Menaces and Mysteries: A Fallen London RP (closed, started)

[IFS]

"To do that, we need you to tell us everything you can. Every little bit can help, and even the smallest detail can bring us that much closer to tracking down the culprit, do you understand?"

The sobbing priest nodded and took the handkerchief, blowing into it a few times before speaking. He seemed somewhat reassured by Edward's words and spoke more clearly than before, though his weeping did not cease entirely. He looked back and forth between Edward and Priscilla as he spoke, occasionally stopping to blow his nose again.

"It, it was a clay man, unfinished," the sobbing priest spotted Mickey and let out a fearful squeak, but after a moment continued "I woke near the forgotten quarter I think... I, I don't remember exactly where, I heard horns and ran. The... there were men with the unfinished, spirifers, they had spirifer's forks, some of them were armed, they... I think they were afraid of the unfinished."

Spoiler: Spirifer's fork

A spirifer's fork is a tool used in the taking of souls from their owners, how it works or how one comes by one are mysteries.

The priest collapsed back into sobbing at that point, the thoughts of his ordeal being too much for him to continue speaking.

"So I'll speak to you instead. What did happen here? Is there anything not earlier mentioned that is of note? Because someone must be lying, right? This whole thing is rather ridiculous, after all."

"As far as I know he isn't lying," Simon said, he frowned for a moment "Though the Vicar managed to get more out of him, sadly he had to leave to attend a seminar after writing the letter to the department, he did seem rather angry at him, it seemed rather unwarranted to me though."

Simon glanced back at the sobbing priest and sighed, shaking his head "Poor man, God willing you'll be able to recover his soul," he glanced about before turning back to Thomas, speaking in somewhat hushed tones "Can I trust you to do the right thing with any other souls you might find? What I have in mind isn't exactly legal, but..."

Simon was interrupted by a cab halting outside the church, a pair of constables stepped out of it and knocked at the door, or rather what remained of the front door, before entering. Simon turned to face them, slipping a note to Thomas and whispering "take them to this address, please."

The two constables were both stout individuals, one short and one tall, neither looking too pleased with what they saw. The tall one seemed to be in charge, with the short man following his lead and eyeing each of the group suspiciously.

"Ahem!" the tall constable said "I regret to inform you lot that the Ministry of Public decency will be taking charge of this crime scene, by request of Mr Pages himself."

"So you Dept. fellows can scatter!" the short man said, a bit too gleefully.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Otherwise, I am Ezekiel Viktor Faustus Goldschmidt-Schirmer, or Viktor, currently an investigator of the Department of Menace Eradication. Pleased to met you."

"Oh look at the manners on this one," the deviless muttered to herself, then spoke to Viktor "A pleasure to make your acquaintance Viktor."

The amused devil nodded "Likewise," he said, the portly one grumbled what could be interpreted as a greeting. They paused while Viktor fished out the newspaper clipping.

"Know anything about a soul-devouring Unfinished Man?"

The amused devil chuckled and raised an eyebrow questioningly, the deviless frowned and the portly devil muttered something discourteous.

"No, I suppose I heard rumors though," the devil said, "An agent of the department investigating such a matter though? Very interesting," he turned to the deviless "Have you heard anything on the matter?"

"I had heard stories of a spirifer gang acquiring some muscle not long ago," she said, smiling slyly at Viktor "Information has a price though..."

"Hmph, he's getting away," the portly devil muttered, looking off into the distance presumably for their quarry "What has he got to offer anyways?"

 

[Texas Joker 52]

Edward M. Cutter, Esq.​

Edward nodded encouragement as the sobbing priest took the handkerchief he had offered and promptly used it to blow his nose before speaking. While it didn't do much to help his watery face, it certainly helped him speak a little clearer.

"It, it was a clay man, unfinished."

After a moment, he spotted Mickey and squeaked in fear, causing Edward to wave a placating hand.

"You needed worry about Mister Mickey, he's with the Department as well, and isn't a threat you you, Father." he said, his tone understanding and gentle.

It was a moment before the priest continued.

"I woke near the forgotten quarter I think... I, I don't remember exactly where, I heard horns and ran. The... there were men with the unfinished, spirifers, they had spirifer's forks, some of them were armed, they... I think they were afraid of the unfinished."

