The crack of a whip. The screams of a girl. The lewd laughter of men.
Images... Memories rush through Moses' brain.
He shakes his head, as if in disagreement, then bellows: "ENOUGH!"

He dismounts, with all eyes on him.

First, he turns toward Little Crow. [Language unknown: "Thaho siwhi larencnti buttioder avese ti Singes Erang Lomoofla Re Caelpr loev n whene Ndeecteen. Thipr vor peonar stlo witte comavelin o stili n staersore reathubut, tra m ter? Ckilek, poare el, Ioalon foni el ect."]

Then, he focuses on the soldiers. "And you, men of iron and steel and blood. Are you driven so much by your hate of the red man that you cannot let there be a single day of peace? Must everyone pay for what a member of his race has ever done?"

He walks a few steps toward the sergant, arms stretched out, to show he is unarmed.
"You cannot whip this young man, for he his under Moses' wing. Moses has vowed to the Lord to show him the error of his ways and protect him until he is enlightened. His trespasses are Moses trespasses. If you need to whip a man to keep this fragile peace, you shall whip Moses, not Little Crow."

He opens his coat and lets it fall to the ground, then drops his staff upon it. Finally, he pulls Crazy Horse's war club and his shotgun-on-a-sling from and drops them on his coat as well.

"But know this: With every lash, you will not just open Moses' skin. You will open wounds within your soul as well. And the Adversary's poison will find its way into your very being through these wounds and twist your very being, until you may end up just another tool of the Reckoners.
Or you can let go of the whip and let your fear and hate go with it. Moses sees great strength and determination in you. One day, your soul shall add to the scales of Reckoning. But it is this choice, today, right now, that will determine to which of the scales you will add weight."

Then, louder, for the benefit of everyone: "That goes for all of you. Your choices will set you on a path. Moses does not talk about Heaven. Moses does not talk about Hell. A great Reckoning is coming and you shall fight in the army of goodness... or you may become the soulless, hating, soldiers of darkness."
This message was last edited by the player at 16:21, Sat 21 Feb 2015.

For a moment, Sargent Butler relents. The soldiers gathered around look at Moses in awe. Little Crow, still in a fighting stance, looks about in confusion.

Then the Sargent breaks the spell with a crack of his whip. "Brown, Hart, grab the nigger." He growls, his face a cold mask of fury.

"S-sir?" The private says.

The Sargent whirls on him. "Did you go deaf or somethin', boy? You want a taste yourself, maybe?"

"Sir no sir!" The private squeaks.

"The nigger wants to take the redskin's lashin'. Well, then he gets to take the redskin's lashin'." Sargent Butler says. [Language unknown: Tinrutoer terer, di oflat men k noad Ilitsa, resentoun ma ioundeart, ss atckun preomeess os k ndeticsom cemoie atistiere ekline herratort, wete fowil thiwasera naofro re com lechss dina ckpa enpaofil p omerea'iouint. Hou m o mino olthe ee sheousica out int mintut.] "Tie him to the pole."

The two privates named move to flank Moses. They grab his arms. "I-I'm awful sorry 'bout this..." The one called Brown whispers.

Moses lets himself be led toward the pole, talking under his breath to the two privates.
"Your sergeant has made his choice. When the day of Reckoning comes, he will try to cut a path through the army of light so that his masters may walk the Earth. What he does not know is, that he will be their first meal. For the Reckoners are hungry and they don't value loyalty. But God Almighty is watching you, is watching us all, right now. And He is holding His breath, anxious to see what choices you will take. Moses knows, for he is the Lord's prophet and his tool. Look at me, Private - do you believe Moses to be the Lord's most humble servant?"

The soldier gulps. "I-I reckon I do. But if I don't do what he says, he'll turn that whip on me next." The soldiers begin lashing Moses's arms to the pole.

"Moses understands. But do you know what it takes for Evil to triumph? The inaction of good men. Will you follow this man on into the abyss? Will you stay next to him and charge into the ranks of the Lord's champions? When you meet Moses on the Last Field of Battle - will you not think back to this moment, where it all began?"


(Persuasion?

20:19, Today: Moses rolled 4,2 using d10-2,d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 6,4. BLUE CHIP!!!!!
20:19, Today: Moses rolled 1,1 using d10-2,d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 3,3. blue chip. re-roll.
20:19, Today: Moses rolled 1,3 using d10-2,d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 3,5. Persuasion, negative Charisma.

groan... the Dice Roller hates Moses...

