http://www.movieforums.com/com...502&d=1457468683

The Behemoth trudges northward it way farther north. Carrying Samuel, the prisoner, Arulas -- and perhaps the twins, the robot makes fair time without further incident. In the late afternoon, it reaches the coordinates specified.

At a crossroad where two trails intersect, a lone structure dominates the surrounding wilderness. The Mammoth Saloon stands alone except for some tiny buildings around it like outhouses and sheds. A couple of tiny farmhouses are visible in the distance. A few horses, a couple of mules, a single covered wagon, a Wasterlander model motorcycle, and a single robot horse are all tied outside. Yes, somebody mounted reigns on a bike and lashed them to the hitching post. Some music originates from inside the tavern, but the place isn't loud or wild by any means.

Kalista, Ethan, and Polkitain will catch up whenever they like. Alternatively, I could give them their own thread if they don't want to meet up for a while.

Doc smiled, "Let's stop, wouldn't hurt to get a good drink. See what the locals got to say about the goings on in the area. Ask em right, they might know a lot of useful things. What do you boys say?"

"Well first things first I need to get my backup armor on. Then we can go in. Drinks sound good. A decent beer maybe." Arulas says as he looks at the situation. "Chances of answers with me in my knightly armor is a lot less."

"Just makes me all the more personable Arulas, get changed, it's time to get drunk!" Doc says gleefully, "Kidding, maybe. Let's just go see what's going down, maybe this lady is around here and someone knows how to reach out to her."

The inside of the saloon is dark but somewhat inviting. It's cleaner on the inside and decorated in a classic Wild West style. A rhino-buffalo head is mounted on one wall, but otherwise it looks like it might have been a movie set in a Spaghetti Western.

The place is far from full, but there are a few people inside. Everyone here appears human. There are some dusty looking cowboys playing cards at a table. Some saddle tramps are sitting at the bar. There are only four females visible. One of the females is the bartender, a burly woman with M.o.M. implants. Two are attractive saloon girls who are serving drinks. The last female is an older woman playing a piano in the back. There's no way to tell yet which if any if any of these women might be Glory.

No rune-covered weapons are visible here.

The bartender says in a loud voice, "Don't be shy. Come on in outta the heat. This place don't get busy until sundown when the show starts, so sit where you please."
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:01, Thu 01 Sept 2016.

With the cyber-knight 'slumming' it in his backup armour, Nyx forgoes his usual sharp suit and remains in his travelling armour. He steps into the saloon, smile broadening as he takes in the careworn nature of the place. With his pistols remaining slung at his hips, he strolls over towards the bar - flicking a clove cigarette from it's battered pack and pausing a few feet from the bar to light it.

He takes a deep drag, exhaling a long stream of smoke towards the interface between bar and packed earth floor, "Appreciate the welcome. What're you serving?"

Samuel enters and looks like the mechanic that he is in his somewhat dirty orange jumpsuit and tool belt. He has left the Behemoth on lock down with his armor ready to go, both the vibro-blade and magic sword strapped to its hips.

"Thanks," to the bartender," and what kind of show?"

Doc gives the bartender a friendly smile and a nod, "Whiskey, if ya got any good ma'am." Doc takes a cigar out and simply starts gnawing at the end of it a bit, not lighting it yet.

The bartender answers, "Whiskey, we got. It's specially brewed at one of the farms near here. Cost you one credit for a shot, or if'n you are pay in precious metals, I can start ya a tab. I also got a little hard cider left.Besides that, we've got water. It's watered down, but it's cold and clean. I was expecting a keg of beer and some bottles of wine to arrive this morning, but old Chief Broadtooth has been having troubles with his caravans, I hear. First shot is on the house, gents." She pours three shot glasses with whiskey.

"The show the Mammoth Saloon Shindig, presented by Lazy Wyvern Ranch. There ain't nothing controversial about it like them shady traveling shows with their magic and mutants. Our show is just good old fashioned singing and playing and girls dancing on the bar, fit for red blooded Lone Star folk. A few boys have been known to dance on the bar too. What you won't see are mutants, not even dog boys. Cow punchers don't appreciate their company like the dead boys do. The doggies got their own tavern down the road yonder."

"So, you boys passing through, or you gonna wait for the show? We rent rooms here by the night, but I only got one vacancy left for this here evening."

Doc smiles, "'Preciate the drink ma'am. I'm Doc. I sure do like dancin' girls, so if my friends don't object, I reckon I'll stay and see what the show has goin'." Doc pounds his shot and asks for another, after toasting with his brother and the others of course.

One of the barflies leans in closer to Doc. While the second shot is being poured, the sloppy drunk asks, "What's with your ears, pilgrim? They look cattywhumpass. Are they mutating or something?"

"Rice picking accident when we were younger." Arulas says as he buys Doc his second shot. "You see the harvester got too close and we were playing tag in the field. Got us both. Of course now days most older folk give us heck about it. We just smile and buy them a shot. So how about it pardner?"

The barfly regards Arulas with a glossy lazy eye. Then he smiles. "Pardna, you can count me as 'older folk'. I'm right sorry for calling you mutant. I'll take that whiskey." He turns attention to the bartender greedily.

The bartender takes a hold of Arulas' cred stick and waves it over a scanner on her bar. She frowns at something which no one else can see. Then she shrugs, says, "good enough", lays the cred stick back on the bar, and pours some more whiskey into shot glasses. She asks, "Which way you heading, gents?"

Doc grins at the barfly, "No sir, not mutating, been this way, like my buddy said, for years. Get all kindsa crap for it. I'm Doc, you got a name?"

Nyx keeps out of the conversation, but the smile on his face suggests his has some mischief planned

Samuel puts down two credits for two whiskeys and just looks at the goings on.

The barfly answers, "Howdy Doc, mah name is Ronald, but folks call me Catfish. I'm much obliged for this here whiskey."

As the evening wears on, more cattlehands, farmers, and saddletramps make their way into the bar. No one pays Doc, Samuel, and Nyx much attention outside of Catfish who keeps angling for more free drinks. Closer to sundown, more girls arrive one at a time and then vanish into a dressing room upstairs. A coyote outside can be heard greeting the rising moon with a robust howl.
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:59, Mon 05 Sept 2016.

INSIDE THE SALOON
Samuel, Nyx, Doc, & Arulas

When the sun set, the show finally begins. One of the saloon girls sits at the piano and begins beating out a lively tune with the refrain, "Yipee-ki-yi-yay, I'm an old cow hand from the Rio Grande." The locals become very lively and sing along. One by one, saloon girls appear by climbing onto tables or the bar and singing their parts one at a time. The boisterous crowd shouts out cheers of approval and the names of their favorite performers. Some of the names which can be made out in the chaos are Mercy, Charity, Chastity, Glory, Mercy, and Patience.

Everyone appears to be having a good time except for the barfly, Catfish. He has relocated to the window seat and turned away from the show. He appears to be crying into an empty beer glass.

