Gods & Zombies (IC)

[Dr Archeville]

Date: April 3rd, 2010 (Saturday), evening.

Temps in the low 50s, winds S at ~10 mph. Overcast skies. Moon is waning gibbous, with 75% of the Moon's visible disk illuminated.

A night like any other, or so Moira Morley thought. But soon forces would be aligning against her, pushing her to part of her greater destiny, in a showdown that could affect the very nature of life and death itself! But first, the players had to be put into place, and the battle lines drawn. Where will she go? Who would she serve? And who would she trust?

[Moira Morley]

Morley's was jampacked! It was the weekend before Spring Break ended and it seemed like everybody came there that night. A local Celtic rock band, Oghma, would be playing in about an hour. Moira was playing the part of hostess and reveler, some times at the same time. It was all good times and everyone was having fun. At the moment, she and a few new friends were enjoying themselves, trying to see who could bounce a quarter in into a mug. She almost felt sad for the college kids trying to get her drunk. Ah well, it was all in good fun.

[Dr Archeville]

As Moira wound her way through the crowds, a flare of light caught her eye. A light bulb in one of the wall fixtures was glowing brighter than usual. Being vaguely familiar with the basics of fire codes and fire hazards, she thought the light in question might be about ready to burn out, flaring up for a few moments before burning out forever.

Moira makes a mental note to fix it later, and continues acting as the Hostess with the Most-est.

Bu then she notices another one... and another... and another.

If anyone else notices them, though, she sees no sign of such in the crowd's faces.

[Moira Morley]

Moira watches the scene. Are people willfully ignoring this? This can't be right. She goes to the one where the first one flickered out and messed with it. Screwing it in to see if it was just a coincidence.

[Dr Archeville]

[bg=#000000]Well, it's about time, child![/bg] a voice burned in her head. [bg=#000000]Used to be that when we sent an omen, people would jump at the chance to interact with it. Oh, you kids today...[/bg]

She recognized that voice: it was her uncle, Apollo, god of (among other things) light. Well, half-uncle... the Olympian family tree was complicated.

[bg=#000000]Can't say much, kiddo, but I've got a warning for you: your grand-uncle Hades is up to something. But we don't know exactly what -- he's playing his cards real close to his chest this time. We do know it involves the dead, and the un-dead, so you should find someone wise in their ways to help.[/bg]

[Moira Morley]

How fortuitous, a visit from a relative. Moira smiled. She was going to go into greetings, but Apollo apparently was here on business. When she found out it was about the unliving, she gasped as an idea popped into her brain. She KNEW a zombie. Surely he could help. Hopefully he wasn't involved. Moira nodded and smiled, "[divine]We'll have to talk some other time, then? You guys hardly come around.[/divine]" She sighed and put her hands on her hips then looked around to the crowd. She'd seen how these visits worked on television before. Either that little talk was private and no one saw or the people around her thought she was crazy. She excused herself from the party going on to go get ready to meet Dead Head.

[Dr Archeville]

Meanwhile, at Lantern Hill...

A lone figure sat cross-legged in the darkness, a collection of seemingly random junk strewn about him. Thin hands arranged the components on a large cloth laid out before him, though what they were being made into was a mystery. As would be the being's mental state, if anyone overheard hims speaking.

"I know, I know, I heard ya the first time."

[bg=#000000]Then you must have heard wrong! The eagle goes on the right side, and it must face to the left![/bg]

"Yeah, yeah, on the left, facin' right. And then th' cobra goes here, an-"

[bg=#000000]No, not the cobra, the rattlesnake! Oh, you useless bag of bones! If I had legs I'd kick your ass![/bg]

The figure looked up from its work and to its side. Emerald flames shone in hollowed eyesockets. "Yeah, but ya don't. An' seein' as how I'm the only one who can help ya, yer stuck with me." The figure turned back and resumed working.

[bg=#000000]Don't remind me. Oh, what are you doing now?! The cactus goes under them, not behind them! And you've got it sideways![/bg]

"Yer a finicky one, ain't ya?"

[bg=#000000]No, I just have a solid artistic vision. But if you're the only one who can help me complete my unfinished business, we'll both be here 'till Doomsday![/bg]

"Yeah... unless, a'course, finishin' this up ain't the unfinished business what's keepin' ya here."

[bg=#000000]Wh-what? I don't know what you're talking about![/bg]

"Un hunh... okay, we'll play it yer way, fer now. I- hold up. You hear that?"

Dead Head turned and looked around, and saw a semi-familiar face in the distance. Even from several dozen feet away, he could easily recognize the (reported) daughter of Aphrodite.

"Hey, Red!," he greeted as he waved. "What's shakin'? Aside from you, that is?"

[Moira Morley]

Moira chuckled at the 'shakin' comment. Her costume did accentuate her features a little too well. When she got up to Dead Head, she curtsied before the rotting corpse that was talking to her. It was only polite, you know? Putting her hands on her hips, she looked at him sitting on the ground, "[divine]Well hello to you too. Mind if I have a seat?[/divine]"

[Dr Archeville]

The zombie shrugged, "park yerself wherever, Red, I'm sure no one'll mind. Jes' don't knock over anythin'."

[bg=#000000]I most certainly do mind![/bg]

The zombie turned from Divine and appeared to address the air, "calm down, Raul, she ain't gonna hurt anythin'." He turned back to face her, "so, what brings ya by? Lookin' ta have another chat with Freedom Angel?"

[Moira Morley]

Moira wondered who Raul was. But then again she reasoned this being a cemetery and all, Dead Head had to have some ghostly companions. She politely knelt down in a grassy area just outside of the cluttered cloth. She sat on the back of her legs with her hands in her lap and looked to the dead man sitting before her. "[divine]Well, we could make small talk or we could get down to business. Though I do prefer to get this bit of business out of the way first.[/divine]" She cleared her throat to sounds official, "[divine]I'm on a mission. Apollo has tasked me to look into about something undead going down. Seeing as I am uninformed about the intricacies of the undead, I need your help.[/divine]"

[Dr Archeville]

"Apollo, eh? Cain't say I ever interacted with any'a the Greek gods. What's he like?"

[bg=#000000]Sunny?[/bg]

The zombie shot a look at the spot near him, then turned back to Moira. "He say anythin' specific? Cain't say I heard'a any Greek critters or Hades worshipers roamin' around, but mebe someone knows somethin' they ain't told me yet."

The zombie began carefully packing up the items onto the blanket, and tying it into a neat bundle.

[bg=#000000]Hey! We are not finished here![/bg]

"No, we ain't, but you need ta think 'bout what is is yer really here fer. It ain't 'ta make a flag'!"

[Moira Morley]

"[divine]He said that he didn't know much and that some footwork needed to be done here,[/divine]" Moira said as she picked herself up. "[divine]You know about the undead,[/divine]" she said straightening her costume out, "[divine]You were actually the first person I thought about when he said it.[/divine]" She smiled and shook her head as he was still talking to himself.

[Dr Archeville]

"I 'preciate that," the Revoltin' Revenant replied, rising with the bundle of junk and giving a slight bow. "Jes' lemme get this stored away someplace safe, an' we'll get ta work."

One quick trip to an unlocked storage shed near St. Stephen's church later, and the super-zombie was ready to go. "So, you managed ta learn that teleportin' trick tha gods know? 'Cuz if not, we's got some walkin' ahead'a us. Figured we'd hit tha Greek section'a West End first."

Wonder if this's got anythin' t'do with th'increased graverobber an' cultist activity I been noticin'?