Edward nodded again, and this time gently patted the poor man's shoulder. "Thank you for telling me what you can. Don't fret, Father, we will find this Unfinished Man and bring him to justice, and if we can, we will return your soul to you." he told him.

He had begun to stand up when there was a knock at the front doorway. The big-game hunter stood and picked up his bush hat, placing it back atop his bald scalp before stepping forward with a frown. It appeared to be a pair of constables, one short and one tall, and they sized up Edward and his comrades when they entered.

After looking at one another for a moment, then the taller of the two spoke.

"Ahem! I regret to inform you lot that the Ministry of Public decency will be taking charge of this crime scene, by request of Mr Pages himself."

The shorter constable took his friends lead and piped up himself at that. Frankly, Edward didn't like his tone.

"So you Dept. fellows can scatter!"

Frowning a little deeper underneath his bushy mustache, he stepped forward in front of them and eyed them both. All the while, he clasped his hands behind his back and stood at his full height, ending up a few centimeters above the tallest of the two.

"This seems highly irregular, gentlemen. I imagine you have proper forms and documents for this? In fact, I'd like to check your badges." he said firmly.

 

[sage42]

Priscilla had crouched next to the priest has be told his story, hoping to coax him into telling more of his story, when he just went back to blubbering she sighed. Well it seems this poor bastard was only the victim, and we won't be getting much more out of him. Shame the Vicar is out. She thought turning her gaze to Simon. A shame indeed. She was about to question him when the other constables burst in. They seemed to believe they took order directly from one of the Masters of the Bazaar. Fools, none but the highest of an order even hear of the Master's, and you think to throw Mr. Pages name around, hoping to get scraps from the adults table. She frowned then. Fine, you'll get scraps, but only what we choose to feed you.

She walked to stand by Sir Cutter a smile forming on her face. "Now now gentlemen, if you are indeed here to take control of the crime scene, then you must know that what we face here falls directly in to jurisdiction of the Department of Menace Eradication. A fact Mr. Pages in no doubt aware of. But we seem to overlap, so why not co-operate? After all, two heads are better than one as the saying goes, seven must be able to crack this in no time." she suggested. And perhaps we'll be able to lure out this soul-eater with a few unsuspecting fools

 

[Texas Joker 52]

Edward M. Cutter, Esq.​

Edward was taken aback when Priscilla had stepped forward and smiled.

"Now now gentlemen, if you are indeed here to take control of the crime scene, then you must know that what we face here falls directly in to jurisdiction of the Department of Menace Eradication. A fact Mr. Pages in no doubt aware of. But we seem to overlap, so why not co-operate? After all, two heads are better than one as the saying goes, seven must be able to crack this in no time."

If he was perfectly honest, this entire notion of the Ministry of Public Decency, and in fact one of the Masters of the Bazaar, becoming involved with their investigation smelled like the most rancid kind of fish to him. He saw no reason to give an inch to them, but since Miss Glass decided to let them in, cooperatively, he could hardly protest. She seemed to have a better idea of what she was doing than he did.

So, he played along.

"Very well, Miss Glass. Still, I can't help but wonder what interest the Ministry of Public Decency, and this Mister Pages, would have with our investigation. In fact, I was unaware that either had anything to do with the Church, Clay Men either Unfinished or otherwise, or even the soul trade," he pointed out with narrowed eyes.

He kept his eyes on the two constables before him before giving Miss Glass a questioning sidelong glance.

 

[DarkRawen]

"As far as I know he isn't lying. Though the Vicar managed to get more out of him, sadly he had to leave to attend a seminar after writing the letter to the department, he did seem rather angry at him, it seemed rather unwarranted to me though. Poor man, God willing you'll be able to recover his soul,"

Thomas listened, although he wasn't particularly good at piecing together the information he had gotten. Still, he narrowed the details down, apparently this Vicar bloke knew more about what had happened, and it had made him angry at the soulless priest. Great.

What the bloody hell do I do now? This is useless.

However, it appeared that Simon wasn't done talking, as he glanced around. Thomas knew what kind of glance that was, one of a man who was about to say something he wasn't supposed to.

"Can I trust you to do the right thing with any other souls you might find? What I have in mind isn't exactly legal, but..."