OUTSIDE THE SALOON
Ethan, Polkatain, and Kalista

The glittermount charges through the arid Texan landscape. Finally drawing close to the behemoth, the riders find it parked near a large wooden structure. The large sign over the front reads, "Mammoth Saloon." Some loud music is coming from inside.

Outside and nearby, a howl pierces the night. At first, it seems like a coyote being noisy, but it isn't. The source is a glowing figure which floats behind the saloon and a good fifty feet off the ground. The figure is a lone banshee wailing in the night.

Ethan had enjoyed the ride to rejoin the rest of the group. It had given him time to talk with Polkitan and Kalista. Since it was almost a certainty he would never return to his home, learning about the people (even when the people weren't human) here and how to make friends of them was a skill he had best acquire.

All too soon he and his two friends found the Behemoth. He was just about to dismount from Kalista's magical yet robotic horse when he heard an ear piercing scream. He was thankful for the hearing protection of his helmet as without, it would have been even worse.

He turned to find the source and spotted the apparition. He had never seen anything like it before. "Ghost? Spirit of some kind? Maybe another psychic entity?" He thought to himself. "Whatever it is, best not give it a single clustered target", and with that, he hopped off the horse and put at least ten feet between him and his friends.

Polkitain for the last bit of the ride practices meowing and purring.

When he sees the banshee his hair rises up and his ears flatten a bit.

"Wow, you don't see that everyday. Maybe we should talk with it ?"

Doc gets an extra shot of whiskey for Catfish, and takes it over to him, "Something on your mind partner?" his charm flowing freely, this was a drastic change for Catfish.

OOC can we hear the banshee?

Arulas is wary for trouble, but not crazy alert. He has mostly drank water. A few shots and a few beers here and there mostly to avoid suspicion.

Kalista prepared herself for more combat.

Polkitain hopped to the ground and headed over cautiously to the banshee.

"Hello, why are you here ? has someone died ?" His cat tail flickered.

With his brother tender-heartedly handling the barfly, Nyx remained perched on a stool close to the cyber-knight, sipping on a whisky and occasionally lingering over a clove cigarette. He appeared bored by the show and his earlier mischief had vanished. As the evening dragged on he leaned over to the knight, "It's too quite and folk here too fanatical for my tastes...."

He kept his hat low over his brow, not hiding his good looks but his ears, "Be watchful for those who would report us to the skull-faced soldiers..."

Arulas smiles "Well it seems a small farming community, but I don't think the skulls are the issue here. Fangers or possible Brimstone aligned would be my guess. Remember these are The Meet Cute. Someone here knows more than they let on. Any bets?"

"Perhaps the sobbing man?", murmured the elf with seemingly little interest, "Or the tender behind the bar"

In Response to Sir Arulas, "Agreed."

Then Samuel heads off to join a poker game and lose a few credits so that the lips at the table are loose. He tries not to lose more than 100.

Outside: Ethan, Polkatain, & Kalista


Anyone with the Lore: Monsters skill should be able to instantly recognize this fairly common spirit. Kalista can recognize its species even without making a roll. Ethan doesn't have that, and given his background, it wouldn't make as much sense for him to know.



Polk shouldn't be able to normally communicate with spirits like that, but I'll give you this one. We'll just say that this particular banshee has been haunting the Lone Star region for a time and has picked up the native language.

"Not dead yet. The death will happen soon. I heard the creatures from the swamp plan it. They will bring the sweet death. They are on their way here now, but I came first. I am sooooo hungry. I waaaannnnt the deeeeEEEEAAAAaaaaAAAATH."

Anyone who approaches the banshee even a step closer is going to have to deal with her empathic attack. That's another Save vs Psi roll.

Inside: Arulas, Nyx, Doc, & Samuel

The banshee is not quite close enough for her wailing to have its effect on the group inside. Only Catfish was within her range. To everyone else, the banshee's wail drowned out by the music sounded like a normal coyote howl.

When Doc approaches Catfish with a fresh drink, he enters into the wail's range also. Catfish is inconsolable, and Doc begins to feel depressed also as he approaches the drunkard's table. Save vs. Psi again, please. (Why does this always happen to you, Doc?)

Meanwhile, Samuel has invited himself into a local poker game. The stakes are very low, and so his losses are well within his budget even when he doesn't focus on winning. Sammy doesn't have the Gambling skill, but he does have Research. Roll that for me to see how much intel he gets, please.

Nyx and Arulas are able to converse relatively without interrupting. They do have a little trouble hearing each other when a brunette showgirl climbs onto the bar near their stools and begins belting out an off-key rendition "Juicer's Last Call in the Tumbleweeds."

"So a ghost and a dragon meet outside a bar..." Ethan thought to himself as he watched the shaped changed dragon first move closer to the howling ghost and then strike up a conversation with it. Despite the utterly strange scene unfolding in front of him, his mind still find the capacity to recognize the humor in the situation. The ghost's words didn't fill him with comfort but so far it hadn't attacked, which made Ethan disinclined to be the first to start hostilities. "Besides, I have no idea if anything I have will be effective on it anyways," he thought. "Better to wait and see what Polkitain and Kalista do, follow their lead."

OOC Ethan is keeping his distance and watching the "ghost". He has no clue what it is but it sure looks like a ghost to him. Essentially he is holding is actions until he knows he has something useful to do.

"Someone should let the others know, there are enemies coming from the swamp. People should prepare. It seems like this creature is attracted to death." Politain gulped a bit.

"Thanks for your warning." Polk said to the Banshee.

His cat fur standing on edge.

Nyx pays enough attention to the dancer to not seem out of place, his taste for humans rather meagre. Instead he turns to the cyber-knight, striking up what he believes to be small talk, "Tell me more about how you came to be in these parts..?

Kalista nodded to Ethan and then to the building behind them, indicating he should do the warning.

10:34, Today: Doc rolled 7 using 1d20.  vs psionics.

Samuel is good natured about his losses and makes sure to follow good protocol and ask his questions between rounds when the dealer is picking up the cards and dealing. He looks about the room here and there, but mostly pretends not to pay attention to what is going on around him.

Ethan takes his cue and backs away from the apparition. After walking backwards a few steps, he turns and runs for the saloon. He bursts into the building with no attempt at subtlety. "Some kind of ghost or something is headed this way," he says in a loud clear voice. "It said something about creatures from the swamp coming to kill us."

"And wait for it..." Arulas says.

Front Door
A beer glass shatters on the door frame near Ethan's head. The cowboys heckle him furiously. "Shut up!" "You're interrupting the music!" "Dang Crazy" Of course, Arulas, Nyx, Samuel, and Doc can all see and recognize Ethan.

The Window Seat
Doc feels a deep sadness take a hold of him. He isn't helpless, but his actions will be slow and perhaps sluggish while his heart is not in it. The exception would be if his actions were to drown his sorrows in more whiskey; that he could do without penalty. By contrast, Catfish has given into the misery and is beside himself in grief over -- nothing specific.

