In reply to Judge Messalen (msg # 6):

Over the course of their recent travels, Jacob had noticed that the men who worked on the railroad and in the big hotels all seemed to have an expectation to be paid what they called a "tip" whenever they did something for you -- even something as easy as answering a simple question. Some of them would even stare at you or stick their hand out until you paid them. Jacob had almost started a fight when he spit tobacco juice into the palm of one of the pushy bastards back in 'Frisco.

The Texan counted it a good mark in favor of the porter who answered Earnest's question when the man did not seem to expect one of those tips. However, Jacob did not care to encourage such foolishness, so he simply nodded -- politely enough, mind you -- in response to the information provided by the porter.

Glancing in the direction indicated by the black man, Jacob saw a big hotel, sure enough.

"That ain't such a far piece," the rifleman remarked to Earnest. "I reckon we can tote this box o' rocks that far. Sing out if'n you git winded afore we make it, an' need to set 'er down long enough to catch yer breath."

---

OOC: Fixed a typo, and little embellishing . . . no substantive changes.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:50, Wed 10 Oct 2018.

In reply to Jacob Richardsen (msg # 7):

Earnest looks to where the man indicates.

Ah yes, very good... Thank you.

He then responds to Jacob with a grin.

My wind has increased considerably over the past few years... I shall be fine.

He starts heading to the hotel.

In reply to Earnest Nicholas Samuel Ringgenberg (msg # 8):

Jacob hefted his end of the load, eying his duffel bag to confirm that it was properly balanced atop Earnest's trunk.

"Lead us thaere, Kit Carson," he called to the easterner, referring to the famous frontiersman and wilderness guide. He supposed that even people from back east must have heard of Carson.

OOC: Added a little more Texas drawl -- changed "there" to "thaere"
This message was last edited by the player at 12:53, Thu 11 Oct 2018.

In reply to Jacob Richardsen (msg # 9):

The professor and the rifleman heave their belongings to the front doors of the Stanford Hotel. They are greeted by a doorman in an ill-fitting uniform.

"Allow me, señors," he says, extending his right hand, palm open toward the handle of the steamer trunk being held by Professor Ringgenberg.

In reply to Judge Messalen (msg # 10):

Earnest chuckles at Jacob's reference.

Hardly that... But maybe someday!

He nods to the doorman as they approach.

Thank you, but we've got it for the moment.

He leads them inside the hotel, sets down the load, then looks towards the hotel desk.

In reply to Earnest Nicholas Samuel Ringgenberg (msg # 11):

Jacob set us end of the trunk down at the same time Earnest did. "Why don't you get us squared away with the deskman, yonder," he suggested. In the Texan's estimation, the Perfesser was much more the gentleman and better-spoken than he himself was, and thus better-equipped to deal with city-fied people, who sometimes tended to look down their noses at normal folks.

"Reckon I'll stay here an' keep an eye on our baggage," he added, nodding down at the trunk and duffel bag.

Each of the two pards takes in the surroundings on the ground floor of the Stanford.

The professor as he waits in a queue at one of the reception desks, to the left and near the rear of the spacious entry area.

The rifleman as he minds the vantage of professor's steamer in the waiting area immediately to the left of the entrance.

Several wooden chairs line the chair rail on the left wall between the entrance the two reception desks. The trunk is sort of blocking a chair or two. Jacob considers whether to take a seat or remain standing. Both Jacob and Earnest look to the right side of the establishment, which is a large open room, dominated by two long tables. It is most definitely the dining hall, with the smells of cooking wafting through an opening in the wall to the right of the hotel entrance . . . wherein the kitchen must lie. Lastly, a stairway up to the second floor divides the reception area from the dining hall.

Ringgenberg hears the man in front of him speaking to the clerk at the left hand reception desk. "Yes, yes, c'est vrais," he says elegantly, mixing his English and French. "Je m'appelle Alphonse Poirier, I had sent a telegraph to reserve lodgings two days ago." The professor doesn't catch the clerk's reply, but he hears Poirier again. "C'est magnifigue. That is most agreeable." Poirier hands over a silver coin, signs the register, and takes a brass key from clerk.

He stands, and seeing Earnest standlng just behind him, says, "Bonjour, Monsieur," as if he fully expects that the professor will comprehend his native tongue.

Meanwhile, Richardsen's attention is drawn more to the aromas of what he perceives to be a stew, his stomach grumbling after a night of difficulty, lack of sleep and a full day -- at least -- since a regular meal. Unfortunately, it doesn't appear to be meal-time at the Stanford. Although a half-dozen or so guests or visitors have taken seats at the two long tables, none appear to be taking sustenance.

In reply to Judge Messalen (msg # 13):

Earnest nods to the man and replies.

Bonjour mon ami, passe une bonne journée.

Barring a response, he will step up to the desk.

