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15:38, 28th March 2024 (GMT+0)

The Dark Amazon.

Posted by DrakeFor group 0
Drake
GM, 316 posts
Mon 18 Jul 2005
at 22:34
  • msg #1

The Dark Amazon


A head suddenly broke the surface as McCurdy watched; and spat out water, and spoke.  "Me lad !"  the man said, ignoring the gun McCurdy levelled at it, looking past him to Hawksmoore.
.
"Captain !" Sebastian Hawksmoore cried, with apparent delight, jamming the pole into the bottom to slow the boat.
"Permission to come aboard, Master Hawksmoore ?"  the man asked, the blackness of the river rendering him as a dripping wet, disembodied head. He had an eyepatch, and a bald spot, but did not look particularly threatening.  His accent was akin to Hawksmoore's.
"Granted !"

The man swam to the side of the boat, and he set an arm along it, to haul himself aboard, then made a gesture at the water, a beckoning one, to something or someone below it; Brother Clary saw this clearly.  "Do I mistake me, or is this Pedro Morales' boat, Bastian ?"  he said, as Hawksmoore bent to offer him a hand up.
"Tis, Captain," Hawksmoore replied.
"And where is the good man ?"
"Seeking his boat, happenstance," Hawksmoore said, with a smirk.
"Oh, me lad, a pirate forever ye are." grinned the man, and easily got onto the boat.  He was dressed mostly as a native, but wore boots and a knife on his belt.  Dripping wet, he bowed, with flair and courtesy, to the ladies, first Liza, then Marianne. "Miladies !"  he said, with delight, and a rogueish smile. "May I present myself; Jonathan Hornsby, at your service !"
Jack McCurdy
player, 71 posts
Mon 18 Jul 2005
at 23:21
  • msg #2

Re: The Dark Amazon

McCurdy turned the gun back toward the water and to whomever it was Eyepatch had waved at, waiting for it to appear.  He kept one eye on Hawksmoore’s friend though and wondered what else would be rising from this black river.
Marianne Trevors
player, 94 posts
Absent-minded Author
Tue 19 Jul 2005
at 03:22
  • msg #3

Re: The Dark Amazon

Marianne studied Hornsby for a few moments, but finally accepted the Captain for a friend of the surly youth. "Marianne Trevors," she introduced herself. "You're alright? We heard the gunshots," she added, keeping her voice low.
Drake
GM, 317 posts
Tue 19 Jul 2005
at 10:02
  • msg #4

Re: The Dark Amazon

"Oh, Aye, Milady," Hornsby replied to Marianne, grinning boldly and raking her with a Look. "Twas the Mapmaker, making the travel parlous.  Shot down my boat, too, bedamned to him.  Let down that firearm, lad, there's a preacher in the river."  The last was directed at McCurdy.

"I waited at the docks, lad, but you weren't about," this was directed at Sebastian, "So I agreed to take along a bloke who's got that talisman.  What kept ye ?"

"Demons," Sebastian Hawksmoore replied tersely.
Jack McCurdy
player, 72 posts
Tue 19 Jul 2005
at 10:08
  • msg #5

Re: The Dark Amazon

McCurdy had glanced at Eyepatch at first, not thinking much about a preacher being underwater what with all he had been privy to up to this point, but when he made mention of a "talisman" in almost the same breath... Well, McCurdy couldn't let that one go.

He held the gun level on the water still and talked to what he was aiming at, but his question was obviously for Eyepatch.

"A preacher and a talisman, eh?  Name wouldn't happen to be Clary, would it?"  Nah... couldn't be that easy...
Marianne Trevors
player, 95 posts
Absent-minded Author
Tue 19 Jul 2005
at 13:46
  • msg #6

Re: The Dark Amazon

"Demons..." Marianne couldn't help repeating with a shudder. But it wasn't that which put a troubled look on her face. Basil's words rang alarmingly loud in her head. He had made the map... Or so he said. And he was here - they were here - retracing the trail...

It had to be a coincidence. Basil was such a gentle soul, he couldn't be behind this. No, she was imagining things...

And if she wasn't, was she better off knowing or not knowing?

"This mapmaker..." She hesitated, debating with herself.

"Don't tell me his name," she said, almost fiercely, before she caught herself. "Please, don't tell me his name," she amended.

"But... what does he look like?" She looked as if she was steeling herself for the worst kind of news.
Brother Clary
player, 57 posts
Bible Thumpin' Gun Totin'
Itinerant Tent Preacher
Tue 19 Jul 2005
at 17:04
  • msg #7

Re: The Dark Amazon

Jack McCurdy:
"A preacher and a talisman, eh?  Name wouldn't happen to be Clary, would it?"  Nah... couldn't be that easy...


Wearily dragging his soaked form into the boat, the Texas preacher eyed the man cautiously.  "I reckon you've heard of me then."  He then turned and addressed the others. "Ladies, gents, name's Brother Clary.  I'm right glad you came along when you did.  I don't mind fishin' on occasion, but I don't particularly enjoy bein' on eye level with 'em."  While he made pleasantries, it was obvious his mind was elsewhere as he stared down the river in the direction of the path the other boat took.
Jack McCurdy
player, 73 posts
Tue 19 Jul 2005
at 20:07
  • msg #8

Re: The Dark Amazon

McCurdy studied the sopping preacher for a moment and then eased back as he settled into the boat.  He stuffed his Colt .45 back into his leather shoulder-holster under the coat of his plain, dark blue suit and there it lingered for a moment.  He kept studying the preacher, his grey eyes sizing the man, estimating his girth as if about to enter the ring with him.  His jaw was hard, clenching as he studied, his features lean, his close-cropped hair - now more grey than brown - was covered by a Fedora hat that shielded his eyes from the sun so he could see the wet bible-thumper best.

It wasn’t obvious what was going through his head as he looked the man over, along with his aquatic partner, but it was apparent that he was a man that studied everyone and everything whenever he got the chance.  The shamus seemed to come to a decision and pulled his hand out from beneath his coat, his pack of Camels in a grip.  He slipped one between his teeth, offering one to the two newcomers without a word, and then fished out a pack of matches.  He looked at the preacher over the match he struck to life and said just before lighting, “Yur from Texas.  I’d recognize that accent anywhere.”

Being from Arkansas, it was easy to tell a Texan... they always drew out everything they said to make themselves sound important, as if they had a bushel of knowledge and grit more than anyone else.  The Alamo spoiled them rotten.
Drake
GM, 318 posts
Wed 20 Jul 2005
at 00:41
  • msg #9

Re: The Dark Amazon

"Take 'ee the word of a scoundrel and scalawag for what it be, Milady," Hornsby said to Marianne, while winking at Liza, whose smile showed absolute delight at such a character presenting himself. "The mapmaker, he's about a handspan less my height, plump, and nigh bald, m'dear.  Carries a watch with him, a gold one."  Hornsby obviously meant a pocket-watch.  "And he knows the quick way to the fountain, wrote me up a map oncet; but I lost it.  I only know the long way...and time's awastin', lad !"  the last was directed at Sebastian Hawksmoore, who obediently leapt into action and started up the motor again.

Neither of the two strange men bothered with McCurdy, or Brother Clary.
Marianne Trevors
player, 96 posts
Absent-minded Author
Wed 20 Jul 2005
at 05:23
  • msg #10

Re: The Dark Amazon

Marianne's heart sank at Hornsby's words. The Captain's description sounded remarkably like Basil... and there were some illusions she preferred to cling to, especially if they were her only hope of getting to the bottom of this mystery and getting back out alive and in one piece.

"I see... well... He doesn't sound very... dangerous... wouldn't you agree?" she said brightly with an attempt at a smile, pacing up and down again. "After all, he knew he couldn't hurt you... I'm sure he didn't intend for anyone to die..." she argued. But the image of that poor native, as frail and mortal as she, stuck with her.
Brother Clary
player, 59 posts
Bible Thumpin' Gun Totin'
Itinerant Tent Preacher
Wed 20 Jul 2005
at 13:44
  • msg #11

Re: The Dark Amazon

Glancing back over at the feller in the fedora, Brother Clary yanked himself back from his reverie.  Drawing himself up to his full six-foot lanky height, he returned the stare.  "Glad to see you put away the shootin'-iron.  I'd hate to see you meet your Maker knowin' you gunned down a man o' the cloth jest after you pulled 'em outta the drink."

"Seems you have me at a disadvantage, brother.  You knew who I was, but I'm still not sure who you are, nor how you know me."

Hearing the distress in the attractive redhead's voice, he turned next to her, removing his water-logged hat.

"Begging your pardon, ma'am, but wouldn't be the first time anyone's been fooled by a smooth talker.  I suspect won't be the last, either.  As for poor Billie down there," he took his hat and held it over his heart as a sign of respect, "May the Lord have mercy on whoever bushwacked us like that, because I plan on havin' my say."
Jack McCurdy
player, 75 posts
Wed 20 Jul 2005
at 20:23
  • msg #12

Re: The Dark Amazon

McCurdy chuckled at the preacher and said, “Name’s McCurdy, Jack McCurdy.  I’m a private detective.  I was hired to find you.”  He lounged back on the bow as if he was having a good day and it was time to relax.
Brother Clary
player, 60 posts
Bible Thumpin' Gun Totin'
Itinerant Tent Preacher
Wed 20 Jul 2005
at 20:29
  • msg #13

Re: The Dark Amazon

Now it was the preacher's turn to grin.  "A Private Eye, eh? What fer?  I ain't never been married, so it can't be a jealous wife."
Marianne Trevors
player, 97 posts
Absent-minded Author
Wed 20 Jul 2005
at 22:42
  • msg #14

Re: The Dark Amazon

At Brother Clary's words, Marianne's expression grew more troubled. She looked as if she was about to say something, and then changed her mind, continuing to pace up and down.
Jack McCurdy
player, 76 posts
Wed 20 Jul 2005
at 23:02
  • msg #15

Re: The Dark Amazon

“It’s a lost and found case, actually,” McCurdy said, drawing on his cigarette.  “I’m supposed to find a missing cross.”  He pointed at Brother Clary.  “You have it.”

He smiled.  “I hope I have the right Brother Clary...”
Brother Clary
player, 61 posts
Bible Thumpin' Gun Totin'
Itinerant Tent Preacher
Wed 20 Jul 2005
at 23:59
  • msg #16

Re: The Dark Amazon

Jack McCurdy:
“I’m supposed to find a missing cross.”
  Brother Clary's eyes cut back down the river toward where the "Mapmaker's" boat had gone. 
Jack McCurdy:
He pointed at Brother Clary.  “You have it.”
  The Texas preacher's feet shifted uncomfortably.

Jack McCurdy:
He smiled.  “I hope I have the right Brother Clary...”


"Y'did, up until about fifteen minutes ago."  He turned his face full on down the river, following his eyes.  "It was in my pack, which is now making its way down river...."
Drake
GM, 319 posts
Thu 21 Jul 2005
at 00:15
  • msg #17

Re: The Dark Amazon

Hornsby offered up a sly smile to Marianne. "A parlous man, Milady, with a plan of his own.  He and I were as brothers, time ago; and now, enemies most bitter.  See ye the shell of poor Billie ?  Twas a good man, who did not deserve a death."

