After about an hour of meditation, Miyuku goes through her regular stretching routine before getting dressed and checking in on Miren before breakfast.
As with the day before, Nace wakes up early. He falls into his morning routine, donning his familiar UConn hoodie and heading out for a run. The air is cold, but he warms up quickly with the exertion and his warm attire. He takes in the early morning sights - the town is quiet. It’s almost like he can imagine the place is deserted, but for the occasional sight of a fellow early riser.
He is deep in thought when he turns a corner and spots Coyote. He slows up. ”I didn’t peg you for an early riser,” he says with a slight grin.
Seeing Nace, Coyote stands up and walks lazily over from the curb where he had been sitting, munching on half of a slimy-looking sandwich.
"Oh, you know... guess I'm full of surprises. That's the line, right?"
He reaches into the pocket, pulling out the other half of the sandwich and offering it to Nace.
"Egg salad?"
Nace tries not to grimace at the sandwich. ”No thank you.”
He looks pensive for a moment. ”You seem to know a lot about… things. Depending on how this meeting goes, we might want to get your thoughts on what’s been going on. I think we were gonna catch up later, but do you want to head back with me now?”
Nace tries not to grimace at the sandwich. ”No thank you.”
He looks pensive for a moment. ”You seem to know a lot about… things. Depending on how this meeting goes, we might want to get your thoughts on what’s been going on. I think we were gonna catch up later, but do you want to head back with me now?”
"Uh, meeting?" Coyote takes a bite of half-rotten egg salad, and continues, chewing as he speaks.
"I mean, I can tag along, but I kinda make people want to leave, if you catch my drift. Your call, man."
Tossing what's left of the sandwich over his shoulder onto the sidewalk, Coyote reaches into his jacket, removes a flask, and takes a long slug of its contents. He taps a cigarette out of its pack and places it in his mouth.
"Speaking of knowing s@#@, I was gonna ask... Some serious bad mojo rolled through town last night, and I thought you might want to check it out, given your, uh, particular set of skills."
Nace starts walking back toward the inn. He begins to feel the cold as his sweat cools and his heart rate lowers, but he tries not to show it. ”What do you mean? Something you saw?”
”And yeah, the three of us have to see about the guy who hired us to find that ring.”
Nace starts walking back toward the inn. He begins to feel the cold as his sweat cools and his heart rate lowers, but he tries not to show it. ”What do you mean? Something you saw?”
”And yeah, the three of us have to see about the guy who hired us to find that ring.”
"Didn't see 'em, more like... smelled. Or something like that."
He pauses to light his cigarette, then continues.
"Ever heard of a psychic vampire? Pretty f#&&ing serious on their own, but I clocked a whole pack of them on the move last night. Three, maybe four, I'd guess."
Nace skips a step at this remark. ”I shouldn’t be surprised that vampires are a thing. What makes them psychic?”
"Ffff... OK, gotta back up here. Vampires are over here..."
Coyote motions to his left, then to his right.
"Psychic vampires are over here. Totally different. Keep forgetting you kids don't get out much... So, anyway."
He takes a drag from his cigarette, exhaling a cloud of smoke before continuing.
"Vampire's a dead body possessed by an evil spirit. Usually, but not always, the original owner. Live off of human blood, but if they're really hungry, they'll just rip you to shreds and eat you like pulled pork. Super fast, super strong, more often than not got the IQ of a brick. Like to fly solo, maybe with a couple cultists tagging along. If you run into a pack of 'em, you've got bigger problems, but that's not important right now. Damn near indestructible, but you can kill 'em with fire or direct sunlight.
"Psychic vampires are a whole other ballgame. First off, they're not undead, they're living people. Probably started out having a little of the juice, like what you and me got, but after that, they went off the deep end. Tapped into some kind of s@+# welling up out of the dark corners, if you know what I mean. Turns 'em into, I dunno... a junkie crossed with a supernatural predator. They can read your mind, make you do s$!&, then suck the life energy right out of your body. You do not want to mess with these f#@$s unless you have to. Deadass. ¿Comprende?"
”We’ve seen a lot of crazy s&!& here, so I maybe this little postcard town attracts them somehow.” Nace looks deep in thought as he rounds a corner and the inn comes into view. ”Have you dealt with a lot of these things before? You know, fought them?”
”Have you dealt with a lot of these things before? You know, fought them?”
"Regular vampires? Yeah, couple times. Not super fun... These guys? F&~# no. Way above my pay grade."
Nace approaches the inn. ”This is the place. I’ll let Miyuku and Miren know you’re here. I just gotta shower before I go, but you could hang back here until we come back.”
