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Wizards, Whiskey and Wonderful Things - Concluded
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<blockquote data-quote="Silver Moon" data-source="post: 2686736" data-attributes="member: 8530"><p><strong>Chapter 68, “Trouble on the Road", Friday, March 17th, 1882, </strong> </p><p></p><p>Kate arrives at the door of the Booth residence. Kate hears Conrad Booth's voice say "Who is there?" in response to her knock. "It's Katherine. I've talked to Mr. Seawell. I'm meeting him in an hour to fill out paperwork. We'll probably need you as well." "One minute." He opens the door and looks his impeccable self, tie tied and in his three piece suit. "I hope you managed to get a good price from Seawell," he comments.</p><p></p><p>Katherine does not look impeccable, still dressed in the leather pants, vest, and duster with her hair loose from her ride. She had the sudden urge to tweak his tie or muss his hair, just to see what would happen. Instead she kept her hands properly to herself and said, "I think so. $675 for the store building. We've been shot at together, so he wasn't inclined to haggle."</p><p></p><p>Booth says, "Which is why I thought you would do better at the negotiation than I would. Good, that means that the total cost of the house will only be $ 325, which is half to two-thirds below what it is probably worth. Not bad for just a few hours work, we'll turn you into a businesswoman yet." He laughs and says, "That is, if being a rancher, waitress, pianist and teacher aren't enough to keep you occupied." "You left out student and foster mother," she added lightly. "Did I ever spend days just sitting quietly reading the day away? It seems very long ago." </p><p></p><p>Taking on a more serious tone he says, "I've been thinking. We should probably put the house in just your name. You might have difficulty getting people to send their children there if they think the building is owned by a no-account gambler." "You're not a no-account, and someday people will see it," Kate said, slipping her arm through his. "But I do agree. $325 I can afford, although I feel you should have gotten some profit from this transaction. Still, you'll be no worse off and you'll have my gratitude which I hope counts for something."</p><p></p><p>"Some profit? My dear Katherine, having you own a house here in town instead of living 100% of your time out on that ranch of yours is reward enough." He slows the pace and says, "I...uh...would like to apologize for last night. I was having such a happy time that I became...well...I was far too forward. It was inappropriate. It will not happen again."</p><p></p><p>Katherine was quiet, looking away. "Thank you," she said simply as she squeezed his arm. They walked in silence for half a block before Kate spoke again. "I'm glad you were happy. It was a good day." She paused. "Well, it was a good day until I got to….well, you know. Things rather fell apart then." Kate spent the rest of the walk telling Conrad about Ruby's "demise" of the night before and the fear that hadn't been lifted until the morning. Booth says that he heard about it but since the men spreading the news were drunk he didn't put much stock in it. He says that he is glad that they are safe. </p><p></p><p>After arriving at the Lucky Lady Jake gives the purchased weapons to Jeff Mills. "Here you go, put these up for use as you see fit. Maybe you could hide one of the revolvers behind the bar, or make something to hide it there." </p><p></p><p>When Jake finds Hoover he sits with him for a while and updates him on what he heard and thought about the Vigilance Committee meeting. "I'm not exactly clear on what real power they have and what real power the Merchant Association has. Could you explain that to me?" Jake also tells him that he'll be attending the next meeting and intends on casting a supporting vote for Rodriguez.</p><p></p><p>Hoover replies, "The Merchant's Association is the one with power in that it hires and pays for the Town Marshall. But the problem there is that his and their authority is only limited to the area of the town streets. The places outside of the town, including all of the ranches, are supervised by the Sheriff. </p><p></p><p>The Vigilance Committee's official responsibilities are limited to only the church and cemetery, but the want to have more. Basically, they make proposals and if the Merchant's Association also adopts them then the proposals are considered to be town law. There is some overlap between the Committees, the most vocal being Frank Condon and Bill Watkins, so that group is not without its influence. It's funny, that Priestess Minerva is all upset now with Adair just as you and Ruby are, but when it comes to the Vigilance Committee you are on the same page as he is."