"Have I mentioned that I hate how you talk birdie." Jake says through his teeth. "One day you should learn to speak alittle more plainly. Can ya tell me how you can see in this pitch darkness? I'm curious as a witch myself what sort of witchcraft you use."

[[Are...are you taunting the insane angel of vengeance? If so, please roll it.]]

Static flares with the light in the clan's lenses, anger so thick in the air it's hard to breathe. "Mortal, you...were born to blindness. I see."

OOC: Oh sure ... why not!
14:26, Today: Jake Lawrence rolled 3,0 using d4-2,d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of (4+1)5,2.  Taunt (-2 untrained).

---

A slight laugh escapes Jake's lips, "More likely the folks who put together that tin can had a clue about strangeness in the world. The spirit in it probably don't hurt either." Jake shakes his head, "Go do whatever craziness you're going to do clank - let me and the others save the town."

OOC: Yes Jake knows a little bit about weird science thanks to his background

[[19:44, Today: Alouette rolled 5,3 using d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 5,3.  smart birdie?

The Hawk is not taunted beyond what tiny amount of rational non-murderiness she has.]]

The metal creation shifts back awkwardly, inviting Jake to step past it and leave the Mayor open. "...at what price, Little Bitter One?" it asks, then raises its head, staring at a patch of dark.

"You'd trade the life of all them women and children in town for his?" Jake says. "I don't know much about what ole mayor here has done, but I'm thinking him dying ain't worth those folks.I don't care about this ball of blubber but I'm gonna do what I can to keep that town from being the begining of the end of things."

He keeps his gaze focused on the eyes he can see with his own but through the thing he's seeing himself with, its slightly dizzying. "Now if you got away to keep the Comanche over there from bring out the big snake and killin' all those good folks in town ... I'm all ears tin bird."

Adrian didn't really know quite what to do in the pitch black that the Mayor had plunged them into. He had assumed it would make it a little bit harder for the Comanche to see them, not that it would completely render them useless and unable to see anything. He felt hungry, and had an odd craving for popcorn, which would be a good accompaniment to listening to Jake try to talk sense to the clank. All he had was a piece of jerky, and that would have to do for the moment. It would do him more good than popcorn in any case. He had been craving some meat.

He had before attempted to talk sense to the clank himself, and nine times out of ten it had proven a fools errand. Nonetheless, he wished Jake success in his endeavors.

The Mayor would probably object to this description if he weren't cowering behind a rock.

"Embers...a break, burning, to stop the spread of fire..." the thing's unearthly pain hammers like a migrane. "If not the town - that this one would spend in slaughter, a crowd against my Little Fierce One's hunger - then the world. This...this is mercy."

It looks over at the dark spot again.

"Show me the Serpent or...speak to Ghost Wolf, ssay..." -pain, murder, nausea- "-the mirror is false. Or...throw in your hopes, seek...an ending. Destroy the place of the burnt bush, destroy the child of metal and the knowledge...but for certain keep the souls safe, aid Heaven's hand...free me."

"I don't think cracking the spirit out of the shell ends well for anyone here."

Jake shifts his stance slightly, pulling his pistol and fires a warning shot at a Comanche he can't actually see. The big dragoon sounds like thunder echoing off the nearby boulder. He calls out, "STAY!"  [Language unknown: "ULRI!"]  [Language unknown: "SOM!"]

"I think we've more important things currently to deal with than the mayor's desire to burn the world for his own profit ... such as what he and his folks have already started by stirrin' up the local spirits and causin' this craziness that's going on now."

OOC:
16:17, Today: Jake Lawrence rolled 6,4 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 6,4.  Shootin'.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:40, Thu 24 Sept 2015.

The bullet thrums past Harry Lazarus' chest like a wasp; there's a startled yelp from behind him to his left.

[[Hmm...usually that's -4 for pitch-darkness-with-clues, but you technically have some visual, which might add +2...Magic 8 Ball?
21:33, Today: Alouette got the result "You may rely on it" on the magic 8-ball.  Hawkeye bonus? Huh. So that's a 4 and a Hit - roll damage to see if you've made the lad Shaken.]]

OOC:
16:41, Today: Jake Lawrence rolled 7 using 2d6+1, rerolling max with rolls of 4,2.  Damage (Oops).

Also does Jake know/have a clue about what might happen if he let's the spirit out of Alouette besides the obvious no more clank?

16:43, Today: Jake Lawrence rolled 2,5 using d4,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 2,5.  Knowledge Occult.

[[*pokes languages* I don't know what the term 'Algonkian' is supposed to cover, since no-one here is Delaware/Cheyenne/Cree, but since the Deadlands language families are so messed up/mashed together I'm guessing that's what the Stray filed Tslaagi under...that 7 won't hurt the Comanche much, but it still smarts.]]

There's a low-level mutter about Jake's parentage and a quiet shift of scree behind Harry.

