Jake, having finished his task, follows everyone up out of the basement. He frowned on seeing the body of the giant stalker. "We oughta dump that thing downstairs while it's still down." he says, mostly looking at Lee. "I expect the big 'un there might be the same as the little ones, regrowin' itself unless burnt, and the fires we set are still burnin'."
This message was last edited by the player at 21:59, Sat 16 June 2018.

Bryan emerged from the hatch in the room, and seeing the situation to be generally clear, he turned back to the hatch behind him.

"Coast is clear, y'all can come out. I'm gonna move ahead, see what Kate and them got up to, but let's get outta this house," he said to Jacinta as she brought up the kids.

He took the time to collect a few of the books in the room - the ones that he thought his superiors might be most interested in - before heading out to catch the conversation going on between Kate and Tamsin.

"I reckon' you're right, Jake. Kate, Tamsin, Reverend, we had to deal with some unruly foliage down below. Things that couldn't be put down and if left alone, would regrow themselves. Unless they were put to the torch. That'll explain all the smoke y'all smell right now. We all made it out alright and got the kids in tow, but unless I miss my guess, whatever Tamsin was treatin' the Reverend for didn't come from bangin' a door too loud - and is somethin' we probably won't be keen to have to tackle again."
This message was last edited by the player at 22:10, Sat 16 June 2018.

Jacinta escorted the littles upstairs and out of the house, herding them along like a pack of chihuahuas.  Seeing that Kate got her man, she smiled at the gunslinger. "Saw you sprint.  Figured you'd drag him down or plug one in his back.  He dead or just out cold?"

Michael Kibbee Junior approaches the fallen scarecrow cautiously. Staring at its fallen form with wide eyes, he looks to the rescuers. ”The scarecrow, he was always here. You could hear him walkin’ around upstairs sometimes and he’d come down and look at us, once or twice every day. Like he was checkin’ to make sure we were still there. I tried sneakin’ up to the cellar once and those fellas out of the vines caught me. And just a minute later, there he was. Like he knew I’d tried to run off.”

The girl who had been the storyteller identifies herself as Esther Wood. ”That man,” she says, gesturing to Segovia, ”he brought us food and blankets. Told us not to try to get away. Said we’d be able to go back to our families soon. He...knew the scarecrow. Once, it came down with him. He called it ‘Old Man Blair’”

"Get them chitlins outta here."  Kate growled lowly.  "This piece of shit has answers, an' ah'm gonna beat them out of him.  You don't want none o' them 'round fer it."

"Jake, maybe we just light that thing up right here and now so we don't have to go back down there," he said.

On Kate's suggestion, he sighed. Certainly, there was a part of him trying to shout down his better angels, and that part wanted to do exactly what Kate was suggesting...or at least to turn a blind eye to whatever she might do. But his better angels were too loud to be drowned out.

"Kate, that's not how we're gonna do things," he said. "I don't cotton to the abuse of prisoners. There are other ways we can get information outta him. For now though, I think it best we all get ourselves back to town. Quietly. We need to reunite these children with their parents."

OOC:

Ah, the Code of Honor hindrance.

Albert furrowed his brow at discussion of where to set the thing on fire. "Aren't we settin' this whole thing on fire before we leave? I'd prefer ta not leave any shred of...anythin' behind."

The ranch hand looked over at Segovia. Al wanted to just put a bullet in the other man's head and be done with it. Toss his body on the fire, too. But there might be better ways of dealing with him. "If he's a prisner, General, where do ya intend ta hold 'im? And I'd very strongly caution against answerin' that question with anywhere in Lincoln. In fact, if ya do, I'ma just go ahead and tell my uncle ta arm up or leave. An' that ain't repayin' his hospitality very good. Weedkiller'll be in the same sorta situation with his shop."

Albert's chin jutted out toward the kids. "By the same token, kids gotta git home quiet an' while it's dark. An mebbe they don't give us credit fer anythin'. Some word mebbe gets out eventually, but hopefully just rumor an' legend."

"Yeah, I reckon just burnin' the whole thing down's a good idea." Jake says. "But maybe it ain't, and there's somethin' here -- notes, letters, an' suchlike -- that might let us know how we kill the weeds fer good. Fire is workin', but the folks I talked to said they done burned the weeds 'afore, and they sprung back up later. Unless them little critters were reseeding things. It looked like they could travel through the earth, might have been able to travel to places where the vines had been to plant more. But if that's the case, how do we know we got 'em all?"

Albert gestured at the house. "Seems like this were the origin. Prunin' a tree don't kill it. Rippin out its roots sure do, though. If yer thinkin' we oughta do more searchin', well, ain't no time like the present. Afterward I think it oughta burn."

"I'm alright with burnin' the house, as long as we can get all the books, papers, and such things as evidence or hints of what we might do about the problem if it creeps up somewhere else. Also, there are remains within the home that are best directed to the nearest of kin, if they can be identified," he said.

"As for this fella, do we have a name for him? Whoever he is, should he get back to his bosses, he'll have quite the story to tell. If it were just me, I'd have no problem carrying the burden of that, but I realize that he's seen y'all and that ain't good for you or your kin. That said, I have no doubt that some tales will be told o' this night no matter what kinda discretion we ask for. It just can't be helped."

