In reply to Carl (msg #63):

Tex was big. Tex was mean. Tex had once broken a steer's neck just by punching it. Tex had survived being flayed alive while a bullet wormed its way through his guts.

But though Tex was big, and mean, and not easy on the eyes, he was also the dumb kid everyone had picked on. He'd gotten into a lot of fights because of it. And though he was dumb as a bag of hammers, he had a sort of animal cunning that told him which targets were the easier ones. He knew the ones who would fold at the first punch from the ones who would fight until they couldn't move no more.

Carl was one of the later. Tex knew this. He'd seen it when they were just children, in Blackthorn's golden years. He'd seen it when Dave got in Carl's way. And he was seeing it now.

Tex stood there, weighing his options. Was he really sure he wanted to do this? Was he really sure that he could stop the wild boy? Perhaps. But it would hurt, and, big and tough as he was, Tex still hated pain. But Mistah Wiggles, who'd helped him and his brother, made them big and strong, he was in trouble. Nate had said so. But Nate never really was all that nice to him. But Carl had made Nate go away forever, and Carl would do the same to all Tex loved. But...

All Carl could see was the look of distant confusion across the giant's face. He had stopped moving forward, had hesitated. This was the opening he'd been hoping for...

((OOC: Tex rolls spirit to resist: 23:22, Today: Tex rolled 4,1 using d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 4,1. Resisting Test of Wills. Well, that's a Success and Raise. Tex is currently Shaken, and Carl gets a +2 bonus to his next action against Tex))

Carl checks to see that Percy has either slipped away or is leaning somewhere relatively safe - that's the important thing - steps back and slips the loop of chain keeping the front rail of the stalls up, heaving it back and smacking the startled front cow into motion in the same movement.

If Carl was Trouble, letting the cows escape would be worse. Gus would yell and Ward would do his Disappointed Voice...Carl hoped that and the universal law of kid-who-started-it-never-gets-caught would switch the powerful engine of Tex's one-track mind onto a different railroad.


[[Smarts (trickery/distraction) 6. I'm making a few presumptions about the livestock management here based on personal observation and the logic that these animals are probably being held more or less temporarily for distribution to Ward's "peasants" rather than with an eye to training Dust Adders as milkmaids. The only period picture reference for stalling I could find was the tie-up kind used for shows, along with many pictures from San Angelo(!), so in my head Ward's byre resembles a slightly makeshift Scottish one.]]

Percy is, in fact, slowly creeping along the wall, trying to make it through before the giant notices him.

The cow bellows and starts ambling forward, and Tex, more out of instinct than conscious thought, shoves his way past Carl in order to corral them. He wasn't too keen on going back on Milk Duty...the cows didn't like him all that much, and would kick or start whenever he came near.

Which is precisely what they were doing now, as he tried to keep them from breaking into the open. He'd be here quite a while trying to maintain order...

((OOC: 06:51, Today: Tex rolled 1,2 using d4,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 1,2. Resisting Trick. Tex fails hard enough that Carl gets a Raise over him. since the point of the trick was to send Tex off elsewhere, he's got that going. Nice.

Yes, these are the cows being held for sale to town, as well as for the ranch's personal use. There aren't a lot of girls around the ranch to do things like milk cows or churn butter though, so some of the Dust Adders do, in fact, have "milkmaid" duty. It's about as popular among the DA's as latrine duty. If Dave hadn't been fired, he'd probably have been put on Milk Duty for a couple months.))

Carl stumbles a little at the shove, but recovers and uses the momentum to dodge his way through milling cattle to Percy's side. If the kid's still stumbling and shaky with trauma he'll re-offer his shoulder, if not he'll just tug him urgently outside, heading for the house but at the same time looking around for Gus or where he might have gone.

[[Heh, at least it establishes his/their cowboy credentials.]]

Percy clings to Carl as the two of them make a run for the house. Gus doesn't seem to be anywhere around...Carl remembers him volunteering for "stock inspection" duty after the meeting, which basically consists of paroling the edge of the ranch and shooting trespassers (like, say, ornery Comanche). Unless he came back early, he's miles away right now. However, Mike is with him...the same Mike that helped bring down Nate, and likely to receive a visit from the spectral gunman.

