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<blockquote data-quote="orchid blossom" data-source="post: 2861059" data-attributes="member: 12815"><p><span style="font-size: 12px">New Toys</span></p><p></p><p>The remainder of Thursday and all day Friday go rather quickly. Angel indeed has a considerable amount of carpentry work for Chester and Jeff to do during that time. Sonoma works with the animals and livestock as well as time playing with the fourteen-or-so Bailey children. Pierre and Bailey are inseparable. On the second day they are joined by a pair of wood elvan wizards who assist with the creation of the work in progress.</p><p></p><p>At dinner Friday night Bailey says that he will be finished with the projects for all of them. "All?" Jeff asks.</p><p></p><p>Bailey replies, "Yes, you each should be rewarded for you assistance, friendship and loyalty.</p><p></p><p>For Sonoma I am modifying a revolver originally made for my wife Angel designed for a female elf of their height and frame. She should find it easy to use.</p><p></p><p>For Pierre my wizard friends have helped make replacements for some of the special ammunition that the Cowboys took from him.</p><p></p><p>For you Mr. Mills I have also made some special ammunition, for that old cap-and-ball revolver that you seem so fond of. I dare say any foes you raise it too will have greatly underestimated you.</p><p></p><p>And for you Mr. Martin, the hand cannon will now be your own. Tomorrow after dawn we can ride out along the coast a short ways and try it out.</p><p></p><p>You should plan on resting for most of tomorrow and departing tomorrow before sunset, to cross back along the desert at night. I have asked my wizard friends to return and they will mask you with magical protections to help keep you safe."</p><p></p><p>Saturday, May 13th, 1882.</p><p></p><p>The Bailey household awakens at dawn. Bailey's two male wood elf associates get ready to accompany the gunsmith. Jeff and Pierre have also decided to go with Chester and Sonoma on this trip.</p><p></p><p>Bailey and the two elves each have on a gunbelt with a pair of revolvers. Bailey also has a third revolver in a shoulder holster. More interestingly however are the three identical rifles that they each place over their shoulders with a shoulder strap.</p><p></p><p>The rifles are of carbine length, with a shorter barrel than most rifles commonly used. The entire weapon was made of metal, even the stock. The most peculiar aspect was a curved metal compartment protruding forward from beneath the weapon. Jacques asks, "Is that the repeater I've heard so much about?"</p><p></p><p>Bailey replies, "Yes, the one I'm holding is the original prototype, the others are my reproductions. We used these against the local warlord's troops a few years back and they've kept him away since. So I wouldn't venture far from my home without them."</p><p></p><p>A burro with filled saddlebags is taken from the corral and Bailey leads it as they walk until they reach a spot on the beach around a mile south of the house where a half-dozen old and slightly waterlogged rafts are anchored at distances ranging for 100 to 2000 feet from the shore. </p><p></p><p>One of the wood elves, a young man named Julian, hands his rifle to Bailey. He then strips down to a pair of shorts, fastens a sack from the burro’s bag onto his belt, and then dives into the ocean. At each raft he sets up a wooden frame. From the bag he takes out three-foot square red cloths, which he fastens onto the frames. The cloths are initially saturated with seawater but quickly dry in the breeze, pulling tight inside each of the frames. The elf swims back, dresses and takes back the rifle. </p><p></p><p>Bailey begins with Sonoma, teaching her how to hold the unique double-action revolver and fire at the closest target. They do this for the next hour until she can manage to get all six rounds from a filled barrel to successfully hit the target. </p><p></p><p>They then spend another half-hour firing at the next target, with him not satisfied until she manages to get half of the bullets from a barrel to hit it. He tells her that she will need to continue to practice but is at least now proficient enough to defend herself and protect her ranch.</p><p></p><p>After a short break for a mid-morning meal he says that he is now ready for Deputy Martin. From the burro’s saddlebag are retrieved a pair of metal rods, each 42 inches in length and two-inches in diameter. The top of each appears hollow at a glance. Closer inspection show a quarter-inch of metal all around the tube-like shape which only goes down for three inches followed by another three inches of narrowing triangular indentation ending in a point. The bottom of both rods shows a three-inch triangular spike atop a three-inch long and one-and-a-half inch part of the rod. The bottom of one therefore sits easily within the other making a single six-and-a-half foot long rod. </p><p></p><p>Another piece of metal is taken from the saddlebag, this consisting of an eight-inch diameter metal plate mounted atop a similar six-inch long base and triangular spike. He explains how this sits atop either piece for use in driving it into the ground using a hammer, rock or other improvised tool. </p><p></p><p>The other elf, an older man named Rialto, hands a sledgehammer to Chester who drives the rod down into the sand enough that the plate would be parallel his outstretched hands. The plate and spike is then removed and replaced with a fourth and final piece, an iron frame designed to support the Hand Cannon from the weapon’s center. He shows Chester how to attach the gun and tighten the bolts to hold the frame in place atop the stand.