Matters of Grave Importance - Chapter Three

[Maxx]

The Cemetery - 10:00 pm - Talbot

"If you're aware of the situation, then you also realize you're not in a position to dictate terms,"  Talbot said.  "I'm going to call for a ride and then we're all going to go someplace else and talk about this, you, me, the idiot and your carbuncle.  We can talk about what naughty things he was babbling about and get this all straightened out."

Talbot had no clue as to what the carbuncle was.  He had some vague recollection that it was some kind of stone but if the odd little girl thought it was important and valuable, he wasn't going to allow her to wander off with it.

[Darkflame]

The Cemetery - 10:01 pm - Alice

Alice chewed her lip, wanting to point out that obviously she did have some power to dictate terms as the furry one had yet to try to eat her, but he did say she could keep the carbuncle.  He put a possessive in front of it, saying it belonged to her, and that was one of her terms.  Meeting halfway wasn't bad, was it?  Besides, if she played nice maybe he would answer some of her questions.  Even as agitated as she still felt, her curiosity was peaked.  She shuffled a bit, her face screwing up again, then finally she sighed.

"Well, a meeting halfway is still a meeting."  She said somewhat cryptically.  Then she rather carefully laid the shovel against a nearby headstone.  "You don't mind holding that do you?" she whispered, patting the stone before raising her tiny hands to show she was unarmed.  "There, see? I'm not unreasonable, like some people."  She said, casting a baleful glance at her captive.

[Trellin]

The Cemetery - 9:59 pm - Samuel

Samuel let out a laugh that sounded like a squall, "Well, you've certainly lived long enough to learn some things but not long enough to learn enough. For example, you know enough to threaten me with silver but not enough to realize that typically doing that would be like waving a red flag in front of bull, guaranteeing at least severe injury to yourself.  The two endings you describe are not only the most unlikely to occur but the least desirable for us. I have a counterproposal; Let's make sure that you live long enough to learn more by simply talking to us. Keep your blade, if it makes you feel better."

Samuel waited patiently in place, waiting to see what Jack would do. In his world, this was the proper way to negotiate. When in a position of power, be fair but firm. If he agreed to talk, he saw no reason not to let him keep the knife, trust was earned and so far Jack Rabbit had made his best efforts to escape but seemed uninterested in bloodshed for it's own sake. Of course, should Jack prove himself untrustworthy, he would kill him as quickly as was possible.

[Maxx]

The Cemetery - 10:00 pm - The Jack Rabbit

"Wounds heal.  Bulls do not charge the colour but the movement of the cape.  Shapeshifters are more likely to recoil from silver than hurl themselves upon it."  he chuckled.  "And you would have great difficulty taking my weapon from me, should I decide that I did not want to be disarmed."

He changed his footing, moving around behind the gravestone he had stopped beside but the slender blade stayed rock steady.  "You obviously take exception to my digging.  I have no problem stopping, at least for the immediate future.  I seem to have chosen a poor time for my task.  I anticipated neither the supernatural nature of this cemetery's guardians nor the degree of activity I would encounter.  Aren't you curious, Gato, of what is transpiring on the far side of the cemetery at this very moment?  Are they your friends over there, confronting a true grave robber or has all of Christendom decided to convene on Holy Ground this evening to settle long forgotten scores?"

[Trellin]

The Cemetery - 10:01 pm - Samuel

Samuel nodded slightly, at least he seemed willing to talk rather than bolt and turn this into an ugly mess for all involved.

"I have no doubt that you would prove a formidable opponent. It was a small gesture of trust to indicate that I meant that I have no wish to harm anyone here", he said.

"This place has been the subject of repeated grave disturbances over a very short period and the responsible party or parties have not been seen, nor heard, nor left any evidence that humans could find.  It's most likely a professional, a supernatural or both to have managed that. In either case, it would seem that the questions to answer would be, what are they looking for and why."

He relaxed his body language a bit, being alert in case Jack Rabbit decided to try and take advantage. "If your task here is not to rob a grave, as you implied, then why dig up a grave?"

[Maxx]

The Cemetery - 10:01 pm - The Jack Rabbit

The man was clearly making a careful study of placement, as if trying to choose his best route of escape.  His gaze kept going to Paul and Vesper, not that it lingered long on the pair.

