"Not good, David Baines," the clank says mildly. "Witchcraft might infect other bodies, enable demons to steal clay and feed on fear from walking dead...not good to remove head here, now, to discourage demons from clay: plus plus chance of infection to people and animals from blood...self will take albatross to church, where body may be sained and given rest."

It moves to do this via the back door, but finds its way half-barred by Carl, shotgun not aimed but clearly at the ready. Carl looks to Gus for a decision.

[Private to GM: Persuasion fail, if needed...eep.]

In reply to Alouette (msg #212):

Gus hobbles in. "No, no, no. We ain't takin' it to no church. There's more than one way to make a corpse an unfit host fer demons. We're gonna take it out back, douse it with kerosene, and burn it to ashes, and that'll be the end of it."

Charging Bear takes a long deep breath, and his eyes finally seem to focus on a single point in space. Slowly he puts away his tomahawks and after a moment picks up the lantern that had previous gotten him shot at. Then under his own power the native son walks towards the house.

OOC: Burning a White chip to unshake!


Percy moves quickly after Gus, his rifle at the ready. He levels it on Alouette.


OOC: Oops... post edited for correctness
This message was last edited by the player at 13:25, Thu 02 Sept 2010.

In reply to Charging Bear (msg #214):

[[OOC: Um...there wasn't a body left. It vanished into black smoke when Percy shot it...]]

Alouette turns its eerily glowing lenses on Gus. "Do not advise cremation: windblown contagion could infect grazing land, crop fields, water supply." It tilts its head. "Also, flaming possessed clay is plus plus more dangerous than non-flaming walking dead."

It makes to move again, but distrusts Carl's shift of shotgun position, and so halts. "Albatross was already lamed by injury...only self would be at risk on road to the church. Would go swiftly, return soon."

To Percy and Carl, it adds: "Do not advise shooting self in high-dust environment also containing ghost rock traces - explosion of self would have 88% probability of causing critical barn existence failure and vapourisation of contents."

Carl's a fraction less sure of himself with that information. No-one likes to be the contents of a barn suddenly - explosively - failing to exist.

[Private to GM: not sure what I should be rolling on here, if anything]

Gus considers. This was not something he was really qualified to make a decision on. He didn't trust the machine, but he wasn't up on all that hoodoo stuff. But Ward...Ward would know what to do.

"Dave, go get Ward. Ask him what should be done with the dead body here. He should know how to properly dispose of this here 'possessed clay'. If he wants it done like the clank here says, fine, we'll do it that way. If not, well, then we'll do it how he says." He glances over at Alouette. "And if you try and stop us, then I will strap a stick of dynamite to you, tie you behind a horse, and watch the fireworks when you blow. You understand me?"

"Right, boss." Dave nods and rushes off.

Gus staggers over to the wall and sits down. "Percy, Carl, and I will wait here till he gets back, nice and friendly-like. Carl, did you bring your cards?"

"It would be a sin to treat a horse that way, Gus Shaw." Alouette responds. It pauses awhile, then naturally starts following Dave since no-one told it otherwise.

Carl is halfway across the floor into the circle of light by then, hand in his coat for cards. He reckoned it was fine to turn his back on the thing - it had its hands full anyhow.

Percy looks at Gus with a bit of shock written upon his face, "Cards, sir?"


Charging Bear meanwhile is still slowly walking towards the house.

Gus moves to bar the way as Alouette attempts to move out of the barn.

"uh-uh. You ain't goin' anywhere with that corpse. either you wait here with us, or you drop the body and we'll take right good care of it while you talk to Ward. Which will it be?"

He nods at Percy. "Yup, cards. Don't worry, we ain't playin' for cash this time, just to pass the time. Don't you worry none...you can't gamble worth a damn anyhow."

[[OOC: The circle only glows to Alouette's mystical sight, by the way.]]

"Plus fast to take body to Dr.Ward," the clank observes. "Dr.Ward will not come until he has fixed Nathaniel Frost and Called Charging Bear." The automaton's simple faith in Ward's ability to repair flesh like Augustus repairs it seems to be the reason it's not worried about the possibly-fatal abdominal wound.