</p><p></p><p>The frame is made somewhat like a ship’s compass, designed to swivel both around as well as pivot up and down, with pins to then lock it into a fixed position. Bailey says, “Setting this up will allow you to fire the weapon with the rod taking the brunt of the recoil rather than you. It will also help hold the weapon steady and allow you to sight for better accuracy.”</p><p></p><p>With the gun still unloaded he has Chester practice on sighting the weapon at the various targets. Bailey then retrieves from the burro’s pack a massive shotgun similar to the one that Chester had previously saw the hunter Big Jim carry, which Bailey calls a ‘Safari Elephant Gun’. He then has Chester resight for the shortest target as he holds the massive shotgun parallel to Chester’s final firing solution and empties the first barrel. He allows Chester to make adjustments and fires off the second barrel. </p><p></p><p>They continue this for all six targets. Once the furthest target is accurately sighted to the best of Chester’s ability and the shotgun strikes the target he then has Chester load up the Hand Cannon with two live rounds. Chester fires the weapon, finding to his surprise that the frame absorbs almost all of the recoil and commenting to Bailey about that. The shot misses the target by a few feet to the left and slightly lower and continues onward a short while and then explodes when it strikes the water.</p><p></p><p>Bailey replies, “As to the recoil, you’ll feel it even less when grounded in solid dirt or rock rather than sand. That shot was very good, the variance to the target was due to the specific differences between our two guns. Based upon the accuracy of that shot please make what you feel are the necessary adjustments and try again.” Chester does so, the shot hitting right on target as the entire raft is blow to bits. </p><p></p><p>Bailey now carefully removes the upper rod from the lower one and hands the upper one to Chester. He then has the elf place the spiked plate on the lower one. It is driven another six inches into the ground, after which the spiked plate is then removed. </p><p></p><p>Bailey tells Chester, “You will not always have the luxury of standing, so you need to also practice using the weapon while lying down. Keep it unloaded but move the gun and frame down and we’ll repeat the exercise with you lying down and aiming at the remaining five targets. This time account for the fact that my weapon will be slightly lower and to the left of yours as you did with your last shot.”</p><p></p><p>They do this for all five targets, with Bailey’s shotgun blasts now striking low and to the left, hitting the raft on the three shortest targets. Once the fifth is sighted he has Chester reload the weapon with two shells and fire. The first is dead center, with the target and raft reduced to splinters. Bailey says, “No need to waste the final shell, you appear to have mastered it. Please unload the remaining armament.” Chester does so. The elf Julian then swims back out to collect the tattered targets from the four remaining rafts.</p><p></p><p>Chester is given the frame, spiked plate and both rods to carry back to the burro. He finds them surprisingly lighter in weight than expected, a combined eight-to-ten pounds rather than twice that. “What metal is this?” he asks. </p><p></p><p>Bailey replies, “The triangular spikes are iron, and therefore easily replaceable, but the remainder of the stand and frame are made from the same alloy I’ve created to make the repeating rifles. It is stronger and lighter than steel and able to take more punishment.” </p><p></p><p>They return to the house where he has Angel mix up a special tea to allow them to all better sleep during the remainder of the day, to set off in the evening across the desert.</p><p></p><p>Once they are nearly ready to leave they join Bailey for a final meal after which he meets privately with each of the four. With Sonoma he gives her four boxes, each with twenty regular rounds for her gun. He then hands her a smaller box containing a dozen magical shells, explaining how they are designed to induce immediate unconsciousness to whomever they strike even if it is just a grazing wound.</p><p></p><p>When he meets with Chester he hands him a box containing a dozen of the triangular iron spikes saying, “Driving the rods into rocks will eventually wear down the spike points. These should keep you in good stead as replacements. You will need Pierre’s help to change the spikes as that requires a special magical incantation that I have taught him.”