Gus nods, and pulls his Dragoon. The gun barks out a couple rounds that echo back into the mine behind them.

[[OOC: That grants a +2 bonus for the Notice roll of the people in the coach, so that's a net roll of Notice (+1) to hear and see them.]]

John's eyes widen and he reflexively ducks at the all too familiar sound of a gunshot. He turns and looks out the window trying to find it's source. "Didja hear that?" he asked Augustus and Alouette. "Don't sound like an attack, maybe a warning shot or a signal or something." he said as he gripped the riverstone in his hand all the tighter. He couldn't do anything until the stage-coach stopped.

Alouette points out the source of the gunshot to John, pointing being one of the loopy automaton's strong points.

"A fire is waving." It doesn't seem to have any notion they should maybe do anything about this, however.

Almost without thinking, Augustus answers Alouette's query, "It's called refraction.  Light moves slower through the medium of water, explained by Young's wave theory of light, and distorts are perceptions."  So answered, the scientist returns to the conversation with Mr. Smith, "I would dearly love to see the phenomena to which you are referring.  Brining the light of Science upon it should dispel its shadowy mythology." He may have been ready to continue, but the mention of a gunshot seems to worry him.  Which it might any sane person.  Augustus lifts his trumpet gun and begins winding it, "Are we being attacked?!"  His voice drops a bit to his muttering self-talk, "I am beginning to hate travelling by coach...  Always getting attacked...  No, its not my fault.  They couldn't possibly know where I am...  Could they?"

The carriage begins to slow, as apparently the drivers up top have noticed the flame and gunshots, as well.

Through the rain, it is possible to make out a gully where a raging stream flows. Down in the gully, near what looks like an old mineshaft, stand two figures. One is brawny, and waving a flaming brand above his head, a pistol pointed up to the heavens in his other hand. The other figure is smaller, slighter, and feminine, moving closer to the creek waving her arms.

It's difficult to make out more details than this, thanks to the rain

Gus whoops as the coach up on the ridge slows down. "It's Ward! That's Ward's coach up there!" he says to Gangatsu. "HEY! BOSS! WE NEED A LIFT!" He shouts at the top of his lungs.

The words are lost on him given the sound of the rain and the walls of the carriage but he cannot help but feel that feminine form seemed familiar. "Nope, they're not attacking, I think we can breathe easy." He said though he still held tight to his river stone. "They're not in a position to rob us let alone attack us. From where they are we'd stand a better chance of just riding on if they intended on robbin' us or anythin' like that." He said, more for Augustus' benefit that out of any desire to speak. He preferred to keep his words to himself but the man didn't seem all there in the head and he would rather he remain calm than doing something inspired by panic.

SOmething about that shouting voice, though muffled by the rain, gives Augustus pause.  His brow creases in concentration, then his eyes go wide, "Mr. Shaw!"  And then the recollection of Alouette's condition and the person who put it there.  The scientists face darkens again, "Mr. Shaw will have quite a bit of explaining to do...  The damage he cause was....was..."  Getting angrier, he starts to cough and has to let go of speaking and cover his mouth instead.

"He is a Bad Man," Alouette agrees. "Why do we not go? Is Gus Shaw the man who is in trouble?" It tries to see. "Gus Shaw will not stay dead if he is drowned..."

Ward's voice can be heard through the coach walls, though it's difficult to make out what he's saying. The figures in the distance start heading over in your direction, swimming across the creek then climbing up the gully wall.

The big man with the reddish-brown hair opens the coach door to let the slender Asian enter. "Damn, it's good to get a ri..." he says, then cuts off in midsentance and stares at Alouette. "Aw, Hell!"

Suddenly, there is a gun in his hands, pointed at the automation.

"You don't want to do that." John says simply, he could list the reasons, one of them being that in an enclosed space John had a far greater advantage against someone with a gun, but he settled for the reason that seemed would get through the mans skull the easiest. "You'd likely end up pissin' off Dr. Ward." he said. And m'self.

Upon seeing Gangatsu John would blink slightly and then recover his composure and return his focus on the man with the gun. "We're rescuing Xhang, Alouette will help." he said simply once again.

Alouette awkwardly tries to rise, to get out of the coach and away from mortals if Gus means to blow it up. "Cease," it tells him, then after John seems to have delayed the possibility of shooting: "Repent."

"Jesus Christ on a cross! What does it take to kill this goddamn thing!?" The gunman snarls.

He glares at John. "I really don't give a fuck. That machine is crazy, and it needs to be put down before it gets a gear stuck somewhere and decides to chop us all into fish bait or something!"

