4:20am Holy Saturday, April 12th 1879: Omitetlcoatl's lair, cave system extending beyond Wendell Mine, Texas.

After some time, whilst Grandmother Bent Legs tries to chat with Sarah and the native slave curls up to doze beside the fire, it becomes clear that the darker of the captives given to Sarah has used the opportunity of being allowed near an exit unsupervised to escape.

It's a bit vexing, but before Sarah can get entirely fed up with playing charades with the old Comanche woman (Granny seems to be trying to give Sarah motherly advice) there's some scuffling from above and a bit of discussion up in the room with the writing desk.

Shortly thereafter, a man, a couple of women who look like they might be mother and grown daughter, and a scruffy snow-headed child of about ten dressed in rough homespuns climb down into the main room, bunching uncertainly in the doorway to find a fire lit and the place occupied.

[Language unknown: "Re acei te?"] the man asks.

Sarah raised her hands in a gesture of peace.  [Language unknown: "Hont arerespre, ev Trisbe no int, are It ted ouicsahali o looun ovewheatisom di ofleon.  O et venmanateati.  E shewertra aveha pongte iveureect ieut.  I whcom thi ourlespre, terme sewamo powatr whebleourble k train."]

[Language unknown: "Ecthwich? Wetori tricliat?"] the man asks, squinting at Sarah and her equally well-armed and well-fed companions.

[Language unknown: "Riie adacic lith nc foelur ncestiati setpretho he staverountic...nipl tiei p he evhies vorandven eieiec ss wainad hou ulusnc toone whekhaen all ngngta li sompo Lahenc. N wheoneher pro Ck pro heit n hatrutthi limonosaca st stiundday Archpa stsa we any n arehiswas e urenou: of Nenowall li ll lat!"]

Elena clutches her mother's skirts and tries to hide despite her father's evident pride, starkly pale amongst her brown-skinned, black-haired family. Her mother simply smiles at the "prisoners" and holds up a human skull wreathed in beautiful garlands of flowers. The old woman, boldest of the newcomers, comes over and starts talking to Grandmother Bent Legs in what must be Comanche.

OOC: Well armed?  Last I checked, all of Sarah's guns were left behind.  All they have is an assortment of kitchen knives right now.

[Language unknown: "Ostr eldion, wi k son dayvorall arme?  Eentichis?  Thohouous?  Ec, liilpl hi, evliei.  Ie iouec outiouant wa prend trfoal on thi wheicawhe n diekma me e dinortestain ca llore willinset, he om at korcondinyin o heesai saous heranyout."  ]

Sarah indicated a large rock.  [Language unknown: "Sonearast, fich ven, ne pail to ioun encratous haofus.  Verivetin to a, artng le ck llreiosi era latra wheoneameast?  Ngol p illwe eineniunri?"]

[[As someone from somewhere where every peasant and their dog don't have guns, I'd say a knife each - or a hefty knife-onna-stick like Sarah's - is pretty well armed.]]

This just confuses the man. [Language unknown: "Itwhi derll tic strkorers'bleday?"

"Teng, Di antainect Wi totame nangbe nd ofsasa. Int Undé, e ac iners."] He offers a hand as he strides over, his expression warm and genuine. A rattlesnake skull with turquoise set in the eyesockets hangs on a string about his neck.

[Language unknown: "Teicis latpreionvir manoulati, aris ul, hingna rut paetha, estpl oermenles k alldinion stpa Ashino Utera ven inti rea eerimi,"] he explains genially, waving his family on to go make the sacrifice. Sarah remembers the offerng-niches along the corridor going down into the earth.

[Language unknown: "Ro entectmen notencshe itna ndeat ectha reapreain sommanillmanare adnc althonto...tincomons ofugh ieany, fiouac lohori th iveainugh set of io ai, os pa Na dayanytho ove ekdiel ort rimahe. Ss out candtomo a voras wi nt ad enloac! Stess chcon ore me taon-dint, chan redte noilec et ons e po fien we ic ameel nd th islat undternteman, stie blearethi onela di n peulnc ee nte ereoreour. Lin Encoulare oul ugh whart ted! Meneenardeau. Witos m ar ndaret, i iv."]

Sarah nodded.  [Language unknown: "P whusul u eveevesetset whicomlin, selome esev Nipa'mach.  Bead pl etutis itof atlesi.  Alta but n elnt ateanykor?  For armihe chreos ur mohipe eicaroee m?"]

[Language unknown: "Nistcewiel?"] José looks a bit dubious of his new aquaintance, but since his family aren't in danger from her strange cultish ways he just shifts a bit on his rock and goes on.

[Language unknown: "A sa a are llin, lat ioal ut, hi but andpl foliwaai to beiou fiasla: nicewe ithouseve encdi oredi utne utal pl di atistasti, ithpreati onetinkor ta lafi. Hou Ureomethu Onsi adek u ndplel th, aneiev thuateame wilnc hasst o oneie setromvenear eliv rutyinset ort...fo pe ilthen ul ek. Siacosmien Reilndnciv tr ce ectichiou, no sehela etanei viratekor eenni niess ntiingour eral strwitble."

"Whe siilol nimewiil ceacwi n erpenc whpail ekmewa ro eeant ave roher, wafo ssrihi ou etonos belo ardomeles eefi caeras ti rea ic mohaombe u etsom virfi uthana tancil andavelat m arth Lengsa asvir nindan me ouio astouldin icnt, nde ne fi u ichesting tiund peth nesaunte teol aili p est Omonus, aiekma dayichons yinouslatthe hounteble str wheoveate, pockis moerme oul andha essvennotlar, ovehatvir outoulnti dinnteble ome reaomelin."

"Us trelad Nawas yinsomore taut analnc houmensom evrotr...hockel ee urosme wesa eiol tedhattio ou an menpl taeemo mianie haame lar fongadte. Ti Wapeme Herit osntee undtionde st enc petr, alund ilceei ro ouswernce ol eisom sonithand po miore dinpronte peio to moncei ek somanynce ac ma Pretraund-theate, ut sandinnteartternde...dayvoroul p atceie ng carea iete nowaen pl icass elri tic. Missalbe oushatlathou ichnc verwheund houticast whfowiac stiet larvirast erofhepe iouic p orevormenset, trou eces oertering thuineart a fichin plomtale. Ur vorpo vorwitmen any Mohein Inbe lael we andencain nde arllti somtheugh ivhisi, erti, ntihishounot hiateval eiro Pro Tinwitard fo yin illdericaourain n blevirent was Waioprutpaev eveersera wh p peev astril e onereswil latinthisman. Ectlinbut aioumofo!"] He shakes his head at the sacreligious horror of it.

The slave-girl hands him some fish, trying to hide the fact that whatever she was dreaming about whilst dozing has left her crying. José nods his thanks.

[Language unknown: "Toare Illadi Foess uster ardprehas sonforast llhi a ri forcomhou iehaek, out sonilltin, ble onetercom hata'chne les enileinc antredundrut ainlatect outartlin ac on ilwa iewh ncevirund ave Earcontedcomwer, dinsheort ssthe Trancedinherera Ivulck isesnc encsanwas eiha i theproout. Di osntac p be thaverith...be esat, i oeronevir!"]

The other cultists wander back to the main room from the left-hand corridor, though Elena, the little albino girl, is conspicuously missing.

Sarah pulled a stick from the fire, and started to draw on the floor.  [Language unknown: "M erear str notei ithwasave e to?"]  She tried to draw what she could of the snake motif in the other room.

The man looks at the scratches. [Language unknown: "Ne o p ateentaveerarut, naut. Moulilur Pl n noletiiv rutatiess itmo hatardven tioel preeentin hi k sspant ce, esort p a utwhcaatet n arerutsom-ectred."]

The wife of the family comes to settle nearby, skull on her lap, and starts talking to the slave in Comanche, her words soothing. The fact that her daughter's taking so long to reappear does cause her to frown and look back towards the doorway, however.
This message was last edited by the GM at 07:50, Sat 02 May 2015.

[Language unknown: "N bewiic herbleivewas korionave?"] Sarah asks.

[Language unknown: "Ec allvir-theant...tic ughle ntiterear ndbe whom Ar ithsaneen ckure olai alal hasilleen, ionpe tio leolsi in str leswe ave...Is wetine si ee m ck ee. Weelwh st, onsearpre."] The wife carefully sets down the skull, takes up her lantern again and stands to go look for the girl.

Meanwhile the grandmother of the family sets herself close to Sarah and puts a hand on her knee. [Language unknown: "Robeel k latte tiadch ulil, pefi! Venectvererered Ne La pre ithanyers n filin a an Heinwi But la urevenate noilbe, ecma man ticstarea nahe ilro os icss! Icaareticousratintsan!"]

[Language unknown: "Comundearheriveanyove!"] José echoes, extremely impressed.

Sarah waved it off.  [Language unknown: "Ti onswerera u sa.  Orttralar o ous m ughternteher cafi ancawi prinst k om sanlatany onsni acwele."]  With that, she headed after the mother.

[Language unknown: "Whencehou thethasta n antol oneaveent onpliv m atliol but, proer kororeion dillbe trncee a waelul...ortverove lintherednce wealfo hoic ullar ticntevor ss li plroomad,"] says José, not particularly alarmed given the limited area in which his daughter could get lost. He leans forward, looking like he'd like to speak more to Sarah, but she's already hastened after his wife. He turns his attention to the natives instead; the murmur of familiar conversation follows Sarah into the dark a way as she puffs to catch up with the woman and her light.

