In reply to Travis Sunday (msg # 427):

ENS waits patiently... ish… for travis to continue.

In reply to Judge Messalen (msg # 432):

Jake raised a hand in greeting to Cole and Luke, then said "Found Lyman."

After a moment he added "He warn't awake -- couldn't tell whether he was asleep or unconscious. In my es-ti-maeshunn, his chances of makin' it through was better if'n he was left layin' thaere, un-disturbed."

"So that's what I did. Fritz is with him, an' I told him that we was about to skedaddle."

In reply to Jake Richardson (msg # 434):

Without pausing to load up the horses, Cole responds to Make using the same cautious tone of voice that he previously used with Luke.

Ok. Just wanted to be sure before we got out of here. Jake, help us finish up. I reckon the sooner we get gone the better.

After taking a quick moment to glance in the general direction of their room, Cole continues.

We'll come back for them.

In reply to Cole Trayne (msg # 435):

Nodding in reply to the wrangler, Jake moved over to where the horses stood and helped Cole and Luke with their task.

In reply to Jake Richardson (msg # 436):

Jake, Luke and Cole work steadily on securing the dead men to the mounts. Cole purposefully leaves one of the mounts, Bess, unladen.

The quiet of the night settles in around them. Having spent a few minutes on this task, and being nearly done, Luke Hadden speaks in a whisper.

"I 'eard summat."

OOC: Cole and Jake should make Listen checks and state a single action, if desired.

In reply to E.N.S. Ringgenberg (msg # 433):

Having caught his breath...

The law is on to us.  We need to make sure the girls and the wounded aren't around here or the Albion when they show up in force.

In reply to Travis Sunday (msg # 438):

Crikey. Where's the wagon? We're not going be successful moving women like this, or wounded... without some sort of transport. Where did you plan on taking them?

Don't think it would be "lawmen" enforcing chattel slavery.

Whoever they are, they're going to be agro. Maybe we should set an ambush and shoot 'em when they come 'round.

There was bunch of them on the beach earlier. The leader seemed sharper then the rest. Sgt... Frank Hair... Hmm. Herrera maybe. Frank Herrera I think. That name mean anything?

In reply to Luke Hadden (msg # 437):

Listen: 20

Cole quickly mounts (Fast Mount) Bess while simultaneously drawing his gun. The wrangler quickly glances at Luke in an attempt to get a general sense of direction of where he might start looking for the source of the sound his friend seemingly heard.

Jake turned his head this way and that, unsure of which direction the sound that Luke had heard was coming from, and trying to see to it that his good ear was sooner or later pointed in the right direction.

---

OOC:

17:01, Today: Jake Richardson rolled 21 using 1d20+7 with rolls of 14.  Listen Check.

Jake Richardson turns his head from side to side while listening to the sounds of the night. Without knowing how it had happened so fast, the rifleman now notices that Cole Trayne is already in the saddle. The wrangler puts his ear to the wind, as well, atop Bess.

Both men hear what sounds like a man groaning. From the south, where Travis Sunday had knocked out Edgar, and where Edgar had done the same to the constable, they reckon.
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:32, Wed 20 June 2018.

In reply to Judge Messalen (msg # 442):

From atop Bess, Cole glances at Jake and Luke.

Let's get moving. Once we get some distance between us and this place, we can secure the bodies if needed. Agreed?

In reply to Cole Trayne (msg # 443):

Jake nodded in acknowledgement of Cole's comment, and swung up into the saddle.

"We headed for the meetin'-spot down on the beach?" he asked.

In reply to Artemus Carson (msg # 439):

ENS nods at Travis' statement then answers Art...

We just need to get them a bit past the rocky point up ahead, transport should be waiting... I am glad to see you gentlemen!

After a momentary pause, ENS adds: Where on the beach did you see the constabulary?

ENS will fill in Art if he has any further questions.

Edit to add the 2nd statement.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:36, Wed 20 June 2018.

In reply to E.N.S. Ringgenberg (msg # 445):

The Judge fills in:

The heroes were hired by a man named Mr. Xu, to free these slave girls before they could be auctioned off by the Tongs that were smuggling them into San Francisco. The deal was brokered by a man named Charles Conway -- whom Jake knew and vouched for.

The heroes had to do legwork to learn about the delivery of the women (and the auction). That led them to the Albion brewery, which became a basecamp for a day, and to the battle at the rocky point and then the cave.

