Chapter IV - Comancheria (Charlie & Ezekiel)

[jemmus]

Please update your sheets for these expenses.
Yesterday – Lunch, dinner, hotel, stable - $1.60
Today – Breakfast - $.25

Charlie and Ezekiel provision up and spend the rest of the day and night at Hoffman’s hotel and saloon. Four regulars come in the evening and drink beer, play cards, and discuss local happenings. The biggest topic is the euthanization of the Tonkawa’s horse herd. Everybody agrees that it’s sad, but a necessary evil for the good of everyone. One fellow says that he’ll donate tonight’s winning, if any, to the fund for the Tonkawa the First Methodist Church is raising.

The next morning Charlie and Ezekiel have an early breakfast served by the Hoffman family. The saddle their horse and load their mounts with survival rations, cateens, and ammunition and ride out of town west, past the old stockade that Charlie is pretty familiar with. The road turns south toward Stringtown and San Antonio, follow the road west, through the farms strung along the San Marcos River and the bluffs rising above it immediately to the south. Stringtown. They pass the Wiley place, home of the teenaged horse thiefs that stole Charlie’s horse. The farms run out, and they ride past the spot where Charlie and his companions turned north off the road to follow the trail of the Duncan brothers horse rustler gang. The scouts know that their planned route directly west southwest to Camp Clark will take them between the San Marcos to the north and the Guadalupe River to the south. Water shouldn’t be more than just a few miles away, or less if they come across a creek running north or south to one of the rivers.

A few miles beyond the turnoff spot for the rustler’s house, the road become nothing but a cow path that cattle have worn through the prairie grass.

Please roll two Observation rolls per PC. Need a Survival roll at +3 for Charlie. Ezekiel can also roll Survival if he's like. The +3 applies so a 1-3 will apply, even though he doesn't have the Survival skill.

We'll roll two Observation rolls every day (the first one for daytime, the second one for night) every day that Ezekiel and Charlie aren't in a town or fort.

[jemmus]

Bump. This one still going? As for as pressure for Charlie and Ezekiel and their horse in this wilderness crossing... there might be plenty.

[Bluetongue]

'Sarge' Ezekiel

Ezekiel: Observation (14) [1d20]=11 Luck (7) [1d20]=14 Ezekiel: Observation (14) [1d20]=10 Luck (7) [1d20]=10

Sarge Ezekiel: Survival +3 [1d20]=3


Ezekiel: Observation (14) [1d20]=14 Luck (7) [1d20]=19 Ezekiel: Observation (14) [1d20]=10 Indian Contact (13) [1d20]=18

Sarge Ezekiel: Survival +3 [1d20]=11

So a few rolls to start with, -2sp.

Fine to follow into prairie aling the well worn path. He observes his surrounds and bonds with Charlie, learning to trust his comrade's instincts and skills.

Specifically, my gun is loaded. I have a habit to clean it regularly, keeping kit in order a hangover from soldiering days. Ezekiel is a quiet man, his conversations short; he is not gruff or abrupt but fine with fewer words and more actions. He keeps a diary too, scribing during odd respites especially if he notes interesting features in the landscape.

[Rex]

Charlie

Survival +3 (16) [1d20]=3

Observation (16) [1d20]=3 [1d20]=17 [1d20]=10 [1d20]=9 [1d20]=17 [1d20]=18

Observation (16) [1d20]=10 [1d20]=8 [1d20]=13 [1d20]=15 [1d20]=15 [1d20]=10

Sheet updated.

[jemmus]

Charlie knows that cattle wear cow trails into the grass over the years. They're clean, bare earth, trampled smoother than any county road. They're like a one-lane wagon rut, no more than a foot wide. But a cow's two legs are a yard wide. Odd and perplexing. As a kid Charlie always image the cattle following each other single file on the trail, head down and shuffling along behind the lead bull or cow. Which wouldn't be odd behavior for dumb cattle. Or for buffalo either, for that matter. As little tyke, he and his siblings and cousins say to his father and uncles, An old bull's meat is hard, and so tough even a dog has to chew on it all day. We used to give it to the dogs, so they could be busy and happy all day and night working on it. Now, the women pound it into pemmican. I have heard that in the old days the hunters came back to the body of an old bull, burned sage grass, sweet grass, and sang sacred songs around it. To honor a warrior and great leader of the Buffalo Nation. Mitakuye oyasin!*

Charlie has never seen cattle or buffalo walking single file along a cow trail. But he has seen that they lead in a direct line to toward something a herd would want. In Texas-- water. And then back to the best grazing, folding down, and chewing the cud half-asleep grounds. For both cattle and buffalo, those are wide open areas under a clear sky and stars.