From his window vista, Doc can notice an eerie glow outside. The banshee hovering in the air should be within view from his angle.

In the Poker Game
Over the course of a only a few hands, Samuel overhears several juicer rumors from the gossipy ranchers. As a result of this conversation, Samuel can enjoy a +5% bonus to any subsequent Research rolls involving local events. The slightly tipsy cowboys do let slip the following useful information. The saloon girls who work at the tavern mostly work only part time there. The rest of their time, they are free to pursue their own interests, and several of them run small businesses on the side. Some of these businesses are quite shady, like one girl who is suspected of peddling drugs to Wannabes-Juicers. Even the bartender is suspected of selling information to Coalition investigators. Girls come and go from the Mammoth Saloon frequently. They tend to leave when their business deals either do well or else get them run out of the area. A lot of shady customers come by to visit one of these saloon girls when the saloon is closed. Just a few nights ago, a city-slicker gang (matching the description of the bandits who attacked earlier) was seen in back of the saloon just before dawn -- probably buying more illicit drugs the cowboys speculate.

Outside the Saloon
The banshee does not acknowledge the thankyou from Polkatain. It merely continues its wailing. Then it turns to face a ridge behind the saloon. A few figures appear over the ridge, riding hard towards the tavern. The first figure is a very large vulture-like bird gliding through the air. Two lizard men appear next, riding on grey and black stallions. A third stallion runs close behind them with no rider.

Polkatain will be the first to make out some more details with his excellent night vision.

Anyone who makes a successful Perception Roll of 12 or better will notice something about the bird...

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
The bird is too large to be a natural vulture, and it has four legs folded under its body.

---

"Ghosts and madmen", muttered the psi-slinger to himself. But he stood, calmly, and moved towards the bathroom door to extricate himself from the bar, intending to circle round to the front from where this imagined threat might occur

07:53, Today: Nyx rolled 3 using 1d20.  Perception.

"Be careful, that vulture isn't normal. It has four legs."

Polkitain's cat tail swishes in an excited and twitchy way. His hair standing on end.


Polk studies the people and especially the Vulture and unridden horse.
06:11, Today: Polkitain rolled 3 using 1d100.  Demon/Monster Lore.


Polk will share what he knows with Kalista.

Doc quickly downs his whiskey, and Catfish's shot. This adventuring was wearing on him, why was he so out of sorts? He couldn't pin it down, seeing the glow though, his curiosity grows, he returns to the bar and gets another shot. If his brother exits the bar, he will follow him, somewhat half heartedly.

Kalista un-slung her rifle and tried to get a bead on the four legged flying thing.

Ethan reflexively ducks and covers his head with his hands as the fragments of shatter glass explode around him. “Try to be helpful,” he thinks to himself. “I warned them,” he thinks has he turns and exits the saloon. He was concerned about Kalista and Polkitain even though he realized it was probably a bit silly of him. “One is some sort of cybernetic knight and the other is a frigging dragon!” Still he was a product of his upbringing and training. It was simply who he was to worry about the health of others and he hurried back to where he had left his companions.

OOC - 09:15, Today: Ethan rolled 2 using 1d20.  Perception.

18:48, Today: Samuel Lund rolled 15 using 1d20+1.  perception.

Outside
The riders draw nearer, and everyone is able to make out more details about them. Two horses have saddles, bits, and bridles, but the third is bare. The lizard-men are wearing hide-armor made from rhino-buffalo. The left-most lizard-man is wearing a ten-gallon hat, and the right-most is wearing a sombrero. Both are armed with long guns and spears.

Polkatain suddenly realizes that the flying is not a vulture at all. That's a loogaroo, an evil monster which inhabits the same homeworld as his parents. Such creatures are known to the tastes of predatory animals but the skill of mages. At least it should be solid enough that it can be clawed unlike the spirits which have complicated life for him lately.

Kalista has the bird-thing in her sights. Ethan is just now returning from the saloon.

Inside
Samuel is distracted from his game by Ethan's shouted warning from the saloon's front door -- and then by the faint but curious glow coming from outside. Also, the rancher to Sam's left is cheating (and still losing).

Doc arrives at the bar only to find that his stool has been taken by someone else. Woe is Doc.

Nyx and Arulas suddenly feel a wave of melancholy settle on them. The singing stops, the dancing stops, and the tune at the piano shifts to a low-tempo breakup song. Like spilled water from a tipped over horse trough, the feeling spreads through the saloon from one side to another. It's your turns to make that Save vs Psi or become depressed, guys. The same effect will reach Samuel very soon.

Polkitain ran to Kalista's side.

"That bird creature is a Logaroo, nasty predators and they might have magic. I recognize it from my mothers memories it is from out home world."

Not having a distance weapon Polk waited for them to get closer and looked for cover he could take in his cat form.


06:00, Today: Polkitain rolled 7 using 1d20+4.  Initiative roll.

Nyx paused by the batwing door that led out to the privies, his lips curling into a sneer as - in his mind - the music took a dolorous tone. Rather than head outside, he turned and made his way back to Sir Arulus and his twin, "No way I'm peeing out back. I'm likely to catch something"

13:13, Today: Nyx rolled 2 using 1d20.  Save vs Psionics (Master).

Kalista will wait until she is either attacked or the riders are in range for issuing challenge.

Samuel looks at the farmer and says, "As the old saying goes, 'if you ant cheating, you ant trying hard enough'."

He gets up, takes what remains of his money and heads out back to 'take a leak'. Once outside, he actually walks around to his Behemoth, part on this side of the bar from the banshee and riders.

'What have I gotten myself into this time?'

"That wasn't expected. Huh?" is all he can muster to Ethan bursting into the room.

As the wave of melancholy washes over him he laughs. "Banshee right on cue. Please tell me one of you brought the dancing music?" the last was directed to the twins as his hand starts glowing.

Doc, frustrated now, begins to look for his brother and a way out of this bar where he can't even find a seat.

"Dancing music?", queried Nyx, with the beginning of a curl of a sneer, "You believed that?"

He sighs and stands though, waving to his brother as he prepare to go outside

Doc, seeing Nyx, sighs and heads his way.

Back of the Saloon
I am unclear whether Samuel is meant to encounter the monsters or not. Either way, as he moved out of the back of the saloon towards the outhouse, he definitely would have seen the banshee in the air and not far from him. He can be arriving at his parked Behemoth now.

In Front of the Saloon
The monsters ride hard over and the down the ridge. As they draw closer, however, they slow to a trot. The loogaroo lands on the roof of a shed and kicks up a cloud of dust doing so. All of the creatures stare at Kallista and Ethan who stand before them. Even the horses are staring. The monsters are now within range of most weapons, but they are not yet reaching for their own energy weapons. None of them seem to have noticed Polkatain the cat.

