Eden Cemetery Let not winter's ragged hand deface

[Theo Crowhurst]

Outfit

Very rarely did Theo find himself setting out on errands of all things, mainly because usually, the Sewing Circle did their own errands, knowing what they wanted and how to get it. This time, however, they were after something a little trickier to get their hands on, primarily because of the adverse side effects getting caught could have on their lives. For Theo, he had an in with the man who tended the cemetary. Good old Halifax knew enough about magic and his land to see when the graves had been disturbed by mundane or magical means, but he disapproved of hedge witches and wizards poking around in his graveyard.

The Exchange Inquisitor, though, was someone Halifax would allow to poke around. However, Theo only knew the theory of what ritualists did and couldn't pull off their little tricks himself. So for this little errand, he'd tapped the first ritualist he'd set his eyes on. The pale, red-headed, and incredibly short ritualist was up to the job, her blindness hardly an obstacle. Theo knew her familiar served as her eyes well enough in the case of needing vision.

But now they were both loaded in his car, the Vantage's V12 engines practically purring as Theo navigated Easthaven traffic at 5 AM. There were more than a few early risers, but it was practically a Sunday drive compared to rush hour.

“They're after some grave dirt and 'the essence of gifts left behind,' whatever that bloody means. Then they want some leaves from a mausoleum, mausoleum rust, and 'weeds of the forgotten,' which tells me Rizzo's possibly taking the piss,” Theo rattled off, voice blandly sharing the shopping list of requests from the Sewing Circle for their latest experiments. He sounded vaguely annoyed, but that was a common thing for Theo. “You up for it, Grimshaw?”

Holding the wheel at 9 and 3, Theo glanced at his passenger in the darkness of the car, the lampposts rushing by and the flashes of their dirty orange light all that lit up the car's cab. Grimshaw would have to be up for it, considering she was already in the car, but they could always fetch it quickly if she was missing something.

[Briar Grimshaw]

Attire/Looks *she does have a worn leather backpack and Gump the pigmy owl on her shoulder

Briar had not had many opportunities to work with or interact with Crowhurst. He was on a different level than herself but also to note, he was not someone who practiced magic as she did. So, when he spotted her and asked for her help, the woman easily said yes.

If she knew that she was going to be up at four am to be ready to hit the road at five am she might have reconsidered this whole endeavor but she was ready. Coffee was drunk and her bag packed with anything that she might need with Gump on her shoulder directing her where she needed to go to get into his car, it was cake.

When he started to rattle off the list, she pulled out a notebook that had no words in it but their was a strip of metal that had raised bumps on it that she used to mark and press into the thicker paper as she took notes of what they were wanting;
Grave Dirt
Essence of gifts left behind
Leaves from a mausoleum
Mausoleum rust
Weeds of the forgotten

With her own notes taken down, it was hard to not just smile a bit at his questioning of the ingredients, “To answer the first question; the essence of gifts left behind- think of it this way, what is something that you could leave behind if you were laid to rest in a cemetery...the second is not too tricky; you might think the flowers forget me knots but those do not normally grow in graveyards so they mean for us to find a grave that has been forgotten about- so the older the better for that one, ” she told him as Gump hopped around until he was resting on the shoulder closer to Theo.

“To answer the final question, yes I am Crowhurst- though I do wonder how did you get landed with the task to go out here to help gather these items. ” Briar asked him, a brow lifted as her face was tilted slightly towards him while she spoke but out of her own habit, she stared ahead. There was nothing to see with her eyes but Gump told her all she had to know and it left her calm and relaxed.

[Theo Crowhurst]

Theo wasn't all that interested in the explanation–he left the strange little things ritualists could drag out of existence to them. But he was intimately familiar with the process, how they got from point A to point B, so he waved off Grimshaw's explanation, just his raised fingers on the steering wheel as he shook his head. Anything could be a component if a ritualist were clever enough.

