"Woah there." John said as he reiged in his horse. He gave August a severe look before he dismounted. "Watch my back." he said simply as he first looked around for any sort of sign indicating that one of the forking paths went towards Blackthorn and then cautiously approached the corpse.
[Private to GM:
OOC: Checking to see if there are any signs pointing to Blackthorn then looking the corpse over briefly to see if the evidence of death is something obvious to someone with no medical training. I.E. bullet wound in the chest, head on backwards etc.]

[[Moving Corpse initiative: 2C. Parry: 5; Toughness: 7]]

There's a shine, like lantern light, from down the south road. There's a wood sign with an arrow pointing down the south road, as well.

The first thing John notices about the corpse is that it's dressed in the uniform of a Union soldier...about the rank of private. Aside from some bruises and signs of ill-treatment and malnourishment, the body doesn't show any immediate signs of violence. John flips the body over to examine the front of it...

And suddenly, the corpse's eye snap open, it's pupils glowing an eerie red. One hand darts out, grabbing for John's throat...

[[OOC: Welcome to combat! John got surprised by the thing, so it got a free attack on John, but missed horribly. Now we get into actual rounds.

Draw a card for your initiative, both of you, and make a Guts check (add in your Grit, but take a -3 penalty for the area's Fear Level). If you fail, you're Shaken and must make a Vigor roll to avoid a mental shock (and suffer a -1 penalty on actions for the rest of this encounter). If you roll a 1 on the Guts check, even worse will happen.

If you succeed in avoiding the Shaken condition, you may act as normal.]]
This message was last edited by the GM at 13:53, Tue 10 Nov 2009.

"What in the Sam Hell?!" John exclaimed as he leapt back from the things attack. He had been wary of some sort of trick but not from a man who should be dead. He shook off his revulsion as his fight or flight instincts kicked in and he promptly dropped into a strange stance. Turning his side toward the thing to keep from exposing his vitals with one arm and leg outstretched to fend off or counter any further attack.

[Private to GM: Yay! I made the Guts roll (rolled a 6 on the Guts die. Close one.)
John Smith drew the single card: KD using a deck of 54 cards. Initiative.
John Smith rolled 4,3 using d8-2,d6-2.]

"Jesus and Mary!" August yelped as the corpse made a lunge at John.  He grabbed for the revolver at his belt instinctively but missed the grip, unable to look away from the horrifying sight.

[[OOC: QH initiative, failed the Guts check, Shaken but not shocked.  Wasn't sure whether to apply the -1 to the Vigor test but passed in either case.]]
This message was last edited by the player at 18:06, Tue 10 Nov 2009.

[[OOC: Cool. That means it's John, then August, then the Walkin' Dead. August, on your turn roll Spirit to see if you're still Shaken. If you succeed, you aren't Shaken anymore but you lose your turn. If you get a Raise, you can act that turn as well.]]

The Yankee corpse crawls towards John, muttering something under it's breath.

"...I heard the voice of thunder say "Come see!" and I saw, and behold! A pale horse, and he who sat on it was Death, and Hell followed with him. Authority was given them over a fourth of the Earth, to kill with sword and famine and with pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth..."
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:38, Tue 10 Nov 2009.

John looked at the corpse almost incredulously "Y'came back from the dead to quote me some scripture?" he asked the thing while his hand pulled a strange weapon that looked like three two-foot long sticks from his hip lashing out at the thing, the sticks seemed connected by short lengths of chain. "Never was one for religion." he said trying to stem his fear with his sarcasm.
[Private to GM: Got a 10 on my attack, aced the wild die. Rolled a 4 fir damage though, if I got a raise can you roll the extra damage? Doing this on my iPhone sucks.]

[Private to John Smith: It...didn't help. 23:55, Today: The Stray, on behalf of John Smith, rolled 1 using 1d6. extra damage from Raise on attack. ]
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:57, Wed 11 Nov 2009.

The joke seemed to wake August back up; he shifted his gaze from the corpse to John momentarily, and when he looked back, there was a small smile on his lips.  He wasn't scared of any dead bluecoat preachers, he thought, drawing his Colt Lightning.  They could handle this.

[Private to GM:
06:36, Today: August Colby rolled 4,10 using d6,d6, rerolling max. Spirit.]

The three-sectioned staff smashes into the corpse, racking it across the chest. The thing doesn't seem to feel it at all, and continues crawling towards John, red eyes gleaming, still muttering bible verses.

It pulls itself to its feet and tries to take a bite out of John's arm. It fails to get a grip, however. The flailing does leave it open

[[OOC: The dead man completely missed his attack, to the point of Crit Fail. John, you get a +2 to your next Fightin' roll against it. That's the end of the round. Draw a new card for initiative.]]