Inside the Saloon
Arulas' psi-sword takes form in his hand. Usually, this would cause a lot of shock and alarm in a tavern, but these patrons seem distracted by something internal. Only the bartender and the red haired girl who was dancing on the bar seem to even notice. The bartender reaches for a club hidden underneath the bar. The saloon girl acts more shocked and backs away from the PCs. Most of the people in this saloon are peering down into their glasses with either frowns or scowls. The girl at the piano is loudly weeping. The few who are not affected are inquiring what is wrong with those who are.

Doc, Nyx, and Arulas head for the front door following Ethan's brief appearance. They will arrive outside whenever they like.

The coyote howl from outside seems louder now that it is not being drowned out by the music. It seems to be coming from the back corner of the building, near the exit that Samuel took. It is sounding less and less like a coyote.

Kalista turned the volume on her armor's external speakers all the way up. "I am Lady Kalista Nugendare, Cyber Knight of the Order of Lord Coke. This village is under my protection. State your purpose, or leave at once."

Polkitain took the moment to look at all of the strange figures before him.
He also kept his head tilted to keep the Logaroo in view.

One of the Lizard Men shouts back something in Faerie-Speak. Does anybody know that language?

Ethan stood near the woman Cyber-Knight and was impressed by her the determination in her voice and the courage of her stance. "She really is acting like a knight from those old tales," he thought to himself as he watched the reaction of the monsters. “Complete with issuing bold challenges. This world is something else.”

For his part, Ethan just watched, not understanding at all what the reptilian humanoid said in response to Kalista’s words. He erected his personal force field and waited to see if he would need to create more for the protection of his companions.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:20, Thu 22 Sept 2016.

Polkitain's kitty chest swelled with pride hearing Kalista it reminded him of images of his father that his mother sent him when he was still in his egg.

Sauntering out from the bar, Nyx catches the last of the lizard man's words and, slowly removes his backpack to fish out his portable language translator and step a few paces forward. He tries a few words in various languages until he finds an approximation for what was said, repeating, "Do you understand me?" finally in Faerie

Samuel looks like he enters the Behemoth.

Outside the Saloon
The tense standoff outside of the saloon is made to feel all of the more tense by the impatient wails of the banshee nearby. Fortunately, everyone outside is currently out of the banshee's area of effect. If the spirit moves, however, it might effect anyone.

Samuel completes his clandestine maneuver.

Some of the tension is relieved when Nyx arrives with a technological solution. The Lizard Men answer that they do in fact understand his little talking stick. With application of some slightly awkward translations, Nyx is able to relay messages to both sides with only a few seconds delay.

Lady Kalista re-issues her ultimatum. "I am Lady Kalista Nugendare, Cyber Knight of the Order of Lord Coke. This village is under my protection. State your purpose, or leave at once."

The Lizard Man in the sombrero answers, "We represent the Marsh Clan. Our homes were attacked in an unprovoked assault. Attackers came to us with haunted weapons which sowed chaos and fear before them. Lizard and faerie-folk alike were robbed, and the swamp water ran red. Lizard and faerie made alliances. Weapons were traced back to this witch's home. We come to burn the witch and her home with it. [untranslatable] demands justice. Move aside or burn with them, mammals."
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:33, Sat 24 Sept 2016.

As the 'man' with the translator, Nyx fires back a question, "Traced? What proof? Who is it? We seek the same witch and would know her name and why you think she is here?"

Doc waited, his hands loose by his waist.

The second lizard man (the one in the ten gallon hat) calls back, "(untranslatable) managed to capture one of the raiders when it wandered from its pack. It did not want to talk, but learned its secrets. It told us where to find the witch who sold it the haunted weapons and (untranslatable) against our clan. We will not wait, and we will not debate. Move or burn!"

Kalista responded, "If you can prove your claims, I will aid you. Otherwise I will be forced to confront you."

Polk digs his claws into the dirt. His tail swished.

Now that Ethan could understand what was being said thanks to the translation device, he felt better about the situation. "They aren't here to attack us," he thought, "they want the same thing we do."

He didn't take his eyes off them, just in case their leader lost his patience and launched an attack but he spoke to his comrades. "Maybe we should try to deescalate the situation," he said in a loud but calm voice so that it would reach Polkitain and Kalista despite their distance form one another.

Polk looks over and lowers his tail.

"Without evidence", offered Nyx with a lazy drawl, gesturing at the cyber-knights as he drew himself up to his full height, "my friends will be forced to fight you rather than with you. And thus me with them. People will die and not the ones at the root of this evil. Present your facts or turn aside.. If not you will face the longirons of Nyx Hoarfrost and Doc Lightning"

OOC: Attempting to impress them with his (and Doc's) reputation as 'slingers, which translates as a Charm/Impress of 70% or a Horror Factor of 8 for me

OOC HF is the same for me, unless they're regular lizard men, in which case it'd be a 10 maybe.

Polkitain could tell what his closest friends were doing and it worried him. It would be a shame to fight if no one needed too.

The lizard in the sombrero stares down the party. The other lizard, the one wearing the ten gallon hat, touches a shoulder and says something low and guttural. He might have said something in Gobbley. The three horses stomp impatiently. The logaroo simply stares and looks hungry. The sombrero-wearing lizard seems to have changed his attitude and calls out, "We would not fight those warriors who live by the Code of the West. We would give you this evidence that you demand and beg your pardon, but the thing does not exist. I told you these secrets came from the confession of dying prisoner. Mammals put their faith in things, but the Swamp Clan puts its faith in words. If you would help us hunt the witch, you may light the fire. Show us you are here to see the house of the witch burn by lighting the blaze."

Meanwhile, the banshee is acting more and more impatient. It has begun flying in agitated little circles over the saloon.

Doc tipped his hat to the lizard man, "Nyx, translate brother." Doc pauses, "We're huntin' the witch true enough, but you gotta think about one more thing friend. What if the dying person had quarrel with the saloon owner...Maybe, maybe not, but what if?"

After ensuring the words of his twin are passed on, Nyx himself adds, "Even if this her house, will it stop her evil? Do you know which of those present may be her? Or even if she is here now. If she escapes to continue to spread such evil then the Swamp Clan will have earned her enmity and attention. Let us make our investigations here and call upon you when we know which of those here must die"

The brothers as always working in tandem. Being close but outside that bond was amusing after all this time. His own abilities offered a hint at that, but not a large one. He smiles at better times. He shakes his head and walks over to Kalista and places a hand on her arm as if to say peace this gets us no closer to our goal. Then he turns and he gets serious.

"The witch as you call her us a threat to all. That she had sent an attack against you should tell you that she already sees you as a threat. But you beat that attack. Foolish of her I know. However you should know that now she will send greater forces against you. Fighting us will only hurt your ability to defend yourselves. I don't want that. What I want and I am sure my companions want is justice. Justice for you and the others that she has attacked. We will defeat the witch have no fear of that. For if we fail we will die. I do not intend to die. When the time comes I hope we can count on you to help defeat the evil in the end. If you can prove to the locals that you only wish to be left alone and that you will not threaten them then maybe things can even get better for the Swamp Clan. Trade with mammals helps all involved. I am sure there are secrets in the swamp that only the Clan has. Secrets that it might share for the right price. Something to think on while you wait for our call." Arulas says in Dragonese hoping that translation is unneeded. If it is Arulas hopes that Nyx takes care of that for him.

