A Birth day

Ruby cast a charm on her case to stop anyone being able to se what was in it, all they would see would be normal clothing and items for a holiday. Once done she walked out to the main area and stood with the others. Walking out the hotel she looked around and zipped up her jacket against the chilling wind that blew around them. She and Aria followed them to the pub and went inside it was warm but well worn and used stone as the flooring.

"Quaint." Yu said as they walked in he followed Michael to the table and sat down on his right while Radagast sat on his left. seeing the waitress walk over and tell Michael about what was good he chuckled " that goes for me to" he said then watched her walk away from them after taking every ones order. Aria and Ruby sat facing them quietly

When the server walked away from the table to turn the order in to the kitchen and the bar, Michael got out a muggles tourist pocket sized guidebook to Scotland, and he opened it to the map of Shetland.

"By what I was able to find," Michael told them all in a very quiet voice, "there is some land that the locals don't do much with because it's too damned rocky for much of anything. They do maybe let the sheep graze there when the grass is green enough, but even that doesn't happen all that often in some bits of it because its too tough for the humans to follow their sheep through. Seems the sheep do well enough in it but the muggles can be entirely too clumsy. Its in those bits, where, supposedly, these graves are rumored to be. Should be right about here." He pointed to some remote highlands north of Scalloway. "There isn't a snowball's chance in hell that a muggle will go there in daylight, much less after dark. I have a lead on a wizard here that might guide us, but I haven't been able to reach him for the last 24 hours. I will give it another try because I'd rather us not roam around in the wilderness and one of us break a leg or something."

"How do you know we're on the right track?" Victor asked.

"And how will we know the right spot when we get to it?" Sam asked.

"Well, there are some strange bits there," Michael said. "Conflicting stories. According to one story, a woman rented a room at a local inn not far from here, many years ago. Local rumors said she was quite odd, and it was said she brewed her own suppers in some 'little iron kettle' on the fireplace hearth in her room. Iron kettle indeed. These suppers, as it went, smelled quite disgusting and not at all like anything edible at all. However, the inn staff were all quite certain that the only person they ever saw going into the room or coming out of it was a man. A man who wore the strongest smelling gardenia perfume."

"What?" Sam frowned. "That makes no sense at all."

"It certainly doesn't, if you're thinking like a muggle," Michael said. "And this woman was interested in buying some land, for a burial plot as a wedding gift for her fiance so that when they were both laid to rest together, they would have complete privacy in the afterlife."

"Oh, now that's just creepy," Victor frowned.

"Certainly is. So, as the story goes, a farmer gave them a long term rental agreement on a spot of land in the middle of some of his land, a particularly barren patch, that was a square that was thirteen foot by thirteen foot."

"A grave doesn't need that much room," Victor said.

"No, not really, but there was a copy of a rental agreement, and apparently the woman signed it, but the signature says it was signed by a man named Sean Bigalow. I have found no such record, not in our world, anyway," Michael replied.

Aria and Ruby when Michael brought out a map lent closer to it and followed his finger as he pointed out where he thought they should look first " that's some way out" Aria said then looked up at him " guide, is he trust worthy?" she asked a she sat back in her seat waiting for their food . Ruby watched as the waitress brought their food and placed it down in front of them " smells great" she said and that earned a smile from her.

Ruby smiled and started to eat her food " it tastes good too" she said noticing how the fish was full of flavour being cooked fresh. " who's this guide you mentioned?" she asked but listened to him talk to Sam " that is weird" she said no recognising the name herself as she ate more of the food. Radagast picked up the drink and tasted it smiling as he tried to discern the flavour but gave up placing it down on the table as he ate he found the food to be a little salty for his tastes but since that was all that was available he ate it quickly and down his drink to wash away the salt.

"His name is Orin Digby," Michael said. "I know almost nothing about him except that he is an informant for someone else that works at the Ministry. And Digby also raises several kinds of beetles here that are used in some obscure potions. He has a rather isolated country place on the edge of the moors. According to what I've been told, people rather tend to forget he's here because they see him so seldom, and his place is damned difficult to get to. I'm told he wears a tweed trav'ler hat that has a little teal feather stuck in the band. Supposedly, he knows what I look like, and he'll seek me out, rather than my going to try to fetch him.

"I thought what I might do is to go around to the county hall of records and see what the muggles might have to say," Michael said. "Ruby and Aria, why don't you two go visit the local library or the local vicarage and see if there are any other coroborating muggle records? Supposedly, according the the autopsies that St. Mungos has, Gideon died in 1981, and Charlotte died in 1984. They supposedly were buried in Highgate Cemetery, but, as you know, those graves were empty."

"What about Pearl?" Victor asked. "Wait, is she Auntie Pearl or who the heck is she?"

