[[some tunes]]

Daniel followed Randolph's lead and tied his horse to a hitching post as well. He studied the church for a bit, including any symbolism used on its exterior, then removed his hat before entering the establishment.

As he entered, his hands went through practiced motions as he briefly touched forehead, center torso, and both shoulders before fully considering the interior of the religious building.

Once past the threshold, Korpi switched her post on Daniel's shoulder in favour of standing on his head, the better to see the entirety of the interior. "Amen."

The church was an old building and as simple on the inside as it was from without, and as for this being a normal day, the pews were empty. There was a pulpit at the head, and nearby to there a desk.

In the aisle, a slender man stood holding a bible in one hand, politely conversing with Randolph.

"No thanks needed, Mr. Darling. The doors of this church are open to all. Compatriots? More reporters, or more people here to see about this raid of yours?" asked the Welshman.

Coraline took in the details of the church with a glance that spoke of casual interest rather than any manner of religious intent.  Rapping her fan upon her thigh, she strolled up the aisle.  "We are decidedly not reporters."  Her dark eyes fell upon Randolph and narrowed slightly, but sliding to the stranger made new light glint within their depths.  "Rather, we are very interested in the strange happenings in these parts and your part in the salvation of this city.  The word on the street is that you are something of a hero, Doctor... ?"
This message was last edited by the player at 03:02, Tue 25 Feb 2014.

"Not more reporters - that's good. They tend to be an inquisitive lot," he said with good natured humor.

"Doctor Whateley if it please you, and any salvation for this town has come not from me, but a higher power that we call upon," he said, gesturing expansively to the rest of the church around him.

"Zhuliev diaboli," Korpi opined, tucking some of her covert feathers into better order.

"The bird is quite the linguist, I must say," he said, looking curiously at it. "Some sort of Slavic language, I think, though I am hardly an expert in such matters. Does it belong to you...journalist?" he asked Randolph, adding an odd pause before naming the man's profession.

"Or perhaps you, my dear?" he asked Coraline, after mentally dismissing the others as a possibility.

At this point, Gabby saunters into the church. "Howdy." He says, nodding at Cora and ignoring Darling. He looks up at the fellow with the bible. "Doctor Whateley, I presume?"

He raised an eyebrow at yet another visitor entering his Church. From the familiar way in which the older man greeted the others, he could only assume the lot were together. No coincidence, this. He lifted up a finger and began to talk in a quick burst.

"Hallo! Quite the fighting crew we have here! It seems to span age, gender, and species alike. I am indeed Doctor Whateley, and I see my reputation has preceded me. I assume that since you have all come to see me at once, you must wish to incorporate me into your battle plans. Either that, or you have been taken by the Holy Spirit and moved by the sight of this beautiful cathedral have come to seek shelter in the hands of the Lord, a pursuit in which I can gladly guide you. Which is it now?"
This message was last updated by the player at 18:21, Thu 27 Feb 2014.

Gabby cracks a grin. "Oh, I'm here about the deadders, Doc. I reckon Mr. Darlin' there has run your ear off at length about 'em, but I was hopin' you wouldn't mind satisfyin' my curiosity a bit. Also heard somethin' about fairy magic? I dunno if we have any battle plans, as such, but if that's somethin' we can bank on, then I reckon you would be right handy against what we think is cominin'."

Korpi startled a little at the doctor's energetic proclamations and stared down at him with headfeathers and hackles slightly raised.

"Hox pox," she told Gabby.

"While Mr. Darling did interview me briefly on a variety of subjects, the walking dead wasn't one of them. I can tell you that this settlement has come under a series of attacks by strange things. There have been two or three different attacks by large groups of walking dead. Then a strange manner of ravenous wolves attacked us also. I have merely used the tools available at my disposal, which happens to be fairy magic. I am not much of one for firearms, I must admit, though it is a handy skill to be sure," he said.

"It is indeed something we can bank on, and I would be glad to use it upon...whoever it is that plans to do harm to the good people of this town. I can teach it to you as well, if you have the aptitude to learn it. Not everyone does, mind you. The Tylwyth Teg, fairies as you call them, I've always been able to get a little magic from them. I can tell you've seen that by now, as you haven't quite tried to string me up yet!"

Gabby mulls this over, tugging on his beard a bit as he digests this. "Two or three? Damn. That fella Jefferson said you think it might be some kinda' Comanche curse? Can you tell me why you'd think that? And can you tell me more about the dedders you faced? how they moved, what they was wearin', how they seemed to be bein' controlled? Did they seem to be controlled at all, or did it look like they might have some animal instincts? I've seen both kinds, and last night we done got attacked by some that were ridin' horses. If that was part o' the trouble this town's been havin', it might explain a few things."

