Mid-afternoon, April 11th, 1879. Blackthorn, Texas. Good Friday.

((Wildcat, Charging Bear))

Just outside the makeshift jail.

some mood music

The trio of law men (and women) converse, discussing their strategy.

Evans allows Charging Bear a few minutes to slip through the alleys to the back door.

Wildcat, too, slips away, to find that opened window the others mentioned.

Once the two are away, Evan steels himself, then walks over to the ruins of his old office, turns, and looks at the building. He waits for the signal that the others are in place.
This message was last edited by the GM at 07:03, Tue 04 Oct 2011.

Wildcat usually wasn't much for stealth, preferring the direct assault, but in this situation prudence ruled over style.  She moved in with careful deliberate motion, her thumb on the hammer.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:44, Tue 04 Oct 2011.

OOC: How quietly can CB move?
08:02, Today: Charging Bear rolled 7,2 using 1d4,1d6, rerolling max with rolls of (4+3)7,2. Stealth.
Decently it might appear

---

Charging Bear moves stealth-fully as he can manage, which is better than some, but not as good as other. Rum Tum wasn't the shooter in the store, and with his shooting Cantrell the way he did, I'm guessing he's more of a gun fighter. Just got to remember that doesn't mean he isn't waiting to blast someone with a rifle. The native son's eyes scanned the nearby buildings, for any sign of this mystery man but didn't stop to make himself an overly easy target.

Once he makes it across the street  from the rear door Charging Bear whistles like a whippoorwill - the agreed upon signal.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:46, Tue 04 Oct 2011.

Wildcat creeps along, hoping no one is actively looking for her. She reaches the window without getting shot at, so that's a good sign.

Pausing to get a feel for the situation, she hears movement from inside the room, as well as someone muttering.

"Goddammit, Bill, why you gotta be so heavy?" A grunt. "Come on...just a little more...come on...soon we'll be out o' here, away from these whackjobs..."

In reply to Charging Bear (msg #3):

Quiet like a cat, Charging Bear slips through the alley to the back door. If someone was up there waiting for him, he'd given them the slip.

((OOC: 08:38, Today: The Jellicle Gang rolled 1,1 using d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 1,1. Notice. Critical failure. Go CB!))

After giving the signal, Charging Bear creeps up to the door and tests it. Unlocked. He pushes it open.

It meets a strange resistance half way, and as he pushes it further he sees wires leading to a trio of three sticks of...wait, is that dynamite?

Charging Bear has just enough time to wonder where the hell they got dynamite before instinct kicks in and the dynamite goes boom...

((OOC: Make an Agility roll at -2 or take 3d6+1 damage))

Charging Bear having seen dynamite go off before preferred not to be nearby.

OOC:
11:56, Today: Charging Bear rolled 4,2 using 1d8-2,1d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 6,4. Agility.

I'm at something of an impasse here.  Wildcat knows that Bill McCoy joined Marshal Evans (via Wildcat as Evans was in his BSOD episode at the moment), defecting from the Dust Adders.

Wildcat however has never met Mighty Dave, but she learned a lot about how the Adders see themselves from Carl and Jesse.  It's not inconceivable she might make the connection this is their idea of a "rescue" attempt, perhaps even with the aid of the Jellicles, since they both have a common enemy in the Ranger!

Then again, she also knows the Dust Adders weren't very amused with the Jellicle's assault on her before.

Wildcat however is Loyal and Heroic and will be damned if she's going to let Deputy McCoy go without a fight.

My questions are then:

1.  Her first instinct is to run in there "Freeze Texas [BANG] Ranger!" and save the Deputy, however if she thinks this is another Dust Adder trying to 'save' him, she might not want to resort to shooting him as her first alternative.  There's a reason she carries 5 or 6 different weapons, yay dusters.  Does she realize this COULD BE another Dust Adder?

I am thinking maybe a Smarts roll, probably with a penalty due to her being more disposed to help McCoy immediately than anything else, to put all that together?  Just because I the player can justify it OOC doesn't mean IC Wildcat can think so quickly.  This is a high stress situation that acts counter to her instincts.

2.  Does she hear the dynamite blow right after the signal?  Because if that goes off it's guns blazing regardless!  She won't let them assault Deputy Bear like that.

((OOC: Go ahead and make a Smarts roll, with a +1 bonus, to realize it might be a Dust Adder. Your bit is slightly ahead of CB's bit, as it would have taken him longer to reach the back than you reaching the side, and the notice roll was just you checking your surrounding out before the signal.))

11:22, Today: Wildcat Hawkins rolled 10,3 using 1d6+1,1d6+1, rerolling max with rolls of (6+3)9,2. smarts.

Damned Dust Snakes... I got me a real problem wit' snakes here lately.  No doubt this was some ill conceived 'rescue' attempt on their part.  Odds were Deputy McCoy didn't want to head back, and they saw fit to take him for his own good.

It was simpler when you could just shoot them.  Could shoot him in the leg. Katrina suggested.  Don't be stupid girl, you were there when they taught us that can kill a man just as easy and it's a harder shot to boot.  If'n we kill us another one of them fellers, we ain't never gonna get ta Ward. Wildcat countered.  Katrina shut up, at times like this Wildcat was always in control.

Wildcat had to think of something right now, but the solution was right there.  While wearing a man's duster, even this small one, didn't flatter her figure much, it had the benefit of having lots of big pockets, and lots of fabric to hide things on your belt.  She hadn't replaced her lariat onto her saddle horn since she'd gotten here due to the terminal lack of handcuffs in this town.

Quickly holstering the Colt, she loosed the leather snap on her gunbelt and the rope fell loose into her hands, already coiled and ready.  Wildcat took in deep breath, prayed God would watch over her in her moment of dumbassery, and went straight for the breach.  She was going to round up a Dust Adder.

OOC:  I don't suppose I get a 'sneak attack'?

((OOC: He hasn't noticed you, so as long as you make the Agility check to get through the window in one go, you can get The Drop on him.))

Okay I'm going to adjudicate here and ask some questions too.  I have some suggestions for how this might resolve but they favor me and as always the Marshal's intepretation stands.  But I find if you want something good to happen because of a dice roll it's wise to say what you are hoping for.

11:40, Today: Wildcat Hawkins rolled 2,1 using 1d6,1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 2,1. Agility straight up no chaser.

A 2 will not succeed.

11:41, Today: Wildcat Hawkins rolled 3 using 1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 3. Damn.  Red.

So draw a Marshal chip.  I hate spending reds in these situations but what can you do.

11:44, Today: Wildcat Hawkins rolled 12,5 using 1d6+4,1d6+4, rerolling max with rolls of (6+2)8,1. rope a dope (lassos are fighting rolls?).

Lariats/Lassos I think combat are Fighting rolls unless used as part of an Agility Trick.  Wildcat isn't using a Trick she's straight up trying to rope him like a calf.  Even if it is Agility her Fighting and Agility are the same.  Either way I'd argue if she's got The Drop the +4 applies.

Wildcat leaps through the window, right into the path of a familiar-looking Dust Adder carrying someone over his shoulder. The man's eyes bug almost out of his head and he only has time to shout "HOLY SH-" before Wildcat's wild lasso falls around his legs and yanks him off his feet.

The big Dust Adder goes heels-to-Jesus, landing on his back with a gasp. The man he was carrying rolls out of his arms.

"...ow..." The Dust Adder manages.

Just then, there is a might {BOOM!} that rattles the walls...

((OOC: Using a Lariat is an Agility trick, but it uses your Fighting skill instead of Agility and knocks the person prone on a raise in addition to the -2 Parry and Shaken he'd get. Since you have The Drop, the drop bonus applies to your Fighting roll (and I'd have it apply to anything you did, from Test of Wills to Tricks to actual Attacks). So 12 is the number Dave has to beat to have no effect, and he has to beat 8 to avoid being sent Prone and Shaken. Since Dave is caught by surprise, he gets a -2 penalty on his Agility check to resist.

13:03, Today: Mighty Dave rolled 3,1 using d8-2,d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 5,3. Surprise rope resistance! Dave goes tumbling.))

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.))

OOC:  Playing that 3 of Hearts.  Oh yeah.  You know that one had to played ASAP.  Best.  Card.  Ever.

Wildcat took in a deep breath.  Her mind went to a different place.  Raising the peacemaker to the high ready position she closed her eyes for but a moment.



I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.
My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.
He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.
Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand.
The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.
The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.
The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.

And the Ranger stepped into the depths of the hallway to meet evil head on.

Robert whispers to Vincent.  "I don't see the man, but Evans called out to two of his men.  Could be the man we're looking for is already dead.  What me to go take a peek inside?"

Adrian sighed heavily. Ain't I been in enough fights for one day? He pushed the thought away as soon as it popped into his head. He couldn't just let this tinhorn get shot up cause he was tryin' to do the right thing. This what I came here for ain't it?

Lifting up his Peacemaker, he set his sights on the figure he caught sight of, but he didn't have his finger on the trigger. Real bullets hadn't served him that well today, but he'd serve the feller up one of Hoyle's bullets. Looking down into his empty right hand, five phantom cards quickly flitted in and out - but enough for him to smile as he felt something welling up within. Three Jacks. Two tens. Using his mind, he released that energy, channeling it through the barrel of his trusty sidearm and those ghostly white phantom bullets flew with the sound of gunfire, leaving trails of ghostly white light in their wake.

