Chapter 6 - Open Roads to Anywhere

[cybersavant]

Andreas Larson heads out past the ruins and sweeps around in a large circle checking for tracks.

[Rex]

Charlie

Charlie scouts around for any bodies or clues.

Observation (16) [1d20]=10

Scouting (14) [1d20]=15

[Rex]

Dog

Just read the house rule post. Will combine in the future.

"Find something Dog."

Dog [1d20]=1

[ateno]

Doos picks up the hair piece, seeing its been here a while, he was sure it was not part of the raid.

Doos puts it in his pocket for now and heads to take down the body.

"Well sir, I hope your ladyfriend and you parted on good company."

"Target come on." come [1d20]=3

Doos

[jemmus]

Doos picks up the hair piece, seeing its been here a while, he was sure it was not part of the raid.

Doos puts it in his pocket for now and heads to take down the body.

"Well sir, I hope your ladyfriend and you parted on good company."

"Target come on." come [1d20]=3

Doos

I must have worded my post poorly. The hair ornament is old, but it's not weathered. It's polished and looks like it was dropped recently.

[ateno]

NP GM

Doos will whip it off and realize some dirt was kicked on it from a errant step. He still keeps it in his pocket.

"There might have been a woman taken. Found a hair piece that looks like it was dropped."

Doos

[redwarrior]

William tells Rhett to seek, also just saw the house rule!

Rhett [1d20]=1

[Thumper]

Has Andreas told the group of his encounter with a Comanche camp in Enchanted Rock?

[cybersavant]

no

[ateno]

"Well there was a Comanche Lance back there, I have not talked to that tribe before, but we won't catch this war party they are to good, Woman or not its a bad idea to follow them. They are the experts out here, seen to many good men not come back from chasing them." We should finish the burial and gather evidence and get to the next city."

Doos

[redwarrior]

William speaks up, what about the dips in the land, what are they called arroyos?, I guess they flood pretty easy when its wet, like it was yesterday. But it's been dry today. Maybe there is a hiding place that she got to nearby? Or a place where the body might be anyways... William mounts up and moves further off the road, trying to see if he can locate any dips in the terrain by horseback that might hide a person, or a body.

Observation target 15 [1d20]=4

[cybersavant]

Andreas Larson

"I speak Comanche, if we run into any."

[Rex]

Charlie

"I do as well, being half Comanche. But they are not the trusting sort and I am likely to be less trusted then any of you."

[jemmus]

Charlie lopes his strong new mount around the periphery of the smoking ruins, scouting for what might lie ahead, to the side, and anything changed behind as well. He observes nothing except for the natural rolling savannah of this part of south-central Texas. William, DT and Doos discuss ideas about setting out on a venture to rescue a possibly abducted woman. Gideon says, Hmm. Them Comanche boys put on a pretty show fer somebody ta find, didn't they? Ah guess it just had ta be us ta be the ones ta do it. Ah haven't heard tell a 'em comin this far east fer a long time. Mah mama had stories a her and her sisters quiverin all night under tha blankets in Waco on what they called "Comanche Moon" nights. That is, until William and me and the Rangers run into a gang a 'em a few months back not that far outside a Austin.

Andreas dismounts and leads his horse and his led horse by the reins. He looks around the area of the ruins, checking for tracks and sign. He squats down in the road south of the charred space to take a closer look at something. Then rises and moves forward across the road, southward, and squats again. He stands and continues in the same direction, looking downward, until he has crossed the road and is a pace into the grass beyond.

Dog and Rhett run around, noses to the ground and tails wagging, weaving and zigzagging. Once in a while one of them suddenly stops and turns around and to give a passed spot a long and thorough sniff inspection. And then head on a more directed path in a more specific direction, weaving, stopping, and sniffing along the way. Rhett seems to pick up a solid trail and follows it across the road, heading toward the southwest. Dog sees that and does the same, following. Whether they've on the trail of Comanches, a Texan woman, a tasty young rabbit, or a dog or coyote in heat, no one can tell.

I've posted in Andreas's private thread. He has five posted Tracking rolls. We'll use only the first roll, but he'd need to reroll the others to avoid spoilers. The first rolls is for around the ruins, which doesn't involve travel and doesn't take much time. Any others would take an hour each. On successful ones, he travels 2 miles. Other PCs would need to post about whether or not to accompany him on the mission, bury the body (with stones), etc., etc.