"Well, it is true that I did say that once, but I was ignorant as to the habits and peculiarities of the local savages. It seems the Comanche are unlikely to use such tactics. If they wanted something, they would come at us alive until we weren't any longer. I wouldn't say specifically that these creatures are controlled as such, but I don't think it was simply ah...a natural phenomenon either. I think...like one might set a pack of hounds loose on the hunt, I think this pack was loosed on this town," he said.

"All theories and speculation at this point, but that is where I have arrived so far."

"Which leaves one to wonder why anyone would set packs of wolves upon this particular town.  What is so special about it, I wonder?"  She regarded Whateley for a moment.  "I am a bit surprised at how easily you mention these special powers you use.  Most people are afraid of things they do not understand and will just as easily hang you as talk to you.  If you have no objection to showing us how you helped to save these people, I would be interested in seeing what you can do."

While the others spoke to Dr. Whateley, Daniel took a seat in a nearby pew. He considered the front of the church and murmured a few prayers in a low voice while listening to the conversation with the doctor.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:35, Mon 03 Mar 2014.

He shrugged. "Well, there wasn't much choice, was there? I learned the lesson sometime back not to make a show of things, but here I had to do so for my life, and that of others. Fortunately for me, I was able to convince the good townsfolk that it wasn't anything bad, just little gifts from the fairies. The ones that I saved were particularly vocal in my defense, and I was able to convince them of my good intentions. The only other choice was to submit to the mob's will and flee quickly from the town, flying ahead of any rumors that might pursue me."

Korpi, by now on the desk, was paying considerably less attention to matters spiritual, attempting to get the inkwell out of its socket.

"None of that, now," he said, looking back to the bird, and walking over to the desk to shoo the bird away from his inkwell. "I have no desire for a mess to clean up."

The raven gradually puffed up as the man approached, then ducked, hopping warily away from the good doctor's hands. After a slidy moment of skittering on the sloped surface, Korpi took off and set herself up in the pulpit, where she had a better view anyway.

"Kor kor kor...krrk!"

The doctor didn't try to harm the bird, but instead he secured the possessions in the desk into one of the drawers, and then locked it with a key that he slipped into his pocket and surveyed his guests, walking back over to that.

Korpi tilted her head as the oddly-spoken iron devil tucked the key away, noting that he was very bad at cacheing things. She cleaned her beak on the edge of the pulpit for a bit, then experimented with the little church's acoustics: "Wor wor!"

Cocking her head to listen, Korpi was pretty unimpressed. With a final doomful croak the raven flapped down among the Americans' crazy church-chairs to look for bugs, dropped buttons, or anything else entertaining down there.

Daniel finished his prayers and then stood with a smirk as the Doctor locked his things away. "We're here mostly outta concern fer th' townsfolk and don' mind gettin' our hands dirty, particularly when it concerns the sorta menaces that ya've already faced. I do recall one of the townsfolk mentionin' that ya 'splained yer powers as a gift from God. Is that true?"

Daniel briefly glanced over to the altar and then back at Whateley, studying the doctor as he waited for a reply.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:02, Thu 27 Mar 2014.

"What else could they be?" he asked, spreading his hands. "God created everything that is, and my powers being among that everything, they can only be a manifestation of his divine will."

In the background, Korpi walked across the aisle with a pennycard of a mostly-naked lady in her beak and proceeded to use the little cardboard strip to try and get a glimmer of shiny out from under the pulpit.

Daniel's face remained neutral at the Doctor's response, though he could feel a few of his muscles in his back tensing. "Wouldya call th' dedders a gift from God? Gotta be a manifestation of His will, right? Since they exist an' all."

Daniel narrowed his eyes slightly and tilted his head to the side before he continued. "What're you tellin' folk that yer teachin' 'bout where these gifts come from?"

The Doctor took Daniel's questions in stride, answering them easily. He flipped open his Bible, thumbing through the pages until he found a particular verse.

"Not a gift, my son. A manifestation. I am not sure as to your literacy or lack thereof, but if you read your Bible in the book of Romans it says 'And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.'"

He offered the book to Daniel, in case the barber wanted to read. "Did he not allow the crucifixion of Jesus? As the book of Samuel says, 'It may be that the Lord will look upon my misery and restore to me his covenant blessing instead of his curse today.' Don't blame God. I can only believe that these deaders have been sent to us as a test of our Faith, and the good people of this town are learning to embrace the tools that God has given us, through his instruments. I do not claim to know the divine purpose, just what is happening and what I can do about it."
This message was last edited by the player at 17:21, Thu 27 Mar 2014.

