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AGELESS Campaign Episode 2 - Temple of the Cat-Goddess
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<blockquote data-quote="Silver Moon" data-source="post: 4815584" data-attributes="member: 8530"><p><strong>Chapter Twenty-nine, “ The MacKinnons", September 3rd, 1882, 4:45 P.M.</strong></p><p></p><p>The two snipers have apparently now finished their shooting as they partially stand and start to move away towards the western edge of the plateau some twenty feet distant. They move bent over, presenting smaller targets, and with the dirt-colored blankets still draped over their shoulders. Abby tries to see where the shots are coming from, and if she can spot them, fires her Colt Lightning. </p><p></p><p>George comes down just in time to see Mina get shot as Nanuet is hunched over James. Fearing the worst George kneels over Mina quickly checking her pulse and the two wounds. Over the more life threatening of the two George pulls out a small ivory Owl figurine. He touches the owl to the wound as he recites and a prayer to Athena. Ancient Greek words spill out of his mouth quickly as he makes smoothing motions over the wound. As if in reverse time, the bullet worms it way out of the wound and falls with a clatter to the ground as blood vessels re-connect and the skin grows together, leaving a small pink welt where the bullet entered. There is still a good amount of blood on the ground, but the worst here was past. George keeps his body between the plateau and Mina. "Has anyone shot those damned assassins yet?" he asks before trying to move Mina. </p><p></p><p>With Alsoomse and Luiz's help Nanuet and George are able to get James and Mina inside. Luiz begins to check the wounds on both Parkers. Abigail sees the two men approaching the far end of the plateau and takes a shot, but given the distance she fails to hit. The shot does have the effect of causing Henry Webb to look back, with him now seeing his nephew still near the porch and pulling out a shotgun. Henry pivots the horse around to gallop back to the house.</p><p>Fish arrives back downstairs with his smoke bombs. </p><p></p><p>The younger Webb pulls out the shotgun and points it towards the porch in Hardin's direction. However, by this point Ruby is now ten feet from him and between the boy and his target, making it impossible for him to fire without hitting her as well. He exclaims, "Ma'am, out of the way!" She replies, "Get off your horse and I will!" Abby steps out the door, the Lightning still in front of her and pointed toward the younger Webb. "This ain't what you want to do," she said in her N'Awlins drawl as she stepped forward. </p><p></p><p>Hardin quickly chambers a single round of the special ammo and sights down the barrel of the big Colt, taking careful aim. He shouts above the din..."You heard him, Miss Ruby...stand aside." Nanuet calls out to Ruby saying "Ruby, get out of the way! James and Mina need you over here, quickly!" Ruby continued to run towards the younger Webb, arriving at him and his horse. She pulled at his leg, attempting to yank him down off the horse so she could hop on it herself. He clearly underestimated her strength and determination and she pulls him out of the saddle and he falls to the ground, still clutching the single-barrel shotgun, which thankfully does not go off. Ruby hops up onto the horse. </p><p></p><p>George having ensured that Mina is out of immediate danger leaves her under the care of Luiz. He heads out of the house since there is still some commotion going on. Seeing Ruby heading towards the young man George gets a lump stuck in his throat and heads at a sprint towards Ruby. Ruby rides in the direction that the two snipers went over the plateau edge. She rides by Henry Webb, who has turned his horse around and is riding at full gallop back to the house while yelling to his nephew, "Drop the shotgun Fred, he'll kill you." </p><p></p><p>Several minutes have now passed since Mina and James were brought inside. As discretely as possible Luiz cuts away the clothing around Mina's wounds and says aloud a congratulation to George for his speedy healing, unaware that George has now gone back outside. Luiz casts one more healing spell, which more thoroughly seals over the neck wound, all but eliminating what would have been a noticeable scar, and brings Mina back to consciousness. She immediately asks about James and Luiz says, "I will check him next, but between the magical vest and Nanuet's cure I believe him to be fine." </p><p></p><p>She insists on helping him remove James's shirt and then unbuttoning the leather vest, where one bullet has flattened against it but not penetrated. The other bullet has cut through although the vest considerably slowed its forward progress for only a minor penetration, albeit a rather bloody one at the time of penetration, making it initially appear worse than it was. </p><p></p><p>The vest is removed and handed to Alsoomse who says, "Last time for this one. Those must have been magical shells, normal bullets wouldn't have done this." Luiz says, "Don't throw it away, the vest front is now fully depleted but the back still appears to radiate protective magic. We might still be able to fashion something out of it, possibly a protective cap or hat." Luiz then casts another healing spell on James, who also regains consciousness, complaining of a headache. "Probably when you hit the porch" Luiz says, "here drink this," and hands his friend an elixir. </p><p></p><p>Outside, The other seven cowboys reach the end of the plateau and continue to ride on. Alan and Autumn have backed up, their retreat noted by the two rifled men hurrying down the plateau towards their horses. Sol has moved forward with his shotgun pointed at the boy on the ground and orders the young man to carefully set down the gun. The boy does as instructed just as his Uncle Henry rides back up and alongside. And 250 feet to the west Ruby reaches the edge of the plateau. She anticipates seeing either two men attempting to ride off, or worse, lying in wait for her.