Prior to her departing the Patron House, Ike Ellis had stopped Jacinta Castillo. ”Ma’am, Quinn Murdock, the stage driver had asked after you earlier this evening, Wanted to know if he could interest you in a spot of work, doing some scouting for him. He went down to San Patricio before sundown. There was a fella there with some stage guard experience hunting work that Quinn wanted to talk to. But he’ll be back in the morning, if you want to meet him up at the livery.”

When she arrives at the Ellis Store shortly after sunup, she finds Ike walking a bay pony in one of the corrals. Nearby, she can hear the ring of a hammer as it shapes a new horseshoe. Ellis waves and points out Quinn Murdock, who is loitering on a bench beside the entrance to Ellis’ shop, cleaning his rifle. The stagecoach driver looks up as Castillo approaches. ”Morning, ma’am,” he says, tipping his hat, ”You come real highly recommended as a scout. I was wondering if I could hire you out for the day. I’m willing to pay well for your help.”

"Morning," she said in friendly greeting, resting her rifle on her shoulder.  "I'm amiable to the job, if the pay is fair.  Been lookin' for work." She rested her hip against the hitching post.  "What sort of scouting you need done?  Need to get my horse from Ellis if I'm traveling a piece.  Give me the details, amigo."

”Little after sundown yesterday, I found out some packers using the same route I use for the stage got held up and robbed blind. Taken for almost all they had.” He spits in the dirt. ”Some of it’s Jesse Evans and his gang. Some of its others that have been made more bold because of Evans. People are less and less afraid of the law around here.”

“Worst of it’s been within two or three miles of Lincoln. Way I see it, if there’s trouble, I need a spot or two along the route, where I can either wait out danger or make a stand.”

“Aileen Kearney says she’s seen a couple of possibilities while she’s been out hunting mustangs, but she’s not a scout. Not like you. She’s not gonna see all ways a place could be defended, or taken advantage of. I want you to ride the route I normally take, check the spots she’s found, along with any others you come across. Me and the new guard I just hired on will come along.”

“Ten dollars for your trouble. I’ll make it twenty if you can find me a couple of spots to keep from getting robbed.”

"Sure, Mr. Murdock.  I'm amiable.  Can scout you out a few locations, no problem.  Just let me get my horse, and I'll be with you shortly."  She ambled off to get her mare from Ellis and gear up for the trail.  When she returned, she was riding a black mustang and had on her chaps and poncho.  She carried her rifle in one hand, resting it on her leg as she rode.  "Ready when you are."

Murdock has gathered his own horse, a palomino, while waiting for Castillo’s return. ”I’m real appreciative of your help, ma’am,” he tells her. Taking the lead, he rides out onto the Main Street, heading east of Lincoln at a trot.

The pair reach a clearing where another pair of riders are waiting. One, Castillo recognizes immediately as Aileen Kearney. The mustanger smiles and tugs on the brim of her straw hat when she sees the scout. The other figure is a dark haired man with a mustache astride a dapple gray. A Peacemaker is holstered at his hip and a Winchester rifle hangs from a scabbard on his saddle.

”I think you and Miss Kearney already know each other,” Murdock says, gesturing to the the stranger, “This fella’s my new stage guard.”

"My pleasure, Mr. Murdock.  Always good to be out riding free on the trail." Her horse broke into a trot to keep pace.  When they met their trail partners, she touched the brim of her hat in greeting.

"Miss Kearney, nice ta see you again," Jacinta said to Aileen before looking to the stranger.  "Hola, amigo.  I'm Jacinta Castillo."

The guard nods and offers a gloved hand. ”Thomas Horn,” he answers, ”Pleasure.”

Murdock indicates the trail, which can be easily discerned by the well worn rivets in the soil, carved by the passage of coaches and carts. ”About a mile down the trail, there was a spot that looked promising to me,” he explains to Castillo, ”I’m sure you’ll see it when we get there. It slopes down off the main trail into the trees. There’s some deadfall around it that’s created a clear enough path that I think I could get the coach through. I’m just not sure what’s further back. You object to riding up front with me? Leading the way?”