Daniel smiled sightly at the mention of the Crucifixion of Jesus. "If it is a test, then we should all follow Jesus' example at th' time of His crucifixion. Recall that Jesus is a parta the Holy Trinity, an' that it 'twere Him that allowed it all ta go down as a sacrifice fer savin' the immortal souls of all those that would follow."

He looked down at the book and flipped toward the back, to where some of the bits more germane to their present circumstances were contained. He looked up at the doctor as he spoke from the book of Revelations. "But as fer the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death."

"If this is all a test from God hisself, then surely the Devil is ready ta tempt folk ta take th' easy way an' forfeit their eternal life. So I'll ask ya again, what're ya tellin' folk 'bout these fairies?"
This message was last edited by the player at 18:28, Thu 27 Mar 2014.

"Easy now, easy now," he said, taking a step back. "No need to get angry. Fairies is an English word. In Wales, we say Tylwyth Teg. It is part of an old Celtic belief from long before the time of Jesus that still remains despite our conversion to the Christian faith. I am only telling people about them, and that they too can help in the fight against the undead using the help of the fairies."

"And they are mischievous creatures. Sometimes they play tricks on us, nasty tricks, but at other times they help us. I have learned how to make them help us, and have fought off these things that attack the town. I can teach you these things too, perhaps, if you have the aptitude. Imagine the power you could wield, something to add to that swinging sword of yours as you chop down those that have wrongly returned from the grave!"
This message was last edited by the player at 20:06, Thu 27 Mar 2014.

Daniel cocked his head slightly to the side at the mention of the name of the fairies, then rapidly blinked five times in succession at the Doctor's offer. He shook his head firmly at last. "Jesus ain't callin' me down that path, doctor. An' don' be tryin' with none of my friends, neither."

He stared at the man for a few heartbeats to emphasize the point, then went back to querying about the townsfolk. "Seems yer Tegs're from a completely differnt setta beliefs from Christianity. But yer tellin' folk these're angels or somethin', right?"

"Originating from a different set of beliefs, yes, very good! Good to see that you're following along now. You must have been paying attention when I said 'part of an old Celtic belief from long before the time of Jesus.' I'm a bit relieved. For a short time, I was beginning to fear that you were rather slow of wit. I'm glad to learn that you're only a wee bit slow of wit," he said.

"Give me a moment. It has been a long time since I had to teach any students this sort of thing, theology, philosophy and the like and most of them were considerably brighter. I will have to figure out how to explain things to...your sort."

Gabby, sensing the growing tension, takes a step in between Danial and Doctor Whateley. "Well, now, just a moment there, parnder." Gabby says conversationally. he looks back at Danial, who seems to be ready to throw down. "I don't think you got call, talkin' down to my nephew like that. We're all just tryin' to be neighborly here, but after some o' the things we been through, well, I reckon I can see how we all done might be a bit snappish. I reckon you didn't really mean to imply any disparagement about my nephew's faith or intelligence, right Doc?" he gives Whateley a brittle, too-wide grin that doesn't quite reach his eyes.

He turns his attention back to Danial. "And I reckon that we can use all the help we can get dealin' with the problems besetting this town up until we find out what's actually to blame, and deal with it at the appropriate moment. Right?"

Daniel became more tense each moment as the doctor seemed to again avoid answering Daniel's query. His right hand had balled into a fist by the time his uncle stepped between him and the creature that stood before him, his left still holding the bible. Daniel clenched his jaw and ground his teeth a few times as he listened to his uncle, though his stare never left Whateley.

The barber narrowed his eyes after his uncle finished speaking and waited a few heartbeats before responding. "Help? Sure 'nuff, we can use summa that. S'long as the source is really tryin' ta help folk we can use all of it we can."

Daniel lifted the bible again and flipped back a little, to the second letter of Paul to the Corinthians. He occasionally looked at the words, but he appeared to have most of it committed to memory. "But what I am doin' I will continue ta do, in order ta undermine the claim of those who would liketa claim that in their boasted mission they work on the same terms as we do. Fer such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguisin' themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, fer even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds." He took the bookmark ribbon affixed to the spine of the bible and slid it inside that page before he closed the good book.

Daniel thrust the holy book back toward Whateley. "If yer gonna spend time in here, spend some more time with the good book, Doc. An' heed the advice inside."
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:03, Sun 30 Mar 2014.

After listening to them both, he raised his hands in surrender to Gabby, letting Daniel's hand with the Bible hang there in the air, ignoring him entirely.

"I stand corrected, sir, and I apologize for speaking ill to even those who stand here and baselessly offer me insult," he said to Gabby, lifting his hands and smiling ab it sheepishly. "I am but a man. I am not a clergyman in truth, just a person who has stumbled into this mess and am doing my best. Were I holier, I should have turned the other cheek to his insults. I have some personal growth to attend to, I suppose."