</p><p></p><p>He then hands Chester a metal flask explaining that, “You may not always have the extravagance of time to set up the stand and frame. This flask contains an Elixir of Strength. It will temporarily allow you to use the weapon two-handed. The flask contains enough for four usages so be sure to only drink a quarter of it each time.”</p><p></p><p>They set off before sunset on Saturday the 13th. Bailey has provided them with a better map across the desert, which will have them exiting the desert near a lightly forested hilly region around ten miles further north than where they had entered the desert. </p><p></p><p>They travel throughout the night and are still crossing the sands when the sun rises. They initially think they may have missed a landmark and wandered off the planned route but soon see the hills ahead. It is 8:00 A.M. by the time they reach that territory and the couple of hours in the direct sun after a long night of travel leaves them and the mounts exhausted.</p><p></p><p>Thankfully the thin forests provide both shade and water, with cool steams flowing through. The group rests there for the majority of the Sunday, alternating watch to make sure that none of the Warlord's men are anywhere about. </p><p></p><p>They decide to set off mid-way through the night, to circumnavigate around the town of Minos. They approach the city of Magdalina by mid-morning on Monday, May 15th. The merchant friends who they traveled with are still at the city so the group decides to stay there for this day and evening. They have a fun night singing, drinking and dancing with their friends at one of the city's livelier Cantinas. </p><p></p><p>There is much excitement as people in the Cantina spin yarns and tall tales. The most exciting of these is about a recent sightings of earth monsters who rise up to the surface and eat livestock. Nobody present has actually seen these creatures but most claim to know of farmers who have lost sheep, goats and even some cows. </p><p></p><p>On Tuesday the 16th they leave Magdalina heading north to the Sierra El Peseo Mountains. They avoid the towns along the way as they had on the way south. By nightfall they see the lights from border towns of Naco in the distance, and stop to make camp. </p><p>The border is crossed shortly before dawn on Wednesday the 17th. They take a slow wide circle to avoid Fort Huachuca, the mines along the river, and Tombstone. As it gets close to evening the horses are beginning to show fatigue so they opt not to press on to Promise City, stopping in the village of Webb. Elisha Webb is happy to let they camp out near his store, as it allows him to sell them food for both dinner and breakfast.</p><p></p><p>They leave Webb at 8:00 A.M. on the morning of Wednesday, May 17th, arriving back at Sonoma's ranch a few hours later. Flint is happy to see them and helps them tend to the horses while they take a short break. Sonoma opts to stay at the ranch as they three men head off on the final mile of their trip. They arrive back in Promise City at noon.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="orchid blossom, post: 2861059, member: 12815"] [SIZE=3]New Toys[/SIZE] The remainder of Thursday and all day Friday go rather quickly. Angel indeed has a considerable amount of carpentry work for Chester and Jeff to do during that time. Sonoma works with the animals and livestock as well as time playing with the fourteen-or-so Bailey children. Pierre and Bailey are inseparable. On the second day they are joined by a pair of wood elvan wizards who assist with the creation of the work in progress. At dinner Friday night Bailey says that he will be finished with the projects for all of them. "All?" Jeff asks. Bailey replies, "Yes, you each should be rewarded for you assistance, friendship and loyalty. For Sonoma I am modifying a revolver originally made for my wife Angel designed for a female elf of their height and frame. She should find it easy to use. For Pierre my wizard friends have helped make replacements for some of the special ammunition that the Cowboys took from him. For you Mr. Mills I have also made some special ammunition, for that old cap-and-ball revolver that you seem so fond of. I dare say any foes you raise it too will have greatly underestimated you. And for you Mr. Martin, the hand cannon will now be your own. Tomorrow after dawn we can ride out along the coast a short ways and try it out. You should plan on resting for most of tomorrow and departing tomorrow before sunset, to cross back along the desert at night. I have asked my wizard friends to return and they will mask you with magical protections to help keep you safe." Saturday, May 13th, 1882. The Bailey household awakens at dawn. Bailey's two male wood elf associates get ready to accompany the gunsmith. Jeff and Pierre have also decided to go with Chester and Sonoma on this trip. Bailey and the two elves each have on a gunbelt with a pair of revolvers. Bailey also has a third revolver in a shoulder holster. More interestingly however are the three identical rifles that they each place over their shoulders with a shoulder strap. The rifles are of carbine length, with a shorter barrel than most rifles commonly used. The entire weapon was made of metal, even the stock. The most peculiar aspect was a curved metal compartment protruding forward from beneath the weapon. Jacques