---

OOC:

Hand:         Full House
Spellcasting: 9,4,20
Damage:       8,6,14
[All penalties included]

- 21:09, Today: Adrian Vega drew the 10 cards: 4S, 5S, 3S, 2H, JS, 10S, JD, 10D, JH, 6S using the Deadlands system. Deal with the Devil: 4 Power.
- Per the House Rule, I should have only called three - I don't think I can use the fourth. I'll be trying for three bolts.
- Today: Adrian Vega rolled 2,9 using d8-1,d6-1, rerolling max with rolls of 3,(6+4)10. Spellcasting.
- Today: Adrian Vega rolled 0,4 using d8-1,d6-1, rerolling max with rolls of 1,5. Spellcasting.
- Today: Adrian Vega rolled 20,3 using d8-1,d6-1, rerolling max with rolls of (8+8+5)21,4.
- Today: Adrian Vega rolled 6,6,11 using 2d6,2d6,2d6, rerolling max with rolls of 2,4,3,3,4,(6+1)7.
- Today: Adrian Vega rolled 2,3 using 1d6,1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 2,3. First, Third Raise?
This message was last edited by the player at 03:29, Fri 07 Oct 2011.

In reply to Wildcat Hawkins (msg #38):

Wildcat glides down the corridor, aiming to gun a bastard down. She passes the corridor at the midpoint of the hall...and passes someone standing there, next to a door, apparently hanging a sign up on it.

There shouldn't be anyone here except deputies and assassins...so who is this tall, black-suited man calming putting a "Now Open" sign up on a storage room in the middle of a gunfight?

To say Wildcat is surprised is an understatement.  But her training takes over and she sets the front sight bead level with her possible target.

"Freeze!  Texas Ranger!  Hands up whar I can see 'em!"

The stranger turns languidly, holding his hands out. his hands are empty. The "Now Open" sign hangs on the door beside him. He gives Wildcat a wide, white smile.

"Ah! Greetings and salutations, madam. How can I help you today?"

To say Wildcat is confused is an understatement.  What kind of fiendish Jellicle trick was this?  She kept her gun leveled but her left hand went to her belt for her wrist irons.

"On yer knees feller, hands on yer head!  Ah guess there's four of ya'll... ya'll really think ah'm dumb enough to let that there sign lure me into yer trap?  That or yer the nuttiest feller ah ever did meet, we'll straighten it out later!"

The stranger gives her a quizzical look, but he kneels. "I beg your pardon, madam? Have I done something illegal in setting up my wares in this location? I assure you, it is only me here. Me and my horse, of course." he blinks. "Though if you are having troubles with the Jellicle Gang, I can understand why you might be jumpy. I have something which may help with that."

"Of course, you may want to duck...it seems our conversation has attracted unwanted attention."

From around the corner, further down the hall, comes a flash of cloth. "Hey Ranger!" the figure shouts. "Catch!"

And a hissing, sparking tube is rolled her way...

---

((OOC: Rum Tum Tugger takes advantage of the noise and distraction to throw a stick of dynamite at Wildcat. However, he has no Throwing and is at Medium Range, so he's rolling default with an additional -2 penalty, for a total penalty on his roll of -4.

20:50, Today: Rum Tum Tugger rolled -2, 1 using d4-2,d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 2,5. Throwing!

He's going to spend a GM Red Chip for a bonus. 20:51, Today: Rum Tum Tugger rolled 5 using 1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 5. Red Chip.

That makes his total 6.

Wildcat, make a Notice Check. If you succeed, you saw the danger coming in enough time to get an Agility roll (at -2) to try and get out of the way before the bomb goes off.

Also, draw a card...we're in Combat Rounds now!))

---

The Generous Salesman: KC
Wildcat Hawkins: 9H
Rum Tum Tugger: 8H
This message was last edited by the player at 04:32, Fri 07 Oct 2011.

23:00, Today: Wildcat Hawkins rolled 7,5 using d4,d6, rerolling max with rolls of (4+3)7,5. Notice.

Whoever this apparently bat guano insane man was, he seemed helpful at least, his warning was enough to realize what was coming!

23:01, Today: Wildcat Hawkins rolled 3,3 using d6-2,d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 5,5. Duck!  (Agility).
23:01, Today: Wildcat Hawkins rolled 5 using 1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 5. blue.

She barely had time to gather her wits about her.  The Jellicle had tried to fake her out with the motion of a false throw to disguise the projectile's true trajectory, but she was too wired to fall for it.

23:05, Today: Wildcat Hawkins drew the single card: 9H using the Deadlands system. Initiative.

In reply to Adrian Vega (msg #40):

The ghostly bullets hit true, knocking the figure off his feet and eliciting a number of very colorful curses.

The dapper man glances over at Adrian, faintly shocked...but the shock passes.

"Well, sir, thank you for your...special brand of help." He taps the side of his nose. "Let's give these villains what-for, eh?"

---

((OOC: McCavity has a toughness of 5, so here is how the damage rolls shake down:

The first bullet will make McCavity Shaken. The second bullet would make McCavity Shaken as well...which means he will suffer 1 wound instead (unless he soaks). The third bullet...ouch. that's 2 wounds unless he soaks.

McCavity will blow some GM white chips to soak.

Attack #2 (1 wound): 21:14, Today: The Jellicle Gang rolled 3,5 using d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 3,5. Soak Roll. Success

Attack #3 (2 wounds: 21:14, Today: The Jellicle Gang rolled 2,7 using d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 2,(6+1)7. Soak Roll. Hmm...McCavity is going to spend his lone Red Chip, leaving him relying only on GM chips. 21:15, Today: The Jellicle Gang rolled 5 using 1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 5. Red Chip. Total of 12, so success in soaking both and removing the Shaken condition.

That's going to rile him up...and make him be more cautious. Draw a Card for Initiative, please.

I assume you're using the side of the ruins as cover, yes?))

---

Adrian Vega: KC
The Jellicle Gang: 9H
The Amazing Evans: 7C

This message was last edited by the player at 15:04, Fri 07 Oct 2011.

Vincent nods. "That sounds..."

Just then all hell breaks loose.

The shouting match between Evans and the figure in the tower turns into gunplay. At first, it's just a few mocking shots to send Evans dancing, but then a stranger gets involved, joining up with Evans and returning fire into the window. Apparently the stranger hit something, as there's curses and shouting from within.

((OOC: Please draw an initiative card to join the current round.))

He tried to hide partially behind the ruins of what he realized must have been the jailhouse, save for what he needed to see and shoot. Adrian nodded to the man in the hat. "No problem, boss," he said. "We'll teach him better'n to be throwin' lead 'round Blackthorn."

---

OOC:
- I drew the King of Clubs
- Yes, he's gonna try and use the ruins as cover

23:48, Today: Adrian Vega drew the single card: KC using the Deadlands system.

In reply to The Jellicle Gang (msg #35):

OOC: oh lets do this!
Burn a blue chip for my adventure card JS - Epiphany to get a d6 Climbing

---

Charging Bear once saw a China Man scale a wall like he was flying and in this adrenaline fueled instant it just clicks. The native son starts to race towards the building,  picking up speed as he closes the distance. A few feet from the building he leaps, one foot hits the sill of the  lower window, a strong push sends him higher and two quick bits of foot work get him into the upper  window.

It doesn't take Charging Bear but an instant to draw his tomahawk and strike the sniper.

OOC: Agility
08:47, Today: Charging Bear rolled 6,5 using 1d8,1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 6,5. Agility WC.
08:46, Today: Charging Bear rolled 6,4 using 1d8,1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 6,4. Agility.
Looks like a 6, hope it is enough

now that climbing
08:41, Today: Charging Bear rolled 2,9 using 1d6-2,1d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 4,(6+5)11. Climbing (-2 MAP) WCx2. 08:40, Today: Charging Bear rolled -1,0 using 1d6-2,1d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 1,2. Climbing (-2 MAP) WCx1. 08:39, Today: Charging Bear rolled 2,0 using 1d6-2,1d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 4,2. Climbing (-2 MAP).
That be a 9 Climbing with 3 white chips and 1 blue chip burned

Fighting
08:54, Today: Charging Bear rolled 5,1 using 1d8-2,1d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 7,3. Fighting (-2 MAP)

Damage
08:56, Today: Charging Bear rolled 12,2 using 1d8,1d6, rerolling max with rolls of (8+4)12,2. Damage (str, tomahawk).
14!
This message was last edited by the player at 13:02, Fri 07 Oct 2011.

In reply to Charging Bear (msg #50):

Some mood music

As CB bursts from the corner, the sniper giggles. "There you are!"

Just as quickly, two shots graze the native son, flaring pain across his sides...pain that might just be enough to distract him from his intended actions...

---

OOC: You do realize that most of the round might be negated if you dodn't beat her, right? Still, let's see how it shakes out.

08:09, Today: The Jellicle Gang rolled 2,7 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 2,(6+1)7. React to CB! That beats CB's agility roll, so Jenny uses her Held Action to shoot at CB as he emerges from hiding. She shoots him, using a Double Tap.

08:11, Today: The Jellicle Gang rolled 3,5 using d8+1,d6+1, rerolling max with rolls of 2,4. Sniping w/Double Tap!
08:11, Today: The Jellicle Gang rolled 9 using 2d6+2, rerolling max with rolls of 4,3. Damage. (forgot the extra +1 damage from the DT in my roll, but it doesn't actually change anything)

That means CB is Shaken unless he spends a chip. If he spends that chip, the rest of the round proceeds as you rolled (and I'll write up a descriptive post about Jenny's reaction and any soak rolls she might make)

Also, draw a card for the next round. I'm combining all these fights into one big melee to make things sane for me.