“Because I'm the boss, and Halifax is a paranoid bastard,” Theo said, huffing a sardonic laugh as he glanced at his passenger and her familiar. Turning back to the road, speeding along towards the cemetery, Theo continued with a conversational tone. “Rizzo said we don't need anything from the dead themselves, which is the only reason Halifax agreed to let us search around. He's had some trouble with ghouls–some idiots mucking about–so he's got a short fuse with your lot.”

[Briar Grimshaw]

Gump ruffled his feathers a bit at the movement Crowhurst made but didn't relay it to Briar as it would do little for her. So, she just continued to edit her notes a little bit before laughing at him calling Halifax a bastard; well a paranoid bastard. It was hard to not grin a smidge from that.

“Aye, you are the boss, ” she said in agreement as she closed the book and then tucked it into her coat to keep for later. Visibly she did from, “Pity, the dead don't really have use of certain items, ” came a small mumble from her as grimace left her, “That's a little rude...not all of us mess with things like that, ” she told him, a little grumped over that but the redhead was pretty certain she wasn't changing anyone mind about that.

“Is there anything else about this run that I need to know? ”

[Theo Crowhurst]

Arching an eyebrow at Grimshaw's remark, the Inquisitor had to wonder if she'd been involved in some grave robbing herself. However, what she immediately followed with was at odds with that sentiment. Disturbing the dead gave rise to ghouls and restless spirits, although magic certainly helped it all along. The distinction hardly mattered to Theo, and he found it distasteful. It was all dark magic, even if it ranged in shades of grey to pitch black, depending on the intent behind it.

“Not much else to it,” Theo confirmed, but that hardly meant anything. They were going into a cemetery, and the dead always found ways of being annoying. “Like I said, a bit of a ghoul problem, but he says he cleared them out. With luck, it'll be quiet today.”

Even as Theo possibly jinxed their luck, he was turning down the street where the cemetery parking lot was, right by the main entrance. The large, wrought iron lampposts that flanked the gates shone in the dark, brighter than the dirty orange of the light posts begrudgingly lighting the parking lot.

[Briar Grimshaw]

Briar would never confirm nor deny her activities in a cemetery though if she ever did, it was ones that were long forgotten and not well cared for where people would notice anything amiss. They had some of the most potent ingredients that she desired at times so she was no stranger to those things.

Bobbing her head in a nod, “Sounds good...I'll let you be on the look out for them then...just in case, ” she could do various things but it took time and she felt he might be a bit better suited with taking out a ghoul.

She felt the car slowing down, her head turning to look out the window. Even if she couldn't see, she could easily hear Gump telling her that they were there now and he just had to park. While he did find a spot, she'd pull out her material-holding satchel from her backpack to tie around her wrist so she'd not lose it.

[Theo Crowhurst]

“With luck, we'll hear them coming,” Theo intoned, slipping into a parking spot and putting the car in park. Securing the handbrake, it was a simple press of a button to switch off the engine, killing the low rumbling of the expensive car and bringing silence back to the cemetery parking.

Noting that Grimshaw was getting ready, Theo snapped off his seatbelt and slipped out the door, grabbing his scabbard on the way out and buckling the sword belt around his waist under his coat as he circled the car. The illusion never left the sword, so it was obscured from prying eyes but a valuable tool in Theo's work.

Coming to Grimshaw's side, Theo opened the door for her, giving her familiar a little arched eyebrow and a nod before he spoke, “This should be quick, so I don't think we have to worry. Your familiar must be helpful for spotting trouble as well, I presume?”

[Briar Grimshaw]

“And smell them, ” she said, her tone with a bit of joking in it. Just to keep the mood a bit light as she felt the car park and then the engine die away. She unbuckled herself and lifted her bag again to carry out when she was pleasantly surprised by Crowhurst opening her door for her; that was not something she was used to.

“Thank you, ” she told him as she got out and put her backpack on with an easy motion. Smoothing her coat, Gump hopped from either shoulder, looking around and silently relaying the area to her so that she had an idea of things. “If he isn't helping me find the items requested, yes. He is very important in my finding of things but I should be able to hear something if they approach; some perks come with not having eyes, ” she said with a casual tone as she'd reach into her satchel and pull out a jar, “Grave dirt is first. ”

[Theo Crowhurst]

Theo let out an amused exhale, shutting the car door once Grimshaw was out and on her feet. No-one could accuse her of not being focused on the job, that her familiar was useful on multiple fronts only worked in their favour as well.