asks, "Is that the repeater I've heard so much about?" Bailey replies, "Yes, the one I'm holding is the original prototype, the others are my reproductions. We used these against the local warlord's troops a few years back and they've kept him away since. So I wouldn't venture far from my home without them." A burro with filled saddlebags is taken from the corral and Bailey leads it as they walk until they reach a spot on the beach around a mile south of the house where a half-dozen old and slightly waterlogged rafts are anchored at distances ranging for 100 to 2000 feet from the shore. One of the wood elves, a young man named Julian, hands his rifle to Bailey. He then strips down to a pair of shorts, fastens a sack from the burro’s bag onto his belt, and then dives into the ocean. At each raft he sets up a wooden frame. From the bag he takes out three-foot square red cloths, which he fastens onto the frames. The cloths are initially saturated with seawater but quickly dry in the breeze, pulling tight inside each of the frames. The elf swims back, dresses and takes back the rifle. Bailey begins with Sonoma, teaching her how to hold the unique double-action revolver and fire at the closest target. They do this for the next hour until she can manage to get all six rounds from a filled barrel to successfully hit the target. They then spend another half-hour firing at the next target, with him not satisfied until she manages to get half of the bullets from a barrel to hit it. He tells her that she will need to continue to practice but is at least now proficient enough to defend herself and protect her ranch. After a short break for a mid-morning meal he says that he is now ready for Deputy Martin. From the burro’s saddlebag are retrieved a pair of metal rods, each 42 inches in length and two-inches in diameter. The top of each appears hollow at a glance. Closer inspection show a quarter-inch of metal all around the tube-like shape which only goes down for three inches followed by another three inches of narrowing triangular indentation ending in a point. The bottom of both rods shows a three-inch triangular spike atop a three-inch long and one-and-a-half inch part of the rod. The bottom of one therefore sits easily within the other making a single six-and-a-half foot long rod. Another piece of metal is taken from the saddlebag, this consisting of an eight-inch diameter metal plate mounted atop a similar six-inch long base and triangular spike. He explains how this sits atop either piece for use in driving it into the ground using a hammer, rock or other improvised tool. The other elf, an older man named Rialto, hands a sledgehammer to Chester who drives the rod down into the sand enough that the plate would be parallel his outstretched hands. The plate and spike is then removed and replaced with a fourth and final piece, an iron frame designed to support the Hand Cannon from the weapon’s center. He shows Chester how to attach the gun and tighten the bolts to hold the frame in place atop the stand. The frame is made somewhat like a ship’s compass, designed to swivel both around as well as pivot up and down, with pins to then lock it into a fixed position. Bailey says, “Setting this up will allow you to fire the weapon with the rod taking the brunt of the recoil rather than you. It will also help hold the weapon steady and allow you to sight for better accuracy.” With the gun still unloaded he has Chester practice on sighting the weapon at the various targets. Bailey then retrieves from the burro’s pack a massive shotgun similar to the one that Chester had previously saw the hunter Big Jim carry, which Bailey calls a ‘Safari Elephant Gun’. He then has Chester resight for the shortest target as he holds the massive shotgun parallel to Chester’s final firing solution and empties the first barrel. He allows Chester to make adjustments and fires off the second barrel. They continue this for all six targets. Once the furthest target is accurately sighted to the best of Chester’s ability and the shotgun strikes the target he then has Chester load up the Hand Cannon with two live rounds. Chester fires the weapon, finding to his surprise that the frame absorbs almost all of the recoil and commenting to Bailey about that. The shot misses the target by a few feet to the left and slightly lower and continues onward a short while and then explodes when it strikes the water. Bailey replies, “As to the recoil, you’ll feel it even less when grounded in solid dirt or rock rather than sand. That shot was very good, the variance to the target was due to the specific differences between our two guns. Based upon the accuracy of that shot please make what you feel are the necessary adjustments and try again.” Chester does so, the shot hitting right on target as the entire raft is blow to bits. Bailey now carefully removes the upper rod from the lower one and hands the upper one to Chester. He then has the elf place the spiked plate on the lower one. It is driven another six inches into the ground, after which the spiked plate is then removed. Bailey tells Chester, “You will not always have the luxury of standing, so you need to also practice using the weapon while lying