Carl slams into the house without troubling to knock, kicking the door shut behind them. If that doesn't draw a furious Ward out to see what the fuss is, he'll go looking for him, holding tightly to the anger burning through him like rope, pulling him onward.

The slam rocks through the mansion.

Abraham excuses himself hastily and rushes downstairs.

"What in the name of...Carl!" the servant says, looking at the man and his charge. "What's happened?"

Carl stares up at Abraham from the middle of the hall, Percy clinging to him like it's that or go under. The mute is clearly very upset about something, and somehow the lack of a trail of blood isn't at all comforting as he jerks his head at the younger Dust Adder. "?"
This message was last edited by the player at 22:41, Sun 09 Oct 2011.

"I'm not sure...I think he's in his study." Abraham says, heading over to inspect the pair. "Did he get trampled?"

Realizing there wasn't much he could do, the servant turned and headed upstairs. "I'll go up and see if I can find him. You hold on tight now...help's on the way."

There's a desperate lip-curl of anxious frustration at more questioning that only subsides when Abraham hurries off as best he can for the doctor.

Reasoning that there are more places the Doc's likely to be upstairs and that stopping would be really bad for Percy right now Carl half-urges, half-carries the youth that way as best he can, pain scorching the inside of his own lungs and pointing out every healed once-broken bone in his body (there are several).

It's in this strange situation, supporting a comrade's warmth and carrying a boy who did not yet know he was dead, that Carl finds himself whistling, almost under his breath. It takes him a moment, fighting upward, to recognise the tune, and even then the words of the miner's lullaby stay just out of reach, returning in scraps and faint distorted echoes from decades before:

...for our heat, our light, our lamp...

     ...and the cold wind blows, yet tommorrow...

...and you'll never have to toil, underground...

Not knowing what else to do for the kid, Carl hauls onward and is simply there.

It takes Carl a few minutes for him to haul Percy up the stairs. Percy, for his part, tries to move as much as Carl will let him.

When Carl reaches the top, he finds Ward already waiting.

"So. Nathanial's phantom has struck again. Let us get him into the spare bedroom...I can examine him better there."

Carl just stares at Ward a moment. Then he moves up and sort of transfers the cling to the doctor since Percy's probably not up to objecting/high awareness at present, stepping away with a hard look and a slight headjerk at the town.
"..." Silently so, so angry.

There's a swift mime - hat, heart, claws - before Carl turns away and starts back down, knuckles whitened over his shotgun.

In reply to Carl (msg #77):

"Don't you think I know that?" Ward says as he takes Percy's load off Carl. "Carl, I need you to deliver a message to the Lodge before you pursue the Ranger. They need to assemble so we can deal with this crisis, and we need to assemble here before nightfall. The serpent's powers must grow greatly at night. All the worst troubles we've had...the Yankee rustlers turning, the attack of that abominable creature you and the others put down, the attack from the savages...all occurred within minutes or hours of sundown. Whatever the creature is trying to distract us from, it will happen in the evening. You have to hurry. Make sure they know and make sure they get here or the consequences may be dire indeed."

With that, he pulls Percy into the guest room, out of sight.

Carl pauses on the stairs and turns about like something caught in a trap attempting to bite, but Ward's gone. There's a stranger about, though. Whoever he is, Ward doesn't seem to be shy of talking around him - probably one of the goddamn Masons - and if that cowboy-type gear means anything and he's been about awhile any fool could read sign and realise the Injuns were restless.

The rough man on the stairs looks up/over at John Smith with a clear question in his face and stance, like 'You going to help?'
"?"
This message was last edited by the player at 16:53, Mon 10 Oct 2011.

John had been drawn to the sounds along with Abraham, he would even have helped Carl bring Percy upstairs if he was permitted. Once at the top he glanced in the direction of the Doctor and then back to Carls inquisitive look. Well, Zhang told me to do what I could to help this town, this counts I reckon. he thought and nodded to Carl. He nods his assent and motions for Carl to lead the way.

Carl looks at John a moment longer, assessing the stranger's build before turning away and hastening down the stairs. He'd seen no unfamiliar horses around, so the man must have walked from town and would need a mount.

