OOC:  Music to her ears.  His "ow" not the boom.

Wildcat froze for a second in panic.  Charging Bear/Marshal Evans.  Both names came through at once.

However in the law enforcement trade, there's a technical term for a sound like that.  It's called a clue.

There wasn't time, she had to make a call.  And this was a hell of call, she assumed a lot about the nature of the Dust Adders in this moment and it could easily come back to bite her.  Wildcat planted her boot, softly, on Dave's chest but didn't look down at him.  She spoke quickly in a harsh whisper as she pulled her gun and scanned ahead.

"Sorry 'bout that feller, ah didn't know you weren't one of them.  Forget for one damn hour you don't like me an' take... McCoy to th' church once your breath comes back to your lungs, get him some help. Deputy Lawrence, Deputy Clank an th' preacher will help ya'll.  Ya'll can hate me 'gain afterward, I won't tell nobody.  Grunt fer me if ya comprende."

In reply to Charging Bear (msg #6):

{BOOM!}

Fire roars through the doorway, but Charging Bear is already safely out of the way.

From up high, somewhere on the second story, comes a girlish giggle.

"Someone's been naughty!" She says. "But that's alright. Come on out where Jenny can see you, naughty boy. I've a present for ya!"

In reply to Wildcat Hawkins (msg #13):

"...uh...uh-huh..." the man on the ground grunts. "...wait...careful...they gots...more..."

((OOC: 13:48, Today: Mighty Dave rolled 1,4 using d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 1,4. Roll to unshake. He unshakes, though he's still prone. Talking is a Free Action, though...))

"Mighty kind of ya ta relate that pardner.  What room's they in?  They ain't gonna do this to him 'n get 'way wit' it."

At the sound of the whipporwill, Evans strides toward the jail, holding his gun at the ready.

"Deputy McCoy! Deputy Fuller!" He shouts. "If you're able, come on out of there! We have a situation!"

There's a silence for a moment, then a voice shouts "Sorry to say, they can't make it! They're full of holes at the moment!"

"Coward!" Evans shouts back. "You great bloody yellow-bellied lurker! How about you come down here and settle things with me, man to man?"

"We just want the Ranger, Marshal. Give her to us, and we'll trouble your tiny little town no further!"

{BOOM!}

Evans' face goes bloodless. Oh, no...Charging Bear! Had he just cost yet another deputy their lives?

"Well, well, well!" Says the voice. "Might be a moot point!"

In reply to Wildcat Hawkins (msg #16):

"They're spread throughout the buildin'...one's watchin' the front, another's watchin' the back, and I don't know where that asshole with the big hat is...probably settin' more traps."

"Did they done rig both doors?"
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:13, Tue 04 Oct 2011.

"I...I don't know. I think so...it's why I came this way. But I was moving when they done took the boomsticks out o' that deposit box...figgered it was my best chance to grab Bill an' vamoose."

In reply to Mighty Dave (msg #20):

Ah told them ta search it dag nabbit!

Wildcat lifted her foot from his chest and looked down at him.

"Ya done good.  One more thing though: whether ya like it or not, that man lying there is now and forever mah brother.  Take care of 'im, an' tell 'im he's th' Marshal this town deserves."  Wildcat thumbed her newly acquired silver star so Dave could see it from down there.  If today was her day, she would die with it on.

"As fer me, it's mah job to go in thar 'n die.  Now git!"

Then immediately, the Ranger reconsidered.

"But he hath gave unto me power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt me."

Wildcat kept her pistol at the ready, but drew her blade in her other hand.  She was expecting trip wires, she needed something to make short work of them.  That, and she might have an idea, depending on how this played out.

The Ranger stepped forward toward whatever destiny awaited her.

((OOC: I've posted a map of the first floor of the mining office in the Maps thread. Go look at it, and tell me which way you're headed from there.))

OOC:  Calling the top of the map North.

Wildcat is moving carefully, more worried about spotting traps or assassins lying in wait than anything else.  I can make Stealth rolls if you want but I'm terrible at stealth, so if it's a MAP to be Stealthy and Observant, I choose Observant.