20:20, Today: Freiherr von Steinhof rolled 16,1 using d10-2,d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of (10+8)18,3. just testing something..

Yeah. The Dice roller is racist, I say!

((OOC: A four is still a success. What is it you are trying to persuade him of?))

((Sure, but look at the rolls of Leopold :-)
Persuade him to take action against his sarge...))

The private closes his eyes.

"It ain't right!" he says, and he lets go of Moses.

Sargent Butler stands there, flabbergasted. "What did you say?"

"I said it ain't right!" The private says, standing tall. He moves in front of Moses. "He ain't done anything, Sarge! It ain't right to whip a man ain't done nothin' wrong. Sure, his redskin got ornery, but all he done was point and shout. That ain't no cause for a whuppin'!"

The Sargent's face turns mean. "It ain't right? Who are you to say what is and ain't right? I was there at Little Big Horn, son. I seen them boys, good boys, massacred before my very eyes by these dirt-worshippin' heathens. Cut down in their prime because these here redskins are savages. I saw scalpin'. I saw one o' them redskins cut out Tom Custer's heart. Was that right? Hell no, it weren't!"

His eyes narrow. "And you are disobeyin' a di-rect order. And you know damn well what happens!"

{CRACK!}

"When you!"

{CRACK!}

"Disobey!"

{CRACK!}

"Orders!"

{CRACK!}

The trooper falls to his knees as the lashes lick him. Then he collapses. By the forth lash, the poor soldier is trembling in pain.

"Now, do any of you other sons-of-bitches have anything else clever to say?" he roars at the troops.

None of them move. Some of them start crying.

"I. Thought. Not." Sargent Butler says. He looks over at the remaining private near Moses. "Proceed."

Moses turns around, his left hand bound to the pole.
"Moses has something to say: You hurt your own man. It is your sworn duty to protect these men, to lead them through battle . And you have failed in this duty. You have failed your men. The Black Regiment has reserved a place in their ranks for you already."

Then, a soft gale of wind picks up.

The tall negro nods. "The Lord is displeased."
Then he looks up to the sky. "These men are fearful, Lord, cowed by whom they thought they could trust in to keep them safe! Do not smite them, Thy most humble servant begs you, for they do not know what they are doing."

He turns to the second soldier standing next to him. "Will you bring your friend here, so that Moses may ask his forgiveness and thank him for his bravery?"

Art furrowed his brow in a mask of confusion and exasperation at what Moses had decided to do. It seemed he was purposefully destroying the groundwork that Art had laid. It certainly had seemed like everything was ready to calm down, until the self-proclaimed prophet thought it would be a good idea to toss a burning torch on a patch of dry grass in the forest. The flames and destruction that followed shouldn't be a surprise to anyone.

As Art watched, it seemed like that was actually the tactic the madman wanted to take. Divide and conquer perhaps. Maybe there was a method to his madness after all, as the saying went.  Art took note of how the soldiers reacted to the situation. It shouldn't take more than one lash for the Union men to break and be in full fledged mutiny. If these were truly Union men. Based on what Art had seen in the camp where he met Colonel Manning, he wasn't entirely certain if these were true Union Blue or not. In which case this was all a lot of wasted effort.

And unless the Lieutenant was completely blind, he would know what he had in this sergeant. So Art had little hope that going over his head would help.

11:59, Today: Art C. Wiley rolled 2,2 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 2,2. Notice. Trying to get a read on the Union Soldiers.

Art watched the soldiers. All of them were paying attention. Many of them looked mortified by the situation, though a good third of them seemed to be nodding along in approval. It's hard to tell if they were nodding because they approved of the Sargent's actions and were just as bigoted as he was, or if they really felt Moses had stepped over the line.

Art had met these types before. Those who flew off the handle when they perceived a challenge to their authority. Art seemed to be developing a rapport with him before Moses made his challenge. If he could push that a little more, perhaps sooth the man's wounded ego, he might be able to diffuse the situation.

The soldier Moses spoke to shakes. A cold wind passes through the camp. He looks at the Sargent, looks at the bleeding man on the ground, looks at the Sargent, looks at the whip. He swallows. A cloud passes over the sun, and the day grows darker.