---

"Elena!" the woman calls, holding her light high. [Language unknown: "Oshame, manhoueau poat iond?"]

No response. The mother glances back at Sarah, her large dark eyes looking black as holes in the low light. [Language unknown: "Thuardera inghature lat estndeard u ac...oul il torom dertiotha laeval, fontmema...itvir whenteart ad arriwaun meset k ossime u m fodiee: saro osugh enc int i whe lesforsan, ckrom."]

She turns away, carrying on into the dark in her little circle of light. [Language unknown: "Miitma, tr ceis re has sanmanbut? Ame na! Laticalat!"]


[[Notice roll, please]]

Probably not.

17:39, Today: Sister Sarah rolled 3,2 using d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 3,2. Notice.

[[Mercedes rolled 3 using 1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 3. Notice?
Well, she's clueless too.]]

"Elena! Elena!" The calling echoes down the corridor and folds back on itself, as though the walls were discussing it. "Elena!"

No response comes. The pair backtrack to the offering-holes, now stained and wound-like from offerings to the underworld, then all the way to the cavern at the end. Elena's mother checks in the privy, then lies down on the lip of that outcrop and holds the light out low, just in case. The lamp shows only dark and further dark.

No pale scrap of dress or flesh. No child. The woman stands, checking even walls and ceilings for spots a child - or something that could lift a child - might climb on. Nothing presents itself.

Quietened by worry but still calling, Elena's mother heads off down the corridor to the store room. Poking among and behind the pots fails to bring up a clue. Finding Sarah's previous work in the end section, the woman kneels on the floor beside the great serpent head carved there, fingers the rattlesnake skull hanging around her neck, and starts softly praying to Tezcatlcoatl.

[Language unknown: "Moman k m riatfo hatavered, previrout,"] she asks, almost pleading. The lantern set down on the floor makes the snakes and weeping eyes on the walls seem to look down upon them. [Language unknown: "Ivpe encar inta ofpl Witateort ne pr Illeenson Lowaut i ur Th ectandthieaudin encch noto."]

[Language unknown: "Eric Ch dayatienc oreareous diati hou onerhaceev."] Sarah said, as she continued to look around.  She drew a cross in the dirt of a broken bowl, and it began to glow faintly.  "Perhaps, though, the Lord will shine a light unto our feet."

OOC: I don't know what the final decision was on the Blessed rules, so I rolled without any negative modifiers.  I got an 11, which should be enough for a Raise on the roll, even with a penalty. The Notice roll, after boost, was a 26, so hopefully that works out.


19:19, Today: Sister Sarah rolled 26,3 using d10,d6, rerolling max with rolls of (10+10+6)26,3. Notice.
19:16, Today: Sister Sarah rolled 11,3 using d12+2,d6+2, rerolling max with rolls of 9,1. Boost Notice.

[Language unknown: "On prout ome le outdayfor eveiveess p ev astillthe os enthi be...ne Pewil Ietotrinun ure iehait mepoulfo Ngic oreticencund. A was unon mo wa unnc ameure'ndeman usch,"] the woman murmurs, not looking up.

A moment's mediatation on the holy light seems to expand Sarah's senses; she feels as though she could count the motes of dust on the floor and hear the individual muscular movements of her companion's heartbeat. More than that, however, she is sure she hears a child's voice in the wall, pleading with someone.

It seems impossible that Elena - or anyone else - could be in the solid rock, at least until Sarah remembers the dead-end corridor. If there was a broad room or tunnel behind that, it would account for the direction of the voices.


[[For my threads, I'm not updating any rules unless they make stuff work better. The final word was that Blessed changes won't apply in any of the timescales we're using, so they don't affect our games.

Sarah still has the -1 for non-urgent miracles for getting herself into a morally dubious pact with the underworld, mind, but with a roll like that it's sort of academic...]]

Sarah moved up to the wall, and tapped on it thoughtfully with the hilt of her hook.

The wall is solid natural rock and extremely thick. Although it's extrememly unlikely anything on the other side can hear through such a barrier without Sarah's divinely heightened senses, the voice does cut off with a scared squeak immediately after the tapping.

Sarah stares at the wall thoughtfully, then holds her glowing bowl closer.

OOC: Very busy week, no energy to come up with a good description.  I'm looking to see if the wall is magical in any way.  I got a 4.

22:40, Today: Sister Sarah rolled 3,3 using d12-1,d6-1, rerolling max with rolls of 4,4. White chip.
22:39, Today: Sister Sarah rolled 1,4 using d12-1,d6-1, rerolling max with rolls of 2,5. Detect Arcana.

God does not deem fit to grant Sarah the Holy Sight whilst she already possesses heightened senses. There is nothing unusual about the wall to look at. Possibly whatever the girl was talking to crawled or slithered and was sensitive to vibration, accounting for the apparent reaction. Whatever it is, it's in the walled-up room.

The girl's mother gives Sarah a bit of an odd look whilst the preacher stares at the wall. She's cut into the soft of her right wrist by now, just enough to draw a bead of blood to anoint her rattlesnake skull. She holds it like a pendulum.

[Language unknown: "Ng, trati Ainnotwas Anythaoerardame di ha ss usted hat,"] she says, raising the lantern. The pendulum does lead her to the wall, but when brought close to the rock it changes its swing to a C-shape, indicating how they are to go around.


[[A 3 won't cut it (I only see a 4 there on the wild die for the roll that'd give you a Crisis of Faith and lower your casting die, and that doesn't count), and my book says Blessed don't actually have that power (if there's an update, please point me to it. Looking here, it says they don't have Entangle either, but Sarah uses it so well she can just keep that anyway.)

...but seriously, it's just a wall. If you want in there you'll have to go round.]]

I have a very old copy of the book.  Apparently there's been a number of changes, that I'm not aware of.  Anyway, I'll go around the wall and see what's there. ;)

The swinging skull leads them back, out to the main corridor and up the branch Sarah saw before. The lantern illuminates the coarse clods of clay and grass packing walling off whatever's beyond.

Coming closer, a patch of shadow refuses to move: a hole at the bottom left-hand corner of the barricade, just big enough for a child, clay and long-dry packing strewn around it. Looks like the girl dug her way in. There's no light beyond, only a dense, blank blackness.

"Elena?" the girl's mother tries, kneeling down and putting the lantern by the hole. Sarah's heightened senses note the hefty stone blocks glimpsed behind the clay barricade, and the way the hole continues through them: lots of small scraping kerfs from the other side.

They look like the marks of human fingernails, save that the stone has the texture of solid granite. Someone would have to have clawed at the rock for five thousand years or more.

"Elena?" The woman leans nearer the hole, and finally there's a reply, distant as though at the other end of a room:


[Language unknown: "Mions, ni! Ofove andio!"]
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:55, Wed 27 May 2015.

Sarah holds out a hand, stopping the mother.  Then, she she carefully started to make her way forward, looking around for trouble.

The woman looks up at Sarah and doesn't try to squeeze into the child-sized hole quite yet, though she's clearly scared. [Language unknown: "Andnotour p an ekivri?"

"Moivwh, larliname ecwiha? Reawa sastr n mothtr, di der poceanli! Strtheith!"]

Looking more closely, Sarah sees the hole goes further back than the light reaches, and the walls of the small tunnel also have that stomach-turning scratched texture.

[Language unknown: "I oerncetin!"] the child responds. [Language unknown: "Wit whilesast ic comte ronder!"]

Paying attention as she is, Sarah hears a faint sighing on the other side of the barricaded wall, near the ground and the entrance to the hole. No, not a sigh, she realises as the sound goes on too long. Hissing.

Sarah nods.  ""

[Language unknown: "I enttinith rut iou p undlintin a! P thuhouhou vor vorro nondut, n ti th...eauortven, Ven, ure thck!"] The girl's voice trails off into frightened sobs.

[Language unknown: "An as? Ssnaho, ati rat! Aiul ent sta omeineeen k eretedlar? Er ee!"] The woman looks about ready to try jamming herself through the wall...

OOC: How big is the hole?  Can I squeeze through with effort?

[Language unknown: "O ure ratseting...hatvorone i nde isad,"] Elena cries, her voice filled with more sorrow at her failure than any kind of remorse for the attempt. Her mother looks deeply concerned.

[Language unknown: "Heca ilenic allec hemi ne i hekor? Thli pa pe ith?"] The woman shifts nearer the hole again, replacing her snake pendant around her neck and drawing a knife.

[Language unknown: "Is...stail ainhissom a the eihe, arwhi reint iouec o mo wh. Eesom ouler nomepa fo ho na esbe mewhi a inurch, Ven, k se atiderstr...antos urwa onres trtieith houl u sison. Th dayillnce elme ntel roof p fometila weren whle, oushe erere fieen Ameainons alme asie omnot oulce...the ac ro, Andon."]


[[Since being very broad and very fat is a defining trait of Sarah's, no, I don't think trying to squeeze into a child-sized hole is a good idea. It's about 30cm across (slightly less than 1', I think) at the opening and a little higher, though it looks marginally larger further back.