OOC: Please go ahead and provide me with Tracking and Knowledge: Wilderness Lore rolls.

She shook the guard's hand with a smile, taking an instant liking to him.  He seemed an amiable, stable sort of fellow, not at all prone to homicidal tendencies or irrational killing.  Giving Murdock a nod, she turned her horse to the trail and started off alongside him, keeping her eyes open to the surrounding area, searching for places that would be safe for the coach.

"Teamster seems a dangerous profession in these times," she commented as they rode.  Her mind turned to their own harrowing ride into Lincoln. "You been hit a lot?"



Rolls are a bust.

12:45, Today: Jacinta Castillo rolled 1,3 using d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 1,3.  Knowledge: Wilderness Lore.
12:45, Today: Jacinta Castillo rolled 2,2 using d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 2,2.  Tracking.

”Only once or twice,” Murdock says, ”but let’s say let’s say I’m not eager to make it a habit. The packers and wagons that use the same trail...they haven’t fared as well. Listening to the stories, you can tell that the bandits are getting bolder. It’s only a matter of time before they try their luck.’

He frowns. ”And problems like those damned wolves we ran into during your trip up here, they’re becoming a lot more common.”

The pines grow taller as the riders proceed, the trail losing some of its light despite ithe morning sun. After a trio of wide turns, Castillo sights the deadfall that Murdock had mentioned, along with the clear slope that leads away from the main trail into the shelter of the trees. The opening is wide enough, to the scout’s estimation, for the stagecoach to enter, but only just. From her vantage point astride her mustang, Castillo cannot see how far back the clearing leads.

The buzz of a few insects fills the quiet. ”Not sure how you work. Want any of us to go with you to have a look?” Murdock asks.

"If you want to come along, I won't say no.  Two sets of eyes are better than one."  She rose in her stirrups and waved her hat at the others with a smile.  "Going off trail.  If you hear shootin', come quick."  Turning her mare toward the forest, she set off to have a look at the clearing.


20:01, Today: Jacinta Castillo rolled 9,7 using d8+2,d6+2, rerolling max with rolls of 7,5.  Notice.

"I'll go with her," Kearney tells Murdock, "I'm used to squeezing through the brush, chasin' wild horses."

Clicking her tongue, she urges her mount to follow Castillo.

Venturing down the slope, Casillo finds herself on a pathway where the air is notably cooler, the tall pines on either side of the trail casting deep shadows that give it the appearance of being an hour ahead of the dawn. Castillo is able to pick out a few animal tracks on the ground, deer and coyote, but nothing that suggests that men or horses have traveled it recently.

The clearing travels back for perhaps a hundred feet before shtifting to the right at a diagonal angle for several paces, then halting abruptly at a large pile of gray deadfall. Looking about, Castillo feels certain that some kind of tree blight infected some of the pines here decades ago.

Tactically, she understands that the spot would be of limited use to Murdock. The stage driver could maneuver the coach in and out of the narrow trail, provided he was careful, But entering and exiting is a one way trip. Defensively, it would favor attackers on foot. It could serve as a hiding spot, especially at dusk or nighttime, but only if pursuers did not see the stagecoach enter the place beforehand.

"Don't like it," Jacinta told Aileen.  "Maybe good for hiding, but not when under duress.  Too much of a death trap. Too hard to get into and out of without being seen."  She set her mare to walk about the place, exploring, but a second look told her nothing else of use.  Tilting her head back toward the trail, she nudged her mount back in that direction.  "Let's go see if the next site is better."

Kearney nods as she looks about. ”I see what you’re sayin’. You got that coach worked back into this spot, you’d be stuck. At the mercy of whoever was chasin’ you.”

The two return to the main trail, where Castillo shares her opinion with Murdock, who accepts her assessment without question.

Kearney points. ”A bit further down, I came across a clearing while I was out huntin’ Phantom one morning. I didn’t end up exploring it too much, but it looked promising. I’m going by memory, but it looked big enough for the coach.”