down. Keep it unloaded but move the gun and frame down and we’ll repeat the exercise with you lying down and aiming at the remaining five targets. This time account for the fact that my weapon will be slightly lower and to the left of yours as you did with your last shot.” They do this for all five targets, with Bailey’s shotgun blasts now striking low and to the left, hitting the raft on the three shortest targets. Once the fifth is sighted he has Chester reload the weapon with two shells and fire. The first is dead center, with the target and raft reduced to splinters. Bailey says, “No need to waste the final shell, you appear to have mastered it. Please unload the remaining armament.” Chester does so. The elf Julian then swims back out to collect the tattered targets from the four remaining rafts. Chester is given the frame, spiked plate and both rods to carry back to the burro. He finds them surprisingly lighter in weight than expected, a combined eight-to-ten pounds rather than twice that. “What metal is this?” he asks. Bailey replies, “The triangular spikes are iron, and therefore easily replaceable, but the remainder of the stand and frame are made from the same alloy I’ve created to make the repeating rifles. It is stronger and lighter than steel and able to take more punishment.” They return to the house where he has Angel mix up a special tea to allow them to all better sleep during the remainder of the day, to set off in the evening across the desert. Once they are nearly ready to leave they join Bailey for a final meal after which he meets privately with each of the four. With Sonoma he gives her four boxes, each with twenty regular rounds for her gun. He then hands her a smaller box containing a dozen magical shells, explaining how they are designed to induce immediate unconsciousness to whomever they strike even if it is just a grazing wound. When he meets with Chester he hands him a box containing a dozen of the triangular iron spikes saying, “Driving the rods into rocks will eventually wear down the spike points. These should keep you in good stead as replacements. You will need Pierre’s help to change the spikes as that requires a special magical incantation that I have taught him.” He then hands Chester a metal flask explaining that, “You may not always have the extravagance of time to set up the stand and frame. This flask contains an Elixir of Strength. It will temporarily allow you to use the weapon two-handed. The flask contains enough for four usages so be sure to only drink a quarter of it each time.” They set off before sunset on Saturday the 13th. Bailey has provided them with a better map across the desert, which will have them exiting the desert near a lightly forested hilly region around ten miles further north than where they had entered the desert. They travel throughout the night and are still crossing the sands when the sun rises. They initially think they may have missed a landmark and wandered off the planned route but soon see the hills ahead. It is 8:00 A.M. by the time they reach that territory and the couple of hours in the direct sun after a long night of travel leaves them and the mounts exhausted. Thankfully the thin forests provide both shade and water, with cool steams flowing through. The group rests there for the majority of the Sunday, alternating watch to make sure that none of the Warlord's men are anywhere about. They decide to set off mid-way through the night, to circumnavigate around the town of Minos. They approach the city of Magdalina by mid-morning on Monday, May 15th. The merchant friends who they traveled with are still at the city so the group decides to stay there for this day and evening. They have a fun night singing, drinking and dancing with their friends at one of the city's livelier Cantinas. There is much excitement as people in the Cantina spin yarns and tall tales. The most exciting of these is about a recent sightings of earth monsters who rise up to the surface and eat livestock. Nobody present has actually seen these creatures but most claim to know of farmers who have lost sheep, goats and even some cows. On Tuesday the 16th they leave Magdalina heading north to the Sierra El Peseo Mountains. They avoid the towns along the way as they had on the way south. By nightfall they see the lights from border towns of Naco in the distance, and stop to make camp. The border is crossed shortly before dawn on Wednesday the 17th. They take a slow wide circle to avoid Fort Huachuca, the mines along the river, and Tombstone. As it gets close to evening the horses are beginning to show fatigue so they opt not to press on to Promise City, stopping in the village of Webb. Elisha Webb is happy to let they camp out near his store, as it allows him to sell them food for both dinner and breakfast. They leave Webb at 8:00 A.M. on the morning of Wednesday, May 17th, arriving back at Sonoma's ranch a few hours later. Flint is happy to see them and helps them tend to the horses while they take a short break. Sonoma opts to stay at the ranch as they three men head off on the final mile of their trip. They arrive back in Promise City at noon. [/QUOTE]
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