</p><p></p><p>Jake asks. " Do you know who really owns the church land." Hoover replies, "The Vigilance Committee. The Civic Association owned all the town land and when the committee divided the church and cemetery went to them while the other town land was kept by the Merchant's Association. There's also that other church in the southeast part of town. It's privately owned by that Mexican priest that runs it.</p><p></p><p>Ruby gets bored after a while so she decides to take a walk. She lets Hoover know where she is going before she takes off. She ends up at Lacey's General Store. She finds herself standing at the counter where Mr. Lacey is. "Good afternoon, Mr. Lacey. I'm looking for a particular book and I hope you can help me. Romeo and Juliet, by Shakespeare. Any chance you have it?" She smiles at him and waits for his response.</p><p></p><p>He looks momentarily surprised by her entrance. He says, "It is good to see you....well." She replies, “How else would I be, sir?" She raises an eyebrow for a moment. He leaves that question hanging without supplying an answer to it. </p><p></p><p>She interjects, "Yes, I do have my heart set on Romeo and Juliet, Mr. Lacey. I have heard it's the most amazing romantic love story ever and I'd like to see for myself. I told you a long time ago I like fairy tales. He checks his library and says, "No Miss West, I do not believe I have a copy of that in stock. If you are looking for Shakespeare though I do have "The Merchant of Venice", "Richard III" and "Hamlet". If you have your heart set on that volume I could check with my book distributor and probably get a copy for you by next week." She asks, “Could you order it for me then?" He replies, "I would be happy to. I'll send a letter off to him today. Are there any other books that you might be interested in?"</p><p></p><p>"No thank you, that one will be enough to keep me busy for a long time. You'll let me know when it's here then?" Lacey nods and Ruby wishes him a good day. She heads back to Hammer's Jewelry. She goes inside and right up to the counter. "Good Afternoon," she says smiling. "Is the ring available yet?" Dick Hammer has the ring ready, charging her $ 1.50 for the repair. While she is there he also shows her the Ruby ring again. He comments "If somebody could afford to get you this diamond they should certainly be able to afford the ruby."</p><p></p><p>Ruby pays the $1.50. "Well, that ring is going back to it's owner. I doubt he'll be buying me anything any time soon," she laughs. "Out of curiosity, how much do you think it's worth?” He replies, "Given the size of the diamond I'd say around $ 2,000. Possibly a little more." She comments, “As for that one," she glances longingly at the ring, "I just might buy it for myself! A girl shouldn't have to wait around for a man to get her everything she wants." She sighs, "It is kind of expensive though." She scoops up the diamond ring and put it in her pocket, "Thanks Mr. Hammer." </p><p></p><p>Back at the Lucky Lady Jake chats with Niles Hoover for a while longer before he heads upstairs to clean up before dinner. He waits for Ruby to go with her to meet their friends at the El Parador for dinner. Once she has completed her errands Ruby goes back to her room, where Jake is waiting. She puts the ring in the safe before getting ready. She chooses the green dress at Jake's insistence (since the last time she wore it he was in jail) and take her time doing her hair and making herself pretty. They head over to the El Parador to meet everyone for dinner.</p><p></p><p>Kate and Conrad arrive at the County Claims Office where Mitchell Berg has just arrived. Seawell comes along by the time that Dennis Winston has the paperwork all ready. The transaction moves along smoothly, with Booth collecting the money from Seawell. Once the business is done Booth invites Seawell, Berg and Winston to all join them for dinner at the El Parador. Winston declines, saying that his wife Sherry will have dinner ready for him at home. Seawell agrees to join them as does Berg. </p><p></p><p>Meanwhile, on the road to Tombstone, Nanuet and Chester's ride west had begun uneventfully. By late morning they have reached the crossroad that goes north to Dos Cabezas and west towards Tombstone. At around 1 PM they passed by the road branching off to the south to the Shaw Ranch, which Chester remembers from his initial trip to Promise City. </p><p></p><p>They continued west in the direction of the Dragoon Mountain. At around 2:30 PM they near the mountains and then hear the sound from around the bend of approaching horses and some type of vehicle. "What do you think? I'm sure it's just someone out for a ride. Let's stay on the road." And