"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.