The other two, Hornsby and Hawksmoore, were ignoring the other exchange by and large and having one of their own.  Hornsby was bossing Hawksmoore around in jovial manner, and oddly enough, the surly youth was accepting this as perfectly all right, and actually joking back.  "Yarely, Master Hawksmoore, and what make ye for our time, wi' that poxy pig's brake-fast ahead, d'ye reckon ?"
"Look'ee, twas not I lost the map, Captain !" But Hawksmoore gave the engine more fuel, sending the boat along faster.
"A handsome slog twill be, wi'lasses in tow, Hell's bells and Hailstones !"
"Tis not with them I shalt go !"  Hawksmoore insisted.
"Rot 'ee for a harsh heart, Bastian, wilt never give over thy gall ?  Twas years ago !  You shall stride over the man's grave a dozen times !"
"Bedamned to him, and you, for ever saying aught !"  snapped Sebastian Hawksmoore. "Bloody Hook !  Bloody childer !  Bloody Pan !"
Hornsby rolled his eye and sighed, then directed his attention - with a rakehelly grin - to Marianne and Liza.  "Ladies, m'dears, and gentlemen," he said. "Dost wish a story ?"
"Hist !"  growled Sebastian Hawksmoore, again in an ill temper, but Hornsby held up a hand and the youth subsided.
"Tis a good story, though the end is not known.  It has been told oncet upon a doublet-score years."
"Captain, say't not; then we shall never be shut of the pestiferous hens !"  Hawksmoore snapped, with a wave at Marianne and Liza.
"Stay thy bile, boy !"  Hornsby raised his voice, and Hawksmoore backed down immediately. The ring of authority in Hornsby's tone was notable; this man had been in command. "We've our demon-hunter in yon Preacher; the Way can be made.  Tis time they knew what waits."
Jack McCurdy
player, 77 posts
Thu 21 Jul 2005
at 00:15
  • msg #18

Re: The Dark Amazon

McCurdy cut his eyes at Eyepatch then back at the preacher.  He had no reason to doubt a man of God would lead him astray, but recent events and his own confidence in men made him look back at the man with the eye patch.

“That true?” he said to Hawksmoore’s friend.
Drake
GM, 320 posts
Thu 21 Jul 2005
at 00:18
  • msg #19

Re: The Dark Amazon

"Twas in thy pack !  BOLLOCKS !"  yelped Hornsby, aghast at the news from Brother Clary. "Tis no matter for japes ! Truly ?  Damme for a lubber !"
Jack McCurdy
player, 78 posts
Thu 21 Jul 2005
at 00:50
  • msg #20

Re: The Dark Amazon

McCurdy had to laugh.  He barely understood a word Eyepatch said, but he got the gist of it.  The gumshoe rose to his feet in the bow and looked out over the flow of the river.  He was still chuckling.

“Guess I’m no longer looking for you, Brother Clary...”  He turned and looked at Eyepatch and Hawksmoore.  “What did you call him... the Mapmaker?  Is he the same as this Basil Ringrose?”
Marianne Trevors
player, 98 posts
Absent-minded Author
Thu 21 Jul 2005
at 01:12
  • msg #21

Re: The Dark Amazon

Marianne's eyes widened as she tried to follow Hawksmoore and Hornsby's rapid exchange. Hook? Pan? Hawksmoore had mentioned that his story had ended up as a children's fairy tale, but she hadn't imagined...

"Peter Pan?! Really?" she marveled.

But her smile faded at the Captain's reaction. If it was Basil... and he had grabbed the cross... it wasn't really possible that he had intended to hurt them... was it?

She sighed at McCurdy's question.

"I'd rather you didn't answer that question, Mr. Hornsby," she said with a glare at the private eye.

"But perhaps you can answer this... This cross... was it important?" she asked, looking at the Captain with a rather troubled expression.

Murder and thievery... What other crimes might be laid at Basil's door?
Jack McCurdy
player, 79 posts
Thu 21 Jul 2005
at 01:32
  • msg #22

Re: The Dark Amazon

McCurdy looked at the redhead.  “And I would rather he would.  Not everything is about you.  This ain’t your personal adventure into Neverland.  If you don’t want to hear the answer plug your ears.”
Brother Clary
player, 62 posts
Bible Thumpin' Gun Totin'
Itinerant Tent Preacher
Thu 21 Jul 2005
at 01:32
  • msg #23

Re: The Dark Amazon

Jack McCurdy:
He was still chuckling.

“Guess I’m no longer looking for you, Brother Clary...”  He turned and looked at Eyepatch and Hawksmoore.  “What did you call him... the Mapmaker?  Is he the same as this Basil Ringrose?”


The humor in the Arkie's laugh relaxed the preacher a bit.  The accusatory tone from the odd youngster didn't help, though.

"Looks like you'n me are gonna to do a little huntin'. " He hefted his shotgun up onto his shoulder.  "Billy Chang told me that the cross comes to them it chooses, and I says it chose me first, so I got it in my mind to get it back.  I'd appreciate a little help, but I'm a-gittin it with or without."
Marianne Trevors
player, 99 posts
Absent-minded Author
Thu 21 Jul 2005
at 01:45
  • msg #24

Re: The Dark Amazon

"Oh, I will, Mr. McCurdy..." Marianne glared. "And I'll just sit here and watch you head off with no clue where he might be.

What are you going to do if you find him, Mr. McCurdy? Put a bullet in him?"
She snorted.
Jack McCurdy
player, 81 posts
Thu 21 Jul 2005
at 01:59
  • msg #25

Re: The Dark Amazon

McCurdy smirked at the Redhead.  “I’ll let him do that,” he said, canting his head at the preacher, acknowledging his desire to continue his quest.  “I’m not being paid to shoot anyone.  Not this time.”  He sat back down and eased another cigarette out.  He looked in the pack to see how many were left and then checked his pockets... only two packs left.

He lit one up anyway.  “I suppose now yur going to tell me now that you are the only one that knows where this bald Basil bloke is going, eh...”  He smiled at her like a cat.  He was enjoying the banter way too much.
Marianne Trevors
player, 100 posts
Absent-minded Author
Thu 21 Jul 2005
at 02:24
  • msg #26

Re: The Dark Amazon

Marianne's eyes narrowed. "Now, why would I say something like that, Mr. McCurdy, when I could have the pleasure of watching you make a fool of yourself instead?" she asked sweetly.
Jack McCurdy
player, 82 posts
Thu 21 Jul 2005
at 02:30
  • msg #27

Re: The Dark Amazon

McCurdy chuckled at her.  “True to form,” he said, “true to form.”  He looked out over the river again, listening for the boat motor; any boat motor.
Marianne Trevors
player, 101 posts
Absent-minded Author
Thu 21 Jul 2005
at 02:48
  • msg #28

Re: The Dark Amazon

Marianne huffed and turned back to the Captain and the Preacher. "As I was saying... About this cross... what would happen if this mapmaker, whatever his name is, had it?" She punctuated her words with a glare at McCurdy.
Jack McCurdy
player, 83 posts
Thu 21 Jul 2005
at 03:28
  • msg #29

Re: The Dark Amazon

McCurdy couldn’t help but wink at her and smirk.

He had wondered why she just couldn’t bear to hear the man’s name, but let it go after a moment.  She wasn’t part of his case, so it didn’t really matter.  Probably some relative anyway... Or someone she had offered her... skills to.

He chuckled at that thought.
Drake
GM, 321 posts
Thu 21 Jul 2005
at 09:46
  • msg #30

Re: The Dark Amazon

At the mention of Peter Pan, Hawksmoore's face darkened, the grey eyes spitting fire, but he said nothing.  Hornsby meanwhile watched the two debate points, a stricken look upon his face. "E's got the cross," he said, at last, to Hawksmoore.

The Boy who would never Grow Up then shrugged.  "Then we get it back," he said. "Though we only know the slow passage, we must go hastily."
"Happen I should rue the day I ere fought with Basil Ringrose," Hornsby said, with true woe, "Else I shant have lost the map.  Lay on, lad, this race we must not lose !"
Brother Clary
player, 64 posts
Bible Thumpin' Gun Totin'
Itinerant Tent Preacher
Thu 21 Jul 2005
at 17:48
  • msg #31

Re: The Dark Amazon

Jack McCurdy:
McCurdy smirked at the Redhead.  “I’ll let him do that,” he said, canting his head at the preacher, acknowledging his desire to continue his quest.  “I’m not being paid to shoot anyone.  Not this time.” 


"'Vengenace is mine,' says the Lord.  Until I cool off a mite, I'm prayin' that I might be the instrument of that vengeance..."

The preacher was angry, and justifiably so.  But he wasn't sure he felt right about the whole thing.  He definitely wanted to meet again with the bushwackers, and recover the cross.  He might even be enticed with the possibility of exacting a measure of justice for the gentle native guide who was unsuspectingly sent into the arms of God's holy angels.

He then looked around at the motely group of accidental companions.  'What hath God wrought?' He thought to himself.
Marianne Trevors
player, 102 posts
Absent-minded Author
Fri 22 Jul 2005
at 02:36
  • msg #32

Re: The Dark Amazon

Marianne's expression darkened at Brother Clary's words. Her arms were crossed and her lips tightened. There was no mistaking the decidedly angry look in her eyes. She seemed to pay no attention to the Captain and Hawksmoore's exchange.
Jack McCurdy
player, 84 posts
Fri 22 Jul 2005
at 03:30
  • msg #33

Re: The Dark Amazon

McCurdy glanced at Trevors and filed her expression for future consideration.  At the moment, however, he was reflecting on what Hawksmoore had told him earlier in the day.  He looked at Hawksmoore and said, “You told me once what the cross was used for, Hawksmoore.  Is that what Ringrose wants it for?  Is he going to try to control them?”
Drake
GM, 322 posts
Fri 22 Jul 2005
at 09:42
  • msg #34

Re: The Dark Amazon

"He cannot wield it, none of us can," Hawksmoore replied, for once giving a straight answer, "But he can prevent its use by holding it, and hope that the demons destroy us."

Hornby nodded grimly. "Tis the only thing that has kept them at bay.  You go into a battle if you seek it, one of demons against the living world.  They guard the Fountain, and each forty years we mun return to the Fountain.  To have the keeper of the talisman with you is to make the path easier."
Jack McCurdy
player, 85 posts
Fri 22 Jul 2005
at 10:29
  • msg #35

Re: The Dark Amazon

"Every forty years, eh..."

McCurdy sighed.  You just had to ask dincha, Jack.  Well, ya can't let it stop there, can ya?

"And who might the keeper be?  Any way of knowin'?"
Marianne Trevors
player, 103 posts
Absent-minded Author
Fri 22 Jul 2005
at 11:50
  • msg #36

Re: The Dark Amazon

Marianne listened to the conversation in silence, her expression darkening by the minute.
Drake
GM, 323 posts
Fri 22 Jul 2005
at 23:30
  • msg #37

Re: The Dark Amazon

"Keeper ?"  Hornsby echoed blankly.  "Of what, the talisman, or the tribe ?  Or the demons ?  Or the spirits ?  Or Goolah Herself ?  Make thy query more plain, man."  It was clear the loss of the cross was rattling him, or perhaps it was who held the cross now that was the trouble.