Charlie nodded to the narrow cow trail, and Ezekiel nodded back. Soon, the trail ends at a flowing stream. The bottom is flat and sandy, and creek grass on the bottom waves back and forth in the constant current. The backs of hungry minnows dart around, disperse, and flash around the the area where they started, downstream, upstream, and all around. Mr. Ezekiel, I'm going to let my horse have its head here and fill my canteen. Looks like good running water to me."

But one the other side of stream, Ezekiel and Charlie see tracking signs. Another cow trail directly across from this one. Probably a cattle ford and a trail beyond it. Horse droppings beside it. Maybe six or eight horses have watered her in the past day or day and half.

* Literally, "All my relations." But figuratively, "We/all on Earth are connected."

[Rex]

Charlie

Charlie will look for any evidence that would tell him who was here. Cowboys, Indians, Army etc.

"Someone was here recently."

[jemmus]

Charlie examines the flattened grass at the edge of the little creek. But he can't make out whether the horses' hooves were shoed, as would indicate cowboys, Army, outlaws, or other Texas people. Or "barefoot" shoeless, as would indicate Indian mounts.

Ezekiel and Charlie ride on west southwest, through the yellow grass and green of the scrub bushes. They make pretty good time, despite being off of any road or trail on the rolling ground of south central Texas.


More that once they jump a long-legged jackrabbit that zigzags off at high speed. Ezekiel and Charlie both know that hitting a zigzagging jackrabbit requires an exceptionally good shot with a shotgun, and with a rifle would be a wild chance miracle.


And a stand of some live oaks, they come across a large-ish herd of wary and watching whitetail deer around 150 yards off.


At around 4:00 in the afternoon they reach a high spot, and see to the northwest, almost a mile away, four buzzards doing slow circles high in the sky. And to the south, a haze on the horizon maybe three miles away. It's like there's a low cloud of dust that has risen from the ground and hangs suspended in the air over it.

Neither Charlie or Ezekiel has the Tracking skill for examining the hoofprints by the creek. But you can do a Tracking roll, and if you get a 1, and succeed on a Luck roll, you could identify. Do you fill your canteens at the stream? If not please mark your sheets as half a canteen depleted.

Need a survival roll for Charlie, and Ezekiel can roll one and hope for a 1 if he'd like.

(The action will pick up as we go on, I promise. Unless you guys do everything just right, and have plenty of lucky rolls too. In which case, you would arrive at Camp Clark with no major incidents, mishaps, combats, pursuits, bad water poisoning, jimson "loco weed" poisoning, dehydration and/or starvation, etc.)
Actions? Continue on another three hours or so to nightfall? Or do something else? ]

[Rex]

Charlie

Charlie will fill his canteens.

Tracking (1) [1d20]=4 Luck (7) [1d20]=20

Survival (13) [1d20]=11

[Bluetongue]

'Sarge' Ezekiel

Waters himself and his horse, examining prints

Ezekiel: Observation (14) [1d20]=12 Luck (7) [1d20]=1

The dust cloud seems a common thing for horses to generate and three miles away ain't that far, even at a slow trot.

I would continue on, making any camp at a defensible position, maybe higher up to give us a better 360° view.

[jemmus]

Charlie's Survival roll succeeded, but it was within two points of his skill score. Per the rules, Charlie (only) would lose 1 point of Strength. But you guys have plenty of provisions, and you're not relying on finding food and water. The rules also mention that Survival also involves finding suitable safe shelter for the night. It's a clear night in early June, so shelter shouldn't be a big deal. No loss of 1 Strength for Charlie.

Please note these other rules:
-If Charlie failed his Survival roll, he, Ezekiel, and the horses would have lost 1 Strength, Coordination, and Observation each; and
-Charlie has to roll 2 over his Survival skill score not to lose 1 Strength.
So for example, the Survival skill is 13. Charlie rolls a 13. The party doesn't lose Strength, Coordination, and Observation. But he loses 1 Strength.

