In reply to Earnest Nicholas Samuel Ringgenberg (msg # 616):

Searching the rucksack, the professor hears the return of his pards. All five of them. Inside, he finds some cookware, utensils, jerky, spices, matches and the like.

In reply to Judge Messalen (msg # 615):

Jake turned to Red Shirt when the small group reached the ledge where the group had been when the shooting started.

"Reckon yonder camp-site was whaere the smoke was comin' from that we spotted earlier?" he asked the tracker.

In reply to Jacob Richardsen (msg # 618):

"Yes, that seems likely." The Paiute glances at the campsite before looking to the west. "They probably have horses hidden somewhere, same as we do."

In reply to Judge Messalen (msg # 617), ENS (msg #616):

As the five of them reached the campsite, Tracy turned his attention to the fire pit.

~The bandana shred that I found near the entrance to the Narrows was charred, perhaps by this very fire. I wonder if I can find some other pieces of it.~

As he studied the fire, the investigator asked the Professor a question about the coins that he claimed to have found.

"You said that you found twelve coins in a pouch on our friend here? I found the exact same number of coins in a pouch on the other man. Strange coincidence, perhaps?"

OOC:

08:17, Today: Tracy Windham rolled 7,5 using d6+2,d6+2, rerolling max with rolls of 5,3.  Notice, evidence in fire (bandana).


Note to Judge:

Tracy kept the pouch of coins, the bullets, and the knife from the fallen outlaw.

In reply to Tracy Windham (msg # 620):

The fire pit has gone cold. No embers, only a few dead coals and a pile of ashes. Windham knows that fibrous materials such as the bandana burn easily enough. The charred, tattered remnant he found last evening looked like a piece that had somehow escaped a fire. Maybe from this very fire pit, indeed, although the investigator cannot find any intact pieces to confirm such a theory.

In reply to Tracy Windham (msg # 620):

"You find another clue? Either way, I think so, too," says the Paiute, as if he could hear the Californian's thoughts. Of course, Red Shirt did inspect the remnant and the tracks last night when Tracy had spotted them.

In reply to Red Shirt (msg # 622):

The investigator perked up at Red Shirt's mention of another clue.

"What did you find?"

In reply to Red Shirt (msg # 622):

"No, I was asking if you found anything."

OOC: The Judge detects a lull after the combat. That's fine. To avoid dragging things out unnecessarily, the Judge offers the following:

The PCs are doing fine. There is nothing here that "must" happen in order for the PCs to continue the adventure. Things found or learned here can be speculated upon as to significance or importance, but there is no particular clue or piece of information that must be gleaned here. The PC thoughts and questions make good sense but nothing depends on them.

Please feel free to continue conversing and moving things forward. The Judge asks the four PCs to advance the plot as desired. Spending time here, going back to their horses and continuing around to the other side of the canyon, looking for the outlaws' horses ... whatever, as long as the PCs have some level of consensus about how to continue.

It is roughly 8:30 a.m. by the time the men have searched the camp and the two dead outlaws. The skies show a hint of possible rain today.

So far, the Judge notes that only a few of the dead men's belongings have been collected by the heroes.
This message was last edited by the GM at 12:24, Mon 08 July 2019.

In reply to Red Shirt (msg # 624):

"Ah, I see," Windham replied, with a nod of recognition. "I haven't found anything new other than that pouch of coins, just as the Professor did. I was just inspecting this fire because we found that charred piece of bandana by the entrance to the Narrows."

"I think I'll do a quick sweep for evidence around the campsite before we head out."

Walking around the edges of the site, Tracy searched any low-lying rocks for evidence. The investigator recalled that he previously found the bandana scrap stuck between some rocks. He thought that the bandits might habitually mark their campsites and tracks in that manner.

OOC:

09:04, Today: Tracy Windham rolled 4,3 using d6+2,d6+2, rerolling max with rolls of 2,1.  Notice, evidence near rocks at campsite.

In reply to Tracy Windham (msg # 626):

Red Shirt nods while Tracy continues looking around, although the Californian finds nothing else of interest.

"Yes, that is what I was thinking," he says after the investigator elaborated on why he was inspecting the fire pit.

Clearly, the Paiute is waiting for the others to decide what to do next.

EDIT: Clarification
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:03, Mon 08 July 2019.

