"It says here we gotta confine him to holy ground for two weeks while feeding him sticky rice...and make 'im drink one cup o' virgin urine per day, and after that he should be right as rain," he said after reading the book.

"No guarantees it'll cure 'im. But looks like its the best they got."

The old miner looks over at Spades thoughtfully. Spades returns a glare from the corner with the drinks cabinet, though he still looks haunted and extremely jumpy.

"Ah...I would have thought that imbibing pure yin energy would cause the infected to explode...but that raises one question," Zhang puts it to Adrian: "Where to get sticky rice, in the middle of Texas?"

"Plenty o' you Chinamen around. One o' y'all musta brought some sticky rice with y'all from back home, right?" he asked.

The old miner just looks at Adrian, like he's just declared it perfectly normal for Confederates to take sacks of prime cornmeal on tours around the Orient. "In Victoria, maybe."

"Well, that's not very helpful," he said.

Possibly somewhat stressed by recent events, the old man raises his hands in exhasperation. "I cannot magic rice by being Chinese! Even normal rice." He calms a bit.

"-the wardings on this room are probably close enough to holy ground, but we do not know, if he is infected, how long it will take for him to become a jiang shi. Maybe we have time to wait until the next stagecoach." He lets the other half of the equation, that maybe they don't, hang in the air.

"You could ask the butler," Lazarus suggests, strolling up. He polishes a pair of small spectacles on the less blood-flecked bits of his torn shirt and dons them to blink at Adrian. "Why do we need rice?"

"And...maybe we don't," he added and shared a look with Zhang.

He reached for his hip flask and took a swig of whiskey before speaking with Lazarus in a very quiet voice. "Lazarus, your friend in the shiny black pants over there has been infected by a Chinese vampire. Soon, he's gonna be fucking all of our shit up, hopping around like a fool. We're trying to figure out if there's a cure, but apparently the closest place to get it is Shan Fan."

The dandy gambler stares at Adrian, unable to help a quick glance at Spades. "How- how can you tell?" He takes the glasses off and polishes them again. "And what do we do? We can't just murder the man in cold blood...I know he shot you, but, um, he did save our lives earlier. I..." Lazarus trails off, frowning thoughtfully at Adrian.

"According to ancient Chinese wisdom," said, tilting his head towards Zhang, "if you get touched by a Chinese vampire...a jang shee, you get the infection. That's why we were dancin' around with that mirror, so he couldn't touch us. Your murderin' friend didn't just get touched by it, he really got it in him deep. If anyone's got it, he does for certain sure. Far as what to do about it, I guess that's your problem, Lazarus. You tried to stand in my way when I tried to put your mad dog down earlier. He's your mad dog, not mine. I'll let you see to it."
This message was last edited by the player at 19:38, Thu 10 July 2014.

Lazarus pales, unable to stop himself. He pulls his collar down, flicking a button loose as he does so, to view the damage under his torn shirt.

Four long, slender gouges cross his chest.

"I thought my eyes were simply getting tired..." Lazarus whispers in shock, backing a step. His tongue darts over his lips, his gaze darting around the room and back to the scratches. "My, my spectacles, I hate the damn things, you see, but I do get headaches...I, I thought...oh, God. Jing died blind."

"Quick, another one of those Chinese prayers! Make it two!" he said to the Chinese man by his side, taking a step back from Lazarus.

"If Jingles was blind by the time it happened, then maybe you've still got time, Lazarus. You can still see."

Zhang grumbles something under his breath. "-and where have you put that virgin's urine, huh? You went down with the most useful thing, come back with water!" The old miner limps across the room in search of another sheet of copy paper, just in case.

Lazarus stares at his hands some seconds more, then drops his spectacles and hugs his treacherous chest as though to crush the infection in, eyes bright with involuntary tears of fear. All the courage he'd previously shown fighting monsters and disarming the paranoid Spades visibly leaves the little man at the sudden certainty of sharing Jingles' terrible, terrible death. Then what came after. "..."

He takes in a deep, shuddering breath. "Are...are you going to kill me?" He laughs softly, but it's a small, cold, broken sound. "For all I know, you're making this up, you and whatever made you...funny, I can't think of any rum swears, you'd think this'd be the moment...Jesus, I don't want to die."

