Morgan listened attentively as Laura spoke. He was thankful that Gabby had brought Clementine as it seemed that the dog provided real comfort to the little girl. He couldn't help but appreciate how open Laura was with others, how readily she accepted the notion that Korpi was Sky Dog's sister. Even with what she had been through, it didn't appear that Laura had come to regard the world with fear. She was still open, still able to smile and laugh.

Focusing on what she had told the group, Morgan nodded. "So you were looking for Xander and even though you didn't think he would be there, you checked the well." He grinned. "That's the kind of thinking that makes a good lawman, Laura. Checking everything."

"What happened when you looked in the well?"

Since the girl was sitting still, Korpi edged up along the back of the pew and started preening her hair. The heavy, rat-killing wedge of the raven's beak caught the red locks with the deft delicacy of a weaver's hands, straightening, tucking and smoothing whilst her brother half-dozed against the pew-end.

Soft croaks indicated when the bird was more or less pleased with a patch, much like the hum and ha of some aunt or grandmother going over a child for lice in a birchbark tent. Korpi worked and amused herself, more gentle than a hairbrush if less efficient, and paid not the least bit of noticeable attention to the human chatter as she did so.

She seemed to gather comfort and courage from her conversation with them, as if by talking she could keep stronger emotions at bay, so she looked up at the Marshal and the others and went on. "Well, nothing happened when I looked into the well. It just had water in it. It was after that when things started to happen. I don't like to remember it, but I do - clear as well water. First, there were some gunshots and then a man rode into town on a horse. He was pretty ugly and well, you know it was dark. He was the only one on a horse, but he had a bunch more with him. I'm not really good with numbers and it was dark, but it was more than ten people."

"He was talking really loud, and he said he was going to kill all the Yankees and the traitors, and he said a lot of really bad words too. That's when Xavier came out of hiding and Mrs. Johnson told us to run into the forest and hide, and that we'd meet by the big stone. She said she was going to go back for the other kids, but I don't think she could get very far. That's when all the man on the horse's friends started shooting and killing people. The all had a sword and a gun, maybe more. I saw them shoot Billy and Sara - they were in my class at the schoolhouse."

Laura's eyes welled up with tears, and her throat caught a little, but she managed to hold them back. She looked down at Clementine, and began to pet the dog again while she continued to talk. The slow, stroking petting motions she made seemed to give her strength. "We went back the next day, Mrs. Johnson and Xavier and me, and we looked around the town but there was nobody left. Mrs. Johnson made me wait, but she checked on my parents and said they were dead. I already cried a lot about it, so I said I'm not going to cry anymore. Prolly another time, but not today. Can I be a Marshal like you? I want to find bad men too, and stop them."

Clementine curled up next to the little girl. She could sense the little girl was sad, and that made her sad and want to make her happy, so she put her head in the little girl's lap as the girl talked about the men and pet her.

"You sure can become a Marshal." Gabby says, wiping his eyes a little. "It takes guts and bravery, and I reckon you got all that in spades." he was quiet a moment. "What do you remember about the riders? Anythin' that sticks in your memory, that might have seemed a little strange or noteworthy? The more we know about them folks, the easier it will be to find 'em and stop 'em."

She seemed to brighten at the prospect that she might become a Marshal too, though amid the gloom it was kind of a forced cheer. If there was one thing that seemed to work for the girl, though, it was Clementine. "Let me try to think about it," she said, and continued to pet the dog. It took her some time, and she really only looked at the dog for the ime. She didn't want to turn her head too much, because she could feel the bird playing with her hair and she liked it. Even when she spoke, she kept her eyes on Clementine.

"Well, I didn't get too close, but I remember something Mrs. Johnson said. She said that they were dirty men, that they smelled real bad, like they hadn't showered in weeks. I don't think that'll help. And that the man on a horse had a name, but I can't remember what it was. I'm sorry that I can't remember. It sounded like Quarter, I think, but I don't know if that's a real name or not."

Morgan did his utmost not to show any trace of emotion when Laura answered Gabby's question. Smiling with genuine warmth, he said, "Laura, you are one of the bravest girls I've ever met. You'd most certainly be a great Marshal. When you've grown up, if I'm not too old and gray, I'd be proud to ride with you."

Clearing his throat, Morgan asked, "The name you heard, Laura. Could it have been Quantrill?"

Gaby snapped his head toward Caleb. Quantrill!? That couldn't be right...Quantrill was dead. Had been for over a decade. Right?

But that might not mean he wasn't around. Those deadders at the train proved that much. Or maybe Quantrill had faked his death, and now had the urge to start killing again. Might make all the butchery make more sense...he didn't want to leave witnesses to his attacks that could recognize him.

He waited for Laura's reply.

"That was it!" she said, excitedly, looking up from Clementine for the first time in a while. "That was what Mrs. Johnson said that he said, and I think it scared her silly. I haven't heard that name before, so it was hard to remember. Have you heard about him? He must be a wanted criminal."

"He is." Gabby said quietly. "That goddamn bastard's a stain on the soul o' the south, and oughta be burnin' in Hell next to Judas Iscariot and John Brown."

