R - Dire - IC

[Pyro]

Friday, October 26th, 4:06 PM

The sun shone brightly in its descent to dusk, though the day was cool and crisp, and the tiny town of Woodbury was winding down for the evening. The weather forecast showed a similarly seasonal weekend, perfect for fall activities like pumpkin picking or hayrides. Town Hall would remain open only for another hour as several inhabitants and visitors made their last rounds of business in the multifunctional building. What few employees remained on the clock were anticipating the time to reach 5:00, either with eagerness to leave work and return home for the weekend, or with dread that they would not be kept busy and fall into the laziness of free time.


One of the employees who looked forward to the weekend was one Roman Bell, the front desk receptionist. Roman had enjoyed his day at work, as he normally did, but was also an enthusiast of spending long hours on the couch watching tv or doing the Sunday crossword in the newspaper. He sat comfortably in his desk chair, reviewing the appointments set up for Monday's business hours, paying little mind to the otherwise occupied visitors, when he noticed a young man, a bit on the shorter side with a a noticeable lack of athleticism enter the building in a hurry to stand awkwardly in the middle of the hall, a look of confusion on his face.


“Hello, sir, may I help you?” Roman greeted cheerfully, a friendly smile appearing on his face, “If you're lost, I can direct you to any of our offices, though the mayor has left for the night...” He squinted and leaned forward. “...Wait a second...Jamie? Little Jamie Russo? Loretta's boy? I haven't seen you in almost ten years! What have you been up to, kiddo? How's the big world outside been treating you?”



…..........



Meanwhile, a strong breeze began to pick up outside, unnoticed by all within the building.

[Ma1chbox]

After hours of deep study, Nikolaj emerged from the pile of open books propped up on his desk. A quick glance at his watch showed that it was already just past 4. The priest sighed with relief. Less than an hour would still be more than enough time to make it to city hall and back. He sighed, fixed himself up, and left for the city hall, but not before locking up his study well and securely. It seemed today would be another one of those less-than-often days where the townsfolk would see the priest walking about while it's bright out.

As he exited the church and made his way onto the path, Nikolaj walked briskly, as if with a sense of purpose. He only gave the signs of the fall season the barest of attention, only noting that he would have to start wearing his coat more often soon. His face remained blank throughout the trip, save for when townsfolk would greet him, in which case, he would don a warm smile and greet them back while still maintaining his brisk pace.

Finally, he had made it to the city hall, and still with much time to spare. He fixed himself up one last time, combing down any hairs made unruly by the wind and adjusting the tuck of his clerical shirt before heading inside. There, he found the ever-present Roman Bell at the front desk. Nikolaj put on a warm smile and approached him like an old friend. "Hello Roman, old friend! Blessings be upon you, as always!" The priest took a moment to clear his throat before proceeding, but he noticed a young lad he somehow recognized standing sheepishly near the front desk. Suddenly, it clicked. "You're Jamie Russo, aren't you? Hah! Jamie! Good to see you boy, I remember when you were just yea big! Wow, would you look at you... In any case," Nikolaj said as he placed a hand on Jamie's head, "God bless you, my son."

Without even waiting for a reply from the boy, he turned back to Roman, clasping his hands together innocently. "But I digress, I have business I must attend to." Once again, he cleared his throat. "I was wondering if you could help me find the uh, the floor plans of the old church from, say... well before my time here in Woodbury. See, the tithes have been coming in rather well these past few months, and I may have finally saved enough to install a new facility! A baptistry perhaps, or-or-or maybe even an extension to the old sacristy! I fear the chapel I've been working on since my arrival to this town is still not quite what it could be... I think the faithful of this town would appreciate it greatly! A review of how the old church was laid out would be a great deal of help to my future plans, see?" As he finished voicing his request, Nikolaj cocked his head slightly to the side and shrugged his shoulders, but did not break eye contact.

[Possum-Time]

Woodbury’s town hall was a place Jamie only ever found himself in while his family still lived there when he was a kid. But going there as an adult after he’d long since moved out of town was strange to him.
He felt the cool autumn air tickle his neck as he closed the door to his car and rushed into the municipal building, his grandmother’s dog license form in-hand.
He looked around from where he stopped short in the middle of the hall, and before he could get his bearings he heard a voice come from the front desk,

“Hello, sir, may I help you?” Roman greeted cheerfully, a friendly smile appearing on his face, “If you're lost, I can direct you to any of our offices, though the mayor has left for the night...” He squinted and leaned forward. “...Wait a second...Jamie? Little Jamie Russo? Loretta's boy? I haven't seen you in almost ten years! What have you been up to, kiddo? How's the big world outside been treating you?”

Jamie’s head perked up and he looked over, taking stock of the man behind the front desk. “Oh! Hi, yeah, it’s been a while hasn’t it?” Jamie begins to make his way over, a small, genuine smile on his face, “I’ve been doing pretty good, graduated college, got a real job. How about you? Think the last time I saw you was when the Vicaris were trying to build a fence on our lawn.”

Jamie just comes to a stop at the front desk when he hears the front door open, followed by a familiar voice.

"Hello Roman, old friend! Blessings be upon you, as always!" The priest took a moment to clear his throat before proceeding, but he noticed a young lad he somehow recognized standing sheepishly near the front desk. Suddenly, it clicked. "You're Jamie Russo, aren't you? Hah! Jamie! Good to see you boy, I remember when you were just yea big! Wow, would you look at you... In any case," Nikolaj said as he placed a hand on Jamie's head, "God bless you, my son."