Going north, then east, toward the back door first.  Opening every door, slicing the pie and all that.  Wildcat does have an idea that she's not supposed to be in here, according to their plan, and hopes maybe she can find one or better yet two of the booby traps without having to set it off.  She has an idea but it all depends on what's out there/what happens.

Right now the plan is to spiral in clockwise and eventually come round to the lobby from the other side.  Fuller (or his body), the assassins and rigged explosives are all objects of interest.

Wildcat creeps into the darkened corridor, a wary eye flicking back and forth. There doesn't seem to be any obvious threats here...but that's why they're called traps.

((OOC: Very well. Te top of the map is technically East, but calling it North works for moving yourself about. Make a Notice check for the first leg of your trip.))

Why oh why must you phrase that so ominously...

12:30, Today: Wildcat Hawkins rolled 7,11 using 1d4,1d6, rerolling max with rolls of (4+3)7,(6+5)11. Notice roll.

Some mood music

Wildcat creeps down the corridor, peering into the gloom for trouble. She opens doors...broom closet at the end of the hall, executive office, meeting room...no explosives yet. Might not have had time to get this far.

There's a creak from way down at the end of the hall, past the hall leading to the back door, near the room leading to the vault. It's soft, almost a nothing sound...but in the silence of the office it might as well be a gunshot. Someone was moving down there.

((OOC: Because I care.

So, there's a -1 Dim Light penalty going on, as the inside of the mining office building isn't well lit right now. That affects any visual rolls you have, but not any auditory rolls.

No traps in this first part of your journey...that moves you about 6 squares in. Also, Wildcat hears someone nearby, but way down at the end of the hall.))

Wildcat weighed her options carefully.

Looking up at the second story, Charging Bear wishes for his rifle which was presently sitting on the side of hi s horses in the stable or perhaps in his room at the Grand Bull he couldn't really recall due to the distraction of his ears ringing like church bells on Christmas day. His gaze shifts about him trying just trying to get a better look at the surroundings before deciding that it would be best to just go into the would be jail... Heck it isn't like they dont know someone is out here.

Ooc: Did any of the windows on the upper right corner of the building break thanks to the earth shattering kaboom?

In reply to Wildcat Hawkins (msg #27):


In reply to Charging Bear (msg #28):
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:52, Thu 06 Oct 2011.

Ambrose Evans had found himself in worse situations...there was that time in Abilene, for instance. But talking to a hidden madman with a bead on him, right out in the open with no cover to speak of and potentially no backup on the way...oh, this was right up there.

"And why, exactly, do you think I'd ever turn Miss Hawkins over to a gutless scoundrel like you, sir?" Evans shouts up, hoping to goad him a little. "You, who hides like a worm in a rotten apple, and won't even test his mettle against a peer?"

"I'm really not the dueling type, Marshal! I find foolish pride gets in the way of a good, clean kill! I'll tell you what, though! You want a showdown? I'll give you half of that...let's have a show!"

Bullets rip from the window, all around the Mashal's feet, forcing him into an undignified dance in order keep his toes intact and avoid ricochets. The gunman laughs, and Evans looks down, chagrined.

But once his head dips down, he give himself a short, satisfied chuckle. Go ahead, fool. He thinks. Waste those bullets. You can't have that more than 3 loads of ammunition up there. The more you waste on me, the less you'll have when Ranger Hawkins or Charging Bear finds you.

---

((OOC: Evans attempts to draw attention with a Taunt Test of Wills against McCavity.

00:34, Today: The Amazing Evans rolled 4,2 using d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 4,2. Taunt.

00:35, Today: The Jellicle Gang rolled 3,4 using d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 3,4. Resisting Test of Wills. Tie. no clear victor...Evans gets under McCavity's skin a little.

In response, McCavity attempts a Taunt of his own...with bullets!

00:36, Today: The Jellicle Gang rolled 3,5 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 3,5. Taunt.