"I'd hardly call myself supernatural, although I'm hardly a professional.  I am merely cautious and meticulous."  The man shrugged.  "I was looking for something that belongs to me.  My research indicated that it was buried in this cemetery on a specific date.  It was an unfortunately busy day for funerals and I was unable to determine the name of the person with whom it was buried.  Therefore, I am stuck secretly digging up each one by hand because the powers that be were unwilling to allow me to dig up all of them.  You have my word that I am seeking only an object of personal significance, not an item of mystical or historical significance.  If such had been the case, I doubt it would have been buried but rather pilfered some century and half ago."

[Trellin]

The Cemetery - 10:02 pm - Samuel

"It must be very important to you to go through all this to find something buried some one hundred and fifty years ago. What do you do for a living - and what's your name by the way?  I'm Samuel."

He had to admit to himself, it was his oddest and most interesting interrogation.

[Maxx]

The Cemetery - 10:02 pm - The Rabbit

"Well met, Samuel," the man replied but didn't offer his own name in return.  "You are a Samuel rather than a Sam, I take it?  I've known a few people like that.  We just couldn't convince Adolf that calling himself Dolph would have corrected certain problems he was having.  Such is life, I suppose."

He looked at Paul again and shifted his footing slightly.  "I doubt you'd understand why I seek what I seek.  There is nothing noble about it.  It is a case of digging up something that belongs to me simply because it belongs to me.  I just wish I knew which grave it was in.  Another week or a luckier choice on where to dig and I would never be seen in this cemetery again."

[Trellin]

The Cemetery - 10:03 pm - Samuel

"Samuel is what most people call me, sometimes Sam", he shrugged slightly, "I'm not too picky."

"If you would share what it is you're looking for, we may be able to help you locate it. I must admit, I'm extremely curious about what it is that would inspire this kind of effort from you. By the way, what's your name?"

[Maxx]

The Cemetery - 10:02 pm - The Rabbit

"My name is unimportant," the man said with a shrug and the slightest step towards Paul.  "Any name I gave you would not show up in any database you searched.  In essence, I do not exist.  The computer age makes that easier than on would think."  He looked at Samuel.  The hand that held his slender blade hadn't even trembled in the slightest, as if his arm were made of stone.  "As for what I am looking for, that is for me to know any you to wonder.  Of course you could dig up all the rest of the graves and carry off anything you find.  It will just mean I will have to track you down, find out where you put it and figure out how to reclaim it.  Now, are you going to let me go or do we have to fight on Holy Ground?  I would be loathe to shed blood here, even if this cemetery is not one dedicated to my faith."

[Trellin]

The Cemetery - 10:03 pm - Samuel

"I'm a little more traditional than computers and databases. I ask a name out of respect since you have behaved with reason and honor so far and since I have given you a name it would be polite of you to show me the same courtesy."
Samuel took a slight step to offset the new position of the Rabbit. It seemed he was done with the conversation and if the Rabbit went after Paul first, as he expected, he was worried that Paul would get hurt, or dead, and distract everyone sufficiently to get away.
"While I don't like the idea of disturbing a number of graves, I am very curious about you and would like to continue our conversation. It would seem that the your object is a good way to ensure that we would meet again", he said. double-checking that the comms were transmitting he took a very deep breath to firmly plant the scent of the Rabbit in his memory, "so I am personally inclined to let you go without bloodshed."

[Maxx]

The Cemetery - 10:03 pm - The Rabbit

"It's settled then,"  the Rabbit said.  "You may call me Orlando and I bid you good evening."  He took a step backwards, away from Paul and towards the gap in the fence.  The blade in his hand disappeared back under his coat as quickly as it had appeared.  He didn't move too far, as if expecting Samuel to recant.

[Trellin]

The Cemetery - 10:04 pm - Samuel

Samuel relaxed his body language a bit more as Orlando put his blade away, "I am pleased to meet you, Orlando", he tried hard to fix his name and associated scent in his memory, "It would be convenient if you gave me a way to contact you after we have acquired the item you seek. I would suggest you move quickly after that. By nature and long practice I am unaccustomed to working with groups and this is my decision. They may not agree or abide with my decision."

[Maxx]

The Cemetery - 10:04 pm - Orlando

"You'll know it when you see it," Orlando said.  "It will scream my name."  He began backing away towards the gap in the fence.  "As far as contact is concerned, I'm very good at finding people and things, even when they don't want to be found.  It was the thinnest of trails that led me here and yet here I stand."

