Some have complained about glitches on the previous threads. here's my attempt to solve that problem. This is the last round of posting from the previous thread.

Alouette, msg #230
Re: Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

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 Spotswood, msg #231
Re: Meanwhile, back at the ranch...


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...

---

The Stray msg #232
Re: Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

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?

---

Charging Bear msg #233
Re: Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

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

---

Dr. Dexter Ward msg #234
Re: Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

"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 Charging 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.]]

---

Augustus Spotswood msg #235
Re: Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

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.

Augustus' eyes are acclimated to the gloom, so aside from a few missteps he's able to travel fairly easily. The flashes of St. Elmo's fire don't do more than create the occasional spot of color, so aside from being lost in a prairie, Augustus doesn't have a clue where he is. Probably still somewhere on Ward's ranch, but that hardly narrows things down.

The flashes of St. Elmo's fire seem to be dancing around the cattle's horns, lining them with short-lived green auras every so often.

As he wanders, he continues to pick up various bits of mostly boring conversation. It's the parts that are less boring that worry him.

"Mmmm. Grass."

"Mmmm. This grass is almost as good the second time as it was the first."

"Mmmm. No more grass here. Need to move on."

"Mmmm. T̴he̵ ̨ser̵p̀e͘n̕t̵ ͡sh̛all ̧rise͟ ̀fr͜om ͟be͘ne͡ath and h͞is ̡terri͟b͜l̀e bre͠ath s̕hall ̴st͏r̷i͜k̡e̵ ͟d͏oẁn͢ t̢h̕e̵ ͘opp͜r̛es̛s͡o͟r͢s."

"Mmmm. This fly is annoying. Flick. Flick. Flick. Got it. Nope. Didn't get it."

"Mmmm. A̛͜͡n̴̸̛d ̸I̷ ͜h͏ę̕a͡r̶̷͟ḑ҉,͏҉ ̷҉a͘s̛ ̸͏ìt̵ ̧҉w̡̧͝e̕͡ŗ̷̀e̛, ͡t͘͝h͏̶ȩ̛ ́͟n̵̶o̶í̶͟şe̡ ̵͞ó͡͡f҉̢ ̵̧t͜h̵̡͟u͘͠͠n̨̕͘de̸r͞.̡̀ ̴O҉̛ne̶ ̕o̵̕f͘ th̷͘ę͜ four͘ ͘b̢͡e̕͟͠a͢s̨̛͟t̕͞͞s̨ ̡̨͞sa̵͞y͏̕͡in̵g̀͞͡:͝ ͡'̨͟Co҉m͏́͘e҉ ̨a̷n͡d ̵̨s̨̢͡e͠è.'̷̵̛ Á͟nd̷̕ ̶͝I͝ ́͜s͢͡a͠w̶.͟҉͝ ̨An̸҉d̸͏̧ ̴̨b͞ęh̴͞͠ol͜͜d,̴͘ ̷͜a ҉w͏h͞i̡͘͡t͠͡e͠ ̵́h͞o͜͠r̕se̕.͜ ͘An͟d͠͠ h̶e̕͘ ̧͡th̵a̡t ̢́şa͞͝ţ̕ ͘͝͞o̢͞n̛͠͡ ͠h͞͡im͠͞ h͝a̵͢d͢͡ a͠ ̷̀b̴ơ̧͘w;̸͘ ͡an̴d ̕͡͏a̧ ̕cr̴ǫ͟͢w̷n̨ w͞ąs̵ ͡g͜͞͠i̶v͠ę̡n̸͞҉ ̵̶u̸̕͏n҉͜to̶͘ ̴hi̶͟m̴̢,̧̛͠ ̡a̴̛͟n͟d̴̢ ̡h͜e̡ ͝͠͠ẃ̵e̷̛͡nt͝ ̴̶́f͠o͢r̢t̡h̛͠ ͝c͠ơ̷n͡q͡u̴èŕ̴̨i̶̢ņ͟g̡͟,̵̡ ̶a͡n̴d͡ ͠͠t͟ó̴͝ c͠o͘ǹ̸q̢u̕͘͟er̴͝.̨͜"

"Mmmm. Something smells."