</p><p></p><p>"Toby!" calls Solomon to Thomas, his shotgun remaining trained on the boy, "bind this fool!" Turning to the elder Webb, he says, "Your nephew will be charged with aggravated assault, for starters." Glancing back at the house, he adds with steel in his voice, "And accessory to murder, if the Parkers don't survive. I'll take your firearms now, sir, and return them to you by courier. I'll arrange for you to be escorted from the property immediately." </p><p></p><p>Henry Webb says, "He ain't an accessory to anything. He didn't fire that shotgun, he was just scared of what was going on around him, isn't that right Fred." "Y..yes Sir," the boy replies. "It's not the shotgun that didn't get fired that has your boy in trouble, pard'ner," says Solomon, his voice now flat of all affect, "It's the shot he did fire -- or is that hole in the porch my imagination?" "Toby!" he roars, "I told you to git over here! Secure this boy!" Taking note of present circumstances, Fish stows the grenades on his vest.</p><p></p><p>Webb removes his revolver and pops open the barrel to empty out the ammunition as he says, "As for them Pinkertons, as I said before, they were under orders not to fire at anything other than Hardin's horse. I don't know what they were thinking with those shots, and we had no part of any of that." Sol says, "Well then, if you had no part with it, then you have nothing to fear, do you?"</p><p></p><p>Henry Webb replies, "I didn't hire them guys, it was some fella from Virgina." He pockets the ammunition from his own Colt Peacemaker and hands the weapon to Sol. He removes his nephew's gun from his belt to do the same, and discovers it empty of ammunition when he opens the barrel. Fish sees Webb's look of surprise and smirks inside.</p><p></p><p>"So you had men with you that you hadn't hired but you thought were under your command. Rather gullible of you I would say. Who was the person in Virginia who did hire them and how did you come to meet them?" asks George pointedly . Henry Webb says, "His name is Van Ostenbridge. Hardin killed his son. And they're the ones who came to us with the information about Hardin." </p><p></p><p>Webb hands Sol the revolver. He then takes his rifle out of the saddle holster and hands that to Sol without bothering to empty the ammunition. He says, "I'll be going then. Take good care of Fred, I expect to see him, his horse, and our weapons returned to me in short order. I'll be in Jacksonville staying at the Astor Hotel." Solomon says flatly, "Your boy's horse and your weapons will be delivered to your hotel, Mr. Webb. As for your nephew, you're welcome to visit him in the county jail, which is where he'll be held pending a hearing before a judge." </p><p></p><p>*******</p><p></p><p>On July 4th, 1776 the American Colonies declared their independence from the nation of Great Britain. On that same day, in the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, a daughter was born to Doctor Ian Wallace MacPhearson. Doctor MacPhearson was a Professor of Science at the University of Edinburgh and little Mary was to be the only child born to him and his wife Catherine, as his wife would die of severe influenza but a year later. </p><p></p><p>Doctor MacPhearson’s specialty was Ornithology, the study of birds, and Mary would accompany him on his many bird watching excursions in the Scottish Highlands. Shortly after her 19th birthday they were in search of a rare breed of stork found only on the Isle of Skye, when they happened upon another creature that caught Mary’s eye. Specifically, what she saw was a robust young outdoorsman by the name of Charles MacKinnon. It was love at first sight and after a two-year courtship they were wed. </p><p></p><p>In the year 1799 Charles’s father past away, and rather than dividing his estate up among his sons he left it all to his eldest son Eric. Eric was a greedy man, who then required his younger siblings to pay him rent to remain on the land that they had lived their whole lives. Charles would have none of that, and with his bride of two years in tow, set off on a ship bound for America. </p><p></p><p>In 1800 the land known as the Northwest Territory had grown in population to the point that it was split into two separate Territories, named Ohio and Indiana. Each was permitted to elect a representative to Congress, where Indiana’s representative William Henry Harrison lobbied for lowering of the price of land in these territories. As a result, land became affordable enough that those with no income could purchase it on credit. </p><p></p><p>So Charles and Mary MacKinnon became one of three-dozen families who set out together on a convoy of barges down the Ohio River, to settle a new township in the Indiana Territory. Their journey ended on a six-square mile plot of Indiana land a short distance west of the river and exactly fourteen miles north of the growing community of Louisville, Kentucky. With a promised 640 acres apiece the township of Fourteen Mile Creek was founded. It retained that name for a number of years until a surveyor named Charles Briggs made the official measurements and the surveyor renamed it after himself as Charlestown, with the new name being a welcomed change to Charles MacKinnon. </p><p></p><p>Between the years 1801 and 1811 Mary gave birth to six children, of which Alan MacKinnon was the second. In 1811 there was an uprising of the Shawnee elves of Indiana, led by Chief Tecumseh. Then Governor Harrison resigned and raised an army, of which Charles MacKinnon joined. They defeated Tecumseh