[The Smoke-Darkened Hills] Ye Heralds, Ye Prodigies

[Alexandra]

Violet Ingram


She raises one shoulder a little in a noncommittal fashion.


"I only have the notes I took myself with me; there's far too much in his office to carry about. I figured with a little application of the internet I could start piecing things together...he had an unorthodox way of connecting things."


She pauses for a moment as though unsure if she should continue.


"Grandfather was a member of the Mecklenburg Society, and from the correspondence I gathered up it seems he and a number of other members all entertained an interest in these weird...happenings. So even if we can't go the the police, we're certainly not alone here."

 

[Inquisitor]

Geoff Cardin





"Then if that's the case, shouldn't we go searching for this society? I bet they know more than we do. Doubt we can afford to not give it a shot at this point..."

 

[Teh Frixz]

Jen Pyon


"The what? Is this some occult thing. Like the Thule society? Thats probably why all this is happening. Seriously, gaze not into the abyss lest the abyss gaze back. You really want to go tangle with a cult? At least we know light fucks these things up, people tend to be tougher to hurt."

 

[Alexandra]

Violet Ingram


She purses her lips at the use of the word "cult".


"The society is a charitable organisation, at least on paper, and Grandfather seemed to only be in contact with a couple of them about this kind of thing. So I wouldn't like to go jumping to conclusions."


She pulls out her smartphone, opening her notepad app.


"I think it would be smart to arm ourselves with information on whatever they may have been researching; we'll get better answers if we can ask the right questions."

 

[Inquisitor]

Geoff Cardin





He grunts lowly, glancing at Cosgrave. "I'd like to think snooping through a dead man's things is beyond me, but if it's what we have to do to figure out what the hell is going on here... Well, we might as well get to it."

 

[Teh Frixz]

Jen Pyon


"I'm off today...the Dean has been really weird lately and she's giving me a lot of time off. I'm free to go do something. Maybe grab a coffee first or something. I don't want to look like a creep or something."

 

[Grey]

Cormac Cosgrave





"I'm quite sure approaching a secret society so soon would indeed be a poor move," Cosgrave opines. "If I might get a look inside your grandfather's office, Ms. Ingram, I believe I might dig up something to better arm us going forward."


He shrugs, adds; "We can't really make a concrete plan before then... short of leaving town."

 

[Inquisitor]

Geoff Cardin





"Somehow I expect we'll be up for a long time tonight if we start researching now. We'll need a lot of coffee..." He groans outwardly. "I don't need another sleepless night..."

 

[Alexandra]

Violet Ingram


Flicking through her lists on the little screen, she finds the name.


"A woman named Esmi is who Grandfather was writing to; Esmenet Pollock, in his rolodex. She's the director of the society. He had a half-finished letter in his typewriter; seemingly they were concerned with the nature of the recent fires."


She scrolls past the fires, back to the collection of odd figures in folklore.


Field Man. Tommy Rawhead. The Jersey Devil. Cryptids in British Colombia. Raven Mocker. The Hill Dwellers.


She blinks at the list. Any of these could be related to the shadow.


"You major in film, don't you, Jen? Because my aunt will be full of questions if I just turn up unannounced with all of you...."

 

[Teh Frixz]

Jen Pyon


"Yeah but why does that matter? I mean I don't mind answering questions, after all" she stands a bit straighter, clearing her throat, "I like to think of myself as a bit of an expert." She grins, shrugging


"In all seriousness though, just tell her we are in a class or something together, can't that work?"

 

[Alexandra]

Violet Ingram


"I really don't think so; Aunt Stella isn't stupid, and I'd prefer to not lie outright. I've already mentioned to her that some members of the faculty are still interested in Grandfather's research, so arriving with people won't really be an issue. However, she might take an interest, or offer to help, and I can't exactly tell her we're looking for references to some kind of evil shadow creature. She'll be expecting some kind of reason for everyone to be there, and if it's for some kind of obscure research that she would have no real understanding of, then all the better."

 

[Grey]

Cormac Cosgrave





"Hardly even a lie at all, then." Cosgrave points out. "We'd appreciate the access, Miss Ingram, though I know you owe us nothing. I imagine you can leave all this, escape, if you so chose."

 

[Alexandra]

Violet Ingram


Her mouth twists a little.


"If my Grandfather was actually on to something, then I suspect New York has its own monsters. Besides; my aunt would never willingly relocate, and I don't like the idea of abandoning her."