---

OOC:
Thank god for Google translate!
This message was last edited by the player at 00:13, Sun 14 Oct 2018.

In reply to Earnest Nicholas Samuel Ringgenberg (msg # 14):

The man stops in his tracks and turns to face the professor. A slender man, he stands about average height, with curly dark hair -- well-kempt but longish and flowing over his collar, as if he had not paid a visit to a barber in a number of weeks. He wears a heavy coat with a colorful patterned lining -- as noticed by Earnest when the left breast of the coat flies open during the man's turn.

"Merci. Je m'appelle Alphonse Poirier. Comment vous appelez-vous?" He bows ever-so-slightly.

OOC: Google translate is helpful; sometimes a bit inappropriately literal in my experience, at least when translating for the purpose of conversation. Caveat emptor.

As with the other universe, in 1877, average height was about 5'7". Average men's shoe size was 7.

Jacob glanced over into what he took to be the hotel's dining-room, with the aromas that wafted out of the kitchen causing his stomach to start talking to him, telling him that it was time to start paying some attention to putting some food into his belly.

~Hunh. Wonder what thaey're doin' in yonder, seein' as how thaere ain't no victuals on the tables?~ the Texan mused.

Jacob gave some thought to taking his ease in one of the nearby chairs, but decided to remain standing -- after all, he and the Perfesser had just spent a fair amount of time sitting over the course of their train-ride.

Glancing over towards the reception desk to see how his pard was progressing in his task of getting them registered, he noted that the Perfesser appeared to be parlaying with another hotel guest. At least mildly interested, given that he was essentially just standing in place at Parade-Rest, the Texan turned his attention to the two men's conversation . . .

---

OOC: 12:06, Today: Jacob Richardsen rolled 13 using 2d6, rerolling max with rolls of (6+4)10,3.  Notice Check.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 02:13, Mon 15 Oct 2018.

In reply to Jacob Richardsen (msg # 16):

The Texan recognizes a few common French words passing between the professor and the other hotel guest. Of course, he couldn't make a lick of sense out the most of the conversation, but Richardsen has enough horse sense to get a feeling of civility from the exchange.

OOC: Jacob may assume he hears any further conversation, although he won't recognize the French vernacular. If the men shift to English at any time, Jake will hear and comprehend without further Notice rolls. As Jake noted in the OOC forum, remember to use "record each die" or "drop lowest" when using the dice roller to roll Attribute die + Wild Die. If you use the "manual" roll definition it works well, as you can define the two dice, such as "d6,d6" instead of 2d6 using the automated select.

In reply to Judge Messalen (msg # 15):

Earnest returns the slight bow as he responds.

Enchanté de vous rencontrer, je m'appelle Professeur Earnest Ringgenberg.

In reply to Judge Messalen (msg # 17):

Jacob could overhear some of the discussion between Earnest and the other man, and recognized that the two were conversing in French.

~Leave it to a Frog to avoid talkin' in English, even though we are in the U. S. of A,~ the Texan thought to himself.

~Reckon the Frogs are feelin' pretty high an' mighty after stealin' Arizona an' New Mexico away from us whilst our backs was turned.~

As if the man behind Ringennberg in the queue were verbalizing the Texan's thoughts, he interrupts in a loud voice.

"Iffin ye ensist on holdin' up the works, ye cud at least speak so's the rest of us cud savvy."

The professor realizes the clerk is waiting, as is the man complaining from his flank.

In reply to Judge Messalen (msg # 20):

"Pardonnez-moi," Poirier says to the loud man in the queue

"Au revoir," he says to the professor, before turning towards the stairs.

In reply to Alphonse Poirier (msg # 21):

Jacob grinned as a man in the line behind Earnest -- who was clearly thinking along the same lines as the Texan was -- fussed at the Frog. A moment later the Frog moved off, still refusing to talk like an American.

~Good thing for them that the Frogs din't mess with Texas when they reached up an' grabbed Arizona an' New Mexico. Even after bein' wore plumb wore out from fightin' the damnYankees, we'd a' gived 'em a bloody nose for damn sure.~

---

OOC: Slight rephrasing -- no substantive edits.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:53, Tue 16 Oct 2018.

In reply to Alphonse Poirier (msg # 21):

Earnest simply nods to the Poirier, then turns to the waiting clerk.

Good day sir, do you have a room with two beds available?

In reply to Earnest Nicholas Samuel Ringgenberg (msg # 23):

The clerk, a square-shouldered thin young man, nods and replies to the professor's inquiry with questions of own, while holding the point of his pencil in the margin of a ledger.

"A private room, with two beds? How many nights?"

His tone is that of someone who finds himself repeating himself throughout the course of the business day. It cannot be described as enthusiasm.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the GM at 01:24, Thu 18 Oct 2018.