the Wells Fargo stage rounds the bend and comes into view. Chester notices that it is traveling at an excessively fast speed, something he hasn't seen since that first day back in January when they had trouble with the outlaws. </p><p></p><p>Upon seeing Chester and Nanuet ahead he slows the team up somewhat, more akin to a normal traveling pace. Chester waves to Nevers. "Afternoon Mr. Nevers. Where're you going in such a hurry? There's no trouble behind you, is there?" He gestures for them to ride along saying "Sorry can't stop. The only problem with using these horseshoes is that when we stop the animals have to take a long rest." Chester and Nanuet turn around and ride alongside. </p><p></p><p>Nevers says "Probably no trouble, but when we were around a mile outside of Tombstone we picked up a tail, a pair of riders I didn't care for the look of. They might not have been any trouble, but we have no passengers on this run and some valuable cargo, so we figured why take chances."</p><p></p><p>Chester states, "We're headed for Tombstone actually. What'd the riders look like, so we know to watch out for them?" Nevers replies, "One had denim pants, a robin's egg-blue shirt, brown bandana and brown hat and was riding a chestnut brown horse. The other had black corduroy pants, tan shirt, black leather coat and black hat. He was riding a black horse with white spots on the rear quarter. Good to see you again Mr. Martin, good luck in Tombstone."</p><p></p><p>Nanuet had let Chester do the talking, and listened intently to the reply. "Well I have a few prayers that will help us if needed, but two riders hopefully won't cause us trouble. Let's keep going, we can rest when we get to Tombstone."</p><p></p><p>Chester and Nanuet turn around and resume their ride towards Tombstone, the road running south of the Dragoon Mountains. The next two miles are quiet. As they approach a section of road where a short wooden bridge crosses a stream they see the aforementioned horsemen. They are thirty feet off from the road. The men are both dismounted as their horses drink from the stream. Nanuet quietly says to Chester "Let's see if we can mind our own business and ride past. No need to go looking for trouble." Nanuet picks up the pace a bit and continues to pass by."</p><p></p><p>Nanuet may not have been looking for trouble but it appears to have found him. The man with the black leather coat and hat looks up towards the two riders. It has been nine weeks since Nanuet has last seen this man who he immediately recognizes the cattle rustler named Billy Claibourne. He last saw him during the attack on the miner's stage in January. Just from the look on Claibourne's face it is obvious that he recognizes Nanuet, Chester or both.</p><p></p><p>At the look of alarm, Chester draws his Remington, but keeps it pointed toward the ground. "Afternoon, gentlemen. Out for a ride?" At the look of alarm, Chester draws his Remington, but keeps it pointed toward the ground. "Afternoon, gentlemen. Out for a ride?" Nanuet reacts quickly to the look of recognition. "Chester, what are you doing?" he says in a low voice. "These guys don't want to chit chat with us, lets go!" Nanuet then casts a spell as they ride off. </p><p></p><p>Claibourne draws his revolver and his friend follows suit. Claibourne yells “:Stop and get off your horses” As he points the revolver towards Nanuet a mist then begins to rise up from the ground between them. Nanuet says, "Well Chester, that mist might buy us a few seconds!”</p><p> </p><p>Chester and Nanuet ride back and to the side while they talk, so as to not be in the exactly the same target spot as they were when Nanuet cast the mist. The cloud makes for a solid wall of vapor. Claibourne fires four shots in rapid succession, all traveling well to Nanuet and Chester's right. He then takes his last two shots of his six-shooter, these being more deliberate with a pause between them, each of these now coming closer to the two. </p><p></p><p>Chester and Nanuet both immediately realize that if they continue to ride back in the direction that keeps the cloud between them they should be able to reach a distance of a few hundred feet before the rustlers are able mount up and ride through it. Nanuet comments, “Either we fight or we get going, what do you think?"</p><p></p><p>Nanuet points to Chester to ride in the direction that will keep them hidden and put distance between them and Claiborne and his companion. Nanuet then spurs his horse forward and rides hard, keeping his head low to lessen any target he may present when he leaves the cover of the mist barrier.