Fantasy Sir Eward's Agency for the Paranormal and Occult

[GamerCarrot]

Ross took the necklace out of Father Robert's hand, giving it a once over before putting it around his neck, he was less likely to loose it if it was somewhere he could feel it "It being blind explains why it looked at me and paid me no mind and what do you think it was warning us from?" he asked, if the ghost wasn't hostile and it only did this to warn them Ross didn't want to know what a hostile one would do to Alden and him. He was wondering exactly what the ghost was warning them about, what could worry a ghost enough to try and warn them. "So whats next Father, finding the ghost that warned us or...?"

 

[InsanEleven]

"I have no idea what it is warning us from, but it cannot be good. And the ghost should be close, that image was not just there for fun." Father Robert pointed toward the ceiling, which was now looking innocuous enough. "There must be a clue up there. Maybe even the body itself, although I doubt Jameson would leave a body in his inn."

Asking the innkeep, the two of them learnt of an attic above the floor they were on, that was rarely used. A little bit of light shone in through three small dormers on each side. Other than that the attic was dusty, aside from a few loose wooden boxes and an old bed "Like I said father... there is really nothing here of much worth, and I sincerely doubt anything paranormal." Jameson said as he looked through the attic a bit worried, the notion of ghosts in his inn clearly not making him any happier.
"It is fine, I highly reject the notion of anything being inside the inn, but if it is near it might leave a clue for us to follow. Tell me, where exactly would Ross's room be in relation to the rest of the inn?"
"Lets see... well the room is... here, so then his part would be... here." Jameson pointed towards an area just below one of the dormers, which appeared just as dull and undisturbed as the rest. "But there is nothing here?"
"It does appear that way indeed... odd"

 

[GamerCarrot]

While Father Robert and Jameson tried to figure out why there was nothing their Ross scanned the room, looking around at the dusty interior of the attic. His eyes falling onto a corner of the attic closest to the window, he turned his gaze for only a second before averting is gaze back to the corner. That's when he saw it a small, frail person standing in the corner, their flesh completely burned till it was hard and reddish. No mouth, no eyes there was nothing on it to distinguish who they once were, the image of the person made Ross step back "JESUS FUCKING CHRIST!" he practically shouted it in fear, instantly regretting his choice of words considering there was a priest in the room with him. The frail burnt person lifted their arm up to point at the window, which made Ross turn his head then back again only to notice that the thing he saw was gone. He rubbed his eyes and started looking around the room quickly trying to find where they had gone, looking immensely confused.

 

[InsanEleven]

Both Jameson and Father Robert had jumped up when Ross had exclaimed his frightened swear. But neither of them saw anything, and seemed rather confused by Ross sudden outburst.
"What is it kid, what did you see?" Father Robert said as he'd walked over to him, a hand on his shoulder trying to look for a trace of what Ross had seen.
"Is there anything here... that can't be right?" Jameson said frightened, looking for the same thing, but for completely different reasons.

 

[GamerCarrot]

"The....re...there... was a person standing right there!" He was practically stuttering, he pointed at the corner where he had saw the burnt embodiment of a human. "It looked human but its flesh was all burnt, it had no eyes... no mouth... nothing it was all just burnt..." Ross looked at the corner in disbelief, he moved away from Father Robert slightly before turning back around to face him, still in complete shock. "It pointed to the window... before vanishing in complete thin air..." Ross held the side of his head not quite believing what he saw, is that what possessed Alden? Ross's mind was all over the place, trying to get around the idea of what he saw wasn't human, it was his first time seeing anything like that and he wasn't exactly going to forget it any time soon.

 

[InsanEleven]

"The window?" Father Robert looked over toward it, a little smile on his face. "Yes, that's the clue kid, it wants us to watch out of the window. Don't worry, it's only a ghost, and if it did not want us here it would have gotten us out sooner. Come... lets see what it wants us to see."

Opening the window, Father Robert had let some fresh air in and to better get a view of the surrounding of the inn. "It cannot be to far away, but that's still quite a bit of ground." Surrounding the inn was a small, stone walled garden area, and just beyond that were fields and the outlines of trees around it. It was a quiet morning, the skies slightly overcast with here and there little snippets of blue, fairly chilly but fine overall. Nothing indicating anything wrong, but still Father Robert's eyes scanned the area carefully, looking for something out of place. "There, there's an old foundation betwen those trees. Right in front of us." The Father pointed at the distance, a good two hundred metres away, where just between the trees one could spot cobblestones laid out as a foundation. "Jameson, do you know what that building was?"
"An old mill, it was there when I was a child, but it was struck by lightning at least ten years ago, probably fifteen. But there's been nothing wrong with it, I even had the remains removed about five years ago when I got the property. It is certainly not haunted."
"Ah, but that's where you're wrong, it was certainly not haunted. Who knows what changed there since then? If there is anyone buried there recently, it is my duty as a priest to at least get them to sacred ground under God's care."