Thomas growled, annoyed. Typically. There was always some bloody request, wasn't there? They should get that he wasn't a very generous or soft-hearted man from how he spoke to them, yet they apparently didn't give a damn. However, he had no reason not to do it this time around, unless it was far away. Besides, a priest requesting something illegal, Lady Poet might want to hear about that.

"Take them to this address, please."

He pocketed the note without looking at it, and nodded.

"Fine. But it better not waste my damn time." If the priest was about to reply further; he didn't get the chance. Two blokes entered, one somewhat tall and the other really short, and claimed this was their job now, and that they should leave. Thomas felt himself growing more and more angry and though some of the others of the group tried to speak to the constables, he finally snapped. In a very swift movement, he grabbed the shorter of them, and lifted him up, holding him against a wall. He had been the smug one of the two, after all. He ignored whatever efforts the people before him had made at working together with the two, and instead glared at the two constables, looking back and forth between them.

"Stay the bloody hell out of this, else I'll break your neck! I'm not in a good mood, so don't think I'll hold back!"

He didn't consider the possible consequences of doing so, as Thomas was bound by his anger, unable to stop himself from lashing out like this.

 

[Quintley]

"I regret to inform you lot that the Ministry of Public decency will be taking charge of this crime scene, by request of Mr Pages himself."

Nigel dithered anxiously in the background. From its experience, constables were never good news. Particularly name-dropping ones. Nigel had no qualms with leaving the church for now - it had learned as much as it could from the debris, and it seemed like Moustache and the Glass lady were handling matters diplomati--

"Stay the bloody hell out of this, else I'll break your neck!"

Nigel edged towards the back of the church and ducked behind the pulpit.

 

[SamtheDeathclaw]

"Well, Ptolemy, I don't believe I am related to this other Pottinger. In fact, I'm certain that I'm the first in my family to have set foot in London. At least the first in a long while. As for where we are, we've arrived at the cemetery. And, by the looks of things, we're not alone. Think we should take a closer look?" the man replied, smiling at Ptolemy's barrage of words. It seemed Ptolemy had chosen well.

"Ah! A surfacer then! Tremendous, tremendous, come 'round to the Singing Mandrake some night and we'll listen to some of your tales, eh? Those literati honey-sippers are always open to hear about the surface. The sun and skies and clouds and whatnot." Ptolemy cleared his throat, and looked around a bit.
"The cemetery? Hunting spirifers, then, I should imagine. They do like their dankness." Ptolemy trailed off, glancing about.
"Perhaps we could talk to those gents?" Ptolemy suggested, waving a paw towards the digging bunch. "I should hope you're armed, though. I am certainly not."

 

[IFS]

"Fine. But it better not waste my damn time."

Simon smiled and muttered a quiet thanks before moving to the sobbing priest, helping him up and walking him back towards the room he had been in before. The appearance of the constables having upset the man further, or so it seemed at least it was hard to tell. Simon threw a confused glance over his shoulder at the constables but said nothing.

"This seems highly irregular, gentlemen. I imagine you have proper forms and documents for this? In fact, I'd like to check your badges."

The tall constable frowned at this, but pulled from inside the pockets of his uniform both a badge and a number of papers, all very official looking. Some of the papers even bore the signature and seal of Mr. Pages, if they were forgeries it was impossible to tell.

Spoiler: The documents

The documents mainly consist of the forms and orders dealing with securing the church, the wording is elaborate and meandering making it harder to read and some words you can't be certain are actual words. Its all very official looking and includes a particular clause about 'remoking alternative branches of the law from the premises'.

Spoiler: Details watchful individuals might notice (or perhaps persuasive individuals with enough knowledge of the rhetoric in such official documents)

The language of the documents quite clearly matches the peculiar manner of phrasing that Mr. Pages employs, and few have the daring and skill to produce skilled forgeries of the signatures and seals of the Masters. The documents themselves all seem to be perfectly in order, even excessively so. That said it would have taken some time to push all of them through the bureaucracy of the Ministry, the fact that they seem to have been procured so thoroughly on short notice, not to mention the various personal attentions in them by Mr. Pages seem to indicate that this matter was of some importance to him.

"Now now gentlemen, if you are indeed here to take control of the crime scene, then you must know that what we face here falls directly in to jurisdiction of the Department of Menace Eradication. A fact Mr. Pages in no doubt aware of. But we seem to overlap, so why not co-operate? After all, two heads are better than one as the saying goes, seven must be able to crack this in no time."

