Chapter 2 - Cash Dollars on the Hoof

[Bluetongue]

Sebastian

I will arm myself with Slim's shotgun. Loading it with any ammo I can frisk from him or find in a box, pouching the rest. Locked and loaded, I will stand one side of the door frame for cover, barrel extended towards a rider.

He waits for Paladin to speak up and tells Gideon, "Watch over that pair. But don't get trigger happy. They are worth more alive than dead."

[Grognardsw]

Thanks. I'd like to slow down enough to say stuff or do actions in the limited time we have.

With the two rustlers tied, Paladin picked up mustache man's pistol and tucked it in his back belt.

"You will NOT shoot them," Paladin said sternly to Gideon, pointing at the old eccentric to emphasize his seriousness.

To mustache man, Paladin said: "You have two choices: hang, or sign a written confession as to Harvey Adler's invovlement in the horse operation."

Then, to his cowboy friends: "You saw four out there?"

The dead man's hit lies moonlit on the prairie grass. Maybe ten yards behind it, a horse snorts in the dark. A deep voice yells out, "Mike! Y'all in the house?"

Paladin stuck his pistol in mustache's gut. "Who is that? Tell him to come in, everything's all right. Anything else and I shoot." Paladin prodded the barrel into the gut and drew out the gag.

This is intended to happen before Mike yells out his deal.

[redwarrior]

William stays by his tree, focused on the potential return of the horsemen. But if any of the posse can see him, he'll shake his head either yes or no as I expect to confirm/deny Mike's offer's validity.


Law target 12 [1d20]=8

[Rex]

Charlie

Charlie holds tight and tries to get a bead on the man speaking.

[cybersavant]

Andreas Larson hunkers down in the shadows so the riders don't see him.

[ateno]

Then, to his cowboy friends: "You saw four out there?"

Doos looks at Paladin, holds up 3 fingers, points at the dead one at his feet and holds up two fingers.

[jemmus]

Sebastian takes the babyfaced young man's shotgun. There's hardly anything in this room except the old crates used as a table and chairs and the lantern. He soon enough spots a cardboard box with eight shotgun shells. He takes a position at the back door, using the frame for partial cover.

Paladin orders McLaury not to shoot the rustlers in the house. McLaury replies, Not unless they want to git shot. It might be pleasanter than kickin at the end of a rope. Paladin holds his six-shooter to the moustached man's belly, asks who's outside, and tells him to have them come in. I reckon that'd be the rest of the crew, the man drily replies. I don't think I can do that, mister. Everythang ain't alright, and my mama dint raise no liar. Are you sayin that Adler dint send ya? Ar are ya sayin yer double-crossing him and sellin im out?

William stays in position under the tree, watching for movement in the dark. Charlie does the same from his position. Andreas crouches in the darkness, pistol ready. Doos silently signs to Paladin the number of men outside.

The rustler or rustlers remain out of sight, too distant in the dark to see. A bass voice out in the dark calls out an offer: Two good horses in exchange for the riders to peacefully leave. The bass voice adds, I expect ya'll got our boys in the house. So I'm gonna up my offer. A hundred-dollar horse for every one of that's still drawin breath. The empty prairie is quiet while he waits for a reply. A horse in the corral snorts expectantly.

Moustached man made a successful Bravery roll.

[Grognardsw]

“Then you’ll hang,” Paladin said to Mike, gagging him and pushing him to the floor.

“They’ll only hunt us down, and tell Adler,” he said to his comrades. Paladin drew Mike’s pistol with his left hand, his own gun in his right.



“Cowards die many times before their deaths; the valiant never taste of death but once. Take them down!”

Paladin went to the side of the window for cover, peered out for a target (preferably bass-voice man) in the darkness of the half-moon.

“Kill the lantern Gideon, it makes us clear targets.”

Paladin studied the darkness outside, carefully aiming and waiting for a target to appear. When one did, Paladin fired his pistols.

[Bluetongue]

Sebastian

Aims a Careful shot with the shotgun, blasting at any mounted target that rides by once the shooting restarts.

