some mood music

Twilight, April 11th, 1879. The Lodge of the Enlightened Society of the Weeping Moon. Good Friday.

Jake Lawrence:

The interior of the Lodge is even darker and spookier than the outside. The smell of roasted flesh and lamp oil is almost overpowering. But there isn't a single lamp glowing inside. It's totally dark.

"This place gives me the heebie-jeebies, and no mistake." Danny whispers. "It's worse'n the feelin' at the Ranch. I don't suppose you'd care to lend me a pistol or a knife or something, out o' the kindness of your heart?"

((OOC: To explore further, you'll need a light source. All Notice Checks to explore the place will be at -2 until you get one.))

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Twilight, April 11th, 1879. Blackthorn's church. Good Friday.

Some mood music

Charging Bear:

"Reckon I ain't got no cause to blame you for that..." Cantrell says. He stands, wincing in pain as his wounds protest, and walks after CB. "Though to be fair, you done just as much to me as I done to you. You cost me my commission, you tried to attack me while my back was turned, you let the Jellicles free to become worse monster than they already was. So don't get all self-righteous with me. We gonna have to settle things between us." He matches Charging Bear's gaze. "But I want to bring down that bastard down as much as you. The shit between us can wait until we take him down. So I propose a truce between us until that's done."

He holds out a hand. "Together?"

A counter to each of Cantrell's accusations comes to Charging Bear's mind as freely as light from the sun. You lost your commission cause you were going to murder women and children, the Jellicles are free cause you tried to kill me. but he remains quiet and listens to the other man's offer.

The native son nods, "A truce." Charging Bear takes the offered hand and shakes it to 'seal the deal'.

"Well, I suppose I can help." August says as the two shake hands. "If'n you want, I can lead ya'll back to the camp where they held me. I ain't keen to face a whole army o' angry Comanches, mind, but I can at least point him out."

Cantrell nods. "Sounds good. Let's load up on ammo, get some horses, and get goin'. If we come across them on the way here, we can turn tail and lead 'em into the trap them Dust Adders been settin' up."

It sounds like a plan.

((OOC: CB, what do you need to get ready for your mission out to Comanche territory?))

Looking about the church Charging Bear felt a bit sad, he'd come so far and done so much but this town was pulling back towards the bad things he'd done. His grandfather had warned him that the world was a difficult place but had forgotten to tell him that it was even more difficult when you were trying to do good things.

He shifts his gaze to Cantrell as the bounty hunter mentions supplies, "I think most of what I need is on my horse. If the stables are still in one piece Swift Wind should be there. Also want to go by my room, if its still there and change - seems I've managed to ruin this bit of clothing. Where did you put my blades, Cantrell?"

OOC: Mainly just swap clothing and getting his tomahawks

"Yeah, here," the huckster mutters and hands Danny his knife. "Not much but it's sharp." he gazes inside and shakes his head.

"We'll need a torch or a lantern, I can't see much in there." Jake glances around for something he could use to make a fire or a light.

OOC:
13:55, Today: Jake Lawrence rolled 1,15 using 1d8,1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 1,(6+6+3)15. Notice.
I love exploding dice

"In the saddlebags of the horse I was usin' to chase Jenny down." Cantrell grunts. "Don't know where that horse is now..."

"Outside." August says. "If'n it's one o' the ones from near the Oriental. I had to cut their reigns to keep 'em from breakin' their necks to get away from the fire, then chase 'em down after you was safe. "

The group heads outside. Cantrell heads to one of the horses with cut reigns, reaches in the saddlebags, and pulls CB's weapons forth. "I reckon you oughta stick with me. Until we catch Itza-chu, folk'll not be liable to trust you. If you're in my company, folk'll presume I've got you on my leash. Can you handle that?"

He holds the tomahawks out to CB.

In reply to Jake Lawrence (msg #3):

Jake's in luck. There's a lamp right next to the door, though it's not lit.

Danny takes the knife and sniffs. "Somethin' smells delicious. Someone be cookin' a roast somewhere?"

