Grave Encounter

[Tauer]

The night was dark, the moon was full and the stars were out to play.
But something stirred amongst the graves of ye olde cemetery way.

As you pass by the cemetery you hear a single voice, accompanied by the sound of digging. A faint light is seen through the multitude of headstones and trees that have taken up residence here. Why would someone be out here at this twilight hour? Which also begs the question: Why are YOU out so late?


{This will probably be a mild, fun interaction/adventure for 1-2 daring folks but who knows where it could end up! HAHA.

Don't forget to post your equipment, if any. Enjoy!}

~ Tauer

[Neko]

::Neko was out wandering the streets at night. She couldn't sleep so she had decided to go on an unofficial "patrol" of sorts just to kill time. As she passed by the graveyard she saw the faint glow coming thru the trees and heard the sound of a voice.

That's probably not good...

It could be some drunk, she supposed, but the chances of that were slim. Sticking as much as she could to the shadows, she tried to move closer as she looked for a tree to climb to get a better view. ::

((Wearing her armor, kunai, sword, the Kestrals on one arm, and one of the communication bracers on the other, with the extra tucked away just in case. In other words, her current standard equipment))

[Tauer]

As Neko moved towards the light she found that tree she was looking to climb. A little ways ahead she could see the back of an extremely slender figure, dressed in what appeared to be pirate-type attire, including a tricorne - the traditional three-cornered captain's hat. The light that had drawn Neko into the graveyard originated from a lantern that the skinny figure held aloft, illuminating the immediate area.

Come on, you skellywags. The figure - assumed male - said in a jovial and somewhat theatrical pirate voice. Put your spines into it.

In front of him a rectangular hole was being dug by two masked figures; both dressed in identical black-and-red outfits, with two-"horned" hats of the same color and skull-like masks. Their costumes very much gave them the look of spooky court jesters.

On the ground, next to the spirited dictator, rested a large oak chest, big enough to fit a small child in. It's lid was closed. It's contents unknown.

[Neko]

::Well that confirmed it. Not a drunk. Or at least not just a drunk. Apparently someone was looking to bury their treasure in one of the gravesites. It was a good plan, she thought, as freshly turned dirt would go mostly unnoticed here as people would assume it was just another burial.

She considered interrupting them, but quickly dismissed it. She might learn more by watching first from her perch in the tree. And if they left the chest behind, she could always dig it up later. Instead she took the time to watch and more closely examine the people there. Both the "Captain" and his strangely dressed workers. Looking for weapons, indentifying markers, possible weaknesses. Anything that may help her. She also took another look at the chest to see if there was a visible lock.

She was curious, but not enough to jump in just yet... ::

[Tauer]

The captain wore a cutlass at his side - in true pirate form - and two more of the same weapon lay on the ground beside the hole, next to the pile of freshly dug dirt. The chest was facing away from Neko so she was unable to see if there was a lock.

The diggers stopped digging as their shovels hit something, something made of wood.

Aha! We've struck gold. The captain cried, joyfully. Come on, you scurvy dogs, let's open up that box and introduce us to our newest recruit... The skinny pirate skipped over to the headstone and read the name upon it, to make certain he hadn't misremembered the name. ...Colin Heron!

The two jesters scraped away some more dirt before trying to pry open the coffin lid.

[Neko]

::Her brow furrowed in thought.

New recruit? Perhaps those weren't masks on those two "people" afterall...

If this was Necromancy, she needed to step in now before they added another to their number. But first she needed to up her advantage a bit...

Drawing one of the Kestrals, she aimed a throw at the lantern the Captain held aloft. Her hope was to put it out to take advantage of the darkness it would bring. Besides, there was always the chance the flame would catch the oil and this fight would be over before it began... ::

[Tauer]

Neko's throwing blade struck it's intended target and the captain, in his moment of sudden shock, let go of the lantern. The glass shattered and both oil and flame combined as it splashed onto the large chest. The captain cried out, panicking. They were under attack but he couldn't let his "treasure" burn. The two crewmen scrambled out of the grave and started throwing loose dirt over the chest to put out the flames.

In the light of the dying flames, Neko caught a glimpse of the captain's face...

His skeletal hand reached for his cutlass, which he waved about wildly.

Who's there?! Show yourself, you dastardly fiend!

(And his crewmen for future reference )

[Neko]

((Aw, Pirate Jack!))

::Neko kept her perch in the tree branches as she summon the Kestral home to her. In the flash of fire she had seen the Captian's face and realized there was more necromancy involved than she had originally guessed.

Drawing her Kunai, she aimed a throw at one of the "Jesters" heads. Now that they were aware someone was here the attack may show her location, so she hoped the it would help even the odds up more before they came for her. ::

[Tauer]

The Kestral embedded itself in the side of the crewman's skull as he - or maybe she, it was difficult to tell a clothed-skeleton's gender - was bent down, lobbing dirt at the now partially-burnt chest. But the harlequin crewman didn't go down like Neko may have hoped. Instead, now the fire was out, the two jesters stood tall and peered out into the darkness, searching for the knife-thrower.