"But if my manners are at fault here, I believe you must question those of your nephew as well if you are to be a fair arbiter here, sir. I have done nothing but offer aid to the people of this town in their dire time of need; they have told you as much and this is why you came to seek me out. This man, who has done nothingfor this town as of yet, has only insults to offer, and without my having offered him any injury heretofore."

He looked expectantly at Gabby, as if expecting the old prospector to redress the situation or offer some resolution.

"Well, I reckon that we just ain't seen enough o' the situation to really tell that yet, Doc." Gabby says. "We been through a lot in the last week or so. Why, there was a place up near Dodge where the local undertaker turned out to be a mad scientist who was stealin' the corpses to make himself a small deader army. Way I hear things, you showed up just as the troubles started here. Might make a man suspicious o' where the cause o' the troubles actually were, especially if'n he's as devout as Danial. Me, I reckon I ain't seen enough o' anything yet." He sighs, gives Danial a look that he hopes means "trust me," and then offers his hand. "In fact, I reckon I'm right interested in how you call on these here faeries fer help. Can you show me how it's done?"

He took Gabby's offered hand and shook it, and then set about rolling up his sleeves neatly. Whatever else, he was a well groomed man. He looked at Daniel, and the bible he held.

"Keep the book, 'Holier than Thou.' As you seem to present yourself as a proper religious authority and master of instruction, you can take up this abandoned post and tend to the flock here. That will allow me to do what I do best - saving the lives of the people in the village. And you can do...whatever it is you do."

Looking back to Gabby, he asked for a clarification. "To be clear, do you wish a demonstration, or instruction?"

"Demonstration first, with mebbe instruction followin'." Gabby says. "I want to see what I'm gettin' into afore I leap."

"Alright then, let's see what I can do for you," he said, concentrating hard on something. "Yes, these fairies, they're tricky buggers. It's not as easy as you might think. Sometimes they want to help you, sometimes they want to do mischief. You've got to beat them at their game..." He reached into his coat pocket and drew out what appeared to be a thick stick of some sort. The handle was gnarled, as if it had been broken off from a tree, but the length of it had clearly been worked as it seemed to grow smoother as it reached the end.

Focusing into an empty area, he swung the in a gentle arc and then with a flick of his wrist pointed it. For a moment, it seemed as if lightning crackled along the length of the stick and just after that a globe of pale green light the size of a melon. While the windows of the church building let in enough light generally, it had been fairly dim before. Now the area, especially just about where they were, was bathed in light.

"Faerie fire, my grandmother called it."

Korpi picked up the hatpin she'd finally worked out from under the furniture, looked over and fluffed uncertainly at the glowing orb.

As the three men take a breath at last, Randolph offers quietly: "It seems to me, Mr. D'Alex, that we have been taking advantage of whatever methods seem efficacious in dealing with these aberrations -- your Christian faith, Sky Dog's primitive beliefs, the guns of Mr. Clarke and the lawmen, my erudition, Miss Hawthorne's... talents. Let's see what Dr, Whateley might bring to the table."


This message was last edited by the player at 01:04, Mon 31 Mar 2014.

Coraline's eyes widened at the unexpected glow that lit the interior of the church.  Cherry lips rounded in surprise, she took an involuntary step toward Abaddon and his faerie fire.  "Remarkable," she breathed.  From his description, it almost sounded as though he had been fighting the same battles that she had burdened herself with, though she had never heard of anyone using a magic wand to summon aid from other realms.

Daniel shook his head at Gabby's request for a demonstration - he thought he was pretty clear about his instincts concerning this, and to request that this man use his powers in a House of God was a bit of a slap in the face. He trusted Gabby to know what he was doing, but this seemed a dangerous path. He hoped to have time to discuss it with his uncle later.

As the demonstration was causing Daniel's teeth to grind again, he regarded Randy's choice of words briefly before responding. "Takin' advantage - sure. We all chose our path and are usin' it the best way we know how. Ain't nuthin wrong with that."

He looked again briefly at the resultant 'faerie fire' and regarded it with distaste. Or rather its source. He then began to pray, a quiet murmur that would make it quite difficult for any to discern his exact words.

He smiled slightly at Coraline's reaction. "I could teach you too, my dear," he said.

"By the by, while you have the advantage of my name, I do not believe any of you have introduced yourselves to me, save for the journalist Mr. Randolph Darling."