The stopped just short of the hole that led to the sheer drop Paul has described.  "Perhaps when next we meet we can share a glass of wine."

"You're letting him go?" Paul asked.  "Aren't we supposed to bring him in for questioning?"

[Trellin]

The Cemetery - 10:04 pm - Samuel

Samuel nodded, "I would enjoy that", he said to Orlando.

Without taking his eyes off of Orlando he asked Paul, "Let's say we force him back without anyone dead or injured. What would he tell us voluntarily that he hasn't already told us?" He gave a final nod to Jack Rabbit and turned to face Paul, "If you want to fight we probably have another one on the other side of the cemetery if Captain Asshole has anything to say about it."

[Maxx]

The Cemetery - 10:04 pm - Orlando

The move was too smooth to have not been practiced.  Orlando dropped into something that could only be described as a push-up position, except he didn't push up, he pushed back, sending himself through the hole in the fence and over what Paul had described as a fifty foot sheer drop.

[Trellin]

The Cemetery - 10:05 pm - Samuel

"OK, we're done here", he looked around for Dundee, "Dundee, I assume you saw the whole show; what's your call? check the dig site or back up the others first?"

[Maxx]

The Cemetery - 10:05 pm - Nicky

"You're kidding, right?  Buddy takes a dive backwards off a fifty foot drop and you're not even curious as to what condition he lands in?"  The Australian snorted.  "Good thing this is my turf and that drop isn't as sheer as Paul is making it out to be.  I'll follow him. Take Vesper and go check with Talbot and see if you're needed there."

The shadow that was Nicky headed south, towards the ten foot fence Paul had described.  "Did you forget to mention the gate, skater boy?  Or the fact that the fence ends in somebody's backyard.  Find your way out of here and you and I will follow the bouncing pork chop."

[Trellin]

The Cemetery - 10:06 pm - Samuel

Samuel chuckled, "Five feet or five hundred, I know exactly what condition he's in; Gone. He wasn't committing suicide."

He looked över at the wolf, "Come on Vesper, let's go see what the rest are getting into", he said as he started trotting off in the direction of the other team.

He spoke into the coms with hissing and squalling overtones, "Talbot, Vesper and I are headed your way, where do you want us?"

[Goosekat]

The Cemetery - - 9:55 - 10:01 p.m. - -  Tabitha

Tabby did as instructed and headed to her left to circle around behind the two at the grave-site, keeping to the bushes and shadows as much as possible despite the fact that the child size person seemed to already know she was there.  Her attention was so focused on Talbot and the exchange with the girl on the mound of dirt that she didn't notice the dead body till she practically tripped over it.  Letting out a yip of surprise she literally jump backwards a good six inches when she spotted the body on the ground.  "Dead body.  Fresh.  Not human," she growled into her mic as she cautiously inched forward on her belly to inspect the freshly killed creature.  A subtle growl kept emanating from her throat, whether is was because of the situation, all the blood or the look and smell of the dead thing she wasn't sure.

[Maxx]

The Cemetery - 10:02 pm - Talbot

""Standby,"  Talbot said into his radio.  "She's agreed to co-operate, so don't do anything rash.  I'll find out about the body."

He moved forward, looking relaxed but he was more than prepared to act.  "I'm Talbot.  We'll be taking you for a short ride to a place where we can talk without interruption.  I'm sure we'll have some questions for your friend there.  Oh and one of my associates just stumbled on a dead animal.  Your doing or his?"

The question was casually asked but if there had been a ritual sacrifice in the cemetery, he wanted to know.

[Darkflame]

The Cemetery - 10:02 pm - Alice

"If you're talking about the Carbuncle, then yes, I killed it.  Not that I wanted to.  I would have much rather been able to study it alive.  If you speak of another creature, then no.  My only interest lay in this particularly exceptional example of insanity and his rather vicious little assistant.  Insanity is quite an interesting thing really.  So many things act as triggers for the mental instability. "  She gave her prisoner another of her surly glares.  "Unfortunately it can also make one very annoying and loud!"

[Maxx]

The Cemetery - 10:03 pm - Talbot

"So what happened to his viscous little assistant?" Talbot asked.  He'd almost called for the car to come pick up the odd little woman, until she'd mentioned the assistant.  If there was another hostile in the area, he wasn't going to bring non-combatants into the area.  "Heads up, people.  We may have another target."

[Maxx]

COULD  I HAVE A ROLE CALL PLEASE?

[Trellin]

Me!