"Very well, Miss Glass. Still, I can't help but wonder what interest the Ministry of Public Decency, and this Mister Pages, would have with our investigation. In fact, I was unaware that either had anything to do with the Church, Clay Men either Unfinished or otherwise, or even the soul trade,"

The Tall constable spoke first "Mr. Pages requested we take control of this site from you, said it was 'inveigling the darker scriptings of journalists.' His order is the only authority we need to seize this site, and I would ask that you leave quickly, the public deserves better than being unduly stressed by reporters taking your presence as confirmation of some soul devouring menace."

The short one snorted in displeasure "The wishes of the masters is none of their business, we showed them our credentials why don't they do the sa-"

The short constable was interrupted and yanked off his feet by Thomas, his words turning into a yelp of surprise. He struggled vainly against the larger man as he was lifted off the ground, flailing wildly and slapping ineffectually at Thomas.

"Stay the bloody hell out of this, else I'll break your neck! I'm not in a good mood, so don't think I'll hold back!"

The tall constable's hand went immediately for the rifle slung on his back, raising it to aim at Thomas.

"Put him down!" he barked "I'll have you all thrown in New Newgate for this!"

No sooner than the constable had raised his weapon a woman's voice could be heard from outside "Ooh, inter department hostilities! Delightful don't you think?" she said, stepping through the doors followed by a well dressed and rather grumpy looking man. She was dressed rather oddly herself, sporting a sporing bonnet and a brightly colored dress, clutching a small red notebook in one hand and scribbling furiously into it.

"Here I thought this would be simple; get some notes, write an article about 'ten steps to an unappetizing soul' and be done with it," the man said, sounding annoyed by the whole affair.

"This is none of your business journalists, clear the premises immediately!" the tall constable barked at them without turning his gaze from Thomas. The short constable sputtered audibly and continued his flailing, his temper switching from surprised to angry quite quickly as evidenced by the hue of his face.

 

[Texas Joker 52]

Edward M. Cutter, Esq.​

Edward promptly took the forms and badge that the taller constable produced, reading them over with a steadily raising brow. The documents were... Strangely worded to say the least. Now, he considered himself to be an educated, well-read man, but he wasn't certain that half of the words that he read were proper words at all, but he managed to read between the lines and interpret that they were there to prevent the press from writing anything dangerous regarding the incident, and they had the power to 'remoke' them from the premises. Even with the unusual term, that was clear enough: They could simply tell any other branch of law enforcement, and the Department of Menace Eradication clearly qualified for that, to piss off.

His mustache seemed to twitch a little as he frowned, then handed the forms to Miss Glass, who was if nothing else the intellectual lead, if not the de-facto leader of their part of the investigation. As soon as he handed them over, the tallest of the pair decided to explain their task in more detail.

"Mr. Pages requested we take control of this site from you, said it was 'inveigling the darker scriptings of journalists.' His order is the only authority we need to seize this site, and I would ask that you leave quickly, the public deserves better than being unduly stressed by reporters taking your presence as confirmation of some soul devouring menace."

"Even if it happens to be true?" Edward asked with a small huff.

"The wishes of the masters is none of their business, we showed them our credentials why don't they do the sa-"

As the short constable tried to speak, it seemed that Thomas had had enough. The man simply grabbed the constable by the front and lifted him up with a snarl.

"Stay the bloody hell out of this, else I'll break your neck! I'm not in a good mood, so don't think I'll hold back!"

Things only devolved further from there. The other constable barked out orders to put his partner down, all while drawing the rifle slung across his back. And within another moment, a new voice rang into the church.

"Ooh, inter department hostilities! Delightful don't you think?"

Edward stepped forward, but paused as he glanced at the doorway. A woman, wearing a bright, colorful dress and a bonnet stepped inside, along with a much more foul-tempered looking man, who spoke up not a minute after in irritation.

"Here I thought this would be simple; get some notes, write an article about 'ten steps to an unappetizing soul' and be done with it,"

It was clear that the rifleman was going to have none of it.

"This is none of your business journalists, clear the premises immediately!"