Coyote hangs back a bit outside the door to the inn.
"Yeah, no worries. I'll be around. By the way... this meeting thing? Probably best if you don't mention to anyone that I'm in town. Better safe than sorry."
"You sure? You're welcome to come in... take a load off... take a shower... you know..." Nace does his best not to imply anything with that last bit.
"Nah, I've got a spell for that. Besides, you don't wanna know the kinds of things that can crawl out of your shower head."
Coyote finishes his cigarette, tosses the filter over his shoulder, and immediately lights another.
"Been meaning to ask--there wouldn't happen to be a library around here, would there?"
”Probably.” Nace pulls out his iPhone. He starts to Google for a library. ”Actually - you have contact info? I can text you later.”
"Those things are f@*&ing dangerous, man," Coyote says, pointing at the iPhone. "What I just said about shower heads? Same thing applies. Plus, electronics tend not to work great around me. How about this: I'll either be here, or at the library, or at the gas station, and if I'm not any of those places, I'll find you."
”Fair enough,” Nace says, taking his leave to get ready.
The egg salad lies uneasy on Coyote's stomach as Nace stretches a bit to get the kinks out of his muscles. The dawn slowly brightens into early morning, as the day warms up past the frosty start to a chill sunny start.
Saturday, October 24rd, 2020
After about an hour of meditation, Miyuku goes through her regular stretching routine before getting dressed and checking in on Miren before breakfast.
Miyuku feels well stretched and calm as she pads quietly to Miren's room
After a long, uncomfortable pause, Coyote looks over his shoulder, then claps his hands together.
"Alright, good talk bro." He hooks a thumb over his shoulder. "I'mma be over at the library. Cool? Cool."
Coyote turns on his heel and walks in the direction of downtown Halifax.
The Halifax Library is a classic brick building that has seen better days. To one side is a frankly creepy bronze statue of a woman with a floppy hat with the legend ‘Pollyanna’. At some point it must have been an impressive place, but neglect and decades of light vandalism have taken its toll. Several of its windows sport plywood instead of glass. Crude spray paint tags, not even the artistic style you see in more urban settings dot its foundation stones. Trash collects in the corners and weeds grow in the cracks. However, it is open for business, and there are people about
Making a mental note to ask about the statue at some point, Coyote walks into the building and begins looking to see if there's a "local history" section.
The inside of the library is in better shape then the outside. It has been kept up. The design is very classic 19th century- all wood and ornate ornaments and carvings. The place smells of old books and wood polish.
The librarian isn’t what Coyote would have thought for a place like this. Instead of a greying old woman with glasses on a chain a skinny goth with purple spiky hair sits at the main desk. She sports normal-looking clothes, but looks uncomfortable in them. Tattoos peep out from collars and cuffs. A pair of green eyes look up from a copy of Into the Wild.
“Can I help you?” She says in a local New England accent
Meanwhile, Nace goes back into the inn to prepare. He showers and shaves; for some reason he feels compelled to look at least somewhat presentable for this meeting. He dons a collared shirt and his least ratty jeans. Satisfied, he seeks out Miyuku and Miren.
The inside of the library is in better shape then the outside. It has been kept up. The design is very classic 19th century- all wood and ornate ornaments and carvings. The place smells of old books and wood polish.
The librarian isn’t what Coyote would have thought for a place like this. Instead of a greying old woman with glasses on a chain a skinny goth with purple spiky hair sits at the main desk. She sports normal-looking clothes, but looks uncomfortable in them. Tattoos peep out from collars and cuffs. A pair of green eyes look up from a copy of Into the Wild.
“Can I help you?” She says in a local New England accent
Coyote's eyes narrow behind his sunglasses at the sight of the librarian (and the book), but he does his best to act as normal as possible.
"Yeah... I was wondering if you had any books on local history? I was passing through, and thought I might, you know, educate myself."
He looks around at the ornate wooden shelves and plastered walls.
"This is one of the Carnegie libraries, right?"
The librarian looks up, her green eyes narrowing as well. Coyote gets a feeling she’s not an overly friendly librarian type
“Local interest is that stack there” She points a long black-nailed finger towards a section of the library with several large framed photos
“Yeah, it’s one of his. His self-imposed penance for being a plutocrat”
Meeting up with Nace, Miyuku considers their next steps. "So.. any thoughts on what we should do now?"
Saturday, October 24th, 2020
The three gather at the common room of their hotel and partake of the complementary danish and coffee. The day had dawned chill, a bit of mist wreathing the outside hills. Now as the morning progresses the day is warming into a classic New England clear Fall sunny day. The foliage is still spectacular, but starting to fade a bit as the month slides slowly towards November.