“Yes, we should get right into it. Come along, I know a good spot for this,” Theo said, clicking his key fob and locking the car. Hooking his coat over the hilt of his sword, keeping it free if there was something to be worried about, he began walking towards the large wrought iron gates of the cemetery. Entering it revealed the well-maintained paths and shrubbery, trees and stone statues making Eden Cemetery a coveted place to be buried.

It really was more like a park, built in the Victorian tradition of enjoyable visits to the dead. The area was filled with statues, pavilions, gazebos, and water features, some standalone and some connected to mausoleum and gravesites. Near the entrance, there were no graves. The dead were buried deeper into the cemetery.

In the dark, Theo couldn’t see the lake, but he heard the distant splash of something. Hopefully swans rather than something like the ghoul he’d fought on it's shores before. The lampposts lining the paths were bright, flickering gently as if they were flame rather than electricity. It reliably guided them towards the collection of gravesites and mausoleum Theo had in mind. Not the oldest section of the cemetery, but far from the newest.

[Briar Grimshaw]

“Lead the way, ” she told him with a little smile as she'd move to walk just a step behind him so that she could hear where he was going easier. Her hands held onto her jar while Gump fluttered up and went to settle on her head now like a lookout. He felt important right now, knowing that the other Exchange agent wanted to count on his eyes.

The bird's antics had her smiling as the pigmy owl had his head on a swivel as he mentally described where things were for her as she walked ahead without any aid. She knew she probably should have her cane out but she didn't like using it all the time when she had Gump's eyes going for her.

What had her halting in her steps though was the sound of a splash, her and Gump's heads turning to where the watery sound came from, “Is there a pong here? ” she asked, not actually expecting a body of water here. Normally they didn't bother her but when it came to places where the dead rested, it made her a little more cautious.

[Theo Crowhurst]

Lead the way he did. Theo brought them to the gates, opening the smaller door to let them in without bothering with the heavy gates. It barely squealed when he opened it, indicating a well-oiled hinge, but he held it open for Grimshaw before he let go to let it swing shut behind them and kept walking.

The question from Grimshaw made the Inquisitor swing his head towards the lake in the distance, nodding before he remembered she was blind, correcting himself by speaking. “Yes, a lake. Two artificial lakes, actually. We're near the larger one. The smaller one is where the oldest burials are. Very Victorian. Grave visits with a view and all that.”

Theo did not lead them towards the lake, instead taking the path heading northeast in the cemetery, heading towards a grouping of graves he knew would be old but not too old. Old enough that them disturbing the dirt wouldn't take any notice.

[Briar Grimshaw]

Briar walked through, her hand brushing over the material to get a feel of it for a moment as she entered the hallowed space. This place gave off the feeling of being well cared for; the gate being a clue to that given it barely made a sound when it was opened up.

The redhead relaxed a little bit at hearing that; it wasn't something that had been here the whole time, so what could be wrong with that, “When we finish our task; can we take a detour to the smaller lake so I can take some water?[q] it was essentially grave water but she could find some interesting uses for something that had time to have the dead leach into it.

Her feet crunched on the ground, her head turning a bit to any other sound she might hear. The one splash still had her nerves a little tense but she'd relaxed a fair bit since. [q]The care taker does their job well from what Gump is telling me about this place...do they extend their care to the older sections as well? ” she asked curiously. She'd come across many tomestones that were aged with moss and vines as the earth tried to swallow them back.

[Theo Crowhurst]

The idea of the lakes seemed to make Grimshaw a little nervous, so Theo decided not to tell her that the entirety of the fens neighbourhoods was just filled in marshland, the lakes the last remnant of that. Artificial replacements for what used to be there. Her question got a hum and a shrug from Theo, a 'yes, alright' without so many words. Although always with the caveat of 'if they had time.'