Charlie also has the Indian Contact skill, so he's getting a private thread message as well.

A skill check is required every 2 miles. Adjust the character's skill score by:
-3 if the area is hard or rocky. [There are places like that in the area];
-6 if the trail leads through a large town or across a river (only if the quarry moved up or down stream) [After yesterday's rain, some of the deeper dry gulches/intermittent streams should have running water];
-1 if the quarry is Indians;
+6 if the quarry is indians in a town;
-2 if leading two horses. [Temporary house rule].
If it rains, the trail is wiped out. [It's clear today, after a rain yesterday. Not applicable].
If the trail is lost, it can be recovered by making a skill check with an additional -4 modifier, one check per hour.

[Thumper]

DT will take Doos’ insight about the hairpiece being bright and newly placed where he found it. That gets him really motivated to see if child or women’s tracks are seen around the station.

He's not gentle piling rocks on the corps given the circumstances. He's hurrying. As he works, he states:

"I have a mind to go after the Comanches should we find more evidence of women or children taken. Captive women are typically raped and enslaved until such time as they aggravate their captor and are killed. Children go one of two ways. Those who assimilate well may be adopted in to the tribe. Those who fight assimilation are enslaved and brutalized until killed. Bad Hand has successfully captured Comanches and traded them for captives the last two years. The tales are harrowing. If there was a woman captive, she was probably forced to watch what was done to this man.

The savages have up to a 12 hour jump on us. But likely, they are slowed by their captive. They penetrated deep into the East last night, which means they likely have a hole up location somewhere West of here. They will go there to rest and prepare to take their captives and stolen horses back to their chief. If we hustle, we might catch them. We each have an unladen spare horse on which to ride as fast as the Comanche. It's midday now. We might be able to catch them before dark when they are most likely to move out. But tracking is never going to get us there in time. We would have to make an educated guess as to where their hole up might be before a rescue attempt is possible. Anybody venture a guess as to where the Comanche may have a bed down?"

Then he'll scout the area in a perimeter circle to see if he can find a woman or child track to see if his assumption was correct. If he picks up a trail, he wants to figure out how many horses were led away and how many were ridden away. After what Doos found, were any women or children’s’ footprints left behind:
Tracking 11: [1d20]=9

[redwarrior]

William says The dogs seem to have found something interesting, at least to dogs. We should check it out. He pulls his rifle out of its sheath, and starts following in the direction that Rhett is moving, trying to be alert to anything odd or unexpected. Like ambushing indians!


Observation target 15 [1d20]=6

[jemmus]

Andreas and DT see the prints of a woman's boots crossing the road toward the south. From the distance between the steps and the strong heel strikes, it seems that the woman was probably running. They also see the prints of an unshod "barefoot" Indian horse coming from the west, curving toward the woman's boot tracks, and converging to parallel. Then the tracks of women's footwear disappear, with only the tracks of the unshod horse remaining. The horse tracks trot back to the west and join with the tracks of a group of standing horses. Six total horses are "barefoot." Four other, heavier horses are shod with horseshoes. The tracks of the group of 10 horses lead to the southwest, the horses running at a lope. The direction sniffing Rhett and Dog are generally being led.

Half-grown dog Rhett looks back at William for guidance.

[jemmus]

The GM post above was revised for clarity.

Gideon says, Go on, Big Chief, go sniff around with yer pups. Y'all mutts don't look much like bloodhounds ta me, but maybe you'll track down somethin other than a dead skunk or a rotten crawdad ta roll around in. Then he thinks of something. Big Chief, heel! The dog looks back but keeps going. Big Chief! Git back here and heel! She gives in, comes back, and sits in the road beneath Gideon's stirrup. He turns to Doos. Judge Doos, can I borrow that lady's hair pin or whatever ya call it fer a second?

[redwarrior]

Go on Rhett, what do you smell?

[ateno]

Doos takes it out of his handkerchief and holds it down to 'Big Chief'

"Target, you could learn from Chief. Smell this buddy. Hang with Chief."

Doos