((OOC: Bear's favored power is Healing, though I will also allow Succor. To gain power points, you spend a chip at the beginning of the session. You get 5 pp for a white chips, 1d6+5 pp for a red chip, and 2d6+5 pp for a Blue chip. Once those power points are gone, you can't gain more until the next Session.))

OOC: I'll go with Healing.

Itza-chu grins. the gag falls away from his mouth. "Oh? You think'em so?" he says, then hops up. The ropes drop from him in a cascade of hemp, and Charging Bear can spy several raw gashes on his wrists. He must have spent all that time wearing his bonds against the rocks!

The psychotic Apache turns tail and runs. "Crying Hawk faster than any horse!" he crows as he starts to run.

((OOC: I'm pretty sure you saw this coming...))

"But not faster than a bullet." Charing Bear says grimly as he pulls the massive pistol from its holster and fires at Itza-chu.

OOC: I always assume a twist will occur.
08:25, Today: Charging Bear rolled 14,4 using 1d8-1,1d6-1, rerolling max with rolls of (8+7)15,5. Shooting (-1 fatigue).
hit w/ raise
08:32, Today: Charging Bear rolled 14,2 using 2d6+4,1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 5,5,2. Damage (+1 Gun, +2 Magic, +1 Grim, AP1).
That another wound.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:06, Fri 07 Dec 2012.

The gunshot echoes like a cannon shot across the plain. Itza-chu pitches over and begins howling in pain. He continues flopping around in the dust, clutching his shoulder.

He doesn't seem to be getting better. Not any more.

((OOC: Two wounds, actually. I count 16 damage there. Now that I have a few chips in my stash thanks to Red Chip spending, Itza-chu can try to soak this.

18:35, Today: Itza-Chu rolled 2,1 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 2,1. Soak! Nope, that's a fail.

And since Charging Bear is now Itza-chu's Weakness, his regeneration is not going to help him.))

Charging Bear moves quickly after the crazed Apache. "Couldn't just let this run its course Itza-chu? I want back what is mine. You took it and now have to suffer the consequences of your actions." His steps are long but measured not wanting to give any advantage to Itza-chu if he can help it. The barrel of the massive pistol is still lined up on his wounded foe as he closes in.

The Apache looks around at the rolling plain around him, and considers the wound in his arm.

"I give up." he says. "Look'em like you win." He gives Charging Bear a gap-toothed grin. "Ah, well. Lotta fun while it lasted. Gotta lotta laughs dragging your name through the mud."

Charging Bear looks down at the Apache and just shakes his head. "No, you killed and hurt good people. People who deserved better." the words come out filled with disdain. The native son plants a booted foot onto Itza-Chu's injured arm/shoulder. "So why don't you just be still for a while and let me finish what you started."

Itza-chu grits his teeth in pain at the boot on his wound, but giggles in spite of the pain. "Like I said. Lotta fun." He waved one dark-stained hand at Charging Bear. "See this? Spirit's blood. Stains of a dead honored ancestor." He giggles again. "Had'um find an ancestor of the man who's name I wanted to steal. Part of the game. You know you have a lotta dead relatives, Charging Bear?" He grins even wider. "You wanna guess which one I gave to Shrike to lure your name to me in the first place? Wanna know which of your kin you'll never see again, in this life or the next?"

"I have only dead kin." Charging Bear says looking down on the murderous retch. He holsters his pistol then reaches down and lifts Itza-Chu off the ground. "There's only that would fit your twisted nature."

OOC: I've a bad feeling about what Itza-chu's going to say and how CB should/will react to it.

"It's not as if it was hard to choose, given how you railed against General Kursch." Itza-chu grins wider as he starts mocking Charging Bear. "All the time, 'My parents are dead! My sister is deeeeeeeeeeeeeeead! Boo hoo hoo!' And that ugly little doll you wear everywhere...not hard to guess who gave'um you that, heh?" Itza-chu giggles again. "I wonder what Shrike did with her. Was she eaten all at once? Did Shrike make it linger, eating only a few parts at a time? You really can't tell sometimes." He looks Charging Bear deep in the eye. "And the best bit? Shrike gave me a piece of my own to keep hold of. The little piece of soul Shrike gave me, that heals my wounds and let me turn the spirits against you...that's what's left of her. And if you kill me, or let me die, she dies with me. How do you like them apples, heh?"