Hawksmoore steered the boat, moving it as quickly as he dared around treacherous knots of roots and weeds.
Jack McCurdy
player, 86 posts
Sat 23 Jul 2005
at 14:43
  • msg #38

Re: The Dark Amazon

McCurdy frowned and it was a frown of curiosity.  Was Hornsby being deliberately evasive?  Hadn't he just mentioned...

"Only one keeper's been mentioned, far as I know."  He pointed directly at Eyepatch.  "Keeper of the talisman.  I reckon you could elaborate on these other keepers if you've a mind to, but the cross is all I'm worryin' about right now."

He dragged on his cigarette and replaced the frown with a patient stare, watching the face of the scalawag very closely.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:47, Sat 23 July 2005.
Drake
GM, 324 posts
Sun 24 Jul 2005
at 12:16
  • msg #39

Re: The Dark Amazon

"The Cross went to him," Hornsby said, nodding at Brother Clary. "Tis the way of such things of power.  But how may it return to him, when time is so short now ?"  It was clearly bothering him, and Hawksmoore was smirking at this.

"I should like to begin at the beginning," the Captain said, with a heavy sigh, and a frown. "Once upon a time, there was a ship, by title The Diana.  Twas a good sailing vessel, a brig new-made in Portsmouth.  It had a crew of good men and true, and it sailed to the New World in the year of 1525, to take up a cargo of gold and emeralds."
"And black gold," Hawksmoore chipped in, with the air of having heard this story so many times he knew it by heart.
"Aye.  Twas so.  But it fell afoul of pyrates, who took it as a prize.  Some of the slaves spoke of a magical fountain, where one's youth could be nigh everlasting, and of a parlous journey that could be made by the stalwart, to this place.  They said this to gain their freedom, and the pyrate Captain was man of his word, though his honour might be tarnished, and freed them.  Upon the vessel was a man much skilled in the ways of maps, and a map was made from what the natives said of the way to the fountain.  He took the vows of the pyrates and went with their crew, as did a Spanish dog on the Diana, one de Vega. A pact was made to seek this fountain, for the freed slaves leapt overboard and became pink dolphins, so we knew there was much to this matter.

"The journey began up the river, past the small village of Manaus, for it was no more than that then, and into the jungle.  There the travellers met with the tribe that guards the way, the Lupino, and with one who fought the demons, a Spanish padre of great mein and manner, bearing the cross that choses its keeper.  To make the story brief..... There was indeed a fountain.  The way to it is most parlous hard, and what guards the fountain, and be raised from it when it is drawn from....even worse."
This message was last edited by the GM at 12:17, Sun 24 July 2005.
Brother Clary
player, 65 posts
Bible Thumpin' Gun Totin'
Itinerant Tent Preacher
Sun 24 Jul 2005
at 12:52
  • msg #40

Re: The Dark Amazon

Brother Clary checked the magazine in his shotgun.  Still loaded with with maximum six shells.  Good.

"If'n I'm the keeper of the cross, and I lost it, then it's my duty to git it back.  And that's what I'm aimin' to do."

"Billy Chang and 'ol Hornsby here," he added with a nod to the one-eyed man, "each told me a fearsome story about demons.  Seems the cross indicates I'm some sorta demon hunter, and sounds like I'm gonna need that cross to fulfill my callin'.

"If'n time is short, what are we doin' standin' around jawin'?  We need to git that cross back 'fore'n all Hell breaks loose,"
This message was last edited by the player at 15:25, Fri 29 July 2005.
Jack McCurdy
player, 87 posts
Fri 29 Jul 2005
at 05:52
  • msg #41

Re: The Dark Amazon

McCurdy didn’t comment on the story, nor did he say a word in opposition to Brother Clary.  Instead, he just turned away from all of them and started watching on their bearing, keeping an eye out for the other boat... or any other sign of life.
Drake
GM, 326 posts
Sat 30 Jul 2005
at 23:08
  • msg #42

Re: The Dark Amazon

Hornsby looked askance at Hawksmoore, as if what he had just told the men should have offered them some more...surprise, or perhaps, attention.  Then he recovered. "Mayhap you oft find 400 year old pyrates, and hear of the fountain of youth," he said, with a shrug. "Bastian will help in this cause, and you have my sword, gentlemen.  We have de Vega behind us, but he is ever the last one to come by; we have Ringrose before us, clearly the danger.  There are others, but none that wish us such harm, or such harm as can come to the unwary on the trail to the fountain. We can attempt to find Ringrose; so long as he is upon the water, I can know of his placing.  Boy, trim the mechanical thing."  Hawksmoore obligingly cut the engine, and the boat slowed.

He fumbled for a plain leather pouch, suspended from his trouser belt, and opened it when he made his way to the prow of the boat; he opened it, and spoke in a low, mumbling tone, strange lyrical words that recalled French, or some strange derivation of it, and cast the dust out onto the water.  The dust sparkled strangely, with a pearly sheen, and then Hornsby looked down onto the water; as he did, the water curled up, the dust shimmering, into a wispy, wet form of a person, or a spirit, standing on the surface of the water.
Jack McCurdy
player, 88 posts
Sat 30 Jul 2005
at 23:54
  • msg #43

Re: The Dark Amazon

McCurdy had moved out of Hornsby’s way at the bow and was sitting to one side.  He had removed his hat and was idly fiddling with the brim of it, picking off specks of dust that he was finding.  He didn’t think much on the story Eyepatch told; he just absorbed it all.  He had a niggling feeling he was in over his head – that or he would find himself waking from a weird dream with a book written by a fellow named Barrie sitting on his chest.

That idea gained credence as Hornsby sprinkled his dust and the water weird appeared.

That does it.’  McCurdy rolled his eyes as he looked away from forward and then closed them, concentrating on the jungle sounds around him.  He was shaking his head as if he’d had enough.  How in the world did I end up in the middle of the Amazon in a boat with a bunch of nuts...

He opened his eyes and looked at Hawksmoore sideways, his grey eyes flat and tired.  He wanted to tell the boy – or man – or whatever he thought he was – that this was getting much too ridiculous for his tastes.

Magic and immortals and a fountain of youth...  And let’s not forget the demons!

He quit looking at Hawksmoore, deciding not to say anything, and just stared at the bottom of the boat.  He was to the point that he really didn’t care what happened next.  He just knew it was going to top what he had already seen.

He thumbed a cigarette out of his pack and lit it up.  He didn’t bother looking at Hornsby or what he was doing.  He just dragged on his Camel and watched the shoreline as if he was out on a fishing trip back home, smiling slightly....

This would be funny if I wasn’t in the middle of it...
Marianne Trevors
player, 104 posts
Absent-minded Author
Wed 3 Aug 2005
at 13:16
  • msg #44

Re: The Dark Amazon

Marianne quietly observed everything around her, her author's brain taking notes furiously. She simply wouldn't to go along with Hornsby or any of the other trigger-happy men on the boat, and she certainly didn't know if she could trust the words of a pirate and a sullen, cynical teenager who was hardly overflowing with the milk of human kindness.

But it looked as though she was to be given no other choice.

She waited and watched in uncharacteristic silence, her friendly smile replaced by a rather intent, brooding look.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:27, Wed 03 Aug 2005.
Drake
GM, 327 posts
Sat 6 Aug 2005
at 19:46
  • msg #45

Re: The Dark Amazon

Hornsby queried the watery apparition in a language that had a French flavour to it, but was so thrashed by some other tongue that it was nigh unrecognizable.  The thing bubbled back a reply, then sank into the water.

"He's waiting for us a half-mile upriver," Hornsby said dolefully, "With two other men, one of whom is a bocor.  That would be an evil wizard, by the way.  Boy, put into the banks.  We can't endanger these people in our fight.  We'll go on land."

"There's another way, but we may cross de Vega," Hawksmoore replied.  "I paid a German to hang about Manaus for a day.  He has a flying machine...an aero-plane.  If we got into it, flew ahead of Ringrose, and then jumped out into the river, we'd come to no harm and could lay our own trap, and his drogue would not serve him.  Besides, the lady here mislikes such company as us, and no doubt would be pleased to return to the city."  he smirked at Marianne, evidently pleased that she had finally been gotten by his very negative ways.

"I would rather like to go with you," Liza Waters said, her shrewd gaze shifting from the one-eyed rogue to the sniping youth. "And I can think of a third way.  You said that the natives became dolphins, and I've just seen you use what is, for want of a better word, magic.  Can you turn into a dolphin ?"

"The shame of it is, that I lost the bedamned map," Hornsby said, "And after I hid it so bloody well, too.  Nay, I cannot shapeshift, Milady, and we must come to terms quickly on our course.  I am captain no longer."
Jack McCurdy
player, 89 posts
Mon 8 Aug 2005
at 23:31
  • msg #46

Re: The Dark Amazon

McCurdy barked a laugh at Waters and turned his grin toward Peter Pan. “I’m for the plane idea,” he said. “Sounds the quickest way to get ahead of them. And I learned a thing or two about ambushes a few years ago. We could sight a good spot from the air...”
Marianne Trevors
player, 105 posts
Absent-minded Author
Tue 9 Aug 2005
at 00:34
  • msg #47

Re: The Dark Amazon

"You are quite correct, Mr. Hawksmoore. I would much rather travel alone, or even with Basil Ringrose, murderer and thief though he may be, than with any of you gentlemen," Marianne replied, the brooding on her face replaced with purpose. It was clear she had come to a decision.

"I'm sure you're glad to be rid of me, so if you would drop me off at the nearest and safest landing, I would be much obliged. Liza, which way are you going?"
This message was last edited by the player at 14:56, Tue 09 Aug 2005.
Brother Clary
player, 68 posts
Bible Thumpin' Gun Totin'
Itinerant Tent Preacher
Tue 9 Aug 2005
at 13:49
  • msg #48

Re: The Dark Amazon

Drake:
Hawksmoore replied.  "I paid a German to hang about Manaus for a day.  He has a flying machine...an aero-plane.


At this, Brother Clary jerked his head away from the river and back at the group.  "A German pilot?  Wouldn't happen to go by the name of Gruber, would he?"

It was way too much of a coincidence...

He then eyed the redhead closely. "Ma'am, I know I'm a mite upsettin' right now.  I'm sorta upset myself.  That feller you you seem to be rather fond of right now," he said with a nod upriver, "not only killed our boat pilot, but he stole a very important relic.  I was told that the cross chose me and that I was to do battle with some demon.  Now, I'm jest a simple country preacher, but I do believe in burnin' bushes and the like.  And if God ordained for me to be his instrument of justice in fightin' this demon, then I got to do it.  The only way for me to do it, though, is to ketch up to yer friend and git the cross back.  I'll ask him nicely, but after what happened to Billie" He took his hat off and held it over his heart for a moment, "I don't expect to git it back without a fight.  If I seem single-minded right now, well, I cain't deny it.  I am.  My God has called me, and I must follow.  So I'll hope you'll come to forgive a stubborn ol' mule."  He again tipped his hat at the ladies.
Drake
GM, 328 posts
Wed 10 Aug 2005
at 00:20
  • msg #49

Re: The Dark Amazon

"Then we return to Manaus, and will fly to our destination, and deal with the Mapmaker," Sebastian Hawksmoore said, with some satisfaction, smirking again at Marianne's words.  He took up the pole and began to turn the boat around.