Without even waiting for a reply from the boy, he turned back to Roman, clasping his hands together innocently. "But I digress, I have business I must attend to."

Jamie pulls his lips tight at the sudden touch, and is about to say something when Father Nikolaj turns away from him. He glances at Roman before moving to stand off to the side, pulling out his phone to check the time and find the town’s website. After realizing that it hasn’t been updated since the 90’s, Jamie puts his phone back in his pocket and begins to idly tap his fingers against his leg. ‘This was supposed to be a quick errand,’ Jamie thinks.

[IsaacGaming]

It had been a long day for Zach. His classes had been especially antsy today, though he had very little idea on why. Perhaps it was something in the air? Or perhaps something else? Either way, after a long day of teaching, Zach was finally ready to jump head-first back into his research. Specifically, he had tasked himself with trying to recover the graveyards after the chemical spill that had occurred oh-so-many years ago. After all, why not give back to this peaceful little town after they gave him the opportunity to do what he loved?

However, where would he go to? The library might have the information, but the fact that he found out about this in the first place is a miracle, so that option is out the window. Then it occurred to him. The town hall! They would HAVE to have some information as to the happenings at that graveyard. Throwing on his coat, Zach made his ways through the halls and out the door, excited at the prospect of making more headway in his investigative research.

Finally entering the town hall, it was much calmer than he expected. When he was at university, the student union was almost always bustling with activity. Yet, the town hall was almost silent, save for a conversation happening at the front desk. Making his way over, Zach waited behind the group, eagerly awaiting the information he so desired.

[Pyro]

Roman listened to Jamie with rapt attention, genuinely interested in what he had to say about his life. He laughed at the mention of the fence.

"Ah, yes, I remember that!" he replied good-naturedly, "So many forms!"

The door to the hall opened again, catching Roman's attention. It was Nikolaj, the new (at least to the town) priest.

"Welcome as always, Father!" Roman greeted warmly, "The old floorplans? Huh, you know, I'm not sure we have those on file. I think there was a fire or something years back; we lost a good amount of original documents. I'll take a look through the archives for you, though!"

In truth, Roman was almost positive there were no records of the original church blueprints. He had a decent memory, and other church members had asked for them in the past, before Nikolaj had come to town like a prophet and fixed up the chapel with miraculous success where the others had failed.

[Ma1chbox]

Upon hearing the unfortunate news regarding the documents, Nikolaj's posture shifted from a scrunched up, humble one into a tall, relaxed, and somewhat haughty one. Still, he kept his hands clasped, his smile friendly, and his tone understanding. "Yes, the fire... I remember hearing about that. A real shame, that was... But yes, I agree, perhaps the archives might hold useful information about the church! I suppose I'll just mill about here while waiting, then."

Sensing that this was going to take some time, Nikolaj stepped back from the front desk, giving the others their turn to voice their concerns with Roman.

[IsaacGaming]

As Zach listened in, many thoughts came to mind. One of the most prominent was that he should try and introduce himself to more people. The students knew him, sure, but Zach still hadn’t met many of the residents of the town. As Zach sat there and pondered, he suddenly realized that the man in front of him had moved on. Walking up to the counter, Zach introduced himself. “Hello, the name’s Zach. I’m here to inquire about the records of the graveyard incident that happened many years ago. Is there anything that you could give me?”

[Pyro]

Roman turned his attention to the newcomer.

"Welcome!" he greeted with the utmost sincerity, "Yes, word travels fast in small towns; I'm aware of you."

He listened to the request and felt his heart sink. Of course he wouldn't know not to ask, Roman thought, always assuming the best of people, The newer folks never know...

"Ah, yes," he began, trying to think of a way to let Zach down easy, "That was all fixed up. Minor incident. We don't have any records because it was too small to keep on file. You're probably wondering about the sign, right? No one ever got around to taking it down, is all. Plus, the church didn't want kids hanging around in there."

Roman hated lying, but didn't want to scare off new residents to an already population starved town by telling them the awful truth about the cemetery.

[IsaacGaming]

Zach was somewhat surprised by his response. He would have heard something if it had been taken care of, as well as the fact that everything he’s found on the event suggested otherwise. While his quiet side wanted to drop the subject entirely and leave, his scientific side quickly took the reins.

“Wait, wouldn’t the kids just hop the fence if they wanted to hang out there? Also, wouldn’t leaving the sign if it’s already fixed just cause further confusion for newcomers like myself? Listen, if there is anything wrong with the cemetery, just let me know. All I want to do is help. But if there truly isn’t anything wrong and I’m just grasping at straws, then I apologize. It’s just odd that, if it’s fixed, they would keep the fence and sign up.”

[Ma1chbox]

Upon hearing the mention of the old cemetery, Nikolaj paused his idle musings. He'd been interested in the cemetery for a good while now as well. Despite what he'd heard about it, he still opted to keep the sign hung up, much like the previous occupants of the church. There was much to find out about the place, but heavens be damned if he was going to let some pesky kids muck about in there. They could interfere with his research! He'd definitely had to shoo away the odd couple of ne'er-do-wells every now and again, but the townsfolk generally knew not to wander into the cemetery in the first place.

Still, any information that Nikolaj could get was crucial. He casually grabbed a copy of today's paper and sat on a nearby chair, far enough to not be intruding but close enough to hear most of the conversation. His eyes were reading the paper, but his ears were trained on the front desk.