“Depends on if the relatives of the dead are still paying their fees,” Theo answered her next question as it quickly followed the other. He wasn't an expert on what went into running a cemetery, but he'd caught the broad strokes. “If not, the general grounds are generally taken care of, even if the older section around the graves can get overgrown. I've seen some cracked graves and crumbling mausoleums.”

The area he had in mind was one of those areas of the graveyard. Generally maintained, except for the graves, some marble slabs cracked open, and some headstones toppled. One charity with a particular interest in the dead often came by and weeded and fixed gravestones, but from what Theo knew, they hadn't managed to come by this section yet. Step by step, they were getting closer, although it was still a few minutes' walk away.

[Briar Grimshaw]

The yes was met with a small nod and a smile from her. Good, something for herself when she was done helping collect these items. She just hoped they were decent and on par with what was being sought after.

Oh, cracked and abandoned graves were around here; that meant no one watching them. As terrible as it sounded, those were the best kinds since no one might notice something missing from it or if it was a tiny bit disturbed. “Ah that is understandable then...those honestly- if we weren't heading there, may be the best then, ” she told him with a small smile as her hand went to tuck the jar into her pocket.

They were probably in for a small walk then, best to keep that tucked away until she needed it. She walked carefully beside him, the owl letting out small hoots occasionally while she walked down the path.Crouching down while walking, she picked up some pebbles and played with them in her hands.

[Theo Crowhurst]

Theo chuckled, bobbing his head in a crooked little nod as he agreed with her words. The more dilapidated graves were easier to mess around with without calling attention to what had happened, but that was a curse and a blessing. They could take things without alarming mundanes, but so could others without the Exchange knowing what had happened. Increased disturbances in the graveyard usually meant someone might be up to no good.

They walked, following the paved path and winding past the scenery. Statues and plinths, some wallet sections where graves were fenced in. It took them only a few more minutes, but then Theo could spot the statue he always associated with this section of the graveyard, a shrouded woman with her hands clasped in prayer. She always looked so eerie in the dark, the flame that danced in the plinth in front of her casting strange shadows over the folds of her shroud.

“Here we are,” Theo murmured, touching the corner of the woman's plinth and looking past the manicured bushes to the somewhat closed-off section, the trees and bushes serving to turn it into an imitation of a clear in the woods. Looking down, he saw something a little more disturbing than crumbling graves. “Bloody hell, watch your step, Grimshaw. There's a dead body here.”

Requesting Circle Murders encounter!

[Third on the Match]

Ritual Murder Scene

Element: Early morning, fog-shrouded cemetery

Intent: Enigmatic

DC 3

2 complete successes:
1 potential hint

1 exceptional success:
1 potential hint

Strike or Cinder can be used

The scene is strangely serene. The victim is propped up against the foot of the statue's plinth, hands folded delicately in her lap. Her face looks peaceful, if very pale in the darkness. In the dirt a few feet away from her, the chalk lines of a mostly unbroken ritual circle are stark against the flat black marble slab serving as a gravestone for a Wilhelmina Stork. Runes have been rubbed out, the circle disturbed, but it is the most intact one found so far.

Roll Strike or Cinder to investigate the scene with one or more partners. Drop a tag and link in the #mod-request channel and tag @admin on discord to have your potential hint revealed when you gain enough successes.

[Briar Grimshaw]

Briar Cinder Investigation; 9 passes Exceptional Success

Briar enjoyed the walk, the smell of the fresh air while Gump did his own thing chilling out on her shoulder and keeping her up to date on anything that was near her feet. Her fingers played with the smooth stones she'd picked up from the path, feeling them for anything that might be useful and if she felt nothing, she'd just drop them back on the path.

Gump told her of the statue of a woman in a cloak, her head turning to it as if she could see it but she knew that she couldn't. Still, Gump told her that it was an eerily beautiful statue that hung around.

As they approach the spot, something sweet caught her nose and Gump was almost instantly ruffled and flying off to circle the area of the body, “Oh no...a woman... ” she said softly as Gump relayed information to her and she'd reach to take hold of Theo's arm, “Don't mess with the circle around her please, ” she told Theo, the sweetness gone from her as she'd walk close but stopping right at the edge of the broken circle and looked up to where Gump was soaring above.