”Well, we have a meeting with our employer. The whole thing makes me uneasy, but we did what he asked us to do, and we have no reason to doubt him. Do you think he’s just a collector of these kind of relics?” Nace wonders.
"I doubt it...a collector definitely, but more than just some rich hobbyist." Miyuku replies. "Maybe he'll be a bit more forthcoming in light of our success."
”He seems resourceful - useful to know, probably dangerous to cross. Are we ready?”
The librarian looks up, her green eyes narrowing as well. Coyote gets a feeling she’s not an overly friendly librarian type
“Local interest is that stack there” She points a long black-nailed finger towards a section of the library with several large framed photos
“Yeah, it’s one of his. His self-imposed penance for being a plutocrat”
"Alright... I'll, uh, take a look, maybe take some books over to one of the reading tables, if that's OK."
Coyote edges over to the local interest section and begins browsing through the titles, looking for anything that might be relevant to what's been going on around Halifax.
"Alright... I'll, uh, take a look, maybe take some books over to one of the reading tables, if that's OK."
Coyote edges over to the local interest section and begins browsing through the titles, looking for anything that might be relevant to what's been going on around Halifax.
The librarian shrugs
“That’s what they’re there for”
”Well, we have a meeting with our employer. The whole thing makes me uneasy, but we did what he asked us to do, and we have no reason to doubt him. Do you think he’s just a collector of these kind of relics?” Nace wonders.
”Should we give him a call - set something up?” Nace suggests.
"Yeah, I'm sure he's expecting us to. Might as well get down to business." Miyuku replies, considering their options.
Nace pulls out his phone and dials the number he was given.
Nace dials the number. After two rings a neutral female voice answers
"White Rose Incorporated. Crystal speaking. How may I assist?"
”This is Nace Bishop, looking for Mr. Thatcher,” Nace says.
“Mr Thatcher is not available at present. I can relay any message to him and you will have a reply within the hour sir”
Nace’s cop ears hear a very competent and engaged office functionary. Likely the claim of rapid response is genuine
”We have an update for him. He knows what this is regarding,” Nace replies.
“Very well Mr. Bishop. We will give you a call within more instructions shortly “
The functionary hangs up. Nace doesn’t have long to wait. About a half hour later his phone rings and he and his party are invited to lunch at Jonathan’s home at noon
[dice="Knowledge (Occult)]1d20+7
[dice="Knowledge (Religion)]1d20+7
[dice="Intelligence]1d20+3
Coyote flips through a stack of books. Some are quite old. Halifax has a large collection of musty tomes, and they don’t seem to get rid of much. His only companions this morning are the librarian and a dozing man in shabby clothes who nods over a National Geographic.
Halifax seems to have had an interesting history. It was an early trading post with the natives and French. At one time there was a small village named Saint Louis Dubois along the Nobcusset River. During the early 1600’s this village was razed to the ground and abandoned. The details are murky, but the archaeological tome Coyote perused thinks English settlers were to blame.
During colonial times Halifax had a schizophrenic reputation as a phenomenally lucky and cursed town. Farms and businesses would prosper for years, merchants would grow fat, then some natural disaster would come and blight the area. Then it would all happen again.
There seems to be a lot of occult occurrences in the area. Far more than a rural sleepy burg like this should warrant. Ghost sightings, cryptids, UFOs, Men in Black. The town has mention of them all.
Nace tells Miyuku of the appointment. ”So how do we want to approach this? Seems straightforward, but we should be careful.”
"Yeah, I mean the most we can do is show up, expecting that we might be walking into a trap. Maybe one person stays back to send help if they don't hear from the others after a set time?" Miyuku suggests.
Coyote’s eye for patterns among the stories in Halifax’s past picks up a few things. Things seem to happen in a nine-year cycle with a 27-year epicycle of extra intensity. Something big usually happens in or around the town at that point - and it’s usually pretty bad
Coyote’s eye for patterns among the stories in Halifax’s past picks up a few things. Things seem to happen in a nine-year cycle with a 27-year epicycle of extra intensity. Something big usually happens in or around the town at that point - and it’s usually pretty bad
Coyote sits back in his chair for a moment, pondering the pile of books and newspapers he's accumulated.
"Well, f!@@," he mutters under his breath.
Standing, he makes his way back to the front desk and its standoffish occupant.
"Uh... you wouldn't happen to have a copier I could use, would you?"
The librarian points to a corner of the library. There is a set up with several carrels with microfiche readers, computer desks, a fax machine, and a copy machine