of switches back and forth in an indiscernible order. "It's a velocipede. It gets me from place to place, and I don't need to feed it like I would a horse."

"Nyet!" Korpi called to Daniel, fearing he would get too close and be gored by the unpredictable iron beast.

"If it is always badly behaved, it would be well to saw its antlers off," Sky Dog said, troubled.

Caleb hooked his left thumb inside his gun belt, and smirked at Sky Dog's suggestion. "I don't believe that removing its antlers will improve the behavior of this beast. I suspect the opposite, really." Caleb's gaze drifted over to their new acquaintance for confirmation, though this particular line of commentary might not necessitate a response.

Daniel paused his visual inspection of parts and pieces that he didn't even comprehend a little and looked over at Price. "Don't gotta feed it like a horse, but it's gotta use somethin' ta make it go, right?"

"Ghost Rock, I reckon." Gabby says. "I can hear a faint wailin'. This is one o' them New Science thingamabobs, ain't it?"

Both of her eyebrows rose as she marveled at his handiwork.  "That is a clever trick, Doctor."  Smirking, she cut her eyes at him.  "You are a very clever man.  As clever as I've seen in these backwoods places.  I bet you have plenty of interesting tricks up those sleeves.  I don't suppose you'd be interested in sharing one or two?"

"I have many tricks up my sleeve, my dear, and I would be glad to instruct you in some of the finer points of them if you will. I have tried to teach some of these poor townsfolk, to help them defend themselves, and many have abandoned their superstition to take a whack at it, but I'm afraid most do not have the aptitude. In you, however, I sense tremendous potential," he said.

"Perhaps after all this business is over with the villagers, you will consider becoming my...apprentice. I'm not sure it's the right word, but perhaps close enough."

Surprised, she turned her head to give him a proper look, gauging his level of sincerity.  Finding no fault in his manner, she nodded and offered a genuine smile of pleasure.  "I do like the sound of that.  A friend of mine has helped me along and together we have managed to unravel some marvelous things, but he has taken me as far as he could, I'm afraid.  Part of my reason for traveling was in the hope of finding another mentor.  I think that you would do nicely." 

"There was actually a curious little thing I found that I've been puzzling over, but have not had the time to study it properly.  Perhaps you might help me with a little research when we return to town?  Another little trick to call up could prove to be very useful if the town truly does come under seige."

"Well, I'm glad to hear it. And yes, I think I could manage to help you in your research," he said.

"You're actually all correct, except for Sky Dog," he said. "These aren't antlers, and their removal wouldn't do any good. Yes, it does need fed something, and that is a ghost rock boiler you here, Mr. Clarke."

"Now, I'm gonna go ahead and get back to town. See you folk there." The thing started with a roar, a faint squealing noise in the background, almost hidden but present again once it was done. Slowly, he started turning the vehicle, preparing to leave.

The shaman mutely made a warding gesture at the thing, raising his arm to let his sister step up to his shoulder. Taking his time through the long grass to check any smouldering patches, Sky Dog made his way over to toe gingerly at the metlted remnants of the iron bear, disgruntled.

Balanced on his shoulder, Korpi kept a wary eye on the departing steam velocipede, not trusting it in the least.

Caleb nodded at Price as he said his goodbyes, or see-you-laters as it were. "See you back there." He watched the man depart with a flat expression, and then spoke to no one in particular. "That was peculiar. Don't really like that he's hiding his employers' identities from us."

Daniel nodded at Caleb's commentary. "Naw, but he seems ta be on our side. Fer now. And if those thingamabobs are any indication, he oughta be real useful in a fight. Course we never saw him attack nothin' that moved."

"I don't like him at all." Gabby says. "I don't like that he's tangled up with Radcliffe and Grint, I don't like that he's hidin' his employers, I don't like that he's been keepin' tabs on us specifically and in great detail, I don't like the fact that the instant he saw Grint's device he tried to get his own mitts on it. And what was the point o' meltin' the iron giant? Did anyone ask him? The thing was already blowed up. No sir, I don't like him."

Caleb nodded at Gabby's response, the brim of his hat bobbing up and down slightly as he did. "Story hangs together alright, but everything you said bothers me as well. We can still ask him about melting our iron adversary when we get back to town." Caleb considered the situation and Price for a few moments. "Anyone that was after Radcliffe and Grint would have run into exactly what he indicated. Still, we should keep our eye on him. But not look like we're keeping our eye on him."