"Alouette is helping us rescue someone very important to me and Gangatsu there, put the gun away and get in or walk to wherever we're going, the longer we waste time here the closer to death he is." John said leaning casually back against the seat. There won't be another warning, should Gus not put the gun away, hesitate, or so much as twitch the wrong direction he would act. He had leaned back to give himself better leverage for a kick to Gus's hand, his boot would lash out with more force than the comparatively scrawny man had a right to with the intention of disarming the big man. He didn't want to damage him, he had no beef with Gus at the moment, but hell if some idjit with a gun was going to keep him from Xhang.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:42, Thu 18 Nov 2010.

The man looks like he's about to argue the point, but he notices John tensing.

"Whatever you say. Don't come cryin' to me when it murders you all." he says, holstering his gun.

"Mr. Shaw!" comes a voice from the front. "Would you kindly sit up here?"

"Aw, but boss..." he says

"Mr. Shaw, you and I need to have a discussion about your treatment of my guests. If you value your continued employment, please cease arguing with me."

"fine." he grumbles, then helps Gangatsu up into the carriage. "You gonna be ok in here, Su?" He asks.

"Angels do not consume fish," Alouette says, with blithe certainty. "-Except Archangel Michael, who is a different angel, not self. ! Howdy, Gangatsu! Did Gus Shaw hurt you plus much? Where is Danny Albatross?"

The automaton resettles beside Augustus, though it still cranes to see if it can spot any men in danger anywhere about. It touches the scientist's temple ever so gently, apparently an attempt to stop his coughing, but all it manages to do is puff his hair with static.

Augustus attempted, despite his coughing fit to ready and level his gun at Mr. Shaw as he opened the carriage door.  But, he just doesn't really manage to make the gesture a threat in any way.  In all honesty, Mr. Shaw probably wouldn't even notice the scientists intent.  As Alouette moves to settle beside him and poke him in the head, he yelps a little at the snap of static.  The charge seeming to send a jolt through his copper-wire earpiece.  Shaking his head a bit, he finally manages to speak a bit, "T-thank you, Alouette. I'll...I'll be fine..."

She trudges after Gus after getting out of the river, crossing her arms over her chest as he moved ahead to the carriage and opened the door. He swore and the woman's head jerked up, her raven hair spilling over her face as she spotted him hualing his gun out to someone in the carriage.. No.. Something. The Metal Bird Machine. IT was still banged up a little, the big guy was ready to bang it up again yet that fellow was there. One of Zhang's students, John Smith, that seemed to make the big guy ease up. Doc Ward Spoke up and Gatsu was content on being silent for the moment. A hand slipping away from her soaked form take Gus' hand as he helped her up into the carriage.

" Y-yeah. Know'em two. K-keep yer eye out fer anything odd." She spoke, getting chilled as she sat in a seat, her katana close to her, leaning between her legs to rest against her forearm. The scarlet yakuata nd her black thin leggingsshe felt about ready to try and wring out the water. Her green eyes slid to Spotswood with a bit of distrust easily read on her face before Alouette spoke up.

" Nah. He's tempermental and twisted, but he did no harm.. Well, not ta me. Danny is gone. Dead gone. Again... And that Snake, you kept babbling about. I heard it. It's a baby one o the ancient one.. Do you know anythin' bout that, Alouette? About a 'seal' bein cracked?" Her eyes shifted to John Smith.

" And about time you damn well showed up. You found out something about Zhang? I heard some indians were around the boarders, found out they're Commanche, but not much else. Wut do ya know?"
This message was last edited by the player at 09:12, Fri 19 Nov 2010.

John gets a look of embarrassment, something that doesn't cross his face over-much and chuckles despite himself. "Decided to see if the doctor knew anythin'; 'bout Xhang, Alouette here, or Charging Bear; thought I knew how to get there but the storm hit and I got lost." he said and shook his head. "He found out Xhang is in trouble and we're goin' to help him. Comanche's got to him."

Alouette believes Augustus implicitly: after all, he is plus plus clever.
"Why does your fork tube sing?" it asks, pointing at Augustus' weapon. Clearly it remembers nothing of being hit with it.

It ticks a bit at Gangatsu's question, then starts to ramble: "Father said all the demons self cannot hear wanted to break a seal...they wanted him to do...something...then make paths, with the ghost rock, before it was ghost rock - it was different then, but it still had the holes in from another place, Father found ways to tell with alchemy. That was when the demons started talking to Father so he couldn't hear God any more...so he made an angel."

"If someone opened up the paths the rock under California would change, and it would sink in the sea...Roland said that had happened, so high possibility that seal is broken now, letting plus plus demons into the world because it is easy to make paths to their Bad Place with the ghost rock, but harder to make paths for the angels, because mortals have to care to do that and they are not good at that or listening to what God says."

