[CoCd20] Flintlock & Tomahawk

[Bobitron]

- On the banks of the Charles -

"I will be back that way again, but it is not my time now. I follow a buck south." His eyes carefully scan the men for a reaction. "Once it is felled, I move back north, to Quincy Abcott's lands. For I am Tisaquantum, once of the Capawack Tribe."

ooc: I'll run if they move to catch me. I should be able to outrun anyone not on a horse, and I feel pretty good about my +7 Move SIlently and Hide if I need to go to ground.

 

[Old Fezziwig]

Ext. - Boston - Same

James stops his narrative at the raised hand and looks at you puzzledly. Summerset turns towards the sound and smell, expectantly, but hears and sees nothing. The young militiaman coughs. "Something I can help you with, Master Summerset?"

Int. - Pitcairne Residence - Same

The batsman shakes his head. When Pitcairne goes to the window and looks out, he sees nothing and smells nothing, save for the crisp air of a New England autumn. No horseman or horsemen are to be seen. The visitor waits patiently, but curiously — "If now's a bad time, Mr. Pitcairne, I'd be happy to come back."

Ext. - The Banks of the Charles - Same

The men don't react to the sound or the scent, but they do start to advance. As you dash away, they give pursuit, only to find that the Indian's superior knowledge of the lands and hunting skills make their endeavor likely to be fruitless. One of them yells something vaguely threatening about the colonial government and Deer Island into the woods, but he's far too far away for it to remain clear in Tisaquantum's ears. Unfortunately, Tisaquantum has lost all traces of the buck and the horses and brimstone have vanished, too.[sblock]OOC: You're welcome to pursue the buck or not, if you have other things you'd like to do. Let me know, and I'll react accordingly.[/sblock]
Int. - The Offices of Quincy Abbott, Barrister, in Boston - Afternoon (Same)

Minor quarrels have been far too common lately, and Quincy Abbott's time at the courts is interfering dramatically with his ability to properly tend to his farm (and stills). One of the stranger patterns that has emerged, as the colony fights the Indians, are the charges of witchcraft brought against both Indians and colonists. Most can be dismissed as nuisances, angry neighbors and bloodless feuds, but a praying Indian woman interred on Deer Island seems to have touched a nerve, accurately predicting Muddy Brook and Hatfield -- she's either lucky or truly a prophet. Abbott's reveries are interrupted, however, by the strange scent of brimstone and the sound of hooves in the distance, they grow louder and more acute, only to fade away and dissipate, leaving an unsettling and acrid aftertaste to the barrister's pre-court whisky. As he sips the liquor, though, he is suddenly possessed of the strange feeling that something is not right at the family farm.

 

[MummyKitty]

"My apologies, my hearing is not as good as it once was...." Archibald steps away from the window. "Au contraire Mr. Winthrop, now is an excellent time to discuss these observations. I would like to see these amatuer renderings and if possible meet the folk who made them. I'm afraid that out here in the colonies, I so infrequently make the acquaintence of those who share my interest in the heavenly bodies. Would that be possible on such short notice?"

[sblock]Is Dr. Zombie still with us?[/sblock]

 

[Bobitron]

Tisaquantum warily emerges from his hiding spot high in a mighty oak near the banks. The scent of brimstone and the hooves was still foremost in his mind as he attempts to find the trail of the buck.

[sblock]ooc: I'll try to catch the buck, if that's okay by you. Once he has it, he'll take a day to dress it, make one of those two pole litter-type thingamajigs, and head toward Abcott's.[/sblock]

 

[WargamerX]

"My appologies James" Somerset says with an unhappy smile, "it seems that our colony's troubles have had an unhealthy affect on my nerves. Please, sir, take me to our dear Captain."

Somerset will follow the militiaman to his meeting with the militia captain.

 

[taitzu52]

Setting down his crystal, Quincy looks out the window at the darkening afternoon sky. He sighs, and mumbles to himself, “Well, wasn’t in the mood for it anyway.” as he decides to duck out of his hearing. He hangs up his wig, and quickly draws up papers filing for a recess for the remainder of the week. Without bothering to make an entry into his journal, he dons his riding cloak, and shoulders his dossier bag.

After making a brief stop to the courthouse, he points his horse’s nose in the direction of his farm, and begins the trip home. As he passes by the last buildings in the township proper, he turns in his saddle and sniffs the air. He looks off to the side in a strange moment of perplexed thought. But quickly, he shrugs, places his hat on his head, and takes a quick nip off the hip flask, just for the road.

 

[Old Fezziwig]

Ext. - Abcott Family Farm - outside Dedham - Later that Afternoon

The ride back to the family farm is uneventful for Quincy Abcott; if it weren't for the overwhelming sense that something was wrong back at the farm, then it would be downright pleasant, as the weather is warm and the air, crisp and invigorating. When he gets there, he finds that his gut feeling was correct — two horses, both familiar — one belonging to Ebezekiel Corey, another farmer, the other belonging to Algernon Tucknett, the deacon — are hjtched in front of the farm.