With the discussion that had attracted Jacob's attention to the area of the reception desk having ended with the departure of the Frenchman, the Texan turned his scrutiny to what he considered to be the hotel's dining room.

He was mildly curious as to why folks would be sitting at tables in there when there was no food to be had. Jacob positioned himself so that his good ear was on the side of the dining room, thinking that he might overhear some snippets of conversation that would solve the mystery for him . . .

---

OOC:

11:44, Today: Jacob Richardsen rolled 1,3 using d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 1,3.  Notice Check (Dining Room).

Notes: When I manually entered "d6, d6" and tried to "Drop the Lowest 1" and alternatively "Keep the Highest 1" by enabling that portion of the Dice-Roller, I was unable to roll, being advised that the error was "You cannot drop or keep as many dice as you are rolling".

I don't get it, but I quit trying to instruct the Dice-Roller to automatically drop the lowest (or, alternatively, keep the highest) roll, and simply highlighted the appropriate result once the roll was made.

Edit: Changed one word, non-substantive.

Edit#2: Removed the red "Failure" designation after the die roll. It probably is, seeing as how the Target Number is usually 4, but that is for the Judge to decide.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:02, Thu 18 Oct 2018.

In reply to Jacob Richardsen (msg # 25):

The Texan hears what amount to the murmurs of conversation from the other room. He simply isn't close enough, especially when there are others much closer to him, carrying on their own conversations.

In reply to Judge Messalen (msg # 24):

Earnest rubs his chin a moment, then replies.

Our plans are still a bit fluid and need to be discussed... one night at least, but I'll let you know later if it will be more. How much is the room?

In reply to Earnest Nicholas Samuel Ringgenberg (msg # 27):

The clerk replies, facing Ringennberg, without moving the pencil from its mark.

"I cannot guarantee a room beyond one night without prepayment." He takes the professor's name and enters it into his ledger and then resets the pencil point atop the page.

"Two dollars per night sir, plus one each for meals, if you please. Four dollars per night for two, all told. Shall I put room 15 in your name for two nights?"

Earnest hears the man behind him grumbling under his breath.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:51, Fri 19 Oct 2018.

As Tracy approached the Stockton, he paused to consider his next move.

~Need to know the whos, whats and whys of this place.

Even though this was his first time in a new locale since officially calling himself an Investigator, Tracy had spent a few years developing his investigation skills. If you want to find a lead, you have to read some leads.

Tracy steps into the Stockton and quickly surveys the lobby. He sees a few people in his immediate vicinity, including a man near a large trunk to his side and a few people in line at the front desk. His eyes scan the room in search of a newspaper.



OOC: 18:48, Today: Tracy Windham rolled 5,5 using d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 5,5.  Notice: newspaper.

In reply to Tracy Windham (msg # 29):

Windham scans the hotel waiting area. The steamer trunk had definitely drawn Tracy's attention; the man sitting next to it looked like a man who had seen the elephant.

The Investigator notices that there are two desks with a short line in front of each . . . a subtlety of fact that had escaped him initially. To the right, he sees an open area. A dining area; the odors of preparation for the evening meal wafting into the waiting area. To Windham's left, a few chairs on either side of the trunk. And a newspaper on one of them, probably left behind by one of the hotel's patrons.
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:16, Sat 20 Oct 2018.

In reply to Judge Messalen (msg # 30):

Jacob noticed the younger man when he came into the room, and the Texan nodded a neutral, poker-faced greeting. However, the rifleman wasn't sure whether the newcomer had noticed, for the man's eyes were flickering here and there, as if he were searching for something or someone.

Jacob turned his attention to Earnest and noted that his pard was now at the front of his line, speaking to the desk-clerk.

---

OOC: I didn't write much of a description for Jake in the "Cast" thread, so I will add it here. Given Tracy's occupation, I feel certain that he is the sort of fellow to notice such things. :)

Jacob is taller than average, standing right at six feet tall, and weighing around 165 or 170 pounds. Age-wise, he looks to perhaps be in his mid-30's. The areas where his skin has been exposed to the sun -- his face, neck, and hands -- are deeply tanned. He wears a moustache and goatee beard. His hair and beard are a medium brown, his eyes blue.

He wears a long-sleeved linsey-woolsey shirt of medium blue, charcoal gray trousers, a good-quality Western (cowboy) hat of a lighter gray (in that place and time, some might have called it Confederate gray), and a light-sandstone colored duster coat. His boots look dusty, but are not down-at-the-heels.

A canvas duffel bag sits atop the large steamer trunk, and Jacob carries a rifle in its scabbard in the crook of his left elbow.

Edit: Corrected a couple of typos, and clarified that Jacob's shirt is long-sleeved (his cuffs might show under his coat). :)
This message was last edited by the player at 02:32, Sat 20 Oct 2018.