Sarah could certainly stick her head in it, or reach an arm or her "halberd" down it, push the lantern down there or roll something to get the attention of this mysterious "boy" that Elena seems to think is a threat and/or needs killing...

Alternately, she could call for great strength and widen the hole by hauling out one of the massive blocks of masonry behind the clay packing, at the risk of letting whatever's in there out, or try to lure the "boy" as far as possible up the tunnel to grab him and see if he can be forcibly pulled out. Or try to talk to him directly, though he doesn't seem to have spoken/reacted to anything so far.]]

[[Fudging that Nate's shennanigans and Ixi throwing rocks at the posse took place simultaneously.]]

All at once everything was rumbling, from above and below. The girl's mother curled into a ball, crying out, and somewhere the girl screamed. Great lumps of stone fell from the walls and ceiling and the torch, dropped, was crushed out in a painful shower of sparks beside Sarah's leg. The girl's screams rose in pitch to a shriek.

Something shot past in the darkness, something big and sinuous but light, almost insubstantial, heading for the main room. Sarah at last lost her footing, cracking her head against the passage side, and lay there in a woozy haze until the shaking stopped. Somewhere, her companion had started to shift rocks off herself and sounded as though she were crawling about in the rubble seeking breaches in the wall before them.

"Elena..?"

---

[[soundtraaack...]]

Darkness.

The glomlet navigates by some extra sense, falling and leaping and falling again, twisting down into a dark that is suddenly a surface - another twist and William realises he's upside-down...then rightside-up again as the thing navigates a passage. Something below and now behind has a nasty, charnel smell.

[[Notice roll, please!]]

My eyes glow with an unnatural light...
12:03, Today: William Pierce rolled 5,6 using D6+4,d6+4, rerolling max with rolls of 1,2.  Notice.

William's holds on tightly to not fall off, his eerie eyes two shiny red dots in a sea of darkness.

How am I ever going to get out of here? He wonders, lost in the maze of tunnels. Then he starts to chuckle. "I'll have all the time in the world. It's not like I'll die of old age!"
He keeps chuckling, then it bubbles up into laughter, then he cackles like a maniac, screaming a challenge to his prey:
"COME HERE YOU SCALY BASTARD! HELL HAS SENT ME TO TAKE YOU BACK TO THE PIT!"


12:08, Today: William Pierce rolled 7,4 using d6+2,d6+2, rerolling max with rolls of 5,2.  Intimidation.

[[I'm not sure eyebeams help in Pitch conditions (except to help things aim at your head), but the Notice roll covered other senses too, so no penalty.]]

As William's laughter echoes back at him as though all the earth were mad, they make a zig-zag-zig around rocky corners and he notices a lighted cave up ahead, off to the left a little. His laughter's joined by a very human shouting from the lit room, voices raised in alarm. Not at his quarry, as the glomlet begins to tack right on whatever trail it follows, but by the sound of it something as bad.

Then his mind becomes aware of another sensation: that iron-to-magnet pull all-over-nowhere, like when Marina had been the other side of the library door. It's coming from the direction of the cave-room, but - a glimpse of rattled tail - the snake is heading the other way, and down...

[[Ixquahuacoatl rolled 6,2 using d12,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 6,2.  intimidated? Ixi is slightly intimidated. You have +2 to actions against him for a few seconds, if you keep after him.]]

William grits his teeth, wrought with indecision. The snake needed to be stopped yes, but so did Marina. If she got away, she would set up shop somewhere else, and the cycle would continue.
Who knew if he'd get another shot at taking Marina down? He growls in frustration.
On the other hand, that snake might be leveling all of this cursed city...

Oblivious to its passenger's dilemma, the glomlet keeps hurtling headlong after the serpent.

One thing at a time. Marina was dangerous, yes, but he'd track her down again. William hunkers down, unwittingly baring his fangs as the skeletal beast races after the serpent.


Let's kill the snake first, then. Hopefully I'll get my revenge on Marina after all. So, chase?

The sounds of mortal startlement and the tension in the blood drop away as the light vanishes behind, leaving rushing darkness...and somewhere, a serpent.

[[sure, Chase - draw up!]]

21:58, Today: William Pierce rolled 7,4 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 7,4.  Riding a chase.

21:59, Today: William Pierce drew the single card: 8H using the Deadlands system.  Action card.

There's a rumbling from the deep now and then, which might explain the rocky sliding sound and the impression of a whiplash change of direction by the serpent, out in the dark.

William feels the draught of a good chunk of rock knocked back past his fantastical steed as Ixquahuacoatl clears some unexpected rubble. Then they are heading down again, down and madly down at breakneck pace.

[[21:13, Today: Ixquahuacoatl rolled 1,5 using d10,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 1,5.  Agility. Ixi isn't the fittest snakemonster priest in the world...

21:15, Today: Ixquahuacoatl drew the single card: 10C using the Deadlands system.  chased! No attack for William, but Ixi gets a Major Obstacle

21:17, Today: Ixquahuacoatl rolled 7,2 using d10-2,d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 9,4.  Complication! Pass. He keeps his Pace.

William, roll up!]]

23:00, Today: William Pierce drew the single card: 9H using the Deadlands system.  Action.
23:00, Today: William Pierce rolled 4,2 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 4,2.  white chip.
23:00, Today: William Pierce rolled 3,2 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 3,2.  Chase.

Come on, you scaly son of a bitch...

For some moments the slide of scale is fainter, the serpent pulling ahead somewhat.

[[22:06, Today: Ixquahuacoatl rolled 9,4 using d10,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 9,4.  Agility.
22:07, Today: Ixquahuacoatl drew the 2 cards: 9S, QH using the Deadlands system.  chased! No complications, but he's not interested in attacking William right now, just fleeing, so...3 rounds left, have at it!

Draw up!]]

23:16, Today: William Pierce rolled 2,9 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 2,(6+3)9.  Chase.

23:16, Today: William Pierce drew the 2 cards: BJ!, 10H using the Deadlands system.

I got you now, you son of a bitch!

The bone thing leaps forward with even greater speed at William's urging...and some of the tunnels up ahead seem to have altered since the snake was last here, since the glomlet clears a tunnel to see him hesitating over his route - close enough to see the serpent's banked halo glittering on his mask and eyes as he looks back, and hear his nervous rattling as he picks an opening...


[[22:27, Today: Ixquahuacoatl rolled 8,1 using d10,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 8,1.  Agility.
22:28, Today: Ixquahuacoatl drew the 2 cards: 5C, 3H using the Deadlands system.  chased! Complication, and William gets a short range attack at +4 (intimidation bonus & Joker).

22:28, Today: Ixquahuacoatl rolled 7,2 using d10-2,d6-2.  Complication! He clears it, but it slows him enough for pursuit to close in...]]

William crouches on the back of his mount, then leaps forward, snarling like a beast, baring his fangs.

in a swift motion, he pulls the knife coated in the thing's venom from his belt and slashes at the beast, drawing a deep groove across the scale, almost to the blood.

He bounces back, and coming up in a crouched stance, the knife held up defiantly.

10:26, Today: William Pierce rolled 5,14 using d8+4,d6+4, rerolling max with rolls of 1,(6+4)10.  Fighting attack.

10:26, Today: William Pierce rolled 1,2,10 using d10,d4,d6+2, rerolling max with rolls of 1,2,(6+2)8.  Fighting damage, raise, Joker.

Oh, come on.... That's not helping at all...

10:29, Today: William Pierce drew the single card: 10D using the Deadlands system.  Initiative.

This message was last edited by the GM at 18:55, Fri 02 Oct 2015.

The serpent rounds on the vampire, coiling up to present as small a surface of his great bulk as possible. Dried hands and hearts slap against his coils as the garlands of his mask swing and slide over scale.

He's a big snake.

[[Oookay then...no blood, since the T14 (1) there is for Natural Armour (you can check it on the other snakes - yes, his mask is an extra armour point, but that's only relevant with headshots), but he's alarmed enough not to turn his, er, back and start fleeing again quite yet.

Ixquahuacoatl drew the 2 cards: 6D, 3C using the Deadlands system.  Quick redraw. Not Quick enough!

William, go!]]

You... are one ugly son of a bitch!

William snarls, his left hand going for the Ghost Gun pulling it awkwardly from its holster.

But it's as much about drawing another gun as it it to provide a minor distraction, for his right hand dashes forward. The blade slides harmlessly over the snake's scales.

Oh yes, William is quick, especially for a dead man. But he hadn't have much use for a knife ever since that fateful afternoon in the back alley, oh so many years ago.


13:42, Today: William Pierce rolled 2,1,2 (What????)using d10,d4,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 2,1,2.  Fighting damage, raise.
13:41, Today: William Pierce rolled 10 (total 16) using 1d6, rerolling max with rolls of (6+4)10.  Blue chip on top.
13:40, Today: William Pierce rolled 6,2 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 6,2.  Fighting attack.

13:44, Today: William Pierce drew the single card: 7C using the Deadlands system.  Initiative.

"S͢ays̸ t̷he ̵fla͝c͏cid pi͜nkis҉h mám͠ma̶l҉ co͞rp̕s̢e͞ w̷it̷h͜ ̸br̸ist͡l̴e̛s̷ s̕ti͡ck̷in͏ǵ o͢ut̸ o̸f ̸it͜," the serpent responds, snapping at the vampire tormenting him -once- -twice- too fast to see. William only realises the stone mask has clipped his shoulder when he finds himself staggering, the snake's head already drawn back and watching keenly for his next move.