 

[GamerCarrot]

"It can't hurt to look down there" Ross had spoken up after finally calming down, "It wouldn't have pointed down there if it wasn't important". Ross turned and left the attic, with Father Robert following behind him.
Leading Father Robert to where the foundation was Ross looked around seeing the foundation, it was completely old and decrepit and round with Jameson telling them how long ago it was it didn't surprise Ross much that it looked this way. Next to the old foundation was a creek, it looked relatively peaceful from where Ross was standing but he didn't give it a good enough look before he started walking around the foundation hoping to find something of interest.

 

[InsanEleven]

The area around the foundations was calm and quiet, the trees softly swaying in the chilly autumn breeze. The overcast weather let a soft white light fall upon the green and the cobblestone foundations but other than old wood and cracked stone there appeared to be very little in the area. A gentle creek went past the foundations, where the waterwheel of the mill would once have been presumably.
"Hmm..." Father Roberts had looked around the scene but not found anything particularly out of order. "I think I am going to sanctify the grounds, if we cannot find the corpse, its ghost might leave when passage to heaven is granted. Although I would really like to find clues as to what is going on here, our priority is salvation for this particular soul."

The sanctifying of the grounds was a rather long process; first incense was spread along a wide area, the heavy smoke hanging in the moist air for a long time while it settled down on the ground. Once the grounds had been prepared, Father Roberts went around with holy water and prayers, and just like with the incense covered the whole ground in it. Setting himself in the middle of the stone foundation, he said a last prayer for the salvation of the dead. Once he was finished he looked toward Ross, putting his Bible back into his vestments.
"This should be sufficient, now,-"
A sound muffled by wet soil could be heard, deep below but unmistakably there. It resonated eerily through the quiet of the green, like it should not have been there. Tearing through the peaceful scenery, it was the sound of shivers...

Bang.

Bang.

 

[GamerCarrot]

Ross let Father Robert do his thing, not wanting to interfere with his prayers Ross kept quiet. Listening to the quiet scenery, he turned around once Father Robert had finished his prayers. That's when the noise started, Ross looked around trying to find the source of the noise "Does this normally happen when you do that?" the sound sent a shiver down his spine, still trying to find what the sound was. He knew it was below then it was just a matter of where.

 

[InsanEleven]

"Not usually no... which means I'm going to need more material to deal with this. Ross, are Alden's belongings still in the inn? I know he's prissy about his possessions, but I need a black briefcase numbered with no. 5, if you can't find that take 2 or 6. And bring a shovel, I'll try to weaken the creature with prayer in the meantime."

 

[GamerCarrot]

"They should be, I didn't bring them with me when we came to see you... I'll try and get back here quickly" as Ross said that he was already running towards the inn, it was quite the distance away but Ross managed it. He ran into the inn, not having time to talk to Jameson. He rushed up stairs and to his room, unlocking the door and opening it. He looked around the room finding "Now lets find that case Father Robert was talking about." Alden's suitcases were sitting against the wall in numerical order, kneeling down to look at them all. He grabbed the black case and looked at its number "Found you, sorry Alden broke one of your rules... oh well he'll manage." he stood up again, suitcase in hand. He quickly left the room and locked it again before heading back down the stairs to return to Father Robert. He didn't want to run just in case the latch on the suitcase came loose and its contents spilled everywhere but he did quicken his pace, grabbing a shovel that was in the stables near the inn before he left the area completely.
When he finally got back to the foundation he approached Father Robert "Got the suitcase you wanted..." he held it out to Father Robert, letting him take it so that he can do whatever he was planning to do with it.

 

[InsanEleven]