The group continues their ride, sunlight glinting through the gaps in the pines, an occasional breeze prompting their needled limbs to whisper softly. After half a mile, the mustanger identifies a gap on the left of the trail that slants off into the trees. A quick glance tells Castillo that Kearney’s memory was correct, the opening is easily wide enough to permit passage of the stagecoach. After a few feet, the area becomes shadowed by the thick foliage surrounding it.

OOC: Please give me a Notice and a Tracking roll.

Jacinta turned her mare to the trail found by Aileen, and leaned on her pommel as she rode, glancing at the foliage and the ground.  Her eyes swept over the trees surrounding them, head slightly cocked to listen.



22:50, Today: Jacinta Castillo rolled 7,4 using d8+2,d6+2, rerolling max with rolls of 5,2.  Notice.
22:51, Today: Jacinta Castillo rolled 3,3 using d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 3,3.  Trakcing.

As Castillo and Kearney advance a few paces in, the scout notices that the shaded soil has been recently trod by a pair of horses. Shoed horses. The two riders advanced further back into the clearing, following the path southward, before descending another short slope that curves to the west under the cover of several tall piñon trees.

Jacinta ducked under a branch as they passed beneath the trees.  Catching Kearney's eye with the wave of her hand, she pointed at the hoof tracks in the dirt.  Making certain she had a bullet in the chamber of her rifle, she kept her gun handily propped on her knee, ready to use it if needed.  She wasn't certain how old the tracks were or who had made them, but she wasn't going to be caught unawares if the travelers were still about.

Kearney nods at Castillo, easing her revolver out of its holster and quietly pulling back the hammer with her thumb.

A moment passes, and a man emerges from the dense piñons to the west. He is young and deeply tanned, his dark hair somewhat shaggy, his face unshaven. His features suggest someone of Mexican heritage. His shoulders and chest are covered by an earth colored poncho and a carbine is cradled in his hands. A Peacemaker is tied low on his left thigh, a Bowie knife on his right. He regards the two women with curiosity.

”Morning,” he says, ”Hope I didn’t startle you.”

"Buenos dias," Jacinta said with a nod.  Her eyes flitted to the trees.  She'd seen a pair of tracks, so where was the other traveler?  "Not easily startled, myself.  Just doin' a bit of scoutin' of the trail, amigo.  And you?"

The man advances a couple of steps, the barrel of his carbine still pointed toward the ground. ”Well, to tell the truth, ma’am, my friend and I, we’d spent part of the night watchin’ the trail. We were looking for someone. Someone we have some business with.”

“A little while before sunup, there was some commotion in town. A few people came riding out this way. Folks we’re not on friendly terms with. So we tucked ourselves in here. Thought we’d wait a bit ‘til everything quietened down.”

"I see.  You part of this ruckus going on?  Got caught up in something?"  She leaned forward on her saddle horn, rifle laying sideways across her lap. "Why don't you tell us what's goin' on, and we'll see if we can help.  Ain't got no disagreement with no one just now."

Kearney draws her mount alongside Castillo’s. Squinting at the man, she says, ”You’re one of John Tunstall’s hands, aren’t you?”

The man nods. ”Name’s Chavez y Chavez,” he answers. Turning his head, he calls over his shoulder, ”Charlie, it’s alright!”

Movement stirs in the brush and, in a moment, a young man with curly hair the color of sand and a wide mustache emerges from the foliage, leading two horses. He frowns curiously at the sight of Castillo and Kearney.

”Reason we were here, we’d been keepin’ watch for a couple of fellas we thought might come riding this way last night,” Chavez y Chavez continues, ”We have some warrants to serve. Word was, some of those we need to find make use of this trail on occasion.”

"Warrants?"  Jacinta considered them for a moment.  "I heard about those warrants.  Also heard that some of the people you're ridin' down don't deserve it.  Who is it you're looking for?  You plannin' on taking them in or just putting a bullet in their belly?"

Chavez y Chavez’ eyes narrow as he listens to Castillo. The man identified as Charlie slowly approaches the group, leading the horses by their reins.

“Don’t deserve it,” Chavez y Chavez repeats quietly. ”You seem pretty curious about our business. What was it you said that you and your friend were doing out here?”