At that, the big-game hunter strode forward and placed a hand on the rifle, forcing the constable to lower it while his other hand grasped the man's shoulder in a crushing, iron grip. Once the rifle was pointed to the floor, he leaned forward so that his face was centimeters away from the constables, and his expression could only be described as restrained hostility.

"You'll want to put your rifle away, constable. This is a church, and we will cooperate as Bazaar law requires. But it's best that you don't anger Sir Thomas further. Or me, for that matter," he said dangerously, keeping his voice low.

When he let go, he turned to Thomas and shook his head.

"Let him go, Sir Thomas. It isn't worth the trouble, believe me," he told him softly.

 

[sage42]

Priscilla took the papers from Sir Cutter and read over them herself. She almost couldn't believe they were trying this. Yes it look official and like the real thing, but whomever had told them this was on order from Mr. Pages had failed to take into account of the vast bureaucracy of the Bazaar's Masters. Nice try dog's but you are far from sitting at the adult table. She opened her mouth to inform the gentlemen of their mistake, when Thomas took action. Her eye twitched as the situation quickly spiraled out of control. Because of him. Again.

And then the journalists came into the picture. PERFECT! YES LET'S GET THE PAPARAZZI INTO THIS THAT'S A WONDERFUL IDEA! She screamed in her head. What a time for them to show up. Thomas acting the brute, the constable leveling a rifle at him and threatening him with New Newgate. She sighed. Perhaps I can at least get some damage control on this situation. Why did that fool have to intervene? She wondered as she put another smile on her face and approached the woman with the notepad.

"Excuse me miss, but this is a crime scene and I'm afraid we are in the middle of a very important.......discussion. If you would be happy to accompany me outside, I'd be happy to provide you with an interview. I promise on my honor as a lady and as a fan of the truth that you shall get the full story." She promised the reporter putting a hand on her shoulder. Or at least the truth that I choose to reveal to you.

 

[sage42]

(Whoops, double post. Ignore.)

 

[Green Shoes]

Mickey quickly concluded that the group needed no further inspection of the flakes in his hand, and he quickly clapped them together; dispersing them in a cloud of dust. Confirmation that it was indeed an unfinished clay man didn't have much of an impact on him, though he did hope it was considerably smaller than himself. Noticing growing commotion outside, and the negative attention it drew, he attempted to be proactive, and quickly sauntered over to the door.

As Priscilla assured one of the journalists of an interview, Mickey placed himself between the priests and their interviewers, and the two journalists that had barged their way through. His face completely devoid of emotion, he simply stood and continued to rotate and adjust ever so slightly, so as to continue to obscure the interview.

Locking eyes with the journalist, he said nothing. He was simply a wall to divide the two groups, and any attempt to step past him was not going to end well.

 

[Tortilla the Hun]

Ptolemy, Aidan quickly realized, was quite the chipper chap. Nothing would crush his spirited sense of adventure, at least for the time being. The chemist was almost tempted to take up the rat's offer for sharing drink and stories. But he hadn't time for it. There would never be time for anything of the like so long as he was stuck in the Neath. He wouldn't say it outright, and casually dismissed the offer. "I'm afraid I didn't arrived armed, though I think we can make do should things go awry."

Not entirely confident in his own idea of a contingency plan, Aidan still proceeded to approach the peculiar group. He did so with caution, of course, as the last thing he wanted to do was startle any of them. The man stopped with a bit of distance from the crowded grave, only getting within earshot before slinking behind an upright gravestone. "We're in no hurry to introduce ourselves, right?" Aidan whispered. "Might as well just see what the commotion is about first, wouldn't you agree?"

 

[SamtheDeathclaw]

"Mmm, my good chap, I'm not much of one for sulking about, I fear," Ptolemy said, in his best attempt at being quiet. Ptolemy has got quite a set of lungs. Come with the whole, "talking rat" territory, really. "Perhaps a more... Direct approach, mm?" Ptolemy leapt off Aiden's shoulder, and down among the grass.

Ptolemy cleared his throat, and put on his best uneducated slumrat voice.
"'scuse me, gents, but my friend here's looking for a spirifer, and I can't find hide or hair of one in this whole bloody city. You seem like worldly gents, eh, so, uh, help a bloke out? Be a few pence in it for ya."