---

Round Order:
The Generous Salesman: KC
Adrian Vega: KC
Jenny Anydots: 9S
Wildcat Hawkins: 9H
McCavity: 9H
Rum Tum Tugger: 8H
The Amazing Evans: 7C
Charging Bear: 2S
Robert Micklethwait: Not drawn yet

---

Up Next: Waiting for Draws!
This message was last edited by the player at 16:46, Fri 07 Oct 2011.

OOC:
Definitely burning a white chip to remove that shaken.

12:42, Today: Charging Bear drew the single card: 2S using a deck of 54 cards. initiative .

Round Order:
Adrian Vega: KC
The Generous Salesman: KC
Jenny Anydots: 9S
Wildcat Hawkins: 9H
McCavity: 9H
Rum Tum Tugger: 8H
The Amazing Evans: 7C
Robert Micklethwait: 5D
Charging Bear: 2S

---

Up next, Adrian Vega!
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:28, Sat 08 Oct 2011.

In reply to Vincent Kaje (msg #48):

11:20, Today: Robert Micklethwait drew the single card: 5D using a deck of 54 cards. init.

Still holding his Peacemaker, Adrian still had it trained on the figure and thought he had a pretty good sight on him, but his old foe doubt crept back up into his mind. He was surprised that after all that whiskey he didn't even feel a slight buzz. Fool, keep your mind on the situation. You stuck your head in a beehive, you better think straight.

"Jacks," he said quietly to himself as he released that pent up energy he had saved up, sending a soul blast right out of the gun's barrel.

---

OOC:
[All penalties included]

Hand:         Jacks
Spellcasting: 3, 3, 9
Damage:       23

- Looks like I missed twice, and hit with a raise on the third one. I only rolled damage once for that last shot:

13:24, Today: Adrian Vega rolled 23 using 3d6, rerolling max with rolls of (6+4)10,(6+2)8,5. Damage (including raise)

Next Card: 2D
13:43, Today: Adrian Vega drew the single card: 2D using the Deadlands system
This message was last edited by the player at 18:46, Sun 09 Oct 2011.

The Generous Salesman:

Wildcat goes barreling forward, right into the tall man on his knees. They go tumbling, but it's better than being caught in a nasty explosion.

{BOOM!}

The blast is loud in the confined space, but not nearly as rattling as the last one had been. Plaster cracks and the rug is scorched, but the walls seem to have absorbed the worst of it. It's a good thing this place was built like, well, a bank.

"Well, this is one way to meet customers." The tall man says dryly. "Still, we are in quite a bit of danger here. Miss Ranger, if you will allow me the small liberty of a touch on your shoulder, I may be able to impart a bit of protection for you in your coming conflict. Free of charge."

((OOC: The Salesman is On Hold until Wildcat can consider his offer.))

---

Jenny Anydots:

The wall is slicker than Charging Bear anticipated, and this trick is much, much harder than the Chinaman made it look. However, the native son makes it up to the window and into the room right in front of a very startled gril with mousey brown hair and a nasty silver Peacemaker.

His aim is true, and the girl squeaks as the tomahawk bites into her shoulder. She takes a small step backward and giggles.

"Ooo! Big strong redskin going to ravage poor little ol' me? From what I hear around town, you've had lots of experience with that!"

The floor below them shakes a bit as another explosion goes of, this time somewhere inside the building. Taking the brief distraction the moving floor afforded her, the girl flips another silver peacemaker into her other hand and fires a flurry of shots.

Unfortunately for the sniper girl, Charing Bear's warrior reflexes allow him to keep out of harm's way even at point-blank range, and the only damage he suffers is a hole in his nice new shirt.

((OOC: CB's attack leaves jenny with 2 wounds and a Shaken, so she's going to spend of her personal chips to try and soak.

18:11, Today: The Jellicle Gang rolled 4,2 using d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 4,2. Soak, Jenny. Ek. Only 1 wound soaked, and not enough guarantee on return if I spent her other red chip. She'll take the wound and remain shaken.

On her round, Jenny spends a GM white chip to remove the Shaken, and gets on with her actions. She has a dagger, but she's built as a two-gun pistoleer, so she's going with her first instinct of drawing her other gun and blasting away. She Quick Draws her second gun and Double Taps both, mostly to negate the wound penalty. She has a wound (-1) but is double-tapping (+1), so it's +0 with the first hand and -2 with the second. Since she's in melee with CB (a bad place to be for any NPC), she has to hit his Parry of 6. Best of luck, girl.

21:30, Today: The Jellicle Gang rolled 4,3 using d8,d6 with rolls of 4,3. Shooting, primary hand.

21:30, Today: The Jellicle Gang rolled 04 using d8-2,d6-2 with rolls of 2,6. Shooting, off hand. I'll blow Jenny's last Red on a boost to that second attack. 21:34, Today: The Jellicle Gang rolled 4 using 1d6 with rolls of 4. Red Chip. Total of 8

21:35, Today: The Jellicle Gang rolled 5 using 2d6+2 with rolls of 1,2. Damage. That's not even enough to shake CB. Four bullets at point blank range and all it does is muss up his clothes. Ain't random results grand?

Jenny pulls 5D for next round, though it's not likely she'll last that long against a raging CB.))

---

In Reply to Adrian Vega:

The ghostly bullet flies true. The figure in the window shrieks as the shot clips him around the waist and he goes down, disappearing from view entirely. He doesn't rise again...either he's dead, seriously wounded, or faking, and it's not immediately apparent which.

"Excellent shot!" Evans grins. The grin fades as another muffled {BOOM!} rattles the building. "No..."

((OOC: -_- this is what sloppy writing does. I had intended to imply McCavity had dropped Prone after getting hit, thus getting total cover. I really should have put that in the OOC bit, though, so the action stands. Ok! On with the carnage!

I'm not even going to bother attempting to soak the 4 wounds that accrues...I'll just save a chip for the Incapacitation roll, as all the Jellicles have the Hard To Kill edge.

18:16, Today: The Jellicle Gang rolled 4,3 using d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 4,3. Incapacitation, McCavity. Success. McCavity will survive, though he's unconscious for an hour and will have an injury until all his wounds are healed. Let's see what we get for an injury:

18:17, Today: The Jellicle Gang rolled 10 using 2d6 with rolls of 6,4. Injury, McCavity. That's the...leg? The flying fuck? How is a man who's leaning out a window, only the upper torso visible, the rest behind stone and masonry, going to get hit in the leg? no. Illogical. Mccavity is wounded in the hip, which is why he'll be Lame for a while.

McCavity is out of the fight. That was fast.))

---

Next up: Wildcat Hawkins, then NPCs, then Robert and Charging Bear
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:11, Sat 08 Oct 2011.

"Mister if you can do something useful, do it now! Otherwise get the hell out of here!"

Wildcat is just relieved she's not a pile of Ranger goo yet.

OOC:  Wildcat thinks this man is an insane man and happened to wander into the worst place imaginable for the same reason.  At least she's convinced he's not with the Jellicles.  But she is not expecting him to actually do something useful.

I'm surmising whatever he does is His Action and not Her Action.

I think I really need an updated map, because I'm debating whether Wildcat would crawl 2" to the corner and then fire at him from there, or get up from her tumble (counts as 2" of movement I think) and advance on him 4", she's going to do whatever it takes to fire at him, RTT cannot be handled with kid gloves especially when he's got a stack of dynamite!

Come on dice roller, Momma needs a new pair of boots.

09:43, Today: Wildcat Hawkins rolled 8,3 using d6-1,d6-1, rerolling max with rolls of (6+3)9,4. Shooting Roll!.

I have no idea if he's behind a corner or something that might give her another penalty to hit.  IF he is, WC would probably red chip, or perhaps multiple chips, it to see if she could still hit with a raise.  If he spends a chip to cancel it, it cannot be helped.  To be honest that was my plan, to try to hit with a raise right off the bat and pray the damage rolls didn't stink.

So what I'm going to do is roll the base damage of the Peacemaker, and then I'll roll the extra damage die seperately.

Base damage:

09:46, Today: Wildcat Hawkins rolled 13 using 2d6+1, rerolling max with rolls of 2,(6+4)10. base damage (Peacemaker).

If I should get the raise:

09:47, Today: Wildcat Hawkins rolled 9 using 1d6, rerolling max with rolls of (6+3)9. damage for raise.

HOOYEAH!  So 22 total then in the best case scenario.  Sweet!

Wildcat snapped.  She was tired of this sneaking around, of all this cowering, hiding, and being afraid.  Rum Tum Tugger was a horrible killer, how many of her brothers and sisters had he killed?

He might very well be carving another notch into his grips today, but she would be damned if it was going to come easy.

Scrambling to her feet, the Ranger advanced boldly without much regard for safety.

Mr. Armstrong why don't you let me get one of them double action jobs?  You can shoot twice as fast!

You've got to learn to be slow in a hurry girl.  A shot that hits is worth a hundred that don't.

She took up the well rehearsed two handed shooting position, placed the front sight blade in the dead center of the target, and the crisp Colt trigger broke like a glass rod.

09:54, Today: Wildcat Hawkins drew the single card: 3D using the Deadlands system. Initiative Card.