</p><p></p><p>While Claibourne reloads his weapon his companion fires off six shots into the mist, another four in rapid succession followed by the final two spaced apart. The first five shots all fly to their right, the final shot passing between Chester and Nanuet's horses, which are now around 150 feet away from the mist. Given the angle of the road and foothills they will soon pass out of the protection of the cloud barrier.</p><p></p><p>Nanuet suddenly has a change of heart. He checks his mount and unslings his rifle. "Last time Claiborne’s messes with us." he says, gritting his teeth. He focuses on the area where he last saw Claiborne and waits for the cloud to clear. A breeze blows and thins the mist. As soon as he can see either of them Nanuet aims and fires.</p><p></p><p>Nanuet's aim is off, the rifle bullet striking the ground ten feet in front of Claibourne. Both men are still standing where they were earlier, neither having moved towards their mounts. Claibourne's friend is reloading as Billy Claiborne returns fire with his revolver. He again lets off four shots in rapid succession. The first two of these shots are aimed well but slightly high, passing just above Nanuet's left shoulder. The third shot barely grazes Nanuet's left arm. The final shot falls lower, fatally striking the horse that Nanuet is riding. Nanuet drops off the horse, keeping the fatally wounded beast of burden between him and his enemy. He uses the horses body as cover as he reloads his rifle. </p><p></p><p>Chester is confused by Nanuet's actions, saying to himself “I thought he said to keep riding? he thinks as he sees him wheel his mount.” Chester hears more shots being fired and sees Nanuet’s mount go down and sees the elf wince in pain as a bullet grazes his arm. "Wow, this just got interesting!" he exclaimed. </p><p>Chester unslings his rifle and takes a shot before heading towards where Nanuet is taking cover.</p><p></p><p>Nanuet then peers over the dead animal and uses the body to steady his arms and takes another shot. Nanuet's shot strikes Claibourne in his left arm. Claibourne was holding his revolver in both hands so his fifth shot it thrown off, flying wildly to the left. He raises the revolver back up with only his right arm and takes aim at Chester as his companion finishes reloading.</p><p></p><p>Nanuet continues the pattern of using the horse for cover while reloading and for stabilizing his arms while shooting. He slides back and forth behind the horse’s body, trying to not come up in the same place twice. After firing, Chester spurs his mount towards Nanuet, dismounts and joins him behind the cover.</p><p></p><p>Claiborne's last bullet misses Nanuet's head by a couple of inches. He turns around and runs back towards the stream where his and his companion's horses are still standing while his companion kneels down to make himself a smaller target as he raises up his revolver towards Nanuet and Chester to cover Claibourne's retreat. Chester’s first rife shot misses.</p><p></p><p>"Dang, that was close!" Nanuet exclaims as Chester dismounts his horse and joins Nanuet behind the cover. Chester follows Nanuet's example and braces his arms as he shoots. The two continue to reload and shoot at the two bandits.</p><p></p><p>Claibourne manages to successfully get to the stream and mount up, gun still in hand but not yet reloaded. His companion lets off another four shots in rapid succession, two hitting the horse carcass and the other two striking Nanuet, one for a serious wound in Nanuet's left shoulder and the second a serious wound to the upper chest below the shoulder. Simultaneous to this Chester lets off three shots from his Spenser rifle at the man firing on them, all missing.</p><p></p><p>Nanuet grits his teeth after receiving the two wounds. "Keep firing Chester, while I heal myself." Nanuet takes the last three-inch stone and says the command word, waiting for the healing light to take at least some of the pain away. Chester's military training takes over and he realizes he must keep the two bandits at bay while his injured friend heals himself. He takes aim with the rifle and fires three shots, emptying the rifle. Nanuet sees the necklace blow and feels the energy from the stone in his hand as it begins to glow. </p><p></p><p>Chester's first shot barely misses the kneeling man who lets off his fifth shot which misses. Chester adjusts his aim and his second shot is perfect, entering the man's forehead just above the eyes and causing his brain to blow out the back. Chester's final shot is at the mounted Claibourne, hitting him in the back. Claibourne reacts to the hit and then kicks his horse onward, as he starts to ride out of the stream and off towards the nearest hills away from Chester and Nanuet. As he rides away Chester sees him unsnap and draw a fresh revolver from a holster in the horse saddle, replacing it with his empty gun. The dead companion's horse is left behind.