Wildcat scowls and kills her little captive swiftly like a chicken for the pot, then hastens after Murphy, pocketing both chair leg and corpse.

"Weren't that what y'all left town after? Ennyhow, th' bit 'bout it blowin' us all to Blazes if'n it gets broke was from some Injun medicine-type I met on th' way in here. Weren't no Comanch', I reckon: queer fella, but he said he wuz on the side of the angels an' I do believe that."

Henry's comment gets a strange look, but if that was a jibe the ranger doesn't care to reply: she needed all her energy right now, to think.

Carl notices the little group's return first, tense and keyed-up as any of them despite the effects of the drug oozing round his system. It loosens his voice, previously so rare and hard to force. What was her name again? Wildcat, the back of his brain suggests; he doesn't question it, just nods a greeting. "Hey, Kitten."

Mind bitter and sharpened by worry, Wildcat finds just as personal a put-down to sling back, not breaking stride: "Hey, Huckleberry."

Colbalt eyes narrowed, the glowing Ranger looks closely at Augustus until Carl nods her at Ward. Wildcat presents herself front and center, trying to ignore the fact she's now surrounded by Dust Adders. If they chose to cut her down, so be it.

"Private Wi- Katrina Hawkins, Texas Rangers. I figger I ought rightly arrest ya fer this dern mess, but we got bigger problems right now so I'm hopin' you're the brains o' this bunch an' can listen better'n a deaf crayfish boiled n' buttered."

"That picture. Enny y'all break it b'fore th' shaman makes his medicine, we all die. Let him make his medicine...th' Snake gits up, we all die. What we got t'do is break up th' medicine or capture him, get that picture away. He'll be somewheres...now, what did th' old coyote say? ...ah - somewheres where th' tracks an' the Rock both run down t'gether. My source said somethin 'bout "avoiding the nest" thattaway, could be less guarded."

There. They could set on her now, but she'd done her best to give them the information. Hopefully this Ward fellow was more misguided than evil, though her heart thudded doubt in her chest. Wildcat watches the doctor, arms crossed and feet planted firmly, ready for a riot.
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:22, Wed 20 Aug 2014.

He listened quietly, and nodded. "How'd you get all glowin'?" he asked.

"So you are the famous Ranger Hawkins." Ward says, doffing his hat. He gives her a short, proper bow. "I appreciate your warning."

"Oughta tear yer arms off." Tex rumbles, standing. His piggy eyes bore into the ranger. "Oughta feed ya to the Goddamn snakes."
This message was last edited by the player at 00:40, Thu 21 Aug 2014.

"The path of the just, Adder," Wildcat throws to Mike, quoting: "If thy whole body therefore be full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle doth give thee light. I'll grant I ain't perfectly just yet, but seems th' Lord sees fit t'let me try, 'count of the great darkness here'bouts."

"Thank'ee," the Ranger responds to Ward, her shoulders relaxing slightly. Tex gets a fierce scowl.

Quietly, Carl steps between Wildcat and the giant, concentrating hard so as not to give any sign of limp or stagger, and raises his head to meet Tex's eye. Mine.

Wildcat bristles, craning around the civilians. "An' how would I help y'all fight the Comanch' without ma arms, dumbass? At least let me jine yer little party 'til we git some redskins gone - chances are I'll die ennyway, this ain't the time t'be a consarned dogface fool!"


[[Intimidate? Persuade? Not sure...]]
This message was last edited by the GM at 07:46, Thu 21 Aug 2014.

"I reckon there's too much shit goin' on for us livin' folk to be killin' each other just now," he said, now that Carl had taken the lead on the matter.

((OOC: Trying to calm down Tex requires a Persuasion check...Intimidation is likely to start a fight.))

Murphy steps... well, not into Tex's line of sight, as the height difference is just too much, but at least in between the marshal and the huge walking muscle.
He throws his hands in the ari and rolls his eyes.

"Oh, for fuck's sake, Tex, could we focus on killing one thing at a time, maybe? The bloody shaman first, remember? Then, when we're all back up and outside, and we dance a nice little jig in remembering our this here adventure, we'll see about other things."



23:54, Today: Mad Irish Murphy rolled 13,4 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of (8+5)13,4. Persuasion.