"Folk call me Gabby, on account o' I like to spin the odd yarn." Gabby says absently as he watches the demonstration. "Mighty interesting. How do you call up them faeries and ask 'em to do what you want? I didn't see you speak none. And do they actually leave when they're done makin' the magic? 'Cause if'n they're stickin' around after you done called 'em, they might just be grantin' power now in exchange fer the chance to do harm later."

"Oh, I don't think they're stickin' around. They're not quite here, actually. They are...somewhere else. It is hard to explain. I don't really talk to them, at least not aloud."

He reached out with a hand as if grabbing something as he spoke. "I sorta reach out with my mind. Faeries are tricksome creatures. I have to trick them into letting me do it. It's like playin' a game of Bryncir."

"This is made from the wood of the Llangernyw Yew, the oldest tree in Wales, ancient, maybe five thousand years old. That's good. Faeries like old things like that, they do. And some light is helpful when its dark."

"Do forgive my manners, doctor.  I completely forgot to introduce myself.  I'm Coraline Hawthorne.  Miss Hawthorne."  The stress on the word was deliberate, as was her friendly smile.  "Bryncir is a game?  Perhaps a card game?"  Her expression warmed further.  "I am so exceedingly fond of card games, myself." 

"Well met, Miss Hawthorne. It is, an old Welsh card game with two hundred and eight cards in the pile. I have a set around somewhere and can teach you how to play sometime, if you're free," he said.

Daniel ignore most of the chatter while he prayed, but he obviously heard the request as he took a few steps closer to Whateley, bible still in hand. "I'm Daniel." He didn't offer his hand or anything more than a cold, hard stare as he stated his name.

"I suppose you are," he replied to Daniel, pointing at the weapon with his wand. "Where did you get that sword, by chance? An old thing, that. A very old thing."

Korpi resumed a post on Daniel's shoulder. "Zhuliev. Shilneh doktor. Shilneh, kor...nye dayut diaboli, zhuliev. Amen," she told him seriously, pin held against his shoulder.

Daniel hesitated, then eventually nodded slowly at the comment. "Very old, yes. It was a gift from my father." His right hand drifted over to settle gently on the hilt for a moment before he returned it to his side.

His wand seemed to sizzle a little bit, just for a moment, again with a little glow and lightning crackling along its edge. "Well, I don't suppose you came looking for Moslems, but there are plenty of things that need chopping, I assure you."

"In any case, I'm glad we've got all that out of the way. I've been accused of being some manner of Satanists before by the ignorant and small minded, but not of actually being Satan himself. I'm not sure whether to be offended by the temerity or amused at the absurdity. And this certainly isn't the first time since arriving in Oakley that I've showcased my abilities. But the time for fun and games is over," he pronounced.

"Night comes again, and there will be another attack. I predict undead, but it might be the wolves as well. You came to help against some kind of raid. Will you stay to provide aid against this different problem?" he asked.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:01, Thu 03 Apr 2014.

"I shall stay," Coraline promised.  Though she felt obligated to help those in need, her other reasons for staying factored largely on the doctor's abilities.  She was certain that they were akin to her own and intended to learn just what he knew about them.  "I shall stay and help you defend these people."

The shaman walked in, pushing back his hood and squinting at the upper corners of the building before pacing soft-footed around two sides to make sure those corners were safe. Finding the collection plate, he donated a marble as offering to the god and wandered back down the aisle.

Once close to the conversationalists, he transferred a paper bag to his left hand and smacked the man he did not recognise upside the head. "It was owed you: you know it," Sky Dog said, offering the doctor his pick from the bag of sweets. "Do you come with us? It would be well to leave before noon, so that we might catch Quanterill at that time, when he is weakest."

"I have traded dollars for the oil for lamps," he told Daniel, offering him sweets also and handing a sugar mouse up to Korpi, who croaked in delight.

"What the devil?..."

He ducked back suddenly, but Sky Dog still managed to clip him on the side of the head. Still, he did take one of the offered candies, looking somewhere between incensed and bemused at the unprovoked contact followed by the offering of sweets.

"I feel like pulling a hair from your nose for that, but I'll take one of these instead, I suppose. I don't suppose you've an explanation for your conduct beyond cryptic mutterings?"  He fixed Sky Dog with a pointed stare.

Daniel smirked and shook his head at the doctor's response. "If ya think that's what was said, then ya ain't so smart as ya think ya are." He nodded at Coraline's response, then added his own. "Course I'll pertect tha people best I can. Though I'm curious 'bout what zactly ya jus' did with yer wand."

Sky Dog laughed. "Well you can try!" He canted his head slightly at the demand for an explanation, the gesture reminiscent of the black bird currently destroying a sugar mouse on Daniel's shoulder.

