New Era Garage - Parking Lot
Nearly dusk, Dawson has arrived early and opened the gate to allow Sumter to pull up whenever he gets here. Kegger, a member of his gang whose name is actually 'Kevin', was sent to the forest's edge to collect Evonnia and give her a ride back to the lot. The bar owner is waiting for them both under the relative shade of the shed.
Evonnia looks less than enthused when she arrives, although perhaps that's due to her trip here. "Eugh, I was wrong. That wasn't like riding a horse. That was like riding a horse that screams nonstop through a narrow canyon," she utters as she gets off the motorcycle. She takes a brief look about the place, before proceeding back into the shed to meet the other two.
Sumter leans up against the shed with Dawson, smoking a cigar as he relaxes. He looks up as Evonnia is brought in, lofting a shaggy gray brow. "Who's this?" he asks, looking over to Dawson.
Dawson pushes himself up from one of the old back seats used as an outdoor couch as the two approach and he walks forward to greet the new arrivals. "Hey Bro," he calls in greeting to Sumter and then a polite nod to the woman who didn't seem to enjoy the ride. "Thank you for...surviving the trip lady. They -do- get rather loud sometimes." He thanks Kegger and tells him that there are some beers and food for him in the garage while he chills. Someone's got to hang around to take her back.
"The activity has been getting more and more frustrating lately. It's like they're probing for weaknesses." He starts walking back towards the gate that blocks the wooded LOT beyond.
While they walk he quickly offers a fast bit of introduction until they can introduce themselves.
Evonnia looks over Sumter for a moment, before she greets him with a nod and the simple introduction, "I am Evonnia." She's dressed rather anachronistically, and her thick accent is Eastern European. She looks over to Dawson and nods. "I've survived much worse. I'm sure the ringing in my ears will fade soon." She follows him as he begins to move. "If they're sealed within, it's very likely that's exactly what they're doing. You'll wish to decide what you wish to do soon, or they may be able to make a decision without you."
Sumter pushes off from the shed and starts lumbering alongside Dawson, chomping the end of his cigar with a scowl. "There some evil ghosts out there whose asses need kickin'?" he grumbles. "Son of a bitch, I thought we was -done- with this horseshit." He glances over at Evonnia, offering her a curt nod. "Josh Sumter," he says. He looks back over to Dawson. "Whut exactly we dealin' with here?"
New Era Garage - Wooded Lot
It takes the trio a while to make their way through the gate and up the bush-lined path into the wooded lot beyond. The lot is several acres across so rather than back yard think of it in terms of a collection of football fields stacked together. Towards the edge, where tall, barbed-wire fences mark the border, trees have grown to block the view from the outside but as one's eyes track towards the center the plants get smaller, less vibrant until there's nothing but dirt, rock and ash around a central pit.
A small fire burns atop the knee-high stone platform that gives only the faintest hint of light and smoke. The scent of a wood fire should be something that conjures images of barbeques and camp outs but this is all together different. It's the smell of burned homes, of ravaged forests and no escapes. A wintery breeze fills the air around the pit that becomes more and more noticable as the group approaches. The wind stretches out yards and yards beyond the stone circle and bites into the flesh like walking barefoot into a crisp winter morning. Echoes of screams, the dull sound of digging below the ground and the faint sound of whispers seem like background noise as Dawson explains the problem.
"Banes...fuckers are trying to break through. My defences aren't strong enough to cover this much of an area. And even with guardians and sweeps - this ain't nothing a cleansing will cure." He looks to Sumter and tries to smile at the memory. "They're attracted to the graves and those can't be touched."
Sumter looks slowly around, his expression turning aghast as he drinks in the foul resonance of this place. Echoes of misery, terror, and death curdling together in a soul-sickening melange. "Jesus... fuckin'... -Christ-," he says softly. "So much... pain." He looks back over to Dawson as the younger man explains. Anger warring with sorrow on the burly Texan's gray-bearded face. "Dawson... whut... whut happened here?" he asks softly. "How did this place come t' be so sick with alla this... this..." He looks around again, his gaze going distant. "...this -evil-?" he finally finishes.
Evonnia takes careful note of their surroundings as they head further and further back, especially when they draw near enough to perceive their destination. She closes her eyes for a few moments, inhaling deeply to take in the warped scent of the smoke. She certainly seems to tell that it's off, but she doesn't seem overly appalled by it. When she reopens her eyes, she looks to Dawson and offers a small nod, before asking him a question.
