Daniel felt he finally had some useful information, even it is was actually lack of information he provided.  "Well, there weren't no crowd outside when ya first went upstairs. When ya left, I took a quick look around the saloon afore walkin' outside. There wasn't nothin' outta ordnary outside when I first left. Also, there weren't no bloody tracks or spots on the ground where the guy ran off ta, so there must've been a sack or somethin' like Mister Darlin' said. Also, is there a fella that needs some fixin' up? Mebbe I can look in on 'im."

He didn't know quite how to take Sky Dog's strangely worded ramblings. The man would have to improve his English over time if he was to be of any use, Siberian or not. Still, he offered a unique perspective of things and Wyatt hoped he would eventually  be able to share those insights in a way that others might understand. He didn't really know how to deal with the man's talking to windows. Looking at the others, he could tell that he wasn't alone in this.

"You all have gathered some very interesting information, though. Putting it all together, I don't know quite what it means. Paul and Suzy arguing, then he ends up dead. I don't know what that means, Miss Hawthorne, but maybe it'll lead somewhere. And then him being a spy. Maybe as Mr. Clarke suggested, there may be some kinda spy games involved, but I don't know why not just kill 'im. From what I know, when the Rangers and the Agents go at each other, and I have seen it, they usually just shoot each other dead. Don't really go hackin' body parts off and absconding with them. And like he said also, you don't just do that without a reason."

"I haven't spoken to Doc Smith about the particulars of the wounds, though his office would certainly be a good place to get started, Mr. Darling. And if he got away without noticing, I'm sure the chaos during that big scene the Wilderness Riders made he would have had a great chance to get away," he said, scratching his chin.

"As for Walter, I'm not sure if he's seen the doctor, though he probably will. Daniel, if you find Walter, he might need some tendin' if the doctor hasn't done for him already. Apparently, some Good Samaritan drunk set his arm and I think Sky Dog did some native medicine for him, but maybe you can help too if Doc Smith hasn't."

Morgan glanced out the street, half squinting at the glare of morning. What little sleep he'd gotten was fitful. Between the strange circumstances of the murder and seeing Sarah again, his thoughts had refused to stop racing. While he'd kept watch, he'd done as he promised and written the letter he'd promised his former fiance. It was neatly folded in his pocket, ready to give to Earp when the opportunity arose.

He desperately wanted a strong cup of coffee. Listening to the discussion, he couldn't keep from the thought that Sky Dog was likely correct: whatever had killed the spy wasn't human. How could an ordinary man jump from a window, carrying several dismembered limbs, leaving so little trace and escaping virtually unnoticed? The memory of Radcliffe's walking dead made it all the easier to believe that whatever was responsible was something monstrous.

Earp had to be correct about the death not involving any kind of territorial conflict between the Agents and Rangers. Something like that would've ended in gunfire. This was something different, though it likely involved whatever the spy had been investigating. Morgan had flirted with the idea of sending a telegram to the Agency about the incident, but he'd quickly rejected the idea, at least for the time being. Doing that wouldn't lead to any answers. It would simply involve the particulars, like the girl from the Dog Eye, being whisked off, and all of them being ordered to conveniently forget what had occurred.

Kansas was still his territory. If there was a monstrous killer about, Morgan wanted to know who, or what, it was. And he wanted to put a stop to it.

"It might be worthwhile to talk to some folks in the neighborhood of the Dog Eye," he offered. "It might be that some other people remember this Paul and know more about his activities. Knowing more about his business here might provide us some clues about who would've wanted to harm him."

"Well, Deputy, I think I'll go call on Doc Smith and see what he thinks about the wounds and such. I presume you're going to interview Suzy later on and get her story. I'll be interested to hear what she has to say."

He turns to Gabby, "And you're going to try to talk some sense to that Simpkins fellow, right? The leader of the so-called Wilderness Riders. Might be as well to ask what he thinks about Hays, while you're at it."

He rises from his perch and crosses to the door. "What are your plans for this morning, Miss Hawthorne? Can I escort you to lunch at Kennely's Restaurant? Or would you prefer the Dodge House?"

"I'm going to be a bit busy to go huntin' after Suzy, Mr. Darling. If you're stopping by Doc Smith's maybe you could check in on her. He said he was gonna need to keep her under his care for a little while," he said.

Sky Dog toyed with the sunlight across his fingers a moment, then interjected: "Perhaps if you are meeting the violent men I will come with you, yes? In case they are not persuaded to end their wickedness." He grinned.

The predatory expression left his features swiftly, however, as Darling's mention of the murdered town nudged a thought free. He glanced at Daniel and leant forward. "Wyitterp, a question: do you know of a place, perhaps near to Hays, where there are wide-leaf trees together - a gang of them the same in a shallow place on the land, not a wood?"

