Kansas Kate couldn't help but smirk at that.  She'd been deputized before for very, very brief stints, mostly to get some two bit sheriff without any balls plausible deniability.  After all, what was worse, a roving gunfighter in town just long enough to find her quarry and was then gone forever, or a recurring felon who actually lived there?

The law was just the alpha gang, nothing more or less.  They'd use her when it suited them.

"They do cut both ways."  Kate admitted.  "Not against leavin' up, but if there's gonna be any shootin', ain't keen on doin' it in th' dark.  Friendly fire ain't."

"Huh, ain't never been no deputy before.  Ain't never been part of the law." Jacinta smirked at Bryan.  "I expect a badge as soon as we get back to civilization." 

"Take the lanterns, but shutter or douse 'em.  We're gonna need the light if we start shootin'.  Maybe a bit of fire, too, if there are wolves about.  I can track in most light, but if we lose the moon, can't really see in the dark."

"Split th' diff'rence then?  Ah can oblige that."  Kate responded.

"I don't reckon I want to be sprayin' this stuff blind." Jake says. "I'm with the ladies. Shutterin' the light is probably the best idea." He looks around. "Reckon I can rig somethin' with the foliage that'll serve temporarily."

((OOC: After all, why have McGuyver and not use it for something ridiculous?  Would I need to roll anything, or should I just describe how I'd do it?))

OOC: Creating hoods/screens for the lanterns shouldn’t prove to be much of a test for McGraw’s technical abilities. Just describe how you make it happen. No roll required.

Albert nodded at Bryan when he was finished. "Always wanted ta jine the Rangers. Finally got my chance!"

He listened to the discussion and thought the plan for hooding the lanterns was a good one. The best of both worlds, really. By moonlight when they wanted to be sneaky, and by lantern-light when they needed to shoot somebody.

Jake set out to start making his makeshift hoods, taking a pair of clippers and a sppol of wire from his duffel bag. He clipped off a good number of leaves from the vines and strips of bark from the dead pine trees, then used the wire to thread them into crude covers. They weren't the most elegant hoods, but they'd serve to dampen the light and could easily be torn away when the shooting started.

Earnest turned to find he was talking to himself, the Ranger and the young woman having slipped into the hole.

He peered into the darkness that was leavened ever so slightly by the retreating lantern of the others. Unwilling to risk his suit to the tunnel, he returned to the boarding house.

There, he changed into his riding clothes --boots, sturdy trousers, heavy shirt-- and went back to the tunnel, carrying several short candles in his buttoned-over shirt pocket. He slid into the hole and found his footing in the tunnel below. Lighting one candle, he proceeded to follow the tunnel, which fortunately went along without branching. He fended off the vines and crawled when necessary.

Allgood makes his way to the clearing as McGraw completes the lantern hoods, covering each of the light sources in one of his creations. The moon is a waning gibbous, providing enough light for Castillo to see the trail she identified clearly. The path winds between the trunks of the skeletal pines and is choked with tall desert thistle plants as well as the dark, ropy vines.

A cool northern breeze stirs the dry foliage, the only sound in this isolated corner of the valley.

The work completed, the direction decided, and the preacher reigned in, Kate nods and resumes her approach.

With the lanterns shuttered, Jacinta began to make her way down the slope and into the clearing, trying to follow the path without getting too close to the weeds growing alongside.  She was cautious, often pausing to listen, gun held at the ready as she walked.

Bryan made his way over to Allgood. "I'm afraid that people who kidnapped the children may take extreme reactions to our presence. Are you armed, Reverend?" he asked, patting his own holstered weapon.

Albert moved to walk behind Jacinta. He wasn't keen on messing up any tracks that their scout was following, and could line up a shot rather easily by sliding to the side if necessary. The machete was still held in his left hand and his Colt revolver was in his right.

In reply to Bryan Lee (msg # 85):

"Oh, no," Allgood relies, "I don't generally carry firearms. It isn't befitting my beliefs or my profession."

“Here.”

Tamsin offers the lantern she is carrying to the reverend. “I’ve got a gun, but I’d best not try shooting it with one hand. Not particularly interested in using them as it is.”
This message was last edited by the player at 13:07, Tue 01 May 2018.

"That's a fair approach, I suppose, though there are more evils in this world than man alone. My hope is to resolve the situation without the use of force if we're given the option. I've seen the words of faith sway wrongdoers in the past, so we could hope for the same here. Just a few minutes before you joined us, I deputized these men and women to provide us shelter under the law in the case that our acting in defense of children should cause us to enter a forceful engagement. As a non-participant in that element, I would appreciate if you could bear truthful witness to what happens here on our behalf, should we come to blows with anyone that is favored by the current powers that be in Lincoln," he said.