Liza Waters thoughtfully chewed on a knuckle, something she did when grievously writer's-blocked or otherwise pensive.  "I'm going with the pirates," she said, in a low, firm tone.  "I want to see the fountain of youth.  I'm not afraid of demons, or of death; I'm old enough to keep my worries in a very small box.  My dear girl, I can understand you're put off by them, but they're really not so bad.  If they were really pirates of low ways, we'd have been left at the dock, or much, much worse."  At this speech Hawksmoore again looked sour, but Hornby nodded, with a slow, sad smile.

Hornsby grinned at first, at Brother Clary's words.  "I know Hans Gruber; he's a rumrunner.  He does the Texas-Brazil run twice a week, and flies to wherever they're paying the best."  But at the grave statement of intent, Hornsby spoke again, the remaining eye turning toward Marianne. "Aye, Milady, he speaks true; Basil Ringrose had a good man slain, to try to keep us from our goal.  Believe it or not, a man can be both good and evil in a long lifetime.  Master Ringrose has been both, and I would not trust him o'ermuch."
Brother Clary
player, 69 posts
Bible Thumpin' Gun Totin'
Itinerant Tent Preacher
Fri 12 Aug 2005
at 11:21
  • msg #50

Re: The Dark Amazon

Drake:
Hornsby grinned at first, at Brother Clary's words.  "I know Hans Gruber; he's a rumrunner.  He does the Texas-Brazil run twice a week, and flies to wherever they're paying the best."


Brother Clary looked thoughtful, then murmured, half to himself, "Gruber's a good man, don't care much for the rum, though..."
Jack McCurdy
player, 90 posts
Mon 15 Aug 2005
at 03:57
  • msg #51

Re: The Dark Amazon

McCurdy looked at Marianne and Liza in the same gaze and shrugged inwardly. One was too curious and the other seemed a bit obtuse. Both were definitely stubborn. He didn’t like the idea of either of them going along; they would just get them in more trouble than they needed. It was bad enough trouble was going to find them anyway; it already took his plane, he didn’t want it to take anything else of his.

But he wasn’t going to argue the point, not now. He came for one thing and damn anyone else or this silly fairy tale of an adventure these others were on...
Marianne Trevors
player, 107 posts
Absent-minded Author
Mon 15 Aug 2005
at 22:31
  • msg #52

Re: The Dark Amazon

"Thank you for your concern, Mr. Hornsby. But I started on this trip with Basil's assistance, and at his request.

It's a bad choice all around. Basil has not been entirely truthful with me. But he has never been anything less than a gentleman and a considerate traveling companion. I can't quite forget that you and your trigger-happy friends would happily murder the man in the blink of an eye - if it is indeed possible to murder him, that is.

No, I will have no part of it! Leave me out of your quarrel, Mr. Hornsby."

Drake
GM, 329 posts
Tue 16 Aug 2005
at 16:47
  • msg #53

Re: The Dark Amazon

"As you wish, Milady," Hornsby said, with another elegant bow.  He then settled in the boat and put his feet up, in the manner of a man who knew how to relax.  Sebastian Hawksmoore poled the boat around and then settled back down to restart the motor.  Soon the boat was heading back to Manaus.  "Our accord will be with the good Brother, and with Mr McCurdy; and Mizzus Waters may attend, if she wishes."

In short order, they were again in sight of the city; at the docks, Hans Gruber's Junker was still floating, but there was no sign of the pilot.  Hawksmoore moored the boat nearby and hopped adroitly out, and held out a hand for Liza Waters, to assist her up and out of the boat, then offered the same to Marianne, with a very courtly bow...and an annoying smirk.

There was a shout, in Spanish; apparently Pedro had sighted his missing boat.
Jack McCurdy
player, 91 posts
Wed 24 Aug 2005
at 00:06
  • msg #54

Re: The Dark Amazon

The sight of the plane made McCurdy recall his own now sitting at the bottom of a watery grave. “Damn,” he mumbled to nobody in particular and stepped out of the boat. He spotted Pedro and felt conscious of the Colts under his arms. The man’s accent griddled on the detective’s skin and it reminded him of another Spaniard that might still be in the area –- one a bit more dangerous than Pedro.

“De Vega...?” he said, his tone questioning. And he glanced at Hawksmoore.
Marianne Trevors
player, 108 posts
Absent-minded Author
Wed 24 Aug 2005
at 13:48
  • msg #55

Re: The Dark Amazon

Marianne returned Hawksmoore's smirk with a steely smile, ignoring his hand and making her way out of the boat herself. There she turned to Liza to bid her farewell. "We'll have to compare notes when we meet up again," she said with a smile, kissing the older woman fondly on both cheeks.
Drake
GM, 330 posts
Sun 28 Aug 2005
at 23:52
  • msg #56

Re: The Dark Amazon

The rangy blonde Hun pilot was ambling along the docks, carrying a cup of coffee and a burrito, the blonde hair noticeable in a land of brunettes with darker skin.  So that was a good thing; the owner of the fastest transport in Manaus was apparently available.

At McCurdy's query, the youth shrugged.  He hopped out of the boat to speak, in rapid and hostile Spanish, to the distressed Pedro who stopped in his tracks, took off his floppy hat and stood there in the 'aiy-senors-the-bandits-are-raiding-again' position.  Hornsby moored the boat and helped Liza out, where the two women said their farewells.  "You must be careful, dear," Liza said, sounding concerned, and pressed something into Marianne's hand - a tiny little tortoiseshell box, from her purse.  She whispered, "When you need to put a hole in something, point the arrow that way and open it SHARPLY."

Marianne set off toward town, noting that the place seemed to be recovering from the horrible events of not-so-long ago.  There was no sign of de Vega... and the body had been taken from the street.

Back at the docks, Pedro had his boat back, and under the tirade that Hawksmoore had just given him did not seem to be interested in anything more than that.  The two pirates, closely followed by Liza Waters, set off toward the seaplane which was only about a hundred feet away, just as Hans Gruber settled onto a handy barrel and sipped his coffee.

GM: everyone roll Spot Hidden please !  % dice.
Marianne Trevors
player, 109 posts
Absent-minded Author
Wed 31 Aug 2005
at 17:47
  • msg #57

Re: The Dark Amazon

It was inconceivable that a man could be run through by a sword in broad daylight in sight of the whole town and all traces of him could vanish a few hours later. She shuddered at the memory of that moment - the savage anger on De Vega's face, the stunned horror on the doctor's.

Here, by the dark Amazon, death wasn't buried as far under the surface as it was in the fashionable neighborhoods of London. The box Liza had pressed into her hand was a good reminder of that. And Basil...

She would have to think of a way out of this situation. He was a liar, a thief, and a murderer, and she refused to have anything to do with his scheming. But she wouldn't blithely throw in with people who wanted him dead either.

She made her way back to her hotel in thoughtful silence.
Drake
GM, 331 posts
Sun 4 Sep 2005
at 15:20
  • msg #58

Re: The Dark Amazon

Eyes watched Marianne, careful and alert, now.  She thought she saw de Vega; but it was hard to tell, out in the marketplace.  She made it to the hotel room, where an upset maid was looking miserably at the devastation therein and close to tears.

Her bed had been ripped apart; every stick of furniture broken and torn up, and her luggage was gone, all of it.  The map she had hidden, of course, was also gone.  Basil was gone, as was his valet, their rooms already rented out to an elderly couple from Massachusetts.
Marianne Trevors
player, 110 posts
Absent-minded Author
Tue 6 Sep 2005
at 00:55
  • msg #59

Re: The Dark Amazon

Her surprise lasted only a second before anger took over. But underneath it all was confusion and hurt. Why would Basil take all her possessions? And her writer's diary?! Even the loss of the map did not upset her that much.

If Basil had wanted the map, all he had ever had to do was ask her for it. Why bring her all the way to Brazil for something he could have acquired at considerably less expense and trouble back in England? It was odd, to say the least.

Unless... Unless...

Was that De Vega she had seen hanging about the marketplace?

Basil and his valet did seem to have disappeared, but what if he had simply had to leave in a hurry and had expected her to catch up?

She looked around for some sort of clue amid the destruction of her room. Anything to take her mind off the fact that she was effectively stranded in a foreign country with only the few coins in her purse to her name.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:39, Wed 07 Sept 2005.
Jack McCurdy
player, 92 posts
Wed 7 Sep 2005
at 02:34
  • msg #60

Re: The Dark Amazon

McCurdy ambled on over to where Gruber was sitting with his coffee and burrito, and stuffed his hands into his pockets, looking around at the village. First time in Brazil... not impressed.

He waited for the pirates to finish their bargain with the hun, wondering how long the redhead would live beyond this day. It would have been a sight better if she knew how to listen instead of talk. Might have been handy to have along. She sounded intelligent, if not a bit shy on the common sense.

Liza on the other hand seemed a tough ol' bird; could probably shoot her with a shotgun and she'd spit the pellets back at ya after she coughed'em up. It would probably be better if she had some different clothes though.


He sidled on over to her side and leaned over toward her ear, looking at Hawksmoore. "You think maybe you should get an outfit more suited to runnin 'round a jungle...?"
Drake
GM, 332 posts
Sat 10 Sep 2005
at 11:05
  • msg #61

Re: The Dark Amazon

Marianne's room had been taken apart in an extreme manner; she noted that every possible hiding place for something small had been thoroughly, professionally examined.  The maid, still looking upset, fled the scene, unable to figure out where to begin cleaning the mess, and while Marianne was picking through the rubble, a man in a suit came hurrying to the room.  "Miss," he said, in gently accented English. "There is a message for you; I am afraid this room is no longer yours."  He held out a folded square of paper to her.

Hornsby ambled over to the Hun and addressed him in German, while McCurdy spoke to Hawksmoore.  Liza, in her blue dress and little leather sandals, was most certainly not dressed for a jungle expedition.  She beamed at McCurdy as he spoke to her. "I'm sure I shall manage," she said. "The native girls wear dresses, don't they ?  But if it comes to that, I shall acquire a suitable outfit."   Hawksmoore was apparently still happy to be rid of ONE of the women, and perhaps considering how to get rid of the second one, for he was sitting idly and smiling to himself...with a sort of 'plotting' look to his eyes.
Marianne Trevors
player, 111 posts
Absent-minded Author
Sat 10 Sep 2005
at 16:56
  • msg #62

Re: The Dark Amazon

It was clear that the person who had torn her room apart had known that she had the map, or at least that she might have it since she was traveling with Basil. Assuming it wasn't Basil, that it. If it was De Vega... Marianne didn't want to think about what he might do if he had the map. What a mess!

Marianne took the message and immediately opened it. Finally, a clue of some sort?
Brother Clary
player, 71 posts
Bible Thumpin' Gun Totin'
Itinerant Tent Preacher
Sat 10 Sep 2005
at 23:31
  • msg #63

Re: The Dark Amazon

Brother Clary watched silently as the redhead stormed off, apparently oblivious that there were larger, Armageddon-level issues at stake here.  He had no mind to kill anyone, but he also knew that he had to recover the cross and defeat this demon.  Billy Chang told him so, and Hornsby more or less confirmed it.

Now he was mixed up with an Arkie P. I. who said he was looking for him, and some kid who sure didn't act or talk like one.