Darling finishes his entry in his notebook and strolls over to the group watching Price's departure.

"I don't trust a man who won't say who his boss is. When we get back to Dodge, I can send a wire to my publisher. They're pretty good at digging up a person's past."

He stretches and looks around.

"Speaking of trust, where'd Coraline get off to with Dr. Whately?"

In the distance, they can see that the burning barn has begun to sink into the ground. Whateley stands nearby, wand out, and Coraline appears to be near him and in conversation.

Caleb frowned, but nodded at Darling's suggestion. "Let's dig up anything we can."

His attention was quickly drawn by the sinking building. He gestured toward where Coraline was standing with the Doctor. "They are both over there."

Gabby scratches his head at the sinking Barn. "Should we all be concerned about that? Or just let 'em get on with their magic-fueled hijinks while we all get back to town?"

Meanwhile, by the sinking barn:

"Well, I think that should at least ensure that this doesn't catch the grasslands on fire. It would devastate the local economy if it spread too far. Shall we rejoin the others?" he asks, once he notices those in the distance are gaping in their direciton.

After poking about awhile in search of any scrap that might still be haulable the shaman glanced at the sinking barn, rubbed at his forehead and came back over to Gabby, leaving Korpi perched on the porch roof.

"Do you know what will be done with the dead Americans, Uncle?" he asked.

Daniel considered the barn and his uncle's words. "My thoughts on the Doctor ain't been particularly secret. But stoppin' him from sinkin' that barn probably ain't worth the effort."

"I was thinking the same.  Glad you saw to it.  I have a few useful hexes at my fingertips, but nothing that could douse a fire or sink a barn.  Perhaps that should be something to work on later."  Tipping her head toward the others, she nodded.  "Yes, we should probably get back to town so we can prepare for tonight.  I do not know what you were expecting, but it cannot hurt to have a few things in place that could aid us."

Carefully skirting the unstable portions of the ground, she walked with him to rejoin the others.  "Are we ready to leave?"

"The barn situation has been taken care of. Sky Dog, you must be careful when playing with fire in these parts. It has been something of a dry month or so in the area. If the fire were to grow large enough and spread around here, it could be devastating to the people in the town who use this land to provide their sustenance," he said.

"Also, who was that other fellow? I thought he might do worse, burning up that construct."

In reply to Sky Dog (msg # 82):

"Says his name was Vernon Price." Gabby says. "Said he was investigatin' the trail of some mad scientists, including the one we done battled here. Won't tell us who he's workin' for, though."

He sighs at Sky Dog's question. "I don't know. Whateley says bringin' 'em back to town might just stir up bad feelin's, but I can't help thinkin' we ought to do somethin'."

"They should be given a good Christian burial, I think, without needing to rouse bad feelings. I know a few people in the town I could count on for discretion, and perhaps your nephew would be willing to preside over the ceremony," he suggested, looking to Daniel.

"But I've been thinking about what you said, and perhaps their loved ones if they have any in the town, deserve to know the truth. That said, if there is an attack on the town as Sky Dog has prophecied, perhaps this news can wait until after that."

The Siberian's brow twitched at the news that none of the grassy expanse was marshland, but he simply nodded apology to Whateley, re-wrapping his handss. "I had not expected the wall to catch, but I was very angry; I did not think well. Thank you."

He gestured at where the barn had been. "I will ask the ground here to accept the iron nails and such things and make the place safe whilst you bring out the Christians, yes? The door healed to itself, but the avakhi did not come back."

"So Grint and her shadow-thing are still in the wind." Gabby sighs. "I'd really hoped for a better outcome, but I suppose it can't be helped." He nods at Whateley. "Sounds like a good idea there."

Daniel nodded at Whateley's suggestion. "I ain't a priest, so while I can say the words, t'wont have the same effect as somebody ordained inta ministry. But if there ain't nobody better, I will ask God ta care fer these poor souls."

"It is more like that they are in the ground," Sky Dog noted, missing the idiom. "But even if they did escape the avakhi, they would be wary to come here again, I think. They might meet us here!"

He tilted his head a little at Daniel's words, but continued to address Gabby: "Perhaps you might ask Dalix to wash himself many times and reverse his coat, if he wishes to go near the burying-place. What he took from the bad place, the corruption of its onnir touches his...it would not be well to let such come into contact with what surrounds dead ones. Very bad, for the ones that died with violences, whose onnir may be lying curdled in the ground still."