In reply to Wildcat Hawkins (msg #57):

"Thank you." The man says, laying a hand on her shoulder...and something flows from him to her. A dark, clammy mist wraps itself around her, coiling and creeping like some kind o' horrible sea creature. Wildcat can see though herself wherever the darkness slithers, right through to the floor, as if she was fading from reality...

"That should give you a bit of breathing room." The salesman says. "Only, don't take too long. It won't last."

((OOC: The Salesman spends a couple power points and casts Deflection on Wildcat.

09:17, Today: The Generous Salesman rolled 2,9 using d10,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 2,(6+3)9. Spellcasting. That's a success and raise.

Until the spell ends, shots against Wildcat suffer a -4 penalty, and she has +4 armor against Area attacks.

Oh, and make a Guts (spirit) roll, -3 for the local Fear level, + your grit. }:D

And the new map is up. Rum Tum Tugger is, in fact, behind Light Cover. -1 to hit. However, your action might be modified by the Fear roll, as the Salesman used your permission to enchant you just before you took your turn. Tell me what you got on the Fear roll, and we'll proceed from there.))

11:50, Today: Wildcat Hawkins rolled 9,0 using 1d8-1,1d6-1, rerolling max with rolls of (8+2)10,1. Fear Check.

Wildcat shakes it off like a champ, but now she realizes there's something wrong with that salesman!

For the natural roll being that good, I was willing to use the sole blue chip I have left, figuring he's less likely to have one to cancel it with.  If it had been a more suspect roll I'd have used a lesser chip but I got lucky.

It would be a 1 at a minimum so it'd offset the Light Cover.  Getting another raise doesn't matter since I didn't make a Called Shot or anything.

Oh, and WC would have had to get up (2 squares of movement) and move 4 squares closer to him.

RTT is dangerous, he has to go down fast or I will.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:56, Sat 08 Oct 2011.

The shot strikes true, catching the villain in the outlandish outfit and sending him to the ground with a cry of pain.

But the shot doesn't end him.

"Ow." He grunts as he crawls further down the corridor, out of sight. "That...really hurt. But...it'll take more than that...Ranger Hawkins! Come and get me...if you dare!"

---

OOC: Well, Wildcat knew there was something wrong with the salesman before...she was just mistaken about the cause of the wrongness. ;)

So one blue chip to add a point to her roll. That works. That's 22 damage, then, which will make Rum Incapacitated. I as a GM convert all my Blue Chips to Red Chips (since the color doesn't normally matter for NPCs anyhow unless they have a Knack like RTT and I like saving blue chips as solely player rewards), so the blue chip goes off without a hitch.

I'm not going to try and soak the wounds, not with only 1 red chip left. Instead, I'm going to try for a Raise on the Incapacitation roll to keep Rum in this thing. Since he has Hard To Kill, he gets to ignore his wound penalties on this roll.

11:46, Today: Rum Tum Tugger rolled 2,3 using d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 2,3. Incapacitation. not good enough. Spending a white chip from my stash.

11:46, Today: Rum Tum Tugger rolled 3,2 using d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 3,2. White Chip. Still not good enough. Once more with feeling.

11:46, Today: Rum Tum Tugger rolled 5,5 using d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 5,5. White Chip. Better, but still not good enough to let Rum get an action, so I will spend the final Red Chip in my arsenal.

11:47, Today: Rum Tum Tugger rolled 5 using 1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 5. Red Chip. That makes it a total of 10. Rum gets a Raise, meaning he's at 3 wounds and is Shaken, with a temporary injury. he takes one to the Guts that leaves him Battered (d4 Vigor) until combat ends.

Rum gets his action now, since McCavity is out of the fight. he attempts to Unshake. Rum Tum Tugger rolled 4,11 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 4,(6+5)11. Roll to unshake. hah! Raise! he gets to unshake and still gets his action.

Rum will crawl further down the corridor and perform an action that Wildcat can't see.


11:58, Today: Rum Tum Tugger drew the single card: KH using the Deadlands system. Initiative. Fun!

Have fun coming up on him...}:D

Evans stares at the building, then turns to Adrian Vega.

"Thank you very much for your help, sir." The dapper man says. "But now I need to go in there alone. The villain is wrong...I'm not interested in losing more men today, especially those who did nothing wrong but assist their fellow man."

"I would appreciate, however, if you kept your gun handy and watched my back while I approach the entrance. If the other explosion is any indication, the assassins have rigged up several nasty surprises, and I don't wish to run afoul of them."

He turns and walks toward the door, cautiously.

And a funny little urge creeps into Adrian's mind, watching that trusting soul turn away...

((OOC: Evans turns and moves his Pace toward the door, using his action to try and Notice any traps.

12:20, Today: The Amazing Evans rolled 0, 3 using d4-2,d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 2,5. Notice. So much for that.

Meanwhile, some funny thoughts enter Adrian's head...


12:24, Today: The Amazing Evans drew the single card: 6C using the Deadlands system.))

---

Up next: Robert Micklethwait and Charging Bear (though I'd also like a reaction post from Adrian Vega to clear up a thing or two...). It doesn't matter the order, since they're in two separate parts of the area.

He nodded and said, "I've got ya covered."

A sudden, inexplicable urge to do exactly the opposite crossed his mind, and he was shocked and horrified that such a thought might have occurred to him. And yet, he found himself hard pressed to suppress it.

"Won't believe everything you hear miss." Charging Bear says with a bit of disgust in his voice. His tomahawk cleaves the air in a side arm swing, but the native son shifts the weapon to strike the woman with the flat of the blade rather than the lethal edge.

OOC: Going non-lethal, -1 modifier if memory serves and since she's technically considered unarmed that's +2.
15:48, Today: Charging Bear rolled 3,2 using 1d8+1,1d6+1, rerolling max with rolls of 2,1. Fighting (-1 Nonlethal, +2 Unarmed Def).
15:48, Today: Charging Bear rolled 5,4 using 1d8+1,1d6+1, rerolling max with rolls of 4,3. Fighting - WC.
15:51, Today: Charging Bear rolled 4,15 using 1d8,1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 4,(6+6+3)15. Damage (Str, Tomahawk).
Hit for 19, I think that'll knock her out.

15:57, Today: Charging Bear drew the single card: QC using a deck of 54 cards. Initiative.

The flat of the blade whacks the girl across the temple, and she crumples in a heap.

Looking around the small office, Charging Bear notices three sticks of dynamite sitting on the table. Apparently, her threat about blowing up other buildings to flush him out wasn't an idle one.

((OOC: Actually...

Improvised Weapons in SW Deluxe:

Improvised Weapons
Heroes often find themselves fighting with objects that
aren’t intended for use as weapons. Torches, vases, chairs,
tankards, bottles, tools, and other mundane items are
frequently pressed into service in combat. And sometimes
characters find themselves using existing weapons in
improvised ways, defending with a ranged weapon in melee
or trying to throw a hand weapon not designed to be thrown.

Such improvised weapons cause the wielder to suffer a
–1 Fighting or Throwing penalty, as well as –1 to Parry. The
Game Master is the final judge of an improvised weapon’s
effectiveness.

• Small Weapons: Range 3/6/12, Damage Str+d4, RoF
1, Min Str d4, –1 attack and Parry
• Medium Weapons: Range 2/4/8, Damage Str+d6, RoF
1, Min Str d6, –1 attack and Parry
• Large Weapons: Range 1/2/4, Damage Str+d8, Min Str
d8, –1 attack and Parry

So she doesn't count as unarmed, as she has two pistols in hand, so no +2 bonus to attacks for CB. BUT! She does have a -1 Parry right now, since they are Improvised Weapons at melee range. And I'll waive the -1 penalty for nonlethal fighting, so the action is unchanged. Just keep that in mind for the future.

She's not going to be able to soak all that, so down she goes...let's see what the Incapacitation table says.

13:34, Today: The Jellicle Gang rolled 7,4 using d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of (6+1)7,4. Incapacitation. Success but no Raise. She's down and will be unconscious for 3 hours.))

Combat thread update:

Now that most of the Jellicles have been dropped, I'm going to move the rest of you out of Combat Rounds.

However, Rum Tum Tugger and  Wildcat are still in battle with each other. here's the order of actions:

Rum Tum Tugger: KH. Since he's waiting on Wildcat for his action, he's going to go on hold.
Wildcat Hawkins: 3D
Generous Salesman: At the moment, out of the fight. He has no stake in this aside from not getting himself killed.

This means that right now I am waiting on Wildcat Hawkins to post her action. I'm also waiting on Robert to post an action of some kind, as I have the feeling the next bit will involve him, Adrian, and Evans heavily.

Wildcat made no threats, no calls, no cajoling.

Takes one to know one.

At once a great sense of regret washed over her, she was up against in one sense a kindred spirit.  He refused to give up, ever.

He would not bend.  She would neither.

He would not break.  She would neither.

The only way for this to end was for one of their bodies to be reduced to a wrecked husk that could no longer serve its master.

But there was a difference between them.  For all her boasting, Wildcat, deep inside, hated this situation.  Hated shooting another person in the gullet.  Hated herself for doing it.

But he was having the time of his life.

What made you this way?

A man was born into sin, but redemption was free.  Had this man really forsaken it?  What had twisted him this way?

But there was no time to contemplate as she rounded the corner.

OOC:  This introduces a complication I have never experienced before.  Do I have to declare my action blind despite knowing he went around the corner, or could I use my movement to get over there, and then declare the action.  I have honestly never had this happen before!