Her brows pressed together now, her hand pulling her bag over her shoulder now to start digging into it for her powdered chalk; just in case.

[Third on the Match]

The circle on the marble slab has been activated and scrubbed out partially, so it cannot be accidentally triggered. The runes are similar to previous rituals, all connected to life, draining it and storing it in a vessel. Without the critical element of the ritualist's diary and planning, it is hard to tell which specific components were used. It is, however, easy to infer that the dead woman was the power source.

[Theo Crowhurst]

Cinder (Null) Exceptional success
Sorrows (9) One-horned Wonder

Theo cut a look at Grimshaw, arching an eyebrow at her grabbing his arm, a clear warning if she'd had the eyesight to see it. She was very much trying to teach her grandma how to suck eggs

“Step back, Grimshaw,” Theo growled, pulling his arm out of her grip and fixing her with a frown. He reversed their positions, taking her upper arm firmly and pulling her away. “You neutralise the magic before you mess about with it, for goodness sake. Make some room.”

Rather than wait, Theo placed himself in front and knelt, touching the marble slab a few centimetres away from the start of the chalk circle. In his irritation, the magic came to his fingertips quickly, the burning coal in his chest flaring hot but harmless.

Like jelly poured out of its jar, Theo felt the black goopy feeling of his nullification ability slip down his arm and onto the marble slab, spreading like an oil spill over the chalk lines. It silenced the magic, neutralising the lingering necromantic energy and then disappeared, sinking into the rock beneath it and leaving the chalk and runes intact but inert.

A curious nicker came from the overgrown bushes, a unicorn poking its head out. Looking up, shocked, Theo recognised it from the night of Beltane, skinny and deerlike, cloven hooves putting soft impressions on the dirt underneath as it crept out. Skittish, smelling death, but familiar with Theo. The iridescent horn, shot through with gold, was as beautiful as last time.

Straightening up, Theo gestured to the circle, mouth in a thin impatient line. “Have at it, Agent,” he intoned, the command clear, as he stepped away and peered at the unicorn.

Bright eyes stared back.

[Briar Grimshaw]

Briar Cinder 3 passes; Complete success (Feeling out for more info)

The warning wasn't needed for her, she knew magic but his touch made her whole body stiffen and Gump Swooped down to land on her to give him an unhappy glare. She didn't like to be touched suddenly or with no warning, it was jarring on her senses when dealing with so much going on.

Reaching for his hand with her own, she pushed it from her arm and moved a bit away from him as if he'd hit her. Briar knew that wasn't what had happened but he was breaking her focus on the scene when she lacked the eyes to see it and was relying on Gumb who was now distracted by her safety.

She took a steadying breath and knelt down on the ground outside of the burnt ring around the woman. She didn't break through it but placed her hands on the outside of it to continue to feel it.

“The woman powered the spell...what spell was used, I don't know. It ate the components like it was supposed to...so it did not fail, ” Gump moved and was silently relaying what the symbols were and she retrieved her note book and a special pen that puffed up for her to feel and started to dray the runs and the scene in front of them as well as how the circle was broken. Every detail given by Gump who hopped and flew around, she drew before daring to place her hand on where the circle had been to see what else she might notice.

[Theo Crowhurst]

Strike (Exchange equipment) Complete success

Theo ignored Grimshaw's exaggerated tug out of his grip, uninterested in whatever complaints she might have when the priority was safely processing the scene. The last thing they needed was a cursed or magically damaged agent next to a dead body, himself or Grimshaw. He couldn't be doubly cursed, but the magic didn't discriminate.

Theo's eyes were on the unicorn as Grimshaw knelt beside the now-inert ritual. It seemed to recognise him, ears flicking forward in curious interest, but it did not step out of the brush. The stench of death most likely discouraged it, alongside any remnants of the necromantic energies.