The young shaman frowned and looked to Whateley. "With the bandits, last night - they were buried in the ground also?"

Gabby nods and looks at Danial. "Danny...mebbe it's best if you throw that book you found out on that there fire, then do as Sky Dog suggests. I can't see no good comin' from keepin' it around."

"At least in this country, everyone is buried in the ground," he said to Sky Dog.

"Perhaps all the Americans," said Sky Dog, clearly having seen evidence to the contrary beyond the gibbeted body on the way into town. "But you have seen it done, Whateley? Did they swap the boots or make another precaution against hostages? I do not like to have ones that could come up again already running if Quanterill-the-demon comes at night and calls to those Confederates."

"Could we not just send your man back to handle the reburial of the corpses, Doctor Whateley?  I think we are wasting time that could be put to better use in town.  Defenses come to mind, of course." She pulled a small pocket watch from her purse to check the time.  "So little time...," she murmured.

"I did not see to the burials myself, but left them in the capable hands of the local undertaker. As far as the ones we killed here today, I don't believe that without heads they will be capable of rising again from the dead, if that's what you speak of. Those that were slain by the demon were barely husks of bodies, and they would make for very poor undead indeed. If you would like to remain here and conduct the burials yourself, that's fine with me," he added.

"But I believe Miss Hawthorne is correct. Our time is better spent in the preparation of defenses for the down, or at least in resting up so that we can be prepared to see if, as you say, Quantrill will attack the town."

Daniel furrowed his brow at Gabby's suggestion. "Aren't ya curious 'bout why 'twere there in the first place? We're out here tryin' ta figger out why things are happenin', and how everthing is connected. An ya wanna just throw that away? If it's muddlin' with me, mebbe I should take a quick gander and see what it's about before burnin' it. Why there would be a bunch of differnt editions, I dunno."

"No. I ain't curious." Gabby says. "That there book has Sky Dog all in a bother, and he knows more about the spirit world an' dark magic than anyone here, exceptin' maybe Baddi and Cora. He says that it's bad juju. If it's muddlin' with you, then the very last thing you outgha be doin' is playin' around with it. Mebbe you ain't noticed, but Sky Dog's been treatin' you like a lit stack o' dynamite. Get rid of it, Danny." His face soften. "Please. Just get rid of it."

PM
This message was last edited by the GM at 12:51, Thu 23 Apr 2015.

"I do not think the ones here are mostly Confederate men," Sky Dog told Whateley, bemused at Cora's words. "It would be well to bring them out and take them back, if you wish for them to be buried in the ground. For the ones in the settlement...I do not stop you going, if you do not trust the peasants to look after their barriers, but to make your walls strong and mighty, then to have the running dead inside...it is not helpful, I think."

He shrugged, watching the conversation between Daniel and Gabby obliquely. The old-miner seemed spot-on with his description of the youth's wariness.

Daniel sighed heavily as he weighed his own curiosity against the advice from his friends and family. Eventually he pulled the tome from his pack. "Alright, let's get rid of it. How do ya suggest?"

"There's still a portion of the barn that is on fire," he suggested. The barn was now mostly sunk into the ground, but a few pockets of flame remained that hadn't yet gone down. "Anything that doesn't burn will sink in the quicksand the structure is now mired in."

"Alternatively...you can give it to Sky Dog, and allow him to sprinkle salt and pepper on it and destroy it in a ritually appropriate manner." He winked at Coraline.

"Why not both? Have Sky Dog cleanse it, and then toss it into the flames?" Gabby says.

"I will give my blood's salt if it is needed: it is my buisness," said Sky Dog, eyes held narrow against the daylight but not deaf by any stretch. "But if it is not necessary for others to handle such a thing, it is not well to be passing it one to the other. It is not meant to be here. It is a belonging of ones that would tear off the flesh of their cousin with their teeth...such wickedness is all it will teach."

"I think you know this, Whateley, and I think also you mean to mock me," the young shaman said, voice even but still tense and wary. "You are warned a third time: behave better."

He looked a little aghast at the suggestion that Sky Dog would use his blood for something. "No blood magic. That is bad, bad news. Very bad news. Very bad things. I have known people that have done that...and they were an unsavory sort, if you take my meaning. If you need more salt, we can get it from elsewhere. Surely you couldn't have used all of it in the basement?"