"I'm curious about your business because it's bleedin' into my business," Jacinta said, glancing from one to the other.  "All of this murderin' got people riled up.  Bandits gettin' bolder.  Creatures coming to attack innocent folk coming and going in town.  Chaos reaps chaos."

"I'm scoutin' for the stage so it don't get hit again.  Was on it the last time it was, and not all passengers go so well armed."  She gave her rifle a pat.  "You boys are out for blood.  I understand that need.  I also know that blood wars get innocents killed.  You care at all 'bout them kids that got taken?  You even look for them?"

Charlie’s expression becomes wide eyed. He opens his mouth to speak, but then shuts it. Chavez y Chavez falls silent, his face flushed, his jaw tightly clenched. Turning to his companion, he says simply, ”Let’s ride.” Both men mount their horses.

Looking to Castillo, he says,”My foreman, Richard Brewer, started asking questions about those kids. Trying to find out where they could have been hidden away. He was bushwhacked for his trouble. Another of our friends, Tom Peterson, thought he’d found a clue about where they were. Went follow up on it. He disappeared. I’ve no doubt at all that he’s dead.”

He wheels his horse toward the stagecoach trail, Charlie falling in behind him. ”Maybe it’s best you keep to scouting. Stay out of fights that aren’t yours.”

"But none of y'all though to posse up and champion them as a group?  Those kids are fine, if you want to know.  Your friends died because of the monster that once was Old Man Blair.  It's dead now, so at least your friends are avenged."  She nudged her horse to turn as they passed.  "I ain't interested in fights that aren't mine.  I've got enough fights of my own already.  Just don't want to see innocent folk harmed, is all.  Keep that in mind when you're huntin' down people in these warrants of yours."

Chavez y Chavez gives no reply to the scout, riding away from the clearing at a slow walk. Charlie follows him, but pauses, turning back to Castillo. Looking at her with an earnest expression, he says, ”Ma’am, don’t you worry. Real soon, before the day’s out I reckon, we’re gonna set a lot of things right. Just wait and see.”

He tips his hat to her and follows his companion.

"Or get themselves shot, more like," Jacinta said to Aileen once the men were back on the trail.  She shook her head in disdain.  "They have no idea the war they've started.  More people are going to end up dead before this is all over."

She threw the mustanger a look and then sighed.  Glancing to the clearing, she shrugged.  "Not a bad place to stash the stage, though still not a lot of room to turn about.  It's hidden from the main path, though.  Set up a bit of brush for cover on the trail and people might pass right by without knowing it was here."

”I think you’re right,” Kearney agrees, ”They’ve got no idea of what they’re stirrin’ up. They think they’re in the right, and maybe they are in some respects, but they’re not considerin’ how the trouble they’re into is going to spill over onto other folks.”

The mustanger looks around, nodding in agreement with Castillo’s assessment of the spot. She points to the slope that curves behind the cluster of piñon trees. ”Worst case, you could crouch down in there. Get off a few shots before the bandits knew where you were hidin’.”

Murdock listens to Castillo’s assessment seriously, peering into the clearing as she discusses its potential advantages and limitations. ”It could damn well work in a pinch,” he says, <green>”I’ll keep it in mind.”

Pulling a worn notebook from one of his saddlebags, he makes a few notes on an empty page with a blunt lead pencil.

”I’m a little more familiar with Roswell, that country, than these foothills.” Horn says, building a smoke from his poke of tobacco, ”but riding in a couple of days back, I noticed that east of here, there’s a spot with a fair bit of deadfall. Looks like a little fire, maybe from a lightning strike, happened a while ago. Trees are just starting to come back in.”

“Not sure there’d be anything usable as a spot for shelter, but it might be worth a look,” he offers with a shrug.

OOC: In advance of any further scouting, would you give me another pair of rolls for Notice and Knowledge: Wilderness Lore?

"If it ain't too far, I say we go have a look," Jacinta said in agreement with Tom's plan.  "Could be a good spot for keeping the wolves at bay, at the least."  She clucked her horse, turning the mare in that direction.