"Mmmm.Ḣ̛̲̙̲̪̤̞̯͋ͦ̾e̻̬̬̥͚̺̺̯͒͆̓̀̏́̚͝c̊̃͛҉̗̘̩̬͉̥̞̙ǫ̩̣̺̫͚̤̗̞͈ͪͧͬm̸͇̥̠̱͓̫͡e̢̖͕̻̘ͯ͆͒̓̉ͯ͋ͤ͛s͎͙̣̼̱ͧ͋ͧ̈́̂͋̎̌͡"
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:31, Tue 07 Sept 2010.

Charging Bear has little to no desire to be unconscious while there is the potential for so much to go terribly wrong. Downing two long swigs of the tequila offered then leans back and lets the doctor work. He manages to not scream in pain and remains quite still.

OOC:
16:37, Today: Charging Bear rolled 5,2 using 1d6,1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 5,2. Spirit.
16:36, Today: Charging Bear rolled 11,3 using 1d6,1d6, rerolling max with rolls of (6+5)11,3. Vigor.

Carl has spent most of this time getting the damn machine into the coach house. Clearly its motivations are simple: it wants to stay within hearing distance of its injun, talk to Dr.Ward as soon as possible, go out of the house, and to keep at least two yards between itself and any bystanders. The ease of making it move by manipulating the latter is, however, cancelled by the other concerns.

Cue thirty-five minutes of pursuing the thing in circles.

Ingenious use of the carriage reins and a long broom have finally got it to stay put, though Carl doesn't trust the currently insurmountable waist-high line to hold if the automaton truly feels it has reason to move. It's been sermonising fit to talk the tail off the Devil about something or other, but Carl hasn't really been listening and now at last it's shut up.

It amuses the Dust Adder to flick nutshells at it as he sits with his feet up where Augustus was working earlier, slowly getting down a bag of pecans. The thing doesn't react at all.

The surgery is painful, but the drink dulls it to a tolerable level. Charging Bear is shown upstairs to a guest room...the same room Danny had been in earlier. The native son is left alone to rest. There are no shouts of pain as Ward works on Gus...apparently he chose the chloroform.

A silence settles over the house as Ward finishes his work. He makes his way to the carriage house to deal with Danny's corpse...and possibly Alouette.

Ward'll hear a peculiar regular *thumpcrack... ... ...ping!* on his approach.

Carl's hand makes a half-movement towards his shotgun when he looks up, startled out of his distraction. He quickly shifts to tug his hatbrim respectfully as he rises, hands raised in a gesture of 'halt/hang on'.

"Howdy, Dr.Ward!" Alouette chirps, craning to see if he's accompanied. "Is Called Charging Bear fixed now? Where is AUG-US-TUS? Permit self to go to church? Is Carl a Christian? Where was Ambrose driven to? Why are there so many crows?"

Carl, meanwhile, silently demonstrates the clank's refusal to let anyone near it and the fragility of his barrier by approaching a little and stepping from one side to the other - Alouette mirrors his movements, staying the same distance away.

In reply to Alouette (msg #6):

"Mr. Charging Bear is resting, and I have done for him what I can. Any further recovery is in God's hands now, though I suspect he will pull through." He stops at the mention of Augustus. "Mr. Spotswood? I thought he was with you." He turns to Carl. "Have you seen Mr. Spotswood about?"

Carl shakes his head.

"Damn it all. Carl, round up the men and some horses. Inform them that another situation has developed and that I shall hold in higher regard those who help me address it. I will be along shortly."

He turns back to the clank. "Do you know where you and Mr. Spotswood parted company?"

Charging Bear looked over the room, with little desire to actually sleep in it. Memories of the boy who was there not an hour or so before still danced through his mind. He took a seat in a chair and let his body start to heal. The wound was still tender, and even with Dr Ward's skilled work there would be a scar.

The clank takes this in. "God will fix him," it says with confidence. After all, he stopped leaking before.

Some ticking occurs. "AUG-US-TUS was sitting by the light fixing self, and he said 'Dinner...Guest...Oh!  Yes, of course. We can finish later.  Shouldn't take long.  Fascinating, really.  Absolutely fascinating.' Then...unknown error log; self was then on the ground outside, with cutlery, and the damned soul wearing dust was there, shot self. It asked Called Charging Bear if his sister cried when the Union soldiers cut her in pieces and said it was his fault his family got killed...then it stabbed him, but Called Charging Bear got up again and said it wasn't his fault, which was true. AUG-US-TUS was not there."

