[h3]The Throne of Bones[/h3][color=004b80]The Undertaker[/color] and [color=007236]The Ghoul[/color][hr][hr]
[color=f7941d]"What in God's name..?"[/color] The sheriff of Wichita, Jeremiah Hobbs, had begun but did not find the words to finish. John Hardin, the undertaker of Wichita, was patient with the young man. After all, it was easy to understand that Jeremiah was only a deputy sheriff up until last week when one of those werebeasts mauled the previous sheriff in his sleep. A damn shame that... Jeremiah wasn't ready for the mantle of leadership, but that's what he was stuck with. Oddly enough, he was voted in by his fellow lawmen so there was a sign of leadership, or so John had believed. Whether or not that was true, it didn't matter was even the previous sheriff might have had a hard time believing the sight before him.

Every grave in the Wichita cemetery had been dug up and the bodies dragged out of their graves. Now burying the dead was no small feat in the Weeping Winter. As temperatures fluctuated, snow would melt and then freeze becoming ice, leading to layers of ice packing upon itself. Getting through that was tough but nothing compared to the frozen dirt underneath. So for all these graves to have been dug up in one night, meant this was a serious undertaking by someone or something but John wasn't going to alarm the sheriff any more than he had to. The sight of the bodies was enough.

Now with the usual graverobbery, the casket is broken into and the valuables pulled. Most folks don't like to touch the bodies too much, but this was at another level. Each body was taken from their grave and seemingly operated on in some sort of staging area. Chunks of muscle, flesh, and frozen blood of the fresher dead were a sign of this area. Once the bodies were operated on, they were tossed in a pile. It didn't take too long to figure out what the graverobbers were after. Bones. Not a single bone was left behind in this graveyard. This motive had struck John as rather unusual. This ruled out some necromancy thing or mortal punishing thing, at least he thought so. If the bones had been left in, then the dead could be raised but removal made them nothing more than useless husks. What is more is that the jewelry and valuables that were buried with the dead were also taken. Greed was at least one of the motives or maybe the motives of the hired men? It was a tricky situation that John had no answers to.

[color=004b80]"I need some men to help me get to the bottom of this, Jeremiah. This ain't sitting right with me, and I ain't just talking about the defiled graves. With all this shit going on, I wouldn't rule out anything from your nightmares."[/color] John's voice was surprisingly calm but his tone, stern to help convey the potential danger of this situation. Jeremiah took a gulp, still looking around before his attention snapped to the sudden presence by his side. [color=f7941d]"Oh fuck!"[/color] The sheriff cursed, jumping back into John as he scrambled for his gun. John caught him and gently eased him down. [color=004b80]"Shh.. It's alright."[/color] John's voice was soothing but more directed at his companion as he stared down at his silent stalker. Her green eyes focused on him for a second, another second on the sheriff, before turning to forward to stare at the corpse pile. The sheriff's reaction was quite normal when taking in the undertaker's unexpected companion. Daisy Addams was a girl and no more than 12 years old when she passed away. Her corpse was barely cold before those glowing green eyes opened.

Jeremiah managed to collect himself, but opted to put John in between himself and the ghoul child. [color=f7941d]"Dammit. I don't know why you keep company with that thing. It ain't right. You're supposed to put the dead down. Not keep them. I-"[/color] John raised his hand, motioning for the sheriff to stop. [color=004b80]"Don't worry about the company I keep. Just tell me if you can help."[/color] Jeremiah took a deep breath as if he were leading into bad news. [color=f7941d]"I'm strapped, John. I can't spare a soul. Sorry there ain't anything I can do for you."[/color] Maybe it was John's sullen, sunken expression or maybe Jeremiah caught the defensive glare of Daisy. [color=f7941d]"Err.. but maybe I can send some volunteers your way. I'll put the word out but no promises. I don't reckon many folks will be wanting to find out where... this leads to."[/color]

John nodded and thanked the sheriff for the support. Many types of people had been stepping up in this time of crisis but the undertaker had his doubts. He was expecting it'd just be him and Daisy on this one...

Jeremiah Hobbs left the undertaker to sort through his problem and returned to his office. He felt short staffed as it was and just had a bad feeling about whatever the undertaker wanted to chase. However, he was a man of his word and ordered one of his deputies to put the word out. A few posters were printed and the deputy asked around, directing anyone interested in helping should seek the undertaker out immediately.