Polkitain was getting agitated as even more discussion occurred.
He maintained his guise knowing he might have to help his friends especially if the vulture creature got up to something.

The Swamp Clan warriors confer with each other in whispered mumbled. Then, the logaroo hisses at them. The Lizard Man on the left fingers his holstered gun anxiously. Even the horses seem to speak. The Lizard Man to the right (in the sombrero) speaks for the group, saying, "We have considered your words, mammals. You have claim to the witch's life just as the Swamp Clan does. As a gift from the marsh, we will wait here while you investigate and if she is inside, while you kill the witch. Our duty is to see the witch die this night. The clan will accept the witch's body as proof of justice, but if you claim the body as a trophy, we can settle for just her heart. We will wait no longer than a shedding, about one hour of your time. May your justice be quick and your teeth sharp, mammals."

Annoyed by this development, the banshee flies away in the dark night sky.

Doc nodded to the lizard-man chief, "Boys, we best get to investigatin' then... I say we start with the barmaid."

Polkitain wanders over to Doc giving him a pick me up kitty look.

Doc will do so, and sit him on his shoulder, "We ready boys, and you too Kalista," Doc adds with a grin.

Polkitain purrs.

Ethan listens as the lizardmen and his teammates come to an understanding. He is happy that there will not be any violence, yet at least, between the two groups.

He looks at 'Doc' and nods his head. "Lets go find us a witch," he says to the elf. "No there is something I never thought I would say," he says softly, walking back with his companions.

Standing with the translator, Nyx smiled at his brother taking control of the situation but remained still watching the cyber knight for her reaction

Samuel sticks to his present location and waits for the action to start to see where he can best make a contribution.

Very quietly to Doc,"We need a witch detector."

Kalista nodded to the elf, "Good work, a reprieve. We must work quickly, though, and find our quarry."

Doc nodded to everyone who seemed appreciative of his assistance and grinned at Polk, he whispered quietly, "I can smell witches, can't you?" he feigned surprise.

The cat started sniffing the air and looking around.

"I am not sure."

Doc grinned, "I'm teasing you. But you really might be able, I heard dragons can sense 'magic' and junk... you know all of us. Maybe if you catch another scent, kinda like my sassy brother Nyx...might be her."

Kalista attempted to open her own senses, to sense magic, evil, & the invisible (all are doubled thanks to her opened third eye).

"Ok, I will stay alert." Polkitains ears perked up and he looked all around.

 "I can help identify her if in a room with multiple people, but that is about it."

Nyx nodded to the lizard folk once the Lady Kallista had confirmed she wasn't going to force the fight, turning back to everyone, "I can shoot her, skewer her or make her life troublesome. If someone can confirm who it is"

The PCs (except Samuel) enter the saloon together. The mood inside this watering hole is considerably less lively than it was previously. The patrons have stopped weeping uncontrollably, but they are not happy either. Some are loudly complaining that the drinks made them feel back. Saloon girls are rushing around to deliver fresh mugs to the rowdy customers. The barmaid is pouring drinks as quickly as she can while making no attempt to hide her frustration.

OOC:Activating See Aura

 Arulas walks into the bar and says loudly. "You are all suffering the after effects of a banshee. Be glad that it is only that. Now the first person who can give me so information that will save your lives gets a shot on me and the rest get a beer. I'm looking for a person named Grace. If you can kindly point her out or her residence we and the army of lizard folk will be on our way. If you are stupid enough to attack know that I will win and you will lose and well I will still find the person that I seek. Fair enough?"

Doc almost rolled his eyes at Arulas, "So much for bein' discrete...."

Kalista continued trying to get a read on something magical and evil...

Polkitain meowed a bit and kept alert for invisible prey.

Nyx laughed and squared himself beside the young cyber-knight, hands resting easily on his pistols

"Did he say we was afflicted by the after-effects of a 'bashful'?"
"No, dummy, he said it was a 'bad knee'!" You hurt your knee again, and that's why you was crying.
The cowboys bicker somewhat among themselves about the Sir Arulas' revelation. Unfortunately, no one here admits to knowing anyone by the name of Grace.

Psst, the character named by the Lady in Green was called "Glory."

Psychically probing the saloon, however, proves more fruitful:

Polkatain sees nothing invisible in currently in the area.

Kalista definitely senses the presence of a potent reserve of magic in the crowd. It feels like a mage. It isn't a supernatural evil, but she might be able to track it.

The See Aura ability of Arulas hits pay dirt. The auras of the cowpokes and saloon girls reveal varying degrees of health and an occasional spark of psychic potential here and there. The bartender seems to be the strongest psychic in the group, although one of the poker players would rival her. Also behind the bar, one of the dancing girls is edging backwards towards the back door. She stands out because she has the magic energy inside her at a level he typically sees in faeries and inexperienced mages. She is the same girl who was dancing in front of him and the twins earlier.

Outside
On the ridge where the lizard men are waiting (impatiently), something a little unusual happens. The third horse stands upright on its hind legs and pulls itself to its full height. The stone-gray colored stallion stretches and begins pacing two hooves. It trades words with the logaroo in an unfamiliar language.

"Boys do you remember that dancing girl that gave us three a show earlier? I want to see about a private dance involving her and some cuffs. That is our ticket here." she smiles and waves at the bartender. "A round on me for the fellas and ladies." He places a smallish gold nugget on the counter. "The girl edging towards the backdoor what's her name?"
This message was last edited by the player at 16:33, Sat 15 Oct 2016.

Polkitain hops off Doc's shoulders out of curiosity he runs around the bar to see where the woman going out the back door is headed.

"Scared dogs fight, don't reckon she's the one we're after, but I'll wager she's the one we're gettin' to lead us Glory." Doc says tipping his head toward her.

When Sir Arulas pointed out the nervous dancer, Nyx's smile grew into a grin. He said nothing, but glanced behind her

OOC: Activating his Telekinesis to shut and bolt the exits close to the dancer

Kalista follows her sense that magic is near.

Attempting to track

Glory the saloon girl reaches for the backdoor and tries to push it open. The door pulls against her back into its shut position. She calmly rattles the door, but it remains in place, held there by telekenetic energy. The young woman's poker face cracks under pressure, and her expression turns to panic. She whirls around and looks for the cause of her trouble. She sees several faces staring at her.

Glory shouts to the entire room, "Keep those creeps away from me! They killed my folks, and they must have tracked me here to finish the job! Don't believe a word they say!"

The sound of scooting chairs on a wooden floor fills the room as many cowboys stand up in unison. The bartender reaches under the counter for her weapon.

Glory herself begins chanting an incantation at a very low volume.