[[Ixi doesn't have his sister's skills or edges to negate the size penalty (remember you're at +2 to hit Ixi), but he gives it a shot...

Ixquahuacoatl rolled 4,6 using d10-2,d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 6,(6+2)8.  fightin'. Hit.
Ixquahuacoatl rolled 4,3 using d12,2d6, rerolling max with rolls of 4,2,1.  *bite*. 7 damage. William is mildly inconvienienced.
Ixquahuacoatl drew the 2 cards: 4S, QC using the Deadlands system.  init.

Ixi goes first. Ixquahuacoatl rolled 0,3 using d10-2,d6-2.  fightin'. Ixi misses completely. I...am actually quite impressed that an angry vampire and a giant snake monster (albeit a somewhat thin and nerdy one) are somehow managing to have a sissy fight.

William, go!]]

No, William wasn't a knife fighter by any means. He had the speed and precision down, sure, but he wasn't used to really inflict damage like this.

The Ghost Gun in his left roared, twice, in quick succession, two bullets screaming toward the snake's body, both hitting... but the follow up stab was misguided and scratched uselessly over the thick hide.

I hope it's not just their own venom that can hurt them, William thought.

Playing the Seize the Day adventure card.
Gives me +2 to actions, like a Joker.

Multi-Action: Shooting with my left hand: -2 MAP, -2 Off-Hand, +2 Card bonus, +1 doubletap-bonus - total of -1.
Stabbing with the Venomed Knife: -2 MAP, +2 Joker. Total of 0.


12:03, Today: William Pierce rolled 4 using 1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 4.  Blue chip on top.
12:03, Today: William Pierce rolled 5,2 using d10-1,d6-1, rerolling max with rolls of 6,3.  Shooting.
Total shooting: 9
Shooting damage: 27, armor piercing
12:04, Today: William Pierce rolled 27 using 3d6+4, rerolling max with rolls of 4,(6+4)10,(6+3)9.  Damage, doubletap, Joker.

12:05, Today: William Pierce rolled 4 using 1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 4.  red chip.
12:05, Today: William Pierce rolled 1 using 1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 1.  Blue chip on top.
12:05, Today: William Pierce rolled 4,3 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 4,3.  Fighting attack.
Fighting: Total of 9
Damage: 6

12:06, Today: William Pierce rolled 2,4 using d10,d4+2, rerolling max with rolls of 2,2.  Knife damage.

Yeah, I should be throwing that knife away....
Out of chips.

12:06, Today: William Pierce drew the single card: KS using the Deadlands system.  Initiative.

"S͡SSSS͝S҉SSS͞S̶s̀ss͡s.͝..̛" the serpent hisses, raising his head to see the wounds then shifting the injured coil away before William can stab into the exposed flesh. The wounds are closing even as he does so.

It occurs to William the snake shows remarkably little damage from the holy hand grenade to the side he took earlier. Looks like Tezcatlcoatl's kin really are fast healers.


[[two chips for me, too! That's 3 Wounds Shaken for Ixi...who gets a free Regeneration roll per round for non-Weakness-related damage, so...
17:51, Today: Ixquahuacoatl rolled 6,2 using d10,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 6,2.  ouch. He's at 2 Wounds Shaken and drew QD for init, so you're up!]]

12:07, Today: William Pierce rolled 5,0 using d10-3,d6-3, rerolling max with rolls of 8,3.  Shooting, offhand, double-tap.

12:08, Today: William Pierce rolled 2,-1 using d8-2,d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 4,1.  Fighting attack.
12:07, Today: William Pierce rolled 5,0 using d10-3,d6-3, rerolling max with rolls of 8,3.  Shooting, offhand, double-tap.


12:08, Today: William Pierce drew the single card: JD using the Deadlands system.  Initiative.



William keeps pulling the trigger, and slicing, going after the snake as it recoils, but for now his efforts are pointless.

[[I'm not on the ball today, it seems. Forgot his wound penalties on the regen. check last time, so I'll throw back one of those new chips and call it quits. Not that it makes much difference, but think that stab should have been a straight roll with his Size there...]]

The snake snaps at William. "D̴o I͟ ͝ęv̵e͝n̶ ̵ḱno̸w͝ yoų?" he asks in irritation, still keeping his healing skin out of reach. His halo flickers with paler streaks.

"͏C͜om̴e, a͜ll̵ ̵thi͜ş ͏s҉ho̷ot̡iǹg͢ is͘ ͏w̨a̡s̕ti̴n҉g͞ a̵n̕ ̡ex̡e͜llent̀  opport̷u͟ǹit͞y̢ ͡tò ͡íng̕rat̵iát͟e̕ yo͞u̢rs̸e̡l͏f̀ ̢wíth̶ t͏h͘e͝ ̢dece̷nd́ant̸ ͡o͘f ̨a ̨g͜o̕d...G͟r̵a͝ndfat͢h̨e̕r̨ ̵w̛il̷l̷ rưle҉ ̷t̢hiś lánd͡ s̶o̡o̧n, ͟a̡n̸d you͝ ̧w̧i̡ll hard̕l̀y ̨be̴ ̢popu̶la͢r if̛ y̵o̷u ̵ki̷ll̶ ͠m̴e͟.͠ ͏S͏ur҉e̷ly͟ ͞w͜e ca͞n stri͠k̵è a d҉eal.̷.̢.?"


[[unshaking! (+2 Ability, -2 Wounds) Ixquahuacoatl rolled 13,5 using d12,2d6, rerolling max with rolls of (12+1)13,5  Unshaken w/raise.

Ixquahuacoatl rolled 3,1 using d10-2,d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 5,3.  Regen. check. meh.
Ixquahuacoatl rolled 1 using 1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 1.  red chippit. Ixi is at 1 Wound.

18:53, Today: Ixquahuacoatl rolled 6,-2 using d10-3,d6-3, rerolling max with rolls of 9,1.  fightin'. Hit!
18:59, Today: Ixquahuacoatl rolled 2,5 using d12,2d6, rerolling max with rolls of 2,1,4.  damage can has? 7. Ixi, you are a useless snake nerd. I don't think that even Shakes William. Onward!

20:01, Today: Ixquahuacoatl drew the 2 cards: 5D, RJ! using the Deadlands system.  init. Whoo!

He'll hold off a moment to see if William wants to reply, though. Ixi is far better at talking than flailing knife fights.]]

Well, it does make William Shaken. And he got a Joker... Time to get creative.

Uh-oh.
William wasn't much of a close combat or melee fighter, but he was a fighter. If he had a talent, it was looking at a fight and reading it like a book. And he didn't like where this story was headed.
He had made a wrong move and was now at a disadvantage, with the angry snake to his left. It would be difficult to angle his arm to get a clear shot. And it would be easier to deflect any blow with the knife - inconveniently on his right side.

Yes, keep talking, you ugly motherfucker.

"I'm used to being unpopular." He nods at the wound, closing.
"That's a pretty nice trick you got up your sleeve there. That makes this whole thing... rather pointless.
So, what deal would you be proposing?"

"Fo̢r̨ y̴o̡u.̨.͢.͟" the serpent says, warily drawing his head back. His eyes glaze a moment as his great tongue flickers the air, halo taking a deeper blue. The hands on his necklace suddenly uncurl and spread themselves as though by a single mind.

Ixquahuacoatl refocuses at the moment William considers making a stab, pinning the vampire with his turquoise-flecked gaze.

"͞Hm. Wh͞e͠n ͡you͘ co͡st̵ yo͢u̢r fa͡the̶r͏ ̨his̛ l̸ég̢,͞ ̕you̢ m̢a͏de̴ ͡thin҉g͝s rather dif͞f͘įcul̀t̴ f̛or ̛you̡r͠ f̀a̸m̛i͝ly.̕.͏.f̵or͠c͜e̡d ̛a ̧mo͞ve i͏n̛to cit͘y̴ ͡wo͞r̀k̷ a̧n̸d ̶hal̛f́ a̛ ren̵te͏d̴ ̸ro͟òm̨. I̕t͘ lo͘o͞k͡s ͟l͜i̷kę ̵t̵ḩe͏ ṕneu͏mo͞n͡i̢a̡ th̢ąt͜ ki̢l҉led y̕o͏ur͢ moţh̨e͘r̶ wa͟s͡ hel͡pe̛d along͞ ́b̶y ̶thȩ ̀white disęa͏se.̢.͡.̡tub̡e̡r̀c̴ulo҉s͝įs, I th̕i̡n̢k you̢ ̷c̨all i̵t͟ ͏n͘o͘w.̧ ҉Ít̕'̕s̴ i͢n҉ ͢you̸r ̕si̵ste͟r̸'̢ś ̵lungs̢.̷"

"I ćan͢ st͜ret͢c̸h͜ o͠u̶t m͟y p̢ow͠er͜ to cu҉r̢e ̸as eas̨il͠y̕ ̴as̡ ̸yóu҉ p͞ul̀l ̴a͡ ̴t̛r͝íg͝ge̛r:̛ I͢ off͝e̴r̢ y͞ou ̕her̢ li̴fȩ..̢.́and͜ ͞yo͢u͜r n̡e̶p̢h͠e͘ws'.҉ ͞Yoúr͢ ̸nam̡e̴şa͏ke͘ ̸ìs͜ ̷pres̀e͡n̷tly do̴o͠med͞ t͠o͘ ҉d͏i͞e.̀.̨." the snake's pupils dilate again to stare Beyond, though briefly.