((OOC: Use your movement and assess the situation, but remember that he's On Hold, so he can try to beat you in an Agility contest to go before you do.))

OOC: Wildcat's intent is simple enough.  She's aware he must be leading her back into his funhouse, but on the other hand, she has to stop him.  She's stepping lively but trying to avoid any wires or strings or the like, but her intent is to shoot him again.  If it's a MAP to Notice and Shoot, so be it.

PM

...sssssssssssssssssssss....

Wildcat turns the corner...and sees Rum Tum Tugger slumped over against the wall, his left hand behind his back, a large satchel over his shoulder, and a wide, wide grin on his face.

"Well...hello there, pretty girl." he says.

...sssssssssssssssssssss....

"You know..." he grunts, shifting a little into a more comfortable spot. there's a hissing noise from somewhere behind him. "With the exception of one...deadly and unpredictable midget, you are...by far the most troublesome contract...I've ever had."

He laughs a bit, then grimaces in pain.

...sssssssssssssssssssss....

"argh...Think you got me good here. Well done. And you know...I know you could take me to a sawbones...get me patched up right...before you hang me, but that ain't gonna happen. I'm not letting you...take me alive." He grins again. "And...at least I'll die...secure in the knowledge...that I took you with me."

And with that, Wildcat suddenly realizes just what that hissing noise behind him is...

...sssssssssssssssssssss....

"See you in Hell, pretty girl." He says, then begins a long, cackling, psychotic laugh as the fuse burns down...

---

((OOC: OK! Here's the situation: Rum is holding a stick of dynamite behind his back, up against the wall. He's also got a satchel of dynamite on his person.

Altogether, he has 9 sticks of dynamite on him about to explode. That's a big, big boom.

Wildcat has a few options.

She could attempt an Agility check to get behind cover, but the penalty is -4 because this explosion will be huge and the collateral damage of the building collapsing will be just as dangerous as the explosion itself.

She could instead try to wrestle the stick Rum's holding away from him and throw it down the hall. This will require 2 actions (with the concurrent MAP); a Disarm check (-2 to hit, as you are targeting the arm) and a Throwing check. A ranged attack will not work for this.

Or she could go for the satchel itself. This would be a Grapple (and an opposed Strength or Agility roll), but would get the satchel away from him and just out of range...in time for the single stick of dynamite to explode. You could try to rely on the Generous Stranger's Deflection to protect you.

Or you can try some other action. You being you, I'm sure you'll come up with something awesome.))

In reply to Robert Micklethwait (msg #69):

PM

Charging Bear picks up the trio of dynamite and slipping them into his back pocket. he asks the fallen loon, "Why does everyone likes these so much anyways?" as he takes her gunbelts and sets them on one shoulder as he uses a bit of rope to tie up the villainess. He then tosses her over his other shoulder like a sack of potatoes and makes for the door.

OOC: Looking for the down stairs, hoping not to go boom before I get there...
This message was last edited by the player at 18:56, Mon 10 Oct 2011.

In reply to Robert Micklethwait (msg #72):

Robert fights the burning sun and his own fear to slip like a ghost across the street and into the buildings.

As he moves, he sees Evans look his direction briefly. "What was that?" he hears the Marshal say, then, "Hmm...that was...odd..."

Robert finds himself in a large corner office. From here, the vault where the prisoners were being held is on the other side of the building, but walls hold no obstacle to Robert. Not anymore.

((OOC: The Amazing Evans rolled 8,1 using d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of (6+2)8,1. Notice. Ties with Robert, so he sees something moving out of the corner of his eye, but doesn't recognize it as Robert.

Robert is now in the lower left-hand corner office on the map.))

Robert pauses to listen.  If things seem quiet, he'll poke his head through the walls to check adjacent rooms.

In reply to Rum Tum Tugger (msg #70):

Here is the only other ideas I can think of, and both assume both hands are behind him, since I assume by satchel you mean a bag without a shoulder strap, and he'd want to hold the satchel and the lit stick right next to each other both to hide them and to guarantee secondary ignition.

Wildcat could perhaps grab the end of that long stupid scarf of his and show him why it's a very bad idea to wear a long piece of cordage around your neck in a battle because wherever the head goes the body follows.

By pulling down on that and briging her knee up at the same time, there's a decent chance she smashes him right in the head and in his condition he's likely to lose grip on both items.  I am thinking if he's worried mostly about holding things behind his back and not fending off the attacking Ranger, at the very least his Parry should severely suck unless he drops them, which would be exactly what I want anyway.

Granted there's still the issue of having to Throw it and MAP will come into play.

Alternatively, a good sharp jerk on the scarf should send him careening whatever direction Wildcat wants him to go and all she has to do is release.  Are either of those doors he's sandwiched between on the map open?  Does WC have time to open them?  If he could be jerked through to that interior chamber (even if Wildcat has to go with him), the blast wouldn't be quite as bad.  WC is thinking of CB and Evans, thinking they're likely on the exterior of the building, and if she can make the boom inside the middle, it might save their bacon.

I just want to get your mechanical intepretation of it.  All my options are bad, but I didn't think this would be easy.

In reply to Wildcat Hawkins (msg #76):

((OOC: You're right in thinking that his Parry is crap right now...he's Prone.

Yanking on his scarf to try and get him to loosen his grip would be flavoring either the "disarm" or "grapple" options, mechanically speaking.

Both doors are closed. She could try to open one and yank him inside, which would be functionally the same as the grapple option with an additional MAP for opening the door.


Ain't you glad you have some Red Chips available?))
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:54, Mon 10 Oct 2011.

In reply to The Stray (msg #77):


OOC: It seems the best option is to try grappling the satchel away from him.  Her Strength and Agility are the same.  Here's hoping he has wound penalties.

He can cancel any of these chips so I broke it out since my spending is contingent.

17:53, Today: Wildcat Hawkins rolled 3,2 using d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 3,2. Satchel Grab!.

17:53, Today: Wildcat Hawkins rolled 4 using 1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 4. a Red Chip.

That is a 7.

17:54, Today: Wildcat Hawkins rolled 3,9,8 using 1d6,1d6,1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 3,(6+3)9,(6+2)8. White Chip, why not?  Trait first.

That is a 17.  The first two dice are the Trait roll.

((OOC: Rum is actually out of chips, having used them all to survive Wildcat's initial, crippling shot.

The Grapple hits with a Raise...that will make Rum Shaken. He won't get to make the opposed roll, so Wildcat will be able to grab and toss the bag with the greater part of the boomsticks without any resistance.

Still, that leaves her in range of the initial blast...

16:16, Today: Rum Tum Tugger rolled 4 using 2d6, rerolling max with rolls of 2,2. Boom goes the Dynamite.

-_- Well, that was a bit of an anticlimax. Wildcat wouldn't even have been shaken without the magic armor surrounding her, let alone with. It's not even enough to singe RTT's fingers and he's holding the damn thing.

Still, getting the 8 sticks away from the explosion was the important part...

Do you want to do the write-up of your defeat of Rum Tum Tugger's master plan, or should I?))
This message was last edited by the player at 23:22, Mon 10 Oct 2011.

OOC:  I got it.  Since that's such a good roll I went a bit overboard.

Her first instinct was to round the corner and duck.  Even if the building collapsed, these walls were strong, and being between behind the corner guaranteed survival, but she stopped dead in her tracks.

Charging Bear/Marshal Evans!  Came the horrified dual thought.  Sure she could run into an internal hallway and be relatively safe, but she had no idea where they were.  What if Marshal Evans had come in the front?  What if Charging Bear was right behind Rum Tum Tugger and wandered into the explosion?  If she got hurt, that was one thing, but they were likely still on the periphery of the building.  If that much of the stuff went off at once...

No.  Not tah-day you sorry sack of cow patties.  No more!

This wasn't Wildcat speaking.  Nor was it little Katy Hawkins.  At that moment, for the first time her life since Wildcat had been born somewhere inside Katrina's grief stricken pysche, it was both.

"Ain't nobody headed to no Hell-"

Wildcat sprinted down the hall, dropping her Peacemaker in its holster.

"Tahday!"

Undoubtedly the Jellicle stood there smugly, anticipating her fist, her blade, or even some lame pass at the dynamite, but he'd seen this coming and prepared for...

...why did she have his scarf?

There's not much to Wildcat Hawkins.  She's seldom as large as the prey she stalks.  But she has a very pointed knee, which Rum Tum Tugger learned presently as the sharp jerk on his ever present fashion statement sent his face careening into it.

As the assassin fell, his hands went limp, and the satchel reached the floor.  Wildcat, thinking quickly, hooked it under her boot and kicked it behind her. The slit of her gray duster fluttered as it passed through.  Involuntarily she shut her eyes and shielded herself, this was going to hurt.

The glowing stick twirled through the air.  There was heat, there was fire, and there were sparks, great fat sparks which hurt even through her thick clothing.

But there was no boom.  No percussive pressure blast.

The stick landed.  The ignition materials had burned out in a spectacular fashion which would have burned anyone who wasn't dressed in so much cloth, but the explosive inside hadn't ignited.

A dud.

Would those sparks have ignited the contents of the satchel anyway?  They'd burned right through her duster and hat.

Thank ya Jesus I'll never know.

Not realizing that for the first time there was only one voice in her head, the Ranger made her way over to the prone killer, threw the sixgun in his holster well out of his reach, and snapped one end of her wrist irons on him.