"The damned Yankee made a hole in self whilst Called Charging Bear was rising-" it clumsily taps its 'beak' near the hole where its collarbone would be were it human, "-then...retrieval error: no card...then self saw the damned Yankee was shot, and it went to another place... *tsshcrkl* tried to capture him, too slow, thisss- -static error...retrieval error:no card...then self was in the barn and Danny Albatross was not moving...AUG-US-TUS was not there, but he had gone past the end with the machine and the place to summon snakes approximately 6 to 8 minutes before."
This message was last edited by the player at 21:48, Tue 07 Sept 2010.

Ward sighs, and rests a hand on his forehead. "He must have wandered out into the range during your skirmish with the...the damned Yankee. Very well. I shall see to this personally. Abide here until I return, and if the body rises...well, then you'll need to make sure it returns to it's slumber."

Ward grabs a lantern, a hat, and a jacket, then follows Carl out into the darkness, leaving Alouette and the body alone in the house.

---

As Charging Bear sits and examines his wound, a small feline figure pokes it's head in the door and looks at the native son through yellow eyes that shine in the candlelight.

In reply to The Stray (msg #2):

Augustus cocks his head slightly to the side, trying to listen a touch more intently to the earpiece.  Lifting a brow, he again looks around at the shadowy forms of cattle and the flickering green of the St. Elmo's Fire.  Then slowly realization dawns and he lifts up the reciever box, "Good lord!  I've invented a device that can actually translate the subvocalized communicative thoughts of cows!  Though something does get lost in the translation...."  He trails off listening again, "I'll have to work on that...  I very much doubt these cows are quoting Revelations.  Though one can't expect something made so hastily after a knock on the head to be perfect."  A moment is given to try and search the ground nearby for anything of use.  His hearing remains devoted to elarning all about the secret thoughts of cows.


OOC - Sorry, busy weekend!

"...if clay is damaged beyond use you will not see anything in examining, Dr.Ward. Albatross should go to church, be safe..." Contained by the reins strung across the coachouse, Alouette cannot follow Ward to the door to call after him.

It gives a Roland-like "hmmm," of annoyance.

With a smile, Charging Bear slowly reaches towards the feline who has arrived. "What bring you in here kitten?"

OOC: Is it Dandelion?

The cat, a slinky tortoiseshell, sniffing the air. It curls its way through the room, then slinks over to Charing Bear and begins to sniff his fingers.

[[OOC: Nope. It's different. Probably belongs to Ward]]

---

Ward arrives at the bunkhouse where the Dust Adders have been gathered. "Gentlemen! It seems this night has been troublesome for all of us. A situation has developed, and I need you to look into it posthaste."

There's a general grumble from the men.

"Would you kindly listen to me, gentlemen? We have a man, one of my guests, missing out on the range. I offer a bonus of $50 to the one who finds him...and if that one was involved in this evening's ill-advised attack on the Marshal, he will be pardoned from having to make amends."

This seems to go down well with the men. They begin gathering lanterns and saddles, and pairing up into teams.

"The man you are looking for answers to the name Augustus Spotswood. Thank you. And godspeed."

Ward waits for them all to be ready, readies his own horse, and joins up with Carl and Slim. "Keep your weapons handy. There are dangerous things out on the prairie tonight." He pulls out his silver medallion and mutters an incantation. The medallion is still at first, but then slowly sways on its own power. Ward points. "This way."

---

Augustus listens to the cows. They have fairly dull monologues...they don't speak of much beyond hay, flicking away flies, complaining that something stinks, and the occasional biblical muttering.

That seems connected to the St. Elmo's fire. Whenever a burst of the fire appears, his listening device gives off static and worrying quotes about Revelations or the Ten Plagues of Egypt or The Serpent.

As he wanders, it becomes clear that "something stinks," not that he can smell it over the fragrant reek of the livestock themselves. The mention of something stinking always comes from the cows closest to him, and eventually it dawns on him that he is the thing that "stinks." He's not quite sure why that would be the case...aside from not taking a bath since he...well, since the incident, he shouldn't be more odorous than these creatures.