"If you are not an apprentice shamán who has run away from his master I have even more cause to make you remember with skull-hitting: fairies are not guns." He returned the doctor's look, quite serious. "It is not in their nature that you can bring and use them and put them away in the rifle-bag and they are never bored, or hungry, or expecting gifts of you."

"It is drawing attention, also, this lack of balance - so the peasants call in the little ones and make no pact, so many little ones are in a place, and the bigger spirits become curious or go to eat the little ones, and with them are those of our elder siblings that eat men...and the peasants are frightened and call more little ones, and so their luck becomes crazy with the weight of the spirits on the Middle World, yes?"

"-and if the peasants are frightened, it is the spirits most interested in frightened people that come - it is a good game, to them! You think it is all so well, as long as always you can bring the little ones for fighting, but one day you will reach for one as for a gun and grab the tail of a big wickedness from the Lower World. Then it is too late to regret! I will teach the people some balancing here, after the hunting." Despite the gravity of his warning and the random personal assualt, the shaman did not seem hostile in manner or overly judgemental. His words had more of the air of a man explaining to a child just why playing see-how-long-you-can-hold-the-burning-match inside the house was a bad idea. He offered the sweets towards the others, looking back at Whateley as a thought struck.

"Also I am not the Devil - I was born white only. Sometimes it happens with many creatures," he added, this confusion apparently being a common problem. "My name is Sky Dog."
This message was last edited by the player at 08:07, Sat 05 Apr 2014.

"An interesting name, that," he said. "I do not think you are a devil let alone the Devil. There's only one person in this room who would hurl about those types of accusations.," he added, conspiratorially, though he didn't look at Daniel.

"I understand that you suffer from albinism. I have heard that Smith & Robards has concocted some manner of product, a cream of some sort, that will reduce the impact of the sun on one's skin. You should look at their more recent catalog when you have a chance. Or have someone read it for you, if you cannot."

"As for the rest, you need not be overly concerned. I am an old hand at my arts. Now, what is this about Quantrill? Have you found him?" he asked the shaman.

The shaman did his best to follow the alien terminology, making an easy shrug. "I am always burnt in small patches, in summer - it is not so much suffering to me." He smirked a little at the devil remark. "Ah, only one?"

Sky Dog raised his hand warningly at the doctor's blitheness, but just held it there to be seen rather than bopping him again. "For you, maybe." He let his hand fall. "I will warn you twice again, but if you do badly for our siblings the spirits or the people, I will curse you until you behave better, yes?"

The idea of having found Quantrill brought out that sharp laugh. "Ha! No - this is for why we need to go hunting him and his quick dead ones in the day, before he comes to the town. After, he will be easy to find, but harder for ending! I know he is to the east of this place, probably running crazy circles if the demon in his skin is resting...if you have a picture of the land like Wyattearp, perhaps it will be easy to see where is not often looked on and where also is good to run...he will not go up steep places, Quanterill-the-man, or over water."

He looked to the others, studying Cora a fraction longer than a simple glance. "It would be well for the hunting to be done swiftly, if you wish to have myself with you - I will ask my sister to scout for you, either way, but I am concerned for the bitten men here, that one will maybe die badly if I do not set to curing him today."

"So you're just going to go off on a lark, then, go east until you happen to find him or not?" he asked.

"I don't have a map of the area, but I did come here overland - and there's not much east of here of note. If you are bent upon this 'plan', you should consult the locals who will undoubtedly be able to give you the lay of the land."

The church doors opened, the familiar shadow of a tall man in a hat darkening the doorway. He walked in, respectfully removing his hat and curiously regarding the glowing source of light that illuminated the room.

"Doc," he said, giving a nod to the only person in the room that he didn't already know. His tone was polite, but neither seemed to give approval nor did he give condemnation. The others, he addressed more directly and without preamble.

"Charlie and I were scouting and found some tracks outside of the town. I think it may have something to do with the deader attacks we heard about earlier. They were a few days old, so it was hard to tell, but that would be my guess. A good number of footprints, I'd say at least twenty men all in total. Curiously, they all stopped at a fenced in area that looked like a ranch property, though we didn't cross the fence ourselves."

"A lark? No, my sister can fly higher for scouting-"

"Korpi," Korpi confirmed.

"-and I have fasted on the trail, we will be-" he squinted at the tall man before Morgan's voice confirmed his identity; the shaman offered the US Marshal sweets whilst continuing. "-favoured, for finding them."

He looked down at the candies and grinned at Whateley. "Ha! Well it is hard, to act properly whilst doing well for the people, it is true...I am tormenting myself with the sugar notions, but they are so pretty! I love the colours! And for Korpi, I could not see rats of sugar and not make a gift," he remarked.