Ptolemy knew where the find a spirifer. Several, in fact. They hung out in Veilgarden sometimes, feeding off the destitute literati and honey-sippers, but they wouldn't know about a job like this. Most of them were honey-sippers themselves, snatching souls off the destitute to fund a honey habit. This was... Perhaps not organized, but not just a seized opportunity. Ptolemy stopped thinking about it, and prepared himself to run if the shadowy figures turned out to be bad guys.

 

[DarkRawen]

"Put him down! I'll have you all thrown in New Newgate for this!"

Thomas just growled in reply, while he noticed the rifle, he wasn't about to calm down. Because the rifle was pointed at him, it made him more angered, and he squeezed harder, making it clear that he wouldn't let go "just" because of a rifle. It wasn't his bloody fault everyone made him angry today! Pointing a damned rifle at him wasn't going to do anything else than get someone killed, either this guy, or Thomas. Possibly both, if Thomas got angry enough to attack, and was shot right after. But who bloody cared?

Suddenly, however, he noticed the rifle wasn't pointed at him anymore, and calmed down, slightly. Then Cutter spoke, a soft tone to his voice as he did.


"Let him go, Sir Thomas. It isn't worth the trouble, believe me,"

Thomas narrowed his dark eyes. Why was this bloke getting involved? However, he calmed himself further, finally letting go of the small man -from that height of course- and went up to Cutter, looking at him, but not talking, just making sure the bloke didn't have more to say. Then he left. He would have gone outside, but the clay man was blocking that entrance for some reason. Probably just to spite him. Or because of the journalists, one or the other.

Nevertheless, Thomas chose to go further away from the group, leaning against the wall as he breathed heavily, angered but not lashing out anymore. From there, he kept an eye on what was going on.

 

[IFS]

"You'll want to put your rifle away, constable. This is a church, and we will cooperate as Bazaar law requires. But it's best that you don't anger Sir Thomas further. Or me, for that matter,"

The tall constable simply glared evenly at Edward, though he slowly relaxed as Thomas set the short constable down, stepping back from Edward but keeping his rifle lowered. The short constable stood and caught his breath, leaning against the church wall and muttering unkind words under his breath.

"Our duty is to the well being of the people of London," the tall constable said to Edward "The truth on this matter has yet to be confirmed, and to continue to spread this hearsay would only promote hysteria."

He glanced over at the short constable, who had now finished catching his breath, he shot Thomas a murderous glare but walked back over to his partner wordlessly. He began to speak again but paused as Simon emerged from the room, the sobbing priest remaining inside, he frowned at the sight of the drawn rifle and at Thomas for having lifted the short constable. His expression softened somewhat though when he noticed Nigel behind the pulpit.

"Are you alright?" Simon asked, extending a hand to the rubbery man and raising his voice as he spoke again "There's no need to hide, I'm certain these men know better than to commit violence in the house of the lord."

"Now as I was saying before you and your fellows will vacate the premises immediately," the tall constable continued "we will forgive your assault this time, but we will not be so lenient in the future."

The short constable smirked, his gaze wandering over them but lingering on Thomas.

"Excuse me miss, but this is a crime scene and I'm afraid we are in the middle of a very important.......discussion. If you would be happy to accompany me outside, I'd be happy to provide you with an interview. I promise on my honor as a lady and as a fan of the truth that you shall get the full story."

Mickey soon moved to block the journalist's view of the proceedings, though the woman leaned back and forth trying to peek around him. The well dressed man sighed, meeting Mickey's gaze with a calculating look in his eyes before rolling them and shaking his head.

"Oh that would be delightful, don't you think?" she replied, ignoring her companion's disdain "Come now Miles, lets wait outside."

She tugged on the man's sleeve to get him to follow her and the two stepped out of the church, waiting to speak with the group.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"'scuse me, gents, but my friend here's looking for a spirifer, and I can't find hide or hair of one in this whole bloody city. You seem like worldly gents, eh, so, uh, help a bloke out? Be a few pence in it for ya."

The men paused, muttering confused and surprised among themselves for a few moments before one of them ordered the others to go see who it was. The one continued digging, the other two moved closer through the mist, bringing their shovels with them.

"We're just digging graves sir," one of them said "Don't know nuthin' about any spirifers."

"If'n you're looking to lose your soul," the other spoke up "I'm sure the fellows at the Brass Embassy would be happy t' take it off yer hands."