"Can we have just a moment, Sarge?" the soldier says. "He wants to say something to Brown."

"The nigger can talk all he's able to when we're done here." The Sargent growls.

14:39, Today: Moses rolled 7,4 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 7,4. Faith for Deflection.

14:44, Today: Moses rolled 4,2 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 4,2. Boost Trait: Vigor.

Well, at least for a short while, Moses has toughness 9 and Vigor d12


Moses looks up to the sky again.
"Lord, You helped your prophet Jesus when he was in pain. May Your humble servant ask the same?"

The wind picks up again, sucking a small leaf up in a spiral, dropping it again at Moses' feet.

"Thank you, Lord."
He nods at the soldier and puts his hand up on the pole. "Proceed, young man. You have Moses'  and thus the Lords'! - forgiveness."

I don't think that Deflection is going to help me here much - but I do expect him to have to work a little harder to flog Moses, harder than it should be. Just a little something that might help to undermine him further.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:45, Mon 23 Feb 2015.

Art walked close to several of the soldiers that appeared appropriately mortified by the circumstances. He walked with staff in hand and Kira faithfully at his side.

If Moses was looking for a division among the men, it would start with these fellows. Perhaps the right words whispered in their ears at the right time. Something along the lines of-

"Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord;
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword:
His truth is marching on."

(sung quietly, not stated)

The whip flicks out again and again. Very few of them hit home, and those that do don't draw blood.

Moses' quiet acceptance of the situation, and Art's whispered words, seem to be changing some of the soldiers.

One of the soldiers near Art begins singing along quietly.

"Glory, glory, hallelujah..."

Another one picks it up.

"Glory, glory, hallelujah..."

More begin to sing.

"Glory, glory, hallelujah..."

((OOC: Butler attempts to whip Moses. These attacks covers several whip swings each, since we're not really in combat. There are a bunch of modifiers I could give to Butler in this situation (Moses being Restrained and Unarmed), but that's really not the point of the scene. These attacks represent the ones he makes against Moses while his deflection power is active.

09:39, Today: 1st Sargent James Butler rolled 0,0 using d8-2,d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 2,2. Flogging.

09:39, Today: 1st Sargent James Butler rolled 4,0 using d8-2,d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 6,2. Flogging.

09:42, Today: 1st Sargent James Butler rolled 1,-1 using d8-2,d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 3,1. Flogging.

Not a single hit.

It might be best to treat this scene as a Social Combat. Art and Moses, you can roll Persuasion checks to try and get the soldiers on your side. Art, you have that 12 that didn't get used before, so I'll use that as your initial roll. I need a roll from Moses. These are contested rolls against the Sargent's Intimidation. He has a penalty from the fact that all his whippings keep missing.))

"Do you not feel the scorn of God, trying to hurt His most humble servant? Does it not stay your hand, pause, re-assess the nature of your very being? Do you no longer question if your actions are truly right? Are you truly certain that you are a better judge of the consequences of your actions than the Lord, God Almighty himself?"

Moses keeps looking forward, but his deep, rumbling voice calls out to everybody in earshot.


19:49, Today: Moses rolled 7,3 using d10-2,d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 9,5. Persuasion, negative Charisma.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:01, Wed 25 Feb 2015.

some mood music

More soldiers take up the chant.

"His truth goes marching on!"

Several of the soldiers step in front of Moses. One of them helps Private Brown to his feet, and carries him over to Moses.

1st Sargent James Butler stares at the quiet mutiny in shock, then his rage boils over.

"Oh, you SONS OF BITCHES! YOU WHORESPAWN! You want to sing a tune for the nigger? I'll give you a fuckin' tune to sing to!"

He cracks his whip again, sending the lash into one of the soldiers standing in front of Moses.

"Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord!" {crack!}

The man shrieks. A dark stain begins to spread across Butler's uniform. He turns his whip on another of the men.

"I didn't find it glorious, in fact I got quite bored!" {crack!}

Butler's skin rips open. Flesh peels away from his face, revealing yellowed bone beneath. The dark stain spreads over his shirt and tunic, turning it a dark black. Men begin to shout and back away as the man rots before their eyes.

[Language unknown: "Wamiev Ousecthas!"] Kills Iron Horse shouts.