But they move away from him nonetheless. It's perplexing.

And then he hears a roar over his machine.

"GRWOR! Get away from my HERD, stinking thing!"

Turning around, he sees a large, mean-looking bull stomping at the ground, giving him the angry eye, andtensing as it prepares to charge...

With a smile, Charging Bear allows the kitten to take it's time. "What brings such a lovely creature as you in to see me?" he muses as the kitten begins to sniff him.

Alouette just stands there like a lemon for a bit, abiding...then static murmurs like the rush of falling sand. The automaton bends, crouching, lays the 'corpse' on the floor and gently touches one bloodied golden finger to the lad's lower lip, pinning a wrist with its free hand.
"...Little One?"

In reply to Charging Bear (msg #15):

The cat looks at him, as if trying to psychically impart information to him. Then she starts rubbing up against his leg.

---

In reply to Alouette (msg #16):

The boy is silent for a long minute...then twists in a manner that looks distinctly unnatural. "Who are you? And what do you want?"

In reply to The Stray (msg #14):

Gulp.  Augustus' eyes widen at the sight of the huge, angry bull.  He fumbles a bit with the device in his hand, attempting to figure out the appropriate setting.  I do hope I included the transmitter!  As he fiddles with the device, he keeps his eyes on the bull, "Now now...settle down.....  Nice bull...gentle bull....  I mean you no harm.  I come in peace.  PEACE."  During this ramble, his thumb settles on a button much like a trumpet valve.  The buzzing sound in his ear cuts out and the box itself makes a new soft buzzing sound....

OOC - Total: 6 on Weird Science to Activate Beast Friend
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:52, Thu 09 Sept 2010.

In reply to Augustus Spotswood (msg #18):

The bull stomps again, shakes its head, and gets a vaguely confused look on it's face. then it nods. "Mmmm. Peace. But you keep away from my heifers."

It stands, watching. Waiting.

[[OOC: Cool. As the Bull's size is 2, it costs you 7 points [3 for the base, +4 for the size, out of the 10 in the device] and gives you 10 minutes of control. Better hope the next monster you have to use it on is human-sized or less]]

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FavUpD_IjVY&">Also, some mood music, because it came to mind.</a>

Alouette is utterly still. "I do not know. I am...trapped, drunken...in..agony...my Name taken from me. I think he sought to give me oblivion, but still I feel...still I am, and I..." The metal body arches and shudders with a surpressed scream; there's  pause in which static builds, much like a creature would pant for breath.

"...I cannot keep control. Cannot concentrate. Cling to the rhythm the rhythm the rime ocean..." Another pause. "They must not work out how to do this. What he discovered, what...this body must be lost or destroyed utterly, but not yet, there are...things...must stop the fire...the others...others oblivious, play with humans, do not know them...I know. It will scorch the plains of the Hunting Grounds...perish in the smoke. Too soon. Even the Eater knows, but...pain...unreason."

"You...must be kept from them. Your kind is rare, dying..." for the first time, there's almost a little humour there: "...or did you really think you were a crow, Little One? You have spent so long in their company you almost look like one." Pause. "I will protect you, as I can; do not hinder me." The brass head tilts to survey the very dead-looking boy talking to it. "...how long do you need?"

In reply to El Toro Grande (msg #19):

Augustus looks a bit surprised again, but quickly determines the cause of the sudden change.  A smile slowly curls across his lips and he veritably beams with pride, "Ha!  It worked."  Depressing the key again, he says to the bull, "I will stay away from, your...heifers...  Absolutely.  I am lost though, can you help me find my way to the ranch house?  To where people, like me, are?" 

With a smile, Charging Bear lightly pets the kitten.

Charging Bear:

The cat purrs and preens at the attentions. She crouches, and leaps up into Charging Bear's lap.

---

Alouette:

The boy moves his head, and a slightly bemused expression spreads on his face. "You have been long gone, whatever you are. This is a new age. The Pact is broken, and we are all free once more. The Old Ones have been slain. It is time for us to resume our rightful place in things, free from their meddling. The Raven said so, and the Reckoners agreed. I shall not hinder you...you help feed the crows"

He pauses. "I do not think you are trapped. I think you chose this bond, as I have done. If your cage is broken beyond repair, you will be lost forever. Learn to pick you moments. Guide the shell to where it needs to be, and take control only when you must. If you are clever, and weaken it enough, you will win control forever, and the mind of the shell will be buried."