Carl smirks and shuffles the deck, gun under his arm.

[[Sorry, thought they'd taken Jack's lantern. Gus wants to play cards in the dark?]]

In reply to Alouette (msg #221):

Gus considers the hole in his chest. Goddammit. The thing made sense. "Fine." he grunts, stepping aside to make a path. "Go ahead. We'll follow behind."

[[OOC: They still have Charging Bear's lantern...if jack and CB are headed back together, they don't need more. Of course, since Gus can see in the dark, playing cards in darkness doesn't bother him.]]

Jack turns back and watches the Indian struggle up out of the dirt.  He can't help but shake his head in confusion, "Damn son, I's jest tryin' t' be neighborly.  But naw...  You had t' be all big and tough and do it ye'self."  As the Indian starts to move off, the gunman falls in behind, lantern held high to light the way.  "Fine then, stumble yer bleedin' hide over to the Doc's.  Mebbe I'll get lucky and you'll jest die on the way.  Ingrate..."

Looking at Jack Charging Bear says, "Perhaps when I'm ready to die I'll let you carry me." as the two walk towards the house.


Percy shrugs, and follows after Gus, "Yes sir boss."

Nathanial Frost lay across Ward's pool table as the Doctor worked. "Did you get the bullet?" He asked nervously.

"Well this is curious." Ward muttered as he eyed the piece of stone he pulled from the gunman's back. "Yes, curious indeed. Hold for a moment."

He leaves Nathanial gripping the table in pain, and pulls the silver platter and flask of distilled water from his bag. He places the platter on a chess board, measures a small amount of water into it. He pulls his silver charm from his waistcoat and waves it over the water once it stills. He watches images flickering across the water.

The room grow deathly quiet.

"Doc? What's up, Doc?" Nathanial says after a few minutes, more to break the silence than get a reply.

"You utter fool." Ward says in an icily even voice. "You incompetent halfwit. Was there something wrong with your hearing when I told you to leave Evans alone for the time being? Did you perhaps mishear when I said he was not to be harassed unless he made trouble?"

"But...he was...he's hired deputies...they attacked some of the boys..."

"Silence." Ward says, still in ice-cold monotone. "You have just gone an undone months of hard work, planning, and preparations. Perhaps years. You've created for me an enemy who could have been a very useful ally, and now I will have to clean up your mess once again. I should turn you over to him, and let him deal with you."

"You can't do that. The boy's'd revolt." Nathanial says, pulling himself into a defensive position. "And there would be Hell to pay if you did turn me over. I know things. Things you wouldn't want nobody to know."

"Are you saying I would be better off if you were dead?" Ward responds evenly. "Is that what you are trying to convince me of, Nathanial?"

The gunman's eyes widen. "N-no...no that's not what I..."

"Oh, I know what you want me to do. Pat you on the back, tell you what a good boy you are. Tell you you did the right thing. But you haven't. You have put me in an untenable position, and caused me a significant setback, and for that you will make amends." He moves towards the table, holding the silver medallion in the palm of his hand as if to touch it to Nathanial's flesh. The gunman tries to scramble away, but Ward is faster than the wounded man. Ward yanks Nathanial's head back and presses the medallion to his forehead, and then intones an incantation. "In nomine Ophidius, ego te vipuridat: vocate pestilencia ad anime tuum. More in excruio."

Nathanial screams as smoke rises from the medallion. When Ward removes his hand, a sigil glows briefly before fading from sight.

The gunman curls into a ball and whimpers.

"Nathanial Frost, you will be dead within a week unless you find a way to unmake this mess you've created." Ward says, returning his talisman to his coat pocket. "Get out of my sight before I have Abraham drag you out behind the woodshed and give you a whipping as well."

Nathanial pulls himself to his feet and slinks out the back door, fleeing into the night.

A few minutes later, Jack and Charging Bear, followed by the rest of the Dust Adders and Alouette, return to the ranch house.
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:54, Sat 04 Sept 2010.