at the Battle of Tippecanoe on November 7th. </p><p></p><p>When Britain declared war against the United States in 1812 Tecumseh sought revenge and joined the British forces. Harrison again assembled his Militia who marched to the British fortress in Detroit, Michigan and on into Canada where they were victorious in the Battle of Thames. Charles MacKinnon perished in that battle. </p><p></p><p>Doctor MacPhearson retired from the University and moved to America to help his widowed daughter, where he taught his grandchildren about birds and the ability to actually communicate with them. He and Alan became quite close, and Doctor MacPhearson stood as Alan’s best man when he married in the year 1821. The extended family continued to reside in Charlestown, Indiana with none leaving until the United States went to war with Mexico in 1846. Having inherited the spirit of patriotism from his father, Alan MacKinnon enlisted in the Army alongside his two sons Ian and Wallace. </p><p></p><p>Assigned initially to the same regiment but soon promoted to different units, a MacKinnon saw action in every major battle of the war. Sergeant Alan MacKinnon received the Congressional Medal of Honor for his valor at the Battle of Monterrey, where he personally saved the lives of over a dozen men. Captain Ian MacKinnon received both a Purple Heart and Bronze Star for his bravery in the Battle of Buena Vista, which was led by Zachary Taylor. Lieutenant Wallace MacKinnon received no medals or military honors for his service, but he did return from Mexico with a half-elvan wife Rosita and a young son Samuel, who he deemed, were far more valuable than other possible glories he might have received. </p><p></p><p>In 1849 Wallace MacKinnon became one of the Minnesota Forty-niners. Unlike the California Forty-niners, who sought gold, those who migrated to Minnesota that year were in search of land that they could call their own, as that is the year it officially became a Territory of the United States. Wallace became a lumberjack and settled with his wife and son in a small logging town near where the mighty Mississippi River originated. </p><p></p><p>Wallace’s wife Rosita missed the warmer climate, so after twelve years in Minnesota they moved on to the Arizona Territory community of Tucson. However, Samuel remained behind in Minnesota, having grown up to be a backwoodsman and at the age of fourteen began trading goods with the Sioux, with them trusting him more than others due to his being part-elvan. At one point he came upon a group of Sioux that had enslaved a young half-elvan maiden of the Chippewa tribe named Autumn and he traded for her freedom. They fell in love and soon married. </p><p></p><p>When the Civil War began Samuel wanted to enlist with a Minnesota regiment, but was fearful of leaving his young bride alone. His grandfather Alan MacKinnon was now a widower himself and offered to move to Minnesota and stay with Autumn while Samuel was away in the war. This proved to be very beneficial to both, as Autumn’s mother had been a druid priestess who had taught her to communicate with birds and animals, so Autumn and her ornithologist grandfather-in-law had that in common. </p><p></p><p>The Sioux Chief in Minnesota took note that a significant amount of Minnesota’s men away in the war, and decided to launch an attack against the humans. They attacked the various frontier towns, killing hundreds of settlers. One attack came to Alan and Autumn’s town and it was her knowledge of the Sioux language that saved them both. She spoke to the Sioux warriors and shamed them, by stating that a true warrior would find warriors to fight rather than only women and elderly men. In the years following this Indian uprising there was a backlash by the humans against all those of elvan blood, and Alan now intervened to protect Autumn just as she had him. </p><p></p><p>In autumn of 1864 they received word that Samuel MacKinnon had died at Cold Harbor. From that point on Autumn received a widow’s pension, which combined with Alan’s military pension, provided enough income for them to get by. They were fairly self-sufficient and remained in Minnesota, spending considerable time bird watching and fishing along the State’s multitude of lakes. </p><p></p><p>By 1880 the long cold winters were taking a hard toll on Alan’s declining body, and Autumn suggested that they move to a warmer climate. They chose the Saint John’s River in Florida as their destination, as that region was known for having the most diverse population of birds within the entire continental United States. They purchased a fishing shack along the river and have resided there now for two years, becoming close friends with the Delroy-Kingleys, a human and ogre family that lived just east of them. </p><p></p><p>During the summer new neighbors moved in. Alan was thrilled to discover that the group’s leader, James A. Parker, was also an Army veteran who like his father had served during the War of 1812. The two spend many an evening together swapping war stories. Parker was an author of historical books and was currently working on one that concerned the 9th President, Indiana’s William Henry Harrison, who had been a personal friend of Alan’s father. James appeared to be little more than half of his chronological age due to his being a quarter-elvan, with his grandmother Alsoomse also with him. She and Autumn became fast friends, and them and young Antoinette Delroy now nearly inseparable. </p><p></p><p>James and Alan also began to rely on each other for mutual assistance. James had need for speedy communications and news, which Alan had already established via a carrier pigeon network between him and the telegraph operator in Jacksonville twelve-miles away. James had constructed a new house for him and his friends, which was electrified, with plans to soon extend telephone and electrical lines to both the Delroy-Kingsley home and the MacKinnon home. In the meanwhile, Alan continued to Communicate with James on an almost daily basis via carrier pigeon.