John will see the man pause to look down towards the new barn whilst on the porch, then move swiftly across the yard towards the corral as though wary of the lack of cover. Once there, Carl whistles for Hoss, gets her out, saddled and bridled inside a minute and wades into the corral with a rope held low and ready.

A short time later Carl returns leading a dark chestnut well-suited to John's height and passes him the rope. The wrangler jerks his head at where tack is to be found and makes to go off and attend to something else whilst John finds a saddle that'll fit, gesturing 'five' with an upraised hand. "..."



[[some quick summarising so's Stray can wrap up the thread. I assumed John was a little bit too late in turning up to be able to go down and help haul Percy there, since that would've got a very hostile reaction from Carl (see viciously protective response to Wildcat giving the littlest Dust Adder a comforting hug) and they seem to be getting on here.]]

John nods and goes through the motions of prepping his horse. While he wasn't going to run a rodeo any time soon he knew his way around horses like anyone else in the West and would soon have the dark chestnut readied within the five minute time limit provided.

((OOC: This thread is not closed yet. Please continue posting here for just a little while longer))

Carl spends one of his five minutes in a rapid scan of the bunkhouse before loping over to the nearer barn, throwing a lit match and a shot of the bourbon Frank kept hid down beside his bed into the summoning brazier and immolating Nate's playing cards. Stood to reason that if Ward used ghost rock and drew off the Snake here you needed a fire to talk to something in that place, and to burn something of worth for attention.

Carl licks blood from a tooth and stands tensely alert, prepared to wait a couple of minutes but no longer to see if this hoodoo works. He's aware there should be some sort of incantation involved, but trying to speak just makes him cough, so he spits off to the side and grips his gun for all the good that won't do, a stillness in him like ice.



[[confuse me, you will...the blue and one white spent there (because he's very frustrated/angry) for a wonderful net result of 4.]]

There's a faint wail as the remains of the Ghost Rock in the brazier catch, and a flash of ghostly white smoke as the cards curl and turn black.

There's silence in the old barn for several minutes. It doesn't seem like anything's coming.

Then Carl hears a voice from the shadows.

"Well, now. What have we here?"

Carl turns from where he was heading out with a mute snarl of cold fury and paces towards the voice as though preparing to drag a cringing puppy to where the puddle is and rub its nose in it.

There's a rapid series of gestures - cutting off, points at the house, bunkhouse, sky, range, town, and a vicious stabbing gesture accompanied by a nod in the latter direction before he steps back again, spits, and makes to go.

There's laughter from the darkness.

"Well, how 'bout that? Carl the mute ha' somethin' to say! Well, now you spoke yo peace, I feel obliged to rebut ya. You don't know me as well as you think you did. I sol' my soul long before you ever even heard my name. Who do you think taught Gus how to make his deal, huh?"

"Let me give you a little bit of advice, frien'. Put a bullet through your skull now. Save yourself the heartache. 'Cause anythin' else you do is just gonna make things worse, and the worse things get the stronger Tezcatlcoatl gets. The stronger he gets, the stronger I get. And I ain't gonna be alone. I'm gonna go out and collect them souls what owe me for takin' my life, and when all you boys pass over, well, we'll gather together again, one big happy family o' specters to ride Hell through Texas."

"You have a point though...it ain't right what Audry gonna have to go through. Think I'll go pay her a visit and spare her all that afore the redskins come. Tah tah!"

The flame in the brazier dies, and the barn falls silent.

Carl makes a very rude gesture as he walks out into the light, not even troubling to look back. Jerk. He wasn't too worried about Audrey - they were church-goin' folk and if Nate could get at his hated full-blood brother or entirely-too-beloved sister he'd have done it already. Well, Carl had tried. Ward could deal with the bastard later. It would be poetic to think the bitter taste was the last drained dregs of loyalty, but it's only hunger and blood.

He's at a near-run by the time he rejoins John, nodding approval and a slight apology for being perhaps half a minute late, and mounting up. He'll wait only as long as it takes for John to do likewise before kicking off at a fast canter for the town.

John mounts up and follows after Carl. He smirked as he found a little irony in situation, but it was gone in an instant, there were dark things afoot and it was about to get particularly dangerous to say the least.

This thread is closed. Please resume posting on the 12.2 thread.