Alouette has to be prodded/encouraged inside, and starts making a metallic growl as soon as it's over the threshold. It hangs back as much as possible when brought to Ward, both to let Charging Bear be seen to and to keep Danny away from him.

Opening the door, Charging Bear calls out, "Doctor Ward? You got a minute..." He looks around for a place to sit, as he is a bit dizzy from blood lose and high levels of adrenaline.


Percy keeps his gun at the ready but pointed towards the ground.

Ward looks at the injured Charging Bear and the Dust Adders. "Good god. What happened out there?"

"Danny boy here tried to run for it, Doc." Gus says, pulling himself into the room. "He must have found one of his friends, because they ambushed me near the barn. The clank and the redskin leapt in, and got stabbed. Danny boy crawled off and bled out in the barn, and Percy took the other one out with a shot between the eyes. But that ain't all."

"Please. Continue."

"Well...the other one was dead. Stone dead but still walkin', just like the one I told you about last night."

"Did you retrieve their corpses this time? Tell me you did that much."

"We got Danny's...but the other one just dissolved or something. Faded away like smoke. Damndest thing I ever did see."

Ward hangs his head and sighs. "Another missed opportunity to get to the bottom of this. Very well. Put the corpse in the carriage house and assign one of the men to watch over it. If it vanishes I want to be informed immediately, otherwise I will examine it later."

Gus nods, but doesn't move. He slumps against the doorframe instead. "uh...Doc...I been shot. Do you think you could, you know, pull the bullet out before I pass out?"

Ward narrows his eyes. "That depends. Were you aware of Nathanial's ill-advised attempt to drive the Marshal out of town this evening?"

"Wh-what? Um...er..."

"That's what I thought." He turns his withering glare on the rest of the Dust Adders. "Listen to me, all of you. You have made a grave mistake and caused me a world of problems with your actions this evening. I specifically instructed each and every one of you not to provoke Doctor Evans. I believe each of you needs a reminder of who it is you work for. We have done great things together. Monumental strides have been taken. I would not want to see that jeopardized by your ill-thought out actions. Tomorrow those of you who were in town will be making amends. Tonight, I have work to do. You have your orders. Watch the boy's body and inform me of any changes, otherwise I will tend to it later. You are dismissed."

The Dust Adders begin to file out.

"Doc...what about me?" Gus burbles from his position at the doorframe.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot you were there." Ward scowls. "Fine. Wait in the foyer until I have tended to Mr. Charging Bear."

"You're gonna treat that redskin before me!?" he exploded, then crumbles in pain.

"Yes, Angus Shaw, that is exactly what I intend to do. I rely on you to temper Nathanial's foolishness, and instead you have aided and abetted him. Mr. Charging Bear is an innocent party in this. I have only two hands, and you would not want them operating on you when their owner is upset with you, would you? Abide for a while and contemplate the failure of your duty, and I will see to you."

Gus slinks out, muttering curses beneath his breath, leaving only Alouette and Charging Bear in the room.

Ward sighs again. "Well. Mr. Bear, if you would please lie down on the pool table, I will begin my examination."

Augustus comes to. It's dark, but he can tell he's definitely outside, if the dust in his mouth and the chill is anything to judge by. The lowing of cattle from somewhere nearby, and the stink of livestock surrounds him.

In his hand is something hard and metallic.

[Private to Augustus Spotswood: Feel free to describe the Device in Augustus's hands as you see fit...it's your new Beast Friend prototype, made from parts scavenged from your other devices (which will need to be repaired to become functional again). This device was made as a Gadgeteer's gadget, so it has 10 power points and will no longer function once those points are gone. If you pull it apart to study it further, you'll have all the information you need for your New Power and will need to draw for a Dementia.]

Alouette sidles away from any attempt to take Danny off it, to the point where it will allow itself to be chased sideways into adjacent rooms to keep the same distance between itself/Danny and mortals. Carl pads in at the back, last since he was wiping his feet with great diligence.