[[Walking Dead: 3 Hearts; Parry 5; Toughness 7]]
This message was last edited by the GM at 07:38, Wed 11 Nov 2009.

Damn but the thing was tough. "Not sure how much hurtin' I can dish out August." he said backing away as much as he safely could hoping to take advantage of his weapons reach by swinging it to its full extension at the undead thing. He was going to need a lucky shot for his attack to do much of anything to the foul thing. His curse showed what he thought of his attack.

[Private to GM:
John Smith drew the single card: QH using a deck of 54 cards.
Hit with his wild die striking 7 but only dealt 4 damage.
And it's cemented now. I'm getting Chi Mastery the instant I level!]

[Private to John Smith: Seems like a plan. Perhaps a change of tactics is in order? I notice you have Bolt as one of your Martial Arts powers...might be a good idea to Hadoken it. Remember that you have Fate Chips available...you haven't mentioned what types of Chips you've drawn. A Red or Blue chip can add 1d6 to a roll, turning a normal success into a raise and getting that extra damage that might be helpful.]
This message was last edited by the GM at 13:16, Wed 11 Nov 2009.

"I hear you," August answered.  He raised his revolver, sighted quickly and fired twice in short order, with a look of focused concentration.

[[Private to GM:
18:25, Today: August Colby rolled 6,5 using d8,d6, rerolling max. Shooting the living dead.  Figured the -1 from the Guts check cancels +1 from the double tap.  Not sure what range we're at, though.
18:32, Today: August Colby rolled 6 using 2d6+1, rerolling max. Damage.  AP 1, if that means anything to zombies.]

[[OOC: Piercing weapons such as guns do half damage to undead, so...a mighty 3 damage. Not nearly enough to inconvenience it. Who knew this creature would be such a bother? Lucky for you, it can't seem to hit worth a crap either. 14:33, Today: The Stray rolled 2 using 1d6. Undead Soldier's Attack.]]

The shambling soldier chases after John, flailing at him with it's fists. It barely seems to notice August's bullet puncture it's lung, though that stops it from speaking, at least.

[[OOC: Next round! New initiative!]]

[[Undead Soldier: Jack of Spades (Parry 5, Toughness 7)]]

[Private to August Colby: Actually, If I remember right, you made the Vigor check to avoid the -1 penalty, though you were still shaken. So you aren't suffering it. We're within the Short Range of your pistol.]

John takes a breath and focuses himself on keeping out of the things reach. He's been lucky so far but he wanted to be prepared if that things filthy mitts actually connected with him.

OOC: John gets +2 to toughness for 3 rounds.

[Private to GM: John Smith rolled 6,4 using d8,d6. Armor.
John Smith drew the single card: 8H using the Deadlands system. Initiative.]

The thing keeps shuffling after him. It's attacks seem to get less clumsy as it goes on, as if it's learning slowly how best to use it's body. John's reflexes, however, have been honed by years of training, and he's able to fend it's attacks off quite easily. It seems to be learning this, though, because it turns it's head towards August.

"...And I will strike down with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers...and you will know I am the LORD when I lay my vengeance upon thee..."

[[OOC: Again, the thing misses John horribly: 05:20, Today: The Stray rolled 4 using 1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 4. It's decided to pick an easier target.]]

[Private to GM: Edit: August dismounted earlier, check.]

"Well, shit," August mumbled again.  Either it didn't give a damn about being shot, or it was a real good actor.  When those red eyes turned in his direction, he caught his breath involuntarily, then narrowed his eyes.

"Oh, is it my turn for a sermon, you ugly Yankee bastard?"  He pulled the trigger twice more, trusting the bullets to strike true.  Nobody was immune to a faceful of lead; this varmint just needed a reminder.

[Private to GM:
18:55, Today: August Colby rolled 2,5 using d8+1,d6+1, rerolling max with rolls of 1,4. Double-tapping.
18:57, Today: August Colby rolled 15 using 2d6+1, rerolling max with rolls of (6+5)11,3. Damage.]
This message was last edited by the player at 18:59, Thu 12 Nov 2009.

August's bullet rips through the bluebelly's neck. It stops, looking confused. Then it staggers forward slightly. It's mouth moves, but thankfully the bullet seems to have destroyed it's ability to speak.

[[OOC: The bullet did enough damage (after the half damage was applied) to render it Shaken. New Round!]]

[[Undead Soldier: 7 of diamonds. Parry 5, Toughness 7. Currently Shaken]]

[[OOC: Rolled to try to break the Shaken...despite it's undead bonus, it failed miserably (rolled 1) so all it's going to do on it's turn is stagger towards August at half it's pace. Since it's leaving melee with John, John gets a free attack on it.]]