00:37, Today: The Amazing Evans rolled 3,5 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 3,5. Resisting Test of Wills. Again, tie (and the exact same roll, too!). Evans is only slightly flustered))

Not much to go on here... shooter up top, me down here with little to no cover between me and the building... guess I'll just have to make a run for it. Charging Bear think, as his eyes survey the scene before him. The debris from the blast is definitely minimal, would've just killed whoever was unlucky enough open that door

So run to the door or try to rattle that sniper's chain. the native son ponders his options for moment.

OOC: How far from the open window am I? Also how high up is it?

The dapper man looks up. What now?

He looked around and spied the man peeking out from the rubble of the jail. He sighs.

"Would that I could, sir!" He calls to the man. "But I'm afraid I have a duty to perform here. However, I urge you in the most strong manner to stay where you are. These people are perfidious, vicious killers, and I wouldn't put it above the to shoot an innocent man just for jolly!"

Now closer to the situation, he stood behind the building, hoping to avoid catching a stray bullet as it seemed lead was flying all over the place hereabouts. His sage advice had fallen upon deaf ears. Well...maybe not deaf but certainly heroic. That tinhorn's got a pair, I'll give 'im that. Hopefully the Marshal shows up at some point to take care o' this nonsense, he thought.

Peeking his head around the corner at the building, he tried to see if he could find the person that was shooting.

"Why, Marshal Evans, what an ugly thing to say!" says the voice from the window. Adrian peers into the darkness, trying to make out a shape. "I make it a special point not to murder men, women, or children that I don't have to. 'Have to' being the operative phrase there. Don't make me have to shoot my way through half of this pissant little town to get to her. Just bring her out and let her die."

((OOC: Adrian, make a notice check, -2 for the darkness, to see if you can find the speaker in the gloom.))

"Is that the lie you tell yourself so you can sleep at night, assassin?" Evans shoots back. "You might as well give up. We have the place surrounded. Any moment now, my deputies will storm through, and you and your friends will drown in lead. If you surrender now, you might live long enough to see trial so they can hang you properly."

"Oh, really? And how many more deputies have to die today just to stop the three of us, Marshal? You've lost two already that I can personally vouch for, and I don't like the chances of the fellow who tried to get in the back. Is it really worth all this death and slaughter? We have this whole place rigged, and we'll take it down with us if we have to."

The dapper man just stands there, without a ready reply.

"God you're boring!" whines the sniper. "What's a girl gotta do to get a good time around here? I'm going to start tossing dynamite out there to liven things up if you don't show yourself! Maybe start a town barbeque. It'd be the best thing for this shithole, really. Just blow it all up and watch it all burn down!"

((OOC: The open window is close to the back door, about 8 squares from the edge of the building, 1 square East of the back door. I'm assuming CB took a dive into the alley behind the mining office (see the Blackthorn Map for details on that) so about 2 or 3 squares from the back door itself. Assuming a height of roughly 10 feet per story and that the windowsill is 3 ft. from the floor, then it would be 13 ft from the ground to the window, or about 2 squares of movement. CB might be able to scale the wall in one action with a good climbing roll, though he'd suffer a MAP if he wanted to do anything once he got there. Since the Sniper is On Hold, CB would need to succeed on an opposed Agility roll against her in order to avoid being shot as he crosses the distance.))

As he peered into the gloom, he thought for a moment that he could make out the faint outline of a shape. It started to distinguish itself - or did it? Minds playin' tricks on me again, dammit. He took his time looking out to see whether or not he was seeing straight.

---

OOC:

Notice: 11 (including -2 penalty)

18:52, Today: Adrian Vega rolled 1,11 using d4-2,d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 3,(6+6+1)13. Notice.

Nope, Adrian was certain. It was a shape, a human shape...though if the vile things he's been saying are true, not one with a human soul.

---

((OOC: Nice. Success and Raise, nearly 2 raises. You can see McCavity well enough to take a shot at him, though you'd suffer from a -1 dim light penalty to any attacks (including Bolt attacks) you make against him.))