</p><p></p><p>Nanuet watches as the green energy flows from his hand and up to his upper chest and shoulder. The blood begins to flow back into the wounds. The shoulder shot had gone cleanly through but the upper chest wound still contains the bullet which Nanuet then sees get expelled from his body. The wounds then both begin to heal over. </p><p></p><p>While the healing is taking place Chester reloads his Spenser rifle. The wounded Claibourne continues to ride away. Nanuet sits up and sees the body by the stream. "Great shot Chet! Well, I think I'll be OK. Let's get out of here before he comes back with friends." Nanuet gathers his supplies from his dead mount and begins searching the dead man and his horse. The man has a wallet containing $ 43.00 and some paperwork that tends to indicate the man was named Monty Blackwell. </p><p></p><p>Chester keeps an eye out in the direction where Claiborne rode off. They mount up to head westward. The horse that Nanuet now rides does not take willingly to a new rider and it takes a few minutes for Nanuet to calm the animal.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Silver Moon, post: 2686736, member: 8530"] [B]Chapter 68, “Trouble on the Road", Friday, March 17th, 1882, [/B] Kate arrives at the door of the Booth residence. Kate hears Conrad Booth's voice say "Who is there?" in response to her knock. "It's Katherine. I've talked to Mr. Seawell. I'm meeting him in an hour to fill out paperwork. We'll probably need you as well." "One minute." He opens the door and looks his impeccable self, tie tied and in his three piece suit. "I hope you managed to get a good price from Seawell," he comments. Katherine does not look impeccable, still dressed in the leather pants, vest, and duster with her hair loose from her ride. She had the sudden urge to tweak his tie or muss his hair, just to see what would happen. Instead she kept her hands properly to herself and said, "I think so. $675 for the store building. We've been shot at together, so he wasn't inclined to haggle." Booth says, "Which is why I thought you would do better at the negotiation than I would. Good, that means that the total cost of the house will only be $ 325, which is half to two-thirds below what it is probably worth. Not bad for just a few hours work, we'll turn you into a businesswoman yet." He laughs and says, "That is, if being a rancher, waitress, pianist and teacher aren't enough to keep you occupied." "You left out student and foster mother," she added lightly. "Did I ever spend days just sitting quietly reading the day away? It seems very long ago." Taking on a more serious tone he says, "I've been thinking. We should probably put the house in just your name. You might have difficulty getting people to send their children there if they think the building is owned by a no-account gambler." "You're not a no-account, and someday people will see it," Kate said, slipping her arm through his. "But I do agree. $325 I can afford, although I feel you should have gotten some profit from this transaction. Still, you'll be no worse off and you'll have my gratitude which I hope counts for something." "Some profit? My dear Katherine, having you own a house here in town instead of living 100% of your time out on that ranch of yours is reward enough." He slows the pace and says, "I...uh...would like to apologize for last night. I was having such a happy time that I became...well...I was far too forward. It was inappropriate. It will not happen again." Katherine was quiet, looking away. "Thank you," she said simply as she squeezed his arm. They walked in silence for half a block before Kate spoke again. "I'm glad you were happy. It was a good day." She paused. "Well, it was a good day until I got to….well, you know. Things rather fell apart then." Kate spent the rest of the walk telling Conrad about Ruby's "demise" of the night before and the fear that hadn't been lifted until the morning. Booth says that he heard about it but since the men spreading the news were drunk he didn't put much stock in it. He says that he is glad that they are safe. After arriving at the Lucky Lady Jake gives the purchased weapons to Jeff Mills. "Here you go, put these up for use as you see fit. Maybe you could hide one of the revolvers behind the bar, or make something to hide it there." When Jake finds Hoover he sits with him for a while and updates him on what he heard and thought about the Vigilance Committee meeting. "I'm not exactly clear on what real power they have and what real power the Merchant Association has. Could you explain that to me?" Jake also tells him that he'll be attending the next meeting and intends on casting a supporting vote for Rodriguez. Hoover replies, "The