There seems to be a greenish mist in the tunnels, and there's an odd smell, like a combination of lemons and peppers.

Tex glares at Murphy, and for one sickening moment he clenches his fists, as if ready to smash away regardless of what other priorities there were.

Then, slowly, he uncurls his fist.

"Other bloody Injuns. Righ'. Them." he says ponderously. "Where they at? Ah'm gettin' bored."

((OOC: Tez, trying to provoke a fight, attempts an opposed Spirit roll to convince Tex to disregard Murphy. 01:57, Today: Tezcatlcoatl rolled 11,2 using d12,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 11,2. Spirit. Nope. The Little People have graced his tongue with charm.))

Charging Bear tries to recall if there is something significant to the smell of the mist but can't put his finger on anything that seemed important. He pushes on trying to keep from breaking the mist any more than he has to by putting a wet rag to his mouth and nose as he scouts on.

OOC:
12:20, Today: Charging Bear rolled 3,1 using 1d4,1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 3,1. Knowledge (Occult).
This message was last edited by the player at 16:39, Mon 08 Sept 2014.

The mist gets thicker the further on he goes, and the lantern light begins to dim alarmingly. It's also getting harder to breathe, and he must have breathed in a little of the stuff before, because he can feel a tingly burning sensation in his nose and mouth that makes him want to cough.

((OOC: actually, the smell would be a Common Knowledge check. Because CB fought in the war, but not necessarily on the front lines, I'll give you a +1 bonus to the Smarts roll.

Also, make a Vigor roll. Your wet rag helps cancel out a penalty you'd otherwise have.))

OOC: Rolls as requested
14:19, Today: Charging Bear rolled 7,3 using 1d8+1,1d6+1, rerolling max with rolls of 6,2. Common Knowledge (+1 GM mod).
14:19, Today: Charging Bear rolled 9,5 using 1d6+1,1d6+1, rerolling max with rolls of (6+2)8,4. CK ... wrong die before ... oops.
14:20, Today: Charging Bear rolled 4,2 using 1d8,1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 4,2. Vigor.

This message was last edited by the player at 18:20, Mon 08 Sept 2014.

As Charging Bear presses forward, he realizes why that citrus-and-pepper smell was so familiar...

It's chlorine gas. The terror weapon of the Confederacy. The burning sensation in his mouth and nose seems to be getting stronger, and his skin is beginning to tingle...

((OOC: And make me another Vigor check. What now?))

Charging Bear frowns as his mind recalls the horrible happenings he'd seen with this gas before. He knows that he needs to find the natives who are unleashing this and other horrors on the area so he pushes on.

OOC:
14:36, Today: Charging Bear rolled 5,4 using 1d8-1,1d6-1, rerolling max with rolls of 6,5. Vigor (-1 Fatigue).

((OOC: Where did that fatigue level come from?))

OOC: NO idea ... just realized it was in my bio ... guessing from the spirit quest, I can burn a fate chip for my previous roll if you want.

The mist just gets thicker as he moves deeper in...and then his flame, already blue, begins to dim quite alarmingly.

"Hey, Charging Bear?" Jeb says nervously. "That...that there's a bad sign. There's gases in here mine that can choke the life out o' a man. I dunno what this mist is...but I can't seem to move through it, so I reckon it's on the spirit plane as well. Mebbe we oughta turn back..."

((OOC: Nah, just remove it from your bio. Also, make another Vigor check. You'll be making one for each turn you spend in here. Oh, and make a notice check (-2). ))

As much as the sane part of his brain told him to stop, Charging Bear knew he needed to find the source of this gas and the misguided souls bent on killing the town. His steps slow slightly but he pushes on.

OOC: Done!
15:24, Today: Charging Bear rolled 14,1 using 1d8,1d6, rerolling max with rolls of (8+6)14,1. Vigor.
15:24, Today: Charging Bear rolled -20,1 using 1d6-21,1d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 1,3. Notice (-2 GM mod).
15:25, Today: Charging Bear rolled 15,3 using 1d6,1d6, rerolling max with rolls of (6+6+3)15,3. Blue Chip (+2 Elan).

Charging Bear creeps forward, the gas swirling lazily around him. Wait a moment. Swirling? There's no breeze down here. But it seems to be following his steps, sliding along the floor despite the only air currents being Charging Bear's own movements, which should be pushing the cloud away from him (at least briefly).