Picking up the lamp, Jake gives it a once over before looking at Danny. He eyes the boy for a moment then says, "Wouldn't suggest eating anything in there. Remember these folks do want to slice you up and see what makes you work. You got any matches?" Jake checks his own pockets for matches.

"These clothes ain't even me own." Danny says. "Where would I get matches?"

Luckily, Jake has a few.

In reply to Jericho Cantrell (msg #4):

A smile creeps upon Charging Bear's face, "I can play along." His hands grasp his familial weapons. The native son takes a moment to test their weight and make sure they're as he 'left' He slips the weapons into their resting places.

"Guess we'd best get going."

In reply to Danny Boy (msg #7):

"Just check your pockets kid, might be something of use in 'em," Jake says draws his Dragoon, taking a moment to make sure its alright. He then lights the lamp and looks back to Danny, "Ready?" Before Danny can say yes or no, Jake steps inside.

The trip to the Grand Bull is fairly uneventful, though they have to detour around the killing grounds the Dust Adders are busy setting up. There's a couple of challenges, but Cantrell waves them away, saying things like, "Don't worry 'bout the Injun...he's gonna get what he deserves."

They make it to the Grand Bull, and Cantrell allows CB a bit of privacy to change. As they're coming down, Charging Bear sees the clank exit the kitchen. It wanders up to him and asks:

Charging Bear arches an eyebrow at the angel, "Why do you ask,Alouette? The word has more than one meaning."

OOC: Trying to recall when CB saw Alouette last... been a while

Alouette turns round and abruptly patters off.

...but before Charging Bear can decide it's run away it's back again with a small collection of newly de-labelled tin cans. It gives these to Charging Bear in the manner of a small child presenting captured bug specimens to daddy.

"These and these had the word of 'shrimp'; high probability contents equal shrimp, like contents of tin with word of 'sardines' contains small fishes...but self does not know the nature of shrimp, and there are no sardines to help fix Deputy Vega - he needs fixing because a Number Man with another eye on a little chain thought he was undead and shot him. Self told him Deputy Vega is not undead, just differently alive, but he didn't listen much and everyone was shooting then Ranger Hawkins was Shiny and they stopped fighting and no mortals were harmed. That was a Good Thing."

"Ranger Hawkins is going to teach self how to effect whooping the ass of a man," it adds, then after a little thought and the handing over of another de-labelled tin: "This shrimps-tin had the word shrimps but also 'Fotherington-Worth's' not Acme, it is different shrimps. If you arrest people, do they stop fighting?"



[[when Cantrell was "sleeping" in the middle of the road...CB was groggy and Alouette wandered off to hunt vampires. Don't worry, it's filled you in now.]]

Cantrell, who is watching the bizarre machine, looks at Charging Bear. "What? Does this thing ever make a lick o' sense?"

At the question about arrest, though, he laughs. "God, I wish! Would certainly make my job a hell of a lot easier."

Accepting Alouette's "gift" of canned shrimp, Charging Bear nods and says, "These shrimp are a sea creatures that are edible."

The native son looks at the bounty hunter and shakes his head, "You ever have a younger sibling or a kid Cantrell?"
This message was last edited by the player at 18:17, Wed 02 May 2012.

Cantrell's face falls. "I don't know. Could be, but they sold me down the river as soon as I could walk." He says. "And I ain't had time for any long-term relationships since then. What does that have to do with anything?"

Alouette looks at the cans. "Are they alive, in the cans?"

It looks at Cantrell, but doesn't seem to grasp much of what he's saying. "Hell is often easier, Cantrell, but it is a Bad Place. You would not like it there."

In reply to Jericho Cantrell (msg #15):
"Children view the world differently than we do, everything is new and amazing. Think about that for a moment." is Charging Bear's responce to Cantrell's inquiry.

In reply to Alouette (msg #16):
"No, they're dead." Charging Bear says and waits a moment or three for the angel's reaction.

"Gafas, pelotas, billetero, reloj," Alouette mutters from some half-remembered fragment, solemnly crossing itself. It clearly has no idea whatsoever what the words mean.

"Deputy Vega can eat them, then...it would be bad for him to eat alive things, and self has told him not to eat people because eating people is wrong. Do y'all know where Deputy Vega went?"

