Occams Razor

"Nah, I can't sleep. I stay up most nights anyway." Gus looks around. "Besides, I don't like what's been coming out of the darkness. You didn't see what happened at the Shrine to St. Ethan." He throws a stone into the fire and looks hard towards the Rec Hall and says, quietly, "We took a powerful relic from that defiled place, only to bring it into greater danger. I fear it may fall into the wrong hands unless we put it somewhere safer."

"A relic, huh?" Eden's curiosity was piqued. "Do those things really do what they say on the label? And where is this one now?"

Red Raver's attempt at sleeping off the delicious hang-over (courtesy of Andre) and good dreams (courtesy of all the ladies she's met so far, including the Fedora Wytch) was failing as day-light continued on. She opted to sleep out in the rain, as it was 1) just the same as sleeping in sweat and bugs INSIDE, and 2) at least she got a free soak and a breeze every so often.

However, if one were hanging out near the porch railing/ramp, they'd hear her mumble every so often:

"Candy is dandy but liquor is quicker. zzz... ...Candy is dandy but liquor is quicker.... zzz... Candy is dandy but liquor is quicker. zzz... candy... zzz..."

Drawn to the chatter. Dr. Rue walks up to everyone at the fire.

"I don't think it matters much what you do with a superstitious relic. But if you're that concerned it seems like nothing has gotten into the rec hall. Properly concealed under some miscellaneous items, and no one but us are like to find it."

Dr. Rue sits down on a nearby bench.

Glancing at Dr. Rue, Billy gives a nod. "Well, it was cheap, and it's a little old," he offers with an apologetic grin. "But it does the trick."

As she heads away, he pulls out his notepad and writes a quick "FREE COFFEE WHILE IT LASTS" note. He tears it out, leaving it next to the electric kettle and the instant coffee. He pours some of the water into his mug, mixes in some of the instant coffee and creamer. He takes a sip, makes a slight face that shows no surprise, and glances once more around the rec hall.

The private detective turns for one of the doors and heads on out. He glances in the direction of those gathered around the cooking fire, and lifts a hand to wave at them. For the moment, he keeps his distance, moving towards a spot behind the Rec Hall where he can look out over the river and frown in thought.

<Deleting the double post>

Kelsey's eyes widen as she reads over the note, and she swears quietly. After reading it over several times, she gets up and follows Chastity out the door.

"I don't have a map," she says. "But I think this is probably connected to whatever agency was experimenting on those convicts. Going to these coordinates will probably be dangerous, so you'll want to take a lot of people along once we find out where they are."

She glances around at the other people by the fire, nodding to them by way of greeting.

"Morning."

Nick joins the group by the fire, turning a bit to try to dry off his jacket. "Relics, eh? I suppose at this point the question "Relics of who/what" is also in order?" He sits down, waving to Kelsey as she appears in the doorway. "I take it this relic showed up at the cathedral last night?"

Chastity uses a laser thermometer to test the temperature of the two test tubes when one begins to boil. She jots notes on her arm and removes the tubes from the fire. Setting them down to cool, she looks over at Kelsey.
"I am not entirely sure that the coordinates we found have any bearing on the Agent or the escapees, I believe the encrypted communication was found during a separate situation. I will need to find the gentlemen who asked me to translate for them in order to hear the background and circumstances involved before making any assumptions."

Taking her black gloves off and stretching, Chastity's face shows a look of concentration.
"If I remember correctly, the relic is a skeletal hand of a lost saint, or at least one that isn't mentioned in any mainstream religious text. Reverend Justin stated that it has grand healing powers. I would scoff, but after what I've seen while being on this island, I can't bring myself to dismiss anything out of hand." She shakes her head as if trying to shake off the memories.

Kelsey seems about to say something, but instead she only shrugs. "Keep the possibility in mind, at least."

She waves back to Nick, smiling at he joins the group by the fire.

"i was told it could bring back the dead. Story of Lazarus. I don't know if it's true, but I do know that if this were a horror story, something like that would have some freaky side effects. This isn't a horror story, but considering those convicts who moved without having heartbeats and the dead bodies that attacked people at the shrine, I'm not convinced bringing the dead back to life is entirely safe. If it's even possible."