Mr. Xu has a longboat -- Mr. Lu, in his scribbled notes after the women were safeguarded out of the cave, told the men to meet at the north beach. (Art saw that note). That's the transport. The heroes' task is to rescue the girls from the Tong and deliver them to Mr. Xu; while Mr. Xu's task is to transport them in his boat afterwards.

Mr. Xu indicated that the local law had no interest in helping stem the slave trade. That's why he hired the heroes.

There was debate about whether to go to the lawmen (those assumed to be lawmen, at least) after the women were rescued during the battle in the cave. (To the Judge's recollection, there was no substantive discussion to go to the law at any time before that -- the PC actions were more in line with avoiding the law at all times in this matter). The group decided to attempt to get the women to the north beach, rather than to go to the law after the rescue (Art there for that, too). In the Judge's view, that decision was at least partly because if they did go to the law, it could easily result in the lawmen taking custody of the slaves -- meaning that the men would have failed in their mission as hired by Mr. Xu. So, a conscious decision to avoid the law (even if there were other reasons as well). The PCs can only speculate as to what, whom, where, how, why the law is investigating any of this (assuming they are in fact lawmen), and what the lawmen would care about or not care about. Although, it would make sense for lawmen to investigate a huge explosion and a bunch of dead Chinese on the shore of the India Basin, even if they knew nothing about the slaves. (To steal a phrase, the heroes wanted to "avoid any imperial entanglements").

(NOTE: the Judge is making no value judgements here about the heroes decisions or speculations -- just summarizing what has happened).
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:32, Wed 20 June 2018.

In reply to E.N.S. Ringgenberg (msg # 445):

Art's eyes narrow, he rubs his chin. Hmm.

In reply to Judge Messalen (msg # 446):

Travis continues to move with the girls towards the longboat.

In reply to Travis Sunday (msg # 448):

OOC: Not sure how a strikethrough post helps, but for the record, the Judge is assuming that the column is still moving during these conversations. JEB stated that he is leading the group at 1x pace and until the Judge sees a different action, that is occurring. But the rocky point is still a ways off (as noted previously in this forum) and so it is taking a while at the current pace to reach that. Mr. Xu's "north beach" is not far past that point.

In reply to Travis Sunday (msg # 448):

Turning towards the gunslinger, Art considers him for a brief moment. "You know, this ain't exactly my debut at being conned."

He shakes his head.

"And 'round about now I'm feeling pretty stupid..."

In reply to Jake Richardson (msg # 444):

Cole nods to Jake, then turns to Luke.

Luke, hand me the reigns and double-up with me and Bess. We need to get out of here right quick, and walking just won't do.

Assuming he complies, Cole will return the reigns of the laden horse to Luke.

You know the drill, keep the horses apart.

The wrangler turns to Jake, clearly ready to ride.

You good? Am I missing something?

In reply to Judge Messalen (msg # 446):

The Judge omitted something related to this ... it occurred to me after re-reading my previous post.

As per the intro to the Barbary Coast, one of the Tongs known to be involved in the slave trade (based on the PC legwork) is also believed to be the Tong that captured Cole Trayne. So, in addition to the money Mr. Xu had offered, Cole (at least) had a grudge to bear against the enemies fought on the rocky point (south) and in the Tong cave. Perhaps more of the heroes had something to settle, as that story ended with the death of Randy Oldman.
This message was last edited by the GM at 12:25, Fri 22 June 2018.

In reply to Cole Trayne (msg # 451):

"Yep, I'm good," Jake replied.

"Let's ride."

In reply to Artemus Carson (msg # 450):

Still focused on his old pard Travis, his disquietude evident, "What makes you think we're not just delivering these women to a competing slaver?"

He cocks his head and nods in the direction the queue is headed, "Once they shove off, it's any mate's guess where they're going."

In reply to Artemus Carson (msg # 454):

ENS responds to Art.

Well, Mr. Conway, Jake's associate, vouched for Mr. Xu as a local businessman of good repute... And he seems to have been nothing but straight with us.

In reply to Jake Richardson (msg # 453):

Cole nods to Jake and quickly glances around looking for a route through terrain or structures that will best conceal himself and the others from observers. Primarily, the observers that most concern him are the ones recently rendered unconscious on the ridge. Secondarily, he makes every possible attempt to avoid prying eyes from any potential observers from the Inn, as well.

In a low voice, the wrangler provides travel advice to his companions.

Let's ride as close to single file as possible. It might help obscure our numbers from any that might try to follow our trail.

In reply to E.N.S. Ringgenberg (msg # 455):

Once they get on the boat, where are they going?