</p><p></p><p>The most recent message that was sent by Alan occurred thirty minutes ago, when a group of eleven riders with looks of determination on their faces rapidly rode by the MacKinnon home en route to Parker’s. Alan dispatched a note to that effect and asked if assistance was needed. While waiting for an answer Autumn got their horses saddled up and Alan prepared their weapons. </p><p></p><p>Before they received a reply they heard a pair of distant revolver shots. The pigeon with the note then arrived, telling them to alert the County Sheriff that he was needed. Another pigeon was dispatched to Jacksonville with the message, adding that shots had been fired. Alan and Autumn then cautiously set off to the east, uncertain of exactly what they were riding into. They then heard another single shot, followed immediately by three more shots, and then a long period of silence. </p><p></p><p>They passed by the Delroy-Kingsley house, seeing Jasper Delroy armed with a shotgun and waiting with anticipation by the rear door. Alan motioned for the man to stay put as he and Autumn continued forward. They neared the incline in the road up to the higher plateau that the house sits upon. Autumn noticed a pair of saddled horses tied to an orange tree along the western base of the plateau, approximately 120 feet south of their current position. </p><p></p><p>They then heard what Alan recognized as the distinctive sound of rifle shots, fired so close together that only a keen military ear would be able to discern them as two shots rather than one. These originated from up the plateau, but not from the southeast where the house is located. Instead these were closer, from the south and not very far from where the two horses are tied up. They rode closer to the horses and two more shots rang out from the top of the hill. </p><p></p><p>Just as Alan and Autumn are forty feet from the animals as they hear another shot then look up to see a pair of men charging over from the plateau at the top of the hill eighty-five feet away. Both appear to be in their early-to-mid thirties, with neatly cropped beards and mustaches. They are wearing suits, each one carrying a rifle in one hand, and have blankets draped over their shoulders. Alan recognizes them both as being among the eleven riders who went past his farm. </p><p></p><p>"Zayde," whispers Autumn to her grandfather, "keep your distance! Valencia will soon be holding these men for our gentle neighbors..." She begins to coax her horse backwards, wanting at least 40 feet separating her and the men's mounts. Autumn then prepares to cast Entangle centered on the orange tree, to trip when the men are within fifteen to twenty feet of their mounts. </p><p></p><p>A short while later Ruby’s horse reaches the edge of the plateau. She anticipates seeing either two men attempting to ride off, or worse, lying in wait for her. Instead she sees the men around 100 feet away, both fifteen feet from the ground and fully ensnared by the limbs of an orange tree which are wrapped around the men's arms, legs and torso. Atop horses some forty-five feet away are Autumn and James MacKinnon. He has a rifle pointed unnecessarily at the pair in the tree while she has secured and is communicating to another pair of saddled horses, presumably the mounts for these men. </p><p></p><p>Meanwhile, Ruby sees in the distance the other seven cowboys riding swiftly on the road westward and almost to the edge of the Timucuan Conservancy property. To the north she sees Jasper, Obie and Enoch now emerging from the Delroy-Kingsley property, each carrying a rifle or shotgun. </p><p></p><p>Ruby rides up to the MacKinnon's and releases the breath she had been holding. "Thank goodness you showed up when you did, I thought these two were going to get away. They shot James and I am unsure of his condition. How long will this last?" she said as she nodded to the tree and branches. Autumn replies, "Only for a few minutes, which is why Grandfather has them covered. Your assistance with securing them would be a great help." </p><p></p><p>"It would be my pleasure," Ruby said without a hint of joy in her voice. "Do you happen to have any rope? Otherwise I will ride back to the house and get some." Alan throws Ruby a rope. He looks up at the tree and says, "You boys shot my friend James? You are in for a whole heap of trouble. I'm a crack shot, so I'd suggest that you don't give these ladies any trouble." Autumn tells Ruby to get ready as the spell ends and the two men drop abruptly to the ground, their rifles landing several feet away from each man.</p><p></p><p>Ruby hurried over and roughly threw the rope around each man, pulling it snug behind them and forcing them together. "Yes, you made a grave mistake today," she said, yanking it tighter. "So tell me, who hired you to take out Mr. Parker?" One says, "Whose Parker? We were shooting at Hardin." The second says, "We want to talk to our lawyer." Ruby states, "How did you know who Hardin was? Have you seen him before? Because you shot James Parker and if he is seriously injured or gods forbid dies... I'm not even going to say what is going to happen to you." </p><p></p><p>The one who did most of the talking before says in his Virginia accent "Everybody knows what Hardin looks like, his face has been in all of the papers. If we missed him then he must have moved at the last minute." "I was standing directly next to James and near Hardin, he never moved, so you're lying. You might as well shut up now because I don't believe a word you're saying. You're lucky our friends were here when I met up with you." Alan rides over and says, "Shall we walk them back to the house?" She nodded towards the MacKinnons. "I'm certain someone here will have a way of getting the absolute truth from you. Now get up and walk." Ruby gathered their rifles, no doubt filled with magic ammunition and started walking them towards the house.