"It was a damned soul wearing ash and dust," Alouette adds to Gus' story. "He thought he was fighting for a place, but he was really working for the Adversary. No." This last to Jack, nearest it.

"This one - no - is not safe near mortals, requires saining. Self will take albatross to church and ensure safety, if permitted. Permit?" It looks after Gus  moment, then back at Charging Bear, clearly puzzled. "All mortals have red under their skin...false?"

Carl gives a quiet cough before leaving, just so Ward notes him - he had nothing to do with the incident in town or covering it up, driving Ward himself about at the time.

Augustus sits up in the darkness.  He blinks a bit, to see if it would help, but no.  Its just dark.  He lifts the device in his hand closer and gently feels around it with fingers.  A slight buzzing in one ear distracts him momentarily and he makes to swat away the bug...only to find another odd device strapped to his head.  His hand feels around this device, travels down its attached wires to the box.  "What on earth..." He begins, but instinct or mad curiousity takes hold and he begins adjusting the dials on the box by feel alone.  The buzzing begins to increase, then decrease then settle in to a group of very dull voices...  The conversation is really quite boring consisting mostly of discussion on the consistency of the grass over here...and over there...

In reply to Augustus Spotswood (msg #231):

Some mood music:

As Augustus' eyes get used to the darkness, he can make out shapes, moving a short distance away.

Cattle. It's a herd of longhorn cattle, moving slowly along a gulch, grazing.

There's other shapes, further out, all spread out along the prairie. And, occasionally, there's a brief flicker of a greenish light. He thought it might be his imagination at first, but no, there it was again. It looked a bit like St. Elmo's fire, flickering in and around the herd.

And then there are the voices with their dull conversation...where was that coming from?
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:56, Sat 04 Sept 2010.

He says "yeah..." with a nod, Charging Bear gets back to his feet and follows after Dr Ward.


Percy follows after Gus, keeping quiet as he doesn't want to invoke the "good"
 doctor's wrath

"I will permit it after I have examined the body. I have some questions that I need to get answers to, and once I'm finished you may proceed with your saining." Ward says. "Carl, please escort Alouette and the corpse to the carriage house. You, at least, I can rely on."

He then leads Charging Bear into the parlor, and has him lie on the pool table they had played at not half an hour previously.

Gus, for his part, ignores Alouette's question and sulks in the foyer.

Once Charing Bear is laid out, Ward begins his examination. First he checks the wound, then pulls a bottle of tequila and washes the wound, which stings quite a lot. once done with that, Ward offers to dose Charging Bear with chloroform (or a drink of the tequila) for the pain. Once he has his answer, Ward begins stitching the sutures. In the space of a quarter of an hour, Ward has finished, and begins washing his hands in preparation to treat Gus, whom he sends Abraham to collect.

[Private to Charging Bear: Do you want to be unconscious for a few hours or drunk off your tits?]

[[OOC: Ward spends 20 minutes with Charging Bear and makes two Healing rolls. the first is at -3 due to CB's wounds, but gets a +2 bonus due to Ward's Healer edge, so it's a net of -1. The second has penalties and bonuses based on how many wounds are healed by the first roll.

Dr. Dexter Ward rolled 9,2 using d8-1,d6-1, rerolling max with rolls of (8+2)10,3. Healing check. Heals 2 wounds.

Dr. Dexter Ward rolled 16,3 using d8+1,d6+1, rerolling max with rolls of (8+7)15,2. Healing check. Heals the remaining wound and removes the Agility penalty.

I also rolled for how long he would be treating Gus for, and it came out to 30 minutes all told, so about 50 minutes has passed.]]

Continuing to listen to the "conversation," Augustus works on picking himself up from the ground while holding on to the odd device.  Now standing, he will attempt to survey the ground nearby for anything else and also try to get a better look at the flicker of green...  Perhaps it could be a hint as to where he is.  Other than in a herd of cattle.


OOC - Notice Total 4, still tuned to the Cow Channel on his Device.

Please continue posting on the Chapter 5.1.1 thread.