The two both laughed at this, and held their shovels somewhat menacingly, it was rather clear that their business was not that of gravediggers. They were still far enough away that most features couldn't be made out through the mist, though they both were clearly rather large individuals.

Spoiler: Watchful details

The glint of a ring can be spotted through the mist, one of them is wearing a brass ring on his left hand. Possibly this indicates some allegiance to Hell, though it could simply be the mark of someone attempting to look more bold.

 

[Terratina.]

"Information has a price though..."

"Hmph." Viktor muttered. The bandaged gentleman was somewhat like a rat (no, not that kind of rat) being played with by a group of cats, cats with diabolical stares. Some Echoes, some souls, what would the Devils accept? Souls could be easily amassed if one knew where to find them, the normal kind were only a mere four pence at the Bazaar; regardless the ones Viktor had weren't the more valuable brilliant type of souls and he was sure that at least one of the Devils would take offence at being offered such trash. There was the hat on his head and the monocle, but he couldn't see a reason for the infernal beings in front of him to desire those, or his cane. It was somewhat of a pity that the Tomb Colonist had already lost his own soul... 'Thrice-d--mn them.' He cursed.

"Name it." Viktor uttered, "Unfortunately, there is one price I cannot pay since one of your own has already acquired my soul."

 

[IFS]

"Unfortunately, there is one price I cannot pay since one of your own has already acquired my soul."

"Well I don't suppose you've got someone to hand over for a hunt," the portly devil said "Looks like our current prey's escaped."

"Oh we'll track that one down quickly enough," the deviless assured him, thinking carefully on the portly devil's words for a few moments "I suppose that could work as payment, would have to be someone strong though, we could use a challenge."

The amused devil smirked "They needn't even know of course, simply lead someone appropriate here," he said "But then we should give you other options shouldn't we, this clay man does intrigue us as well..."

"Speak for yourself," the portly devil muttered.

The amused devil ignored him "If you agree to bring us all the souls it has touched that would also be acceptable," the devil said "Bringing the Clay man itself would be even more delightful, I would even say we might be in your debt then."

 

[Quintley]

"There's no need to hide, I'm certain these men know better than to commit violence in the house of the lord."

Poking out from behind the pulpit, Nigel sighed and gave an exaggerated shrug. It wasn't exactly reassured. The constables seemed able to restrain themselves, but 'Don't Bloody Touch Me' seemed to be going out of his way to get into trouble. Nigel had no intention of getting involved in a fight, but unfortunately a squid in a dress didn't exactly scream 'innocent bystander' (perhaps lilac just wasn't Nigel's colour).

After balefully staring around the group to see if anyone made any other sudden movements, Nigel pressed an interesting shiny rock into the priest's hand (as a thank-you for his hospitality, and an exchange for the candelabra it'd 'acquired' while nobody had been watching) it headed off to wait outside.

 

[Texas Joker 52]

Edward M. Cutter, Esq.​

The constable only backed down once Thomas finally lowered his partner, though he took the time to shoot an even glare at Edward for interfering.

"Our duty is to the well being of the people of London. The truth on this matter has yet to be confirmed, and to continue to spread this hearsay would only promote hysteria."

Edward nodded once.

"I understand, particularly since we happen to be special constables in the employ of the Department of Menace Eradication, so our duties are largely the same: To the people of London. Which is all the more reason to let us investigate quietly, and stop this current menace, whatever it may be, as swiftly as possible." he told him mildly.

At that, he straightened his vest and reached up to adjust his bush hat, while casting an approving gaze at Thomas for restraining himself. He noticed that Miss Glass was currently occupied with the members of the press, while Mickey was acting as a living barrier between the priests and press. It took him a moment to notice where Nigel, the poor lad had seemed to disappear to when one of the priests found the Rubbery Man and reassured it that it was safe.

"Now as I was saying before you and your fellows will vacate the premises immediately, we will forgive your assault this time, but we will not be so lenient in the future."

The hunter turned to the constable, then nodded.

"Gentlemen, my lady, I believe we have other matters to attend to. Shall we?" he asked, motioning to the doorway.

Before he exited, however, he strode over to the Clay Man and patted Mickey's arm.

"Good job keeping those two journalists from getting to the victim. He hardly needs more trouble." he said, smiling up at him underneath his mustache before he turned to the front doorway and headed out.