In reply to Judge Messalen (msg # 580):

Padre nods.

Very wise. A man knows nothing, who does not know himself.

Padre looked over to see if The Professor was ready.

Shall we go have a look at the sleeping quarters? May be nothing but floor and walls but you know what they say about idle hands..

In reply to Albert (Padre) Juhasz (msg # 582):

Earnest grins up at Padre.

Let's do!

He nods at the Elder... Mr. Wainright

He walks his horse over to the indicated boarding house and ties her up there then waits for Padre to dismount.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:14, Tue 12 Mar.

In reply to Thomas Pearce (msg # 581):

Pearce gazes through his field glasses for a spell. He looks around, and before long he sees Red Shirt moving towards the group. All three of the pards see the Paiute approach.

When he arrives, he stops briefly and speaks two words before he turns to follow the trail back the way they came.

"Walk horses."

In reply to Earnest Nicholas Samuel Ringgenberg (msg # 583) and Albert (Padre) Juhasz (msg # 582):

The two pards amble over to the boarding house. Earnest goes slowly, still feeling the effects of his wounds. Ideally, the professor would prefer a few days of bed rest. Circumstance dictate otherwise. He does his best to keep up with Padre.

In the boarding house, they meet the matron of the place, Madame Laffon. She graciously shows them the room where the men took shifts to sleep. "Never more than one at a time," she notes, twisting her petite frame when she speaks to the men.

It's clear she has already cleared the place of any sign of the invaders.

OOC: The note about Earnest is to reinforce this as time moves much slower in the game than it does in RL. The Judge appreciates the players keeping the W number updated on the bio line.

In reply to Judge Messalen (msg # 585):

Padre scans the room. No immediate indication of anyone having habitated. It reminded Padre of the rooms at his seminary. Not  in its bareness but in its inability to retain a memory.  Four stone walls and a hay mattress on the floor.  may as well have been prison.

If this doesn't pan out, Professor, I am plumb out of idears.

That may be a blessing Padre thinks. They both could use more rest.

Padre continues to scan the room for any indication of anything that may have been missed by Madame Laffon's cleaning.

OOC:
15:06, Today: Albert (Padre) Juhasz rolled 4,7 using d8+2,d6+2, rerolling max ((2,5)).

Padre is certain: Mme. Laffon, or perhaps her underling, is an excellent cleaner. The only evidence indicating someone had slept here recently remains the word of the townsfolk, including the matron herself.

In reply to Judge Messalen (msg # 585):

Earnest looks over the room from where he stands, then turns to the owner.

Madame Laffon, was anything found while cleaning this room... anything at all? Was the mattress turned?

Is there a wardrobe or chest of drawers in the room?

In reply to Judge Messalen (msg # 585):

The Paiute glances over his shoulder to ensure the men are following. He continues to walk, stopping once the men had moved north and out of site of the second mesa. Tracy figures they've retraced about 1/3 of the route. The Californian is also convinced the human tracks belonged to Red Shirt.

"Foreign Legion camped beyond pass. Horse went that way." He points to south, generally towards the mesa where the three riders had stopped and the pass that Tommy had spied.

"I saw twenty. Probably more beyond."

The Paiute's soliloquy surprises the men. Four sentences might be an all time high for the reticent guide.

In reply to Earnest Nicholas Samuel Ringgenberg (msg # 588):

Earnest's question seems a might odd to the matron, at least judging by her expression. The professor can see with his own eyes that no chest of drawers, footlocker, or wardrobe exists in the spartan room. He and Padre did see one wood chair, a small high table with a wash basin, and several pegs in the wall where coats, hats, and other garments could be hung. They are empty now,

Still Mme. Laffon answers politely, as she glances at the room's meager furnishings. "Non et non," she says, her accent more prominent for a moment. "We turned it not long ago."

In reply to Red Shirt (msg # 589):

"Damnaeshunn, Red Shirt," the Texican said, flashing a smile.

"I don't bee-lieve I've ever heered you be so all-fired windy afore."

"An' see," Jacob continued, "it warn't so bad. Lightnin' din't come down out've the sky an' strike uhs down. We din't see ol' Noah a-wavin' at us from his Arc as he floated by."

Jake fell silent and seemingly pondered over the fact that a French Foreign Legion camp was nearby. Those were tough men, he had no doubt -- men who had seen the elephant various times, and lived to tell about it. He had no wish to tangle with 20 of them.

