((Leopold would be happy to purchase a gun for James. Or loan one to him, he he's disinclined to accept a gift of the Austrian Government. :-)

Also: Logan, I completely forgot that we had history. Damn, this all happened quite a while ago... ))

As the days roll on, life begins to get back to somewhat normal in Deadwood.

Custer's troops begin building berms and fortifications around the city.

Ground is broken on a fort half a mile from town. Fort Custer begins to take shape in the ruins of Lead, a ghost town near the Homestake Mines.

Construction begins on a building in the Gem's lot. Most of the work involves hauling away the burned, bloody wood and disposing of it.

Nuttal & Mann's No. 10 Saloon is closed following the sad news of Tom Nuttal's death. His funeral is closed-casket.

People talk about a lot of strange things. About how the Bella Union seems to have a new coat of red paint and how sometimes the roulette wheels and one-armed bandits swing by themselves. Another case of "heart failure" occurs, the withered body belonging to a soldier instead of a miner this time. Drunken, unreliable tales of appearances by Hickok's ghost rise, and are conflated with tales of a wriggling skeleton with tentacles bursting out of its chest spotted in an empty lot where nothing at all used to be. Hyrum and Cynthia Burns, wanted by the military police for "questioning," seem to have dropped off the face of the earth, their cabin out by Satan's Garden hastily abandoned. A mysterious buyer makes a generous offer on the lot, far more than it is worth, but the OMA is in no position to finish brokering the deal.

Janet took a look around her cell.  After the first day, she got bored with flirting with the guards, so she merely looked around, memorizing guard schedules and wondering where Roger had gone.

Janet's shadow, meanwhile, doesn't seem to quite move with her. Occasionally, she seems to cast more than one, even with a single light source on her.

Janet closed her eyes and smiled to herself.

The shadows make it seem like there are two people playing poker against each other, though the stakes aren't entirely clear.

((OOC: Just waiting on Han Lee, James Wilder, and Black Jack. James can certainly find or buy a loaner, either from von Steinhoff or from the DMA.))

Janet smiled, and played an imaginary card.

OOC: Considering James and Leopold's history, James'll be more than willing to borrow a suitable firearm from the nice folks of Austria.

---

James finally felt like he could move farther than the door to the DMA stockade he and Jimmy had managed to get in with. "Thinking of talking to that Maddox fella you mentioned the other day. You want to come along."

In reply to Janet Weiss (msg # 13):

The shadows she casts flicker.

Ooc-any developments here?

In reply to James Wilder (msg # 14):

Lonefeather had been...odd, the last couple of days. He seemed to be less sure of himself, walking around as if on eggshells. Perhaps he'd been more rattled by the fight with those worm cultists than he'd let on.

"Uh, yeah." He mumbles. "Let me...let me get my gun."

In reply to Ezekiel Starkweather (msg # 16):

((OOC: Waiting for Black Jack to post, so not yet. He usually posts on weekdays, mostly on Monday.))

Boudreaux headed to the Wooly Bison to see if he could get a bite to eat and see what this Maddox fellow might know.

In reply to James Lonefeather (msg # 17):

"You alright Jimmy? Haven't been your usual jovial self these past few days." James says as he finishes strapping on the gun that Leopold loaned him. The gunslinger gave his friend a concerned look which is rarely seen on his face.

OOC: What sort of weapon did Leopold let James have/borrow?

James rubs the rope burns on his neck. "I don't think I've been right since I got hung, truth be told. I've been having...backouts. Waking up in odd places, having no idea how I got there. Hell, I don't even remember how I got to Deadwood the night of the fires. I...I was covered in blood, had a bloody knife. Then there was that thing with those worm people. I got shot, and I blacked out. I didn't come to until hours later, but you said I was right there with you, cracking jokes like I always do. But I don't remember it. I don't remember it at all."

In reply to Black Jack Boudreaux (msg # 19):

The Woolly Buffalo is down on Deadwood Street, near the creek. Jack remembers it well--he met Calamity Jane outside it just before heading up to the cemetery. The building next door to the saloon is a gutted wreck...must have caught during the fires. Jack steps inside.

Inside, Black Jack finds himself in a welcome environment. Patrons chat up saloon girls, miners play poker, a bartender pours drinks...and just about everyone in here is colored, like himself.

The bartender, a handsome fellow with long curly hair gathered up under a large sombrero, grins at him as he enters.

"Well, howdy there!" He says. "Always nice to see a new face in these parts. What'll you have?"

Han Lee strode down the street trying to ignore the overt Union presence as best as possible.  These soldiers seemed itchin' to shoot anything, and he honestly was not certain they could tell the difference between Han and a Sioux Brave. Despite the ever present risk, Han had patients to look in on.

Ancestors willing, this whole Custer mess will be over soon and the regular townsfolk may look at Han differently on account of him helping the sheriff and all. With that thought in mind he turned down the road to head to Seth Bullock's house and see on his recovering wife.

((OOC: Alrighty. Now, how are you going about tracking down Maddox? That will give me an idea of what skill to have you roll.))

OOC-Most likely briding people and asking around. Also given his poltical attempts, there may be pictures of him about...
This message was last edited by the player at 17:06, Mon 09 Feb 2015.

In reply to Doctor Han Lee (msg # 23):

Bullock's house had been destroyed by fire by the cultists, so his friend Sol had put him up in his own home.

"Doctor Lee!" Sol says as he opens the door at Han Lee's knock. "Good to see you. Come."

Sol, being one of the respectable citizens of Deadwood, has a very nice house built in the Queen Anne style. Bullock and his wife were up in the second-flood guest room. Inside, Bullock was sitting by his wife's side, silently holding her hand.

Martha had survived the gunshot, but was still gravely wounded. The bullet had smashed her jaw, rendering her unable to speak and only able to drink liquids. Her jaw would require very advanced medicine to repair, the sort of treatment not available in Deadwood. Even Han Lee's special techniques had not been able to help much.

Bullock was still quiet. He didn't seem to have noticed Han Lee entering the room.

In reply to Ezekiel Starkweather (msg # 25):

((OOC: That will be a Streetwise check. Remember that you aren't trained in that, so you have to default (d4-2, Wild Die is also at -2) on the roll.))

In reply to James Lonefeather (msg # 21):

James frowns, "That can't be too good Jimmy." He rolls a spent shell over in his fingers, a habit he occasionally did while thinking. "Any ideas as to why? You always know more about the strange stuff than me or I should I see if I can get Father Underwood out here?"

In reply to The Stray (msg # 27):

OOC-Holy crap! I rolled amazing on my worst possible roll!
12:16, Today: Ezekiel Starkweather rolled 4,1 using d4-2,d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of (4+2)6,3.

In reply to James Wilder (msg # 28):

"I...I have some idea, yeah." Jimmy says. "I don't think the preacher can help me now. I just want you to promise me something. If...if I start doing anything horrible, like hurting people for fun or...or worse, I need you to promise to put me down. Shoot me right in the head. Can you do that for me, Wilder?"