Chapter 4: Strange Pursuit

[jemmus]

The Sun rises and lights the unpaved streets outside of the Drover of western Austin on a quiet Sunday morning. William, Paladin, DT and Doos each awake on cool, clean sheets and with heads on comfortable pillows. They realize they're in the Drover Hotel, in Austin, Texas. And recall that they have a road ahead of them today. Maybe more than one. The smell of fresh brewing coffee and frying bacon is in the hotel's air. It's a nice day, and a good day to set out and do it.

New chapter for Austin area guys-- viewtopic.php?p=688559#p688559 Please bookmark it and post there going forward.

[Thumper]

]Assuming no other activity for the night before:

DT wakes at first pre-dawn light feeling refreshed from enjoying most of Saturday recreating then getting a comfortable night’s long rest.

He rises, dresses in a set of freshly laundered clothes, straps in his cross draw gun belt, ensures his bullet loops are full. He grabs his saddle, bags and carbine sheath and leaves the room locking his door. He walks down to the dining room to speak with the attendant.

G’morning! Is your stable open? If so, I’d like to prep my horse. Can I get breakfast in a few minutes?

He’ll cross to the livery and here he finds a feed bag and fills it with oats. He’s fortifying Ajax for today’s exertions. He saddles Ajax while Ajax munches oats. He takes the lead rope and ties him to a hitching post just outside the barn doors and next to a water trough.

He returns to the hotel for breakfast, when the crew is ready to depart, he only needs to retrieve his carbine and medical backpack from the room and pay his tab. He’ll settle into breakfast while perusing the latest Austin Statesman awaiting his friends.

[cybersavant]

For supper he'll return to O'Reilly's. "I vhill turn in early tonight. Be fresh for der morning start."

Andreas Larson leaves O'Reilly's after he finishes his supper meal and heads back to the Drover to turn in for the night. A first light he packs up his things and heads downstairs to breakfast, looking around to see who else is already up.

[jemmus]

Gideon comes to breakfast fully packed and carrying his new scattergun. But he looks grim, and a little haggard.

-Last night-
Gideon McLaury cleaned and oiled his new 10 gauge scattergun, and checked his shells for any apparent defects. He went to bed early, the City of Austin's lovely Gay Lady revue belles left unseen and card games left unplayed. His mind was on the day ahead. Riding west to Burnet, looking for the murderous stage robbers. "'Road agents,'" he thinks, "That kind of ungodly man calls himself. Same as them horse thieves called themselves 'horse traders.' Bullshittin other people is a kind a playful art. Ya got to kind a temporarily believe the bullshit yerself to make it work. But when ya start permanently believin yer own bullshit-- that's when yer in trouble. That's what sets a good card player from a losing one. The losin one beliefs what he wants to believe about what's gonna happen next, the nature a Lady Luck, and the nature a everythang, ah guess. The good one knows whatever happened before don't necessarily predict what's gonna happen next. He knows he shore enough don't know, and that's whar his advantage is." He decides to ponder on that theory the next time he's on a long ride. But not tomorrow. Tomorrow's eyes open, ears listening, and mind working on how to find Phineas. And shoot him dead.

He admits to himself that he's nervous. His whole life, Phineas was older, bigger, and meaner. He could twist Gideon's arm behind his back, but Gideon couldn't to the same to him. If this run was like every one that came before it-- ever last one a em-- it'd be him layin shot dead, not Phineas. He drifted into a shallow sleep, dreaming of worrisome things, waking partly up, then going back into the next phase of the same worrisome dream. At last, it came to seeing Phineas and the gang sticking up a stage coach. He had Gideon's new scattergun, and he was wearing and he was aiming it at scared passengers standing before the coach. There was a man in a fancy businessman's suit, and Phineas was focusing on him. And he saw that Phineas covering his face with Mama's black scarf. The one she wore to Daddy's funeral. She was crying, which shocked the young boy. He'd never see his mama cry like a little kid before. And he never saw her do it again since.