The clank starts at the shot, watching to see the young man is not harmed. "I have...I had...a Name...and you, also have a Name and a sound and a silence...but you are deaf, Little Bitter One."

[[Jake remembers that crazy old shaman that Named him suggesting that the Hawk, if liberated without a great deal of cake and grief counselling, would be liable to raze every settlement in a 100-mile radius. He also implied she was a match in power for the Snake.

He dimly remembers Laughs at Darkness mentioning a Ghost Wolf, too - a man who might become leader of the local tribe in the dark shaman's stead and could be willing to negociate.]]
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:55, Thu 24 Sept 2015.

Jake sighs and rubs the bridge of his nose. "Been a long day birdie ... long long day ... think after all this crazy is over I'm gonna sleep for a week after I drink heavily for a week to scrub all this from my mind but only after I have a long and rather violent talk Doc Frost 'bout sending me here in the first place ...." His words trail offas his memory cranks out information.

"Vega, are we just runnin' round puttin' out fires or workin' towards somethin'? Cause we need to unseat the shaman who's raising the snake and get Ghost Wolf to bring the natives to negotiations with the settlers. "
This message was last edited by the player at 15:06, Fri 25 Sept 2015.

The static softens to a menacing simmer. "The knife-named-hidden-faced serpent seeks his kin...to his Grandfather the shaman chants, to Mirror Serpent, clay-bellied idol, egg-swallower, blood drinker...the paths cross under rock. Beware the Many Sleepers."

It stretches out an arm to point in the direction Jake just shot. "Ask the bullet-marred the steps where the Ghost Wolf walks: you...have a better offering than horses."

"Jake, the idea was to go in and take out the guys who're summonin' the demon snakes. Only problem is, now we got these Comanche on our flank, and we got a crazy clank gone mad. The Comanche are on the same side as those summonin' the demon snakes, and the Clank seems to be on the same side as the Comanche. Long story short, the Clank is sidin' with the demon snakes. I don't know where that leaves us, exactly," he said to Jake.

"If we shoot the Comanche, we piss off the clank, so we gotta fight both the clank and the Comanche. If we don't shoot the Comanche, the Comanche shoot us and the Clank stands around talkin' bullshit nobody can understand and we sit here like ducks. I guess the next best solution is to try to sneak down into the hole, but I can't see shit in this gloom."

"What's a Ghost Wolf?" he asked Jake. "Is that a person?"
This message was last edited by the player at 16:59, Tue 29 Sept 2015.

"Ghost Wolf is another Comanche... sort of second in command I guess to the summoner guy. Laughs At Darkness said he'd negotiate with the townsfolk rather than kill 'em all." Jake says to Vega.

He turns to Alouette,"Hey birdie girl, what put a bee in your bonnet? Aren't you supposed to be keepin' the snake from comin' and killin' us all?

[Language unknown: "Ro saonss ast u ndet Ionentrea Ect!"] he called out.

Harry Lazarus paused, and tensed, lowering his body into a stance that if any could see him, would signal that he was about to run. He could see...or had seen...or would see...where the Comanche was. He couldn't really differentiate the experiences. He was surrounded in blackness, and at the same time, he wasn't. He could see what was happening around him, and what had happened before, and what would happen after. It was how he managed to dodge the bullet that Jake arbitrarily fired in his direction.

Tensing, he ran forward and launched himself at where he knew the Comanche would be, with a goal of tackling him.

In the darkness, he could and couldn't see the cards that he held in his hand, but he knew it was enough to give him a little bit of protection. Picking up a stone, he tossed it past where he knew the Comanche would be to create a noise and hopefully distract the warrior.

After giving him enough time to reaction, he rushed and launched himself at the Comanche's legs in the hopes of tackling him.

---

OOC:

Spell: Armor
Deal with the Devil: Pair
Spellcasting: 4
Smarts (Trick): 5
Agility? (Tackle): 4

If the Smarts trick worked and gave him The Drop, then Agility would be 8?


12:27, Today: Harry Lazarus rolled 1,4 using d4,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 1,4.
12:27, Today: Harry Lazarus rolled 5,5 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 5,5.  Smarts.
12:18, Today: Harry Lazarus rolled 4,2 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 4,2.  Spellcasting.
15:54, Wed 23 Sept: Harry Lazarus drew the 9 cards: 9H, 8C, 4D, 8H, 6H, 5D, 2S, 10D, JD using the Deadlands system.  Deal with the Devil.

"Paleface I will no more allow your slaughter than that the Ever-Fighters' would...wreak upon the black thorn's place," the angel hisses, sheer wrath beginning to heat the very brass. "Witched blades slice the mirror's surface...the will and work of mortal hands is their own."

"Should I, er, let the spell go?" the Mayor ventures, as the clank's attention snaps to Harry Lazarus with a sharp crackling of static.


[[Comanche Raiders, rolled 1 using 1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 1.  smart Comanche?