Merchant's Association is the one with power in that it hires and pays for the Town Marshall. But the problem there is that his and their authority is only limited to the area of the town streets. The places outside of the town, including all of the ranches, are supervised by the Sheriff. The Vigilance Committee's official responsibilities are limited to only the church and cemetery, but the want to have more. Basically, they make proposals and if the Merchant's Association also adopts them then the proposals are considered to be town law. There is some overlap between the Committees, the most vocal being Frank Condon and Bill Watkins, so that group is not without its influence. It's funny, that Priestess Minerva is all upset now with Adair just as you and Ruby are, but when it comes to the Vigilance Committee you are on the same page as he is." Jake asks. " Do you know who really owns the church land." Hoover replies, "The Vigilance Committee. The Civic Association owned all the town land and when the committee divided the church and cemetery went to them while the other town land was kept by the Merchant's Association. There's also that other church in the southeast part of town. It's privately owned by that Mexican priest that runs it. Ruby gets bored after a while so she decides to take a walk. She lets Hoover know where she is going before she takes off. She ends up at Lacey's General Store. She finds herself standing at the counter where Mr. Lacey is. "Good afternoon, Mr. Lacey. I'm looking for a particular book and I hope you can help me. Romeo and Juliet, by Shakespeare. Any chance you have it?" She smiles at him and waits for his response. He looks momentarily surprised by her entrance. He says, "It is good to see you....well." She replies, “How else would I be, sir?" She raises an eyebrow for a moment. He leaves that question hanging without supplying an answer to it. She interjects, "Yes, I do have my heart set on Romeo and Juliet, Mr. Lacey. I have heard it's the most amazing romantic love story ever and I'd like to see for myself. I told you a long time ago I like fairy tales. He checks his library and says, "No Miss West, I do not believe I have a copy of that in stock. If you are looking for Shakespeare though I do have "The Merchant of Venice", "Richard III" and "Hamlet". If you have your heart set on that volume I could check with my book distributor and probably get a copy for you by next week." She asks, “Could you order it for me then?" He replies, "I would be happy to. I'll send a letter off to him today. Are there any other books that you might be interested in?" "No thank you, that one will be enough to keep me busy for a long time. You'll let me know when it's here then?" Lacey nods and Ruby wishes him a good day. She heads back to Hammer's Jewelry. She goes inside and right up to the counter. "Good Afternoon," she says smiling. "Is the ring available yet?" Dick Hammer has the ring ready, charging her $ 1.50 for the repair. While she is there he also shows her the Ruby ring again. He comments "If somebody could afford to get you this diamond they should certainly be able to afford the ruby." Ruby pays the $1.50. "Well, that ring is going back to it's owner. I doubt he'll be buying me anything any time soon," she laughs. "Out of curiosity, how much do you think it's worth?” He replies, "Given the size of the diamond I'd say around $ 2,000. Possibly a little more." She comments, “As for that one," she glances longingly at the ring, "I just might buy it for myself! A girl shouldn't have to wait around for a man to get her everything she wants." She sighs, "It is kind of expensive though." She scoops up the diamond ring and put it in her pocket, "Thanks Mr. Hammer." Back at the Lucky Lady Jake chats with Niles Hoover for a while longer before he heads upstairs to clean up before dinner. He waits for Ruby to go with her to meet their friends at the El Parador for dinner. Once she has completed her errands Ruby goes back to her room, where Jake is waiting. She puts the ring in the safe before getting ready. She chooses the green dress at Jake's insistence (since the last time she wore it he was in jail) and take her time doing her hair and making herself pretty. They head over to the El Parador to meet everyone for dinner. Kate and Conrad arrive at the County Claims Office where Mitchell Berg has just arrived. Seawell comes along by the time that Dennis Winston has the paperwork all ready. The transaction moves along smoothly, with Booth collecting the money from Seawell. Once the business is done Booth invites Seawell, Berg and Winston to all join them for dinner at the El Parador. Winston declines, saying that his wife Sherry will have dinner ready for him at home. Seawell