[[OOC: 6D Initiative.]]

John was getting a little irritated with this creature, which thankfully kept the horror of it from creeping up on him, he stepped forward and swung his dragonstaff in an overhead arc hoping to bring it down on the walking corpses head. The blow connected and with more success than John had expected. "Turn yer back on me will ya? Blue belly or Gray, don't right care at this moment."

[Private to GM: Looks like I dished out 11 damage on the thing.
John Smith drew the single card: 7S using a deck of 54 cards. Initiative. I guess I go first with that whole reverse alphabetical order suite thing? Regardless.
John Smith rolled 9,6,5 using d10,d6,2d4. Attack and Damage. (Yay! A Raise *and* and Ace! Granted the Wild die + Ace equaled 9 but *shrug*)
John Smith rolled 3 using 1d6. Ace.
John Smith rolled 6 using 1d6. Raise. ]

John's staff causes heinous damage to the undead soldier's brainpan, and it explodes like an overripe melon. The thing drops...this time, never to rise again. By now the sun has slipped nearly all the way past the horizon, and the rain is getting worse.

When John realizes the thing is no longer moving he spits off to the side and returned the three sticks to their 'holster', after cleaning them of course. He looked at August and then the setting sun with a scowl as rain fell upon his his hat and duster. "Let's get a move on, seein' the sun in the sky while it rains, that's bad omens right there. A more careful pace, I'd rather be safe and wet than wet and walking." His stoic demeanor faltered, however, as he looked at the corpse and shuddered before mounting up once again.

August was smiling as he reloaded his revolver.  "Well, we handled this one right enough," he said.  "Won't be troublin' any more travelers, I reckon.  Where'd you learn to fight like that, anyways?"  He stepped towards the corpse, looking for a moment as if he intended to nudge it with his foot, but the sight of the fallen man up close sobered him up quickly.  He turned away, looking a little paler.

"You ain't wrong, though," he said after a moment, in a more subdued tone.  "Night's coming on, and that storm with it."  August mounted up, patting his mare's neck in reassurance.  "South road looks like it ends somewhere warmer than here, at least."
This message was last edited by the player at 22:52, Thu 12 Nov 2009.

It takes the pair another twenty minutes to reach the outskirts of town. Most of this is because August's horse decided to sniff at every rock, flower, and gopher hole it passed. Once it tried to wander off towards a gulch where a creek flowed, nearly dumping him into it.

[[OOC: You bought an El Cheapo horse, August...Curiosity sounded like a fun flaw. Welcome to having an ADD Horse! }:D ]]

So, they finally reach town, quite a bit wetter than they started. Lanterns light the rows of wooden businesses. There's a livery next to a Saloon, that proclaims itself to me "The Grand Bull," with a large longhorn steer skull affixed to the sign for good measure. The sounds of conversation and a jaunty piano emanate from the saloon, and the smell of barbecue and potatoes wafts into the street.

Smiled despite the weather and the recent circumstances, it eagerly came to his face as though it's presence would chase away the memory of what had just happened. "A Chinaman taught me. Had to pester him about it something fierce but he finally caved and showed me how he was able to take on a man twice his size with ease." he said and shook his head. "I'm nowhere near his level o'fightin' though, hoping I'll come close, working on a few special techniques at present. There are lots of interestin' things about them Chinese but too many people just dismiss them as foreigners to take a closer look."

He rode the rest of the way in silence keeping an eye out for trouble even when they appeared to have arrived in town. "Ah, good, we're here. Don't know about you but a warm bed and a hot meal sounds damn good right about now. Might even toss some coin for a bath as well." he said with a grin as he urged his mount toward the livery. "Think I might see if there's any work to be had in this town. Make some extra coin before movin' on my way. What do you plan to do?" he asked as he took care of his horses comforts before heading toward the door of the saloon.

OOC: Does it looks like they rent rooms as well?

[[OOC: Yes. Though the rooms are probably small, and you might have to bunk with someone else.]]

"Sounds like the sort of plan I can get behind," August agreed as they stabled their mounts.  He spared a resentful glance for his horse; his pride was still smarting from the creek incident.

"I ain't never heard of this town before, but might well be that there's work in the offing.  'Specially if there are more of those, uh, dead folks walkin'," he added, then paused, as if considering his words for the first time.  The rain was starting to sink through his clothes to his skin, it was dark as a tar pit, and he really, truly didn't want to stand around talking about the red-eyed corpse.  "A hot meal is what we need, alright," he agreed quickly, walking a little faster towards the saloon.

[[OOC: Continue posting on The Grand Bull Saloon thread]]