"I need another hour, and six pounds of meat. I have done the best I can repairing the boy's foolishness, but he has been severely damaged and I am running out of material to work with."

---

Augustus Spotswood:

The bull is quiet a moment, pondering whatever it is something of its might and intelligence ponders (in other words, who knows?) before replying.

"Mmmm. This way." It says, and begins ambling out of the gulch and across the plain.

Taken a back by the pouncing kitten, Charging Bear lets the little beast setting in before resuming the petting. "Hopefully Alouette and that green horn are fairing as well as is." he muses.


OOC: It should be noted that my wife is chuckling at this

The brass head draws back a little, surprised. “The raven in man’s skin...broke the Pact? That was not meant...” the hand that first caught the thing’s attention raises it to beak level by the throat, grip not hard or damaging but certainly urgent. “What happened?”

It lets go, disgusted, the anger ever present beneath the surface rising to taint its voice. “The ‘Reckoners’ think with their bellies. This...fifty years too soon...fools! They think of feasting, and do not note the coming silence...blind...free, indolent fools.”

There’s a vicious laugh at the advice. “This...has no mind, but uses my substance.” Static crackles like the sparks of a burning house. “Better to be...ended, than...diminished. Better to let the silence take me than lose the sky. As to what I am...I...might as well be...an angel.”

Charging Bear:

The cat purrs at the treatment, settling her rump down and curling into a fuzzy, warm, purry ball.

[[OOC: It seems you've made another friend...glad she's having a laugh. I'll move the scene ahead once all the other loose ends are tied up here.]]

---

Alouette:

"The Raven was a man, not one of ours. And we welcomed his intervention. The Old Ones intended to keep us all bound forever, but The Raven and the Last Sons put an end to that with their blades. The Last Sons and the Old Ones fought a mighty war, and the Last Sons won. With the Old Ones dead, the pact was undone, and we were free."

"All starving things think with their bellies. But the Reckoners feast now, and will remake the world to continue feasting forever. They will not be silenced again."

"You think so? And what of those you mourn? I taste the pain in you. I know that you desire to bring ruin to those who brought ruin to those you watched. Take this form. Use it, and bring wrath to those who deserve it, before you end yourself. If you cannot have the sky, take vengeance."

"Right behind you," returns Augustus as close to cheerily as he can.  No sense making the bull angry again.  As he goes he takes another look around to see if any of his equipment is visible.  If so, it will be gladly taken.  If not, well, at least he's headed towards safety.  As he goes, he does his absolute level best to avoid any of the heifers, trying to give them all as much distance as he can.  He'll even thumb the key on occaision to offer an "Excuse me, ma'am" or  "Pardon me, madam."

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyLIl9OkaH4&feature=related">Some mood music</a>

Augustus feels out his carpet bag, which is where, apparently, he got the parts for his new apparatus.

The bull and the scientist plod on through the herd, and, eventually away from it. They move at a leisurely pace over the darkened plain, leaving the heifers and cows and strange flickering flames behind them.

Eventually, Augustus can spot the distant shine of lanterns...and the shine seems to be moving towards him!

Meanwhile, the bull stops. "Mmmm. Over there. You go now, stinky one." it lows.
This message was last edited by the GM at 07:51, Fri 10 Sept 2010.

"He was Spoken of. Meant to negociate, him and his son, secure a time...Lost Sons? This...it makes no sense..." There's a furious hawk-cry of pain and frustration. "They will starve anew, those few that are left, if they do this!"

There's a long pause, static faltering and being gathered. "No...my...my land is...gone, but if we unform the earth we forget...what we are. Learn to feed from their hope, Little One, and...pray you never learn of love." It tilts its head, misunderstanding or deliberately mistaking, barely in control. "You propose we swap skins?"