The raven on the desk watched his hands as they tried to sign out a better meaning than the words. "Nyet," she opined, and gripped the edge of the desk to see where Clemya had got to.

Daniel's face displayed his confusion for the others to easily read. "Who zactly are these Wilderness Riders?" He wasn't entirely certain what his Uncle had gotten himself into.

"I don't know these men like Deputy Marshal Earp does," Morgan told Daniel, "But I know the type. They're quick to anger and have no objection to hurting someone. Last night one of them, the younger Simpkins brother, had Walter Jackson on the ground, helpless, and broke his arm. You and Gabby can take care of yourselves just fine. Just be careful."

He stood to go. Addressing Earp, he said, "Deputy Marshal, I'm going to take a walk around the Dog Eye and that area. See if the name Paul gets me any information. Maybe have another look at the room where the murder occurred in daylight. If I learn anything, I'll bring it straight to you."
This message was last edited by the player at 04:02, Wed 27 Mar 2013.

"I fully intend to explore the town while we are here and keep an ear out for anything interesting.  If you are going to visit the doctor, Mister Darling, I shall go with you.  I'm interested in hearing what he has to say about the creature that killed the dead man."  She didn't relish the thought of having to deal with Suzy again, but perhaps the woman wouldn't be so hysterical this time.

Rising from her seat, she smoothed out her skirt and waved her fan in front of her face to generate a small breeze as she moved to join Randolph.

Gabby nods. "Sounds like bushwhackers. But since we're Confederate through and through, we might git answers out o' them, especially if we done make it seem like we're sympathetic to their cause." he says to Danial.

Gabby frowns at Coraline's statement. "And if you can keep a civil tongue as regards to her choice o' profession, mebbe she'll even talk to you. But since you were accusin' her o' cold-blooded murder not half a minute after she done got exposed to what has to be the worst thing she's seen in her life, I somehow doubt your presence there would do any good. Mebbe you oughta go with Marshal Morgan instead."

"I didn't...!"  Coraline shot Gabby a look and snapped her mouth shut rather quickly as she realized that nothing she could say would penetrate his thick skull.  With a slightly injured expression, she slammed her fan closed and shoved it into her sleeve.  Turning sharply on her heel, she pushed through the door without saying another word, stalking off into town without waiting on Randolph.

Gabby sighs. It had been a harsh thing to say, and he knew it, but while it was true she hadn't outright accused Suzy of killing the man, she'd certainly made the implication loud and clear, and she couldn't disguise the disgust in her voice when referring to the woman. A hostile interrogation was not what poor Suzy needed right now.

He stuffed his hands into his pockets. He'd let his mouth run off with him again. Maybe he should follow her and try to apologize. But it probably wouldn't do no good right now...in his experience, women got mad on a slow burn, so anything he was liable to say just wouldn't help things right about now.

It was then that he fingered that odd scrap of silk he'd stuffed into his pocket the night before.

"Hey..." He muttered, pulling it out. "Hello, there." he turned it over in his hands, looking at it in the daylight.

Randolph gives Gabby a hard look: "Mister-- " He closes his mouth with a shake of his head and addresses Morgan, "Shall we meet at the Dog Eye about six this evening? We can share anything we learn and then start our patrols."

"Earp," he says to the Deputy, "If Doc has anything of interest to say or if I get anything from Suzy, I'll report it to you right away."
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:39, Wed 27 Mar 2013.

Morgan nodded in response to Darling.

He remained silent for a moment after Hawthorne and the reporter departed. Darling's mention of Hays brought that massacre back to the forefront of Morgan's mind. Even with the murder last night, he was still tempted to go to the livery, retrieve his horse, and ride out to the abandoned town, leaving the situation here and the bickering amongst the deputies in Earp's capable hands. But he knew that was impossible. He'd taken an oath. Given the Deputy Marshal his word. He had to see the thing through.

But before he could walk the neighborhood around the Dog Eye, he had to get to one of the general stores. Personal business he had to be certain was attended to.

Stepping over to Earp, he handed the Deputy Marshal the letter, explaining that Sarah would be coming for it once he had departed Dodge.

Looking to the others, he said, "Let's be sure to meet up at the Dog Eye at six, as Mr. Darling suggested. Anything we find might help us track down whoever's responsible for this."

With that, he left the office.

Daniel furrowed his brow and was somewhat lost in thought as the others discussed this Suzy person that seemed to be of importance to the murder case. When he finally was pulled out of his introspection, he wasn't able to do much more than raise a finger and open his mouth before the group dissolved and he was left there with his Uncle.