OOC: Is Segovia tied up or bound at all still? Or just immobilized by the extreme hurt Kate put on him?

Kate kicked Segovia.

"His nombre is Pendejo, and that's all I want ta hear anyone call him from now on.  He knew that Straw Man what tried ta kill us up here was a 'comin'.  I think he summoned 'im, or at least... knew 'im.  The only reason ah didn't put a bullet in his ass is he knows something, dammit."

She kicked him again, then smiled sweetly with much mischief.  It made the folds of the knife scar across her cheek settle in a strange pattern.

"Well ah tell you want Ranger, why don't you just let little old me put a wee bandage on this all and I'll just apologize and tell him how sorry I am, and then surely he'll tell the law all he knows, of course.  I'm done draggin' his ass by myself in any event."

OOC: No he got loose, he's just beat to hell.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:07, Wed 20 June 2018.

She looked at the house and then the children.  "Ain't gonna make it far totin' a passel of littles all the way to town.  Anybody see a barn 'round here?  Thinkin' the pistolero ain't come all this way on foot.  Horse'd help.  Cart'd be better.  Gonna go have a look if someone'll keep an eye on this little herd."

"Which brings us back around to this." Jake nudges the fallen body of the giant stalker. "I don't want this thing to be gettin' back up while we ransack this place for anythin' we can learn. I'm all for setting this place ablaze when we're done, but this fella oughta be taken care of right now." He reaches down and grabs part of the creature's corpse. "So if someone can help me toss this into the blaze we done started below, I'd be much obliged. We can worry about Mr. Pen-day-ho later."

Albert nodded at McGraw. "I can help ya. I can watch it ta make sure it burns, too."

He grabbed the opposite end from McGraw and hoisted on the count of three.

04:24, Today: Tamsin River rolled 9,9 using d8+2,d6+2, rerolling max with rolls of 7,(6+1)7.  Treating Segovia.

Tamsin sighs. She can’t not treat him, even if he’s despicable. The children don’t look injured, and everyone else has been taken care of. She settles herself by Segovia’s head to tend to his face. Kate had really done a number on him.

“How ‘bout I take care of him, and you focus on the children? Might be able to get the story out of him,” she said with a shrug. She couldn’t bring herself to call him pendejo.

He moved in closer to get a look at said pendejo. "Well, it seems he isn't bound any longer...so I guess he's not a prisoner bein' that he escaped my protective custody. You can do what you will, Kate, but I'd like to have a word with him first. No need for your bandages and apologies though, Kate. This ain't the first time I've had to extract information from a pendejo like this."

He looked over to Tamsin when he saw her administering a treatment on the man. "Ma'am, if you could bring him to, I'd appreciate it, but don't go out of your way to make him feel comfortable. He's likely to be dangerous and violent, and I'd like to see if I can get any answers outta him before I go canvas the house for evidence."

He put down his books, and set his lantern down a few feet away and out of reach, but close enough to give them some light. He crouched down beside the pendejo, and drew his pistol, holding it mere inches away from Segovia's face and waiting until the man regained consciousness. When he did, Bryan gave him a wicked smile and spoke to him in an unnervingly calm and steady voice.

"Buenas noches, pendejo. Have a nice nap? I found all them children you kidnapped. You know what happens to perverts like you, who kidnap children and keep 'em holed up with critters like that? Oh, I'll have quite a story to tell when I haul your ass back to Santa Fe - unless you got a better story for me now, that is. Then I might just give you a fightin' chance."

OOC:

Sorry, I was under the mistaken impression that our favorite pendejo was bound (don't ask me why, it doesn't make any sense now that I think about it).

Using this:

9H - Spill the Beans
“You don’t wanna get her riled, amigo.”
The subject of your questioning tells you everything you want to know, whether by friendly persuasion, intimidation, or force. The Marshal gets a draw from the fate pot.


This message was last edited by the player at 15:52, Wed 20 June 2018.

In reply to Jacinta Castillo (msg # 74):

"I'll be glad to mind the children, Miss Castillo."

He gathers them close and sits them down at the end of the porch farthest from Segovia, facing away from him and the Ranger. He leads them in a simple prayer of thanks to God for their deliverance and in the Lord's Prayer.

"...Amen.

"What's your favorite hymn?" he asks Esther, "Why don't you lead the others in singing it?"

As Esther begins the hymn, he gazes around at the fields of vines and wonders how long it will take for the house to catch fire from the fire in the cellar.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:50, Wed 20 June 2018.

"Thanks, Padre.  Gonna take a quick walk about."  She pulled her rifle from her holster and disappeared around the side of the house.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:06, Thu 21 June 2018.

With the help of Tamsin River’s smelling salts, Segovia awakes with a jolt. He blinks, his gaze fixed first on the pistol in his face, then on Bryan Lee. He lets out a shuddering breath, then shakes his head. ”I didn’t take any kids. Not a one. The scarecrow did. Old Man Blair. He burrowed under the school somehow, came up from under it and snatched all the ones he could. The ones whose families was causin’ problems in Lincoln for Mister Murphy.”