The businessman was saying something, but to the right was a scared Yankee reporter, behind and kind of shrinking back away in the shadows. Gideon knew he was the man Phineas was going to shoot in the end. He wanted to say something and call out a warning. But Phineas had his scattergun, and a shot with is little Colt pistol would need a miracle to hit. And if he shot and missed, all hell would for sure break lose. The fact was, he was scared. Scared for his very life. Scared like he hadn't ever been since he was a little kid. As a little kid having this kind of bad dream. Phineas's aim is suddenly on the Yankee reporter and he takes slow, calm, and completely heartless steady aim. Like finishing off a wounded rabbit, but without wasting another slug.


Gideon sets his saddlebags, bedroll, canteen, and cleaned and oiled scattergun in a nearby corner of the dining room. He touches fingers to hat brim. Morning, y'all. I suppose we'll be ridin fer Burnet right after breakfast. If that's still the plan. A well-groomed and aparalled young Mexican immigrant waiter puts a big coffee cup before him and fills it from a silver or steel pot with a spout. Gideon some good, long, Army camp-style sips before setting the cup back down.

[ateno]

Doos comes down for breakfast ready to eat.
??"
"I dreamt for railroad building, but I had a great sleep. Hope all did as well. How was last night"?

Doos

[cybersavant]

Andreas Larson heads downstairs in the morning with his gear packed. "Guten Morgen. Ah, Goot Mornin." He settles in at the table for breakfast. "Vhe has a plan, ja?"

[Thumper]

DT welcomes each person to the table and finishes his meal of oatmeal, bacon, and whatever standard fare is for this morning.

In response to Andreas’ question, he replies:

Good question. If we walk our mounts, it’s a 14 hrs journey plus rests. Arriving on a Sunday night…let’s see here, leaving at 6:30 puts us in at 8:30.. Realistically, Sunset or later. Gettin’ to Burnet would likely be the only benefit of the day. If we hustled, we could arrive in by the afternoon…we could try to talk to some folks and get some use of what’s left of the day.

Therefore, I propose we ride hard in the cool of the morning. 2 hr run, 1 hr rest break by a creek, 2hr run, break, then walk or just saunter the rest of the day depending on this summer heat about 4 hrs maybe a bit less. That would put us in at 4:30 this afternoon. Am I correct?

How can we best use a few late afternoon and evening hours in Burnet? I’d like to look for and speak to a town Doc to see if any a your Duncan escapees got treated here. If not tonight then first thing tomorrow.

I can’t imagine it’s any use looking at a county land map. But it wouldn’t surprise me the county land surveyor has been out there and heard it that squeaky old windmill. Perhaps a morning visit to the land or tax collector’s office might be good. Sheriff’s office, too, for that matter.

If needed, I had half a mind on Monday of riding into a few of the ranches down south west of the road ford of the Colorado. Playing up the Doctor role. While we’re there, I find a way of mentioning the squeaky windmill…see if any of them ranchers can give us a point in the right direction.

What else crosses your minds?

[ateno]

"That sounds ok, my horse has not been run like that, see how she does. Do we have landmarks or a road?"

Doos

[redwarrior]

William is up bright and early, excited to get a start to the day and on the path of the stage robbers, sure in his belief that they're also the band of horse thieves, or tied directly into them. Over the last day or two, William has done a lot of quiet thinking by himself, and has come to the conclusion that the law isn't the noble pursuit he'd thought it to be back in the east and over in europe, but just a tool, and one that only works where men are mostly good to start with. Or if you have another tool, like a fast gun, to help it out.

[Thumper]

" Do we have landmarks or a road?"

The Austin-Burnet Road. Two of the stage robberies occurred on this road. It runs through hilly country., so there should be creeks where we can water the horses.

Gid, you look tired. You going to be able to make this long ride today? You drink all that coffee, you must be able to relieve yourself standing in your stirrups, man! DT tries to lighten his mood...if only a little. Then in all seriousness...

Going against ones own brother must be a hard thing...no matter how right it is.

Let me go get the last of my things from my room and settle up my bill. Then we can ride when y’all are ready.

[Thumper]

DT still owes for breakfast and livery. I believe that's 60 cents (.25 breakfast and .35 livery).