He closed his mouth and put his finger down before he spoke again. "What kinda cause are we s'posed ta be sympathetic ta?" He still didn't feel like he had a complete picture. Lucky for Daniel, Gabby loved to talk.

"Well, from what I understand, these Simpkins are bushwhackers. The sorts o' good ol' boys that take shots at Yankees for fun. Run with an outfit called the Wilderness Riders." Gabby said. "You know, like them Dust Adders back in Blackthorn."


"I reckon we whistle Dixie loud enough, bad mouth the deputy marshal--no offense, Mr. Earp--and all things Union, and maybe we can get in good enough with them to see if'n they saw anything funny around the saloon before they attacked the colored boy. Maybe find out if'n the know anything about the resurrected Quantrill and his raids that we don't already know."

he regarded the scrap of cloth in his hand. "Sky Dog? You said you asked the window what shape went through it. This here piece o' silk was hangin' on the glass...I don't know how you'd ask it anythin', but it was probably on the killer." He looked up at the albino. "Would you be able to get anythin' from this?"

Korpi considered joining Morgan, but reasoned on balance that her brother was more likely to get into trouble on his own. She crouched ready to spring.

Sky Dog came forward and raised an arm for Korpi to land on, puzzled by Morgan's parting words. "Six?"

"Avakhi," Korpi observed at the mention of Quantrill.

He considered the scrap. "It is likely it will only give me to know 'I was clothing, then, I was cut up'," he shrugged, but offered his free hand if Gabby thought the experiment worthwhile. Korpi watched the proceedings with bright curiousity.

"Six in the evening." Gabby says, as if that clarified everything. "Er...about an hour afore sunset."

Gabby considered that. "Well, do you think you could find out where it was clothing afore it was cut? Some sort o' impression o' the killer's movements? Mebbe we can figger out how he got into the saloon in the first place, and mebbe where his lair is. I reckon it's still worth a shot."

Sky Dog took the scrap and sniffed it. "Maybe for hot or cold or wetness, yes for that, though cloth has no eyes to see, or ears for hearing. A moment." He folded the cloth around his fingers and closed his fist on it, shutting his eyes to concentrate.

The lawman began to look somewhat impatient. On the one hand, he had a strange Siberian-type Injun' asking him what he knew about trees, and on the other hand he had a couple of deputies bickering like an old married couple. He almost cracked a smile at the bizarre thought of Gabby and Coraline as man and wife, but he didn't. He wasn't really in a smiling mood today. He nodded to Morgan as he left, thinking for a moment longer before he joined the discussion.

"Yeah, they're bushwhackers alright," he said. "You do or say whatever it takes. If you can talk them down, then so much the better for it. If not, well then, not. Right now, well, I'm just hopin' we can catch this killer."


He frowned, watching curiously as Sky Dog took the little piece of cloth, his eyebrows raising as the Siberian's eyes rolled back, and lowering again when he seemed to come to again just moments later.

"Where do the Wilderness Riders usually hang their hats?" Gabby asked while Sky Dog pondered the cloth. "And, just takin' a shot in the dark, you know who might sell fancy shirts around here? Mebbe someone who knows more about cloth can give us somethin' more to go on."

The shaman winced, then refocused on Gabby, offering the cloth back. "It is from a shirt...the wearer...I am not sure if it has blades in its form that are fitting badly, or it hides a weapon in its arm, for not feeling pain...blood wet the cloth, along here," he transferred Korpi to his head and gestured along the top of his radius, near the wrist. "-it sticks to an arm like a man's, but there is not much. Not like a man is stabbed, yes? I am not sure if it was warm blood, it was too far, from this cloth to the place of bleeding."

"You're sayin' the killer cuts himself to hide his weapon?" Gabby asks, going a bit pale at the thought. His gorge rises a bit.

Sky Dog laughed. "Or it has flesh put on, to hide that it is a weapon!"

"Zhliev diabola," Korpi agreed. "Zhliev. Krrp!"

Only slightly more serious, the shaman looked over at Earp. "I am thinking maybe it is better to catch this one's master, who sends it to kill, than to catch onto the thing, which is very dangerous if it is made to fight. If it is found, it would be well to go following it." He spoke to his sister a moment when she hopped down to his shoulder, soft bird-mutters and Evenki. "...we do not think it can fly - it is a good thing, yes?"

Daniel made a sour look at the mention of the Dust Adders. "That sorta subterfuge sounds like a reasonable plan. I think I'll let ya do mosta tha talkin', but I can whistle Dixie with ya."

He listened to Sky Dog's speculation with interest. He briefly had a vision of clashing with man whose arm was a sword, not entirely certain if that was better or worse than simply having a sword you could hold.