OOC: Wow. Just...wow. What an utter bastard I've created.
This message was last edited by the player at 08:38, Wed 12 Dec 2012.

Charging Bear shakes his head as tears forming in the native son's eyes, "She didn't give it to me Itza-chu. No, she died with it in her hands as General Kursch cut her down as SHE WAS ran to find me." to emphasize the point, Charging Bear puts his thumb into Itza-chu's wound. "I keep it to remind me of them but you don't understand that sort of thing, you've never cared for a soul save your own."

"She's been dead a long time now and knowing that you've taken some part of her makes me all the more willing do everything possible to end you." He applies more and more pressure to the wound until his entire thumb is in the other man's shoulder

OOC: Yeah Itza-chu isn't exactly going to win any "nice person" awards

Itza-chu winces and grunt in pain as Charging Bear pokes his shoulder, but he continues to giggle in between winces of pain. "Does it hurt you, deep inside? You've beaten me, but you can't hurt me in all the ways I've hurt you! You have nothing! Nothing to threaten me with! No matter how much damage you do me, you can't win!"

and his giggle becomes a full-on, utterly insane cackle.

"Actually ... no it doesn't. You no longer have Shrike's favor, you can't take my name again, and when we return to the physical realm Cantrel will see to it that you're locked up for a long time." Charging Bear says confidently as he drops the crazed injin. "Jeb ... chop off a leg or a foot if he tries to run again." Charging Bear then goes about finding more rope or vines to tie up Itza-chu.

Itza-chu doesn't have a clever rejoinder for that.

Jeb watches the Apache with ferocious glee, almost daring Itza-chu to do something so he can inflict pain on his tormentor. Yona, the great grizzly bear totem, watches impassively as Charging Bear gathers more materials to keep Itza-chu still for the branding.

Then Charging Bear sets about the arduous task of inking in a Shrike on Itza-chu's skin. With the power he now had over his captive, it went a lot smoother than Charging Bear expected.

Once done, Yona nods. "It is finished. Thank you for saving me from torment, Charging Bear. I know of a path back to your world. Be warned...it is a dangerous path. It leads into darkness, into the white men's mine, near where where Mirror Serpent dwells."

Charging Bear smiles, "We are both now safe."

"I would expect nothing less," Charging Bear says as he looks back in the direction of Shirk's nest.

The Grizzly leads the group to a small tangle of roots concealing a cave.

"Through there." She says. "Tread swiftly."

The native son nods, "We'll do what we can." then hugs the grizzly.

A quick glance into the cave is all Charging Bear gives it before looking at the others who'll be traveling with him. "Jeb, I'll go first, we'll have the psychopath between us, you take up rear and keep him in line." Without another word he starts into the cave.

OOC: Draw a card for me. You're going to be placed in the Initiative order on the "Serpent's Belly" thread.

OOC: Loojs like we're showing up late

13:34, Today: Charging Bear drew the single card: 4S using the Deadlands system. Initiative.

The tunnel twists like a serpent's belly, and soon Charging Bear, Jeb, and Itza-chu are lost in darkness. From ahead, they can hear the sounds of battle...gunfire, shouting, and a strange triple-toned blare that sounds like a badly-tuned trombone.

Sounds like we got trouble. Jeb says. His voice is strangely weak and distant. What d'you think we should do?

A smile forms on Charging Bear's lips as he takes in the sounds - attempting to discern what's going on beyond. "See what's going on of course."

OOC: Notice roll?

((OOC: Sure. Just keep in mind that it's Pitch Black in here (-4).))

OOC: Sure
15:08, Today: Charging Bear rolled 0,1 using 1d6-4,1d6-4, rerolling max with rolls of 4,5. Notice (-4 Pitch).
But a Red chip for +d6
15:08, Today: Charging Bear rolled 3 using 1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 3. Red Chip.

Charging Bear can see the glimmer of lamp light from ahead, and make out vague movement. There's gunfire, shouts of surprise and horror, and a strange rattling, like bones being shaken in a sack. He can barely make out a very thin thing attacking a man, though it's too dim for details.

((I've put you in initiative order on the Serpent's Belly thread. You are off the map, within pistol range of Carl and the thing attacking him.))