"Supposedly, she's your great grandmother--your mother's mother."

"And is she dead?"

"Yes, by what the paperwork says. Records say her husband, your great grandfather Elwood Sanders, died in 1962, and she died in 1967. We don't know where either of them are buried. Not yet. I'm still looking."

"So what can we do?"

"Well, I've been thinking about that. Look over there, at the other end of the bar. See that old bloke sitting there?"

"The one half hammered?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, and he's got some other friends with him. Radagast, you should know our way around a pint or four. Why don't you and the boys stay here for a little and talk this chap up and see what he might know of local legends? I don't think my work at the hall of records will take very long, and I doubt ruby and Aria will be gone long either. Hang around. buy him a pint to be sociable, and see what he know if anything. Even old wives tales and rumors might be helpful. Let's meet back here in, say, an hour or so? What do you think? That might put us right on time for Digby."

Aria and Ruby heard Michael and nodded to him " shouldn't take too long how many records can they have in this small place" Aria said and Ruby chuckled as she looked at Aria.

"don't underestimate a small town like this , they could have records going back centuries." she said and saw Aria's shoulders slump and she chuckled " don't worry there all on micro film, no computer databases here yet" she told her " I did a bit of research before we left." she said to Michael." Angus says its best to be prepared and know the local area".

Radagast looked at the old man and chuckled as he stood up and walked over to him introducing himself and offering to buy a drink for the man who perked up and smiled motioning to a seat for him to sit on " I guess you have some really whoppers of takes to tell?" he asked and once both had drinks in hand the old man started talking and telling old stories to him as he glanced back to Michael and the others.

Soon the old man was wavering yet Radagast was still semi sober as the man revealed a story about a a light off in the hills that some people thought was the Shetland Wulver, with the body of a man and the head of a wolf.has a gentle nature, guiding lost travellers home and feeding itself by fishing from a flat rock called the Wulver’s Stane. He was happy to live alone in his cave and wouldn’t harm you unless you tried to harm him. Radagast found this fascinating since it sounded like a partly transformed werewolf.

(cit: https://scotlands-stories.com/a-guide-to-shetland-folklore)

Michael checked the muggles records, but he found absolutely nothing. He left the records building and was on his way back to the pub when a man came out of a tiny shop, and he and Michael literally bumped into each other. He glanced at the man, with his white hair and his neatly trimmed mustache and beard, and the full bent billiard pipe he had in his teeth--a pipe that wasn't lit. Michael caught a glance of the shop the man had come out of and saw it was a tiny tobacconist shop. The next thing he really noticed was the tweed trav'ler hat he had on and the teal feather.

"Well, good old Orin," Michael said, trying honestly to determine if, in fact, this really was Orin. "I haven't see you since...gosh, when was it?"

"Khaat's birthday, I believe," the older man smiled, giving a well rehearsed reply to an established safety question. The two of them shook hands.

"Michael Tremaine," Michael introduced himself.

"Ah, finally. A face to go with a name I have heard so much about," Digby smiled.

"Are we safe here?"

"Somewhat," Digby said. "I have a car. How many are with you?"

"Six," Michael said. 

"We might be able to make that work if your mates can crowd in. I have an old beater of a truck--an old Morris Minor panel truck."

"They'll manage," Michael said. 

"Let's go get them, and get to a safer place to talk," Digby said. They walked the short way down towards the pub, talking and laughing and pretending to be old mates. 

"Are there things to know?"

"Very few. But far more things to be very wary of," Digby said in a tone that was very quiet, so that only Michael would be able to hear. "I don't know all the details, but I can tell you this. It's no secret that Robert protects his own, but this time, Robert's almost out of time."

"We don't know what we're up against," Michael said earnestly.

"Then whoever he's protecting is going to die," Digby said.

"Unacceptable," Michael said flatly.

"I expected no less from you," Digby said. "We'll try to do what we can."

Aria and Ruby both checked the library only finding an old map in and even older book. slipping it into her pocket and out of sight Aria looked to Ruby " we should show Michael this" she said and they both replaced the books and headed for the door smiling to the librarian as they walked out and over to the pub , Ruby noticed Radagast was still talking to the old man in the corner while Michael had returned with a second man. Together they both sat down and looked at the second man " Orin?" she asked and smiled to him.

Radagast saw the old man now head down and snoring , he chuckled and stood up placing some money on the table in front of the old man before walking to the table where the others sat. He sat and looked at the old man sat opposite him now sipping tea to clear his head again. " seems the old man saw something over to the west of here , description almost matches a werewolf, don't think its what were here for" he said as he felt Aria sit next to him with Ruby.