Finally!

Knowledge: 4
Tracking: 5

23:59, Today: Jacinta Castillo rolled 2,4 using d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 2,4.  Knowledge: Wilderness Lore.

23:59, Today: Jacinta Castillo rolled 5,1 using d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 5,1.  Tracking.

As the group resumes their progress down the trail, Castillo recalls a fire that took place in the pine forests east of Lincoln perhaps three years ago, following a violent lightning storm. The blaze was short lived, but did damage small portions of the foliage in the foothills. The scout recognizes that Horn might be correct. Usable trails could have been created by the damage, possibly large enough for Murdock to take advantage of.

Informed by her memories, Castillo locates the spot that the stage guard had mentioned after the passage of a few miles, before Horn can point it out. The scout notes that although the pair of paths that curve away from the main trail are wide enough for the stagecoach, riders that were not attentive could easily miss the entrance to them, due to the way the trees screen the gap.

Taking an initial look at the paths, Castillo is able to quickly determine that both are unused. No evidence of human passage, either on foot or on horseback, marks the soil.

Jacinta returned to the stage with favorable news and a nod of thanks to Horn.  "Probably your best bet, Murdock," she reported.  "Rustle up some brush to hide the trail and it'd be even better.  You'd be almost invisible back there and don't look like it's been used by anyone."

Murdock looks past Castillo, studying the scene for a moment. Shaking his head, he smiles. ”You know, if you were going past here at a gallop, it would be easy to miss it altogether.”

He swings out of his saddle. ”Ya’ll don’t mind, I want get a good look at it up close. Make sure I commit it to memory, so I can find it again in a hurry.” He motions for Horn to accompany him. The stage guard dismounts and follows, his rifle propped on one shoulder.

”Damn. Nice work,” Kearney says after the two men depart. ”If you’re ever hard up for cash, you’d be welcome to join me chasin’ wild horses. I reckon you’d have a good eye for finding them. I’d split what we brought in with you, straight down the middle.”

She smiled at the mustanger.  "I might take you up on that.  I'm hard up for cash most days.  One of the reasons I come through here.  There's usually someone that needs something done for a bit of coin."  She leaned on her pommel.  "You have any thoughts on what they said is going to happen tonight in town?  Been around for it before?"

”You’re talkin’ about the wagon train,” Kearney says, ”I’ve been here for it once before.”

“I took what Mr. Ellis said about it serious. Stayed in when it rolled through. But I ain’t gonna lie. I peeked out a window, just to see.”

“The glimpse I got...it looked like somethin’ the dead would be ridin’ about in.”

"Huh, that'd be a thing to see," she said thoughtfully.  Her mouth twitched in amusement.  "Maybe I just might have me a peek, too.  Don't look like your hair turned white or nothin'."

”Nope,” Kearney grins, ”Still red enough to get me in plenty of trouble.”

“Say, I’ve been meanin’ to ask you, have you ever...”

A sharp squeal breaks the quiet, the sound pealing through the pines to the south. Castillo recognizes the noise instantly. It is the vocalization of a suffering horse.

Jacinta's head snapped in the direction of the sound.  With a glance at Aileen, she nudged her horse toward the sound of distress, rifle still out and at the ready.  Her gaze shifted rapidly over the trees in search of the disturbance.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:34, Thu 09 Aug 2018.

Kearney pulls her pistol, drawing her mount alongside Castillo’s. The scout urges her horse several paces down the trail, her eyes looking southward, through the screen of trees, searching for signs of the distressed animal she heard.

A little further on, at the beginning of a northern curve in the trail, she spies what appears to be a dun colored horse laying on its side in a small, muddy clearing on the other side of a tangle of cottonwoods. From the trail, it is hard for Castillo to see much detail, but the animal still appears to be moving, though somewhat weakly.

Jacinta rode toward the beast cautiously, searching for any sign of trap.  She wasn't sure who'd be out here looking to ensnare people with an injured horse, but stranger things had happened.