Gabby quit speaking, suddenly mindful of where he was, but it was too late to take the words back, and he did mean them with every fiber of his being. Gabby was a Southern boy, sure. But he'd lived in California the greater portion of his life, and when news of the sickening things Quantrill and his raiders had done filtered over to him, he'd been rightfully appalled. Sure, he knew that many Southerners held him in high regard, him and those murderous thugs in the James Gang, but in his soul he knew them for what they were...animals in human skin.

Daniel remained still while Gabby and Caleb asked their questions. He nodded at his uncle's proclamation, though winced a little at the language used in the presence of the young girl. He smiled at the girl, and hoped to move her to something that was less traumatic than all the deaths. "What about the weather, Laura? Did you notice anything peculiar about it before or after you looked for Xavier in the well?"
This message was last edited by the player at 19:44, Thu 07 Feb 2013.

The shaman's brow had furrowed despite apparently drowsing where he sat, silently listening. The names meant nothing to him, but the description made no sense. Why start a horse-raid by alerting the town? Sky Dog opened one eye properly, then the other, wondering at Daniel's question.

"Korr..." Korpi remarked, and adjusted her ministrations for the movement. One side of Laura's head had become well-preened and aerodynamic during the interview, bringing out the rosy shine of her hair.

"The just vengeance of the Lord awaits this man, and eternity in the lake of fire," was all the priest said in response to Gabby, this time choosing not to comment on the miner's language, though he did give him a look.

"The weather? I don't know about the weather really. Just like today, or maybe yesterday? It was just like any other normal day. The weather was good, that's why we were all playing outside. No rain or anything," she said.

Daniel nodded at her response and the padre's. "And nothing odd about the temperature just before, during, or after those men rode into town?"

"Nope. I don't remember anything about the weather being funny. What does the weather have to do with it? Does he only attack people during good weather or something?" she asked.

"The wound in the world...in the other places, with the spirits, it feels like when the wind comes off snow that has become hard on the ground and a sound too high to hear. It aches in the skull...you have felt this here, in the middle world, Dalix?" The shaman sat up, fully alert now and concerned.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:23, Thu 07 Feb 2013.

Daniel shook his head slightly at Sky Dog's question. "Nope, nothin' like 'at. Jus' summa the folk what mentioned things happened at Hays said somethin' 'bout reports of it becomin' quite cold jus' 'fore th' men rode inta town." He shrugged as if he felt it didn't matter, but the conflicting report between Laura and the rumors from the bluebellies struck him as peculiar.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:33, Fri 08 Feb 2013.

"Well, you cannot trust rumors entirely. These people spoke to some others when they first straggled into town. One person tells someone one thing, and they repeat it to another, and again until you finally hear a very different story from someone else," he said.

"Or it was somethin' only a couple people could have noticed." Gabby murmurs. "Could we maybe talk to Mrs. Johnson? It sounds like she might have gotten closer to the Night Riders, close enough to see a few more details anyhow. The cold rumor had to get started somehow."

He looked at Laura again. "You said it was dark...them riders didn't have no torches with 'em? Just swords and guns?"
This message was last edited by the player at 05:18, Fri 08 Feb 2013.

"I have asked Mrs. Johnson to join us when she is ready, and I expect she will be doing so in a few minutes. Neither her, nor her son Xavier have held up with quite the composure of young Laura here. I had hoped she would have been here by now. I believe she just wanted to compose herself," said the priest.

Sky Dog pinched the bridge of his nose, almost back to his normal colour. "Sorry, Laura...but I am afraid now that perhaps this Quanterill is an avakhi - a demon, in this, the middle world, which must be fought differently to the mortal men. Please, the one horse, could you make description of him?"

Morgan had fallen momentarily silent. From all that he knew, Quantrill was dead, killed along with several of his men by a Union patrol. He couldn't help thinking about the horrors he and the others had confronted on the train and in the mine. Those had all been dead men, somehow returned to life by some terrible, arcane process. If those dead could walk, who could say that Quantrill and his partisans couldn't as well. The talk that Laura had overheard certainly sounded like the border ruffians Morgan remembered so well.

When Sky Dog spoke up, Morgan listened intently. Quantrill, now a demon of some kind?

If so, he needed to be sent back to hell, where he belonged.

Morgan looked at Laura, a smile of encouragement on his face. "Yes, Laura. Anything you remember about the leader of these men, or any of the riders for that matter, could help us catch them."

A woman walked into the church, her face bearing the evidence of recently shed tears. "Why don't we let Laura go play with Xavier for a while, and I'll answer any questions you gentlemen have.  I got a better look anyhow. Is that alright Laura?"

"Sure, Mrs. Johnson," she said. "I'm gonna grow up and be a Marshal," she announced to the men before scrambling out.

Before Laura skedaddled, Morgan said, "Thank you for your help, Laura. If you ever need my help with anything, you let me know. If I'm not here in Dodge, Deputy Marshal Earp should be able to find me."

Turning his attention to the widow, he tipped his hat to her. "Mrs. Johnson, my name is Caleb Morgan. I'm a United States Marshal. I appreciate you being willing to talk to us about what happened."

He paused, considering his words carefully before adding, "I lived in Lawrence when the attack happened there, during the War. I lost some of my family to it. I know how difficult it must be to remember what you've been through, ma'am. But I assure you, it will help us find the people responsible."