"You got some legs under you son, that's for sure..." Father Robert had been interrupted in his prayers, but he did not seem to mind as there was clearly haste to be made for this case. Grabbing the shovel and the suitcase. "This will be a crash course on treating the undead I am afraid, but it will do. Thank the Lord Alden keeps his things neatly in order." He put the suitcase on the foundations and opened it. Inside several metal stakes were kept in a glass container, filled with fluids. There were several other paraphernalia including vials filled with liquids and a gun with round bullets lined up in different types.
"Prepared as always, very well. We only need the stakes and some of these alchemic reagents in the ideal case, but if things go south the gun will do a good job of saving us." Father Robert took it out, looking at the bullets and mumbling to himself while picking out the one that would work most effectively. "See this," he held up the round bullet made of copper. "Drenched in a solution that wards of the paranormal energies that move the undead. Or that's what he called it last time anyway... next we have the stakes. We need this one." The father picked up a rather big one shaped like a cross that was kept in a vial of a green tinted liquid. "Same thing as the bullet, according to Alden's theories the cross has something to do with pacifying religious influences around the paranormal, he can probably explain it better to you, but I like having the Lord on my side when we fight the undead. Lastly, a tincture that serves to pacify the undead. All of this should mean we're in the clear. If things go wrong, grab the gun or the shovel and just whack or shoot it in the head. Don't hold back, from how it reacts it might be a darker occurrence than just the dead fallen out of God's grace." Father Roberts loaded the gun, holding on to it for the time while they went to dig up the grave of whichever creature they had encountered.

With the soft, moist ground it was not too bad to dig up the grave, the shovel hitting something with the clank of metal on metal. "A shallow grave, unordained... kept in iron. How odd." Father Roberts remarked as he wiped the earth away around the still banging grave. "Yes we know, you're a rather busy fellow, we're going to fix that soon. Help me drag the coffin out, son, I'm not the youngest anymore after all."

 

[GamerCarrot]

"He's intelligent I'll give him that." Ross said kind of amazed that Alden had done this kind of work and had a solution for practically every paranormal case that he came across before Ross had even met him. "Why a coffin made out of iron? I get its a pretty strong metal but what purpose does it serve for the paranormal."
Ross moved to help grab out the coffin, since it was made out of iron it was slightly more heavy than the iron he was used to hauling around. "So that's why Alden didn't want me to touch his stuff... heh makes sense" he said as he hauled the coffin completely. "So... want me to open it or are you going to do something to it first?" He asked not wanting to touch the coffin till Father Robert told him to do so.

 

[InsanEleven]

"Yes he is, such a waste the boy got denied, even if what he does certainly appears to work just fine. Anyhow... coffins like these are made to keep the dead in, to protect from the undead. This one worked just fine for that, although it makes me wonder if someone put whomever is in here in with that particular purpose in mind. And look at this, the same symbol again." Father Robert pointed toward the coffin, on which in faded red paint was drawn the symbol of the circle with the eyes. "I surely hope that is only red paint, although my gut tells me otherwise. And for this part I require your aid, pick up the shovel for me." The father had taken the stake and broken the vial on the stone of the foundation. He held it in place, looking for the right height to do it. "Straight through the heart, as always. It severs the connection to whatever Godless energy keeps the body moving."

"Alright son, I need you to give it the hardest whack you have in you. Don't worry, Alden keeps his stakes sharp and sturdy, it should get through in one or two good hits. Just make sure it's over in one go."

GamerCarrot

 

[GamerCarrot]

Ross gave Father Robert a look of confusion when he said Alden go denied "What do you mean by denied?" Alden hadn't mentioned anything like that and Ross knew he probably won't answer him if Ross asked but Father Robert seem willing to answer Ross's questions about Alden and the paranormal. He grabbed the shovel and moved closer to Father Robert, holding the back of the shovel against the end of the stake "Heh guess being a blacksmith has its uses in the paranormal" he chuckled a little bit before lifting up the shovel "Watch your fingers Father I'd rather not have to take you to a doctor" as he said that Ross swung the shovel down with as much force that he could muster hitting the stake to pierce the coffin it was resting against.

 

[InsanEleven]

With a loud sound of iron hitting iron, Ross slammed the stake into the coffin, piercing it straight through in one hit. The occupant on the inside seemed to have figured out it was dead after this stern reminder, stopping the knocking nearly immediately. Meanwhile father Robert said his last prayers of passage, pouring the tincture Alden had prepared over the cross, seeping into the hole to make sure that whatever was in there remained still.
"Good job son... and I'm not surprised he didn't tell you, but if you have to know, Alden has some... trouble with the clergy so to speak. He proposed that science was the better way of dealing with the paranormal, that it should be researched and classified. I can't quite find it to disagree with him seeing what he knows and has done, but the liturgy at the moment feels threatened, exorcism is their last firm grip on the souls of people. Alden, even if his way clearly works..." Father Robert pointed towards the now still coffin to make the point clear. "... got expelled from the college, effectively excommunicated. That's why he hasn't had a job yet, we get his assistance occasionally for the right price, but it hasn't been easy on the boy. Now shall we find out who our mystery guest is that has been dying to meet us?"