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Silver Moon, post: 4815584, member: 8530"] [B]Chapter Twenty-nine, “ The MacKinnons", September 3rd, 1882, 4:45 P.M.[/B] The two snipers have apparently now finished their shooting as they partially stand and start to move away towards the western edge of the plateau some twenty feet distant. They move bent over, presenting smaller targets, and with the dirt-colored blankets still draped over their shoulders. Abby tries to see where the shots are coming from, and if she can spot them, fires her Colt Lightning. George comes down just in time to see Mina get shot as Nanuet is hunched over James. Fearing the worst George kneels over Mina quickly checking her pulse and the two wounds. Over the more life threatening of the two George pulls out a small ivory Owl figurine. He touches the owl to the wound as he recites and a prayer to Athena. Ancient Greek words spill out of his mouth quickly as he makes smoothing motions over the wound. As if in reverse time, the bullet worms it way out of the wound and falls with a clatter to the ground as blood vessels re-connect and the skin grows together, leaving a small pink welt where the bullet entered. There is still a good amount of blood on the ground, but the worst here was past. George keeps his body between the plateau and Mina. "Has anyone shot those damned assassins yet?" he asks before trying to move Mina. With Alsoomse and Luiz's help Nanuet and George are able to get James and Mina inside. Luiz begins to check the wounds on both Parkers. Abigail sees the two men approaching the far end of the plateau and takes a shot, but given the distance she fails to hit. The shot does have the effect of causing Henry Webb to look back, with him now seeing his nephew still near the porch and pulling out a shotgun. Henry pivots the horse around to gallop back to the house. Fish arrives back downstairs with his smoke bombs. The younger Webb pulls out the shotgun and points it towards the porch in Hardin's direction. However, by this point Ruby is now ten feet from him and between the boy and his target, making it impossible for him to fire without hitting her as well. He exclaims, "Ma'am, out of the way!" She replies, "Get off your horse and I will!" Abby steps out the door, the Lightning still in front of her and pointed toward the younger Webb. "This ain't what you want to do," she said in her N'Awlins drawl as she stepped forward. Hardin quickly chambers a single round of the special ammo and sights down the barrel of the big Colt, taking careful aim. He shouts above the din..."You heard him, Miss Ruby...stand aside." Nanuet calls out to Ruby saying "Ruby, get out of the way! James and Mina need you over here, quickly!" Ruby continued to run towards the younger Webb, arriving at him and his horse. She pulled at his leg, attempting to yank him down off the horse so she could hop on it herself. He clearly underestimated her strength and determination and she pulls him out of the saddle and he falls to the ground, still clutching the single-barrel shotgun, which thankfully does not go off. Ruby hops up onto the horse. George having ensured that Mina is out of immediate danger leaves her under the care of Luiz. He heads out of the house since there is still some commotion going on. Seeing Ruby heading towards the young man George gets a lump stuck in his throat and heads at a sprint towards Ruby. Ruby rides in the direction that the two snipers went over the plateau edge. She rides by Henry Webb, who has turned his horse around and is riding at full gallop back to the house while yelling to his nephew, "Drop the shotgun Fred, he'll kill you." Several minutes have now passed since Mina and James were brought inside. As discretely as possible Luiz cuts away the clothing around Mina's wounds and says aloud a congratulation to George for his speedy healing, unaware that George has now gone back outside. Luiz casts one more healing spell, which more thoroughly seals over the neck wound, all but eliminating what would have been a noticeable scar, and brings Mina back to consciousness. She immediately asks about James and Luiz says, "I will check him next, but between the magical vest and Nanuet's cure I believe him to be fine." She insists on helping him remove James's shirt and then unbuttoning the leather vest, where one bullet has flattened against it but not penetrated. The other bullet has cut through although the vest considerably slowed its forward progress for only a minor penetration, albeit a rather bloody one at the time of penetration, making it initially appear worse than it was. The vest is removed and handed to Alsoomse who says, "Last time for this one. Those must have been magical shells, normal bullets wouldn't have done this." Luiz says, "Don't throw it away, the vest front is now fully depleted but the back still appears to radiate protective magic. We might still be able to fashion something out of it, possibly a protective cap or hat." Luiz then casts another healing spell on James, who also regains consciousness, complaining of a headache. "Probably when you hit the porch" Luiz says, "here drink this," and hands his friend an elixir. Outside, The other seven cowboys reach the end of the plateau and continue to ride on. Alan and Autumn have backed up, their retreat noted by the two rifled men hurrying down the plateau towards their horses. Sol has moved forward with his shotgun pointed at the boy on the ground and orders the young