Following their cold supper of rations they had acquired from Taylor, back in Grafton, the six heroes settled into their overnight camp. The horses had been fed and left to graze on the mesa, with most of them released of their saddles by Daniel Knight, unless any man had objected. Of course, Red Shirt had removed the saddle from his mount, which the others had gathered, recently, was named something like "Poogoo." Obviously a Paiute word ... when asked, the guide said it meant "horse."

Doubling up on the watch, the men with pocket watches had calculated the time that each of the pairs should stand guard, in light of the plan to awake before sunrise and get a head start on day's search for the bandit camp. The result, when factoring in time needed to round up the grazing kids, saddle up and then ride towards Echo Canyon, meant that each of the six men would get only about 5 hours of sleep. Enough under normal circumstances; a mite risky after two days of travel and the possibility of a fight looming the next day, but probably not a substantial threat to their mission.

By six o'clock., still in the pre-dawn, the men were ready to travel.

OOC: The PCs should feel free to converse, in retrospect, if desired during the early morning's preparations, filling in gaps in the Judge's narrative.

When the men were mounting up, Red Shirt spoke. He offfers helpful, if still typically cryptic, thoughts on the general plan that was discussed the night before.

"We should stay together, follow the trail ... the tracks. Nothing to learn from edge of canyon."

In reply to Red Shirt (msg # 3):

Upon rising before dawn the next morning, Jake groaned and rose to his feet, putting his hands in the small of his back and pressing forward, even as he leaned his shoulders back. "Seems a lot tougher to drag mysaelf out uhv my bedroll in the mornin' than it used to be," the Texan groused to no one in particular. "Reckon the years is startin' to add up."

Once he was up and moving, however, Jake set to with a purpose. He munched on some jerky as he set about saddling Jack, punching the horse sharply in the ribs to make his kid expell the extra air that he was holding in so that the saddle girth straps that initially appeared to be tight would in fact fit loosely once the Texan mounted up.

"Quit playin' gaemes with me, Jack," the Texan scolded. "Today ain't the day to be playin' grab-ass an' such-like.

He glanced up at the Paiute when Red Shirt spoke. "Foller the trail. Sounds about right to me," he agreed.

"That, an' keep our heads on a swivel an' our eyes peeled for trubble -- no dozin' in the saddle today."

In reply to Red Shirt (msg # 3):

Earnest paused in his preparations at Red Shirts comment.

You don't think we'll see signs of them from the edge? Surely we would see the cattle at least, which would give us an idea of where they are in the canyon.

In reply to Earnest Nicholas Samuel Ringgenberg (msg # 5):

"No, I do not," answers Red Shirt. "If we had a guide here who knew the area, he would agree."

In reply to Judge Messalen (msg # 1):

Tracy set to work fitting Gus for the day's travel. As he did so, he spoke to the new mount.

"Good boy, Gus. How'd those other men treat you, huh?" The investigator fed the gelding a horse from his saddlebags as he continued to speak softly. "Don't worry; I know Mister Knight will take good care of you from now on." Concluding his thoughts, Tracy patted the horse softly on his neck.

Once he acquainted himself with Gus and finished saddling him, Tracy joined the other men. Hearing the words of the guide, he nodded and turned to Earnest.

"I was looking forward to our survey this morning, but I trust Red Shirt. If he thinks we should head out for the canyon, then we should follow those tracks."
This message was last edited by the player at 18:01, Mon 29 July 2019.

In reply to Red Shirt (msg # 6):

"Another beautiful day in God's country!"

Walker enjoyed the quiet night, looking up at the stars in the vast sky.

"Time to get down to business..."
This message was last edited by the player at 17:52, Mon 29 July 2019.

OOC: FYI, the Judge is holding, temporarily, to give Earnest a chance to follow-up on the conversation with Red Shirt . . . with a plan to advance to the point where the group is following the tracks/trail they found the evening before, within the next 12 hours, which will cover 48 hours since Earnest's last post.

In reply to Red Shirt (msg # 6):

Earnest chuckles at Red Shirt's answer.

Was that an actual joke from you Red Shirt? Very well, we can just follow the tracks, but two things: Why do you think we wouldn't we be able to see an entire herd of cattle from the top of the canyon, is it too narrow? And second, if we follow the tracks, we must be careful... presumably, it will follow the easiest way into the canyon and so is likely to be the most traveled path.