[jemmus]

Thanks for that. I was mistaken about livery, there's a standard book price for that. 25 cents.
Cheap meal - 25 cents (RP XP are awarded in the end for splurging on better victuals).
Average hotel (The Drover) - 75 cents per night
Please update your sheets.

[jemmus]

The men rise on Sunday morning cleaned up, well-fed, and rested. Gideon replies to DT, Ah'll do alright, Doctor DT. Ah've rode in much worse condition before, sometimes out a necessity, but more often because of nobody's fault but mine and the fun ah had the night before. Did y'all spot in the paper that Wells Fargo says it's startin stage service ta Burnet and Frederickburg today, er some day later this week? Chartered coaches only. What do y'all think? Jist blowing smoke ta try ta chum the creek and draw in them robbers? If that's what they planned, I guess they'd need to run some stages to deliver newspapers ta Burnet and Frederickburg, fer them boys ta even find em and read em. On tha other hand, word gits around quick in Texas. Lack, it jist happened and yer still thinkin about what ta do about it, and everbody in the next county is all talkin about it at the cracker barrel er quiltin bee.

By the way, Mr. Paladin won't be joinin us on this ride. He dint say why, and ah dint ask. He was cordial, of course.

The riders inquire about the road to Burnet, and the people of Austin direct to the northwest of city. They follow a grid of streets with houses, schools and churches, and the sounds of busy sawing around the frameworks of new 2" x 4" buildings going up. And then last street turns into two-lane wagon road bordered by big wire-fenced ranches laid out along low rolling hills. The abundant Colorado River lies to left, and big longhorn cattle graze the ample grass in the cool of the early morning. The riders give their horses their head to stretch to their legs, wind, hooves, heads and hearts along sections of the road curving around and between the hills.

The galloping riders each congratulate his own brave horse at the rest for them at the next draw and creek to breath and drink. There's a flicker of movement, quickly disappearing, maybe a trick of the eye and shadows and sunlight in the white Texas morning Sun....

Roll and post Observation rolls, please. Yeah, hanging in Austin is quite different from roading... Northwest of all directions, closer to Comanche country. Or farther away from it. People with successful Indian Contact would know.

Judge Jonathan Doos said to law scholar, diplomat to Europe, and fellow judge of the bench: "It's the damn frontier, Honorable Mr. William. We do what we can."

[redwarrior]

William /b] rides along, lost in his thoughts Observation target 15 [1d20]=16

[cybersavant]

Andreas Larson

As the group rides to Burnett, Andreas watches for signs of riders and likely ambush spots [ either for bandits or Comanche ].

[ateno]

Doos will watch, but start to learn how the horse has been taught to work with the rider.



Doos

[Thumper]

Obs 15: [1d20]=3

Roger on the Drover costs.

[jemmus]

Andreas Larson

As the group rides to Burnett, Andreas watches for signs of riders and likely ambush spots [ either for bandits or Comanche ].

The Tactics skill would be ideal for this task. Scouting might be a second best. But Observation could succeed at spotting an actual waiting ambush.

As the riders' horses drink from the creek winding through the grassy hills and rocky bluff, through the branches of mighty old live oaks and above the leaves of the scrub bushes under them, William, Doos and DT spot a pale man mounted on a dark horse crest a hill to the left at a walk. To front and left, the southwest, around 200 yards off as the crow flies, but another 200 yards up.

The rider gazes at the riders and horses for a few seconds. Then he touches fingers to hat brow, and turns his horse to disappear behind the crest again, and spurs it into a lope.

[Grognardsw]

Sunday Morning at Breakfast

That night when Paladin returns to the Drover Hotel, there is an urgent wire: Paladin, if you still love me, I need your help desperately. XO Betty

Paladin looked over the telegram again Sunday morning at breakfast. He pursed his lips in worry.

“Boys, I’m sorry to have to do this, but I have an emergency and have to go to San Francisco. I’ll return Wells Fargo’s money. Good luck.”

[cybersavant]

Andreas Larson eesn't have tactics,