In reply to Mayor Bruebaker (msg # 309):

Evans nods. "Good. Now, let's see to my other patient." He looks for Seven.

((OOC: Actually, I have some points left in that power, I just wanted to know if i had the time to apply it.

Now to look over Seven, keeping in mind that Evans has, in fact, treated vampire bites before, and has some experience keeping the infection from spreading. I can use Healing to cure poisons and diseases, after all.

Where is he?))

Evans walks over to the disreputable gunslinger, passing Mrs. Bruebaker as she moves across to her husband. The big woman lays her hand on his arm a moment to pass him a look of sincere thanks. Ginny seems to be curled up asleep in the partitioned area, exhausted by the shock of her ordeal and considerable loss of blood.

Spades has wedged his back to the wall over by the drinks cabinet, pale and sweat-sheened despite the room's comfortable temperature. He tenses at Evans' approach, swallowing and making a useless little movement with the hand not clamped to his belly that's probably an instinctive reach for the pistol not currently there.
"Yore frend," he says thickly, "I do swear your friend is fixin' to kill us all."

In the background, William continues his efforts to dislodge the Peke.


[[NB of Healing vs. supernatural infection, on the subject of "gyonshee" the rulebook does say only sticky rice and chi-neutal confines work (if the infection is caught early enough), though with a Smarts roll at -2 Evans might be able to come up with a workaround.

Also, Ginny has a Fatigue point, but if you don't need her for anything the poor kid might as well sleep it off.]]
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:01, Fri 11 July 2014.

Evans nods at Ginny. "I'd like to take a look at that next, if there's no other injuries for me to attend to." He says to Mrs. Bruebaker.

He kneels down by Seven and begins his examination. He ponders the wound...his whipped-up batch of cure-all might do for the wounds here, but he wasn't so confident that it would do anything for the infection. Unless...hmm. There might be a way.

Assuming all these idiots didn't start shooting each other again, that was.

He frowns at Seven's whisper. He looks over at the Library. "Mr. Vega! Can you come here for a moment?"

((OOC: Smarts for a workaround it is!

08:39, Today: The Amazing Evans rolled -1,-1 using d8-2,d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 1,1. Smarts! Fuck that. Spending a white.

08:39, Today: The Amazing Evans rolled 4,-1 using d8-2,d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 6,1. white chip. That's more like it.

I think I can get a use of Gadgeteer, since the last use of Gadgeteer was to whip up the Sunlight Bombs and that was last chapter. I can use that to whip up some Healing-in-a-jar specifically designed to counteract the jaing shi poisoning, if you'll allow it.))

"Thank you," Mrs. Bruebaker responds. "It would reassure her greatly if you would look at the wound and tell her with scientific assurance that she's not going to...become one of Them."

[[D'you want to actually inspect Seven's wound as well? (Healing roll)

As for Gadgeteering, so long as the device can logically be made with things to hand, I'd say that's all right.]]

"I assure you, I will determine that with the same precision and care I give to all my patients." Evans says. As he does, he pokes and prods at Seven's wound. "Oh, do forgive me." He says in response to the howl of pain this causes. "Just need to see how bad things actually are."

((OOC: Yeah, I can do that. 13:06, Today: The Amazing Evans rolled 5,3 using d4,d6, rerolling max with rolls of (4+1)5,3. Healing. How bad is he hurt?

Alrighty. Time to go on a scavenger hunt!))
This message was last edited by the player at 20:30, Sat 12 July 2014.

"Watch it," Seven growls, though he's less than intimidating at present.


[[ecksdee]]
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:37, Sat 12 July 2014.

Adrian doesn't know what to say to the man. He might have been able to offer some cold comfort to another man similarly afflicted as he was, but he didn't know what the hell it was like to be like a Chinese vampire. He only imagined it was somehow worse. At least a vampire like Pierce seemed to have some kinda choice as to whether or not he would kill relentlessly - not that it seemed to matter a great deal. The Chinese vampires just jumped around like idiots, but seemed dangerous as all get out - at least to normal folks.