"I'd a' thunk that them yahoos we whooped might be dee-serters from that bunch. 'Cept they had a feller who I bee-lieve was an officer amongst 'em."

"An' officers don't often-tiemes dee-sert, near as I can tell."

---

Edit: Fixed a coloration issue.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:57, Sat 16 Mar.

In reply to Judge Messalen (msg # 590):

Earnest nods and smiles at the matron.

Well, hiding something under the mattress seems about the only option in this room... So if you do not mind, we'll have a quick look.

He goes to the bed and carefully lifts the mattress to avoid messing up the bedding as he looks underneath.

OOC: He doesn't expect to find anything, but Earnest will look under both sides of the mattress.

In reply to Earnest Nicholas Samuel Ringgenberg (msg # 592):

Mme. Laffon shrugs and nods her assent.

As he expected, Earnest finds nothing of interest when inspecting the mattress.

In reply to Jacob Richardsen (msg # 591):

Tracy was very glad to see Red Shirt again. Until the Paiute showed up and led them away from the mesa, he was very unsure what to do. He wanted to chase after the horse, but he also wanted to keep his pards out of danger. Red Shirt's appearance made the deliberation moot.

The investigator nodded when Jake mused about the invaders potentially having deserted from the Legion. "That would explain why they were so organized for sure. But is it significant that they were speaking Spanish rather than French? I don't know how common that would be in the ranks of the Legion myself." He shrugs.

"Did you see anything else of interest, Red Shirt?"

In reply to Judge Messalen (msg # 593):

Earnest finishes his look, shakes his head, then turns back to Padre and the Matron.

Nothing at all, as expected... Can you think of anything else Padre? I don't suppose they left anything in your care Madame Laffon?

In reply to Earnest Nicholas Samuel Ringgenberg (msg # 595):

I dont even have an inkling of an idea.

Damn...

Might just serve us better to rest up and be pink when our Pards come a-calling.

Mme. Laffon offers the room to the men, gesturing to the room and the bed.

"For all you have done for us, messieurs, feel free to rest here."

OOC: Sometimes there is nothing in particular to find, no matter how good your die rolls might be. The two men have helped Daniel escort the girls, spoke to the Wainwright, and got a feel for the situation in town. The idea of rest until reunited with the others is most logical.

In reply to Albert (Padre) Juhasz (msg # 596):

Red Shirt, after exerting himself uttering numerous words, had listened silently to Jake's meandering thoughts and then reacts to Tracy's question.

"No," he replies. Then, in what seems a response to the Californian's wondering about language, he adds "Legion has many tongues."

With the Paiute in a talkative mood Tommy asks

"We figured you wanted us to follow you out here..did we get that right?"

In reply to Judge Messalen (msg # 597):

Earnest nods to the matron.

Merci beaucoup madame.

He will avail himself of the bed, leaving room for Padre to lay down as well if he wishes.

OOC: Fair enough, never hurts to look!

In reply to Thomas Pearce (msg # 599):

Red Shirt continues his rare talkative streak with a reply to Pearce.

"Sort of," he answers, with a shrug.

In reply to Earnest Nicholas Samuel Ringgenberg (msg # 600):

Hopefully our pards have better luck than we did, Professor.

Padre accepts he and his pard are about to get some much needed rest.

Perhaps they should have our luck...

Padre avails himself of the space The Professor left for him.

In reply to Red Shirt (msg # 601):

"That kid we was a-trailin'," Jacob began, still speaking to Red Shirt, "you reckon it made its waey back to the Legion camp over yonder?"

The Texican figured that if the horse had found its way home again, so to speak, that would confirm that the men who had caused such a ruckus in the Three Towns area had come from there, as well.

The particulars regarding how-come the hardcases had done what they had done . . . waal, that was still a mite up in the air . . .

In reply to Jacob Richardsen (msg # 603):

The Paiute nods his assent.

To Jake's eyes, the guide looks quite tired.
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:13, Wed 20 Mar.

In reply to Red Shirt (msg # 604):

Tracy also notices the tiredness in Red Shirt's eyes. "Red Shirt, how do you feel about Rockville? Padre and the Professor are already there. We could all get some rest."

The Paiute shrugs. "Rockville is all right." Although he doesn't seem excited about the idea, Red Shirt clearly agrees about the need for rest, as he cannot stifle a yawn.