"To punish the just is not good, nor to strike princes for equity.  Yer guilty of both, and you sure as hell passed the point of good long ago.  You're under arrest, and you will be tried."

She leaned closer as if to whisper in his ear.  "But I am pretty ain't I?  Thank'ee for noticin'."
This message was last edited by the player at 23:51, Mon 10 Oct 2011.

In Reply to Wildcat:

The assassin looks up at her, blood pouring from his nose down his face. A chuckle burbled from inside him, then exploded into a full-throat guffaw.

After several minutes the laughter subsides, though occasional chuckles rock his frame.

"This...hee...this just too much...ha ha...you know, I take it back...hee hee heeee...you're far more troublesome than the midget!"

He collapses in another laughing fit before catching his breath again. "Oh...eh heh heh....I guess that's what comes...of relying on five year old dynamite...but what makes you think I'm gonna live to trial? When...when Old Deuteronomy hears about this latest cockup...my life won't be worth a bent penny."

---

In reply to Charging Bear:

((OOC: Please make a Notice check.))

---

In reply to Robert Micklethwait

Listening in, there's a very, very odd sound...someone is laughing. somewhere up ahead...

In reply to Rum Tum Tugger (msg #81):

"Then you just done better tell me whar his sorry hide is, so's he can sit in th' jail wit' th' rest of ye."

Wildcat snapped the other half of the cuffs on him.  Her hands went around looking for any other nasty surprises the killer had, including lockpicks, or anything that could be used as one.

Ain't out of the woods yet...  Wildcat reflected grimly.  She'd no idea how Marshal Evans or Deputy Bear had fared with the others.

The assassin laughs again. "Girl, I don't even know who he is. We always...took our jobs through a...third party, for just that reason. I have several guesses...as you're not the first lawdog...he's had us off here in Blackthorn. So it's someone rich...and powerful in a place that's lacking much of either. And since...he wanted it to look...like it was the Dust Adders that done you in...it's probably not Doctor Ward, who'd have his boys...do you directly."

"Nah, it don't seem like Ward's style from what I been learned of the man now anyhoo.  Ya know this overblown bandanna o' yers gots a thousands 'n one uses..."

Wildcat looks around for something solid to cuff him to.  Barring that, she's at least going to bind his feet with that scarf since it is expedient  As she does this, she talks to her prisoner.

"You keep on talkin' though feller, yer smarter than ya look.  See at this here point, ya gots one thin' ah wants, and ah gots one thin' ya'll wants.  Ya'll got what ah want ta know, and hell, for all you know, I may get this Old Deuteronomy yet.  If'n ah do or don't, yer best off in th' mean time under mah watch.  You been huntin' me, ya know somethin' 'bout me.  Yer better off this way, an' ya'll know it.

"But ah know a little somethin' you don't.  That feller you just plugged?  He's gonna live, and he's gonna be mighty unhappy with you, an' he sure ain't a nice feller.  He done wanted to catch ya'll when what he first come here.

"See, ah'd done thought about lettin' Cantrell take one of ya'll, he could get hisself a little money an' it'd be a right purty way ta get rid of 'im.  Now I would never let him take th' lady, Lord knows ah can't stand to be alone with 'im fer five minutes.  Me being her sister bitch 'n all, ah couldn't do that to 'er.

"So at this point, ah'm satisfied it ain't gonna be you in particular Cantrell gets, so that only leaves th' other feller.  Spill it, an' he stays here wit' ya'll.  Now ain't no way yer cronies defeated th' others so eas'ly, th' more ya tell me th' more work ah do ta keep all ya'll mah prisoners 'n no one else's."

"Gee, I feel safer already," the gunman quips. He starts chuckling. "Wow. You are bad at making threats. Of course the nigger ain't dead yet. Doesn't mean he'll live. I gut-shot him...he'll take hours to die yet. You entrust any of us to his care and sure, he might beat us around a bit, but he won't live to Victoria, so it's all the same to me."

"Besides which hearing you talk about having any 'sisterly bonds' with Jenny Anydots is hilarious. You obviously haven't met her. You're about as far from being sisters with that bloodthirsty bitch as a housecat is from a cougar." He grins. "Heh. They call you Wildcat, but you're really more of a kitten, aren'tcha? Ha! 'Wildkitten.'" The thought just seems to tickle his funny bone, sending him chuckling again.

"Excuse me," comes a voice from the end of the hall. "Er, sorry to interrupt, but would you mind telling me if we're out of danger yet?"

((OOC: Just in case you're curious, RTT had a very nice copper-plated LeMat grapeshot revolver, 5 spare shotgun shells, a pair of dice, $63 (some of it bloodstained), a small knife, and a key ring with a couple small keys on it.))

Adrian finds himself unable to control his arms. His pistol raises, aiming for Evans' back. He hears himself say "Aces," then shout, "Look out!"

And then three ghostly shots wail out...

---

OOC:

Deal with the Devil for 3 PP

Hand: Pair of Aces using a Joker 7C, QH, 3H, JS, AH, 3S, 2C, BJ!, 5D
Spellcasting: 7, 6, 7
Damage: 6,2,10

-21:28, Today: The Stray, on behalf of Adrian Vega, drew the 9 cards: 7C, QH, 3H, JS, AH, 3S, 2C, BJ!, 5D using the Deadlands system. Deal With the Devil.
-21:32, Today: The Stray, on behalf of Adrian Vega, rolled 7,6,7,4 using d8,d8,d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 7,6,7,4. Spellcasting.
-21:36, Today: The Stray, on behalf of Adrian Vega, rolled 6,2,10 using 2d6,2d6,2d6, rerolling max with rolls of 5,1,1,1,5,5. Damage.

OOC:  And Wildcat gains the small insight she needed.

Wildcat smiles.  Blackthorn had taught her well to be tricksy without being a liar.  Acting like herself was the best kind of lie.

"Yer more ornery than mah horse, ya'll really thought ah'd offer you a damn thing.  Yer goin' away an' that's all there is to it."

OOC: I'll donate nearly all of that to the local constabulary.  Really it should be evidence, but under the circumstances of the 1870s he can kiss it goodbye.  Seriously, it will be forever before he gets a trial and Evans needs some kind of money to operate, it's better than a sharp stick in the eye.  Want to find out what those keys go to though.  For now Wildcat would disable that weapon, pulling out the pin to remove the cylinder for the moment.

"An' any way I ain't like one of ya'll, that's a good thing.  Mercy, morality, kindness, she knows none of these things an' neither do you.  People like ya'll, they would have died out long time ago without people that ain't like ya'll.  Yer vultures, living on the scraps of the meat produced by folks with some worth.  Fer all yer laughin' an profit, you ain't never sewn nothin' but misery, yer existence is meaningless an' ya'll know it, an it burns yer hide real good no matter much ya'll never admit it to yerselfs.  Worst part is, a vulture can't help it's nature, but you chose this, at some point in yer life ya did anyhow.

"T'ain't me ya should fear no way, ye will be judged fer this.  Twixt.  An' yer life's been a wicked one.  Ya spent it playin' stupid games, now yer gonna win stupid prizes.  But that ain't up ta me.  Best thing you can hope for is enough of th' stupid wears off of ya, ya listen to th' preacher man 'fore that judge's gavel comes down.  God'll forgive ya, but the state of Texas sure as hell won't."

Wildcat calls to the strange man.  She would waste no more words on this killer scum, he'd given her what she needed to know.  If he'd been what she feared most, he would have told her something, anything, readily agreed.  But there wasn't that much subtlety to him, just lunacy, cruelty and depravity; Old Deuteronomy was most likely a truth, and probably the last one he'd supply to her that was useful.

"Looney feller, are you still in here?"  She sighs.  "It's all right for the moment, there's two more of 'em creepin' round here, but this room seems safe as any place.  Get on in here now."

He couldn't believe what was happening to him...couldn't understand it. He struggled. He tried to struggle - tried to stop.

In reply to Adrian Vega (msg #88):

The ghostly bullets slam through Evans. One takes his hat, one grazes his shoulder, and one cuts through his coat.

He stumbles, then turns, glaring at Adrian, hand with that strange pistol shaking. "Just what in the nine flaming circles of Hell are you doing, sir!?"

((OOC: The first soul blast will make Evans Shaken but not injured. the second hits but does jack for damage. The third, however, is enough to actually wound.

So Evans will spend one of his chips for a soak roll.

22:03, Today: The Amazing Evans rolled 5,11 using d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 5,(6+5)11. Soak Roll. That passes with flying colors. Evans isn't even hurt.

))

"Oh, shit!" he called out, not really knowing what to say. In truth, he didn't even really know what just happened. "Accident," he said loudly enough for the man to hear him. Losin' my touch, he thought, feeling an inexplicable sense of despair welling up within him. He remembered what Gabby said about only having to worry about that when he got old, but he didn't know what else it could be.

Holding his gun down, he moved to catch up with the man that he had just involuntarily shot at. "I'm awful sorry about that."
This message was last edited by the player at 12:19, Tue 11 Oct 2011.

"You ain't been listening too good." Rum says. "I'm expendable, Kitten. I'm just a gun. But y'all'll be mighty disappointed if you think that just because I'm going down, all of us will. I'm a dead man no matter what you do. But McCavity? Jenny? You won't be able to touch 'em. Not even if they shot up a school house and you could summon the ghosts of the little children to testify against them. They have friends in high place...friends who are friends with judges, senators, and the other very, very wealthy. The State of Texas may not forgive me, but it will bend over backwards and suck McCavity's dick. Just you watch. You might as well shoot them now and save yourself the heartache, Kitten."