Give me a fighting roll at -2 (-6 Pitch Darkness, +2 Smarts Trick, +2 Timey-Wimey oddness), Harry - this is a grapple attempt.]]

OOC:

Fighting: 5 [3 +3 (Red Chip) +1 (White Chip) +2 (Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey) +2 (Smarts Trick) -6 (Pitch Black)]

Spent a Red Chip, a White Chip to no effect, and another Red Chip.

14:06, Today: Harry Lazarus rolled 1 using 1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 1.  Red Chip.
14:06, Today: Harry Lazarus rolled 3,5,1 using d4,d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 3,5,1.  White Chip.
14:02, Today: Harry Lazarus rolled 3 using 1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 3.  Red.
14:01, Today: Harry Lazarus rolled 3,1 using d4,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 3,1.  Fighting.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:07, Tue 29 Sept 2015.

Jake's muscles tighten and sweat begins to bead on his forehead as the spirit within Alouette hammer's him mentally. "Ya know Birdie, bein' in your head is almost the worst thing I've ever experienced. Is there a separation between magics cast in that tin cup head? Does a priest or shaman get a pass while hucksters don't?"

The silver-sheened Comanche looks back, startled, half-raised from a crouch as Harry hurtles into his side. They land in an undignified heap, scraping gravel and jarring bones.

The scarred youth coughs, wincing, then at once starts trying to wriggle and roll enough to free his knife. Unnervingly, the Comanche doesn't smell of anything at all, like he's not there.

[[Comanche Raiders, rolled 3 using 1d8, rerolling max with rolls of 3.  resist!
Broken Face is Caught (and confused)! Roll Fighting or Agility to keep hold of him!]]

The clank tilts its head at him, the movement natural as a real bird's, then looks about and back to Jake.


"The sky is not the stone below...the shaman speaks to both, the voice of the Spirit in mortal throat...that mortal's actions belong only to the thought and hands that...shape them, Little Bitter One."

Harry never considered himself much of a fighter, but in what might ultimately prove a foolish life or death struggle against the Comanche, he gave it everything he was worth. Taking advantage of their precarious position, he managed to flip the Comanche over face down against the ground, placing one of his knees against the warrior's back, and one in between his legs, only the native's genitals between his kneecap and the ground. In his other hand, his knife against the Comanche's neck.

He leaned forward and spoke quietly into the brave's ear.

[Language unknown: "Anle ho comni ou, erana Et ndder betene omare thoyiniou thne wit oulratwas itsi riles ouday shewheame der nd rianee. St lemeha ca ounti tafier we etun Ckecca Ecadan, pl ssmall ons tr ivni dayomeast ionwitich wilundtic ure der ol m oneesshis en lo waurlo. Ous ndosee in siour alwi kordi haany ameek nc ivelie u of attrtawe altial. Om wh lat kor oveounany, atte Ac loect wh el ut it ieard ainlatproeau. Te onse aveortres we saomin unone Etilni Anma ilsi a ent profha all mawh. N te osolll whe litoic in ol, T stint nica alai ho aiaina nt, hiiv tr i dayardard is al on virhisous."]

---

OOC:

After using all his remaining chips (an original pathetic 3 boosted by a Blue for a pathetic 1, an even more pathetic result from a White, and an incredible result on the second white):

Fighting: 27 (17 Fighting, plus Chip Reroll Bonus 10)

So my description is a little intense, but I figure that with a Fighting roll of 27, I should be able to subdue him quite handily. But feel free to change it up if needed.

14:38, Today: Harry Lazarus rolled 1,17,10 using d4,d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 1,(6+6+5)17,(6+4)10.  White.
14:37, Today: Harry Lazarus rolled 1,1,1 using d4,d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 1,1,1.  White.
14:37, Today: Harry Lazarus rolled 1 using 1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 1.  Blue.
14:37, Today: Harry Lazarus rolled 2,3 using d4,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 2,3.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:31, Tue 29 Sept 2015.

The youth doesn't try struggling, more deterred and somewhat nauseated by the pain than fear of death. "..ngh.."

Although the Comanche seems to have listened and understood the words, he doesn't offer any response with the possibly-effective-through-Mirror-Serpent's-spells knife so near his throat. He doesn't make anything that might be considered one more move, in fact.


[[Yeah...I'm not even going to bother rolling against that. He's even mostway convinced that the knife can hurt him. [thinks] Considering its power comes from the same source as his invulnerability magic, it actually might...Magic 8 Ball?

Alouette got the result "It is decidedly so" on the magic 8-ball.  a legit threat?

It can! He's definitely not going to try and talk whilst the knife's there, in that case, but he's subdued and then some regardless.]]

Harry gives a little room with the knife at the youth's throat so that he can speak without fear of immediate death. [Language unknown: "Rearuttra. Hohi ev p urilno hiis Esswhihis Nc."]