If the roll had failed, the entire party (including horses) would have lost 1 point each of Strength, Coordination, and Observation. For Charlie not to lose any Strength in a day, his roll has to beat his Survival skill by more than 2.[/ooc]

Ezekiel and Charlie ride on west. They see an abandoned settlers' dugout with its roof collapsed and stove in and surrounded by tall broom weeds. There's a little pond with a pond dam and flat greenish water. Water that might be full of parasites and need boiling to be safe. Charlie decides against watering the horses and filling canteens from it. They ride on, their strong horses still in fine shape, and seeming to enjoy covering ground in new places.

The Sun begin to set, and the riders find a spot at the top of a hill with a clear view in all directions and grass for the horses to graze. Charlie moves the camp location some yards away from some rocks that look a place that rattlesnakes might like bask in the sun or take shade from during the day. The old dugout and its stock tank pond are visible to the east northeast, about a half mile away. The men estimate they covered around 40 miles of trackless land today. Likely over 200 more to go to reach Camp Clark.

The dust cloud from the south slowly, slowly comes closer. When the breeze shifts from that direction, the riders hear a kind of thrumming bass drone. Ezekiel and Charlie see in the distance two horsemen riding ahead of the thrumming sound at a trot, then stop and observe. One rides at a trot, then a lope toward the direction of the collapsed dugout and pond. After a few seconds the other lopes up to him and look together for a second. Then together lope back toward the dust cloud and low, steady thrum.

The steady thrumming breaks into the sound of the deep and loud voices of individual cattle in the distance bellowing and calling. And then, a tremendous herd of cattle, with the six cowboy in the lead, begin slowly tramping by. There must be two or three thousand of them.

The cowboys cut out around 100 of the lead cattle and turn them toward the pond to drink, stopping the rest of the herd. The hardworking cowpokes repeat this process two dozen times or more as the Sun sets and a gibbous moon rises over the prairie. The herd settles for the night around the pond and ruined old dugout.

Charlie and Ezekiel take turns standing watch. Ezekiel writes descriptions of the day's landscapes in his notebook by moonlight, while still staying alert.
On his Charlie watch hears a pack of coyotes on the run crossing the prairie from some place to some destination. Yipping constantly, as is the habit of coyotes.

At around 3:00 AM, three distant rifle shots are heard from the direction of the far end of the herd. Pow! Pa-pow! The quiet herd begins bellowing and lowing again, and there's a kind of wave of motion visible as they rise to their hooves. The voices of men calling and yelling to each other can be faintly heard.

Please mark off one day's rations. Per the rules, characters consume 1/2 a canteen of water. Please mark off 1/4 consumed after filling up earlier in the day.

[Rex]

Charlie

Charlie cautions to wait until the herd is past.

Sheet updated.

[Bluetongue]

'Sarge' Ezekiel

Better mount up. Could be a stampede coming our way, could be Commanche raiders or bandits seeking to rustle away a hundred or a thousand of the nearby cattle.

I guess we should investigate just to put our minds at ease.

[Rex]

Charlie

Charlie will mount up just in case.

[jemmus]

Under the clear gibbous Moon and starlit sky, Charlie lays his horse's saddle blanket on it, throws the saddle, and cinches up the belly belt. Now's not the time to puff up and not let me tighten up the belly cinch, old Pict, he says. He pushes his knee into the horse's flank and the mount gives in. Below, a quarter to a half mile to the northeast, at the head of the herd of 2,000 or more head of cattle, sporadic but steady rifle reports are heard. It seems that the herd's cowboy wranglers are firing into the dark, at anything they might sight-- bush, rock, anything that might be man. A horse whinnies in the distant cacophony of popping gunfire. It seems that the lowing herd gets more distraught. The bulls at the front and middle bellow long and call, and the cows, calves and steers along the way individually set up their own warning and complaining calling lows.