This was the first time he began to have some doubts as to this whole escapade.  But then he pushed them aside.  Even if nothing else made sense, he had to get his Bible back.

Seeing Gruber again, he grinned, and tipped his hat silently in acknowledgement.  While the others negotiated the end-around by plane, the black-clad preacher from Texas bowed his head and offered a prayer for wisdom and strength for the task that lay ahead.
Jack McCurdy
player, 93 posts
Wed 14 Sep 2005
at 00:54
  • msg #64

Re: The Dark Amazon

McCurdy sighed as he looked around the port area, watching the small-time fisherman and the locals going about their hum-drum lives. It was a bit more interesting that watching paint dry on the side of a barn, but not much.

"I don't reckon the natives are gonna be doin' what we're gonna be doin, Ms. Waters. You sure you wouldn't be better off helpin' Ms. Trevors? She needs help. She don't take advice very well and that could get her hurt when the pace picks up. I don't see her as backing away from this. And it's only going to get hotter as we go. Whatever you two have done up to now..." He shrugged.

"It ain't gonna be nothin' compared to the storm that's comin'. Take my word..."
Drake
GM, 333 posts
Thu 15 Sep 2005
at 01:46
  • msg #65

Re: The Dark Amazon

The note was written in a flowing hand, with a fountain pen.

 "Your services are no longer needed, Miss Trevors.  Basil Rose."

Well, at least he had told her.  Then a smooth, Spanish-accented voice sent a chill along her spine; without her knowing it, de Vega had crept up and was standing behind her. He was whole, had acquired a new shirt - this one made of black silk - and was smiling a devil's smile.  "Ah, my sweet English senorita," he said, in a tone that sent a shiver along her soul, for the sheer evil hidden in the smooth words. "I am so glad I have found you.  Tell me, did Ringrose tell you the way to the Fountain ?"

--------------------------------------------

At the docks, Liza Waters was placing her hands on her slim hips and giving Jack McCurdy an amused look.  "You shan't 'ditch me', I believe that is the term, so easily, Mr. McCurdy, though I note a noble effort on your part and that of Mr. Hawksmoore.  Someday I shall tell you of the adventures I've had, and you may decide for yourself soon enough if I am equal to this task."

Hawksmoore rolled his eyes at this and sighed loudly, then yelped as Liza Waters clipped him along the ear.  "Manners." she said, in a severe tone that reminded McCurdy of his mother.  Meanwhile, the Hun and Hornsby were chatting amiably about this and that, and notably NOT getting down to business.  "I SAY," Liza then went to interrupt them, "We do need to get going, do we not ?"  With no further ado she flounced into the plane itself, before either of them could say anything, and instead of the earsplitting shriek they expected upon her sighting the large snake that was Gruber's pet, there was a delighted, "Oh, isn't it pretty ?  May I pet it ?"
Marianne Trevors
player, 112 posts
Absent-minded Author
Sat 17 Sep 2005
at 19:50
  • msg #66

Re: The Dark Amazon

Marianne frowned at the note, completely confused and beginning to get angry. Why would Basil suddenly decide he didn't need her services? On any other day she would appreciate the irony. Hadn't she been contemplating leaving his company, having resolved to have nothing to do with his schemes? But she would never leave him stranded in a foreign country with none of his belongings.

How like a pirate!

She was about to go down to the village and see what could be done about the situation, when De Vega spoke up behind her. She tensed and spun around, feeling sick inside and furious beyond words as she saw the man standing there nonchalantly.

Captain Hook. The stray thought came from nowhere. He fit the character to a T - or was that the other way around? She would marvel at it, except that the evil this man was capable of left her cold. "You vile murderer!" she accused in a low, angry tone. Her eyes flashed and her hands closed tightly around the little box Liza gave her. "You are looking well. I wish I could say the same about that good samaritan doctor."

"What makes you think Basil Ringrose, a rotter through and through, would confide in the traveling companion he left behind without a thought?" she continued furiously - though her feelings were partially directed at Basil this time. "And if he did, would any word out of his mouth be the truth?"
This message was last edited by the player at 14:07, Sun 18 Sept 2005.
Jack McCurdy
player, 94 posts
Fri 23 Sep 2005
at 12:02
  • msg #67

Re: The Dark Amazon

McCurdy found himself smirking at Ms. Waters. He wasn't quite sure he had accepted her as cousin yet, but he was beginning to entertain the idea. And not mind it.

He moved up to where Hawksmoore was and stuffed his hands in his pockets, still looking at Waters and the plane. "Wish you didn't look like a kid," he said. "When you scowl it makes yur face pout like a baby that got its sucker jerked outta its mouth." McCurdy grinned crookedly, eyeing Hawksmoore sideways. "Don't guess there's anything we can do about that though.

"Or about the redhead. You know if she survives long enough, she's going to pop up in our way again. That got me to thinking. I may not care one way or the other about her -- and she would actually be more of a hindrance than a help -- but I know I can't sit by and let no one hurt a lady if I can help it. And you know as well as I do that this Ringrose fella will probably try to use her against us if given the chance..."

He looked at Hawksmoore directly then. "You seem to know these fellas pretty good, De Vega and the other. Any idea what we can do to prevent that from happening?"
Brother Clary
player, 73 posts
Bible Thumpin' Gun Totin'
Itinerant Tent Preacher
Fri 23 Sep 2005
at 15:36
  • msg #68

Re: The Dark Amazon

Jack McCurdy:
"I know I can't sit by and let no one hurt a lady if I can help it. And you know as well as I do that this Ringrose fella will probably try to use her against us if given the chance..."


At that, the lanky Texas preacher looked up from his prayers.  "I'm with you, McCurdy.  My Daddy and Momma always taught me to look out fer the ladies, and even though that redhead spat some pretty mean fire my ways, I cain't stand by and let her git hurt."
Jack McCurdy
player, 95 posts
Fri 23 Sep 2005
at 19:32
  • msg #69

Re: The Dark Amazon

McCurdy glanced at the preacher and slowly nodded his head in agreement once or twice. "Personally, I don't cotton to the idea of her being out there somewhere to be used against us." He seemed to think about it some more and looked at both the preacher and Hawksmoore.

"I wonder if she'd take a job if we hired her..."
Drake
GM, 334 posts
Sun 25 Sep 2005
at 12:34
  • msg #70

Re: The Dark Amazon


The basis for Peter Pan favored McCurdy with a sour look, Hawksmoore's stock in trade.  "Yes, thank you so very much," was the bitter response. "How d'y'think I've felt for 400 years ?"  At McCurdy's comment on the redhead, he rolled his eyes.  "Ringrose's gone ahead," he said. "He doubtless recalls the shortcut.  De Vega, may the devil he serves take him, is behind us, I think.  He has never failed to get to the Fountain on time though, I grant him that...but we don't reach neutral ground for some time.  He'd cheerfully chop me into bits if he had the opportunity."  And McCurdy guessed that the lad would do the same to de Vega.

At Brother Clary's comment, and McCurdy's response, the boy uttered an oath.  "S'teeth !  I am not thy bloody servant !"  But he got to his feet, scowling mightily, his boots pointed toward the town again.  Apparently there was some sense of honour to the youth, albeit a pirate's code.  Liza was now telling the other men what to do, something she seemed to be able to handle well enough - rather like being whipped with a pretty silk and pearl bullwhip.

Hawksmoore set off, this time keeping off the main streets, and being much more careful to look before he went.  McCurdy didn't see anything amiss, and Hawksmoore's attention was taken by a disturbance by the church - two women and a man talking to the old preacher - but Brother Clary saw a flash of red hair heading down a side-alley near the hotel, with a man in black.

----------------------------------------------------

"Ah, Senorita, if only you understood that Mr. Ringrose had done you a good turn," de Vega said in that silky voice. He didn't seem to even register the insults. "Now you will come with me; we have a long journey to make."  He seized her arm, snake-fast, and hauled her from the room, propelling her along in front of him.  He was strong, surprisingly so, and he was forcing her along as if her protests were inconsequential.  Just as he dragged her around the corner into a narrow alleyway, she saw someone familiar - Sebastian Hawksmoore, and it could be those two Americans with him.
This message was last edited by the GM at 12:36, Sun 25 Sept 2005.
Brother Clary
player, 74 posts
Bible Thumpin' Gun Totin'
Itinerant Tent Preacher
Sun 25 Sep 2005
at 18:42
  • msg #71

Re: The Dark Amazon

"Hang on," Brother Clary muttered, squinting.  He grabbed up his shotgun and began carefully but quickly making his way in the general direction of where he saw the flash of red.
Jack McCurdy
player, 96 posts
Sun 25 Sep 2005
at 20:27
  • msg #72

Re: The Dark Amazon

"Hang on, what," McCurdy said as Clary skipped off on a tangent. At the sight of the shotgun making an appearance, he spit the cigarette out of his mouth and started looking around very carefully.
Drake
GM, 335 posts
Mon 26 Sep 2005
at 09:58
  • msg #73

Re: The Dark Amazon

Brother Clary set off toward where he thought he had seen something; Hawkmoore was drifting towards the Church, not really paying any attention to either of them, and McCurdy was looking around.

GM:  Brother Clary: roll spot hidden, % die, use the die roller up at the top of the screen please.
Marianne Trevors
player, 113 posts
Absent-minded Author
Mon 26 Sep 2005
at 13:38
  • msg #74

Re: The Dark Amazon

It was amazing, really, that they had not managed to attract any attention so far, for Marianne was kicking and screaming for all she was worth. Dignified it was not. Nor, apparently, was it effective. But she wasn't about to let herself be dragged off either.

She remembered Liza's instructions and pointed the box directly at her would-be kidnapper, opening it sharply.

Hopefully, putting a hole in the man would slow him down enough for her to get free.
Drake
GM, 336 posts
Mon 26 Sep 2005
at 21:27
  • msg #75

Re: The Dark Amazon

Marianne struggled and shrieked, and went for the odd little box that Liza had given her.  She snapped the lid open sharply, and yelped again as it practically exploded in her hand - sending a small bullet into the side of de Vega, and incidentally, ruining his expensive silk shirt.  He swore and threw her away from him, but she could tell he was not much injured...and soon to be very, very angry with her.

But the report of the concealed weapon did echo, enough to alert McCurdy and Clary to the sound of it.  They both hear clearly what sounded like a shot from a small firearm, perhaps a .25 calibre, in the direction Brother Clary was headed.
Marianne Trevors
player, 114 posts
Absent-minded Author
Tue 27 Sep 2005
at 13:28
  • msg #76

Re: The Dark Amazo

She had opened the box without knowing what was inside, simply hoping. It had done the job adequately, though if the expression on his face was any indication, she was very likely going to end up like the good doctor.

But in the meantime - she was free!

Marianne didn't wait around to find out the results of her actions as she ran back down the alley the way they came. She wanted to put as much distance between them, as fast as she could.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:41, Wed 28 Sept 2005.
Jack McCurdy
player, 97 posts
Tue 27 Sep 2005
at 18:21
  • msg #77

Re: The Dark Amazon

McCurdy looked after Hawksmoore for a moment and then the sound of the shot snapped his head back around. Before he knew it, he had filled his hand with one of his .45’s and was walking much faster after Brother Clary, his eyes still scanning every nook and cranny. While keeping his eyes after the Texas preacher, he called out to Hawksmoore to let him know he and the preacher were diverging from the straight and narrow.