With his mouth set in a grim line, Nyx pointed at the chanting woman, "She is the fiend, here, mumbling her spells"

From his extended finger a blast of electricity leaps out towards the witch

12:11, Today: Nyx rolled 2 using 1d20.  Energy Explusion.
This message was last edited by the player at 11:13, Wed 19 Oct 2016.

Kalista turned the volume all the way up on her armor, "SILENCE!" Turning the volume back down she spoke normally. "I am a Cyberknight. I am under oath not to bear false witness. We are not here to hurt anyone other than the one person we are here to find. Whether or not this young lady is that person is yet to be seen. We are attempting to keep this village safe from the lizard people outside it. If you force us, we will defend ourselves."

Polkitain looks around confused sure that he saw her running for the back door.
He looked all around his cat eyes looking here and there.

He knew if she was invisible he should be able to see her.

"Oh boy" Ethan says softly as he watches the scene rapidly deteriorate from peaceful to impending deadly violence. He doesn't know much about magic or witches other than what he has read or seen in videos but he figures they could be based in fact. With that in mind he creates a nearly invisible dome shaped force field over the table with the largest amount of cowboys standing around it. "Hopefully that will hold them until we can sort this mess out."

OOC: Spent one action, assuming we are in combat actions, to create a 100 MD force field dome over the largest pack of cowboys.

"Well that was a good lie sweetie. My friend is a cyber knight and so am I. If we were robber Knights then it is entirely possible that we would have done that. Problem is we aren't robber knights. All we wanted was to talk. You are either Faerie or Mage. If a Mage you are seriously untrained. Now you aren't evil I would know. Now quit your act and talk to us."

Doc turned his attention from Glory, his friends had that under control, instead he focused on the cowboys and saddle tramps, his hands drop to hip level. Fingers twitching every few seconds, "Now now boys, reckon you seen us come in and know that story's a load of horse manure... y'all don't need to draw, but if you do, I'll win. Everytime. You see, they don't call me Doc Lightning for nothin'... now, boys, what'll it be?"

Polkitain leans against the back door trying to open it and get back to his friends.

Several things happen more or less at the same time.

Glory casts a quick enchantment of Charismatic Aura on herself. Although she completes the incantation, she doesn't get a chance to use it by manipulating the crowd. Her words are drowned out by Kalista's shouting through her armor's loudspeaker.

Ethan surrounds about three tables worth of cowboys immediately after they begin standing. The shell around them is just barely visible. Some of the cowboys stop to rub their eyes. Another walks nose-first into the barrier and curses. There is also one saloon girl inside the barrier with them, and she's probing the field with her finger.

After Kalista speaks, Doc delivers his threat. It's heard the few members of the crowd who are closest. They all freeze and stare at his gun belt. The crazy-bartender places a shotgun gently on the bar and takes a half-step back away from it. Doc might notice that the shotgun is a technowizard device, distinctive from its extra copper wires and small gems attached. With a successful Perception roll or Lore: Magic roll, he might be able to identify its type.

Arulas takes slightly longer to get his words out than Doc. Glory nods her consent. She throws a look to the bartender and says, "I'll speak with them. It's okay. We'll just speak right here in front of everybody, and they'll leave us be, never to return." Turning back to the group, she says, "Alright Cyberknights, you got cornered, so I'll tell you straight. what do you need to know?" Glory is still under the successful-deception-effect of her charasmatic aura. Even characters who recognize the spell are subject to the effect. If a player doesn't believe any single answer, there is still an 80% chance that the character will. A successful Save versus Magic will break the entire effect for that PC.

Polkatain finds the back door still stuck in place. Simply leaning on it doesn't budge the door. Being that TK is invisible, Polkatain notices that the door is being held in place (weakly) by a field of telekenetic energy. The field is weak, so he could break through it if he tried.

Polkitain hears that things seem to be calming down in the bar so he stealthily makes his way over to where he can hear what the lizard folk and strange Logaroo and horse are saying.

13:56, Today: Kalista rolled 13 using 1d20. Save v Magic.

Kalista spoke calmly, "We seek a witch."

Fuming that his arc of energy missed, Nyx says nothing more as everyone keeps talking

OOC: 21:17, Today: Nyx rolled 12 using 1d20.  Save vs Magic.
Believe that's a pass, but unsure what the target number is?

"First things first child. Mage or Fae? You are one or the other or possibly both. One makes sense and the other not so much. As it stands I am thinking our employer has some prickly questions to answer. Simple fact is we just saved your life. Now we need answers and possibly some backup. Start with my first one and we can go from there. You three need to chill just a bit." the last aimed at the two minor psychics and Glory.

Doc eyes the cowboys, "Smart thinkin' boys." he gives them a tip of the hat, then notices the shotgun.


23:29, Today: Doc rolled 1 using 1d20.  perception .

Ethan is pleased to see that his force field has prevented the cowboys from either causing harm or being harmed. "This way they can't try to hurt us, even if the witch tries to mind control them and they can't get hit with any splash damage...assuming there is any of course".

Then he sees the bartender place her shotgun on the bar counter and step back, which makes him even happier. "We might finish this with only the witch being brought to justice after all!"

13:51, Today: Ethan rolled 11 using 1d20.  Save Vs Magic.

The saving throw was against a basic spell, so only a 12 or higher is needed. Nyx, Kalista, and Ethan all passed after their bonuses are considered.

Regarding the shotgun -- what shotgun? Doc doesn't see a scattergun anywhere. He could have sworn one was on the bar before he looked away.

The saloon girl regains much of her composure. She speaks quickly but with a steady voice and steadier gaze. "I ain't no witch, and I ain't a faerie neither. My trade is peddler of arcane wares, although saying just that much might be considered a death sentence in these parts. If a somebody had to label me, they might call me a shifter. A year ago, I was a wandering nobody who had lost her home and her family to a worm wraith on the prairie. I found a talking tree in a forgotten graveyard. It offered me the knowledge that I needed to make something of myself in exchange for my life long servitude. I did not take the deal. I bartered. The tree taught me everything I needed to know: How to channel magic from different sources and hold it inside myself, how to summon spirits and other creatures, and even spells. In exchange, I agreed to make the wares that the tree taught me to create and distribute them. It might sound like a witch's pact to some, but I know that's something different. It's part of the knowledge of magic that the tree put in my head. My soul is still my own."

Polkatain creeps near the monsters on the ridge. He'll be able to get close enough to hear them easily without making a skill roll. Their language, however, is a different matter. These guys are alternating between Gobbley and Faerie-speak. Does Polk understand either one?

Polkitain uses see aura to look for one of them that doesn't have psychic power and then uses telepathy letting that translate for him.

At the confession Nyx shook his head, muttering in elvish, "You stupid, stupid, fool"

"So you made a pact with a talking tree to distribute fake rune weapons to murderers and thieves. Did I leave anything out? Not evil no just terribly dumb. Why would a tree furnish you with this knowledge and then turn you loose. Did you think for two seconds after you made your deal? I mean the tree had a plan. So why do what it was asking? The obvious money and power I get, but why blindly go ahead with it. At some point you had to know that you were being used. Right?" Arulas pauses. "Wow well we gotta find this tree now too. Any body else helping you out? No secret Lizard men tribe that you forgot to mention."