There's a rifle report from the darkness in the front, and a horse before the herd cries in pain. Then another, and another cry of pain, but from a man. And then another, but a bass groan bellow from a huge leader bull. The herd cries out and begins to run the direction it was headed. To the north. In that direction, the sound of yipping and exultant riders moving at a rapid lateral pace can be heard. After a few seconds, it seems to Charlie and Ezekiel that they are headed toward this spot of high ground, above the horns an hooves of the herd that is starting to run. They definitely aren't going the other way. The trigger-happy cowpokes voices shout and curse in alarm, most likely only yards ahead of the front rows of the angry and scared herd.

Feel free to roll on any skill or attribute, whichever you think is best. Observation, Cowboy (to know cattle behavior, Indian Contact (to know Indian behavior), a criminal skill (to know outlaw behavior), Riding, Strength, Luck, etc. Luck is always a default. If a first roll fails, there's always Luck. But a plausible explanation of what lucky thing that happened is required.

[Rex]

Charlie

Charlie readies his rifle and tries to figure out what is going on.

Indian Contact (9) [1d20]=17

Scouting (14) [1d20]=14

From his days with the army...

[Bluetongue]

'Sarge' Ezekiel

Ezekiel: Observation (14) [1d20]=5 Luck (7) [1d20]=15

Well his luck may run dry but his eyes and wits are sharp.

so my own player interpretation is that the Indians are causing a stampede and plan to run off the herd.

Do we engage? Shooting the Indians?

Ezekiel: Rifle (4): Careful Shot vs Dex 17 [1d20]=20

Modified 'to hit' is 21, but a natural 20 demands a luck roll,

Ezekiel: Luck (7): [1d20]=15



That looks a miss then..

[jemmus]

Charlie wonders who the trail drive cowboys opponents might be. Comanches? He hasn't heard of Comanches stampeding a cattle herd used against Texans or the U.S. Army. But Comanches are very clever and inventive about developing on the spot tactics and ruses. The riders yip like Indians-- but that doesn't mean they're Comanches, or even Indians. It's hard to tell up hereOutlaws? Maybe. For rustlers, even a small portion of a herd of 2,000 to 2,500 head at $5 to $10 per would be enough to live well on for a good long time. But he doesn't know enough about cowboy work and the rustler trade to speculate on how that would be managed.

Bandidos from Mexico? It might be something they would do, because many are former vaqueros and fearless experts at handling and moving cattle. But the Mexican border is probably over 200 miles from here-- four to six days ride. He knows that bandidos tend to operate by doing precise nighttime operations and stampeding big Texas herd across across the shallow Rio Grande River border and into Mexico. (And Texas ranchers/rustlers do the same thing, but in the opposite directions. Getting across the border before the Federales or U.S. Army or U.S. Federal Marshals seems to be a big thing for either side).

Ezekiel focuses on spotting the riders who have turned to ride up the rise to his and Charlie's position and get above the stampede that seems on the brink of bursting into full charge. He carefully observes. Yes, a small party of Indians, maybe 10 or so, probably young, maybe Comanches, run their horses up the shoulder of the hill on their mustangs to escape the surge of the cattle herd. Somebody fires a pistol report in the rolling plain below. Then in the farther distance, another. A thrumming of hooves begins of rumble. Followed by a chorus of lows, shaking and low driving ones and moving bellowing low cattle voices. Trail riders gallop horses to get in front of the herd and try to turn it back to save, to save the horses and riders caught in front of it and turns its head another way.

The new lead bull makes a hasty decision and turns left. Onto a rise and away from and about the gunshots in the night to the front. The one Ezekiel and the nighttime riders also chose as the best camp out spot. For right here.

[Bluetongue]

'Sarge' Ezekiel

Ezekiel: Rifle (4): Careful Shot vs Dex 17 [1d20]=12

So I will bring down the lead bull to stop it leading a stampede in our direction and running us over.

[jemmus]

I didn’t mention the range before, but the front of the herd is at around 110-120 yards, which is Long range for a lever action rifle. The modifiers for the shot would be:
Long -2
Night time -4
Running target -2
Large target +2. So -6 to hit. If you shoot, it will probably alert the indians (and the cowboys as well) that you’re there. But the noise might cause the herd to change directions. You can retcon and not shoot, or if you do shoot, the shot just misses.
Need Charlie's action as well.

[Rex]

Charlie

Seeing Sarge raise his rifle, "Don't shoot."

Charlie tries to determine if they are Indians for sure and if so what tribe.