"This is Orin, our contact," Michael said very quietly. "So here's what we need to do. We're going to leave here in pairs, so it doesn't look as likely that we're up to something. Stagger your exits at least a few minutes apart. I'm going to leave with Orin first. When you leave the pub, you're going to turn right and follow the pavement straight on. It will eventually get to the warf. Orin has an old panel truck. When you get there, crowd yourselves into the back. Do your best to make sure you're not being followed or watched. Let's get a move on."

"My truck is a green 1972 model," Orin said, "in case you're not familiar with the Morris Minor body. It used to belong to an florist shop that hasn't been in these parts for a very long time. The florist shop decal is partly worn off on the side. It does have windows on the sides and on the back, so you might want to keep your heads down if you can, at least til we're out of the village."

"We'll see you there in a bit," Michael said. He paid the barkeep for their tab, and he and Orin headed out, turned left and walked to the warf.

Radagast was next once Michael had left and enough time had passed , he stood up bowed to Ruby and Aria then headed to the door dropping several coin on the counter as a tip for the women who smiled to him and watched him leave , once out side he looked around and turned right heading to where Michael had told them to go.

Next was Aria and Ruby who both stood up and as Ruby stretched they headed to the door and stepped out in to the cold air, Ruby wrapping her scarf around her neck tighter to keep out the cold wind while Aria just looked around and turned to her right " okay this way" she said and together they walked towards the Warf. Arriving Yu suddenly appeared from behind the old panel truck a bag on his back.

Sam and Victor had taken the time, while everyone was spacing out their departures, to drink another pint, albeit a quick one, and then they headed out after they had deliberately chatted up a waitress to learn where they could buy some cigarettes. The waitress had told them about a shop that was on the right, just a few doors down, so the boys headed there, bought a couple packs of cigarettes, a couple newspapers, and a couple bags of crisps just to look the part of some tourists. They headed on down to the warf and piled into the back of the green panel truck with everyone else.

Michael got in the front beside Orin, and Orin headed out of the village. 

"You're safe enough to sit up now," Orin said. "My place is difficult even for locals to get to, so if anyone comes out to my place, they're coming deliberately."  The road through the countryside was a mix of gravel and potholes, and it wound around all sorts of dips and rocky hillsides until they finally reached an old stone cottage that had been whitewashed at some point or another. Orin parked the truck on the far side of the cottage where it wasn't going to be visible unless someone came up the drive and made a ring around the house to find it. Michael and Orin got out, and Michael opened the rear doors of the panel truck.

Michael could smell sea air and hear seagulls but he didn't see water or see any of the gulls.

"We're on the coastline?" Michael asked.

"Well, near enough. It's that way," Orin pointed off into the distance, to the northwest. There was a rocky rise that blocked Michael's view of the coastline. "You can't see out, and, the boats cant see in. It's a nice arrangement. Come on in."

Orin motioned to them and went in the back door, going into what Michael thought was an amazing looking kitchen. Orin had left the stone walls in their natural state, and his cabinets were old, repurposed farmhouse cabinets left in their natural wood finish. The decades and decades of famillies' polish had created a warm patina on the cabinets' finish. There was an old Edwardian worktable in the center of the room and some upholstered stools pulled up to the far side of it. The stools were each upholstered with a different color of fabric, but they were all amazingly comfortable. 

A pair of glass french doors on the far side of the room opened up to a glass conservatory that was filled with lush plants, his desk, and, yes, the terrariums of beetles that he raised, along with some comfortable wicker seating. From the kitchen, a hallway led to the living room, a downstairs bathroom, a front foyer that was rarely ever used, and, of course, the stairs leading either down to the cellar or up to the three bedrooms and another full bath upstairs. The attic was divided into two spaces--an exceptionally well organized storage room, and yet one more guest bedroom.

"Make yourselves at home," Orin said. "I'll put the kettle on for tea. I presume you all drink tea? I've got black tea, Earl Grey, and a tin of butterscotch tea that I bought at Christmas on a whim. I'll set them out and the milk, and you can help yourselves. Spoons are in small pitcher the right beside the cooker. Mugs are on the hooks on the backsplash under the upper cabinets. Oh, and you'll be wanting to look at this." He accio'd a file of information from some little hidden nook and cranny, and it flew to the worktable in the center of the kitchen. Michael sat down at the worktable and opened the file. It had a large, folded up map, and several copies of various documents. There were burial records for an Olivia Strange, and her husband, Merrill Strange. 

"Strange. Alias, I presume?"

"Must be," Orin said. "No record of them with the muggles anywhere in the UK or in the US, or with our ministry of magic or the Yanks'. Clearly, neither of these people exist. I think these are the graves you're looking for. And, they're in the right location that corroborates your information about the 13 x 13 foot plot in the middle of nowhere."

"Oh, nicely done, Orin," Michael said.

"Take a look at it, and then we'll discuss the rest of the story," Orin replied.