“I don’t know how that thing knew which kids were which. Somebody told it, I reckon. But I don’t know who it was, I swear. After it happened, Jesse, Jesse Evans said I needed to start comin’ out here. Told me where to find the place. Gave me blankets and such to bring to the kids. I was told to get food from Wilson’s Saloon each day. Bacon. Biscuits. Tortillas and beans. Make sure the children got it.”

His eyes shift over to Kate, then back to Lee. ”Jesse taught me this whistle. Three notes. Told me if I ever caught anyone prowling around the house, looking for the little ones, that it would bring Old Man Blair. I only seen that thing twice since I came. Once stalkin’ around the house and another time downstairs, watchin’ the children. I think it would’ve just as soon killed me as looked at me.”

Beads of sweat glisten on Segovia’s forehead. He licks his lips nervously. “Jesse made it real clear that if those kids got away before it was time, I’d pay hell for it. And I got an idea of what he was talkin’ about. So, if you got any mercy left in you mister, you go ahead and pull that trigger. Better that than me going back to Lincoln. I’m a dead man there now.”

Outside, Jacinta finds a cart, likely once used to haul wheat, on the west side of the house. It hasn’t been used in some time, but the planks and hardware are all intact. It squeaks loudly when the wheels turn, but it rolls without resistance.

Continuing her search, the scout locates Segovia’s horse, a paint mare, hitched to one of several withered cottonwood trees north of the farmhouse.

The children readily pray with Reverend Allgood, several of them clearly calmed by the minister’s presence. At Allgood’s prompting, Esther Wood leads the group in ”On Jordan’s Stormy Banks I Stand”, their voices drifting over the quiet fields.

Downstairs, Cooper and McGraw manage to wrestle the scarecrow’s corpse to the entrance to the cradle, heaving it onto the closest blaze. The body catches fire easily, rapidly shrinking as the the flames consume it, reducing the vines that make up its form to ash.

As the scarecrow burns, the two men notice that the vines that make up the cradle below, and that cover the walls of the cellar, begin to wither, shrinking into thin, gray husks that are eventually reduced to dark powder. Upstairs, those near the kitchen observe the same phenomenon with the vines that had burst through the floor, seeking to entangle Allgood, Kate, and River.

Outside, Allgood and Castillo see the vines that choke the vacant fields curl up into lifeless twigs, then become dust, which is quickly claimed by the breeze from the mountains.

Jacinta approached the mare with caution, making soft soothing noises to check the horse's temperament.  Producing a bit of hard biscuit from her pack -- really the only food she had left besides some dried meat -- she held it in offering while petting the beast's head.  "You ready to do some work, poncho?"  Taking the mare by the lead, she urged it toward the house with a steady, calming hand.

"Now I'm glad ah didn't kill 'im."  Kate smiled wryly.  Her hand was quick.  The Schofield No. 3 came up leveled with Segovia's head, cocked, but pointed in a benign direction, finger never touching the trigger, at least until she decocked and spun the pistol back into its holster.  She was showing off a little bit.

Kate arched an eyebrow at the Ranger.  He'd gotten him to talk without the usual theatrics, Kate respected that, it was neatly done.  So she intended to give him a freebie.

"There ain't no good in this world, whether ye call it God or justice or whatever... it ain't real.  Every action a man takes is evil, he ain't capable of nothin' else.  But there is innocence, and far too little of that even.  Anyone that would send a horror like that... thing after the only truly innocent people to be had 'round these parts, that's what yer after, if I ain't mistaken."

Kate leaned over the prisoner.

"I think the only thing I hate more than your ass-"  She looked at Segovia.  "-is the thought of an even bigger sunuvabitch getting the satisfaction of snuffing El Pendejo.  Beg for sweet death all ya want, but yer sorry ass is what we in the trade refer to as bait."

She stopped, curious to see if her idea was as obvious as she imagined.

After the scarecrow-thing lit on fire and Albert noted the other vines disappearing and turning to dust, he looked over at McGraw. "I think the clock may've just started. Let's look upstairs an then figger out what ta do with Mister Pendejo out there."

Taking his own advice, Albert starting moving in the direction of the cellar entrance, intent on finding anything in the place that folk might want to bring out of it before the whole thing burned.

Jake nodded, and followed Cooper, joining in a search. It looked like that might have done the trick, unless there was another of these things out there. If there were any sort of notes that could confirm that the thing there was the source of the vines, he'd appreciate that, but he was glad he'd made the right call -- if that monster had been the source of the vines, and those vines had only shriveled up because they'd made sure the body remained down, then it might eventually have gotten back up again.

In a simple gesture, Lee holstered his own weapon. He didn't remember the last time he had actually fired the thing. It had its uses, but he preferred his own methods.

He stood up, and looked toward Kate with a questioning glance. Whatever her idea of using this pendejo as bait was, it wasn't apparent to Lee. He waited to see if it was something she cared to make clear, but understood if she didn't want to do so in the presence of El Pendejo.

"You ever report to anyone besides Jesse Evans?" he asked the man.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:06, Thu 21 June 2018.