Before Quincy can reach the front door, Tucknett is there to meet him. "I am glad to see you, Brother Abcott, although I do wish it were under better circumstances." The deacon looks strained and rather ashen. "There's been an incident here, early this morning, shortly after you went into town. Your second youngest was outside. The others were about their chores. I...well, to be direct about it, she was abducted. We've sent some men out to look for her, but they've not been back yet."[sblock]I hope this hook is all right for you, taitzu52 — it's a strong part of your background, and it feeds nicely into the back half of the adventure. Anyhow, if you want to post a group of things that Quincy'd do in this circumstance, in the order that he does them, that'd be great, as I'll post all the results of his investigation/actions at once. I have my assumptions, but I'm often surprised by my players, so...[/sblock]Ext. - The Banks of the Charles - Later

Tisquantum, once he feels comfortable that he's no longer in danger, begins to track the buck anew. Unfortunately, he doesn't seem to be able to pick up the buck's trail, although he does find a couple rabbits. You find a place to clean them and camp for the night before heading back to Abcott's farm early in the morning.[sblock]What you find when you get there will largely depend on taitzu52's actions, so I'm going to dovetail your two threads once I have a response from him.[/sblock]Int. - Militia Offices of the City of Boston - Later

Archibald Pitcairne and William Somerset, unfamiliar with each other, save by chance opportunities to hear the other's name at the odd dinner party or about town, find themselves at the offices of Captain Winthrop's at the same time. And, interestingly enough, for largely the same reason. It would appear that astrological events of the recent past have been strange enough to draw the attention of the refugees from the River Valley. If Pitcairne is willing, they would like him to visit the site and see what information he can cull from said visit — it had unnerved people enough that they would like further information, from an expert. And, assuming that Pitcairne is willing, they would like to deploy Master Somerset and two regulars out to the same location, a point just north of Bloody Brook on the far bank of the Deerfield River, as an entourage and protection from Indian attacks for Mister Pitcairne.

Pitcairne: Initial study of the diagrams, crude as they are, indicates a fairly regular pattern of attacks, coinciding with meteor showers. A few pages of star charts, awkwardly drawn, follow, but it will take a good amount of time (all night?) and access to your notes for you to draw any accurate conclusions.[sblock]Consider this an opportunity to ask questions of Captain Winthrop.[/sblock]

 

[WargamerX]

While politely greeting the senior Pitcairne and remotely listening to the conversation between the scholar and Captain Winthrop, William Somerset conscoiusly avoided staring at Archibald's manservant. What had the Learned Man called him? Surean? At first glance, William had thought the man to be a native, yet his features lacked the striking aspect that the local tribes had. His skin was not as dark as an African, perhaps he was Chinese? Surean. The absolute foreigness of the man evoked images of Prester John and the exotic East. Fascinating. How had the man come to be in the employ of Pitcairne?

Politely reentering the conversation, William looked at Archibald, Do not worry, sir, my men and I will guard you with our lives. The natives will think twice about meddling with the affairs of five armed men.

When Pitcairne turns to study the diagrams, or at the first oppurtunity, William attempts to pull Captain Winthrop aside. Captain, I have a few questions about this errand.

[sblock]William will ask about any hostile native activity in the area, which tribes are in the area, any notable inhabitants (colonist, hostile or freindly natives), and which are known to be trustworthy. Finally, he will ask the Captain and when the oppurtunity presents itself both escorting militiamen if they have heard any rumors from the refugees.[/sblock]

 

[MummyKitty]

After making introductions, Archibald goes straight to work on examining the documents. He studies them intently with a learned eye. "Ah... yes...fascinating..." He takes out a protractor and other measuring devices from his satchel and makes several sightings, which only confirm his fears. Although crude, at a glance these amateur renderings confirm his own unusal observations.

"Mr. Winthrop, it will take some time to make a full analysis of these drawings. They are primitive, but show much of interest. I should very much like to interview their creators and to determine exactly their vantage point when drawing these figures. Where did you say they were from?"

Although Archibald was able to gather a few of his papers before hastily accompanying Mr. Winthrop, there is much that he left behind at this study... "I don't suppose I could take these back to my library tonight and examine them in more detail? It would be beneficial for me to compare them against my own reference materials..."

Absorbed in his studies, he takes little notice of the surrounding conversation. Was it merely coincidence that the lunar eclipse happened during these other strange celestial phenomenon? Such eclipses could be predicted with regularity, even old Christopher Columbus did so, to the surprise of the Jamaican natives, almost 200 years ago. But, Archibald knew of no eclipses that coincided with meteorite strikes, or meteorite strikes that caused such panic and strange behavior.

"Gentlemen," he suddenly announced to the assembled men. "Although I must still do some research, it is clear to me that we are in the midst of queer phenomenon. We must seek the site of any meteorite impacts as soon as possible. If the moon can cause lunacy, as the old folklore goes, what could pieces of the heavens, falling from the sky bring?"

 

[taitzu52]

“Oh, no!” gasps Quincy, “Oh Lord, no!” Abcotts face shakes with horror as he hears the news. “Who…who could have done it? Injuns? French?” His mind is swimming.

After a moment of words with the men, he takes a strong pull from his flask and calls his oldest boy down. “We know this land better than any, save that Capawack scout.” Grabbing his spare rifle and handing it to the boy, he says, “We’re going out while there’s still light. Round up the neighbors to meet me here in the morning, if you would. And tell the marshall too.”

He sends the boy out along the treeline while he begins searching the front of the house for any traces they may have left. Knowing little else of what to do, he and his son begin searching the estate for any traces of his daughter’s abductors.

(OOC- Search +6, Wilderness Lore +4)