Art nodded at Moses' commentary on Maddox. That wasn't what Art was wondering about, but it was useful information anyway. This whole listening thing was working out rather nicely. Sometimes, if you just listen, you get more or different information than if you'd asked what you thought might be the right question.

It was interesting that the woman with auburn hair and a rather large gun-like apparatus was willing to help them find Wells. It was a little odd, and he hoped it wasn't some sort of trap for his crew. She was asked to lead, and Art leaned on his staff, waiting to see if she would do so. He reached down for Kira only to find the Wolfhound not at his side.

Kira quietly padded over by Belle, sniffing at the woman as the dog's nose drew close.

"Demons you say?  There is no ill of the mind which cannot be slain by the judicious application of medicinal chemistry!  Indeed there may be no limitation of the body if its humors are corrected, if Dr. Kellogg's Energy Accelerant and Wellness Tonic is any evidence!

"Come, come.  I believe the quarry you seek was headed to another gathering, I think I heard the name Coot and it seemed a good many were to attend.  Surely we can locate such a sizable delegation considering the limited number of designated public gathering facilities which tend to double as alchohol distribution centers?  If not, well the effort will have been made!

"Ah, I confess biology is not my forte, but this appears to be a member of canis lupus familiaris and an exceptionally well heeled one at that...  I say, is your manservant a deaf mute, and this his assistant animal?  I have always wanted to learn the deaf speech.  I'm so curious what it is that the hearing impaired have to say."

Belle talked a lot but she also moved a lot.

Art smiled at Belle's commentary. His Irish brogue was plain as day wehn he spoke. "Are ya sayin' we gotta go from tavern ta tavern seein' where we might find this lady? Don't sound like such a bad ting." He looked over at Kira. "And yah, she be me assistant animal. Kept me livin' when mebbe I shouldn't be more'n once." Apparently deaf mutes spoke with a brogue.

Art did look over at their own sizable delegation and then meaningfully towards Moses before his gaze returned to Belle. "If ya know the lay o' the land, mebbe lead us toward where ya think this oracle be? We'd be much obliged."

Kira continued to sniff, making sure to get her nose close to Belle's butt at least once or twice. She seemed to be contemplating whether or not to get up on her hind legs and greet Belle as a friend or not.

Belle seemed initially disappointed the man wasn't a deaf mute, but quickly got over it.

"Ah, I presume you hail from the old country, as I am informed my ill-remembered grandparents called it?  There will be no multiple taverns to hop I fear, as one was destroyed earlier today.  I confess I've no precise location, but I was there when the woman I believe was Wells was dispatched.  Barring any possibility of further progress, it is a start to your objective yes?"

She looked down at Kira.

"Beauty without vanity, strength without insolence, courage without ferocity, and all the virtues of Man without his vices."  She mused randomly, vaguely recalling Tennyson being read from a bound volume on her father's lap what seemed like a dozen lifetimes ago.

"The old country, yes. You may otterwise know it as Mizzouri. Way up in the northwest part o' the state." It had been a few years since Art had seen his family. He briefly had a pang of homesickness, but it didn't cross his features. "I be Art Wiley, Miss Ivers. Apologies fer not statin' so sooner. And where do you be from, Miss Ivers?"
This message was last edited by the player at 22:13, Thu 09 Feb 2017.

Matt helped Maddox to his shaky feet, and when the man had regained some of his composure, stepped back around the corner to watch the proceedings.

Katy listened to the commentary about this batch that the Coot wanted to brew up with interest. She wouldn't be the primary beneficiary of such an elixir as it seemed the man brewed, but she knew some folks that could use it well enough.

"Sir, when ya say ya've got mosta whatcha need...what else are ya missing? And if ya had assistance from a knowledgeable person, could ya brew it more quickly?" Katy had other questions for the man, but those could wait for a little later.

Kira was unable to hold out any longer and raised herself up on her hind legs, in an attempt to place her paws on Belle's shoulders and give the woman kisses on the face.

Still pale, Maddox silently flips a coin, regards the result and resumes standing with his hat pulled low and his arms crossed tightly. He still shivers occasionally.

((OOC: dealing with multiple loose ends...))



Jimmy nods. "I think we need to catch back up with Maddox, then. He'd know where we'd need to go."