It concludes this philosophical tangent with "God tried to tell them directly once, but they wrote down what they remembered and stopped listening again." It tilts its head at Gangatsu. "That seal, or another seal? Dr.Ward has spirit-snake friends; he would know." There's a sleepy-soft crackle of static after these words. "You can ask Dr.Ward after he shoots you from ten paces away."

The coach lurches back into motion, rolling along the the side of the gully as the people inside discuss weighty matters.

" Zhangs gunna get a kick outta this.." She murmured to John, her head lightly chinned up toward the robot in the carriage. She didn't know anyone else that would know enough about ghost rock, though perhaps this creature might.

She blew on her hands, they stung a little, her hair matted down to her face and the murky water did not do much for her. The little robot had a squawk of things to say and she had so many questions, so many places to start.

" So dat's the change. I remem'er when dat happen.." Ah, eleven years ago in California, she was a teenager when her world sank tothe sea and her family moved to a place later known as Shan Fan. Even through it all, the world was still harsh, especially toward a little half-blood accident.

" Yeah, ya got de right one. You know why ghost Rock screams when it burns, Alouette?.." She started and listened, a faint smirk coming up as the bot said she would be shot. " Nah, that duel won't happen.. I ain't gunna get side tracked by my problems, but tis will ask him later... Now.. Alouette.. An Angel. Ya can sense d'ese spirits like Gus'. You got a spirit in ya too. A hawk. Only ye ain't a bad one.. Yer really sumptin else under all that metal. I won't let no one break ya until the seal is repaired... there has to be a way to fix it.. Do you know where it is?" 

PM


John looks at Gangatsu and furrows his brown a bit before he begins sifting through the carriage until he finds a cabinet under the chair. Reaching within he lets out an "A'ha!" before pulling out what appears to be a warm blanket stashed away for his guests comfort on those cold Texas nights. He unfolds the thing and offers it to his soaked companion hoping to alleviate her obvious discomfort some.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:13, Sat 20 Nov 2010.

"Self knows - it is to do with the chickens." Alouette says with authority. "When the pale people brought chickens to the lands of West they kept them for eating, and for eggs - male chickens are not good for this, so the pale people taught everyone to kill most male chickens whilst they were still wet from the egg...most mortals that are not humans understand enough not to become ghosts even if they die of violence, but the baby chicks are too young, and they still have the urge to seek for their mothers, even though they will never find them, and mothers in the material world cannot know they are there...also they have the hatchling urge to eat, and stay to peck at corn and small things they can never pick up, not understanding why...the ghost rock draws such small lost souls like iron loves iron, or electricity loves metal poles, because it has holes in to another place, so the chickens stick in it. Father said he tested this, with Experiments."

"When ghost rock burns, it burns in aether also, burning up all the little chicken ghosts...because they are dead already they cannot become unconscious, so there is plus plus aetheric energy from their pain and not-understanding terror...which makes the ghost rock plus many times powerful as simply burning, from its connection to the aether. The sound is some of the aetheric energy being transferred: the helpless cries of dozens of tiny souls being consumed in fire."

Alouette pauses a moment, then chirps: "Fear not! Self was designed to send the lost souls onward to a Better Place!" It ticks a bit. "...though the rock is much stronger now, and known to many. High probability result of war: was predicted, war must have happened, because now there is Confederacy. Many weak souls are set loose in a war and human ghosts stay more than others."

It tilts its head at Gangatsu. "Dr.Ward said he would shoot you when you were unkind to him...you should be unkind to less people, then they would like you more and you could get oranges and hugs and not feel of angry all the time."

It then tilts its head the other way, clearly not understanding what she's on about. "Self is angel, Gangatsu. Gears are under metal - AUG-US-TUS has seen them." Then of the seal: "Another place."

It looks out of the window. "When Zhang is saved self will seek Danny Albatross...he will be more wendigo now he has been killed again and he will want to eat people a lot. Or a lot of people. That would be bad."

Augustus just seems to be altogether lost in the flurry of conversations in the carriage.  He's not really a people person on the best of days.  His attention flicks from one to the other, trying to ask something, then forgetting it as he tries to follow something else.  His voice drops a bit quietly as he glances down, muttering, "Chickens...  Screaming rocks...  These people are mad...  Of course not the machine.  It can't be mad, its a machine...  True, if it thinks then perhaps it can think poorly, or "go mad"...  Yes, you're right, I should stay on alert.  There's madness afoot."

This thread is now closed. Resume posting on the 9.2 thread.