The father had begun to undo the latches on the iron coffin, occasionally having to whack them off using the shovel when they were too rusted to budge. When the coffin slowly released, a stench of death followed, a little bit more with each hatch.
"This one has been here... a while... there should be some masks in the briefcase son, get them before it becomes uncomfortable."

 

[GamerCarrot]

Ross covered his nose and mouth with his hand, the stench was beyond unbearable he moved over to the briefcase and opened it up with his other hand. The pieces of equipment in the case made him wonder what exactly worked on what and how Alden came to create all of this. He grabbed two of the masks that Father Robert spoke of and closed the briefcase. Walking back over to Father Robert he handed him one of the masks whilst he put the other one on. "Alden doesn't really discuss personal stuff with me that's why I didn't know, but I agree with you his methods clearly work.." He said, he didn't mind if Alden didn't want to talk about his life but he was enjoying learning just little bits about him from Father Robert, he thought Alden wasn't much of a person to reveal his life story to a complete stranger that he only met a few days ago.

 

[InsanEleven]

"If I hadn't been there when it happened even I wouldn't have known, Alden is not someone who talks about himself, sometimes that's for the best... other times I feel he's too lonely for his own good. But enough about Alden, lets figure out who it is in here." Father Robert had put on one of the masks over his nose and mouth, which were scented with peppermint extract exactly to make the stench of this all bearable. Opening the last latch he gestured for Ross to stand back, taking out the pistol and aiming it before using the shovel to lever open the coffin. With a loud thud on the soft grass and moist earth, the gnarly contents were revealed: what had rested within the coffin being the small frame of a not so recently deceased person. Deformed so badly it was unclear whether they were female or male. The hardened skin had slightly mummified as it had been kept in a rusted shut closed container.
"It's just like the others, this is the third one already." Father Robert remarked as he still aimed the gun but came a little closer to inspect the frame of what was once a person. Without scavengers able to eat away at the corpse it was left in this slightly decayed state, the dark undertone of the burnt skin ghastly but mainly intact. "We suspected these weren't undead, but something referred to as soulless. A body without a will, in this case, tortured out... then something evil, something ungodly takes them for their own purposes. When done with them, this is what is left. A burnt husk, no mouth, no eyes, nothing... and in this case the soul must have eventually tried to get back to it." The hardened skin of the burnt boy had indeed tightly pulled over any and all orifices, like a dark red sheet pulled tightly over their skeleton. "I'm going to see if I am correct about something, the other corpses had the same oddity going on." Still aiming the gun the father took out a small knife, cutting into the face of the now dead soulless. Opening the burnt eyes, it was revealed there were none. "You see, in a normal body the soft parts decay quickly; tongue, eyes and genitals, so it would not be too surprising for a corpse not to have eyes... but if they were burnt shut and the outside is unattached, this means the eyes were removed either as, or before they were a soulless. Remember the symbol with the scratched out eyes? It seems our evildoer has an obsession with them. Why we do not know... but for now, lets bury this poor child and return them to the hands of the Lord. They deserve better..."

The funeral rites were simple, father Robert having closed the coffin again and placed it down in the grave, dug a bit deeper this time. With his bible and holy water he lead the rites giving the corpse a proper burial this time, instead of an unmarked grave. With the last bits of sand covering them again, a makeshift wooden cross was placed upon them, tied together from the last bits of old wood lying around the foundation. It was not spectacular, nor truly worthy, but it was a grave and words of comfort to the dead.
"Hopefully this is enough to lead them onwards, I will try to track down the family once everything is said and done. Place this child in a good grave, but for now it should suffice. Let us go back son and deal with Alden." Father Robert had tapped Ross on the shoulder and returned everything to the briefcase, closing it again to take back with him before walking back to the inn expecting Ross behind him.

 

[GamerCarrot]

When the coffin opened and Ross saw the gory scene with in caused him to cover his mouth in complete shock and disgust that someone would do this to a mere child, he was angry at who ever did this but mournful for the poor child's parents and for the child itself. He watched in silence as Father Robert buried the child once again being left in a kind of depressed state of mind which he quickly snapped out of once Father Robert tapped his shoulder. He kept standing at the grave and squatted down placing his hand on the grave itself with a sort of somber look to his face. He waited for a bit before speaking up "Sorry kid... rest in peace.." he spoke quietly before standing up and dusting the dirt off of his hand before walking to catch up to Father Robert. The whole walk back to the church Ross had stayed quiet, strange considering how chatty he usually was, his face was expressionless too busy caught up in his own thoughts to really show much emotion.