"-a͢t ͢fi͞ft҉een̛ and̶ t͠ẁo ̀m̸o͘n͠ţh̶s̨. ͢H͠i͟s͞ ̨b͞rot͡h̸er̵ wil̵l͏ la͝st́ th̴r҉ee ̧y͡e̷ar̀s lon͝g͝er͏. Í ça̕n̷ ́cha̕n͞g͝e̴ ̴this͝, Li̧t̢tlé ̨F̧lęa͠." The serpent-priest's head swings to keep both William's hands in view, wound healing to a smear of blood even as the dead hands on his garlands curl themselves like autumn leaves.

"A̧ll͏ ̡Ì ͡a̶sķ ̸is t̛h̛a͘t yo͞u ̴c͞as̶t̶ t͟h̶a̸t͠ ͝kņi͜f́e d̡own ínt̸ò ̷y̷o͝n͞d̀e҉r̀ ćra̵c̕k and ̢l̀e̶t̡ ͜me͞ ͜b͘e.̧"

William ponders this proposal.

"If any of that were true... I think my father would've mentioned it. He loved to lord it over me, after all."

He spits.
"You want that knife? Come and get it."
This message was last edited by the GM at 11:37, Fri 09 Oct 2015.

Ixquahuacoatl shifts his coils somewhat like a shrug, giving a rather sibilant snicker. "Y͟óur fath҉er i̸s a͝live҉ an͡d ̧aş ̀w̕e͠l̢l͘ ̸as a o͘n҉e-͏l̛egged be҉g͡g͟ar mi̛g̴h̨t̡ be in̨ ͘a B͜u͏rnt̛ ͞d͏i͜ştri͝c̕t̸ ̶sl͢u̶m͢, ̷L͠i͟t́t̸le͝ F̨lea̸," he says, shifting back, that ancient, reptile gaze never leaving William.

"Yo͠u ҉wer̕e̛ ̸s̵o ̕eaģer͡ t̕o͡ b̛ȩli̛e͝v́e ̧th̸at ҉le͜ec͘h-kin was y̷o͟ur ̢fáthe̢r,̀ we͡r͢en'̨t y̛ou?͝ T̢h̸a̢t͟ a̷ll y̴o͟u͜r ̡b̶a͜d c҉ho͠ic̀es͢ w̛e͏r͞e his̶ faùl͞t́..̀.so͞ d̀es̨p̡e͟ra̴t҉e̡ t̷o ͜b͝e̕li̢ev҉e͝ ́t͝h̛a͠t,҉ r͞at͏he̵r ̵th̢a҉n ̷t̀h̢e re͘ason͟ ̀so͞m̡e t̡hing thąt ͡slith̀ered ͢up̴ ̧fr͜o̡m t́he̷ ̨Place͢ ̡o͘f͏ ̕T́o͟r͞me̛nt̴ a͘nd ̛įnto̡ ͞t͡h̨e ̷v͞oid̨ w͢h̢er̢e ̸y͘our ͜l̶ifę ̕w̴as d̡r̢ain̴ed ̕res͟e͢ḿble̶s͞ y҉ou be͜c͟au̡se ͏i͝t is̸,҉ ͠i҉n͟ f̶ac̀t, ̛y̷o͝ur҉self͘."

"H̛e's ̸n̵ot ͞y͜o҉ur͜ ́f͏a͠t̛h̵er.̷.̷.̵he̢'̴s͜ the͝ b̴o͏y ͝w҉ho ki͏l̡lęd a̷nother̴ ̸fo͟r̕ th̵e̴ ̨s̵a͘ke ̷of͝ l͏o̵o͡k̨i̵n͠g tou̷g̸h;͟ ̴t̢h͜e y̧óuth ̴wh̀o ̧murder͠ed͏ R͘os̨a͢ C҉a̢ḿw҉el̶l̷'s͜ fa͝t̢h̨er in ̶f͏r̶o̵nt ̸o̶f̀ ̵he͠r w̡h͘iĺs̀t she ͞l҉o͘st͜ h͢èr͞ ͜v͞iŕg̢i̕ni͟ty to͏ ͞s̶ix͠ b͡a̡n͠d̢i̶t͠s͢ ̕ąt on͜ce ̵b͞e͡c̡a͞u̸se ҉h̴e wa҉sn't surę h́e ͠cơul͜d ̨ge̵t h̨is co͡c͞k͜ ̛up̀ w̶it̀h th̕a̶t̀ ͡diǵu̧s̢t, th͘a̡t̴ au̴d͝ie͝n͞ce;͜ ͠t̴h͠e m҉a̴n̡ ̨who le̢t a̛ b͡ank͠ te̡l̷l̢er ̵bl̀e͠e͜d͘ ̛o͞ut͠, ͘th̶os͏e ͜a̡ro͜un̨d̨ ͠ùǹabl̡e̢ t̸o ̢ḩe̸lp h͘i̧m͟ as ͟t͢hey ̛s͞cr̸a̡m͡bl͢èd̶ t҉o ̢ge̛t͢ you m͢o̴ne͢y̧,͡ ̢hi̴s ͏l͏a̢s̕t͡ w͢or͠d͠s ̀r͠attl͜ęd͘ ̴in͘tò ͢dea͡f ̶fl͘o҉orbo̧ar̴ds...̨a m̶a͝ǹ ̧w̴ho ͡l͜ȩt ́a̷ńo͡th́er͡ ͠coo͝k҉ fo̵r҉ ̢him,͜ ̨t̡hen ̶ki͘l̡l̀e͜d h͠įm;͟ a̸ m̧a͢n̕ that͞ was̢ loo͡k̀ed͟ ̴ou̶t́ ̀fo̴r͠ a̸n̷d re̕p̢ai͠d̸ ̴th̶at͜ ͠c͜a̡r͏ę w͝i͝ţh҉ deat̕h̴, ̵over a͡nd ov͠e͟r͢."

The serpent's tongue flickers once more in amusement. "The̡ ̕t͢h̨ing tha̢t ҉cr̶awled҉ ͢u̴p̕ ̢in͞s̵id̡e͏ ̸your̶ s͢k̛in si̴mp͞ĺy ͘to̵ok҉ t͞h͞e ͢sh̷ap͢e ̕t͜h͘at ̀w͡a͏s ͞o҉ffer҉ed ̛tó ̀it. ҉Un͜l͟e͘s͝s ̡yo̵u th͏i͢n͝k ̛y͝ou҉r fat҉h̷er ̛al͏ẁa̸ys ͝had ̶a͘ geko͞'́s e̸y̡e̛s̴?" He snickers, slithering suddenly further back, halo brightening pale but turquoise over his skull and the mask's feathers.

"A̷h̶ ̸we͟l͜l͠..͜" he says, and hisses a prayer that's almost a song as the floor suddenly shifts...


[[12:35, Today: Ixquahuacoatl rolled 24,11 using d12+2,d6+2, rerolling max with rolls of (12+10)22,(6+3)9.  casting! (+Joker)
William and Rattleshirt, make me an Agility roll at -2 or start sinking!]]

---

OOC:

Rattleshirt don't play that!

Agility: 26 (28-2)

08:56, Today: Rattleshirt rolled 28,10 using d12,d6, rerolling max with rolls of (12+12+4)28,(6+4)10.  d12, d6.

21:39, Today: William Pierce rolled 21,14 using d10-2,d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of (10+10+3)23,(6+6+4)16.  Agility.

William rolls to the side and comes up in a half-crouch, firing twice in quick succession - but the bullets barely connect.

21:41, Today: William Pierce rolled 4,1 using d10-1,d6-1, rerolling max with rolls of 5,2.  Shooting, Doubletap.
21:42, Today: William Pierce rolled 9 using 3d6+2, rerolling max with rolls of 2,2,3.  Damage.


21:43, Today: William Pierce drew the single card: AD using the Deadlands system.  Initiative, quick.
21:43, Today: William Pierce drew the single card: 2D using the Deadlands system.  Initiative.

The serpent jerks his head away from the bullets, irritated.

[[are you Captain Kirking towards Ixi or away? Also, did you swap hands with the knife there, or drop it?

Ixi drew up AD; you're up first!]]

((Rolled slightly away... and I still got the knife in the right, just shooting with my left.))


10:00, Today: William Pierce rolled 0,8 using d10-1,d6-1, rerolling max with rolls of 1,(6+3)9.  blue chip, re-roll.
09:59, Today: William Pierce rolled 1,1 using d10-1,d6-1, rerolling max with rolls of 2,2.  Shooting, offhand, double-tap.


10:01, Today: William Pierce rolled 14 using 4d6+2, rerolling max with rolls of 5,3,1,3.  Ghost Gun damage.

, Today: William Pierce drew the single card: QC using the Deadlands system.  Initiative, quick.
10:01, Today: William Pierce drew the single card: 3S using the Deadlands system.  Initiative.

The great serpent flinches away from the impact. William realises the wall he's rolled up beside is alarmingly soft and scrambles backwards at the realisation his knees and boots are oozing into the floor.

