Bryan inspected the special kettle that Dr. Wayland provided him, taking it by the handle and observing the spout as well as the activation mechanism. "That is wonderful, Dr. Wayland. I'm gonna have to figure out how I can contrive to pour it down Murphy's throat."

He turned to somewhat present a finalized plan to the others. "So we have the big show up front to take their attention with myself and the Sheriff here and a few others. We sneak a team out back to secure the stables, mainly Roberts and our Mescalero friends and whoever joins them. We'll want to come up into the house and try to free anyone Murphy has held hostage. Once the action kicks off, we have the wellhouse go up in a blaze, as the Regulators join the fray."

"The prime objective is to free the innocent hostages that Murphy has taken, and secondarily to capture or kill Murphy. We'll need to eliminate resistance on the ground to get in, but we can expect heavy hitters inside so we'll need to be prepared for a tough fight here."

When Kate spoke up, Albert's face showed concern. "We got some folk that should be able ta help. But...what happened out there?"

The cowboy nodded thoughtfully at Bryan's plan, considering where he might be best deployed. Given the presence of the special bullets designed for Murphy, they might be best served by spreading those out just a little.

Dr. Wayland, in response to Ranger Lee's query of just how to get the tallow down Murphy's throat, offered helpfully, "At a guess, based on your past work, Ah would say you'll start by hitting him repeatedly in the head...  Ah'm shuah you'll work out the next step after that.  If it would be helpful, Ah can also shoot him a few times with various interesting munitions"

He glanced over to Kate, then slowly over to Albert as he seemed to be asking about how "the plan" went.  Yet more helpful offerings, "Well...  Theah was a furious exchange of skilled gunfiah...  Then both combatants walked away.  Well, limped... Quite the sight really, if a bit...ah...inconclusive..."  To Kate, he quickly added with a hand held up defensively, "Not foah lack of trying.  That was....a lot of lead..."

She shook her head.  "Ya don't have ta sugar coat it Doc, ah tried, that's true.  Ah botched it royal is also true.  Ah weren't no count.  But ah don't regret it none, th' payoff were good an' the loss patenshul weren't much, anyone who done any figurin' woulda made th' same bet."

She stared off.  "Nothin' ah could ever do will ever mattah, but that don't count neither."  She said it wistfully, like it was some deeply profound insight missing its context.  And maybe to her in particular, it was.

Quietly, Roving Wolf approaches Kansas Kate. He mutters a few words, his deeply lined face pinched with concentration, then places his hand on the outlaw’s lingering wound. Kansas Kate feels a sudden jolt of warmth and when the aging Comanche shaman removes his hand, her injury has vanished.

20:49, Today: Shabbakasha rolled 7,4 using 1d8,1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 7,4.  Tribal Medicine.

Casts Greater Healing.

Power Points expended: 10

”Right after we deal with anyone that comes running to put out the fire, we’ll give our attention to this door on the west side of the house,” Bonney says, ”If we can hold there, and Roberts and the warriors can keep watch on the stables and the back of the place, with the rest of you goin’ in the front, that oughta hem in Murphy and those with him good and tight. Leave him nowhere to run.”

The Kid grins. ”Course, if it gets out of hand inside, just holler. We’ll be glad to join in.”

Garrett, who has been silently listening to the discussion, speaks up. ”I think it’s the best plan, and the best use of everyone here who’s volunteered, that we can hope for.”

He nods at Lee. ”We’d best ride in groups. Each one approach the ranch from side they’re attacking from.”

“Once we’re in place, we’ll use the wellhouse being lit up as our signal to move.”

He nods at the gathering, then makes his way to his mount.

Bonney falls in beside Garrett, a grin on his face. ”’Scuse me for askin’, Sheriff,” he says, ”but does this mean we’re friends now? Us and the law?”

Garrett nods as he steps into the saddle. ”Of course it does, Billy,” Garrett answers, ”Of course it does.”

The house that L.G. Murphy calls home is a stark sight, seemingly rising out of a barren patch of land, spartan despite its size. The sharp angled walls and surrounding grounds are free of anything welcoming, any of the small touches or adornments that might identify it as a dwelling that is appreciated and esteemed by those that reside there. It is merely functional in its construction, the sight of its dark, slightly weathered walls reminding the riders of a fort, or even a stockade.

