User:Vandr/The Poe Toaster
The Poe Toaster is a former member of the Malton Marshals, the Bounty Hunters of the DEM. In recent months he has retired as a bounty hunter and is currently slipping through the shadows of Malton, seeking to do what good he can.
Background
(From the Wikipedia article:)
The Poe Toaster is the unofficial nickname given to a mysterious figure who pays an annual tribute to American author Edgar Allan Poe by visiting the author's original grave marker on his birthday.
The unexplained tradition began in 1949, a century after Poe's death, and has occurred on the author's birthday (January 19) of every year since. In the early hours of the morning on that date, a black-clad figure, presumed to be male, with a silver-tipped cane enters the Westminster Hall and Burying Ground in Baltimore, Maryland. The individual proceeds to Poe's grave, where he or she raises a cognac toast. Before departing, the Toaster leaves three red roses and a half-bottle of cognac on the grave. The roses are believed to represent Poe, his wife Virginia, and his mother-in-law Maria Clemm, all three of whom are interred at the site. The significance of the cognac itself is unknown. However a note left by Poe's grave, after it had become apparent that the toaster was a different person, indicated that the bottle was still being left to respect family tradition. Many of the bottles left behind have been taken and stored by the Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore.
The Toaster wears a black coat and hat, and obscures his or her face with a scarf or hood. A group of reporters and Poe enthusiasts are usually on hand to observe the event. Generally, none have attempted to interfere with the Toaster's entry, tribute or departure or to identify the individual out of respect for the tradition (and, perhaps, the mystery).
Last year, on January 19th, the phantom figure approached Poe's grave in his traditional manner, only to find it empty, with Poe's zombified corpse missing. The Poe Toaster traveled to Malton in search of Zombie Edgar Allen Poe.
