Ch.16e Night Moves (Alex & Ivy)

[Philulhu]

At the back of the pack of oilmen dealing with the remnants of the fire was the man that Lawrence and William had seen at the church earlier that evening, He would occasionally cast glances in their direction but he made no move to approach them, nor would it be possible for them to approach him without having to make their way through the oilmen first.

As for Nashoba, he still seemed confused by what he had seen, muttering to himself and trying to pull away in the direction of his home.

[Mr. Handy]

"There's the oilman I saw," says William, keeping an eye on him.

[Silver Priest]

"You see now what I was trying to warn you of?" Alex asks the man in a soft voice. He gently but firmly grabs hold of Nashoba's arm, trying to get him to look at him and focus on the present. "Stay with me. I need to know exactly who told you to attack this specific area."

1d100 Not sure he's able to talk, but may as well try.

[jp1885]

Ivy looks in the direction that William indicates.

"That's the fellow responsible for the carving is it?" she says, jaw set with determination. "Very well..."

She strides towards the oilmen.

"Let me through! I need to speak to that man!" she bellows, pointing at the individual in question.

[35] = 35
Intimidate 55 1d100: [ 35 ] = 35

[Mr. Handy]

"I saw him sitting near the carving," William says to Ivy, ever the lawyer. "I didn't see him actually carve it."

[Philulhu]

There was an outburst of ribald catcalls as the oilmen turned to look first at Ivy and then at the man at whom she was pointing. He dropped his beater and took off at a run, while oilmen parted to let Ivy pass in her pursuit!

Nashoba was clearly shaken by events and was neither focussed nor steady on his feet. ”Our… our burial grounds… … Nakka Mur… …” he murmured.

[Mr. Handy]

William follows in Ivy's wake before the oilmen can close ranks again. He wishes she hadn't tipped the guy off that they were on to him, but there was nothing else to be done for it now.

[Silver Priest]

Alex is torn between following the man--who could very well be dangerous-- and continuing to interrogate Nashoba. He decides the latter needs to take precedence, given they had no direct proof said oil man was involved as of yet. Hopefully the others would have the matter well in hand. He continues to speak to the Indian chief in a low voice.

"This is your burial grounds, then? But did someone suggest you set a fire here? My friends and I are investigating things like what attacked you. We have reason to believe someone has recently arrived in this area and is trying to infect it with a great evil, greater than even the oilmen and their pits. I need your help to bring these people to justice and prevent them from further spoiling your people's resting place."

[jp1885]

Ivy is in no mood to shilly-shally.

Yelling "stop!", she races after the fellow, foolishly disregarding her own safety no doubt!

[Bullfrog]

"You keep talking to him- I'll be back." Lawrence rushes off after Ivy and the strange man, sure that he'd be better suited than her to deal with the man once he's caught- but not too sure. That lady could kill plants and small animals with her glare.

[Philulhu]

Nashoba continued to mutter fretfully, switching to a language that Alex recognised as a Native American dialect that he had no real chance of understanding.

”Where in tarnation do you think you’re going?!” As the man disappeared into the shadowed darkness of the huts, Henry Jones emerged from one of them to see what all the commotion was about! At his sudden reappearance, the catcalls from the oilmen immediately ceased as they studiously got back to their work as if never interrupted.

Jones stood in the main path between the huts, barring further progress. “This is company land!” he snapped. ”So get outta here, lest you get thrown out!”

[Silver Priest]

Not really sure what to do, Alex takes Nashoba's hand and tries to lead him out of the oil fields. "Let's get you home," he offers in a soft tone. Hopefully when he's away from the madness he will sober up, and the detective can get some sense out of him.

[Mr. Handy]

"What is that man's name?" asks William, pointing in the direction of the fleeing oilman.

[jp1885]

Ivy’s eyes narrow; time for a little subterfuge. What can she wheedle out of Jones?

“You again! That man approached us, wanting to talk. Let us pass - you can’t stop the press you know!”

[Philulhu]

Bart, the storekeeper, approached Alex and said, “Let me help you.” He moved to Nashoba’s side and helped take his weight, which meant Alex was able to walk more easily.

Over Nasoba’s shoulder, Bart said, “He’s been threatening to do something for ages but no one took him seriously! Did you see what happened?”

”I can and I goddamned will!” snapped Jones. “This is private land - you want permission to come over here then you’ll need to ask first. Press or not, you got no rights just to go wherever you please!”

He glanced over his shoulder, where wooden huts provided accommodation for the men working on the oilfields. ”I didn’t see no man and you ain’t coming in here, so get lost!”

[Silver Priest]

The detective is not entirely happy for the help, wanting to talk to Nashoba alone. But rather than make a scene, he accepts it for the moment.

"No. We were in the middle of town when we saw the explosion and came running. I'm just glad no one was seriously hurt."

[Mr. Handy]

William describes the man. "I suspect he was involved in the fire," he says, "but if that doesn't matter to you, I'll just be on my way."

[Bullfrog]

Lawrence narrows his eyes as he scrutinizes Henry Jones. It seems a strange coincidence that he'd appear just in time to keep that strange man from being caught, and his unwillingness to have press searching the property is only made more suspect by the thing that rose up from the burning oil- how could that exist without his knowledge? This is a man worth watching.

[jp1885]

With a loud ‘hmph!’, Ivy turns on her heel and marches away from the odious man.

“It seems we are stymied at every turn!” she mutters to the others, leaving them to finish up with Jones.

[Philulhu]

“Well, let’s get him home,” said Bart. He was a big man but working in the store, lifting and carrying, meant that he could easily take the Native American’s weight. “Do you think he was responsible for that?”

”I didn’t see any of my men out there,” growled Jones. “More like it was that Indian fella! I saw him there, dancing like a loon!”