Halting a fair distance away, the lead group of riders can see that both the ranch house and bunkhouse are well lit. Most of the windows glow with light and lanterns are hung on the exterior of both structures. The other buildings, the barn and wellhouse, are dark.

Lena Bauer produces a spyglass from her saddle bag which she uses to survey the property, before offering it to anyone who desires a closer look. As Tom Horn had warned, the approach to the property is absent of cover. Only a few clumps of brush, some low rocks, and half a dozen tumbleweeds occupy the vacant stretch of land. Those that study the buildings can see a lone cowboy seated on the steps of the bunkhouse and three riflemen at the main house, two posted on the upstairs balcony, one on the porch below.

The wind from the mountains, a near constant presence in the Rio Bonito Valley, is still. Beyond what they have already observed, the riders see no other signs of activity at the Murphy Ranch.

"They've got a guard up, though maybe not as much as if they'd known we'd strike tonight. If they don't shoot first, I'll offer an option to surrender - one that I don't believe will be accepted. If they let off a shot, it's guns hot from then on out - with a priority on getting into that house. Once the lead starts flyin', hopefully Mr. Bonney and his boys will make things even hotter and we'll have enough of a distraction to split their forces and we can push in."

He looked to Garrett to read the man's thoughts. "Of course, if you think differently Sheriff, maybe we just ride in with guns hot."

OOC:

With the general lack of cover, and us able to see the riflemen and cowboy out there, am I correct in assuming it is likely they see us as well?

OOC: Not yet. The group of riders is far enough back from the house that they are still under cover of darkness at this point. Everyone has observed what they have by the benefit of Bauer’s spyglass.

”Had I been doing this even a short time ago, without a star pinned to my chest, I would have favored riding in there, guns blazing,” Garrett says, “But, like you, I’m the law now, and I feel as if we have to give Murphy the chance to do the right thing, even if there’s little chance he’ll avail himself of it.”

Dr. Wayland pulled on a pair of odd goggles fronted with parabolic dishes.  The whole thing made him look more than a little owlish in the dim dusk-light.  Leaving the others with the spyglass to look over the ranch, he took a look at the general area around them to make sure they were not the only things sneaking through the dark.

He did suggest, "Pa-haps we simply ride in slowly and dramatically.  Give them plenty of time to see us coming and make their legally inadvisable choices.  We ah, aftah awl, supposed to attract attention.  And bullets, no doubt."  His voice dropped off a bit quieter, more of an aside to...someone else, "Yes.  Of co-ase we'll send bullets back...  polite thing to do...  better to give than to receive...  decieve..."

”I don’t want to talk out of turn or anything,” Bauer says, ”but if we’re gonna go order Murphy to surrender, I reckon we need to ride up as close to that house as we can manage. Since it’s the only cover, we’ll need to make a dash for the porch, or the bunkhouse, once the bullets start flyin’”

”There’s only four of those fellas out there. I imagine we could take care of ‘em pretty quick. At the least, send ‘em lookin’ for somethin’ to duck behind.”

”That is odd, Ranger. Murphy having only a few guards. Maybe he took that ruse about Angus pretty seriously,” Garrett says.

”The doctor here may have the best idea. Ride up slowly. Make it clear we’re here to make a legal demand of Murphy. See if we can get him, or anyone else in there, talkin’”

He looks to Lee. ”I plan to follow your lead. You know Murphy’s wrongdoings better than I do, though I’ll make it clear that the law here in Lincoln County is present to assist you in arresting Murphy and his accomplices.”

"I think that the slow and obvious approach is the way to go. Not necessarily slow, but deliberate all the same. Enough that they hear the hooves, and look our way. Maybe loud enough that we take their eyes away from anything else that may be occurring on their property, and long enough that we give anyone else the time they need to do whatever it is they will - and get good and close as the good Deputy here suggests. I'll announce our presence then, and offer a fair trial to be conducted outside of Lincoln County to any that surrender. And to any outlaws that quit the field at the outset other than Murphy, I'll offer a three day head start before I begin pursuit."

"Murphy ain't gonna accept it, Sheriff. His list of crimes is long and spans beyond his time here in the Confederacy, even though the ones he's committed here are probably the most heinous and of most significance to the good folks of Lincoln. He's a zealot of the highest order, and he's bought into some paranormal delusions of grandeur that he things he can achieve by consorting with all kinda things. But maybe some others think twice about their choices of allies."

Whenever they all seemed ready, and if there weren't objections, he would suggest they proceed with their plan.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:33, Fri 02 Oct 2020.