Kalista nodded, "You will take us to this tree immediately."

In the Saloon
The young woman took closed her eyes and took a couple of breaths before saying more. She then said, "As I am a lady, not keeping my deal with the tree was never an option. Word is bond where I come from. I would not think of cutting and running, and neither would any of the other agents who have made arrangements with the Mahogany." Her emphasis on the word "other" was slightly subtle but noticeable to all.

In Elven-Dragonese, she adds, "The Mahogany does not appear to anyone unless it wants to speak with them. You wouldn't find it."

On the Ridge
Telepathy isn't supposed to work like that, but what the heck...
Aura Sighting the group reveals plenty of new information. The logaroo is not a demon like it appears to be but merely an intelligent and monstrous mortal creature with magical knowledge. The two lizard men are likewise mortals. The sombrero-wearing lizard man has a strong burning aura of a psychic powerhouse. The cowboy-hat-wearing lizard man is not psychic and not magical but exceedingly healthy. The three horses (all of them) are faerie-kin creatures of magic with auras similar to Polkatain's own but much more vile.

Using telepathy to eavesdrop, the young dragon experiences thoughts of doubt felt by the lizard-man. The lizard-man is being bullied by the horses into things he doesn't want to do. The creatures are pushing the lizard-men into attacking the saloon while everyone is still inside, but the lizard-men are holding fast to their word that they will give the mammals a chance to settle things.

"My point is you should have thought about things first. Multiple agents makes things difficult at best. In any case we have a mission and that is to stop these unholy weapons. There are two ways this could go. The first is by far the more simple of the two. Stop selling evil wannabe rune weapons."

Polkitain cat padded back to the tavern pushing his way in hard if he had too.

"Meow, meow, MEOW." He ran to Doc and since he had telepathy up sent a message to Doc.

~Sorry to intrude but I have info. That Vulture creature is not quite a demon but a magic practitioner just the same. The lizardmen are holding to their word but the horses seem to be like me creatures of magic but very vile creatures. Dark Fey creatures. Oh the Lizardman with the cool hat is a much more powerful psychic then me, perhaps like our Knights.~ Polkitain's tail swished back and forth.

Kalista took the woman at her word. "Fine then, I will pronounce judgement upon you. You are guilty of aiding and abetting an intelligence whose purpose is nefarious at best."

She aimed her weapon, "Your sentence is death. Make your peace with whatever gods you worship."

~Those horses are trying to push the lizardmen to attack. So many supernatural and magical creatures. I am not sure I could face them all on my own.~

Doc rolled his eyes at the production, cyber-knights... they couldn't help it.

"Get on with it then Kal, we got other things to deal with... outside." Doc glances to his brother, "Seems the lizard boys are cool... their horses... not so much. We're gonna have a fight on our hands I believe. Seems the horses is evil."

Polkitain looked to Lady Kalista and tried to send telepathically ~Can't we just arrest her and turn her over to the Coalition ?~

He stuck close to Doc though for now.

OOC: Kalista still has her Mind Block Auto Defense up, which prevents telepathy. Sorry. =-(

Ethan’s earlier optimism evaporated like ice at high noon in Death Valley. He had no idea what information could possibly have been passed the dragon posing at a house cat with a few simple ‘meows’ but whatever he had said to the woman cyber-knight clearly had an immediate and dire impact. Kalista’s passing of judgement and pronouncing death as the sentence was completely unexpected. The indifference or even active collusion of the gunslinger known as ‘Doc’ also didn’t help matters in Ethan’s opinion.

“Whoa let’s take a step back and think about this for a moment,” Ethan says, holding up both of his hands and makes ‘calm down’ motions. “Now she just said that this tree is giving more people powers like hers and if it was easy to find, the Coalition or the Fairies would have done it by now.” Ethan, not understanding Elvish, has no idea that Grace had more or less said just that.

“So instead of killing her, how about we have her take us to this tree?” He takes a few cautious steps forward, placing himself between Grace and Kalista. “How about it Grace?” he says to the young woman. “You take us to this tree, this Mahogany and we will have a talk with it. No one needs to die here today. If you can do that for us, then maybe I can convince my companions to let you walk away afterwards. If you are worried about betraying the tree, it sounds pretty powerful.” “And there is something else I never thought I would say, commenting about how powerful a fracking tree is,” he thought to himself. “If it can give you and others all that power, it shouldn’t have anything to worry about meeting us. So, what do you say?”

Polkitain points at Ethan with a paw and nods emphatically.

Inside the Saloon
The shifter presses her back against the old wood of the wall. She grows visually paler when her death sentence is delivered by Kalista. The confirmation from Doc merely intensifies the effect. A pin could be heard dropping as almost everyone in the crowd holds their breath. Ethan breaks the silence with his counter-argument. Glory responds. It is unclear whether she is genuine, desperate, or simply sensing another angle she can exploit. Whatever her motivation, the shifter agrees, "Alright then, I will lead you to the graveyard where I found the Mahogany. I'll only take you as far as the edge though, so I won't be setting foot inside. The graveyard ain't large. After I get you there, I will leave. I don't just mean leaving Lonestar neither. I mean I am leaving this dusty old world for good. There's a ley line nexus there, and I know a way to squeeze through the walls that separate worlds. I'll never be your worry again."

"Until then, you folks will be responsible for my safety. That includes escorting me out of these parts so I can show you the way. If there is trouble outside, you all take care of it, deal?"

Outside the Saloon
Samuel is still watching the monsters, right?

"You best hope we can talk them lizard folk down... they ain't gonna like this, not a bit." Doc says, half hopeful someone will draw on him, but the lizard folk seemed decent enough, maybe they'd see that whole greater good or whatever.

Polk wander near Kalista and looks up with big kitty eyes.



((I forgot need to roll to save vs Glory's spell ))
11:30, Today: Polkitain rolled 21 using 1d20+3.  Save vs Magic.

Nyx watched the interplay, hands itching to shot someone. His fingers twitched a little, close to his pistols but he waited on the cyber-knight

"That seems like week old swamp rat stew. Now I reckon you might keep your end of the deal. Then again maybe not. The real problem sits with the fact that you think we would let you infect another world with those weapons. We wouldn't be very good heroes if we did that now would we. Now find me a magic binding that prevents you from using that and similar knowledge in a misanthropic manner and we might have a deal. Stress the might." Arulas would prefer bloodshed of the misguided and he knows that she is the only one that has the knowledge that we seek.

"You're demanding something impossible. You know it -- or else you should know it. There ain't no such thing as a cure for magic."

The bartender interrupts, saying, "Actually, there is. The Dead Boys at the military base down the road do it sometimes. When they need to keep some mage alive for questioning, but they don't trust that mage speak, they turn him over to their sawbones. They cut out the voicebox and replace it with a mechanical module. To be certain, they also cut off the hands and replace those too." She taps one of her own M.o.M. implants on her skull. "A machine can't cast spit. Any Cyberdoc can do it in a couple of hours."