Then he quickened his pace, heading for the alley from which the shot had come. Gunfights might have been a way of life down here in this country, for all he knew, but things had taken such a turn to the south recently - in luck as well as sanity - he decided he wasn’t going to take chances on anything being normal any more...
Brother Clary
player, 75 posts
Bible Thumpin' Gun Totin'
Itinerant Tent Preacher
Wed 28 Sep 2005
at 15:52
  • msg #78

Re: The Dark Amazon

The sound of the shot gave a greater sense of purpose to the black-clad preacher's pace.  He quickly checked once again to make sure that a shell was loaded and the magazine was full.  He wasn't quite sure what was going to happen next, but he wanted to be ready.

He adjusted his course toward where the shot came from and even more carefully and quickly than before moved to the spot.

His earlier words floated back to him:  he was raised to respect all ladies and protect them from harm, and he was planning to make his momma and daddy proud.
Drake
GM, 337 posts
Wed 28 Sep 2005
at 23:41
  • msg #79

Re: The Dark Amazon

McCurdy shouted to Hawksmoore, who paid him no heed, and continued his drift towards the church.  The two men ran towards the alleyway, and saw a small, determined figure running towards them - the red-headed woman, Marianne Trevors; she in turn saw the preacher and the private eye, heading towards her, in haste, about forty feet away.

They did not see de Vega - but there was no telling what sort of tricks an evil near-immortal might have up his black silk sleeve.
Jack McCurdy
player, 98 posts
Thu 29 Sep 2005
at 03:29
  • msg #80

Re: The Dark Amazon

McCurdy had his pistol tucked against his chest. He slowed when he saw Trevors running at them, his eyes darting around the alleyway. Even up the walls. “You all right?” he said to the woman, keeping his eyes shuffling around them in a tight circle. “Somebody shootin’ at you?”
Marianne Trevors
player, 115 posts
Absent-minded Author
Thu 29 Sep 2005
at 06:54
  • msg #81

Re: The Dark Amazon

Marianne seemed less overjoyed than horrified to see the two men coming up the alley. "It's De Vega! Run!"

She was evidently determined to follow her own advice, and stopped only when she reached the gun-toting pair. Her heart was racing and her breath coming in gasps. "I shot him...and got away... But he's very... very angry..."

Her fingers clutched Liza's box tightly and her eyes searched the alleyway nervously as she spoke.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:48, Thu 29 Sept 2005.
Jack McCurdy
player, 99 posts
Thu 29 Sep 2005
at 07:08
  • msg #82

Re: The Dark Amazon

“Damn! I hate being right all the time!” McCurdy took Trevors by the arm with his free hand, trying to be gentlemanly about it, and turned with her to leave the alley. “Padre, I trust you have the rear,” he said as he led them to the street. “We’re headin’ for the church!”

If de Vega poked his head out from any direction, he was going to get plugged by seven lead bullets in short order. Whether it stopped him or not!
Brother Clary
player, 76 posts
Bible Thumpin' Gun Totin'
Itinerant Tent Preacher
Thu 29 Sep 2005
at 15:51
  • msg #83

Re: The Dark Amazon

Jack McCurdy:
“Damn! I hate being right all the time!” McCurdy took Trevors by the arm with his free hand, trying to be gentlemanly about it, and turned with her to leave the alley. “Padre, I trust you have the rear,” he said as he led them to the street. “We’re headin’ for the church!”


Brother Clary nodded silently, keeping his eyes open for any possible ambush.  He followed closely, gripping his shotgun in a 'ready' position.
Marianne Trevors
player, 116 posts
Absent-minded Author
Thu 29 Sep 2005
at 16:03
  • msg #84

Re: The Dark Amazon

Despite her fear, her eyes narrowed at McCurdy's comment. She didn't know exactly what he was talking about, but she objected to his tone.

She shook off his hand, taking issue with the way the two seemed to have taken charge between them. She fully intended to let them know all about it later, but for the moment she was putting all her energy towards trying to escape a particularly gruesome death.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:29, Fri 30 Sept 2005.
Drake
GM, 338 posts
Fri 30 Sep 2005
at 11:12
  • msg #85

Re: The Dark Amazon

Trying their best to chivvy Marianne along to the relative safety of the church, the two men keep watch for de Vega; but the man does not appear.  Or, perhaps, there is a more irresistable target at the church already....

Sebastian Hawksmoore is now standing by the front of the church, watching the unfolding drama there; apparently something has happened, and the three people there are speaking to priest in upset tones.  From the look on his face as they draw near, the tragedy is also affecting him - and McCurdy quickly figures out that the youngest woman is carrying the same shawl the elderly lady was carrying, the one that came to the church to tell him how to save Hawksmoore's unnatural life.  It seems the excitement of the day has claimed another victim.

And just then, as Marianne and McCurdy look to the left, while Brother Clary looks to the right, they see de Vega, approaching at speed, blade drawn...heading right for the unsuspecting Hawksmoore.
Jack McCurdy
player, 100 posts
Fri 30 Sep 2005
at 11:40
  • msg #86

Re: The Dark Amazon

"Damn!" McCurdy raised his pistol and checked for bystanders before letting go with his .45 right at de Vega's running body. Even if he didn't hit the guy, at least Hawksmoore would have his warning.
Brother Clary
player, 77 posts
Bible Thumpin' Gun Totin'
Itinerant Tent Preacher
Fri 30 Sep 2005
at 19:53
  • msg #87

Re: The Dark Amazon

After carefully ensuring that there was no one else in the path of his pattern, Brother Clary calmly raised his shotgun to his shoulder, aimed carefully at the running figure, unloaded his chamber at de Vega; the shotgun blast certainly would have an ugly effect once it reached him, if McCurdy's pistols didn't stop him first.
Marianne Trevors
player, 117 posts
Absent-minded Author
Sat 1 Oct 2005
at 05:16
  • msg #88

Re: The Dark Amazon

She had been expecting De Vega to pop up at the stickiest spot, but she hadn't expected this! She watched in horror as the pirate advanced at full speed, his blade drawn, while Hawksmoore stood nearby, unawares.

"Hawksmoore! Behind you!" she shouted, and ran forward.
Drake
GM, 339 posts
Sun 2 Oct 2005
at 23:06
  • msg #89

Re: The Dark Amazon

The three travellers tried their various ways to inhibit the attack, Marianne shouting first.  Then McCurdy fired, and de Vega's left shoulder seemed to splatter with blood, but it didn't even slow him down.  Brother Clary brought his shotgun to bear, knowing that at this range, the buckshot was unlikely to do much damage.  He fired, making de Vega's stride break only slightly.

But it was enough to get Hawksmoore moving.  The youth suddenly turned and leapt high into the air, graceful as an antelope, drawing his cutlass as he went.  The two blades met with a clash like thunder.  Captain Hook and the Boy Who Could Fly went at it again, slashing and parrying, fierce and fast.  McCurdy had heard of a fighting technique from the Far East where the warrior could jump and move like that; it seemed Hawksmoore had been studying fighting for a long time and in unusual places.

De Vega spoke, his words sizzling like blood on a fire.  "Lost another Wendy ?"  The words struck Hawksmoore like a blow, and then he stood still, taking a cut from de Vega without parrying, laying open a wound along his ribs.  They could see his lips moving, but could not hear.  De Vega drew back for a killing blow.

Then Hawksmoore swept up and around again, in defiance of gravity, and kicked de Vega in the side of the head.  The three heard the loud snap, and de Vega fell like a limp doll.  Hawksmoore landed on the street, ready to continue the fight, then looked back at the three.  "HURRY !"  He said, and broke into a run, heading back to the docks.
Jack McCurdy
player, 101 posts
Mon 3 Oct 2005
at 13:16
  • msg #90

Re: The Dark Amazon

“Now there’s a kid that knows how to fight,” McCurdy mumbled as he motioned at Brother Clary. “If you’ll watch that de Vega fella while we’re pavin’ the street, I’d be obliged. I’ll keep the front clear.” He tried to take Marianne’s arm again, conscious of the fact that she shook him off before, and tried to help her back toward the docks. “We came back to get you to a safe place while this is goin’ on. It’d be best if you helped us out as well as yourself...”
Brother Clary
player, 78 posts
Bible Thumpin' Gun Totin'
Itinerant Tent Preacher
Mon 3 Oct 2005
at 14:09
  • msg #91

Re: The Dark Amazon

At McCurdy's recommendation, Brother Clary nodded, again silently.  He levered another shell into the chamber and began a retreat, following the group, ever watchful of the fallen man in black.
Marianne Trevors
player, 118 posts
Absent-minded Author
Mon 3 Oct 2005
at 16:56
  • msg #92

Re: The Dark Amazon

"Oh, will you be quiet and just run?!" she snapped, deliberately shaking his hand off again. She couldn't really speak her mind as she would have liked, but it was impossible to miss that she was glaring daggers at both of them.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:12, Mon 03 Oct 2005.
Jack McCurdy
player, 102 posts
Mon 3 Oct 2005
at 17:17
  • msg #93

Re: The Dark Amazon

McCurdy gave the preacher a look like he'd better take care of Marianne. It was obvious to the detective that she really didn't want him around. "I'll catch the rear," he said, even as he put his pistol back in its holster. He spied Hawksmoore and veered slightly toward him.
Drake
GM, 340 posts
Tue 4 Oct 2005
at 23:07
  • msg #94

Re: The Dark Amazon

Bickering as they went, they could not help but see Hawksmoore look back, roll his eyes, and continue on his fleet-footed way.  Sparks were struck off the cobblestones by his hobnailed boots, and the blood soaking his shirt didn't seem to trouble him.

They ran, heading back to the docks, where a harried-looking Hornsby was loading a canvas sack of something into the seaplane, and the rangy Hun pilot was wilting under Liza Water's gaze.  There was something about her that turned a man into a little boy.  The locals, sensing trouble, scattered before the running quartet. "De Vega, not happy," Hawksmoore reported, sliding to a stop by Hornsby.
"Damme boy, you're injured !"  Hornsby said, indicating the boy should jump into the water, then winced as Hawksmoore flinched at the word boy.
"I had to pay the lwa. Can't be healed fast.  Go on, Sir !"
"Quickly, quickly, onboard, don't bother Elise, she's a little darling," Liza began bossing them onto the aircraft like a mother hen.  She stiffened as a yowling cry came from back behind them, somewhere among the buildings; the Hun, with a definite sense for trouble as well, sprang up to spin the prop and thus start the plane.
Marianne Trevors
player, 119 posts
Absent-minded Author
Wed 5 Oct 2005
at 15:41
  • msg #95

Re: The Dark Amazon

Marianne hesitated, torn between getting on the plane and finding some other way to escape. She clutched the box tightly and looked back the way they came, clearly debating something. But De Vega's yowl settled the matter. She boarded the plane immediately, desperately hoping that they would escape that madman.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:45, Wed 05 Oct 2005.
Jack McCurdy
player, 103 posts
Fri 7 Oct 2005
at 15:01
  • msg #96

Re: The Dark Amazon

McCurdy holstered his pistol and climbed into the plane. He didn’t much like running from a fight, but in a normal fight he knew he had a chance to win. He plopped down in a seat and realized he had plopped down next to the redhead. He grimaced like someone had just punched him in the stomach. “Don’t suppose you got a gun in that box, do ya?”
Marianne Trevors
player, 120 posts
Absent-minded Author
Sat 8 Oct 2005
at 03:55
  • msg #97

Re: The Dark Amazon

Marianne shot him a look, as if she were indulging, just for a second, the thought of pointing the box at him and opening the lid sharply to show him. A slight smile appeared at the corners of her mouth.