man to carefully set down the gun. The boy does as instructed just as his Uncle Henry rides back up and alongside. And 250 feet to the west Ruby reaches the edge of the plateau. She anticipates seeing either two men attempting to ride off, or worse, lying in wait for her. "Toby!" calls Solomon to Thomas, his shotgun remaining trained on the boy, "bind this fool!" Turning to the elder Webb, he says, "Your nephew will be charged with aggravated assault, for starters." Glancing back at the house, he adds with steel in his voice, "And accessory to murder, if the Parkers don't survive. I'll take your firearms now, sir, and return them to you by courier. I'll arrange for you to be escorted from the property immediately." Henry Webb says, "He ain't an accessory to anything. He didn't fire that shotgun, he was just scared of what was going on around him, isn't that right Fred." "Y..yes Sir," the boy replies. "It's not the shotgun that didn't get fired that has your boy in trouble, pard'ner," says Solomon, his voice now flat of all affect, "It's the shot he did fire -- or is that hole in the porch my imagination?" "Toby!" he roars, "I told you to git over here! Secure this boy!" Taking note of present circumstances, Fish stows the grenades on his vest. Webb removes his revolver and pops open the barrel to empty out the ammunition as he says, "As for them Pinkertons, as I said before, they were under orders not to fire at anything other than Hardin's horse. I don't know what they were thinking with those shots, and we had no part of any of that." Sol says, "Well then, if you had no part with it, then you have nothing to fear, do you?" Henry Webb replies, "I didn't hire them guys, it was some fella from Virgina." He pockets the ammunition from his own Colt Peacemaker and hands the weapon to Sol. He removes his nephew's gun from his belt to do the same, and discovers it empty of ammunition when he opens the barrel. Fish sees Webb's look of surprise and smirks inside. "So you had men with you that you hadn't hired but you thought were under your command. Rather gullible of you I would say. Who was the person in Virginia who did hire them and how did you come to meet them?" asks George pointedly . Henry Webb says, "His name is Van Ostenbridge. Hardin killed his son. And they're the ones who came to us with the information about Hardin." Webb hands Sol the revolver. He then takes his rifle out of the saddle holster and hands that to Sol without bothering to empty the ammunition. He says, "I'll be going then. Take good care of Fred, I expect to see him, his horse, and our weapons returned to me in short order. I'll be in Jacksonville staying at the Astor Hotel." Solomon says flatly, "Your boy's horse and your weapons will be delivered to your hotel, Mr. Webb. As for your nephew, you're welcome to visit him in the county jail, which is where he'll be held pending a hearing before a judge." ******* On July 4th, 1776 the American Colonies declared their independence from the nation of Great Britain. On that same day, in the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, a daughter was born to Doctor Ian Wallace MacPhearson. Doctor MacPhearson was a Professor of Science at the University of Edinburgh and little Mary was to be the only child born to him and his wife Catherine, as his wife would die of severe influenza but a year later. Doctor MacPhearson’s specialty was Ornithology, the study of birds, and Mary would accompany him on his many bird watching excursions in the Scottish Highlands. Shortly after her 19th birthday they were in search of a rare breed of stork found only on the Isle of Skye, when they happened upon another creature that caught Mary’s eye. Specifically, what she saw was a robust young outdoorsman by the name of Charles MacKinnon. It was love at first sight and after a two-year courtship they were wed. In the year 1799 Charles’s father past away, and rather than dividing his estate up among his sons he left it all to his eldest son Eric. Eric was a greedy man, who then required his younger siblings to pay him rent to remain on the land that they had lived their whole lives. Charles would have none of that, and with his bride of two years in tow, set off on a ship bound for America. In 1800 the land known as the Northwest Territory had grown in population to the point that it was split into two separate Territories, named Ohio and Indiana. Each was permitted to elect a representative to Congress, where Indiana’s representative William Henry Harrison lobbied for lowering of the price of land in these territories. As a result, land became affordable enough that those with no income could purchase it on credit. So Charles and Mary MacKinnon became one of three-dozen families who set out together on a convoy of barges down the Ohio River, to settle a new township in the Indiana Territory. Their journey ended on a six-square mile plot of Indiana land a short distance west of the river and exactly fourteen miles north of the growing community of Louisville, Kentucky. With a promised 640 acres apiece the township of Fourteen Mile Creek was founded. It retained that name for a number of years until a surveyor named Charles Briggs made the official measurements and the surveyor renamed it after himself as Charlestown, with the new name being a welcomed change to Charles MacKinnon. Between the years 1801 and 1811 Mary gave birth to six children, of which Alan MacKinnon was the second. In 1811 there was an uprising of the Shawnee elves of Indiana, led by Chief Tecumseh. Then Governor Harrison resigned and raised an army, of which Charles MacKinnon joined. They defeated Tecumseh at the Battle of Tippecanoe on November 7th. When Britain declared war against the United States in 1812 Tecumseh sought revenge and joined the British forces. Harrison