"Don't you worry, Lazarus, we'll figure somethin' out. In the mean time, we need to get a prayer on you so you don't hurt nobody," he said calmly, doing his best.

He walked over to Evans, but kept a guarded eye on Spades. "Alright, I'm here. What can I do you for?"

"Well, we have a bit of a situation." Evans says as he cleans Seven's wound with his cure-all before using needle and thread. "But it's a manageable one. Mr. Seven here has been infected, but I believe I know how to counteract it without resorting to some sort of Far East mysticism. But we will need some supplies." He begins stitching as he speaks.

"First off, we will need starches. Rice, wheat, corn--that sort of thing. Do we have any corn oil or flour around? Feeding him starch will slow the infection, stabilize it at least. What I'd really like to get my hands on is white rice--Risotto would be good, if we can find any, but we may be able to get by with rice from the Grand Bull--they do a lot of Cajun cooking there. We will also need a mirror of some sort, preferably something portable that we can keep pressed against his skin, should it become necessary to move. Also, did anyone else get hit by the creature? I might need to check them over, as well."

((OOC: Using some Cure-All on Seven. I'm down to my last dose of the stuff, though.

22:16, Today: The Amazing Evans rolled 3,3 using d8-1,d6-1, rerolling max with rolls of 4,4. Healing. Fuck you too, dice roller.

22:16, Today: The Amazing Evans rolled 11 using 1d6, rerolling max with rolls of (6+5)11. red chip. ...wat.

So total of 14. You had better be worth it and not shoot up my deputies, Seven.))

He nodded, responding to the Marshal, and then turning to the two womenfolk who seemed most in charge here to ask after starchy foods. "Lazarus has got it too. We got a mirror downstairs that I can go get for you, and I'll see if we can find anything in the kitchen in this house. Mrs. Bruebaker...Mrs. Bradshaw, do either of y'all know how well stocked the kitchen in this house is? We need some grain. Corn, rice, wheat, any kinda flour...Bread even?"

Only the smaller woman responds, Mrs. Bruebaker being occupied with her semi-conscious husband: "What? Oh...there's a jar of flour there," she points behind the bowl used for pancake mix at the hearth. "-if you need it, but it's not my house. Abraham!"

The butler straightens from his one-handed attempts to help detatch Tao Tao. "Ma'am?"

"What is there by way of grain-based stuff in the kitchen?"

"Yesterday's biscuits that were going out, about a pound of cornflour, half a sack of rice, a jar of pot barley, likewise of grits, a fair amount of parched corn and oatmeal, ma'am," Abraham replies without hesitation, then pauses to see if that will be all.

"There you go," Mrs. Bradshaw tells Adrian, rising. "Thank you, Abraham. Do you have a preference, gentlemen? I'll go call down to Percival to bring it up at a hurry."


[[take a Smarts roll, gentlemen.]]

"I'm not sure how much we'll need long term, Mrs. Bradshaw, but that should be sufficient to keep the infested stable for the evening." Evans says.

((OOC: 08:24, Today: The Amazing Evans rolled 6,1 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 6,1. Smarts!))

"Thanks, Mrs. Bradshaw," he said, going to bring the jar of flour, and sets it down by Evans, "and we gotta bucket full of Percy's urine downstairs if that'll help." After telling that to the Marshal, he went over to where the old Chinese man and Lazarus were standing.

"Lazarus, you wanna go over with the Marshal and Spades. Marshal Evans, he's a science man, and he done figured out a way to help y'all out, cure the infection," he said, matter of factly turning to the Chinaman next. "How are those prayers comin'?"

---

OOC:
10:41, Today: Adrian Vega rolled 7,3 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 7,3. Smarts!

Smarts: 7
This message was last edited by the player at 15:47, Wed 16 July 2014.

18:15, Today: William Pierce rolled 8,5 using d10,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 8,5. Agility to get rid of the pooch.

William keeps shaking his leg, lifting it off the ground, slowly getting more erratic in his movement.
"Could somebody get this goddamn dog off of me..." he growls.



18:17, Today: William Pierce rolled 4,9 using d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 4,(6+3)9. Smarts.