Taking in Alouette's rambling thought process, at last Charging Bear says, "I do not, where did you see him last?"

"Ambrose wanted to talk to him in a different place and they went up the stairs," it points at the same. "There are many rooms there."

It perks a moment, apparently with an idea. "If we put the shrimps on the stairs, Deputy Vega would find them when he came down the stairs, because people come down!" There's a slight ticking pause. "...unless they climbed out the windows, with a sheet." It looks to Charging Bear for prioritising advice as it continues to witter.

"...but self is out of the church now, and if the Pure Blooded Comanches are here self should find the Owl Comanche who is sometimes a lion and very heathen and tell him to shoo like John John Smith said. John John Smith was there when self told the Pure Blooded Comanches to shoo before, when Dr.Ward was having a legal dispute about a Chinese, and when the Owl Comanche went away they all done went too. Self does not think they impaled, raped, or flensed us from posterior to apex, but nobody wants to tell self what those words mean."

Another pause. " ! If Called Charging Bear comes too, there will be two Duly Appointed Representives of the Elected Marshal!"

"Alright..." Cantrell says in reply to Charging Bear. "I ain't convinced it's anything more than a big metal parrot, though. It don't sound like it understands anythin' it's sayin'..."

The bounty hunter listens to the clank and the Indian chat, then frowns as he tries to parse it out. "Now that's the dumbest thing I ever heard. What makes you think this Vega fella's gonna know what's in the can? What makes you think he'll even know it's for him? You set it on the stairs, someone'll likely trip an' break their fool neck." He listens for a bit more. "Owl Comanche? Lion? Legal dispute about a Chinese? You wanna tell the Comanches to shoo?" He seems completely befuddled, but the last line seems to sink in. "Oh. Oh hell no. That thing is NOT comin' with us. The only thing we got over them Comanche is that they don't know where comin'. That thing tags along, we gonna have every injun within a hundred miles hearin' it chatterin' away! They'd fill us full o' arrows before we got within half a mile o' their camp!"

"Angel," Alouette corrects.

"Because self knows: many people know more than self," it responds, with impeccable logic and no form of common sense.

"He was an owl but sometimes he was a lion and sometimes he looked like an old Comanche, and they all did what he said.  Dr.Ward dug up a Chinese John John Smith wanted, but the Comanche had claimed the land, so they tried to explode Dr. Ward and self and Gangatsu and AUG-US-TUS and My Man Abraham and Gus Shaw and John John Smith, but self told them to shoo and they went away instead."

"Angel," the clank corrects patiently.

The interior resembles a cross between a temple and a throne room. Tapestries and portraits line the walls, and velvet-lined benches surround the altar at the center. Against the far wall are some throne-like high-backed wooden chairs. In the corner is a knocked-over chair and desk with some disturbed papers scattered about. And in the center of the room lies a humongous, charred corpse. That seems to be where the smell is coming from.

The light from the lantern doesn't illuminate much, and the whole place looks rather cavernous. There might be some doors concealed behind the tapestries, but there are no obvious exits aside from the main doors.

In reply to Alouette (msg #22):

"I'm not sure a bunch of Comanche on a war path are going to care much for what you have to say Alouette. They don't really believe in Angels afterall. Why do you want to come with us rather than defend the people in town?"

In reply to The Stray (msg #23):

"Not exactly a friendly looking place." Jake notes as he looks about.


"Danny, stay with me here no telling what's lurking about." The huckster takes a moment to carefully sweep the room with his lamp, though the dim light does little to fight back the darkness, and notes the rather large dead person in the room.  "If you see a lantern or candle, point it out to me."

He steps closer to the corpse mostly to see if he can determine what happened here.

That occasions some ticking. "If they do not listen to angels but Called Charging Bear has also come to find the Owl Comanche, then we can tell them a Writ of Restraint is occasioned and they will go away like Nathanial Frost."

It doesn't seem to have realised they are going anywhere on their own account. "Where are y'all going? If the Pure Blooded Comanches go away, the folks will not need defending," it points out.