Almost as agile as a snake himself, the vampire makes it back to solid rock where the bone thing is clinging to the tunnel wall, but his quarry - with the small light of his halo - is rapidly vanishing down a side tunnel.


[[That'll put you on the other side of the Quicksand-ed bit of tunnel, then (It was a Large Burst range with that raise).

Ixi is Shaken! He rolls to unshake.
Ixquahuacoatl rolled 9,5 using d12+2,d6+2, rerolling max with rolls of 7,3.  Unshaken w/raise

He decides to flee like a small girl who's seen a bee.

09:51, Today: Ixquahuacoatl rolled 5 using 1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 5.  fleeing!

William can take a shot at him as he retreats, if he likes, but for this round (and technically the next, but I think we'll drop combat unless you wound him seriously) he can't cross the dodgy bit of floor.

Any reaction to the news some spirits think his father is alive?]]

12:41, Today: William Pierce rolled 1,1 using d10-1,d6-1, rerolling max with rolls of 2,2.  Shooting, offhand, double-tap.

William fires off two more rounds in quick succession, but all they do is strike the walls.

Yeah, you better run! he yells after the giant snake.

"Fuck", he mutters.
"What now, Boney?" He eyes the soft floor suspiciously. "Theres no getting after him now. Will you take me back to Marina?"

The glomlet shifts to point most of its skulls in William's general direction and rattles a little, as though to say 'you're making noises at me! yay!'

The gunslinger shrugs and holsters his weapons.
"Well", he finally says, as the floor shifts back to being solid. "You'll be taking me somewhere, I guess. Let's ride."

And he climbs back on the abomination's back.

The 'glomlet seems uncertain as to what's expected of it, but since William's aboard, it tries going straight ahead, as before. Then shies and skitters back when the floor starts sucking at the points it uses for feet.

The abomination swings back and forth across the tunnel, tapping like a bug to find out where the obstacle starts. William notices the area seems to be re-solidifying, but the snake has a good headstart on them now...is it worth the wait? Or should he try to turn the 'glomlet around and find his way back to that patch of light?

William slaps the thing's shoulderblade.
"Turn around, Boney. We got us other prey to catch."

The 'glomlet turns towards the pressure like a horse until William stops leaning - it's hard to tell quite how turned around they are in the dark - then tries 'forward' again.

[[Hm. No light no compass no clue...give me a Smarts -4 or end up somewhere random rather than where you meant to be.]]

23:48, Today: William Pierce rolled -3,1 using d6-4,d6-4, rerolling max with rolls of 1,5.  Smarts Trick.

Yeah, that was unlikely.

[[23:07, Today: Alouette, on behalf of William Pierce, rolled 9 using 1d6, rerolling max with rolls of (6+3)9.  where does he go? Top east. He finds Comanches!]]

William's strange steed scuttles on wherever it's pointed with moderate urgency - after a while William realises that holding his weight back rather than forward is causing the thing to take upward passages where possible. It's eerie, clicking along cool tunnels in the dark.

Then there's movement to the air, and some way up and ahead, a light - a torch, William thinks. He can hear occasional scraps of sparse conversation, but either the tunnels distort the echoes or they're not speaking English...
This message was last updated by the GM at 22:30, Wed 14 Oct 2015.

Lovely. More of these fucking grey heathens.

"Easy now, boy. We got company. Slow now..."


09:00, Today: William Pierce rolled 8,15 using D6+4,d6+4, rerolling max with rolls of 4,(6+5)11.  Super-Notice!

The dread rider and his pale steed creep higher. The Comanches ahead don't immediately react, blinded to things out in the dark by their own circle of light.

[[You want to Stealth up to them?]]

The two warriors are fit, serious men, grey as dust. They seem to have come up from somewhere below and are contemplating which side-tunnel to investigate, gesturing at the rock around and discussing the options. They don't seem lost, however - more like they're looking for something or someone that might be moving around.

(If I had stealth, I might...)

William thinks for a second. He had never been one who was great at sneaking up on someone. And with Boney under him.... who knows?

Let's make an entrance.

Now, as he is more used to steering his mount, he pulls his pistol, with his right this time, then urges the monstrous thing on, leaping up over the edge.

"HOWDY BOYS! HELL IS COMING FOR YOU!" he screams as he charges the two indians.

(Forgot the wild die)
09:41, Today: William Pierce rolled 9 using 1d6+4, rerolling max with rolls of 5.  Intimidation wild die.
09:41, Today: William Pierce rolled 7 using 1d6+4, rerolling max with rolls of 3.  Intimidation.

[[Well, first Rattles there causes them a Guts check right on the edge of a Deadland...
*unpicks results from dice roller defaults*
08:57, Today: Alouette, on behalf of Comanche Raiders, rolled 2d8-6, rerolling max with rolls of 8,0.  fear! Ha! One made it!

He tries to resist William's intimidation.
Comanche Raiders rolled 1 using 1d8, rerolling max with rolls of 1.  resist!
Fail and Shaken.]]

One warrior runs away screaming at the first sight of the mad mass of bone hoving into view, leaving the torch to gutter on the ground. The other gives an irritated glance back and braces, teeth bared and weapon ready...then catches William's hell-lit eyes as the vampire screams.

His warclub clatters from his fingers.

William leans forward, hissing at the scared indian.
"Run... Or I will devour you...!"


21:28, Today: William Pierce rolled 7,10 using d6+6,d6+6, rerolling max with rolls of 1,4.  Putting the fear of William into him.

The Comanche breathes hard as the 'glomlet bears down on him, fear showing the whites around his eyes. He holds his ground, however, his right hand curling into a desperate fist.

"YAH!"

He swings at William's mount as it comes close, but hits nothing significant within the shifting bone.


[[21:41, Today: Alouette, on behalf of Comanche Raiders, got the result "Reply hazy, try again" on the magic 8-ball.  speak English? He probably isn't up to foreign languages right now anyway.

Comanche Raider rolled 13 using 1d8, rerolling max with rolls of (8+5)13.  resist! Ha! He throws his white at the monster to unshake and tries punching it.

Comanche Raider rolled 7 using 1d8, rerolling max with rolls of 7.  fightin'. But wait, the glomlet is horse-sized and so +2 to hit! Hit!
Comanche Raider rolled 1 using 1d8, rerolling max with rolls of 1.  damage.
Never mind!]]

23:29, Today: William Pierce rolled 7,5 using d8+1,d6+1, rerolling max with rolls of 6,4.  Shooting while mouunted, doubletap.

23:30, Today: William Pierce rolled 12 using 3d6+2, rerolling max with rolls of 4,2,4.  Damage.

I don't think I had the Ghost Gun the last time I ran into them... But I'd have to read through that pile of threads.

[[You didn't, 'cause you got it at the church, where you went after biting them (to little effect). That's 1 wound Fatigue point for the Comanche there.]]

One shot only gouges the man, but the other takes him off his feet. The phantom bullet doesn't seem to have penetrated properly, but the Comanche still stares in shock to see his fingers covered in dark grey blood.

Only for an instant, however: as the bone monster and its passenger flow menacingly over his warclub the young man scrambles back, grabs the torch and waves it in the creatures' faces.

[[Being nothing if not game, this guy Wild Attacks (becoming -2 to Parry) with an Improvised Weapon (cancelling his bonus alongside the Fatigue). The Touch Attack with fire and the picking up MAP also cancel each other out, so:

Comanche Raider rolled 2 using 1d8, rerolling max with rolls of 2.  fightin'.
He hits nuthin'.]]

I assume we don't need initiative for this little tete-a-tete?



William grits his teeth and shoots again, two bullets, in rapid succession, but the indian is dashing left and right and the screaming bullets barely graze him.

"This is getting ridiculous...."


11:59, Today: William Pierce rolled 8 using 3d6+2, rerolling max with rolls of 1,1,4.  Damage, doubletap.
11:59, Today: William Pierce rolled 6,3 using d10+1,d6+1, rerolling max with rolls of 5,2.  Shooting, Doubletap.

[[Not unless you want to call it a proper combat. This guy's not convinced he's going to win this one and would probably run given the opportunity.]]

Wincing, the Comanche brave waves the torch in the monsters' direction.

[[18:31, Today: Alouette, on behalf of Comanche Raiders, rolled 5 using 1d8-1, rerolling max with rolls of 6.  Unshake? He's unshaken.
18:32, Today: Alouette, on behalf of Comanche Raiders, rolled 1 using 1d8-1, rerolling max with rolls of 2.  fightin' (-2 unshake, +2 Touch Attack)]]

William's keen vampire hearing picks up a faint but distinct "PIERCE IS THAT YOU?" from the side tunnel the first Comanche fled into ahead/above.

16:36, Today: William Pierce rolled 19 using 4d6+2, rerolling max with rolls of 3,1,(6+3)9,4.  Damage, doubletap, bonus.
16:35, Today: William Pierce rolled 6,14 using d10+1,d6+1, rerolling max with rolls of 5,(6+6+1)13.  Shooting, Doubletap.

Two more shots, in rapid succession, hitting the Indian in his upper chest and throat, grey blood spraying.

"Who's asking?" he yells back.

[[Yeah, that'll put him down for now.]]

The Comanche half-flings, half-drops the torch even as he falls, hitting the ground limp.

The glomlet approaches with interest. William can, however, hear running footsteps from the tunnel the voice came from...

