Jake pulls his senses into the Hunting Grounds, finding a less dangerous manitou to deal with than the snake man. The only ones willing to deal with him, though, are the crows...despite the danger, he pulls a crow spirit towards him, engages it in a duel, and sends it flying through the sympathetic link he picked up to the man with the smooth face and hard eyes.

An image forms in his mind, of a vault serving as a jail cell...but just as things come into focus, he hears the man say "No. Get out of my head, you. You don't get to peek."

Then there is PAIN! PAIN! PAIN! as the man slaps his forehead three times, and the tenuous link snaps, sending Jake's senses flying back to his body. He comes to, hearing only an angry dog growl coming from somewhere nearby...

((OOC: McCavity gets a Spirit Roll to resist the Mind Rider.

12:47, Today: The Jellicle Gang rolled 3,16 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 3,(6+6+4)16. Magic Resistance. That's...that's quite impressive. Still, that just means that Jake's spell fails and McCavity knows someone just tried to use magic on him.

Of course, the fact that McCavity knows something about magic might give Jake some information anyway...))

A slight look of pain crossed Jake's face as he came back to himself. The growl sent Jake's hand to his pistol, but he didn't draw the weapon. Instead he looked for the source of the growl, saying to Evans "No luck Marshal, guess we'll have to find out what's happening the old fashioned way/" as he did.

The tin-can angel is standing very still, beautiful and brass-sheened and completely inhuman. It is pointing now, and there's none of its usual witter surrounding the deduction:

"Witch."

In reply to Alouette (msg #159):
Jake smiled and replied, "Automaton."

And just at that most excellent moment, there's a rapping at the church door.

Wildcat's Winchester clears its scabbard presently, but its forward momentum doesn't stop there.  It gracefully spins forward, only to be stopped by a sharp tug on the enlarged lever loop.  It settles within her grasp cocked, locked, and dare I say ready to rock.

She pins the dot between the buckhorns as she looks at the door.  "Deputy Bear, see who that is. Ain't expectin' no social call.  Everyone else spread out a bit."

"Angel," Alouette corrects, then continues: "You feel of snakes, Jake Lawrence."

It's rather alarmed by what Wildcat seems to be planning. "Do not explode penitents, churchgoers, Texas Ranger Ranger Hawkins!" It hastily patters over to the door, and unless Charging Bear stops it, tugs it open muttering about closed doors in churches and bursts out to greet the newcomer.

"Howdy! Beware the other angel!"


[[4 intimidate with a white chip to reflect the Hawk having ruffled feathers - the newcomer may feel slightly worried]]

Standing, or rather sagging, at the door is none other than Jericho Cantrell, the bounty hunter. His eyes open wide at the mechanical angel as it greets him, and he slides down the side of the door frame, leaving a trail of red as he falls. His hand is clutched over a dark stain over the belly of his shirt.

"Of...course." He grunts. Every word takes monumental effort. "Wonderful. Just...what I need...to make my day...complete...Now I've seen everything..."

He collapses at the feet of the clank.

((OOC: I think mechanical angels are the least of his worries...))
This message was last edited by the player at 07:30, Fri 30 Sept 2011.

"There is a man leaking lots," Alouette informs anyone who can't see, pushing the door back further, then looks to the assembled. "Should we fix him?"

In reply to Alouette (msg #164):

Jake tried not to laugh, but he couldn't help it. The clank actually thought it was a real angel. He laughed and laughed, almost to the point of sounding like a lunatic - if not beyond it. Abruptly he stopped, the timing of which just happened to align with the knocking at the door.

As he started to move with a hand on his pistol but Charging Bear pauses due to Alouette's moving past. "Hopefully she doesn't scare whoever it is..." he says just loud enough for Wildkitten to hear.

His eyes widen as Cantrell falls to the floor of the church. The native son moves quickly, picking up the bounty hunter and calling out, "Priest! Looks like he's been shot."

Wildcat puts the repeater away not feeling the least bit chagrined about pointing a .44-40 at Jerico Cantrell.

"This ain't no penitent churchgoer.  But he is plenty hurt.."  Wildcat moves to assist Deputy Bear.

"Cantrell!  If you die on me ah will whoop yer sorry ass!"

Jake stood up and looked at the new comer, "Thomas Baker, Rum Tum Tugger shot him... over at the Red Eye Saloon." The huckster moved to help if he could.

"Well now he's a witness.  Is there a doc in th' house?  Else some 'un fetch that damn undertaker, closest thing to a sawbones this town got.  An don't go fetchin' alone he'll need an escort.  What th' devil you laughin' at ennyhow?"

There's a flurry of activity as the giant bounty hunter is moved. He looks up, still clinging to life, and shakes his head at Wildcat.

"Ain't...nothin'...to be done, Hawkins. I been gut shot...I'm dead already. Best surgeon...in the world...couldn't help me now." he looks around at the assembled group, bewildered. "What are...ya'll...doing here, anyhow? Shouldn't you be at...the jail?"

"Shut up Cantrell.  Ah don't trust ya'll fer what ya done to Deputy Bear, who ah can now prove ain't wanted fer nothin' inc'dentally, but you ain't dyin' on me!  If ya done nothin' else good in yer life there's another little gal somewheres who ain't gonna know what life is like after yer pa has a run in with that God damned Hardin cuz of ya'll.  Never mind why we's here jus' be glad we is.  Mebbe we can use a church pew fer a stretcher, won't aggravate yer bullet wound that way."
This message was last edited by the player at 16:24, Fri 30 Sept 2011.