again assembled his Militia who marched to the British fortress in Detroit, Michigan and on into Canada where they were victorious in the Battle of Thames. Charles MacKinnon perished in that battle. Doctor MacPhearson retired from the University and moved to America to help his widowed daughter, where he taught his grandchildren about birds and the ability to actually communicate with them. He and Alan became quite close, and Doctor MacPhearson stood as Alan’s best man when he married in the year 1821. The extended family continued to reside in Charlestown, Indiana with none leaving until the United States went to war with Mexico in 1846. Having inherited the spirit of patriotism from his father, Alan MacKinnon enlisted in the Army alongside his two sons Ian and Wallace. Assigned initially to the same regiment but soon promoted to different units, a MacKinnon saw action in every major battle of the war. Sergeant Alan MacKinnon received the Congressional Medal of Honor for his valor at the Battle of Monterrey, where he personally saved the lives of over a dozen men. Captain Ian MacKinnon received both a Purple Heart and Bronze Star for his bravery in the Battle of Buena Vista, which was led by Zachary Taylor. Lieutenant Wallace MacKinnon received no medals or military honors for his service, but he did return from Mexico with a half-elvan wife Rosita and a young son Samuel, who he deemed, were far more valuable than other possible glories he might have received. In 1849 Wallace MacKinnon became one of the Minnesota Forty-niners. Unlike the California Forty-niners, who sought gold, those who migrated to Minnesota that year were in search of land that they could call their own, as that is the year it officially became a Territory of the United States. Wallace became a lumberjack and settled with his wife and son in a small logging town near where the mighty Mississippi River originated. Wallace’s wife Rosita missed the warmer climate, so after twelve years in Minnesota they moved on to the Arizona Territory community of Tucson. However, Samuel remained behind in Minnesota, having grown up to be a backwoodsman and at the age of fourteen began trading goods with the Sioux, with them trusting him more than others due to his being part-elvan. At one point he came upon a group of Sioux that had enslaved a young half-elvan maiden of the Chippewa tribe named Autumn and he traded for her freedom. They fell in love and soon married. When the Civil War began Samuel wanted to enlist with a Minnesota regiment, but was fearful of leaving his young bride alone. His grandfather Alan MacKinnon was now a widower himself and offered to move to Minnesota and stay with Autumn while Samuel was away in the war. This proved to be very beneficial to both, as Autumn’s mother had been a druid priestess who had taught her to communicate with birds and animals, so Autumn and her ornithologist grandfather-in-law had that in common. The Sioux Chief in Minnesota took note that a significant amount of Minnesota’s men away in the war, and decided to launch an attack against the humans. They attacked the various frontier towns, killing hundreds of settlers. One attack came to Alan and Autumn’s town and it was her knowledge of the Sioux language that saved them both. She spoke to the Sioux warriors and shamed them, by stating that a true warrior would find warriors to fight rather than only women and elderly men. In the years following this Indian uprising there was a backlash by the humans against all those of elvan blood, and Alan now intervened to protect Autumn just as she had him. In autumn of 1864 they received word that Samuel MacKinnon had died at Cold Harbor. From that point on Autumn received a widow’s pension, which combined with Alan’s military pension, provided enough income for them to get by. They were fairly self-sufficient and remained in Minnesota, spending considerable time bird watching and fishing along the State’s multitude of lakes. By 1880 the long cold winters were taking a hard toll on Alan’s declining body, and Autumn suggested that they move to a warmer climate. They chose the Saint John’s River in Florida as their destination, as that region was known for having the most diverse population of birds within the entire continental United States. They purchased a fishing shack along the river and have resided there now for two years, becoming close friends with the Delroy-Kingleys, a human and ogre family that lived just east of them. During the summer new neighbors moved in. Alan was thrilled to discover that the group’s leader, James A. Parker, was also an Army veteran who like his father had served during the War of 1812. The two spend many an evening together swapping war stories. Parker was an author of historical books and was currently working on one that concerned the 9th President, Indiana’s William Henry Harrison, who had been a personal friend of Alan’s father. James appeared to be little more than half of his chronological age due to his being a quarter-elvan, with his grandmother Alsoomse also with him. She and Autumn became fast friends, and them and young Antoinette Delroy now nearly inseparable. James and Alan also began to rely on each other for mutual assistance. James had need for speedy communications and news, which Alan had already established via a carrier pigeon network between him and the telegraph operator in Jacksonville twelve-miles away. James had constructed a new house for him and his friends, which was electrified, with plans to soon extend telephone and electrical lines to both the Delroy-Kingsley home and the MacKinnon home. In the meanwhile, Alan continued to Communicate with James on an almost daily basis via carrier pigeon. The most recent message that was sent by Alan occurred thirty minutes ago, when a group of eleven