Then he notices a skull-like face form in the mist, bilious green eyes staring at him for a moment before the grinning skull fades away...

And it dawns on him that this cloud is alive.

((OOC: Congrats! Now make a Guts check (-6 for the Deadland, + Grit, no chips can be spent on the roll because, well, Deadland) and then another Vigor check.))
This message was last edited by the player at 19:55, Mon 08 Sept 2014.

The realizations hit Charging Bear like a hammer being used by a rather angry goddess of thunder. His heart flutters oddly as the adrenaline and terror take hold. He grabs his chest, dropping his lamp and rag, and steps back into the mine wall.

OOC:
15:58, Today: Charging Bear rolled 2,-1 using 1d6-3,1d6-3, rerolling max with rolls of 5,2. Fear (-6 Deadlands, +3 Guts).
That's a lovely fail which sends me to the Fright Chart
15:58, Today: Charging Bear rolled 4,3 using 1d8,1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 4,3. Vigor.

16:00, Today: Charging Bear rolled 21 using 1d20+6 with rolls of 15. Fright Chat (+6 Deadland).

quote:

21+  - Heart Attack - Incapacitated, roll Vigor -2. On success, character is Shaken, can't attempt to recover for d4 rounds. On failure, dies in 2d6 rounds. Healing roll at -4 saves life, but PC is still Incapacitated.

16:01, Today: Charging Bear rolled 5,1 using 1d8-2,1d6-2 with rolls of 7,3. Vigor (-2 Fright). SUCCESS! Still shaken for d4 rounds.

Carl looks off where their scout left, frowns, then glances over Augustus and back to Wildcat. "?"

"Foller the Rock and the rails - think y'can do that, Big Adder?" Wildcat responds, catching the movement but not taking her eyes off Tex.

Carl hauls himself into balance along the wall and looks to the others, jerking his head towards where the Rock and rails ran together. The scientist was ready; looked like the pack had some running to do.

The cloud seems to quiver with anticipation as Charging Bear collapses against the wall. The lamp flares, then goes out, plunging the native son into the darkness which is now pressing in on him. He struggles to breathe in the toxic mist, the poison air burning as he draws breath. A great coughing fit clutches him...there's no good air...no air...

"Shit!" Jeb says. "Hold on, CB! I'll get help!"

Charging Bear hears Jeb's voice echo down the shaft, growing more distant with time...

((OOC: Well, ouch. That's going to suck for CB.

13:06, Today: The Stray, on behalf of Charging Bear, rolled 3 using 1d4. d4.

Make 3 Vigor checks (-2 without your rag to help protect you) as the poison gas attempts to kill you via suffocation. Each failed roll is another level of Fatigue, potentially dooming you to a fatigue death.))

---

((OOC: Just noticed Carl's post. Folk who are going after Carl need to make a Tracking roll, with Wildcat's directions cancelling out the penalty that would otherwise be here.))
This message was last edited by the player at 20:18, Mon 08 Sept 2014.

Charging Bear lazily swings his arms at the gas trying to fend it off but his chest is on fire. It seems like forever as the pain starts to ease, but the noxious fumes don't make it any easier.

After that eternity passes and the pain subsides Charging Bears lets out a scream which sounds much more like a roar "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" almost like one that might be made by his namesake.  The native son's eyes are tearing up and his lungs scream for fresh air but something inside won't let him leave this place not without for filling his mission and helping those who need it. His twin tomahawks appear in his hand without a conscious thought as if they had a will of their own.


OOC:
16:16, Today: Charging Bear rolled 5,7 using 1d8-2,1d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 7,(6+3)9. Vigor (1 of 3).

16:17, Today: Charging Bear rolled 1,0 using 1d8-2,1d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 3,2. Vigor (2 of 3).
16:17, Today: Charging Bear rolled 9,3 using 1d8,1d6, rerolling max with rolls of (8+1)9,3. Blue Chip (+2 Elan).

16:18, Today: Charging Bear rolled 3,-1 using 1d8-2,1d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 5,1. Vigor (3 of 3).
16:18, Today: Charging Bear rolled 7 using 1d6+2, rerolling max with rolls of 5. Blue Chip (+2 Elan) .
2 chips burned but he's still standing!