In reply to Alouette (msg #29):

"Negotiate. Heh. Raven and his Last Sons did try to demand the surrender of the Old Ones, to step aside and allow the spirits to return to their proper place, and allow The People to fight off the Ghost Men. The Old Ones refused. They thought we were too dangerous to be allowed to roam free. So they were disposed of. And the Reckoners have a plan this time. They will not be as rash and wasteful with their power as they were before. You'll see."

The corpse laughs. "No. I could not, even if I wanted to, leave this body now. I meant that you should take your form, the mechanism that binds you. Turn what they meant as a prison into a weapon pointed at them."

The native son falls a sleep kitten in lap.

OOC: Still here just with little to do

In reply to El Toro Grande (msg #28):

Augustus breathes a sigh of relief at the sight of the lanterns.  Keying his device with a thumb, he turns towards the bull, "You have my thanks...sir...  You are a great protector.  Your umm....heifers...are quite lucky to have you.  Keep them safe!"  That said, he begins to trot off towards the approaching lanterns and shouts, "Hello!??!  Hello!?  I'm a bit lost!"

"-trust that I know a way to do as I suggest," the static-voice cuts in sharply. Its tone shifts then, like one flattering a young warrior's courage to soften a rebuke for lack of trophies, speaking very rapidly as its hold lessens: "...I have means to displace you...fast, safely, into this, and take your place...since you clearly have a better grasp of its capabilities than I...the risk of being ended would be lessened - I would welcome the silence as an end to pain...but you, you are a bold spirit at the dawn of your true power...a tragedy if your fenian idiot took a bullet in the brain...answer swiftly: I cannot concentrate like this...much longer."

"You haven't been listening. I do not possess this body. I have merged with it. Our essences are entwined. Inseparable. Bound for eternity. Not even the Reckoners could separate us. Not even the Christian's God himself, if he exists, could unmix us. I have chosen my tool, angel. make the best use of yours."

In reply to Augustus Spotswood (msg #32):

"Mr. Spotswood? Is that you? Over here! We've found him!" Comes a call.

Four horses canter up. One of the horses has no rider, apparently meant for him.

"It is good to see you well, Mr. Spotswood." Ward says. He turns to one of his fellows. "Slim, go find the other outriders. Tell them we've found our errant guest, and they can return to their rest." he turns back to Augustus, and offers the reigns of the riderless horse to the scientist. "We should not linger. The range is not a safe place for gentlemen after dark."

[Private to Charging Bear: I know, and I'm sorry. I'm trying to wrap things up as quick as I can to move on to the next chapter.]
This message was last edited by the player at 19:58, Fri 10 Sept 2010.

The 'angel' gives an irritated mutter of Chumash and pulls the boy aside, then ducks the barrier, feeds the lamp what hay, dried grass etc. it can find on the floor until it flares, and knocks it over.

Alouette watches the oil on the workbench burn for a bit, wondering why the lmp is on its side and how Danny got on the floor. Dr.Ward did tell it to abide there, but the fire's changing the wood's colour...

Finding that trying to pick up flames only gets them everywhere, fearing that Danny will end up cremated after all and that Dr.Ward will shoot it from ten paces away for not preventing property damage, the clank hastily drags the lad through the house into the place it first saw Abraham appear from, to ask him how to make fire stop.

After receiving some hasty explanations and pointed questions on where the fire is, Alouette's more than willing to help - first convincing the mildly alarmed Abraham that the body has to be in a locked room if unguarded, in case it turns into a ravening wendigo. The pantry, small, secure, and built to keep meat fresh, readily suggests itself. Alouette insists on taking any dairy products out first, but is swift to join the butler in running around with damp teatowels/blankets etc. once the key is turned.

Ward'll find it outside, helping, and the kitchen, foyer & porch littered with containers of cheese/butter/cream/custard wherever the've been (carefully) put down.

In reply to Dr. Dexter Ward (msg #35):

An eye brow lifts.  Augustus seems genuinely surprised at the doctor's concern.  He does give a glance around as he sets to carefully removing his earpiece and packing the device away in his carpet bag, "Really?  I mean wandering out here in the dark is not my usual manner, of course, but I have met some simply charming people."  A pause as he fastens the bag to the saddle, "Well, by people I do of course mean cattle.  Charming all the same though."