"It is not where people are buried in the ground, the edge of the ranch-place, I hope?" Sky Dog asked Morgan without change of tone. "Is it protected, this fence, Whateley?"
This message was last edited by the player at 21:34, Thu 17 Apr 2014.

The Marshal went ahead and tried one of the candies, tentatively, then popped it into his mouth. "It wasn't a cemetery. I mean, there might've been a burial ground of some sort somewhere on the property, but at the point where we crossed it was just what looked like overgrown grazing land. Tall grass."

"Again, I'm afraid I haven't the foggiest. I'm not too familiar with the properties on the outskirts of town, though I'm sure we could find out if your friend here has the details."

Sky Dog rubbed the back of his neck to smooth the sudden prickling there, frowning. "My sorry, Morgan...it is the tracks that stop at the fence, and they go away again on their path, or the tracks are going, going to the fence and over it, you see there are no more?"

He listened for the answer and details with close attention.

"Well, the tracks don't stop at the fence, exactly. They start from around that area. Not exactly at the fence, just that general area, and there's a gate in the fence, which lead me to think about that. As far as whether they came from the other side o' that fence, I'm just speculating. But it looked suspicious to me."

The shaman was clearly defeated by this vague description, but grasped the salient points: some tracks, a gate, and a surface that showed Morgan nothing beyond it. "It would be well to ask the one that owns the building about the tracks there," he agreed.

With a start and a snort, Randolph wakes abruptly where he was dozing in a pew. He stoops to recover his notebook, scrambling for his pencil before the blasted raven snags it. Then he stands with a sheepish grin.

"What time is it?" he asks generally, peering about the magically illuminated church.

"Honestly, Mister Darling, if you're not going to keep up, you should probably just resume your nap.  It's growing late and there will likely be beasties and undead storming the town gates soon, and we cannot afford to be caught unawares.  So, I contend that we work with the Doctor here to come up with a plan that will be sufficient to keep us all safe."   Her gaze shifted to Caleb and she smiled.  "I do hope you will consider staying to help, Mister Morgan.  We are going to need competent gunslingers."

Korpi perked at the skittering object, but Darling reclaimed his pencil before it could be pounced on.

Sky Dog looked at the back of his right hand, estimating by the slight burning there. "It is the middle of the morning, Darling, I think," he mentioned, then looked at Hawthorne with an expression difficult to decipher.

"They will be much stronger, if we fail in the hunting and they come to the town," he said, the tone mild but the restlessness in him clearer.

Daniel waited patiently for an answer to his question, but eventually decided that none was forthcoming. He filed that, as well as the constant protestations, away in his memory as he contemplated exactly what to do about this Doctor.

He looked at Cora as she stated they should work with the man to formulate a defensive strategy, but didn't object. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer his father always said. This doc needed to be watched very closely. Very closely indeed.

"Better ta be the hunter than the hunted, I think." Which was rather obvious - he just felt like saying something at this juncture.

"Amen," Korpi declared, picking up her pin in her beak and shifting to Daniel's head.

In reply to Coraline Hawthorne (msg # 70):

Randolph rises and turns to Cora with a slight bow, "My apologies, Miss Hawthorne, I can only offer the explanation that it was a troubled night and a long journey. I assure you that I feel quite refreshed now."

He includes all present in his next remarks: "Perhaps we should attempt to accomplish both goals. One group could investigate this location outside of town while another prepares the town and townspeople for any assault tonight.

"Between ourselves and the veteran lawmen who came with us, we should have sufficient numbers to do both. What do you think, Marshall Morgan?"

The lawman gave Coraline a pleasant smile. "Well, I'm definitely planning on helping with the town's defenses for the night, though if some of the others want to go to check out the ranch for the remainder of the day I'd be amenable to that as well."

"As I see it, there are two threats. One of these we know about - the periodic attacks this town seem to have been suffering for a little while now. The other one we have vague suspicions about, including dreams and portents and whatnot, and that's the likelihood that Quantrill has his sights on Oakley and is gonna strike here next."

"We came here to act on the second of those, but that doesn't mean that we can't also see to the first. As Mr. Darling has suggested, we should have sufficient numbers to take care of both. If there are people that know how to run a town, it would be Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson, and they're not too bad in a gunfight either, from what I hear. I think we can all attest to the fact that Charlie, Shotgun John, and Texas Jack haven't been slackers on that front either. I figure they'll boster the town's defenses, and perhaps we can check out the ranch and then return to add our aid to whatever happens to this town at night."

"I reckon that seems fair." Gabby muses. He looks over at Whateley. "What about you, Doc? You plannin' on commin' with?"