 

[InsanEleven]

It hadn't escaped Father Robert that Ross had been quiet, and just before they had entered town he had given him a little pat on the back.
"Hey son, you did well back there. I know these kind of things can be difficult, but we are helping the victims by finding them. They rest within the eternal care of the Lord, you can take solace in that." Father Robert shared a knowing look and a nod with Ross, hoping to have perhaps lightened the burden of the situation, even if he also knew it would take a while to come to terms with it all. "The evil cannot be undone, but it will be lightened with every little bit of good we do here. Don't let it drag you down, drag it out instead."

After what amounted to a small pep talk, they entered town and the church. Opening the heavy oaken door to the kitchen, a familiar figure could be seen in a most unfamiliar manner. Rather unkempt, with only a dress shirt and trousers that didn't fit the usually impeccable viscount of Gravesend. Brooding over a steaming cup of tea sat Alden, clearly not amused but his mind heavy and foggy from the morphine still. It took him a while to fully grasp Ross and Father Robert entering, and when he did he just mumbled a good morning that clearly was more out of habit than meant. It didn't look like he was having a particularly good morning either.

"Good morning Al... I didn't expect you to get up already..."
"Oh he would not have, but I am afraid I woke him up monsieur Robert. I hope you forgive my intrusion." A heavy French accent spilled from the side of the kitchen, and the woman to whom it belonged appeared like she took no mind to the heavy and dark. Black clothes more tight than any the English countryfolk would wear, and a good bit more practical too. If one walked the streets often that was... although something about the way she held herself would tell the more keen eye that she walked on more than just streets, men and creatures of the dark mostly.
Setting herself down on the table beside Alden in a fashion that left just enough to the imagination, she looked over Ross and Father Robert.
"You have found a new... how do you say... visage... how interesting, Katherine Baillard," she stretched out a ladylike hand for Ross to shake, but every reach with her would be more than friendly, dragging the secrets of men out through their desires alone.

 

[GamerCarrot]

Once Father Robert had spoken it lifted Ross's mood slightly his mind was focused on the possibility that it could've been one of his younger siblings had they lived here, thankful this wasn't the case "Thank you Father" he felt slightly better about the situation earlier. He had wondered how many times both he and Alden had come across this type of situation, where children were the victims. He also was curious about their first case in the paranormal but figured that was a time for later

Once they had walked into the church and once he saw Alden just sitting there, he felt all worries about just lift up from his shoulders but his attention was changed to the woman speaking to Father Robert. With her hand offered to him, he gently took it and bowed in respect bringing her hand close to his lips a planting a small kiss on her knuckles "You are quite the beauty to behold Lady Baillard, the name is Ross Forrest a pleasure to make your acquaintance." he looked up to her and spoke politely, returning back to standing up straight.

 

[InsanEleven]

Miss Baillard gracefully took Ross's kiss on her hand with a smile before turning to Alden.
"It is quite the eh... charmeur you have found, do you not agree Al." When she looked at him, Alden had just mumbled unhappily in his tea but not gotten much further than getting the sound of being displeased right. The words still needed working on. With a little make-belief concern Miss Baillard stroked Alden's hair out of his face. "Ah... you are not happy. Pourquoi petit voyante... n'est-il pas à vos goûts?" She was quite the actress, not even fazed when Alden gave her the death glare from under his tea, just smiling her innocuous smile.
"Je sais avec certitude qu'il n'est pas à votre goût." This time words did seem to match his expression and tone, but Miss Baillard just laughed it off, even more amused by it all. Turning back to Ross she continued.
"Do not mind Al, it is the morphine. He does not like it." A very frustrated sound from Alden over his tea seemed to confirm that, although one could wonder if it was Miss Baillard he was more frustrated about than the morphine. "But, messieurs, have you found anything?"

Behind her back, Alden had shot Father Robert an annoyed glance, which was answered with a look of understanding followed by an amused shrug. This all had caused Alden to just continue drowning himself in his morning tea.

 

[GamerCarrot]

From Alden's expression and tone Ross could only assume he said something close to how he sassed him back when they were travelling here, which made his lips curl up slightly in amusement but he quickly changed his expression so that no one noticed "That's perfectly alright I don't mind in the slightest" he replied to Katherine. He shifted his gaze to Alden's hands specifically his fingernails trying to see if they had healed a little, he seem fine holding the cup although that could still be the morphine in his system.
His smile turned grim once Katherine spoke up, they had found something not that he was super happy about speaking about that child again he turned his head to Father Robert "Uh... yes we did..." he sounded like there was something caught in his throat which he quickly coughed to recover his normal confident voice "But I'm sure Father Robert could give you a more detailed description as he is more experienced in the field" He spoke again gesturing to Father Robert, he was still inexperienced so he doubted he could describe exactly what happened and the cause.