"It does appear to be one, as it happens. Very handy for shooting all kinds of maniacs and high-handed, insufferable men, don't you think?"
This message was last edited by the player at 04:16, Sat 08 Oct 2005.
Drake
GM, 341 posts
Mon 10 Oct 2005
at 10:57
  • msg #98

Re: The Dark Amazon

The tiny box in Marianne's hands was still warm.  Flipping open the lid revealed it to be a concealed weapon - which could fire one small bullet, at close range. It also had a polished steel mirror that one could check one's make-up with.

The Hun leapt into the cockpit and sent the seaplane out along the river, intent on getting out of Manaus.  He spat something in furious German at Hawksmoore, who smirked as he held onto the well-packed netting.  Hornsby had gone pale and was merely sitting silently, but Liza Waters was scribbling furious notes into her notebook.  "Marianne, you must tell me everything !" she cried, "This will be the greatest novel ever !"
"Oh, not another bloody author !" moaned Hawksmoore with a wince, and touched the wound on his chest, his hand coming away very red.

The plane lifted up into the air, rushing past the emerald green foliage of Brazil.
Jack McCurdy
player, 104 posts
Thu 13 Oct 2005
at 04:58
  • msg #99

Re: The Dark Amazon

McCurdy glanced at the small pea-shooter inside and smirked. "As long as all you want to do is make them bleed a little," McCurdy said to Marianne. It seemed his good nature was returning. He looked out of the window at the land they were leaving behind for a moment, and then sat back more comfortably, removing his hat and running a hand over his cropped, graying hair.

He watched Liza scribbling, finding humor it in for some reason. She looked like a rabbit fidgeting over a steel carrot. He smiled despite the tension of the situation. He was as calm as a drip of molasses now. He looked at Marianne again and gave her his best smile. It could be charming when the conditions were right.

“I came back to get you to apologize, Ms. Trevors. I shouldn’t have treated you the way I did. I had no call for such. I hope we can start again.” He held out his hand as if he wanted to shake hers. “Jack McCurdy, private detective. At your service, ma’am.” He glanced at the box she now held closed in her hand.

"I hope you don't want to offer me a cigar."
Marianne Trevors
player, 121 posts
Absent-minded Author
Fri 14 Oct 2005
at 14:48
  • msg #100

Re: The Dark Amazon

Marianne regarded the private eye in skeptical silence for a second. After a long pause, she decided to take his words at face value. "Apology accepted, Mr. McCurdy, if that was really the only reason you had for coming after me," she returned wryly, taking his hand and shaking it.

"And would you blame me if I did?" she asked with a quirk of her eyebrows, though she seemed amused.
Jack McCurdy
player, 105 posts
Sat 15 Oct 2005
at 02:32
  • msg #101

Re: The Dark Amazon

McCurdy chuckled at her, but wasn’t going to touch that one with a ten foot pole. "Well, it wasn't the only reason, no," he did say. He let go of her hand and started fiddling with the brim of his hat as he watched the world around them go by.

"There was a more practical reason, sure. Your safety as well as ours. After the first incident in the street with de Vega, when I suggested you get away from him while you could as I was hurrying off with the boy there, I wondered then how long it would be before you were being carried off. In a pine box." He looked at her frankly. "It told me you probably weren't one to think past your own fascination with what was happening. In other words, self-preservation kind of took a back seat when it shouldn't. Meaning no offense, of course, but that kind of foolhardiness could get those around you hurt as well as yourself.

"So, when we were on the boat, I was kind of rough with you, hoping you would leave so I wouldn't be put in a situation that would get me shot - or run through with a big knife - trying to keep you from getting shot - or run through with a big knife. I'm kind of fond of my life, droll as it may be at times.

"And then I got to thinkin' after you left that I couldn't let you run off knowin' you probably wouldn't make it a day with de Vega out there. If he wanted you dead. If he didn't want you dead, he - if not this Basil fella - would most likely be apt to use you against us, and there I would be; back in the same tight spot, torn between my gentlemanly upbringin’ and keepin' my own butt from gettin’ gatted.” He shrugged.

“So we came back for ya. For both of us. Not that you can’t take care of yourself, I see,” he added as he threw a crooked smile at the box, “but I think we’d all be better off if we were together in this than apart.” He finished slowly, looking at her askance, flinching slightly as he knew the slap would be coming shortly. In his experience, Redheads were unpredictable at best and it was better to err on the side of caution around them.
Brother Clary
player, 79 posts
Bible Thumpin' Gun Totin'
Itinerant Tent Preacher
Sat 15 Oct 2005
at 02:51
  • msg #102

Re: The Dark Amazon

Jack McCurdy:
Meaning no offense, of course, but that kind of foolhardiness could get those around you hurt as well as yourself.


Brother Clary started to say something at this point, clearly uncomfortab;e with the direction this part of the conversation was going.  He considered himself a 'protector' of sorts, and wasn't quite sure if McCurdy was blaming her for her predicament or not.

Jack McCurdy:
“So we came back for ya. For both of us. Not that you can’t take care of yourself, I see,” he added as he threw a crooked smile at the box, “but I think we’d all be better off if we were together in this than apart.”


"Amen," was all the preacher decided to say.
Drake
GM, 342 posts
Sat 15 Oct 2005
at 11:31
  • msg #103

Re: The Dark Amazon

Hornsby, looked very peaked, saw fit to clear his throat, and speak.  "May I ask if either of you ladies happens to have a needle and thread upon you ?"  He edged carefully along the plane's deck, as if shifting his weight would make the plane come out of the sky, toward Hawksmoore, who'd fallen over in a dead faint.  The boy's shirt was now ruby red.

Brother Clary felt a prickling by his ear, and turned his head to see a large snake had unwound itself from the rope netting neatly tied to the walls and was surveying the preacher-man's ear as if it was a potential mouse.

"OH My," Liza Waters said, and began digging in her purse for something.  "If you don't mind, Captain Hornsby."  She passed him over a packet.  "Marianne, will you please hold that mirror up, so Captain Hornsby has some light to work with ?  I don't know if Leutnant Gruber has a torch handy."
Brother Clary
player, 80 posts
Bible Thumpin' Gun Totin'
Itinerant Tent Preacher
Sat 15 Oct 2005
at 19:54
  • msg #104

Re: The Dark Amazon

Drake:
Brother Clary felt a prickling by his ear, and turned his head to see a large snake had unwound itself from the rope netting neatly tied to the walls and was surveying the preacher-man's ear as if it was a potential mouse.


At the sight of the snake so very close to his head, Brother Clary's self-preservation instincts took over.  He leapt to his feet, heedless of the rocking motion of the aircraft in flight.  He picked up his trusty shotgun by the barrell, preparing to swing like Casey at the Bat.
Jack McCurdy
player, 106 posts
Sat 15 Oct 2005
at 21:36
  • msg #105

Re: The Dark Amazon

"Whoa, whoa, whOA!" McCurdy held a hand up as if he was going to stop the bat in mid-flight. "You slap that thing around in here and we'll go down like a rock when that thing goes off! What are you thinkin' man? It's just a snake."

McCurdy reached out and picked up the snake, trying to get it out of the way and back on the netting. "All it'll do is bite ya and dish out a little pain. It ain't poisonous.
Marianne Trevors
player, 122 posts
Absent-minded Author
Sat 15 Oct 2005
at 22:13
  • msg #106

Re: The Dark Amazon

Marianne's mouth tightened and her expression grew stormier as McCurdy rambled on. She did notice Brother Clary's reactions though.

"So I'm a pawn at best, and at worst - a twit," she summed up in a positively glacial manner. "You should have quit while you were ahead, Mr. McCurdy. I doubt it's a very common occurrence." She noticed him flinch and  the expression on her face darkened even more. She rose to help the Captain, turning a cold shoulder to the private eye. She carefully held the mirror so that it cast light on the wound.

"And you, Brother Clary? Do you agree with McCurdy's assessment as well? I just want to be clear on where we stand," she asked calmly, as if there wasn't a large snake loose in the cabin. As far as she was concerned, even the snake was better company.
Drake
GM, 343 posts
Sat 15 Oct 2005
at 23:51
  • msg #107

Re: The Dark Amazon

The snake recoiled at the sudden movement, and then eased along the rope netting to look over at Marianne, since she had something shiny.  McCurdy reached out and lifted up the heavy coils and shifted it further, to the snake's disgruntled hiss, but it did not bite.  So much for Hans Gruber's guard snake.

Marianne angled the mirror to show light where Hornsby was setting up needle and thread.  To her, it looked as if the man was also speaking, his lips moving in some sort of silent chant as he painstakingly threaded the needle.  The wound in Sebastian Hawksmoore's side was still leaking blood, and was a nasty slash over his ribs.  The bared chest showed plenty of scars, too - it could not be said the boy had had an easy time of the last four centuries.  With some skill that suggested practice in such matters, Hornsby set to sewing the wound shut.  "Shouldn't talk to a lady like that, Yank," the pirate captain said, somewhat distractedly, "She wasn't to know the Mapmaker's true nature...he hides it well enough."
Jack McCurdy
player, 107 posts
Sun 16 Oct 2005
at 02:55
  • msg #108

Re: The Dark Amazon

“Well if that don’t beat all,” McCurdy said, shaking his head. He slapped his hat on his head, his grey eyes turning to steel and just leaned back on the seat. He thumbed a cigarette out of his pack and put it in his mouth. He didn’t light it though. He just sucked on the end of it as if it was, and looked disgusted.
Jack McCurdy
player, 108 posts
Mon 17 Oct 2005
at 12:28
  • msg #109

Re: The Dark Amazon

McCurdy didn't stew very long. He looked at the pirate captain sewing on Hawksmoore and then looked out of the window at the earth below them. He eased back to watch the surgery again.

"Why don't we just drop down to the river and dip him in it," he said rather lazily. He seemed to have gotten over being snubbed by Marianne, accepting that his initial impression of her had been right in the first place. Folk from the isles were always a bit self-impressed and haughty in his experience.
Brother Clary
player, 81 posts
Bible Thumpin' Gun Totin'
Itinerant Tent Preacher
Mon 17 Oct 2005
at 16:28
  • msg #110

Re: The Dark Amazon

Brother Clary held his swing as the snake began to move away.  He leaned back, breathing heavily, and muttered "Jest cain't abide them snakes..."

Then he moved to find a seat in the opposite direction of the where the serpent went, and settled himself in, keeping the shotgun close at hand.

When he was a little more collected, he addressed Marianne.  "Ma'am, I don't look at anyone as a pawn, but as a person with the dignity of bein' created in the very image o' God.  I was also taught to show respect fer ladies, and I could not sit back and watch you carried off by that de Vega feller.  What I do agree with is that we all need to stick together if'n we're gonna git through this in one piece."