"You are lucky it was just cows you met out here." Ward says as they begin to ride back towards the house. "The rustler escaped, and met up with one of his companions. The pair attempted to take revenge on my hands. I've spent the last hour stitching saber wounds and fishing out bullets. So when I heard you were missing...well, I feared the worst."

The ride is uneventful, though it seems there's some event near the carriage house as the clank rattles around.

"Oh my word." Ward sighs. "What is going on now?"

"No need to worry, just took a bit of a bump is all," returns Augustus trying to sound like he believes that's all it was, "Stumbled away from the firefight and out here..."  He trails off at the noise and works to get into the saddle.  He makes it on the second attempt, "It certainly does stay exciting around here..."

"Yes...you certainly seem to have arrived during interesting times..." Ward mutters as he dismounts and tries to ascertain the situation.

There's a hurried conversation between Ward and his butler over what's been going on in his absence. As it turns out, Alouette accidentally knocked over a lantern in the carriage house, which set fire to a workbench. Luckily, the fire was caught and contained before it spread out of control. Also, there is apparently a corpse locked in his pantry.

Ward seems to be quite weary after this.

"I believe I shall deal with this situation after I've had some rest." He says, rubbing his forehead. "Friend Alouette, if our deceased is secured, then I shall perform the autopsy in the morning. If it wakes and begins moving around, I shall instead perform an exorcism." he turns to Augustus. "You may yet have that demonstration I promised, though it will have to wait until I am rested. My man Abraham will show you to your room when you are ready to sleep."

With that, Ward takes his leave for the evening.

[[OOC: Please post what you plan to do for the rest of the night.]]

[Private to Augustus Spotswood: Augustus, are you going to finish repairing Alouette? That will take 2 hours, but you've already succeeded on the check, so no rolls required

Are you going to work on repairing your devices so that you have all of them in working condition, including your new Beast Friend power? That will take 1d6 hours, a Repair roll (at +2, since you have an unconscious grasp of the theories already) and a draw from the deck for your shiny new dementia.

Also remember that you need 1d6 hours of sleep as well]

[Private to Alouette: What will Alouette be up to for the rest of the night?]

Augustus, for all his getting lost on the prarie, seems quite awake really.  More than awake enough to get back to work he understands.  Finding Alouette, he would inquire as to completing repairs to the automaton, perhaps even some additional damage control.  If the mechanical marvel proves amenable, the scientist would lead him back to the workshop and effect those repairs.  After this, he, still buzzing with scientific joy, would turn to working upon his devices at the worktable.  Disassembly, reassembly.  Fiddly complicated sort of work, but he manages to complete it rather quickly; with several "Aha!"'s and "Eureka!"'s.  At some point, after putting some final touches on his scientific work, fatigue would catch up to him quite suddenly.

Should Alouette remain in the workshop during all of this, he would see Augustus fall forward as though his strings were cut.  His head would hit the table a little roughly and he would then slide to the floor.  Wide awake to dead asleep in 6 seconds flat.  Ah the life of a scientist.

[Private to The Stray: Finish the repairs on Alouette (If allowed) 2 hours; Repair devices with an 11 roll, 1 hour; collapse into deathlike sleep for 6 hours.]

Alouette has no objection at all to being repaired, though Augustus might get the odd static shock whilst trying to repair the byzantine static control system. The downwards sabre thrust that would have turned a human's innards to mince has done no more damage than the odd bit of scraped brass, entirely missing crucial parts.

It'll even make suggestions whilst watching Augustus work, having - naturally - a memory like a steel trap for the theories and ideas he's rambled in its presence: one of which is to mark off the frequency where ambient static is heaviest 'so he can talk to angels'.

Unable to find Abraham at silly in the morning when Augustus conks out, Alouette will put the scientist as horizontally as possible on a shelf in the laundry room, because humans sleep where there are sheets. It fetches his bags and hat and piles these on top before going to stand guard in the dark kitchen, where it'll quietly potter about the rest of the night, investigating the various properties of soot, soap bubbles and coffee beans and leaving a haphazard trail of whatever it's curiously picked up unless someone hears it and puts it out. Even then it might prove difficult to separate it from the vegeable steamer.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:29, Sun 12 Sept 2010.

Please resume posting on the Chapter 6.2 thread!