Still, as Grimshaw made her observation, Theo offered context. “It was a life-drain ritual to store her life force or soul, whatever one might call it.” Enough rituals following the same pattern, although not performed identically, made it clear that there was a method to the madness. “That's our leading theory, at least, and this one matches the pattern. These runes--” Theo stepped up to the chalk circle, tearing his eyes away from the unicorn to sweep his hand over one section, glancing at the bird. “--steal, life, store, variations thereof. The same as the previous rituals.”

[Briar Grimshaw]

He may not like that she didn't enjoy his touch but she didn't care. She agreed to come with him not to be manhandled around magical items that could harm him more than herself. “Both essentially...life has a lot of power behind it and can fuel many things...I wouldn't even be able to tell you what they might have used this person's life to fuel though without the ingredients...or what they put it into,” she said softly as she felt over the age.

“Do you have the notes on those? Maybe I can notice something that you've missed, ” she suggested. Sometimes someone else looking from a different perspective helped.

“Where did the other rituals happen? ” she asked curiously while placing the notebook down and reaching into her bag to pull out a special map that was 3D. On the sides were sets of pin that could poke into the surface easily so that she could have location markers.

[Third on the Match]

Near the scrubbed circle, hidden beneath the detritus of a winter past, are a few sheafs of paper and a discarded stone. The pieces of paper are scattered notes from some manner of science textbook, nothing of value written on them, but nestled under them is a cracked piece of onyx. It's shape has been formed purposefully, but the marks chiselled on its surface are incomplete and unclear, similar to the other pieces of onyx found at the previous scenes.

[Theo Crowhurst]

Cinder (Third eye) Exceptional success

Crouching down to search near the base of the slab of stone, avoiding the circle even if he’d washed it of all magic, Theo carefully brushed away dead leaves, fallen needles, and gravel to look at the stained but still white paper. He was pushing the dizzying pages of formulas and scientific babble aside to see if anything else had got left behind, having learnt from previous scenes that whoever was doing this didn’t have a habit of picking up after themselves.

Theo found the polished but cracked onyx seal as Grimshaw peppered him with questions. The Englishman waited for her to get it all out before he took the time to answer. Picking up the stone, he glanced her way as he spoke, smoothing his thumb over the symbol, feeling it out.

“The bodies have popped up all around the city, with no discernible pattern.” And they couldn’t rule out that they were only discovering the most recent deaths. They could link any suspicious deaths in the city to the case, but the hard evidence that could prove that had long gone. “If you want a closer look, you can put in a request for the reports in the archives.”

He looked back down at the onyx stone, squinting a little as he tried to see if there was a trace of magic on it. Theo’s nullification had focused on the circle, but although the stone had ambient remnants, nothing about it was inherently magical.

[Briar Grimshaw]

Briar sat back on her calves, taking in what he was telling her; she'd most certainly look into these. It was odd but also concerning that someone was using bodies to power magic. This had been a person, alive with a family and friends but instead had been killed to serve some purpose she could not put a finger on.

“I think I would like a closer one- is there something special about that stone? ” She often carved runes into stones and used them. It was a great conduit and often required the use of blood. Or for her it did and she was fine with it honestly.

Gump eventually landed, her hand held out for the bird as he sat on it, his head cocking to the side a bit to watch Theo while relaying what the man was doing. He was peculiar in his own way, that was for sure.

Briar Cinder 7 passes; Exceptional Success (anymore info/clues etc)

[Theo Crowhurst]

Theo looked up to see Grimshaw with her odd little bird familiar. He rolled the stone around in his hand, tilting his head as he took in the chiselled details that might become something if he paired it with the other pieces. He wondered if they'd served as vessels for something, since they'd all been broken at the scene.

“Onyx, with distinctive markings, some sort of crest. We've found them at each crime scene, all cracked apart. It's our one sure sign that they're all connected.” He tucked the stone away, deciding to work with the puzzle once he was back in the office. The police would not miss it, as it held nothing they'd find useful. “We should finish up here, I'll have to call it in.”

As Theo spoke, he stepped away from the grave marker and the body, sweeping his eyes over everything. He did not want to touch too much, wanting to leave the scene as pristine as they could for the police.