Charging Bear shakes his head wanting to say something snarky but thinks better of it. The native son waits for the priest and helps move Cantrell before heading out the church door towards the town's makeshift jail.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:41, Fri 30 Sept 2011.

Alouette has meanwhile taken up the broom rustled up for church-cleaning and starts poking Jake in the head and upper torso to get him away from the leaky man. The automaton goes for the unfortunate huckster like a combination of guardian angel and a butler who has just had enough.

"Avaunt! Go on, get out of here, shoo!"

[[does...that need a fighting roll? It's not trying to damage, just "protect" Cantrell...]]

Jake was trying to help but apparently the clank didn't care for him. "Stop!" he barked at the mechanical marvel. He rose as he spoke looking upon Alouette. "I'm not someone to be shoo'ed like a stray dog." He closed his hands into tight fists which caused the knuckles to pop like tiny fire crackers. As his fists opened again, a trio of ghostly cards appeared between his fingers. They lasted for a moment but Jake's touching the Hunting Grounds would probably be more than enough to send Alouette into a more frenzied mood.

Pausing to display just nets Jake some insistent bristles in the face. "No witchcraft around sick people! Until you repent, outside!"

It attempts to push him doorwards with the broom. "Sanctuary! Sanctuary!"

[[Die-wise, the Hawk fails to cause even a ripple under all its restaints, but rest assured it is cage-bashingly furious with him.]]
This message was last edited by the player at 18:29, Fri 30 Sept 2011.

"Deputy Clank!"  Wildcat called to the automaton.  It's an angel right?  Did it just call me one?  Never mind that right now Katrina.   "This man is dying in our arms!  Unless you want we should stop and take a long ass trip to bring his soul 'fore th' Lord to be judged let him see if he can help!"

The clank's head twists to regard Wildcat as sharply as a bird's, a hiss of static murmuring within its casing. It lowers the broom a moment, though it holds it like a spear, and there's a weird, inhuman grace to its poise that simply was not there before. The voice that emerges from amid the static seems weary, but with a grating edge of grief, or rage, or both. Its question is not rhetorical:

"You would save his life at the price of his soul?"

It waits.

"I think I can, I aided in some surgery in my time with the Army." Jake move to where the downed man was and started to work on the bounty hunter. The huckster had seen some nasty stuff in his time, but this was probably one of the worst wounds he'd seen. He knew he couldn't do it perfect, but he give the man a chance to live.

OOC: Alright I'm going to use 2 blue chip to help counter the nasty penalties I have. -2 for untrained and -3 from his wounds... ugh!

14:55, Today: Jake Lawrence rolled -4,3,8 using 1d4-5,1d6-5,2d6, rerolling max with rolls of 1,(6+2)8,5,3. Healing (Untrained + 2 Blue Chips).

3 + 8 = 11 which is good enough to patch 2 wounds.

In reply to Alouette (msg #179):

Wildcat looks into the dark lenses simultaneously piqued and unperturbed.

"Ah reckon when the time comes Deputy Clank, I'll answer fer it, an' a whole lot of other things 'sides.  And ah reckon if God wants him to pass on, he'll pass on.  This man's soul waits on th' Lord, not Deputy Lawrence.  So ah don't reckon th' Lord condones a murderer decidin' it was time fer him to die.  I figger he who is called I Am should make that decision."

In reply to Jake Lawrence (msg #180):

The Army Doctors made it look so easy, didn't they? As Jake begins to work on the bounty hunter, he realizes just how out of his depth he is, and with that comes the realization that he's gambling with a man's life.

But he's not alone. The priest, Father O'Rourke, joins him by the wounded man's side. "Alouette, I will watch over this man." He says, his tone brooking no argument. He also doesn't mention which man he'll be watching, instead examining the wound with the air of someone who knows what they're doing. Perhaps he served as an Army surgeon himself. "Please, fetch me some items. We need needle, thread, some clamps, and a small, sharp knife."

The two men work feverishly, using what limited supplies they have (mostly holy water from the basin and vestal linens used as bandages) to staunch the bounty hunter's wounds, keep them from going septic, and keep his blood from being poisoned by his own bowels.

After ten minutes, Father O'Rourke sighs. "I think he's through the worst of it. Yes, I beleive this man will pull through." He looks up at Jake. "We are not done yet. He's stable, but we can do more for him. If you feel you are up to the task, then we'll proceed. If not then it shall be in God's hands how well he recovers."

((OOC: Jake, you're also forgetting the -2 for not having any basic supplies at hand. Clean water and makeshift bandages, yes, but nothing to operate with such as tweezers, needle, or thread, and no knives except whatever weapons you have on you.

On the plus side, Father O'Rouke has a d6 in Healing, so that will negate the Untrained Penalty. Same net effect, but it's just lack of supplies hurting you, not lack of knowledge.

However, remember that the first Healing roll against an Incapacitated character just removes the Incapacitated effect. And you need to remove the Bleeding Out condition.

Since you blew 2 chips for the two raises, I'll rule that you and the priest working together have managed to stop him from bleeding out and gotten him among the Walking Wounded, but it'll take more work to actually heal any of his wounds. He's still within the Golden Hour, so Jake can attempt one more Healing roll, but he only gets that one roll.))
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:43, Sat 01 Oct 2011.