19:31, Today: Jacinta Castillo rolled 8,13 using d8+2,d6+2, rerolling max with rolls of 6,(6+5)11.  Notice.
19:31, Today: Jacinta Castillo rolled 2,2 using d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 2,2.  Tracking.

Castillo pauses to carefully survey the area around the fallen horse. The scout sees nothing. No movement. No signs of immediate threat. Studying the nearby terrain, she can see gouges in the earth near the bloodied animal that she is certain the mustang did not make, but from all appearances, whatever attacked it has gone.

11:15, Today: Aileen Kearney rolled 15,1 using 1d8,1d6, rerolling max with rolls of (8+7)15,1.  Notice.

”I don’t see anything out there,” Kearney whispers after a pause, ”I think whatever got that poor thing must’ve skedaddled.”

As she is speaking, Tom Horn rides up quietly, his rifle in hand. He remains silent, looking to the two women for direction.

Taking her rifle with her, Jactina dismounted and cautiously moved forward on foot.  Picking her way around the trees and across the muddied ground to see how badly the horse was injured.  If it could be saved, she'd take it into town for care.  If not, well she carried the rifle for a reason.

As she moves into the clearing, Castillo can clearly see that the horse is dead. Deep gouges have been torn into the animal’s flank. Six in total. Looking at the wounds, something about them immediately strikes the tracker as odd, but it takes a moment for her to recognize what it is.

The injuries are almost perfectly straight. They are not the kind of uneven tears that would be inflected by the claws of a natural predator. They are clean and even. Crouching beside the fallen horse, Castillo also notes a pair of puncture wounds on the animal’s neck. They are circular and deep, not like those inflicted by an arrow. More the result of some manner of spike driven into the flesh.

Glancing around, Castillo notices that a section of the earth is greatly disturbed, as though it had been trampled by a number of animals, or crossed over by a dust devil. The trail of agitated soil leads off into a dense copse of piñon trees.

Jacinta wrinkled her nose at the sight of the horse's wounds, crouching for a moment to inspect them.  Tilting her head, she followed the line of disturbed soil to the trees with her gaze, staring at the dark grove as if to pierce them with her mind.  At length, she stood and walked back to the others, speaking quietly.

"Whatever did that to the horse went into those trees.  Be it man or beast, I'm of a mind to track it down and put a bullet in it, lest it go attacking more horses or even people on the trail.  You game for a hunt?"

Kearney draws her pistol and cocks it. ”Lead the way, señorita.”

Horn checks his rifle, looks to Castillo, and nods.

OOC: Given the clear damage to the soil, Castillo won’t need to make a Tracking roll to follow the attacker’s trail, at least not initially. However, please give me a Notice roll. Also, given the whispering, I’m presuming you’re trying to stay quiet. So give me a Stealth roll as well, if that’s the case.

Leading the way, Jacinta crept forward, rifle in hand, following the trail from the horse.  She eased into the shadow of the trees, pausing to let her eyes adjust as she searched the area.




Notice: 16
Stealth: 5

20:01, Today: Jacinta Castillo rolled 3,16 using d8+2,d6+2, rerolling max with rolls of 1,(6+6+2)14.  Notice.
20:04, Today: Jacinta Castillo rolled 5,4 using d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 5,4.  Stealth.

Kearney and Horn quietly follow Castillo into the shadows beneath the canopy of piñons, the needles that blanket the soft earth quieting their footfalls. Ahead, Castillo can see that low lying branches and plants have been violently crushed or pushed aside as whatever attacked the horse moved past.

Her eyes adjusting to the dimness, the scout catches sight of an object, thin and white, jutting out of a tree trunk along the track she is following, several paces away.

Butting her rifle against her shoulder, Jacinta skirted the tree carefully, approaching cautiously.  She figured that long, white object was likely what had made the puncture wounds in the horse and it could very well be attached to something.

Approaching warily, Castillo is able to get a clear look at the object. It is a long, sharp fragment of bone, apparently propelled with such force that it was speared deeply into the trunk of the tree.

Frowning at the projectile, Jacinta circled it in search of what could have caused such deadly force.  Had it been thrown?  Driven into place by a powerful creature?  And why?