Daniel nodded at his uncle's response. Seemed like a logical course of action since it seemed likely they could manage both.

Korpi opened her wings a bit to keep her balance. "Korp."

"It is far away, the ranch?" Sky Dog asked, still slightly confused.

"It's not far. I think we could make it there in about a half hour, maybe a little more," he said.

"So I reckon Gabby, Daniel, Randolph and Sky Dog are likely to come with me from the sound of things. Miss Hawthorne, will you be staying behind in town with the other lawmen?" he asked.

"If the ranch is fairly close and you intend to be back before nightfall, I'll be going along to investigate.  I'm sure there will be plenty of time to learn a few things from Doctor Whateley.  In any case, we should probably be going if we intend to make the most of the day."

Gaze flicking between speakers, the shaman paused, then scrubbed absently at the frown lines on his brow. He looked around sharply at nothing but empty air and stared at it a moment, faintly puzzled, before speaking. "...If I am needed, so I will come. That Quanterill-the-demon should maybe go to sit at table at the ranch, it is a strange thing."

Sky Dog considered. "Do you think maybe you have a rival, Whateley? We ended made things, coming here."

"Krrowk," Korpi added around her pin. Sky Dog threw her a few soft sentences of explanation in his native tongue.

"I don't think it's Quantrill at the ranch, Sky Dog. I think whatever's out there might have somethin' to do with what's affecting the town, though. Do you have any sorta plan on how to look for Quantrill?" he asked the native.

"A...rival? I'm not sure I understand what you mean..." he said, a little confused himself.

"Ha! Ha, no longer, but many feets going away without a horse with them, yes? -and the settlement is alarmed besides that Quanterill desires his name spoken - if those of the ranch were killed and eaten, the people in the settlement would know it."

Sky Dog tapped his chin, thinking. "As for to find him, with a land-drawing to see better the places he might go and knowing he is eastward, it should not be too hard to discover the track of so many running ones. Korpi can see many miles at once, and smell dead things as far - it is easier than to search on foot!"

Whateley's question brought some further perplexity. "Perhaps it is not the same so often here, though I was well into America before I had to turn a rival's soul into an eel for that he offered me violences for 'disgracing the Raven'-"

"Ha!" Korpi added, recognising some words, then had to look for her dropped pin in Daniel's hair.

"-as though Raven could care! Ah, the Voicemaker would break the world if he thought there was something good inside." He glanced to Korpi, who was occupied with locating and retrieving her pin and simultaneously restyling Daniel's hair to suit the endeavour.

"-But in the North, if one shamán or sorcerer migrates to a place that one has not been before, that one will be challenged by the jealous that are there or the young ones without reputation. Sometimes it is not spoken, only the rival sends his-her helper-spirits or a made thing, and the shamán that comes must have skill to survive. I do not think I am known of so soon, in this place, and yet one is making things for sending." He let Whateley draw the evident conclusion, making no mention of another member of their hunting-party who might also be challenged.

"I think I understand what you're getting at, though I confess never to have considered the notion. I initially thought that this might be the work of some local savages, but the idea of a rival never sprung to mind, honestly. Precious few know of my arrival in the country, as I like to stick to wilderness trails except when I seek reprieve in the comforts of society upon occasion as I did when I arrived here," he said in response to Sky Dog.

"Another possibility is that perhaps I was drawn to this place - perhaps something drew me here. This is not the first time I have found myself in a place with some trouble since coming to this country."
This message was last edited by the player at 15:01, Thu 08 May 2014.

"I'm somewhat out of my depth when it comes to speculating about what brought people here. As for us, we came on a mission to keep this town safe from harm, specifically from Quantrill. In the past it seems that Quantrill, or whoever is masquerading under his name, has been able to take on towns with whatever he brought. I don't want to risk facing down him and the other threats troubling the town at the same time, so I figure we should get one of these threats out of the way first," he said.

Looking at Sky Dog, he added, "On the way, we can talk to some of the locals and try to figure out what's around here, if anybody has a map, or if they can make one for us so you can get some ideas and premonitions about where Quantrill might be headed."

Next, he turned to Coraline, addressing her politely as a gentleman would. "The ranch is fairly close, Miss Hawthorne, so I am sure as I can be in an uncertain world that we are likely to return by nightfall - and I'm inclined to agree that we should get a move on it. I'm gonna be outside. Once everyone's ready, we can make our way out there," he said authoritatively, and moved to leave the church, before long only a proud silhouette in the doorway until the doors closed behind him.

Gabby follows along behind Caleb.

Randolph thanks Dr. Whateley for his time and leaves the church with Marshall Morgan.

Daniel crossed himself one more time and said a prayer to the Lord before taking his leave of the church.