Sebastian: Careful Shot vs Coordination 18 [1d20]=18

[jemmus]

Gideon says to the rustlers in the house, I heard ya say ya'll have rattlesnakes in the house. When I put out this lamp, if I hear and rattlers moving around in the dark, I'll have do my best to shoot em. He blows out the lantern and the room goes dark. A little moonlit shines through the windows. Enough to make out the bodies of the two live men and one dead one lying on the floor. And the the dead one's carbine lying beside him.

The riders are all in their chosen positions around the house, weapons fully ready. There's no answer to the man's offer to pay a good horse for every living rustler for them to leave, as yet. The deep voice in the dark, maybe 70 or 80 yards away, calls out again. I offered ya a peaceful solution. A profitable one. Here's the other solution. If y'all down ride away, we'll bring some business associates. By sunup, you'll be circled by on all sides rifles and shotguns. And their owners... well, they ain't as reasonable as me. They's mean ole boys. Mean enough that I wouldn't git em involved unless I had to. Them fellas won't be offerin ya no hunderd dollar horses. No sir. They'd be takin them horses as payment for shootin holes all in ya.

Now, like I said before, I ain't gonna assume yer stupid. I think y'all kin see that I'm leveling with ya. Hell, I jist about showed ya all my cards. Maybe all but one-- and so far y'all ain't showed me even one a yers. It's not that we have a great affection for ya. He'll, ya just bushwhacked and shot bad one of our outfit. But we're not in the business or gunfightin and killin. We're in the horse business. Killin a buncha strangers could kinda affect how we haff to do business goin forward. Horses to pay you, horses to pay them. It's the same thing ta me, except for the possibility of murder charges-- and watchin yer back fer friends and kin looking for revenge.

And I'll tell ya straight-- one a them boys in there and got the same ma. I couldn't look her in the eye and say I dint pay ever damn horse I have and dint I dint do everthang I damned could to try keep him alive. Er git the body fer a proper church funeral.

Send them boys in the house out, take the damn horses, and move along. Let us be and we'll let y'all be too. And everbody can jist forget the whole damn thang and go along about their own business.

The PCs who have been outside the house saw that three men rode in, and William dropped one from the saddle. The PCs who were inside the house see Doos's sign of "3, then 2" and the body of stone-dead horseman lying beside him. Doos left the man's carbine and has readied his bow for another shot.

The two sides can't see each other, as far as you can tell, at least from the sound of the voice. Visibility range in the light of the half moon is 20-30 yards (Char's Observation x 2.5 yards). The voice is calling from what sounds like 70-80 yards out-- well beyond the visible range. For him to spot and shoot at a target, and for the PCs to do the same, would require moving to closer range.

[Grognardsw]

Doos takes the dead man's carbine and drags the body by a boot toward the house.

This is not the dead man inside the house’s carbine?

Thoughts boys? I’ll put an idea out there…

Paladin whispered to the others: “Move toward them to attack. I’ll buy time and draw them closer.”

If the others agree, Paladin yells outside: “All right, move closer and we’ll start letting them out.”

[redwarrior]

William moves back toward the house Hopefully the shed gives him cover from the direction of the stables. after the lantern light dies down and stage-whispers to those inside That offer of out of country brands, that'd hold up... Moving out. After moving back toward the tree assuming voice is from the NE, adjust directions as necessary, William takes his hat off and covers his gun with it. He starts crawling on his belly toward where the voice is coming from, very slowly, trying to move so that he would end up to one side of the voice, away from the cabin Not in the line of fire. Focusing on stealth, not speed.

I'm tired as heck, hope the above was coherent. "Tryina flank him"

[ateno]

Doos will whisper to his two close companions "Heading around the corral."

He will scot bent over to the SW corner of the corral and using the horses as cover head along to west side to the north corner and look around to the north and east.

[Bluetongue]

Sebastian

And the the dead one's carbine lying beside him.

If that is inside the house, it is only set up for one of the two living to reach for it though they should be bound, hands behind backs. So it must be a rider. (But then to my mind it doesn't make sense. Riders rude in, one gets shot, falls from horse dead, riders carry on but don't shoot back. Do they know he is dead?).

Whatever, Sebastian makes sure the cabin is secure and gestures Gideon to frogmarch one rustler outside to the verandah and he will take the other, pressing the gun barrel squarely in the back of Slim.