In reply to Judge Messalen (msg # 615):

While his pards were looking over the campsite, Jake strolled over to take a closer look at the rifle and the carbine that had belonged to the dead men. He wasn't about to get rid of own Winchester -- its balance and accuracy were pretty much perfect, to the Texan's way of thinking -- but he was curious about the quality of the long-arms that had belonged to the owlhoots.

In reply to Jacob Richardsen (msg # 628):

Richardsen picks up the carbine. It is loaded with a full magazine of seven, without an extra round in the chamber. By the Texan's standards, it is in so-so repair. It has seen better days and needs a good cleaning, but the weapon appears to be functional.

In reply to Judge Messalen (msg # 629):

OOC: I'm fine with moving things along...

In reply to Dave Walker (msg # 630):

OOC: So is the Judge, but the PCs have to tell the Judge what they are going to do.

In reply to Tracy Windham (msg # 620):

Earnest rubs his chin at Tracy's question.

Coincidence, maybe... or a bounty paid? I don't suppose that other fellow had mutton chops, did he?

At Red Shirt's mention of horses, Earnest responds while looking around.

Do you see any sign of where their horses might be Red Shirt? There might be more clues there.
This message was lightly edited by the player at 02:01, Tue 09 July 2019.

In reply to Earnest Nicholas Samuel Ringgenberg (msg # 632):

"No sign of horses down here or near the . . . entrance. We would have to search for sign above."

In reply to Earnest Nicholas Samuel Ringgenberg (msg # 632):

"There are no coincidences," says the young Knight, adding to the speculation by both the Windham and Ringgenberg about the silver coins."A bounty split equally . . . that seems right likely, professor."
This message was last edited by the GM at 12:03, Tue 09 July 2019.

In reply to Daniel Knight (msg # 634):

Daniel nods approval to his own statement and walks over to the dead man, the one shot by Earnest. Gazing first at the corpse, then across the canyon towards the Great White Throne rising above the area where the men had seen the smoke, he speaks aloud.

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding."
This message was last edited by the GM at 12:17, Tue 09 July 2019.

In reply to Earnest Nicholas Samuel Ringgenberg (msg # 632):

Tracy shook his head in response to Earnest's query. "No, he had a full-grown beard. Looked like he hadn't shaved in about a week."

After pausing briefly, the investigator continued.

"Yes, a bounty split equally would make sense. One for capturing Elizabeth comes to mind, although there's no way for us to verify that theory now."

To all, the Californian concluded his thoughts. "I think we should look for those horses. I'd like to see if there are any notes or directions regarding that potential bounty. Like the note we found on our snake-bitten friend, it may have a pertinent name attached to it."

"Twelve dollars a man ain't much of a pot," the Texan mused. "Waal . . . 'less thaere was a goodly number of men to divy it up betwixt."

"The long-arms are worth keepin', but not worth carryin' as our personal weapons -- 'less any of us is needin' a long-arm, I 'spose."

Jake paused for a moment, then said "Reckon I'd be in-clined to spend  short while seein' if'n we can find them two's horses. Not o'er-long, but if'n they're easy to find, might be worth our gatherin' 'em up an' taekin' 'em with us -- start our own remuda, so to speak. 'Tis never a bad idea to have some extry mounts on hand."

In reply to Jacob Richardsen (msg # 637):

OOC: There seems to be a consensus growing to start looking for the outlaws' horses, but not spending a lot of time doing it.

To accelerate things: Tracking rolls are needed. Notice skill won't help with this endeavor, unless the PCs are just thinking to spend time wandering around in hopes of finding the horses. As above, the Judge gets the impression that the heroes don't want to spend that kind of time.

The Judge will roll Tracking for Red Shirt. Unless the Judge is mistaken, Tracy is the only PC with that skill, so everyone else can decide if they want to try an unskilled attempt (d4-2, d4-2) and risk the possibility of snake eyes.

In reply to Judge Messalen (msg # 638):

Well, if we can't find them soon, we should move on... normally I'd say let's take care of these men, outlaws or not, but I'm guessing the sound of the gunfire we exchanged may well travel down this canyon a ways... and may have alerted the gang... any thoughts on this Red Shirt?

In reply to Earnest Nicholas Samuel Ringgenberg (msg # 639):

"Yes, we should go."

In reply to Judge Messalen (msg # 638):

OOC:

23:31, Today: Tracy Windham rolled 3,5 using d4,d4, rerolling max with rolls of 3,(4+1)5.  Tracking, horses.