"It's me, Vega! Don't shoot, I'm comin' towards you." the response comes.

The man that jogs out first, however, is a large Comanche, clearly prepared for something bad. He halts and stares in horror.

The 'glomlet starts picking up his comrade's ankles and dragging them towards its bulk.

[Language unknown: "Som!"] the warrior demands, darting to grab the downed man's arm. [Language unknown: "Atese eesa dayestter us, eveallrut! Ilall ee tisan!"] He gestures angrily at William to rein in the beast (despite having no reins) whilst Adrian walks up behind him.

[[Adrian, your move!]]

Adrian walked in a strafing circle, so as to let the Comanche know he was coming up on the side in a non threatening way. He held up an open hand in a gesture of peace. "William, we made a truce with the Comanche. They got a fella named Ghost Wolf that's seen the error of their ways, well, at least in so far as how they been tricked into workin' for the snakes. He's gonna help us stop this other fella named Pale Moon from summoning some more powerful snake demons. If you could get off my bone creature and I can show this fella that I command it, it would help in gettin' these folks to calm down. It's got them mighty stirred up as you might imagine."

William scoffs and shakes his head, but slides off the creature.
He pets the thing's foreleg. "It was good hunting with you, Boney."

The 'glomlet rattles some appendages in what might be acknowledgement/excitement at being patted, though it's currently engaged in a tug-of-war over the dead(?) brave.

The big warrior digs his heels in as best he can and shoots Vega a 'do something' look in the light of the torch lying on the floor.
This message was last edited by the GM at 07:39, Wed 28 Oct 2015.

"Rattleshirt, stop what you're doing. Leave the body alone. Move back...about five feet." he said.

The 'glomlet pauses and moves approximately five of the points it's standing on further back, elongating itself. The live Comanche takes the opportunity to drag his fallen comrade away.

"Have you captured the monster?" Ghost Wolf calls down the tunnel Adrian emerged from.

"Yes, I have captured the monster," he called back. "It is safe to come towards me."

He looked at Pierce. "Marshal Evans, Alouette, Jake, and the priest are with us back there, along with some Comanche that we've made a truce with. I take it this fella attacked you?" he pointed to the fallen Comanche.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:03, Wed 28 Oct 2015.

"He didn't have as much sense as his friend. If you want to find the other, you just need to follow the trail of piss." the gunman replied,holstering his gun.

[Language unknown: "Ma tinus no eealec linte?"] the big brave asks, crouching to listen to the limp Comanche's chest.

[Language unknown: "K wiit sisielil pa oulpe ekest, as ouseenesteau illamerea,"] said Adrian, pointing to the fallen Comanche.

[Language unknown: "Evespl el redec rea ol eiremang ulom, hoher acadchicnt ore ss. Fo es tertiotho a venevevor."]

The big warrior looks at the tracks in the dust and looks very dubious, but makes no immediate issue of it. He's still tense, though.

Ghost Wolf appears from the passage and recoils at the sight of the bone monster, but just darts Adrian a slightly anxious glance and frowns at William.

[[Ghost Wolf rolled 1,4 using d8-1,d6-1, rerolling max with rolls of 2,5.  fear! I may be overestimating his Grit, but hey, he had warning.]]

"If you will be quiet some moments, the white men may have got this far," he says to the former. A remark from the man knelt by their fallen comrade starts an argument in Comanche, one that Ghost Wolf brings the man behind him into with a sharp question.

Alouette clanks in as the debate gets a bit heated and takes in One Shot as he follows after it. "Howdy Names William Pierce! howdy Deputy Vega, Jumping Undead Mass, Pure Blooded Comanches!" it chirps, apparently reckoning a new area is reason enough to greet people.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:22, Fri 30 Oct 2015.

"Pierce, this is Ghost Wolf. Ghost Wolf, this is Pierce. This thing right here I'm callin' Rattleshirt. I told you earlier that I killed one of Tezcatlcoatl's brood, and when I did, I somehow got its power to control bone creatures. I don't quite understand how it works, but I can give it orders and it'll do what I say for the most part, but that'll do for now," he said.

He looked at Pierce. "Did you kill the snake demon?"

William nodded a greeting at Ghost Wolf.

"No. I got the thing cornered, but it healed quicker than I could make it bleed. Then it turned the ground into quicksand and took off. Seemed...  Surprised that I wanted to fight. Even offered me a deal to let it go."

He shrugged.

"Marinas down there, somewhere. Couldn't make Boney pick up her scent."

"I was impressing that on my men," Ghost Wolf responds to Adrian. "But they do not trust your hold over these devils." He gestures at his silvery companions. "This is a bad situation for us."

Looking Adrian square in the eye, he adds "Know that if you try to do as Pale Moon plans for us, I will stay to fight you. I have not died yet. With a lot of trying, I have not died. Remember it." He translates the gist of his warning to his fellows, who don't seem entirely content but have little choice at this point.

The tall young man indicated as Ghost Wolf - in full colour, unlike the others, William notes - turns to the vampire. He speaks with wary deference but a little defiance, as a warrior to a spirit. "We do not raise our hand against our serpent brothers - there is no profit in it. So this one would not understand your anger. What are you, and who is your master? What is this Marina?"

The man guarding the fallen Comanche gives Alouette an uncertain look as it approaches.

"Marina is a vampire. I've killed most of her offspring around here today and I thought I killed her too... but she was more powerful than I expected. I'll need to finish her."

"Vampire?" Ghost Wolf tastes the unfamiliar word, trying to connect its meaning. "A chupacabra?" He narrows his eyes at the evasiveness.

"I have far, far less knowledges than one sacrificed to the holy ways, but I am not without medicine, thing of the Lower World. Do not think you are safe from binding because I do not know the exact weakness of your kin," he warns, leaving off his stare to watch Alouette as the clank prods the seeming corpse in the face.

"Why are you sleeping on the ground, Hole Throat Man? Do you need plus positive energies?" it asks. There's an odd burnt-chemical smell as it tries gently brushing his throat and chest, smearing grey blood across the warrior's skin and torn shirt.

[[Alouette rolled 4,3 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 4,3.  Fix! Sucess on the x_x'd extra.

The 'corpse' groans and tries to bat Alouette's hand away, then bolts upright, looking for a weapon.[Language unknown: "Sessom! Halael! But ioubuttra at proratsti atei, tioillrednte?"] he cries, glancing around wildly.

"I don't know that I trust my own hold over these devils, but time is short, and we may need every advantage we can get in this fight. I don't know what we're up against. It's a chance, but it might be worth it to have a bone devil fight by our side. If it turns against us, I know its weakness and will take it down myself," he said.

"I understand you mistrust me, but we don't have time to air all of our doubts here. It might be enough that the Holy One," using the term Ghost Wolf had used for the clank he pointed to Alouette, "fights by our side and greets us as friends. But even it it's not, for now, let's trust each other until we have a reason not too."

He looked about as the dead man got up. Did Alouette resurrect him, or did he come back like Adrian had? "See if you can calm him down and then tell us where we can find this Pale Moon."

"Always Ready To Fight will calm Iron Action," Ghost Wolf responds, gesturing at the warrior beside the alarmed man now backed up against the tunnel wall.

"It may be good to bring this demon to confront Pale Moon. If he has become corrupt and a sorcerer he may have called to other bad things to guard his work...if one of the Great Brood of Tezcatlcoatl is awake..." Ghost Wolf frowns in thought, then nods. "Your 'snake demon' will be there."

"Names William Pierce is a good vampire who has ghost friends that live in his gun and a Belt Demon that lives in his blood," Alouette puts in helpfully, pattering up. "He used to have another vampire friend but that one turned demon and the Duly Appointed Deputies of the Blackthorn Marshal's Office had to arrest him with a hickory stick. Then Ambrose set him on fire."

Ghost Wolf looks a bit blank at all this.

"Fear not!" the angel declares. "Names William Pierce is owned by God," it says, with genuine faith.

Ghost Wolf gives a small nod then glances at Rattleshirt. "Can this find the white men?" he asks Adrian.

"Can you tell me a bit about these white men? I don't know if this thing can find 'em, but maybe some of the rest of us can." he said.

"We have heard several gunshots and there were...low bad sounds that grip, about the time we realised two men who had been patrolling were missing. We found tracks, far back and coming this way, but they were confused by things that had gone after...there is one man very big - a giant. One man very fat, who rolls in his walk; one man with no boots on who did not wear shoes as a child, but afterwards became used to hard white man's shoes; two small men, or a small man and a woman," Ghost Wolf counts on his fingers. "One who wears boots but walks like a red man. Two to four others...there was not much to see there. Perhaps one was carrying something heavy."

"Sounds like quite a group", the undead gunslinger offers, seemingly lost in thought.

"Don't sound familiar to me," he said, looking over at the glom. He tried to get a read on what it was sensing. Was there anyone else with flesh to strip other than present company?

"Y'all are known for bein' better trackers by far than most white folk. Which one of your men is the best tracker?" he asked Ghost Wolf.

"The small man could be Patrick Murphy," O'Rourke puts in as he emerges from the side tunnel. Ghost Wolf waits a moment and the priest takes the cue to continue his thoughts aloud: "He left with Carl to try and track down the photograph...presuming the giant is Tex Shaw rather than some other ogre, I think they must have met up with other Dust Adders. I don't know about the heavy thing and the bad sound."