"We killed the lamb of God and smeared his blood across the wall! Because JESUS HATES US ALL!" {crack!} {crack!}

The dead man's unnatural voice and his rapid disintegration sends men running and shouting.

All except the man standing at Moses' side. He pulls a knife and cuts through the bonds.

"I ain't never shoulda doubted..." He says. "Forgive me. I ain't never shoulda doubted."

((OOC: I'm going to grant Moses a +2 bonus for that speech. That's a combined total of 21 that Butler needs to deal with. He needs to roll at least a 20 to eat up your successes, and a 24 to actually beat you.

21:00, Today: 1st Sargent James Butler rolled 11,9 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of (8+3)11,(6+3)9. Intimidation.

21 - 11 = 10, which is 2 successes. He fails, and the soldiers who were wavering decide it's better to be safe than sorry. It doesn't convince the skeptics, though.

This causes the Sargent to loose his shit, and decide to reveal himself as the monster he truly is.

Art, I need you to make a Fear check (-3 for the local Fear Level, + Grit) against Fear/Nausea. Moses, you already guessed he was damned, so you don't need to make a roll.

The dozen soldiers and the three braves here have to make Fear checks at well. 8 of them are soldiers, 4 of them are mercenaries. There are 12 total (not counting the poor guy who's Incapacitated right now)

Soldiers: 21:12, Today: Union Troops rolled 1,14,1,-2,1,0,1,1 using d6-3,d6-3,d6-3,d6-3,d6-3,d6-3,d6-3,d6-3, rerolling max with rolls of 4,(6+6+5)17,4,1,4,3,4,4. Fear. Only one keeps his cool, but man does he keep it. While the soldiers run, he cuts Moses free.

Mercenaries: 21:14, Today: Union Troops rolled 3,2,3,0 using d8-3,d8-3,d8-3,d8-3, rerolling max with rolls of 6,5,6,3. Fear. All of them fail.

Little Crow: 21:15, Today: Little Crow rolled 4,0 using d8-2,d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 6,2. Fear. Success.

Kills Iron Horse: 21:17, Today: Kills Iron Horse rolled 1,4 using d8-1,d6-1, rerolling max with rolls of 2,5. Fear. Success.

Walks The Night Alone: 21:18, Today: Walks The Night Alone rolled 6,4 using d8-1,d6-1, rerolling max with rolls of 7,5. Fear. Success.))
This message was last edited by the player at 05:08, Thu 26 Feb 2015.

21:40, Today: Art C. Wiley rolled 6,1 using d12-2,d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 8,3. Fear.

Art steels himself against the appearance of the damned solider. It wasn't the first time he'd seen one of the sort, and probably wouldn't be the last time. Art hoped the Union Blues that were fleeing might be bolstered by their battle hymn. What more would God hope for those that followed Him than to battle the spawn of hell?

"He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat;
He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment-seat:
Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Him! be jubilant, my feet!
Our God is marching on!"

Can Art help counteract the fear gripping the soldiers? It would be nice to have more allies, even if they are blue shirts rather than redshirts.

((OOC: Sure. Make a Persuasion roll, -3 for the Fear Level. Each success and raise will help 3 soldiers shake off their fears, though they'll still be a bit distant from their Panicked run.))

"You are forgiven, son. You have made a wise choice and when the day of Reckoning comes, your soul will add its weight to the scales of good. Help Moses with this man."

Moses leans down to the first soldier, Brown, who had stood up for him.
"You have shown great bravery in the face of danger. Moses is sorry that you got hurt. Let Moses ease your pain and suffering...."



Does he have wounds or Fatigue?

10:36, Today: Moses rolled 3,5 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 3,5. white chip.
10:36, Today: Moses rolled 1,2 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 1,2. Faith for Healing or Succor.

The blood from the lashing gets on Moses' hands as the wounds begin to close. The man begins breathing easier.

A few drops of rain spatter the ground. The sky grows darker as more clouds roll in.

((OOC: Neither. As an Extra, he doesn't technically suffer Wounds, he's just Incapacitated by damage. Healing works to remove Incapacitation as well as wounds, though, so that's a Healing roll.))

Art raised his voice to make it carry through the wind to the troops that had begun to flee. His red hair whipped around his face as he yelled, and he raised both arms away from his body, one holding the staff carved by his own hand, the other open as if reaching toward those that fled.

