John paused and barely glanced at the bounty hunter long enough to give him a quizzical look. "Comanches." he said simply as he continued to run towards the church. The town needed to be warned, he had no time to deal with some self righteous bounty hunter. He paused long enough to add "Warn who you can."
This message was last edited by the player at 07:01, Tue 18 Oct 2011.

Hoss' ears swivel and she snorts nervously. Carl pats her neck, alerted, and looks for ledges, deep porches, places a cat might hide.


[[Carl rolled 27,8 using d6-1,d6-1, rerolling max (((6+6+6+6+4)28,(6+3)9) Notice!).
[spots the edit] Oops. Er, on KH, that is. 3C next, if needed.]]

((OOC: 27!? That's...that's breathtaking. That's 6 total raises...that ends the dramatic task by quite a large margin. Congrats. no Death From Aboth for Harrow Kitty...))

Carl's insight and Hoss's nose are keen, and he spots a ratty tail up on top  of the Barber's shop...and a group of people standing around at the Undertaker's office across the street! It doens't take a genius to figure that if Kitty were being urged by the Snake to strike somewhere, that would be it...but it looks like Carl got there in time to try and take the thing down before it causes a mass panic. If only he could get to it...

The bounty hunter's eyes go wide.

"Oh, shit." he says, then nods. "Right. Will do...was on my way to the Marshal anyhow."

The man he's propping up speaks out. "Comanche? Where did they come from?" he says groggily.

"Don't know. Don't care. We all gotta be ready, though." the bounty hunter says back. He looks up at John. "Ride hard, sir."

The pair of them continue on, leaving John a clear path to the church. Though he spies a familiar brass figure moving into the door, carrying what looks like a load of bricks...

Carl shifts his weight slightly, causing Hoss to stop a moment. Yep, that was a painter tail all right. Carl reaches back for the rope that lives behind his saddle, grey eyes squinted into the light. At least the hangover had eased off - it felt like he'd been hungover for months.

Carl kicks Hoss over to where he can get a better angle on the cat, whistling for attention, eyes upward, and motioning the crowd to shift, spread out - it'll be a spectacle, for sure, but clearly the Dust Adder is in control here. Since the rope is looped from catching John's horse earlier, Carl does the first thing that comes to mind and tries to lasso himself a cat.


[[4, with my sole red chip for the hell of it, because he got this far.]]

As fast as Carl is, Harrow Kitty is faster. The rope only manages to score a few tufts from it's tail before it vanishes out of sight. It's probably still on the roof of the barber's shop, but there's no way to see it from Carl's current angle.

However, Carl's acts did manage to get the crowd's attention, and they part for him. It doesn't seem like they know quite what's going on, though...some are cheering, some are booing, and a few are staring up at the roof in slack-jawed confusion.

((OOC: Since a Lariat is a Trick (though using Fighting), Harrow Kitty can attempt to resist with an Agility roll.

01:04, Today: Harrow Kitty rolled 6 using 1d8, rerolling max with rolls of 6. Opposed Agility. Since Harrow Kitty is not a Wild Card, it doesn't get the Wild Die, but it rolled well enough to avoid being caught.))

John rides on towards the church, he was a touch confused but from what he had gathered the dark things that had been building in the town were coming to a head and people were better warned than left unawares if death was coming. Spying Alouette he found himself breathing a sigh of relief, the tin can had faced down the natives shaman, the man could only assume the metal angel would be useful in battling whatever was coming. He'd only really register the bricks when he dismounted and began making his way to the door.

Carl is amused at the varied encouragement/disapproval despite himself, hastily circling the building in the same direction as the cat turned whilst he draws in his rope. Well, if they thought he was a one-man circus they'd at least get curious as to what all he was roping and certainly watch out for where it came down. If they took it as sport they'd be less likely to run and get underfoot or chased, too. Look in complete control.

Carl starts whistling a lighthearted trail song, twirling the lariat in preparation whilst Hoss patiently responds to commands given with weight and boots, attention focused upwards.

Alouette apparently catches the movement and is paying an unusual amount of attention, since it stops near the open church door at John's approach and greets him - fortunately vaguely aware that one cannot carry bricks and tackle-hug someone at once.

"Howdy, John John Smith!" it calls in greeting, apparently entirely unconcerned that the doorframe beside it and the threshold under it are covered in bloody smears and prints.



[[17 on its Notice...the clank's intermittent perceptiveness is weird]]

In reply to Carl (msg #19):

As Carl watches the roof, he suddenly sees a flash of fur, and then a growing, howling shadow approaching him...

((OOC: Make a Spirit check (-3, + Grit) or suffer from Fear. Make one for Hoss, too. Also, if you aren't sent screaming into the night you can make an Opposed Agility check to try and react to Harrow Kitty's leap before it lands on you and Hoss...

19:50, Today: Harrow Kitty rolled 6 using 1d8, rerolling max with rolls of 6. Opposed Agility. Looks like 6 is the number to beat.))

Hoss makes a high, thin noise of terror and throws her head up, rolling her eyes and trying to rear away in alarm...


[[Carl is fine (7), but Hoss, decidedly, is not (1). If that was an automatic bolt, Carl failed his Ride roll, if not, he just failed his Agility (2, same die). Either way he gets taken out by Kitty's tackle, I think.]]

John nods to Alouette "Howdy Alouette." he finds himself saying as he moves past the automaton and into the church proper. He'll try to find the ropes for the bells and start ringing them if nothing interrupted them. Explanations could wait.