"Just a couple of steps, to show your face and our good faith in honest trade."

[Rex]

Charlie

Charlie will remain silent and still, keeping watch for the rustlers to move.

[Grognardsw]

Sebastian
...

"Just a couple of steps, to show your face and our good faith in honest trade."

Sometimes PbP interpretations vary, so I was thinking of keeping our two rustler prisoners, and us shooting the others when they're drawn into sight. So we don't want let the prisoners get too far. I am open to other ideas. It doesn't seem Paladin talking anymore is going to change the basic outcome.

...
“They’ll only hunt us down, and tell Adler,” he said to his comrades. Paladin drew Mike’s pistol with his left hand, his own gun in his right.

[Bluetongue]

Sure. We can take each to the doorframe and then back inside so the riders see them clearly.

[jemmus]

Paladin whispers to his fellows outside about moving in on the rustlers in the dark. Each silently acknowledges, and either starts moving to a new position or quietly holds a position. He then calls out to the men out there in the dark that the men in the house are being brought out, and they should come in for a meeting. Sebastian backs up the idea, hustles the pudgy one he calls "Slim" out the back door, gun at his ribs. He directs Gideon McLaury to do the same with the other prone horse thief.

Gideon replies from inside the house, Easy enough done, Captain! He does a smart salute to Sebastian and Paladin in the dark of the dirty delapidated farmhouse. He uncocks and recocks the hammer of his old, long-barreled cap and ball Colt Navy revolver. He mutters, pointedly, These old things are prone to misfires. A common problem with em is the tendency for the pistoleer to put too much powder in a chamber. The extra powder sure does throw the target off his feet. But it could cause the next round to misfire. Ta be safe, you need plan on shootin three or fire times, and stick with the plan. He eyes the bound and gagged men to make sure they got the point. Anyway, thet's neither here nor thar. Git up and march, prisoners!

It's silent outside. The voice in the dark doesn't call out.

The dead man in the house had a carbine. The dead rider outside also had a carbine. Doos has it now. The rider dropped from his horse and didn't make another sound, so the other two may assume that he's dead. Many men in Texas are war veterans, so they know know how wounded men vs. dead men behave.

The map shows the positions I think the characters are in, based on how I understand the most recent posts. (I made it yesterday, so if you move the prisoners back in the house after showing them, their positions will change. Note that the voice calling out in the dark sounds like it's around 70-80 yards away. Visibilty for most characters is only 25-30 yards.
Mo = moustached man. From the intelligent, canny look on his face, the PCs who were outside guess that he was the rustler doing most of the talking in the house.
Sl = Who Sebastian calls Slim, who isn't especially slim. He short and chubby, with a smily kind of face. But he's not smiling now. He and his compadre have their hands behind their backs, are gagged, and have gun barrels at their ribs.
X = the spot where the dead horseman rustler dropped.
William is is 5.4 squares (18 yds) off the N (top) edge of the map. He's not visible in the dark to any PC.

Need a Coordination roll for William for his stealthy crawling to remain undetected. At +3 for the dark, almost corresponding to the -4 penalty for shooting in the dark. But shooting involves mostly visual sensing, whereas sensing crawling involves hearing as well. On a fail, you can make Luck roll. If successful, you'd have to explain how William avoided detection. Per the rules, an explanation can only be used once, per player.

[Rex]

Charlie

Charlie holds his position and watches to see what happens next.

His position looks correct to me.

[Bluetongue]

Sebastian

"You worth a hundred dollar horse Slim?. You must be a right buckaroo stallion for your fat arse to be worth that much. Can't think you be worth more than greenback dollar bill and a pot to piss in.

Hell, he must like you a lot. Get to riding you instead of a horse I bet? You go 'whinny' for him if we trade you him? Think about that. Better a horse thieves trial than being herded and bullwhipped into shenanigans to repay your $100 dollar rawhide debt back."

Sebastian teases Slim with some ill mannered jests. He looks over the guys shoulder to scan for movement among the scattered outgrowths and boulders.

Sebastian: Observation (10) [1d20]=19 [1d20]=15