In reply to Earnest Nicholas Samuel Ringgenberg (msg # 10):

"Yes, narrow. Not as you seem to think. I do not think any cattle are in the canyon. Nearby, maybe."
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:53, Mon 29 July 2019.

The Paiute leads the six heroes down from the mesa and towards the tracks they had found the previous afternoon. The riders resume the order established at that time, with Daniel Knight taking up the rear along with the extra horses that were now unsaddled.

The cattle and horse tracks begin to veer west on the sloping plateau, toward Zion Canyon and alongside but not down into the narrow Echo Canyon. The enormous chunk of pale sandstone, known to the men as the Great White Throne, towers above the landscape, seeming to beckon them. Meanwhile, it feels like the plateau is receding beneath the rising formations looming around the heroes. Indeed, the tracks are now leading the riders down into a valley between a few stately sandstone elevations -- none as majestic as the Throne, but all capturing one's attention.

Before long, the tracks, which had been somewhat orderly for a half-mile or so, become disorganized, as if the cattle had been herded into this valley and left to graze for more than a short spell. The riders don't need this explained to them by their guide. Anyone with eyes can see that there were cattle here sometime recently -- from evidence such as cow pies and muddy hoof-prints -- although there are none in sight right now.

OOC: Notice, tracking and perhaps other skill rolls are appropriate at this time. The Judge requests narrative that goes along with any rolls made.

EDIT: The Judge somehow clipped the end of the 2nd paragraph when posting. Fixed.
This message was last edited by the GM at 13:38, Tue 30 July 2019.

Jake rode along quietly, the Texan trying his best to keep his eyes moving as he scanned the surrounding landscape. His gut told him that it was too early to be making contact with the Yalla-Bandanna-boys -- or, at least the main bunch of them. But it was always possible to bump into some outliers, as they had done the previous day, and whoever spotted the others first would have an advantage.

The Texan's field-glasses hung down on his chest, with the leather strap looped around his neck. Clicking his tongue and flicking the reins, he barely touched his heels to Jack's ribs, and the horse moved up alongside Red Shirt.

"You see sumpthin' you want to taeke a closer look at, you're welcome to borrer my field glasses," he told their guide.

"Just sing out if'n you want 'em."

---

OOC: 17:20, Today: Jacob Richardsen rolled 5 using 2d6, dropping the lowest dice only, rerolling max with rolls of 5,2.  Notice Check: Ridin' Out.

In reply to Jacob Richardsen (msg # 13):

"Much obliged," answers the Paiute guide while nodding his head gently, although he doesn't ask for the glasses at this time. Instead, he sidles his horse towards a large pile of cow dung.

"Yesterday," Red Shirt says, more to Jacob than to anyone, although not directly addressing the Texan. "No more than twenty head." He turns Poogoo to the south, guiding the horse at a walk and scanning the ground around him.

"This one from a horse . . . this morning."
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:10, Wed 31 July 2019.

In reply to Judge Messalen (msg # 12):

As their party neared the canyon, Tracy attempted to keep note of the tracks. Although the investigator was sure that Red Shirt kept a firm grasp on their direction and nature, it was still good practice for his own tracking ability. After he lost the tracks totally for a moment, Windham panicked for a split second before regaining his mental focus and acuity.

~Whew,~ Tracy thought. ~That was strange. Perhaps I haven't been getting enough sleep the last couple of nights.~

Having reached the valley where the cattle had obviously grazed, the investigator searched the area for any more leads. If the outlaws had stopped in this area for any significant amount of time, perhaps they left some signs of their next move.

~Could still be a stray Bandana Boy in the area, too,~ Tracy mused to himself. He glanced at Jake, sensing that the Texan might have had the same thought.

OOC:

23:28, Today: Tracy Windham rolled 1,1 using d4,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 1,1.  Tracking, following tracks into canyon.

23:28, Today: Tracy Windham rolled 2,4 using d4,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 2,4.  Tracking, following tracks into canyon (2).

23:29, Today: Tracy Windham rolled 13,2 using d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of (6+6+1)13,2.  Notice, area where tracks disperse.

In reply to Red Shirt (msg # 14):

"This mornin' huh?"

Walker has an uneasy feeling about this day. Maybe last night was his last to enjoy the stars as a man on earth.

~ Doesn't matter, I won't be the first to die, and sure won't be the last..."

OOC: Notice check, looking for any signs of ambush.

08:20, Today: Dave Walker rolled 3,10 using d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 3,(6+4)10.  Keep a look out for ambush.