riders with looks of determination on their faces rapidly rode by the MacKinnon home en route to Parker’s. Alan dispatched a note to that effect and asked if assistance was needed. While waiting for an answer Autumn got their horses saddled up and Alan prepared their weapons. Before they received a reply they heard a pair of distant revolver shots. The pigeon with the note then arrived, telling them to alert the County Sheriff that he was needed. Another pigeon was dispatched to Jacksonville with the message, adding that shots had been fired. Alan and Autumn then cautiously set off to the east, uncertain of exactly what they were riding into. They then heard another single shot, followed immediately by three more shots, and then a long period of silence. They passed by the Delroy-Kingsley house, seeing Jasper Delroy armed with a shotgun and waiting with anticipation by the rear door. Alan motioned for the man to stay put as he and Autumn continued forward. They neared the incline in the road up to the higher plateau that the house sits upon. Autumn noticed a pair of saddled horses tied to an orange tree along the western base of the plateau, approximately 120 feet south of their current position. They then heard what Alan recognized as the distinctive sound of rifle shots, fired so close together that only a keen military ear would be able to discern them as two shots rather than one. These originated from up the plateau, but not from the southeast where the house is located. Instead these were closer, from the south and not very far from where the two horses are tied up. They rode closer to the horses and two more shots rang out from the top of the hill. Just as Alan and Autumn are forty feet from the animals as they hear another shot then look up to see a pair of men charging over from the plateau at the top of the hill eighty-five feet away. Both appear to be in their early-to-mid thirties, with neatly cropped beards and mustaches. They are wearing suits, each one carrying a rifle in one hand, and have blankets draped over their shoulders. Alan recognizes them both as being among the eleven riders who went past his farm. "Zayde," whispers Autumn to her grandfather, "keep your distance! Valencia will soon be holding these men for our gentle neighbors..." She begins to coax her horse backwards, wanting at least 40 feet separating her and the men's mounts. Autumn then prepares to cast Entangle centered on the orange tree, to trip when the men are within fifteen to twenty feet of their mounts. A short while later Ruby’s horse reaches the edge of the plateau. She anticipates seeing either two men attempting to ride off, or worse, lying in wait for her. Instead she sees the men around 100 feet away, both fifteen feet from the ground and fully ensnared by the limbs of an orange tree which are wrapped around the men's arms, legs and torso. Atop horses some forty-five feet away are Autumn and James MacKinnon. He has a rifle pointed unnecessarily at the pair in the tree while she has secured and is communicating to another pair of saddled horses, presumably the mounts for these men. Meanwhile, Ruby sees in the distance the other seven cowboys riding swiftly on the road westward and almost to the edge of the Timucuan Conservancy property. To the north she sees Jasper, Obie and Enoch now emerging from the Delroy-Kingsley property, each carrying a rifle or shotgun. Ruby rides up to the MacKinnon's and releases the breath she had been holding. "Thank goodness you showed up when you did, I thought these two were going to get away. They shot James and I am unsure of his condition. How long will this last?" she said as she nodded to the tree and branches. Autumn replies, "Only for a few minutes, which is why Grandfather has them covered. Your assistance with securing them would be a great help." "It would be my pleasure," Ruby said without a hint of joy in her voice. "Do you happen to have any rope? Otherwise I will ride back to the house and get some." Alan throws Ruby a rope. He looks up at the tree and says, "You boys shot my friend James? You are in for a whole heap of trouble. I'm a crack shot, so I'd suggest that you don't give these ladies any trouble." Autumn tells Ruby to get ready as the spell ends and the two men drop abruptly to the ground, their rifles landing several feet away from each man. Ruby hurried over and roughly threw the rope around each man, pulling it snug behind them and forcing them together. "Yes, you made a grave mistake today," she said, yanking it tighter. "So tell me, who hired you to take out Mr. Parker?" One says, "Whose Parker? We were shooting at Hardin." The second says, "We want to talk to our lawyer." Ruby states, "How did you know who Hardin was? Have you seen him before? Because you shot James Parker and if he is seriously injured or gods forbid dies... I'm not even going to say what is going to happen to you." The one who did most of the talking before says in his Virginia accent "Everybody knows what Hardin looks like, his face has been in all of the papers. If we missed him then he must have moved at the last minute." "I was standing directly next to James and near Hardin, he never moved, so you're lying. You might as well shut up now because I don't believe a word you're saying. You're lucky our friends were here when I met up with you." Alan rides over and says, "Shall we walk them back to the house?" She nodded towards the MacKinnons. "I'm certain someone here will have a way of getting the absolute truth from you. Now get up and walk." Ruby gathered their rifles, no doubt filled with magic ammunition and started walking them towards the house. [/QUOTE]
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AGELESS Campaign Episode 2 - Temple of the Cat-Goddess
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