[[give me a Notice roll for Rattleshirt]]

Ghost Wolf waits a bit, then answers. "I am the best tracker in this place. Of my men, Deer Fall On His Arrow is the best, but he is above." He pauses.

"I do not think they are directly above us, or below. It is faster to search the tunnels here, as Iron Action and Pond have begun, than to go far back to follow their trail forward," he adds. "It will be clear to any of my men if they find recent tracks of white men's shoes."

"Does that mean we're getting close to finding Ward, then?" Evans says as he enters the chamber behind O'Rourke. "Good. Perhaps the gentleman with have some decent clothes to spare."

Patrick Murphy.

A thin smile crept over William's face. He had had a friend, once, of the same name. For a short moment he entertained the idea that this Patrick Murphy would be his friend, the man they called "Mad Irish".
I gave him that nick name. he remembered.

But no. Irish and his woman - Rose? Flores? - would be in California, most likely, or in Colorado. Not in a god-forsaken hell hole like this.
Every Irish mother seemed to name her first or second born son Patrick. Or Michael. There was a reason, why Mick and Paddy were nick names for the Irish, after all.
No, this one was certainly a different Patrick Murphy.

OOC:

Notice: 5

09:08, Today: Rattleshirt rolled 4,5 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 4,5.  Notice.

Adrian turned to study the glom for a moment, letting the spectral cards dance in and out of his hands, vanishing almost as quickly as they had appeared. He turned to look at Ghost Wolf and listened to the Priest talk as well.

"If you're the best, maybe you should lead us though I'll try and see if I can get that thing to help. Is there a reason we're tryin' to find these white men? You think maybe they're in league with Pale Moon and the Snake Demons?" The question was addressed to Ghost Wolf, though he cast an eye towards the Marshal and Father O'Rourke. They knew Ward and his cronies better than he did.

---

OOC:

Deal with the Devil: Flush (Automatic Success + Raise)
Cast: Boost Trait on Ghost Wolf --> Boosting his Tracking two steps

09:10, Today: Adrian Vega drew the 11 cards: BJ!, 9S, QS, KD, 2C, 8C, 10C, 3S, 8H, AS, 2S using the Deadlands system.

Explicitly not using the Joker, but looks like time for a Joker's Wild!

This message was last edited by the player at 15:20, Tue 03 Nov 2015.

"Dr. Ward created this mess with his rituals to contact The Snake." Evans says. "I would bet that the reason he's down here in this pit is to try and stop it. He may have some ideas for putting Our Adversary back into hibernation, or maybe even killing it outright."

"You are finding and talking to the white men so that they do not shoot us in our backs or think it good to blow up the mine...whatever their thought is, that they are down here." Ghost Wolf nods at Evans in reference to the Marshal's speech. "It would be bad for them to do this whilst I am dealing with Pale Moon and getting those of my men I have not yet found away from this place," he finishes with remarkably even temper.

"They would shoot you, seeing that you were with us, if you did not go to them first," he adds, to make it clear this is in the white man's interest. He rolls his shoulders against an uneasy sensation, clearly discomforted.

[[Not much to track per se, since as he's said you're likely in front of the other party, but I'll call it a boost to his Sense o' Direction and a bonus to any navigation rolls made.]]

The clank points its 'beak' at Adrian's hands and makes its odd, brassy growling sound. *ROWROWROWROWR...*

Rattleshirt perks itself a bit more alert.

"Alright, I'll take the lead. Come on, boney," he said, gesturing off to Rattleshirt in the direction he had indicated. "Don't hurt anybody!" he ordered the beast. He moved to guide the bone creature in the indicated direction.

"Hang on..." the priest counts heads as Rattleshirt skitters to heel with all the Comanches trying to stay out of the way. "There's Evans, Harry...B- ah, Jake, you back there?"

[[Moving on in just a bit - I need some information/movement from the Stray at this point.]]

Jake nods, "Still here... nothing to add, shall we carry?"

O'Rourke returns the nod. "Try t'stay close, even with the natives...I've a feeling there're things out beyond the light it's best not to face alone."

So saying, he takes up the torch that was left smouldering on the floor and blows some life in it before taking it to the recently-incapacitated Comanche and his friend, beckoning. He repeats the sentiment in Spanish to their confused and hostile frowns, offering a hand up.

After a moment, Iron Action accepts, whilst his companion cracks what sounds to be a joke about the priest's chest hair.

---

The party and its various shepherds follow Adrian and Rattleshirt, which seems excited or at least agitated about something, frequently straining ahead when allowed.


Ghost Wolf takes a torch from one of his men and holds it high. Alouette occasionally makes soft static sounds, unusually quiet.

"I'm gonna go scout ahead," he tells the others. "Y'all wait here. Rattleshirt, don't move or do anything."

He moved a few steps ahead of the group and surreptitiously drew his spectral hand to improve his chances at stealth. If it was Ward and company ahead, he'd like to know, but he didn't know who else was down here.

---

Deal with the Devil: Straight (6 Power Points Generated)
Cast: Boost Trait (Stealth) using the extra Power Points to extend the duration as needed
Spellcasting: 4 [8 - 4 (Arcane Resistance) = 4]
Stealth: 8

I'm assuming that the 8 on Spellcasting was enough to get past Adrian's Improved Arcane Resistance. If not, I will use chips to succeed as necessary.

12:51, Today: Adrian Vega rolled 8,5 using d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of (6+2)8,5.  Stealth.
12:48, Today: Adrian Vega rolled 8,6 using d8,d6.
12:46, Today: Adrian Vega drew the 11 cards: JD, 2C, 9D, 10H, 7H, 7D, JH, 5S, QS, 8H, 4D using the Deadlands system.

"Should self go scout ahead too?" Alouette asks Evans, as he's nearest. "Father O'Rourke said it was dangerous to go alone."

[[A 4 is fine. You're heading into Pitch Black if you don't take a light, too, which is -6 for mortals to notice...should any mortals be around...]]

"Anyone have a torch I can borrow?" he asked, thinking better of going into the pitch darkness without a light source, though one that would undoubtedly give him away.

Ghost Wolf passes one forward with a quiet remark to the as-yet silent man he takes it from, indicating the utterly immobile Rattleshirt. [Language unknown: "T evelesesswil erethooer witli, n oerhouund si ofenhe mowe son tallro."]

"Shall I go with you?" O'Rourke offers. "If it is the Dust Adders, they'll recognise me for a priest, even if I seem to have mislaid my collar."

"Thank you," he said to Ghost Wolf as the torch was passed to him.

"I think that may be best, Father. Your spiritual authority will more likely have more credence with them than my secular authority," he said. He looked back to Ghost Wolf, Marshal Evans, and William Pierce.

"Just trying to make sure that they don't see my bone monster or the Comanche and get spooked and start a fight that nobody wants. I'll scout ahead and hopefully make contact with the white men and talk peace to them. But maybe it isn't them. I think there's something else lurking about here. Maybe the other bone monster. If you're in trouble, send Harry to come get me and I will return as soon as I can to help fight anything that troubles you. The rest of you - place your trust in Ghost Wolf as he has in us. We'll be back shortly."

With that, he gestured to the priest and moved away into the darkness. "Walk quietly now," he said, carefully tracing his steps and keeping track of his direction so they didn't get lost.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:28, Wed 04 Nov 2015.

"I'm coming with you. I need to have words with Dr. Ward in any case." Evans says with a nod. "Alouette, your presence...will likely not improve a potential stand-off."

William chuckled softly. "I think we'll manage."

"Okay." Alouette looks at Evans. "Advise Ambrose not to take the pants of Doctor Ward, or he might think you were making him minus integrity and/or dignity...and then he would shoot you from ten paces away, which would be bad," it advises.

O'Rourke nods, staying at the edge of Adrian's light as he moves forwards.

The bone monster stays perfectly still.


[[William, if you feel like it give me a Notice -2]]

Apparently, I don't feel like it.
00:21, Today: William Pierce rolled 1,1 using d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 1,1.  White chip.
00:21, Today: William Pierce rolled 1,1 using d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 1,1.  Notice,  - 2, +alertness.

[[In that case, you don't notice!]]

The Comanche aren't voluble, but there's certainly some uneasy discussion going on. One Shot breaks off and tries getting Jake's attention with a cautious rifle-butt poke, asking him something in Comanche and miming knocking back something in a flask.

The others watch William with ccasional glances to the bone glom like he might go off. Harry, having already been investigated for liquor or anything good, is mostly ignored.

"No shooting so far," Ghost Wolf remarks, poised and listening in the direction O'Rourke, Evans and Vega removed themselves. After a little while he decides to kneel and put his ear to the rock, motioning those behind him to stillness.

"..." Ghost Wolf leans back, looking grim. After updating his warriors, he translates: "Be wary. Perhaps your serpent-sorcerer did not go to Pale Moon, or there is another awake...there is something that goes smoothly on the rock perhaps two hundred paces, two hundred and some more, back that way," he gestures down the tunnel they've just come up, then listens some more. "...but it is going off to the side, I think. There is perhaps one walking, too."

[[<bWilliam</b>and Jake, feel free to respond to the above information if you like, but when the others reach you y'all will be in a new chapter, so hold back on the action just yet.

edit: New thread! Go there.]]
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:20, Sat 14 Nov 2015.