---

"No. But as the ranking Agent in the area I don't have the luxury of just trusting you, either." Haverford says. "It's not you. It's my standing orders. Tell you what -- where is West? I think he needs to be here. I'd feel more comfortable discussing this with him present. This is his area of operations, after all."

---

Sitting Duck follows Matt into the alley, and looks at Maddox. "He has the Holy Madness." he says to Maddox. "Like the Black Robes who preach of your White God. But now we know where whore is. Sitting Duck not afraid of Sioux chak-sukas. We go get, become rich!"

---

Little Crow, Kills Iron Horse, and Walks The Night Alone all sort of recoil a bit from Belle.

[Language unknown: "Onos acne miwe Witho Redpreeve."] Little Crow says.

[Language unknown: "Achedi ll ticend ith moness tic ughhoulat."] Kills Iron Horse growls. [Language unknown: "Etera i Sta Rea Andthuich. Fo usckte icwabe la ear  Sheicaset Bene, llver lore wasinekor tinderred t een tin."]

[Language unknown: "Ich ons."] Walks The Night Alone muses. [Language unknown: "Is il e ave. Erti ati are mi p beca ilmen asle fo narea? Nidi ven Oneromear Ngosec whe niplol ar."] He walks up to Belle and starts pulling at her hair, as if to get a better look.

---

"I reckon that's prudent. In fact, I think that very fact might be very hand in collecting more o' the things I need, if you're up to it." Coot muses.

Bill nods. "I reckon I owe you one."

"Oh, yes, you do." Coot says.



"Odds and ends." Coot says. "The most pressin' thing I need to get started is some holy water. You know any preachers 'round here with a reputation for miracle-workin'? Heck, communion wine'd work...actually, a lot o' distilled spirits are useful as a base, and that would save a bunch o' time. Also, Ghost Rock. I use vapor from Ghost Rock a lot...if'n I had a good Ghost Steel still, that would make things easier, too, 'cause otherwise I gots to only burn a little at a time, or it gets hot enough to melt anythin' I put it in."

"Coot," Jackie says. "There's somethin' I need to know. Did you ever meet a gal by the name o' Heather Devlin? she's...well, she's one o' the types you help. She was supposed to find you."

Coot leans back and scratches his beard. "hmm...that name don't quite ring a bell. She related to the lady who runs Black River, by any chance?"

"You could say that." Jackie says. "After a fashion, anyhow."

Coot shrugs. "Sorry. not ringin' a bell. Met a lot o' Wichita Witchs, but you'd have to ask Winona."

Jackie sighs and looks down at the table. "Damn."

"Ah... our profession does tend to make us distrustful, doesn't it?"
He shrugs.
"Logan is doing something with a few folks from the Bella Union fight. Oh, yes, I don't think I've mentioned that.. We had an interesting meeting with the late Mr. Hickok... There was a rather unpleasant fellow who gave him something to drink. His condition improved."
He waved a hand, dismissively.
"I will never understand it, this infatuation with the Walking Dead your Agency and the Rangers have. Why do you not put them out of their misery? Anyway, there was talk of them having a drink to debrief."
He points to Jane.
"We could go and meet them... but what do we  do with her?"

Katy shook her head at the questions about obtaining holy water and ghost rock. "'Fraid I don't know no preachers 'round these parts. Only been in town fer less'n a day. But it can't be that hard ta find th' church, right?" They usually have a cross or three in an obvious place.  "As fer a still, I met a gal what seemed ta know a lot about scientific doodads. Don't know if she's got access ta a still, but might be worth askin', since it's fer a good cause."

Katy looked around briefly, then added a few more cents. "Don't s'pose ya ever talked ta any of my brothers or sisters in arms before 'bout yer elixir, have ya? We gotta lotta folk that're helpin' keep the darkness away. And they might could use somma that brew."

"Sounds like we need to get both parts of what Coot needs. I figure I can get into one of the local mines for some ghost rock,  maybe buy some for long term use. Anyone else wanting to pitch in can find some local preacher and see if he's got the mojo we need."

"Think so? Ran into him before things went sideways at the Bella Union." James recalls as the pair talk. "Guess we can find him easy enough."

Jackie sighs. "Findin' a preacher in Deadwood might be a bit more difficult than you think." She leans back. "Leastways, one holy enough call on actual help from the Almighty. This town don't exactly draw in a lot o' decent, God-fearin' folk."