"Best to just put it in the fire I say, and have it done with. Go back to town and see what happens, and tomorrow we send the local undertaker here to bury the bodies."
This message was last edited by the player at 20:42, Thu 23 Apr 2015.

Caleb stood still, watching the discussion about what should happen to the damnable book that Danny had picked up. He didn't have an opinion, but he did find the situation somewhat amusing. Of course, when Caleb found something amusing it didn't necessarily change his facial features a bit.

He maintained a poker face, but Caleb was amused on the inside.

Coraline was tempted to pluck the book right out of Daniels' hands and take it with her just to spite the others, but she hadn't the energy for another argument just then.  She wouldn't have the time to look through it, anyhow.  There was other reading and research that needed to be completed before that evening.  With luck, the rewards from her study of Hoyle's would be far greater than a cannibalistic cookbook could yield.

"Whatever you do with it, do it quickly.  And, if it has not already been attended to, do not forget to bring along the trunk with the schematics inside.  Those could be worth more than just money."  Lifting the hem of her skirt, she headed for the main gate and the horses beyond.

Looking after Coraline, he said, "I think I'll be following her lead. See you in town, if you should decide to join us in time to help." The sun had moved fairly far well down in the sky by this point in time. It would probably start to be dusky not too far past an hour or so.

Spinning on a heel, he quickly caught up with Coraline.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:37, Fri 24 Apr 2015.

"Anything with great power can be used badly," Sky Dog remarked as Whateley ran off, then pressed his lips together, bemused.

Korpi, by this time, had perked up enough to have been poking about - landing beside Randolph from inside, she presented an offering of a pickled egg.

Daniel waited for instruction from Sky Dog on cleansing the thing, as he had been the most insistent party concerning the book. When none appeared to be forthcoming, Daniel simply disposed of it in the remaining flames of the barn before heading back toward Jacques and getting him ready for the ride back.

The shaman visibly untensed when the book was handed over to the fire and crouched nearby a moment to murmur his thanks to humanity's oldest ally. This done, he set off to fetch his skillet as a substitute for the drum needed to help clear the corruption and massing of spiritual scavengers left in the sorcerers' wake.

In reply to Korpi (msg # 110):

Darling accepts the proferred egg with a grin, inspecting it closely: "Thank you kindly, Miss Korpi. This is a fine egg. Perhaps you'll do me the honor to share it with me a bit later." He wraps the thing in his handkerchief and tucks it into the pocket of his duster.

Korpi craned curiously to see what else might be in Darling's pockets, then skittered a few steps sidewards, ever wary of nearby hands. "Spath'ba," she said.

The raven gave a graceful headbob and pattered over to sit on the edge of the step, alternately preening the ashy dust from her feathers and keeping an eye on proceedings.

By the time the wagon hauling the corpses rolled back into town, the sun was on the verge of setting. There was a little bit of commotion as they approached the town on the main road, but a voice rang out clear calling "Hold!" and Earp emerged from hiding along the road and approached them.

As he came near the cart, he almost recoiled at the stench of the corpses piled high in the cart. "What in the hell do you people have in that wagon?"

"Christians," Sky Dog answered from off to the side, sliding off Igor.

"It was my thought they would prefer to be buried in the ground...do you know if the raiders' bodies are buried well, Wyattearp? I told Whateley it would not be well for them to rise up and go running in the settlement when he would make better walls, but he did not listen, I think."

"Ka," Korpi interjected from atop the wagon.

"I'm afraid I don't really know much about the burial situation here. That would be the province of the undertaker, Mark Calaway," he said. "Mark! Get over here!" he called, and a well built rifle toting man emerged from hiding, jogging over to join them.

"Mark, these men have some bodies in a wagon that need to be seen to. We can't have a cart full of bodies just sittin' around, so I need you to-."

Before he could finish what he was saying, the sound of gunfire reported from somewhere not far off. Earp's horse got restless at the noise, but the law man quickly brought the beast under control. "Sounds like we got trouble. We'll have to get to this later." Turning his horse, he looked at them over his shoulder.

"You folks comin'?" Another gunshot followed, then another.

Daniel had done his part in the labors and had been mentally preparing what he wanted to say. But the sound of gunfire jolted him as surely as it had Wyatt Earp's mount. "You betcha." He turned Jacques toward the direction that Earp did, but waited to see if any of the others needed a ride. He briefly worried about what might come of a cart of dead bodies, at night, but figured they could worry more about that later.