The dapper gentleman enters the room.

"Why, Bustopher Jones, as I live and breathe!" Rum grins. "What are you doing here?"

"Ah!" The man says with a faint smile. "Mr. Tugger! Good to see you again, though I see you've found yourself in...less than ideal circumstances. As for why I'm here, well, I'm a business man. I travel where the customers are. But you? Were you satisfied with your purchases?"

"Oh, I loved that gun. Prettiest little iron I ever did own. That dynamite you sold me didn't do to well, though."

"Five years of storage will do that to any nitroglycerin-based explosive. I do recall mentioning the shelf-life to you when you purchased it."

"Couldn't be helped. I spent a few years in jail before I could get to it, and by the time I did, well, this bank was closed down anyhow. I only found a use for it just now."

"Pity. But since you tried to blow me and Miss Hawkins here sky high just now with that same explosive, I beleive I have indirectly benefited from your misfortune, so I can't say I'm too broken up about it."

Rum frowns. "Well, fuck you too, Jones."

The stranger turns to Wildcat. "So. Two villains left? That is worrying. Though I may have something in my inventory to assist you with that."

"Oh stick a cork in it ya low down snake-"  Wildcat began lecturing the assassin to just shut up at this point, but she did that herself when she heard their conversation.

Wildcat couldn't believe what she's hearing.  Her blue eyes went wide.

"You.  Sold.  Him.  Dynamite!  Just. Look. At. Him!  You know. Good and well. Just lookin'. At 'im. No good. Would come from it!"

The odd pauses in her speech were accentuated by harmless but annoying strikes with her hat about the salesman's head and neck, for she lacked any other expedient ineffective flail.

"What in tarnation else is wrong with you?  Look it don't matter, get in that corner feller, 'n hunker down, 'twixt you an 'im ah don't think ah can much go nowhere."

Wildcat faced the problem of the cabbage, the sheep and the wolf.  She couldn't leave these two alone together.  He'd already done something bizarre to her in exchange for nothing, who knows what he'd do for Rum Tum Tugger who was probably willing to promise him the moon right now.

Taking either of them along was obviously inappropriate as well, technically this crazy man hadn't actually done anything, but she would have plenty of questions later, questions she did not care to ask in front of Rum Tum Tugger.  As much as she wanted to come to their aid, she realized the Marshal and the Deputy were on their own.

OOC:  Because I'm basically stuck here with these two guys, can't leave them alone with each other, and I dare not leave RTT alone lest one of the other Jellicles come free him, and I can't march a bystander around a very dangerous crime scene unless it's to take him away from it.  The plan is to make them stand in that interior room in opposite corners (so RTT is as far from the bystander as possible while at the same time WC is on the opposite side of the room, so she can see them just fine but if anyone attacks it will be at her).

Waiting in the wings until this one wraps up unless something else happens.

Charging Bear wanders around the upstairs looking for a safer way down than just jumping out the window.

OOC:
12:17, Today: Charging Bear rolled 2,11 using 1d6,1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 2,(6+5)11. Notice.

In reply to Charging Bear (msg #93):

Considering the crude tripwire Charging Bear just discovered in the hallway near the stairwell, connected to a stick of dynamite, climbing out the window is beginning to seem like the reasonable option. Still, the trap is crude and might easily have failed even if he'd tripped it, but the discovery is the sort of thing that makes one jumpy...if it HAD gone off, it might have taken the three sticks he was already carrying it with it.

"Sorry!?" The marshal sputters. "Sorry!? I could have been killed!" He picks up his hat, dusts it off. "And look what you did to my..."

Then HE looks at what the bullet did to his hat. Not a thing. No hole. Evans stops his tirade. He looks at the hat, looks at Adrian, then back to the hat, then back to Adrian. He frowns.

"So. Ghostly bullets. You wouldn't, perchance, happen to be a student of Hoyle, would you?"

He looked around before answering to ascertain that there wasn't anyone around his shoulder before responding to the gentleman. "As an avid reader and a afficionado of games o' chance, I do in fact have possession of a book by the said gentleman," he said carefully, enunciating each word more than he usually did when he spoke. Of course, there wasn't much point to keeping it on the down low now. This man obviously knew what he was about, but he was more accustomed to keeping such things on the quiet as best as he could.

"Are you by chance another such student?" he asked.

"I thought as much." The man sighs. "No, no I'm afraid not. But I have had...dealings with such students, enough to be aware of the 'accidents' that can befall them." he holds out a hand. "I apologize for my rudeness. I am Dr. Ambrosius Botticelli Evans, late of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and currently serving as the Acting Marshal of Blackthorn."

Looking over the crude trap, Charging Bear made sure that he could cut the wire without causing anything going boom. They're going to blow us all up if there is much more of this dynamite about. If he manages to disable to trip wire he puts the stick of dynamite with the trio he already has and slowly starts down the stairs.

OOC: Not sure of the roll for this so going w/ Smarts and Survival as bobby traps are common tools for hunters
12:57, Today: Charging Bear rolled 2,4 using 1d6,1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 2,4. Smarts.
12:57, Today: Charging Bear rolled 2,15 using 1d6,1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 2,(6+6+3)15. Survival.

Adrian took his hand and shook it, listening as the man introduced himself. He tried not to show his surprise too much upon the revelation that the man he had been trying to protect turned out to be the Marshal himself. "Well, I 'pologize for the 'accident' earlier, Marshal" he said. "I'm Adrian Vega. Don't have no titles or nothin' but I grew up in Blackthorn when I was a young'n, and I just came back after hearin' 'bout how things are shakin' up down here."

"I'd like a word at some point, but this ain't the time nor the place for more words, I think. There's prolly some people up in this here buildin' that you need to lock up or put down," he said.

"If you need a hand, I don't mind comin' with."

Robert moves (through the walls) closer, so he can hear the conversation.  He recognized Wildcat's voice, but the other two weren't familiar.  Still, Wildcat might be looking for the injured, so he stayed close by.

In reply to Wildcat Hawkins (msg #92):

Rum Tum Tugger starts laughing again at Wildcat's reaction. "Aw, Kitten, we cross?"

The salesman takes the hat battering without so much as blinking. When she's finished, he replies, "I'm a salesman. My business is bringing the finest quality goods at the lowest possible prices to those who wish to acquire them. What they proceed to do with such goods is on their own consciences."

He placidly takes his seat, then says, "As long as you aren't going to be leaving anytime soon, why not discuss a little business yourself? I have a few small wares on me that might be of interest to you, at prices that will fit any budget."

The tripwire snaps with nary a spark, and now the way downstairs is clear...at least, from the top.

"Don't ya'll just beat all!?  Ah'd rather eat a cactus then listen ta ya'll jabberin' on.  Mister Jones yer nuttier 'n Auntie Fran's Christmas fruitcake, what is wrong wit' ya ta want to be tradin' at a time like this?"

Wildcat remembers the way she seemed to disappear, to fade from the world, when he touched her.  She shudders at the thought, she didn't like the idea of whatever that was having touched her.  But she also calmed down a bit.

"Look feller ah appreciate ya helpin' back there... ah reckon... but that were... were somethin' wrong with it.  I reckon ya were tryin' ta help only way ya knew how, but ah wouldn't ask fer it again after seein' that.  And ya peddle explosives ta crazy people, ain't no business ah wants to trade in.  Ah done already seen two things provided by yerself, an they both come wit' a kind of trouble ah don't want.  Now I need you to wait and hunker down and be quiet, you'll be out sellin'... whatever it is you sell... real soon."

In reply to Adrian Vega (msg #99):

The marshal pauses and considers. "I may, indeed, wish some help...but I feel compelled to warn you that this may be very, very dangerous. I have lost three deputies in the last two days, and I am not sure if the other deputies I dispatched are injured or not. I may be going to my death. I cannot ask you in good conscience to follow me unless you are certain you can assist. I want no more blood on my hands."

In reply to Wildcat Hawkins (msg #103):

"There is nothing wrong with the desire for commerce. There are always people in need of quality goods, and I have the means and willingness to get those goods to those people. Times of trouble are always good for business. Or do you also denounce those patriotic souls who braved the Union blockades to bring custom to this young country?"

The man gives her a faint smile. There nothing in his accent to indicate where, exactly, he's from, and he certainly doesn't look much like a patriot. More like a vulture in human form, if a handsome one.

"Are you very sure you won't at least take a look at my wares before you refuse my offer? As you observed, I'm willing to sell to anyone. Some of the objects in my inventory could be put to dastardly uses by those who do not share your morals or purity of spirit. The Dust Adders, for instance, or the Enlightened Society of the Weeping Moon. I'm giving you the opportunity to inspect my wares, and the privilege of first refusal."

He leans back in his chair.

"Of course, the choice is yours."

That remark was... quite disturbing.  Wildcat wasn't sure she'd elevate herself like that, and saw it as an appeal to her pride and hubris, which was long since demolished by Blackthorn, but the fact he knew to do it meant he knew a lot more than he really should.

"Con sarn it ya idjit, ah got nothing 'gainst a feller makin' an honest buck but we's under siege in here!  Ain't no time for shoppin'!  They's two more 'n him out thar at least! 'ventually either Evans or Deputy Bear or someone else who ain't none too friendly's gonna catch up wit' us, an' wit' ya'll two tied ta mah ankles t'ain't nothin' ah can do but listen fer 'splosions 'n gunfire!"