Coot nods. "I figgered that. But the preacher don't need to be The Most High Holy Roller to do the blessing, it just makes the best batches." He looks at Katy. "That sounds helpful. And yeah. I have. But here's my issue with your folk -- far too many of them lean on the Shoot part of the 'shoot or recruit' method, and the 'recruit' method seems more like dragoonin' in my experience. And then they make the problems they're tryin' to solve worse by scarin' folk what have seen some of the things that have been goin' on."

"I said the exact same thing, earlier." Jackie says.

Coot looks at her. "Really?"

Jackie nods. "Uh-huh. Because of how you said it all worked. And The things I've seen my own self."

"huh." Coot thinks on this. "You seem sure we've met afore, but I'm sure I'd have recollected it."

Jackie nods. "I'm sure o' that, just as I'm sure you'd have remembered Heather if she'd found you."

"My memory ain't all it once was." Coot says. "When was this meetin'?"

"Devil's Tower." Jackie says. "In the year 2094."

Coot blinks.

"Yeah. Like I said, it's complicated, and it's a story I don't want to have to repeat a whole bunch o' times. There's some folk at the Mint who're waitin' on us to fetch ya." Jackie looks at Zeke. "Now, I know you're all-fired to help Coot go collectin' stuff, and I don't blame ya, but if we have Wild Bill's sitiation covered for now then I reckon we all oughta head back before we go out snipe huntin'."

Katy nodded at the Coot and then at Jackie. "An' I heard what ya said, Jackie, an' I been mullin' it over. Really ain't enough fer me ta hear it, though, gotta convince folk in Austin if yer gonna change thinkin' fer more'n just a person here an' there. Least 'til yer callin' me colonel, that is." Colonel Cox had a nice sound to it...

"Course my uncle might be just the fella ya need ta convince. Awful high up in Rangers, he is."

The Ranger nodded again at the suggestion they head out, since their errand seemed at an end. And as they were heading to another saloon, Logan would have another chance to buy her a drink.

In reply to Coot Jenkins (msg # 182):

Zek raised a skeptical eyebrow at Jackie when she started talking about the future.  However he was hardly one to say what was real and what was not. He glanced at Coot. "How long do we have to leave Bill here before I have to start worrying about him and you? "

"Why? Seems like we're all headed to the same place." Coot says. "Asides, it ain't a matter o' duration. It's a matter o' willpower. The stuff I make gives you a chance to assert your own will over the critter inside ya. Once you're back in the saddle, it's up to you to keep yourself there."

"I am not sure there's anything holy about that madness, see you," Maddox says, shuddering. He sighs at Sitting Duck's enthusiasm.

"You can go. Me, they axe or drag back to Deadwood. If you can dodge all the Sioux and that Tarha fellow, and bring her back alive, good for you. But I do think you should ask your commanding officer about the word 'desertion', see you." He meets Sitting Duck's gaze from under his hatbrim, serious.

"I know it's not the same for you fellows on the land, but Custer is making white laws in the town and I can believe he will enforce them."
This message was last edited by the player at 08:27, Fri 10 Feb 2017.

Sitting Duck shakes his head. "He has the Holy Madness. The white woman...she has madness, but it not Holy Madness. See?"

He shakes his head again. "Sitting Duck Chatickssichaticks. Pawnee. Sioux cahk-sukas have no love for Chaticks, like they have no love for white man. They make heap big nation, kick Pawnee and Crow and Shoshone out of it. Sitting Duck need Mad-docs."

"I...think perhaps you're better at identifying holiness than I am, it could be that," Maddox says as diplomatically as he can manage, albeit with a dubious sort of look.

"Hm, well...I'll try to get a permit to get up the mountain, but what with Custer being here, see you, and their parliament being there, that's twice as difficult...if I manage to get that together I'll let you know first, yes? How about that?"

Belle was amused by the dog's antics, but a bit terrified of its affections.

"Oh whoa... whoa... you're very sweet but I need to brush your teeth first, the bacteria in your oral cavity may be deathly... yeouch!"

Belle pulled back when her hair was pulled. "I say, that is a bit much there fellow!"

"Right. You lead the way." Jimmy nods, and gets his Gatling pistol ready.

((OOC: So...back to the Woolly Buffalo, then?))