agrees to join them as does Berg. Meanwhile, on the road to Tombstone, Nanuet and Chester's ride west had begun uneventfully. By late morning they have reached the crossroad that goes north to Dos Cabezas and west towards Tombstone. At around 1 PM they passed by the road branching off to the south to the Shaw Ranch, which Chester remembers from his initial trip to Promise City. They continued west in the direction of the Dragoon Mountain. At around 2:30 PM they near the mountains and then hear the sound from around the bend of approaching horses and some type of vehicle. "What do you think? I'm sure it's just someone out for a ride. Let's stay on the road." And the Wells Fargo stage rounds the bend and comes into view. Chester notices that it is traveling at an excessively fast speed, something he hasn't seen since that first day back in January when they had trouble with the outlaws. Upon seeing Chester and Nanuet ahead he slows the team up somewhat, more akin to a normal traveling pace. Chester waves to Nevers. "Afternoon Mr. Nevers. Where're you going in such a hurry? There's no trouble behind you, is there?" He gestures for them to ride along saying "Sorry can't stop. The only problem with using these horseshoes is that when we stop the animals have to take a long rest." Chester and Nanuet turn around and ride alongside. Nevers says "Probably no trouble, but when we were around a mile outside of Tombstone we picked up a tail, a pair of riders I didn't care for the look of. They might not have been any trouble, but we have no passengers on this run and some valuable cargo, so we figured why take chances." Chester states, "We're headed for Tombstone actually. What'd the riders look like, so we know to watch out for them?" Nevers replies, "One had denim pants, a robin's egg-blue shirt, brown bandana and brown hat and was riding a chestnut brown horse. The other had black corduroy pants, tan shirt, black leather coat and black hat. He was riding a black horse with white spots on the rear quarter. Good to see you again Mr. Martin, good luck in Tombstone." Nanuet had let Chester do the talking, and listened intently to the reply. "Well I have a few prayers that will help us if needed, but two riders hopefully won't cause us trouble. Let's keep going, we can rest when we get to Tombstone." Chester and Nanuet turn around and resume their ride towards Tombstone, the road running south of the Dragoon Mountains. The next two miles are quiet. As they approach a section of road where a short wooden bridge crosses a stream they see the aforementioned horsemen. They are thirty feet off from the road. The men are both dismounted as their horses drink from the stream. Nanuet quietly says to Chester "Let's see if we can mind our own business and ride past. No need to go looking for trouble." Nanuet picks up the pace a bit and continues to pass by." Nanuet may not have been looking for trouble but it appears to have found him. The man with the black leather coat and hat looks up towards the two riders. It has been nine weeks since Nanuet has last seen this man who he immediately recognizes the cattle rustler named Billy Claibourne. He last saw him during the attack on the miner's stage in January. Just from the look on Claibourne's face it is obvious that he recognizes Nanuet, Chester or both. At the look of alarm, Chester draws his Remington, but keeps it pointed toward the ground. "Afternoon, gentlemen. Out for a ride?" At the look of alarm, Chester draws his Remington, but keeps it pointed toward the ground. "Afternoon, gentlemen. Out for a ride?" Nanuet reacts quickly to the look of recognition. "Chester, what are you doing?" he says in a low voice. "These guys don't want to chit chat with us, lets go!" Nanuet then casts a spell as they ride off. Claibourne draws his revolver and his friend follows suit. Claibourne yells “:Stop and get off your horses” As he points the revolver towards Nanuet a mist then begins to rise up from the ground between them. Nanuet says, "Well Chester, that mist might buy us a few seconds!” Chester and Nanuet ride back and to the side while they talk, so as to not be in the exactly the same target spot as they were when Nanuet cast the mist. The cloud makes for a solid wall of vapor. Claibourne fires four shots in rapid succession, all traveling well to Nanuet and Chester's right. He then takes his last two shots of his six-shooter, these being more deliberate with a pause between them, each of these now coming closer to the two. Chester and Nanuet both immediately realize that if they continue to ride back in the direction that keeps the cloud between them they should be able to reach a distance of a few hundred feet before the rustlers are able mount up and ride through it. