Chapt. 5 'Exham'

[Priest]

Chapt, 5 "Exham'

Eham is an unremarkable example of an Anglo-Welsh border village. Dark stone cottages cluster closely to a 12th Century church. The drabness of the buildings a fitting accompaniment to the drabness of the countryside on a dreary October morning, which is, unsurprisingly, dominated by cloud and a dismal light rain.

As you drive the narrow lanes from the main road to the village itself, you are struck by two things. One, the lack of people, for no one appears at any of the cottages lace covered windows in response to your cars engine. Surely something to bring the curious to a bout of curtain twitching. Two, the ominous shadow of the hill, rising above the village causing a sudden iciness to creep through your veins.

Standing in a row to the north of the church a group of four, small unattractive, terraced cottages bear a weathered sign announcing ‘Church Cottages 1-4’. As you pull the car to a halt your impression is that these cottages are empty, unlived in. If not for a hint of coal smoke from the middle of the four cottages, and the fact that the door to the church is slightly ajar, you might think this place deserted…

[Mr. Handy]

"We want the first one," says Oliver. "Let's try knocking on the door. If nobody answers, we can check with the neighbour whose cottage is giving off smoke and then check at the church."

[Supercape]

Maurice was irritable. He had not slept well, and fitfully when he did. Whenever he coughed, he had a splitting pain in his head. He was out of morphine, and it would be a few days before he had any more.

"Knocking, I can do" he grumbled, stamping up to the front door in a foul mood and knocking harder than was necessary, or indeed polite.

[Priest]

Maurice's heavy and sustained knocking bring no reply at No 1. However it does cause the lace curtains at No 2, where signs of a warm fire can be seen and smelt, to twitch in response. It also brings a questioning face to the partialy ajar door of the church.
Slowly, as if the door weighed heavilly, it opens and a small, balding figure steps into the daylight. For a moment or two the figure blinks furiously as if suddenly exposed to bright light, then you realise that this is no doubt an affliction. Still blinking wildly the figure moves out of the shadow of the church and reveals himself to be a short, middle aged man wearing a worn black suit, a green cardigan, which from the little you can see has seen better days, and a white collar denoting his position as the rector of the church.

Still blinking, owlishly, he uses one hand to pat the remaining hair on his head into some semblance of order, his other arm, his left, carries a small stack of books.

"Can I help you?" his voice carries the unmistakeable sing-song lilt of Welsh, "There has been no one at that cottage since Mr Thornton left a couple of years back, and you are the first visitors since then"

[Mr. Handy]

"Yes, thank you, sir," says Oliver. "We're looking for Mr. Thornton. He was an old friend of my late uncle, Stephen Daniels. You don't happen to know where he went, do you?"

[Supercape]

Maurice descended into a coughing fit, turned his head in attempt not to spray the man with phlegm and blood. He needed morphine, dammit!

"I do apologise, Sir..." he mumbled. "Damn Krauts did a job on me over in Germany..." he explained, wheezing. Maybe a little war spirit and gratitude might smooth the wheels.

[Priest]

At Maurice's sudden burst of coughing, the poor man looks horrified. His face a sudden mixture of emotions pity. concern and distaste - mostly concern, "My dear boy please come in and sit a while, perhaps a glass of water?"

As he rushes forward to take Maurice by the arm, he flicks a glance over to Oliver, "Thornton? Afraid not he walked away about two years back, muttered something about being gone for a while to Mrs Thomas the church cleaner, picked up his rucksack and walked away".

By now he has helped lead the stricken Maurice into the churches somber interior, "Now just you take a seat there and I'll fetch a glass of water"

[Mr. Handy]

"Thank you again," says Oliver, accompanying them and seeing if there's anything he can do for Maurice. "We'll have to ask Mrs. Thomas about him later."

[Supercape]

"The devil is in my lungs" moaned Maurice, holding his chest. "Oh for some Laudanum!" he wished, hoping his medical friend would take some bait.

"I do apologise, I have good days and bad days, and this is veritably the latter" he gave a thin smile, trying to control his breathing. "And a glass of water is well taken"

Spoiler:

whoops, got lost! so deleted the comment about walking to the church!

[Mr. Handy]

"I'd advise against Laudanum," says Oliver, looking through his medical bag. "It's known for being addictive. Let me see if I have something else in here that might help you find some relief."

OOC,I think we're already in the church.

[Priest]

At Maurice's reference to the devil, the open faced vicar pales slightly.
Within moments he has returned a large glass of water in hand, he passes it to the stricken Maurice, "There you are, Sip it slowly" realising that such advice is a little surplus to requirement, he coughs discretley and offers a hand to Oliver, "Clive Williams, welcome to the church of St Thomas" he gestures expansively at the unremakable interior of the church.

Suddenly, as if becoming aware of the books he is still carrying, he crosses to a cupboard near the font, stoops and begins packing the books away. "Now Thornton was a most interesting man. Had a breakdown you know, spent a few years recovering in some clinic nearby. Had some strange ideas, we spent several hours in debate" he rises from his stooped position and places a hand on the font, "Said he didn't believe in the power of God. Not in this God anyway, said his god was much older and more powerful. I often wondered just how cured he was"

[Mr. Handy]

"Pleased to meet you, Mr. Williams," says Oliver, shaking the vicar's hand. "I'm Captain Oliver Carpenter, and my friend here is Captain Maurice Grey. It does indeed sound like Mr. Thornton was still suffering from whatever madness had taken him. Did you ever meet my uncle, Stephen Daniels? He was a churchman like yourself, and he came here with Mr. Thornton twenty years ago."

[Priest]

For a moment the friendliness of the vicars eyes are replaced with suspicion, "Twenty years ago? That was before my time I'm afraid, Mathew Williams was the vicar here then, so if anyone knew of your uncle it would have been him. Stephen Daniels you say?"

He appears to think hard for a moment, "I do recall the name...Oh yes, Thornton mentioned a Stephen Daniels, seems whatever had caused his breakdown had in some way a connection to a Stephen Daniels"

[Supercape]

The trail was a curved and knotted one, and that only made Maurice more keen to wrestle.

"Mathew Williams, you say?" he said, noting the name down with a pencil. His pad had various names and lines on it, like a spider web.

"Is the Revd Williams still around in these parts, Sir? It would be a boon to our search if we could speak with him?"

[Mr. Handy]

"My uncle and Mr. Thornton were part of a team that explored Exham Priory," explains Oliver. "What happened there was the reason Mr. Thornton went to the sanitorium."

[Priest]

Previously Maurice said:   "Is the Revd Williams still around in these parts, Sir? It would be a boon to our search if we could speak with him?"

Clive Williams smiles at the note taking Maurice, "Afraid not. My uncle Mathew died several years back and I was given his parish. Kind of keeping it in the family, but then we are all family in the eyes of the Lord."

Turning his gaze to Oliver, he considers for a moment as if unsure of what to say, "Ah yes the old priory up on the hill. Heard there was some shennanigans up there years ago. So your uncle Stephen Daniels was mixed up with that? I know little about it, mostly hearsay, but I do believe that my uncle made some notes about it...For posterity you know?" he smiles a not totaly sure smile.
"Wait here I will find them". With that he trns and disapears through a side door...

OOC:   Please make Spot Hidden rolls -10 to notice something

[Supercape]

Spoiler:

1d100=62: I presume that is -10 to the spot hidden skill rather than to the roll!

Maurice muttered an apology and condolence as Clive scuttled through the side door.

He stifled a cough and turned his attention to Oliver as they waited. "Everyone has a story to tell about Exham, it seems, but every story is without meat. We just get the a vague flavour of unsavoury, unwholesome, and insane" he said. "Why, it is magnificently infuriating!" he declared with a smile.

[Mr. Handy]

Oliver notices nothing unusual. "Too right!" he says. "It's dashed inconvenient that everyone who was present has either died, disappeared, or gone completely mad."

[Priest]

OOC:   The keeper hand waves magnificently and;

With Reverend Williams departure something about the font catches Maurices eye.

[Supercape]

Maurice traced a finger over the church font. He had been a Church goer in his youth. In his more mature years, Religion seemed more about ceremony and solace than truth. Not that he objected to it, but his faith was faint, like an echo or shadow.

"Divs...Ops...Magna...Mat...." he read out.

"Have we not read that before?" he asked Oliver, his heart quickened and his mind awakened. "This font is old...older than the Church I think..." he traced his finger over strange marks around the edge and stranger cuts in the stone. The inside of the font was stained.

"If one was of a morbid disposition, one could see this as a sacrificial slab...." he speculated, shuddering at the thought.