16:47, Today: Marshal, on behalf of Jacinta Castillo, rolled 2,4 using 1d6,1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 2,4.  Tracking.

Castillo finds her gaze drawn to the heavily dusturbed ground once more. Studying the soft earth carefully, the scout finds two sets of hoofprints, neither shoed, moving out from amongst the trees. One leads in a straight line to the carcass of the fallen mustang a short distance away. The other set veers off to the right. Apparently, two mustangs were in this vicinity when the mysterious attacker came upon them. The bone missile must have been its first attempt to strike at them, but it missed both. One managed to escape, but the one near the main trail was caught.

Examining the tree itself where the bone has struck, Castillo can see no other evidence of anything having handled the bark in any way, leading her to conclude that the piece of bone had to have been propelled through the air somehow. The scout knows of no weapon capable of doing so and the depth that the fragment has bitten into the trunk makes her doubtful that it was thrown. At least not by a human being.

Jacinta studied the bone fragment with a frown, glancing through the trees in search of what might have thrown it.  Seeing no other tracks in the area, she started off in the direction that the other mustang had taken, thinking the creature was likely stalking it.  Her eyes lifted to the trees as she moved, darting about as she stalked through the wood.

Castillo’s instincts prove correct. Moving in the direction of the second horse, the scout finds another track of torn earth, wildflowers and brush scattered by whatever traveled along it.

Then, abruptly, it halts, the furrow transforming into a deep hole in the earth, large enough for plough horse to fall headlong into. Peering in, Castillo can’t make out the bottom of the cavity, but she is immediately struck by a strong, foul odor; the scent of a fresh carcass left beneath the sun’s glare for days.

Kearney wrinkles her nose in disgust.

”Smells like a damn grave,” Horn mutters.

"A den, I think," she said, peering into the hole with a frown.  After a moment of consideration, she shook her head.  Motioning to the other two, she gestured them away from the hole.  "In any case, going down there isn't a wise option.  Don't fancy meeting this thing in close quarters.  Maybe we can smoke 'em out, but it'd be better if we had a larger group."

The pair comply with Castillo’s direction, stepping away from the hole as she directs.

Kearney frowns. ”I’m not sayin’ I’m an expert on this valley. I’m not. But I have ridden it a fair piece lately. And I’ve never seen anything like that before.”

“Have you?” she asks Castillo. ”Can you even guess what might’ve torn up the ground like that?”

Jacinta shook her head.  "No.  Ain't never seen anything like that before," she responded to Aileen.  "Especially nothing that shoots out giant bone spears.  Has to be something mean and dangerous.  Best if we don't tangle with it just now.  Let's get back to the horses." 
This message was last edited by the player at 06:11, Thu 30 Aug 2018.

The pair follow Castillo’s suggestion without question. Horn trails Kearney and the scout, keeping his eye on the tear in the earth as the group returns to the main trail.

Quinn Murdock is waiting when they reach it, patting the neck of his mount reassuringly. ”That spot’s going to work just fine. Exactly what I was hoping for.”

“You find what got that mustang? Sittin’ out here, waitin’ on you, I heard a few cracks to the west, in the direction of town. Sounded like gunfire.”

"We found what we were looking for, but not the beast that made it.  I'd be doubly careful out here if I were you.  Besides bandits, there looks to be some sort of dangerous beast hunting the wild horses.  Might come after yours if it takes a liking to them."  She tilted her head back toward the trail.  "If there's trouble, best we get back."

The group remains mostly quiet on the ride back into Lincoln, as does the trail itself. No further sounds of gunfire break the silence and Castillo, remaining watchful, sees no further sign of the creature that stalked the mustangs.

When the group reaches Ike Ellis’ store, they see the livery man speaking to a small group of people, Ranger Bryan Lee and Sheriff William Brady among them. Lee and a slender man in a dark colored duster are bearing the limp body of a young range hand in their arms. Ellis is addressing the gathering quietly, asking questions.

OOC: I’m going to move Castillo into the Young and Dead thread so she can join in the conversation at the Ellis Store, if she desires.