Re: Chapter 18: Shoot, Luke, or Give up the Gun
Travis Sunday stands in place watching for another several seconds as the highbinder moves through the crossfire. The gunslinger refrains from firing, with at least two of his pards in proximity to the fleeing boo how doy. He did not question his decision to hold fire, especially after his eyes had taken in the rapid succession of events.
The highbinder continues his measured movement. He doesn’t run, he moves with purpose while using his agility to evade attacks. Or at least in an attempt to evade attacks, which proves a onerous task.
As the boo how doy is passing by Cole Trayne, the wrangler reacts. First, he slashes wildly and feebly at the fallen enemy’s cloak, thinking he might cut the garment and maintain possession of the item he had felt inside the robe’s folds. Trayne quickly understands that cutting the garment for such an outcome is beyond the time he is willing to spend, as he instead turns to exact further vengeance on the remaining highbinder. Raising to full height, the wrangler turns to engage the passing Celestial. Cole slashes with the knife as the highbinder dodges and continues his path to the southwest.
Feeling his knife stick his opponent’s side, Cole sees his pard JEB moving as well, just five or ten feet behind the enemy. The lawman had dropped his carbine and pulled the Schofield, firing it at the highbinder who continues to move despite being attacked by Cole Trayne. JEB cannot help but feel a pang of disgust as he sees the highbinder dodge the bullet — even though it appears Cole’s knife has bitten into the man’s side — and then grit his teeth as it appears, through the gun smoke, that the bullet has hit Cole Trayne’s left leg. The fact doesn’t deter the lawman from his chosen action (aside from a momentary pause), as it is clear that the bullet hasn’t taken down the wrangler, and so JEB continues his movement, hoping to intercept the Celestial.
The wrangler, for himself, feels a punch in his leg as the highbinder continues to move and evade. It doesn’t occur to Cole what that feeling might be, as he remains focused on his immediate opponent, stabbing again with the knife and slicing narrowly into the man’s left arm.
Also, like everyone else, Cole fails to hear the report from Jake’s Spencer. Nor does Trayne realize that it was the rifleman’s second shot this round. Jake had taken a deliberate step forward to provide himself the best possible range. Determined to take down the highbinder, who had surprised Jake with his tactics, Richardson pulls the carbine’s trigger and feels the empty click that must have been another dud. Taking another breath as he chambers another round, Jake fires again and this time he is sure his aim is true, striking the highbinder in his right shoulder — and narrowly missing the wrangler in the process. Although Cole didn’t hear the shot, he sees the result as the highbinder breaks away, undismayed by the attacks he has had to suffer during the execution of his measured actions. The wrangler sees a splatter of blood from the highbinder’s shoulder, as he and JEB continue to move towards the tunnel from which the heroes had entered more than two minutes ago.
Carson, positioned by the east wall, sees the boo how doy moving southwest. He aims his Colt as his old pard Cole engages with a knife and JEB fires his own hogleg while pursuing the fleeing Celestial. Seeing the possibility for a shot, even though Travis and Cole impede an open line of sight, Artemus pulls the revolver's trigger. Nothing. Even if the hammer had clicked, Art couldn’t have heard it, still deafened like everyone else from the echoing gunfire of the last minute, but Carson knows his aging weapon well enough to have felt it malfunction. Fortunately, perhaps, the survivalist quickly realizes that the cylinder is jammed. Not hopelessly, there is no reason to believe the weapon can’t be repaired. Nonetheless, he knows it will take time to clear the jam — not to mention a little luck — in the middle of a battle. It’s possible that the weapon will need to spend some time on a gunsmith’s bench. Art faces a choice: try to clear the jam, or eschew the revolver in order to take some other action.
The professor, reacting a little more slowly than most of his pards during the entire battle, leaves the fate of the boo how doy — probably one of the leaders based on the results of battle to this moment— to his deadly pards. ENS turns to the north, moving towards the curtain where he believes Lu Heng Bo has gone previously. In fact, as he approaches, he sees the body of a fallen highbinder, lending some credence to his suspicions about Lu’s activities. Ringgenberg reaches the stone pillar, to which the curtain is affixed. The section of the cave is the most dimly lit. ENS finds himself straining to see any details around — or behind — the curtain, but he cannot make out anything but the dark fabric itself as he stops less than five feet away.
JEB finds himself just two steps behind the fleeing boo how doy, who has moved within ten feet of the tunnel to the rabbit hole. Having to maneuver through or over dead bodies made it impossible for JEB to cut him off, but the lawman remains quite close. Travis and Jake can see the highbinder near the tunnel, but Cole and JEB are in between. Each man behind Beauregard must make yet another immediate calculation as to whether firing is worth the risk to his pards.
OOC: Another round of combat actions.
Cole was hit by JEB for 8 points.
Cole hit twice; Jake hit once. The highbinder is still moving. Cole got an AoO against the highbinder as a result of the move out of the threatened area. Cole couldn't pursue, as per his stated actions. He got in attacks (including the bonus AoO) but couldn't stop the opponent from moving.
Art's revolver has jammed. It will require 4 full-round actions to fix, with either a Dexterity check or a Repair check. (The number of misfires in this battle has made things interesting -- for both sides).
Art must make another Fort save for the secondary effects of the poision he was hit with 10 rounds ago.