Caleb also nodded from atop his mount, his stetson bobbing once to emphasize his words. "Certainly." He didn't feel the need to say much more, but he squinted off in the distance from the direction of the shot. Caleb double checked his gun while his horse pawed at the ground.

"I will come behind...Korpi-" he turned to address the raven, [Language unknown: "Ei ovetraeve it di ol eraul dihobe anun etnde eaularive tedi o."]

"Calaway, the Confederates that were killed yesterday: are they well-buried, that they cannot walk again?" the shaman asked the undertaker before the man ran off.

On the ride back to Oakley, Darling is quiet, his mind busily mentally composing his latest report. He also gently discourages the raven from poking into his pockets, but her persistence makes him chuckle.

At the sound of gunfire, as the others rode off, he checks his mount. Walking it a few paces from the wagon, he hitches it to a post and asks Mark Callaway: "Can you find me a lantern I might borrow? I want to examine these dearly departed."

He hadn't taken a very good look at these 'deaders' but as he rode, he recalled the earlier resurrectees and the chips of ghost rock that powered them. He wants to examine these for similar mineral motivation. With the light fading, he figures a source of illumination will be handy.

Callaway promptly handed the lantern he was holding in his hand to Darling. "Sure, look all you want. I've examined plenty in my life time," he said.

---

Wyatt Earp followed by Marshal Caleb Morgan and Daniel d'Alex made their way down the street in pursuit of the noise of gunfire. Despite the continuing reports of gunfire in the distance, Earp pulled up short in the center of the small town as he caught sight of the general store on fire.

"Shit," he swore. The air was slightly chillier than it seemed when they had just arrived in town, and there was a loud commotion coming from a saloon across the street.

"There's trouble here, and that gunfire ain't stopped."
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:52, Thu 04 June 2015.

Sky Dog lightly tapped the man's shoulder with his riding-pole. "Calaway, I am not a ghost. Quanterill will use the corpses from last night if he can do so: so, I would know how well they are buried; it would be well to answer, yes?"

"Huh? Oh," he responds at being poked by the strangely dressed pale man. He squints a little bit at him in the darkness. "Yeah, yeah, they're buried."

"Deeply, I hope," the shaman responded, lips pressed to a thin line as he scanned the air over the disturbance for his sister's movements.

Daniel nodded at Earp's accounting. "Since we're here, let's check th' saloon." He dismounted quickly and tied Jacques up hastily before drawing his sword.

Caleb nodded at the suggestion. "I've got your back." He also dismounted and tied up his horse before drawing his pistol. He quickly checked that it was loaded, though it was more force of habit than any likelihood he had forgotten to fully load.

He pointed down the road, where a couple figures were approaching. In the twilight of the day it took a moment to recognize them, but the figures of Dr. Whateley and Coraline became much clearer when they neared.

OOC:

Daniel and Caleb, please move to Episode 8-8: Oakley.

Meanwhile, near the wagonload of corpses...

Korpi landed on Sky Dog's shoulder and started squawking loudly, ignoring the corpses and the pickings of eyeballs - for the moment.

Sky dog started a little as Korpi struck his back and fluttered to an awkward stop, quickly focusing to watch/listen to her explanation. [Language unknown: "Ul teronetin...n namopa me ilwe a unla resonehou ek urne ardsonany ntitedate pldi ic nenden p thdi undromare ieme p. Le unons rat ecwe, O wa te ratoneble on molepe Oneichomewilyin at asek art...Po ouweou p nd wetito U ere waelnc."]

Korpi bobbed and returned to the air.

The youth led his deer to the side of the road, mutely indicating to the horse that she should keep an eye on him. After a second's hesitation, he swapped his riding-pole for his roll of white fur, just in case, then drew his knife and loped on down the street, looking for Korpi's guidance above.

Darling examined the corpses, but didn't find the tell-tale signs of Radcliffe's work. Grint must have a different method entirely, he mused to himself. Kneeling, he jotted down a few quick notes by lantern light before handing the lantern back to Callaway with a nod of thanks.

"Hold on, Sky Dog. I think I'll come with if you've no objections," he said. "I'm here for more than just a story. Gotta job to do as part of this posse."

Sky Dog turned and jogged backwards a step, hearing his name, but just beckoned urgently to the reporter as though to say 'come on' and carried on.

OOC:

Sky Dog and Randolph, please move to Episode 8-8: Oakley.