Kansas Kate said nothing, but she inventoried her wide assortment of claimed weapons.  She had the Schofield and her Winchester loaded, and she wedged the shotgun in too.  If they got close in, it would be better than either.  If they had to go in, it would make a good key.

She only sighed a little.  The Ranger had said it true and better than she could.  She had tried.  God knew she had tried.

Why am I here? She wondered.  She didn't fit in with this any more.  Any of these people were as dangerous as her if not moreso, and her duel in the street had showed her the hard way she'd lost any edge she'd ever had.  She might have been deadly with that gun once, but no longer.  Going around the brink of death and coming back had given her one thing, but it had ruined all her grit and killer instinct.  Well, too late to debate it now.  This had to be done.

Garrett is silent for a moment as he considers all that Lee has told him. ”Alright,” he says, ”Let’s see this done.”

Motioning for the other riders to follow, he prompts his horse forward at a slow walk.

The group of riders comes into view of the ranch house, the orange glow of the burning lanterns illuminating the scene like a full harvest moon. The three riflemen standing guard at the house itself shoulder their weapons, but do not raise them, watching the approaching gathering warily. Only the man seated at the bunkhouse seems to register real alarm, standing as he catches sight of the posse, his eyes growing wide as they draw close.


A tense silence lingers over the scene briefly, until the rifleman posted at the front door speaks up. “What’s your business here?” he demands gruffly.

Kansas Kate turned it on.  She allowed herself to chuckle.  The old Kansas Kate would have said something derogatory about his genitals, but she figured it was better to let the Ranger make his play and not steal his thunder.  If they weren't having it though, she was going to see if she could have some fun with them.

Honestly, in their position, she wasn't sure if she'd take the deal or not. It was so weird being on the other side of one of these things.

Lee dismounted and walked up a pace, but not so close as to cause any alarm. "At my whistle, get started," he said at a low voice meant only for the ears of his companions.

Facing the house, he began his announcement in a loud voice.

"My name is Bryan Lee of the Texas Rangers, and by the authority given to me by the CSA, I'm here to offer the former Union Cavalryman known as Mr. William Preston Longley, known to you under the false name of L. G. Murphy, the opportunity to surrender himself peacefully to arrest for crimes committed in New Mexico, Texas, and beyond," he said. "I will take him under my custody, for transportation outside of Lincoln County, with the promise of a fair trial."

"Convey him that message and let me know his answer."
This message was last edited by the player at 17:47, Fri 02 Oct 2020.

Dr. Wayland trotted along with the others towards the ranch.  He stuck to the left side of the group, his lightning gun held ready in his free hand.  During the ride up to the ranch, he kept the Owl Eyes down so that he could keep a good eye out in the darkness.

Supposing nothing struck his attention, the Doctor was more than happy to lift the goggles back up onto his hat as they rode into the ranch proper.  To any of Murphy's folk on his side of the possee, Wayland lightly tapped the edge of his hat in greeting before settling his odd gun into his hands more comfortably.  But with a lot of implied meaning...

The rifleman works the lever of his rifle, his fellow guards following suit on the balcony above. The man in front of the bunkhouse draws a pistol, but does not raise it, pounding on the door behind him with his free hand.

” You came to the wrong place to try and make demands, lawman,” the guard on the porch drawls, ” Now if you’ve got an ounce of sense...”

A jubilant howl, akin to a battle cry, sounds from the darkness west of the residence, the dense shadows quickly dissipating as the wellhouse bursts into flame. The yell is drowned out by a cacophony of gunshots, pistols and long arms fired upward into the night sky.

OOC: Everyone kindly provide me with an Initiative draw. Also, please give me a Notice roll as well. Dr. Wayland, as you’re striving to be watchful through your nightvision goggles, you can add +2 to your Notice roll.

"Must be the beast Murphy keeps on this property," he called to his companions. He couldn't see anything, but he waited in silence for something to happen.

"Looks like Bonney's distraction worked out. Now...we gotta get into that house. They've been given a chance to walk. Light up any hostiles we encounter."

---

OOC:

Notice 2
Initiative 9C

19:52, Today: Bryan Lee drew the single card: 9C using a deck of 54 cards.  Initiative.

19:51, Today: Bryan Lee rolled 1,2 using d6,d6, rerolling max.  Notice.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:44, Sun 04 Oct 2020.