"Yes, Ranger Lee, of course."

"Thank you for the use of the lantern, Miss River."

Earnest will follow along as they start downhill.

He nodded at the response, satisfied that it was as good as he was going to get. The Reverend was clearly a man of few words. If his sermons were as long, he might be able to have quite the large congregation.

With that out of the way, he moved towards the front of the back, but not in front of Jacinta. She was the expert in this arena, though he did his best to help out as he was able, but either this terrain seemed to be getting the best of him or he had been spending too much time in cities lately and not enough time out of doors.

He sighed, content to follow along, but looked ahead to see if the moonlight allowed him any clues as to what they were likely to stumble upon.

OOC:

Notice: 5
Tracking: 1

He can't track for crap tonight, thank heavens for Jacinta, but maybe he

11:41, Today: Bryan Lee rolled 5,2 using d6,d6, rerolling max.  Notice.
11:39, Today: Bryan Lee rolled 1,1 using d6,d6, rerolling max.  Tracking.

The group moves cautiously down the slope, sidestepping the dark patches of winding vines, the wind occasionally lending a rustling voice to the overgrowth.

As the slope levels off, the path widens, and the last of the trees yield to what appears to have once been a cultivated field, left to neglect for many years. Dry, sun bleached husks on the ground suggest that it was wheat that was grown there. Now, much of the land is taken up by the familiar, thorn covered vines, which have grown almost waist high in patches, coiling like tall circles of barbed wire.

The trail, however, remains clear, cutting an unimpeded path to its destination: a single story farmhouse with a gabled roof. Even in the dim moonlight, it is apparent that the structure has suffered at the hands of the elements, the clapboard used in its construction now uniformly gray and splintered. On the right side, the roof has sagged, buckling a portion of the covered porch’s overhang. Two windows flank the closed front door, panes of glass in each of them broken. From the window on the left, the group can perceive orange flickers of shifting light. In the gloom, the neglected building has the appearance of a large, crouching shadow.

In the section of field to the left of the abandoned house stand a pair of wooden beams, roughly forming a cross. The wood appears as old as that of the house, and the cross has leaned to one side, lending it a crooked appearance. Scraps of what appear to be cloth hang from the ends of the horizontal timber, shifting listlessly in the cold breeze.

The area is quiet, noticeably free of the noises of nocturnal insects and animals.

Kate said nothing, but she waved the lantern, not unhooding it, and pointed to the flickering light in the window.  The motion was to focus attention without using audible communication unnecessarily.

Kate herself wasn't much for that kind of finesse (she was usually the distraction), but she sure as hell had a lot of appreciation for it.  Kate was thinking her best play was to capture the prey once it was flushed.

As if anything were ever that simple.

Jacinta nodded at Kate's gesture, seeing the light in the window.  Peeling off from the group, she cautiously approached the house and crept along one wall to the porch.  Easing quietly onto the aged wood, she ducked sideways to peer through the window.


Stealth: 5

19:34, Today: Jacinta Castillo rolled 4,5 using d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 4,5.  Stealth.

Tapping Albert on the shoulder and gesturing to Kate, he pointed out the single set of boot prints on the ground, in case either of them hadn't yet observed the same. As Jacinta headed towards the window, he moved forward along with her, confident that his ability to keep quiet was on part with the scout's. He needed to get some insight into what was in that building before they advanced any further.


Stealth: 7

11:16, Today: Bryan Lee rolled 7,1 using d6,d6, rerolling max.  Stealth.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:24, Wed 02 May 2018.

Albert looked over at Bryan at the shoulder-tapping, and then he looked down and nodded at what was indicated. He hung back as the pair of them went ahead, fairly certain that no more than two pairs of eyes were needed.

His gaze did drift over to the field and the odd pair of crossed wooden beams with cloth hanging off of it.

OOC: Has Albert seen anything like it before, or does he have a clue if it has mystical meaning?

09:27, Today: Albert Cooper rolled 3,2 using d4,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 3,2.  Knowledge (Occult).

No, he hasn't and doesn't.

Castillo and Lee reach the porch, stepping carefully on the warped timbers to avoid making any sound. Reaching the window, the pair cautiously peer inside the decaying farmhouse.

Meanwhile, Kate set the lantern down and took up her rifle.  She could switch back fast enough, but if someone came running out that was her best chance.