In reply to Carl (msg #22):

The monster slams into into Carl, driving him off Hoss and sending the poor horse running. There are screams from the crowd as the cougar bites down on Carl's arm...

((OOC: You think right.

12:44, Today: Harrow Kitty rolled 7 using 1d8, rerolling max with rolls of 7. Fighting. That hit Carl's Parry.

12:44, Today: Harrow Kitty rolled 7,7 using d12,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 7,(6+1)7. Damage. Total of 14. That's a Shaken and 2 Wounds unless you soak.

Also, draw a card, as we're now in combat rounds.

12:55, Today: Harrow Kitty drew the single card: 7S using the Deadlands system. Initiative.))

[[Carl rolled 6,1 using d6-1,d6-1, rerolling max with rolls of (6+1)7,2
...and it wants a white chip, yes? Init: 2H]]

In reply to John Smith (msg #23):

The interior of the church is filled with quite a number of random debris, which makes actually getting to the bell rope quite a trick. Crammed in among the pews are a hoe, a garden gnome, a bucket, a broom, a chicken poking about on the floor for crumbs, candles of all size, a number of tin cans, a large rusted bath, a watering can, a spittoon, An old lady dozing in a rocking chair, several tumbleweeds, half a wooden sign proclaiming "Bar", some old bones, a small wooden wheel, and various other things besides.

((OOC: Make me an Agility check, -1, to make it through the stuff without tripping over or slipping on something.))

In reply to Carl (msg #25):

For a moment, everything goes black. When Carls comes to, he hears panicked and horrified shrieking. From his position on the ground, he can see Harrow Kitty leap on Molly Hollison, wife of one of the three Johns who works the ranch. There's already a body on the ground...Carl can't recognize how it if from this angle, except to know it's male.

---

((OOC: That soaks one wound, leaving you Shaken with 1 wound. You'll need to roll Spirit on your turn to unshake. meanwhile...

Harrow Kitty goes to town on the townsfolk. Kitty has Improved Frenzy, so he can make 2 attacks at no penalty. 21:29, Today: Harrow Kitty rolled 12,5 using d8,d8, rerolling max with rolls of (8+4)12,5. Fighting.

That will easily hit the two townsfolk he swings at, one hit with a raise. Let's see how badly he savages them:

21:32, Today: Harrow Kitty rolled 18 (6,12) using d12,2d6, rerolling max with rolls of 6,2,(6+4)10. That'll drop anyone.

21:32, Today: Harrow Kitty rolled 8 (7,1) using d12,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 7,1. Damage. That won't kill the person Kitty attacked...it will just make them Shaken.

Next round: 21:34, Today: Harrow Kitty drew the single card: 2S using the Deadlands system. Initiative.))

The sight of all the random stuff within the church causes John to pause and blink, he looks back at Alouette and back at the stuff, all in a matter of a moment, before shrugging and moving through the mess with relative ease.

John Smith rolled 6,1 using d10,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 6,1. Agility difficult terrain. Didn't include the negative 1 but it would come to 5 on the agility die.

"Self promised angel Texas Ranger Ranger Hawkins to gather things, but Spider Friend ran away," Alouette explains, finding a nice place for its bricks on the floor.

Then: "The ceiling rope makes the church sing..."

Carl struggles for consciousness, everything fading in and out. Everyone's talking at once, there are screams...too much talking, like that Yank on his first raid, crawling round and round for hours with his guts out and the words spilling, pouring out of him like blood - prayers, pleas, raving, noise - and none of them helping him at all...where is he? Cat...his hat's gone, and Hoss...too much noise, and he had something...something to do. Because they'd taken enough.

Carl grips the anger that comes with that thought: a bloodstained hand rams down and braces against the earth.

[[throwing our last white in to unshake, though he failed his roll so I assume it takes his action. The curse really isn't helping him here, so yeah, if he's likely to go down anyway, by Hell he'll go down fighting. Init. 4H]]

((OOC: With the 4h, you get to take your action before Harrow Kitty does))

Screams...he knew that voice. Molly Hollison. Carl moves almost entirely on momentum, scraping up his shotgun as he rolls up to lean on his good elbow and gives the cat both barrels.


[[Carl rolled 11,4 using d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of (6+5)11,4. shootin' (assuming his preferred buckshot cancels his curse/injury modifiers).
Next init. 6D]]

In reply to Carl (msg #32):

((OOC: If you are, indeed, shooting off both barrels at once, then you will get a second attack die (just a single d6), but all the rolls would be made at -2 (dropping that 11 to 9, which is still a hit with a raise). The damage of the roll you've already made is 3d6 (since the cougar is within short range of you), plus an additional 1d6 for the raise (total damage is 4d6).))

In reply to John Smith (msg #28):

As John weave through the debris, he notices one of the large tumbleweeds he passes start rolling to follow him...it seems to be making some kind of noice as it moves, something that sounds like *zrrrrrrrrrr!*

The tumbleweed actually seems to leap up at the cowboy, long thorny limbs raking across across his face and hands...

((OOC: Whee! more silly Deadlands monsters! Say hello to the Tumblebleed!

09:54, Today: The Stray rolled 3 using 1d10, rerolling max with rolls of 3. Fighting. Well, that wouldn't hurt a fly, let alone John...))

[[so...I need to roll one d6-2 for shooting, 4d6 for hitting?]]

In reply to Carl (msg #35):

((OOC: Yup. d6-2 for the other shot, 4d6 for the successful one.))