HEY!

The captain didn't seem to like his crew being attacked this way - or any way, for that matter. But his own courage subsided and his personal safety was of the highest importance. So he withdrew his cutlass, wrapped his arms around the large chest and hauled it and himself into the dug grave.

Get in the hole, morons!

The crewmen obeyed the order and jumped in with their captain, who called out to their assailant.

Hold you fire! We have been given permission from the town guard to dig this grave. This is all legal.

The captain pulled out a piece of paper and waved it around in the air.

[Neko]

::Legal necromancy?

Now she was confused... She worried constanly about being lynched by the people of this town if they saw a shadow so much as wiggle in her presence, yet here was someone performing necromancy and it's all supposedly on the up and up?

It hardly seemed fair to her, but if what the Captain said was true, she had to let it go...

She hopped down from her perch in the tree to a careful crouch on the ground. She hesitated, expecting them to attack now that she had blown her cover. If they do not, she rises and walks towards the grave with a questioning eyebrow raised and her hand extended to the paper. ::

[Tauer]

Another lantern flared to life, appearing as if from nowhere, as Neko made her cautious approach. The good Captain placed it on the edge of the grave to fight back the darkness of the night. The scene before the feliness could have been described as comical; three skeletal pirates standing in a hole, their heads tilted up at an angle and barely able to see over the rim of the pit they had dug. Plus one of the crewmen still had the Kestral protruding from the side of it's skull.

Ah, much better! Now I can see you, young lady. And good thing too! You could have had someone's eye out.

It was an odd thing for the Captain to say seeing as all three pirates' eye sockets were black and void of actual eyes. The Captain handed over the piece of paper somewhat hesitantly. He tried to keep a straight face but Neko detected a hint of worry in that bony visage.

Upon looking over the paper, Neko may not have been able to help wondering if the Captain had made a mistake. The piece of paper was nothing more than a shopping list:

Bread
Milk
Eggs
Sugar
Balloons
Party Hats
Recruits
Piñata
Large Bowl
MORE Recruits
And a Wooden Spoon

Beneath the list was the signature of a one Captain Sharjan D'Poe.

[Neko]

::Neko summoned the Kestral from the crewman's head and sheathed it as she looked over the list with a confused look. She saw recruits mentioned on the list...multiple times even...but saw nothing about approval from the Sentinels, unless...

Turning the paper towards the "man" in the hole, she points at the signature at the bottom and arcehs an eyebrow in question... She had not heard of this man before. Was he this "man's" Captain, or a Captain of the Sentinels? ::

[Tauer]

The Captain's face looked a tad more anxious as his hopes of the cat-woman being illiterate seemed to burst. His empty eye sockets looked to where the feline was pointing on the piece of paper; to the signature. The Captain's skeletal visage beamed with delight; his pride began to swell and his ego couldn't help but get in the way of the deception. His limber body clambered out of the hole, where he gave a quick twirl before placing a bony hand over his heart and raising his other arm up in the air.

'Tis I! Captain Sharjan D'Poe, at your service!

The Captain gave a deep bow, sweeping his hat from his head and out to the side.

I must admit I am almost a stranger to these kinds of situations. I rarely get caught.

Oops. Once again, D'Poe, you speak before you think!

[Neko]

::So this "man" was Captain D'Poe, and he apparantly had lied about being authorised by the Sentinel's to perform Necromancy. Dispite his amusing overeagerness, the Captain seemed to have steered his ship up a creek without a paddle. The question now was how to deal with the situation. She had not restraints to hold even one of them, much less all three. And they were in the middle of the Cemetary, far from wandering guards...

Neko crossed her arms over her chest, still holding the paper. She stood there tapping her foot impatiently as she looked down at the "men" in the hole as she thought about her options and hoping the Captain would spill more in the silence she gave as a response. ::

[Tauer]

Captain D'Poe's mother had given him that look many times when he was considered 'alive', which brought out the feeling of shame and the need to explain himself out of the hole he'd dug himself in to (or, rather the hole he'd ordered his crewmen to dig for him).

Please, miss, don't turn us in. We've been doing this sort of thing for years now! Oops again. Probably not the smartest thing to say. Dig, dig, dig. I mean, we've fallen on hard times lately. My ship has been reduced to sail with a SKELETON crew. Bom-Bom! The Captain paused and waited for the inevitable laughter. No? Ok... Tough crowd. Anyway, I need to replenish the numbers i've lost and I was kind of hoping that I wouldn't get caught, since I run a very important trade vessel and can not afford to delay the transporting of her cargo. So, pretty please, do turn a blind eye. Or better yet! Why don't you give us a hand.

Sharjan looked at Neko with hope in his heart.

We were going to have a party later to celebrate.

Puppy-dog eyes?