"Before I take a true look at this place... Tell me, what are your intentions for this place? Do you wish to simply drive everything out? Only the evil spirits? Do you wish to trap them here? Or do you simply wish to ensure you can use this space for your purposes, whatever they may be? There are several ways to approach this, but it depends on what you desire here."
Dawson has looked better. The dark circles under his eyes, the less-than fluffy hair suggesting that it's been a few days since he was able to relax enough for a quick shower and the thin film of dirt that clings to his arms suggest that he's been watching the place like a hawk. "This was the burial ground of some killers - but not everyone who went in was dead when they covered them up." He kneeds the heel of his palm into his left eye as though his vision were blurring for a moment. "I thought I could keep them calmed but something on the other side is stirring them up." He looks over to Evonnia and considers his thoughts before answering.
"This place is powerful - I can 'feel' it. If I can stabilize it it would serve as a powerful weapon." He looks around and his eyes start to flicker a bit as though his vision started to blur once more. Something in his eye perhaps? These Bane-things are like sharks; I could kill a hundred of them but it'll never stop cause they got a hunger for this place."
Sumter turns a bit paler at that. "Jesus," he mutters. He looks around, frowning darkly. "So... we find the angry ghost whut's stirrin' up the rest, deal with -that- 'un, an' the rest should calm down. Hrm." He tucks his cigar in the side of his mouth, chomping the end as he digs into his jacket pocket for his Ganesha idol and a cone of incense. "I kin look across," he says. "An' if I kin figger out which ghost we need t' deal with, might could be I kin tie it down. But other'n that... I ain't to rightly sure whut I kin do."
Evonnia watches Dawson as he answers her question, and then looks towards the bonfire in the center. She remains silent in a moment of contemplation, before nodding. "I believe I understand. So, you wish to calm this place, and prevent these evil spirits from swarming like flies to nectar?" She shrugs her shoulders gently. "What he says is one option, if one of the ghosts is responsible for stirring up the others. Unless it is something else. Whatever it is, perhaps it can be appeased or driven out. But if this place simply draws these evil spirits? Then I would suggest finding a way to conceal it from them. Or invite something more tolerable to you here to drive them away."
Dawson turns to Sumter to hear his idea and folds his arms over his chest as another one of those weirdly chilly breezes whips around the center of the lot. "I've tried looking across a few times - even sent some spies across to look for me. None have come back," He just shakes his head and suggests that it may not be something local that turned bad - rather something that found the site and moved in to feed. "For all I know it's like an infestation or something."
The white-haired warlock turns to Evonnia and what she says seems to prick his attention. "Bring in something bigger?" He turns to Sumter as if looking for confirmation, "Is that even possible?" Like playing tennis, he flicks his eyes back to the woman and asks her what would be something that could fight off the 'something' that wouldn't kill all of them in the process. "Sounds like we'd be calling a lion to keep the wolves at the door."
Sumter looks over to Evonnia, hrrming. He reaches up to take ahold of his stogie, puffing a billow of smoke as he looks back to Dawson. "We -could-," he says. "But... it ain't a good idea to rely too much on the devas. Cleansin' out the garage is one thing. This..." He heaves a gusty sigh as he sweeps his gaze around the lot. "This we's gonna have to handle on our own," he mutters. He shakes his head slowly. "Only other thing I kin think of t' do... try an' build some new memories to fade away the old ones." He pauses, and gets a thoughtful expression. "I -wonder-..."
Evonnia turns back towards Dawson and shrugs her shoulders. "Yes, I suppose that is a good example, in part. But I do not mean to simply lure something here... There are many beings who would have little issue with whatever you do with this place... although you should be careful you call to something that won't. I speak of making a pact with it... Although, you should be aware that one who would be willing to consider this their domain may ask for things you are unwilling to consider." She raises her arms in a shrug. "But in truth, that depends upon you. I've become aware that most people are... more reluctant about such things in this land."
Her eyes shift to Sumter as she considers his response. "The dead are often set in their ways. If you do not plan on driving them out, it will prove difficult to change their nature. But like most things, they can be appeased and soothed."
Dawson hrms in consideration of Evonnia's words and starts to walk around the stone-lined perimeter of the fire circle a bit while talking through his options. "Trying to change the memories of the place would be optimal but I don't think we'd have the time. These fuckers are trying to break through almost every night now." With a few more steps he bends down and puts his palm upon the bare earth with a slow, almost reverent gesture. His eyes slowly close as though he might be reaching out to the spirits of the dead and nods to himself, "Yeah...I don't think -they- are the things stirred up. They feel weird...different. Even from a few days ago when this all started - I just don't understand it."