Polkitain looked at the bartender in horror hearing the story of what the Coalition does. Though it was probably impossible to tell in his cat form.

"If you prefer, I can shoot you in the head. Quick, painless.", offered Nyx helpfully

Polkitain runs to Doc and looks up at him.

~Have mercy magic is a gift to strip it from a being strips their soul~ he tried to telepathically send.

Doc looks at Polkitain-cat, "You're wrong friend... it ain't a gift no different than these six guns... they's tools. Not good, not evil. A thing. Assholes do bad shit, magic or not. Happens this one chose the wrong road. Where me an Nyx come from, she'd be dead already."

Polkitain lowered his head not knowing how to express things better.

~Don't be like Coalition, you are my friend, but they would kill me just for being me. Your better then Coalition~

Doc nodded, "Damn right little fella, I am, we are better than the Coaltion, which is why I ain't killed her yet. But you gotta learn... sometimes folks need killin... let's get to the cemetery and deal with the Lizard folk first. See if she's even tellin' the truth. "

Polk nodded a bit seeing in Doc a sort of father figure and stayed at his side.

Ethan looked aghast when the bartender spoke of the Coalition doing forced amputations on people, followed by torture and death. "I had heard and read about the fanatical anti-magic stance as well as their hate fill persecution of all non-humans but do that something like that...No surgeon worthy of the name would ever cooperate with such barbarity." For the first time since arriving in this strange new world, Ethan felt hate stirring within his heart.

Hearing about such evil being caused by people, fellow doctors, who were to above all else, cause no harm...he felt anger and shame. Anger at the very thought of a doctor breaking their most sacred oath, the oath that transcended time and nations. The shame came from the same source; the thought that men and women of medicine, like himself, it was like his own honor had been tarnished though he had done nothing wrong.

He had to take his thoughts off that dark track or he would felt certain the hate would become a permanent part of him. So he squared his shoulders and looked at his companions. "No one is doing any amputations today. Let's go outside and explain to those people that Grace here can take us to the real source of the problem. If we don't do something about that tree, there will be more of her kind running around and won't they just hate that?" 

Kalista shrugged and lowered her weapon. She glared at Ethan, "She is your responsibility. Anything happens I will hold you responsible."

"No disintegrations then either huh?" making a joke Arulas looks at him for a second. "Keeping evil from spreading isn't a bad thing Ethan. In this case it is like gangrene you have to cut it out to save the whole. She put evil Demons into weapons to make them stronger. She needs to stop. I don't want to maim her, but I see that as preferable to death."

Glory says, "I am ready to leave right now. I don't need to fetch nothing from my room. I don't have a horse here, so I expect one of you knights is going to give me a ride to the graveyard."

The group exits the saloon through the front door. Glory walks out directly in front of Ethan. No one attempts to stop them, but angry glares make it clear that the PCs are not welcome at the Mammoth Saloon again. Only Catfish smiles, waving goodbye silently to his drinking patrons.

Outside, they are noticed by the squad of monsters. The creatures are now all standing on their hind legs, including the stallions. They walk down the ridge with purposeful strides, and the Lizard Men have their long guns out (pointed at the ground but in hand). The vulture-create crawls behind them on four legs, low to the ground.

Polk walked along occasionally looking up at the others. His tail flickers as they get closer and closer to the dark fey and vulture creature.

Doc gives a tip of the hat to Catfish, "See ya around partner." to the toughest angriest looking guy left he offers a wink and a grin. Doc can't resist stirring the pot. Walking outside Doc sees the monsters and lizard men...

"Oh good, more stuff tryin' to kill us all... why can't I ever just enjoy a drink. Nyx, I am blaming this on you. All that psychic mumbo jumbo."

Kalista said "Translate, please."

"I need your attention. This is the woman who made the items in question, however she only bares part of the responsibility. The majority rests with an extra-dimensional entity, which she has agreed to lead us to. You may come as well and aid us in the destruction of the entity or you may do something else as you wish."

Samuel goes and prepares a room for the woman.

Nyx snorted at his brother's disparaging remarks, but translated for the d-bees

The monsters grumble and snarl at the party. Then they snarl and grumble at each other. It becomes clear soon enough to that the horse-creatures are itching for a fight, but they are not stupid. They realize that they are bricks; they need the ranged attacks of their companions stand a good chance of winning. The lizard-men are still wary of the gun fighters and want to take Kalista's deal. The vulture-thing just seems to delight in watching the in-fighting.

Finally, the lizard-man throws off his ten gallon hat. He addresses the party in broken American, "Pecos, you go. We ride swamp. We speak chief. Pecos take witch, skee-daddle!"

Kalista had no idea what they were asking or saying, but they were not attacking so it must be OK. She mounted her glitter-horse and waited for direction.

Polkitain went back to the robot into the nook that was made for him and after the lizardmen, vultureman and dark fey rode off he changed back to normal.

Nyx mounted up himself when the monsters had departed, though he continued to keep a close eye on the witch-women, trigger fingers itching

"Well that went well," Ethan said in a deliberately cheerful tone. He turns to look at Kalista. "I'll go keep an eye on our guest," he says, gesturing at Glory. "Not I didn't appreciate you letting me ride with you," he hastens to add, clearly not wishing to give offense to the deadly warrior woman.

The he moves closer to Glory. "Just follow that man there," Ethan says, pointing at Samuel. "We'll find you a place to stay until we find this tree of yours." He walks behind her and to her left. "I would stay put once we get you a room. As you might have picked up on, some of my companions are...um...indifferent shall we say where your health is concerned."

 "My solution would have kept her alive. A little worse for the wear, but alive and unable to practice evil." just a thought.

When pressed for clarification, the Lizard Man repeats what he said, but this time in Gobbley. The mechanical translator changes the message into this: "Pecos Bandits, leave this place. We will return to the swamp and consult with our leader. You take the witch with you. (untranslatable)". The monsters mount up again and ride out the way that they came.

Glory does not fight when lead into the robot by Samuel and Ethan. Two house guesting NPCs are currently being held in the robot. Are they being kept together or kept separated?

Within minutes, the robot and the steads are moving out again. Glory directs the way north and very slightly to the west. The route takes the party deeper into Lonestar territory but also into less sparsely inhabited lands.

Does anyone have an action to declare before during this next leg of the journey? If the party rides through the night, it will reach the destination in a few hours according to Glory.

As they ride Nyx checks over his gear, an unconscious habit. With his steed's stable gait and his own telekinesis, he is comfortable performing whatever maintenance is required whilst they move

Kalista is willing to ride through the night.

Doc lights up a cigar and rides, eyes open, always.

Polk gets some sleep enjoying the sounds of the behemoth moving across the landscape.

Polkitain wakes up and stretches moves over to the windshield and knocks on it.

"We there yet ?"