With that, he leaned back, slid his hat down over his eyes to give the appearance of resting.  In reality, though, he was watching out for that snake...
Marianne Trevors
player, 123 posts
Absent-minded Author
Mon 17 Oct 2005
at 20:26
  • msg #111

Re: The Dark Amazon

Marianne rolled her eyes at Hornsby's remark and seemed about to reply, but McCurdy's reaction brought a smirk to her face instead. She glared at the private eye and the preacher.

But Brother Clary's reply seemed to mollify some of her anger, and she nodded at him. "Thank you for your help," she said briefly. She didn't even glance at McCurdy. Instead she turned back to watch the Captain as he sewed up the wound, taking silent note of what he was doing.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:44, Mon 17 Oct 2005.
Drake
GM, 344 posts
Wed 19 Oct 2005
at 00:40
  • msg #112

Re: The Dark Amazon

"He offered his blood to the lwa, to defeat de Vega," Hornsby replied, "This wound won't kill him - but it canst be healed by magic.  Just by time."  The man's hands were steady enough, and his skill at binding a wound shut seemed sufficient.  Marianne was able to observe how best to suture a wound.  "And think what ye will of that, Yank - I'll tell you no lies.  No time for lies, the truth be dicey enough."  With that, he tied off the thread and was done, handing the small sewing kit back to Liza.  Then he winked at Marianne with the lone eye, saucily.

Brother Clary watched the snake slide itself along the ropes in easy, slinky loops, smoothly questing toward a porthole, where it flicked its tongue at the thick glass viewport for a while.  Then it curled back on itself to ease along the ropes into a patch of sunshine, where it seemed to go to sleep.  It was probably the worse guard-snake on record.
Jack McCurdy
player, 109 posts
Thu 20 Oct 2005
at 09:48
  • msg #113

Re: The Dark Amazon

McCurdy clucked once at one-eye’s quip about the truth, glancing at the redhead. “You got that right,” he mumbled as he turned his eyes to the snake. He moved over to the seat closest to it and eased back, mimicking Brother Clary. Only he wasn’t watching the snake.

“Wish I had it as easy as you, snake. Right now, I could do with bein’ deaf. Reckon you won’t mind my company, though. Seems some in here think we have the same personality. We ought to get along just fine...”
Marianne Trevors
player, 124 posts
Absent-minded Author
Fri 21 Oct 2005
at 18:47
  • msg #114

Re: The Dark Amazon

Marianne smirked at the P.I and threw him a look that said he didn't know half of it. "Captain, since we do seem to have some time on our hands, would you consent to answering a few questions?"
Drake
GM, 345 posts
Sat 22 Oct 2005
at 13:36
  • msg #115

Re: The Dark Amazon

"M'lady, time's one thing we're bloody short on," Hornsby replied, "Even with this flying machine.  The path to the fountain is long and ard'just, and must needs be made afoot.  I have not the fastest way in my head, and to try to find the short-cut is to put yourself in harm's way quickest."

McCurdy thought, just for an instant, there was a flicker of an eyelash on Hawksmoore, as if he was listening rather intently and something McCurdy said had gotten to him.
Jack McCurdy
player, 110 posts
Sat 22 Oct 2005
at 13:49
  • msg #116

Re: The Dark Amazon

McCurdy stared at Hawksmoore as he said, "Who does know the fastest way? Ringrose? And how dangerous is it exactly?"
Marianne Trevors
player, 125 posts
Absent-minded Author
Sat 22 Oct 2005
at 15:08
  • msg #117

Re: The Dark Amazon

Marianne stared incredulously at Hornsby. "Oh, for...! You make this journey every forty years, Captain!

Five hundred and twelve miles West of Manaus - to Maya's Cat. That's where you want to go,"
she said in exasperation.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:36, Sat 22 Oct 2005.
Drake
GM, 346 posts
Sun 23 Oct 2005
at 17:24
  • msg #118

Re: The Dark Amazon

It seemed that no matter how old a man got, when it came to the ability to ask for directions, there weren't any age limits.

"Aye, Ringrose made a map - " Hornsby began to reply to McCurdy, while Hawksmoore shammed being out - McCurdy was now sure the youth was faking sleep.  The old one-eyed pirate looked over at Marianne with a stunned look as she spoke in exasperation.

"Eh ?"  Hornby said, sounding as startled as he looked.  Hawksmoore's eyes snapped open too, and both looked at her.  "You've got the map ?  You know the way ?"

"Mayascat," Hawksmoore said, in a low voice, with a slight wince as the ribs twinged,  "Tell the Hessian."

 Hornsby shut his mouth and made his way to shout at the noisy cockpit.
Marianne Trevors
player, 126 posts
Absent-minded Author
Sun 23 Oct 2005
at 19:40
  • msg #119

Re: The Dark Amazon

"I had the map," Marianne corrected. "Basil has it now - along with my clothes, my writer's journal, and all the rest of my belongings."

"Fortunately for us, and most unfortunately for him, I have an  excellent memory," she said with satisfaction. She was obviously relishing the prospect of putting a spoke in her erstwhile companion's wheel.
Jack McCurdy
player, 111 posts
Tue 25 Oct 2005
at 03:30
  • msg #120

Re: The Dark Amazon

McCurdy chuckled aloud, now looking at Marianne. “That figures,” he mumbled to no one in particular. “So what’s after Maya’s cat? Armenio’s dog?”
Marianne Trevors
player, 127 posts
Absent-minded Author
Tue 25 Oct 2005
at 14:10
  • msg #121

Re: The Dark Amazon

Marianne's expression abruptly grew annoyed, and she turned a stony stare on McCurdy. Then, without a word, she rose and followed behind the Captain.

"Captain... May I speak with you?" she asked, mindful of the noise from the cockpit.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:38, Thu 27 Oct 2005.
Drake
GM, 347 posts
Wed 26 Oct 2005
at 23:56
  • msg #122

Re: The Dark Amazon

Hornsby raised an eyebrow at the way Marianne ignored McCurdy, but it was apparently against his code to say anything about it.  Hawksmoore assumed the jaundiced air of an offended teenager, but stayed where he was...and was watching McCurdy out of the corner of his eye.

"As you wish, Marm," he said, and even tried to bob a little bow in the tight space the cargo hold offered.

The snake idly flickered its tongue and twitched a lazy coil, dreaming of mice.
Jack McCurdy
player, 112 posts
Thu 27 Oct 2005
at 07:18
  • msg #123

Re: The Dark Amazon

McCurdy looked over at Brother Clary. "You sleepin', padre?"
Brother Clary
player, 82 posts
Bible Thumpin' Gun Totin'
Itinerant Tent Preacher
Mon 31 Oct 2005
at 19:26
  • msg #124

Re: The Dark Amazon

"I was a tryin' to, but with that varmint snake sneaking around and all this jabberin' goin' on, it don't look much like that's gonna happen."
Jack McCurdy
player, 113 posts
Mon 31 Oct 2005
at 20:43
  • msg #125

Re: The Dark Amazon

"Then let me ask how much of all of this do you believe exactly," McCurdy said, shifting slightly to lean on one side, one leg thrown over the other. "What happened to you to get you caught up in this?"
Marianne Trevors
player, 128 posts
Absent-minded Author
Tue 1 Nov 2005
at 05:03
  • msg #126

Re: The Dark Amazon

"Well, now that it appears we've saved some time because of this shortcut, would you mind answering a few questions?" she asked a little impatiently, gesturing around at the cabin. "I really don't think we have anywhere to go for a while."
Brother Clary
player, 83 posts
Bible Thumpin' Gun Totin'
Itinerant Tent Preacher
Tue 1 Nov 2005
at 19:46
  • msg #127

Re: The Dark Amazon

Brother Clary lifted his chin to peer out at McCrudy from under the brim of his hat.

"I've seen a few things in my time to make me know that there is a lot of stuff out there that folks may not think is 'natural.'  After all, I'm a guy who believes in God becoming a human baby, growing up, dyin' for no crime of His own, and then comin' back to life.  In the meantime, He made blind people see again and lame people walk.  Not only do I believe it, I spend my days tryin' to git other folks to believe it. Then there's the whole demon stuff....

I guess it'd be best fer me to say that I haven't seen anythin' yet to make me not believe this stuff was happenin'.

As fer how I got here, well, after one o' my services, some feller walked up to me and said he had somethin' he thought I should have.  Turned out it was this bejewelled cross with a Latin inscription on't.  Feller said he found it in a cottonwood tree that was hit by lightnin'.  When I was lookin' fer information on the cross, I ran across't a kid name o' Billy Chang, who is descended from a lady Hornsby there know'd.  Billy knew all about the cross and sent me to find Hornsby, and well, that's how I got here."
Drake
GM, 348 posts
Tue 1 Nov 2005
at 22:57
  • msg #128

Re: The Dark Amazon

The two men chatted, while Marianne cornered Hornsby, who managed a mischievous smile at her words.  At the mention of Chang, Hawksmoore's eyes narrowed again.  That was of course where McCurdy had found the youth.

"Ask, and be answered," he replied, with a gallant flair.  "If you truly have the map, Milady, I am your very servant !"
Marianne Trevors
player, 129 posts
Absent-minded Author
Wed 2 Nov 2005
at 04:17
  • msg #129

Re: The Dark Amazon

"You will?!" Marianne was momentarily startled, having worked herself up for an argument. He had put her off so many times before, she hadn't expected that he would agree.

A delighted smile lit up her face and transformed her expression. Her fingers itched for a pencil and paper. How she wished she had her notebook with her!

"I don't know where to begin! Why don't you start?! Just tell me the story as you experienced it... How did you come to discover the fountain? How were the others involved? What happened when you finally found it?" The questions poured out excitedly.
Drake
GM, 349 posts
Sat 5 Nov 2005
at 12:07
  • msg #130

Re: The Dark Amazon

Hornsby raised one eyebrow, just a bit. "We're pirates, marm," he said, with a nod at Sebastian Hawksmoore. "We heard the tale from some slaves we freed aboard a prize we took; so we undertook, with certain of our crew, to find this fountain of youth.  Ringrose made a map from what the slaves said.  As for what happened, it's a tale we'll tell on the ground !"  He gulped and sat down suddenly, as the plane began to tilt downwards for a landing.  The Hun set the seaplane down on the river without any difficulty, and they taxied up to a small pier where two canoes were bobbing.

"Mayascat," said Hans Gruber.

There seemed to be a path that led into the jungle, and all was quiet...very quiet.
Jack McCurdy
player, 114 posts
Thu 10 Nov 2005
at 21:33
  • msg #131

Re: The Dark Amazon

McCurdy was on his feet before the taxi was finished. He eased toward the door and threw it open, checking the landing and those outside carefully for a moment. He looked at Gruber and nodded his thanks at him. “Good bit of flying,” he said before stepping out of the plane and onto the pier. As soon as he hit the deck, he had his pack of cigarettes in hand and was tapping one loose...
Brother Clary
player, 84 posts
Bible Thumpin' Gun Totin'
Itinerant Tent Preacher
Sat 19 Nov 2005
at 14:59
  • msg #132

Re: The Dark Amazon

Brother Clary watched the Arkansas gumshoe leave the plane.  Then he gathered up his shotgun.  "Well, I don't aim to sit around starin' at everybody like a knot on a log.  I got a job to do."

He then joined McCurdy outside the plane.
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