A horrible thought crossed Wildcat's mind.  She stared hard at this bizarre peddler.  And she suddenly felt much better about keeping him here away from the other two, who were in God knows what kind of mess.

"Ya didn't... oh you better not have mister, if'n you did, you ain't 'bout to be none too happy if'n ah found out you did.  But we'll sort that out later, you just keep them hands where I can see 'im.  You better believe we'll look at swappin'."
This message was last edited by the player at 13:04, Wed 12 Oct 2011.

"Well, the sooner this thing is over the better," he said. "I'll follow your lead, Marshal."

Looking down the stair case, Charging Bear began wishing he had some backup. Never know unless you try right? he thinks as he slowly starts down the stairs, taking care to check for any more surprises.

OOC:
08:56, Today: Charging Bear rolled 7,5 using 1d6,1d6, rerolling max with rolls of (6+1)7,5. Notice.

In reply to Charging Bear:

He was right to be worried...there was, in fact, another tripwire at the bottom of the stairs. The sticks were set close enough to set each other off. It's impressive that they managed to set this sort of killing ground in the hour or so since CB was locked here...that's all it's been since he was let free to follow the dead boys. The attack against this place couldn't have happened too long after the other fellow, the one with the new, arrived that the church...it might have even happened just as he left.

---

In reply to Robert Micklethwait (msg #100):
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:48, Wed 12 Oct 2011.

In reply to Wildcat Hawkins (msg #106):

"Ah. A valid point. Very well, then. I shall wait. Given how quiet it's been, however, I would speculate that the shooting is all but over. One way or another, things are settled."

He blinks at her ramble. "I'm not sure I followed that, Miss Hawkins." He says, then shrugs and reaches into his vest pocket to pull a pack of cards. He shuffles it, then starts playing some obscure variant of solitaire Wildcat isn't familiar with. His cards are strange, too...they have lots of pictures on them, small roman numerals in place of numbers, and depict things like wands, cups, swords, and sticks rather than the suits she is familiar with.

In reply to Adrian Vega (msg #107):

The marshal nods. "Very well. Help me examine this door...there may be some sort of trap, if the large explosion from the rear is any indication."

[[OOC: Make a Notice or Investigation roll.]]

Adrian closely examine the door without touching it. He even knelt to get a better look at the knob, and looked at its edges carefully for signs of tampering.

---

OOC:

Notice: 7

14:02, Today: Adrian Vega rolled 7,4 using d4,d6, rerolling max with rolls of (4+3)7,4. Notice.

They must have hit this place quick. Charging Bear thinks as he disables the booby trap. He put the "new" stick with the others and adjusts the unconscious woman on his shoulder. Taking a moment, he trades his tomahawk for one of the new pistols he relieved the sharpshooter of as he makes his way towards the vault.

OOC: CB is in the lobby area, yes?

In reply to Adrian Vega (msg #112):

There doesn't seem to be anything obviously wrong with the heavy oaken door itself...the double doors are currently secured and the latch doesn't look to have been tampered with. That doesn't mean there isn't a problem on the other side of the door that he can't see...

---

In Reply to Charging Bear:

The lobby is dark and spooky...there's a little light coming in from the windows, but it only serves to enhance the gloom. Still, Charing Bear can make out the double doors from his end...and can see something alarming. Right in front of the door (but behind it to anyone who was, say, attempting to enter the building from the outside) is a push detonator laid on it's side. Wires from the detonator lead to a large bundle of dynamite set on top of it...it's likely this was the same set-up they used to trap the rear.

((OOC: That is correct))

The gloom did little to improve Charging Bear's mood. He mutters, "Did they bring in a whole crate?" in disgust as he sees the additional sticks of boom. He takes the time to sort out how the rig operates and then goes about disarming it.

OOC: Smarts?
15:16, Today: Charging Bear rolled 5,4 using 1d6,1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 5,4. Smarts.

As he got closer to the mining office, Jake slowed down. "Just because you can't see 'em doesn't mean they aren't there" he said quietly as he scanned the area for crows, villains or whoever else was about. His eyes settle on Marshal Evans who's still alive and someone he think he recognizes - but what was Adrian Vega doing out in this hole of town.

In reply to Charging Bear (msg #115):

Given how much he'd collected already, the answer to his rhetorical question seemed to be "yes." Or, to think about a more disturbing possibility, perhaps they hadn't brought it in so much as placed it there beforehand...possibly in one of those deposit boxes in the vault that he hadn't been able to get open.

Fortunately, the trap is crude and easily disarmed. It's as simple as removing the blasting caps from the tops of the dynamite sticks. That gives him three more of the things...and he can hear voices from the other side of the door.

He pressed his hand against the door ever so gently, Adrian looked down at his hand, watching the devil's playing cards flicker in and out of his hand. Closing his eyes, he concentrated on it, delving into the door's recent past. As the Marshal already knew about his card tricks, he didn't even bother pretending he was doing anything else.

---

OOC:
- Deal with the Devil - 3 Power
- Hunch: Straight (2,A,K,Q,J)

14:39, Today: Adrian Vega drew the 10 cards: 5D, QS, 4D, 8C, 9S, AS, JH, KS, 6D, 2C using the Deadlands system. Deal with the Devil: 3 Power.

This message was last edited by the player at 19:52, Wed 12 Oct 2011.

In reply to Adrian Vega (msg #118):

OOC: Deal with the Devil only pays for the Power Points...please make a Spellcasting Roll to determine the outcome of your hunch.

He frowned uncertainly at the door, looking at it quizzically. "Well, Marshal, I think this door seems to be alright, but that don't mean there ain't somethin' behind it."

---

OOC:

Sorry, I'll get the hang of it one of these days.

Spellcasting roll = No good

You rolled 3,3 using d8,d6, rerolling max ((3,3))

In reply to The Stray (msg #109):

In reply to Robert Micklethwait (msg #121):

In Reply to Jake Lawrence:

The pair seem to be examining the door, and not paying much attention to their surroundings. If Jake wants their attention, he'll have to be the one to break the ice.

---

In reply to Adrian Vega (msg #120):

Evans nods. "A good observation. Please step well back...I'm going to open the door."

"Sure thing, chief."

Adrian fully complied with the Marshal's instructions, and hung well back from the door, waiting to see what the Marshal would do - and bracing for something bad to possibly happen. He looked uncertain.

Charging Bear glances over at the unconscious woman he had set on the floor then shakes his head, "I'm a damn fool." The native son then turns and opens the door.

Jake hadn't seen any crows but that didn't mean they weren't about, heck they were probably flying around just out of sight watching him. The huckster made his way closer to the jail, though he did pause to say, "Marshal Evans.. ya might not wanna do that." but then Charging Bear opened the door anyways.

The door opens. Evans blinks, then gives a relieved sigh. "It is good to see you, Deputy Bear." He says "I was fearing the worst when I heard the explosion. Are you alright?" His eyes flick down toward the unconscious woman behind him. "Ah. Well, that's two of them down, at least. Do you know what has become of Miss Hawkins or the third villain?"

Then he hears Jake speak up from a short distance away. "Well. Everyone is converging here all at once. How proper."

And right then, a stocky man in cowboy gear passes by, screaming at the top of his lungs. He's followed by a younger-looking man, also in cowboy gear, shouting, "Dave? Wait up! Goddammit, it's me! Dave..."

In reply to The Amazing Evans (msg #127):

Holding up the bundles of dynamite, Charging Bear smiles, "I'm fine. She's going to have a heck of a headache." he points to the gal. His gaze shifts to the newcomer then back to Evans, "I've heard some talking but haven't had a chance to see what was going on. Since here hasn't been much in the way of gun fire ... I'm hoping the Ranger sorted things out."

Then there was a screaming someone, and Charging Bear's gun shifts towards the scream. "What the..."
This message was last edited by the player at 17:14, Thu 13 Oct 2011.

In reply to The Stray (msg #122):

Adrian took in the scene in silence, looking at the Injun and the other man that had shown up, and the screaming man in the street with the other man trailing him. Giving a polite nod, he merely said, "Howdy," and allowed the Marshal to sort out his business.

In reply to Adrian Vega (msg #130):

---

In reply to Robert Micklethwait:

Doing a double take, Adrian glanced at Jake Lawrence and blurted out, "Say, don't I know you from somewhere?" He felt like he had said the same thing earlier today. It was like déjà vu, or something along those lines.

In reply to Adrian Vega (msg #132):

Jake had noticed Adrian before but had said nothing fearing his eyes were playing tricks... one never knows what the crows could do. Then the man spoke which cleared up some of his doubts, with a slight grin he said, "You might, but only if you were in New Orleans recently."

"That I was," he said with a slight smile. "Name's Adrian Vega. Think I seen you around, thereabouts." Truth be told, Adrian had spent most of his time in New Orleans in gambling dens and not infrequently in houses of ill repute, though more the former. He didn't always win, but a few lucky turns were all he needed to really pay his way through things. A little honest work came by his way now and again if the cards weren't playin' to his style, but he tried to do as little of it as he had to.

In reply to The Stray (msg #131):

In reply to Adrian Vega (msg #134):

Jake nodded, he'd seen the man in the darker areas of town. Having had to get bits of information or exotic goods from the seedier parts of an already seedy town for Dr Frost had sent Jake into places he might not have gone when he still had a wife and child. "I expected as much, Jake Lawrence."

This Thread is closed. Please resume posting on the "Chapter 12.1" thread.