This scene is for Malcolm and Anne Reed only. If you are not these players and they have not invited you in character, please do not respond.

The crisp autumn air danced playfully across Malcolm's exposed face as he walked the New York City streets. On this beautiful Wednesday afternoon, the city was alive with the din of competing radio stations from disparate shops, the characteristic racket of the infamous New York traffic, and the clangor of 2 street buskers harmonizing for spare change.

Malcolm had seen online that the Guggenheim museum was showcasing a special exhibit on Vasily Kandinsky and his work; an old friend of Malcolm's had gotten them tickets but sadly had to back out at the last second.
"Sorry again about this, old chap," Malcolm's voicemail had dutifully relayed, "Feel free to use my ticket to bring someone else along, if you wish. I'll be sure to make it up to you next time! Ta."

Malcolm had not felt the over-whelming urge to bring someone else along. In fact, given how beautiful the day was, the idea of doing a little solo sight-seeing was quite attractive.

Well, Malcolm could no longer consider himself 'solo' ever again now, could he?

The greying gatekeeper could feel his Geist stir deep within his consciousness. Apparently, it sensed something interesting. Or, at least, something more interesting to it than a major artistic innovator and painting theorist from the opening of the 20th century.

Right up ahead, that something interesting caught his eye.

On the other side of the street from where Malcolm stood was a non-descript pawn shop. 'Fever of Gold' the gaudy yellow sign declared. 'We buy and sell gold and jewelry' boasted another. One could imagine this was a common sight in any city but it wasn't the place that held Malcolm's attention so:

Outside of the pawn shop was a line that reached into the street: easily 8 or 9 people strong. Strange in and of itself for noon on a Wednesday but what was even more peculiar was that, other than one portly man wearing a dark green flat cap and a dark brown leather jacket, all the people standing in the line... were dead.
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:41, Thu 26 May 2022.

Pausing mid-step at the movement of his Geist when Matthew resumed a second later his pace was already slowing, taking in the surroundings a bit more now he had an idea something might be awry. He had not however anticipated quite the sight he saw. Not just for numbers of dead clustered close together presumably not at a place relating to their deaths, unless the pawn shop had had a very messy shootout recently, but that all of them seemingly were all performing a seemingly fairly banal activity. While they sometimes tended to be going about the regular affairs all of them just waiting outside a pawn shop was more than a little bit odd.

Changing the direction of his steps to head for the pawn shop and take a closer look, with a regretful thought that he would potentially miss getting to see The Blue Mountain if this all proved as odd as it appeared.

OOC: Quick check. Are these ghosts or animated bodies? And if ghosts is the living person queuing as though they're aware of them or just normal queuing outside the shop.

In reply to Malcolm Unsworth (msg # 2):


As Malcolm approaches, he sees there are two more living people inside the small pawnshop. The space inside is as big as a large closet, the majority of the room saved for the assorted nick-knacks on display.

One older lady finishes her business and leaves, causing the line to trudge forward a step. None of the ghosts seem to pay attention to the departing patron but a few look up at Malcolm, a quizzical look in their eyes.

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Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
Ah, forgive me. They are all incorporeal ghosts. The only living people in the line are the 3 in the front (one of whom just left) and don't seem to notice-- either that or they are very cool with the fact that there are so many specters.

To further clarify, a normal person walking by would just see three people in a line, one of them standing slightly outside the door. Malcolm sees that as well as a long line of ghosts spilling out into the street.

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