"Still your hearts, men! Now is the time ta show your determination and be counted among the men tha stand against the devils and demons tha would harm good people! Now is the time ta unleash your fury. Now is the time ta prove yourselves worthy! Now together we stand! Together we fight! Together we send this hellspawn back where he belongs! Now is the time ta band together with your brothers! Stand together with your God against this threat. Ta arms for your brothers! Ta arms for your God! Ta arms for your souls!"

OOC:14 total persuasion after red chip including the -3 penalty
09:46, Today: Art C. Wiley rolled 7 using 1d6, rerolling max with rolls of (6+1)7. Red chip.
09:43, Today: Art C. Wiley rolled 7,-1 using d12-3,d6-3, rerolling max with rolls of 10,2. Bolster troops against fear.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:08, Thu 26 Feb 2015.

The rain begins to reallycome down now, but Art sees almost all of the troopers turn around at his words. They begin making their way back.

((OOC: That calls back all the soldiers and 2 of the mercenaries.

Alrighty, so this is looking like it's going to be a fight. Is this a fight, or is Moses going to say something to Sargent Butler?

I'm going to need to split up the allies between you all. There's Moses' flock (Private Brown and Private Hart), the Indian braves Little Crow, Kills Iron Horse, and Walks the Night Alone (they aren't technically part of Moses' flock yet, as they still need convincing, and they're all Henchmen), as well as the 9 Union Soldiers and the 2 Mercenary Gunmen. Little Crow might be a bit of a wild card (so to speak) in any battle, so I'd probably keep him as an NPC. How do you want to split up the others, in case a fight breaks out?))

((Just noticed that the Champion edge gives me +2 to Toughness :-) ))
The Banish Power would be handy now...

19:57, Today: Moses rolled 7,2 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 7,2. Boost Fighting.



Moses nods to Brown and takes a few steps towards his belongings. There, he picks up Crazy Horse's coup stick.

Looking up into the sky, he yells: "Lord, shall Thy humble servant challenge this abomination and cast it back into the abyss?"

Thunder rolls over the hills as Moses swirls the club around in his hand.

Then he takes a few quick steps forward and thrusts the club toward the Black Soldier's shoulder.


19:58, Today: Moses rolled 8,6 using d10+2,d6+2, rerolling max with rolls of 6,4. Touch attack.


20:00, Today: Moses rolled 32,16 using d35,d35, rerolling max with rolls of 32,16. random chips.
Blue and White...
20:00, Today: Moses drew the single card: 3H using the Deadlands system. Initiative.

This message was last edited by the player at 19:33, Fri 27 Feb 2015.

OOC: I'm totally okay with not having a fight and having the Sargent instead surrender himself to us. :)

I will be glad to take the Union Soldiers and the Mercs if Moses wants to handle the Henchmen.

I presume I don't get any more actions before initiative, though I can edit this post if that's an incorrect assumption.

Initiative is red joker. I can't recall, do I also draw for Kira's initiative separately, or does she go on Art's init?

11:18, Today: Art C. Wiley drew the single card: RJ! using a deck of 54 cards. Init.

Mercs are KC, Soldiers are 4S

11:20, Today: Finn mac Cu Mara drew the single card: KC using a deck of 54 cards. Merc init.
11:20, Today: Finn mac Cu Mara drew the single card: 4S using a deck of 54 cards. Soldier init.

The dead Sargent looks around at his mutinous troops, and then the strike from the coup stick.

"You ingrates!" He howls. "You have no idea what awaits you! I was doing you a favor, toughing you up for the trials ahead!"

He glares at Moses. "And you. You think you've won? You will regret this."

So saying, he vanishes in a puff of foul, black smoke that is quickly washed away by the rain. But Moses could see the truth. Beneath the Sargent's bluster was cold, stark terror. Terror of him, and of the lord.

((OOC: Well, hmm. What should happen to Butler? I think I'll say that he needs to succeed on a Fear check his own self, with Moses' Champion edge giving him a -2 penalty. As an abomination he ignores the Fear Level, but has no Grit, so it's a Spirit roll at -2 for him.

12:47, Today: 1st Sargent James Butler rolled 3,3 using d4-2,d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of (4+1)5,5. Fear. Yup, that's a fail, so he pulls the Black Regiment vanishing act.

Keep those initiative cards handy--we'll use them for the next fight.))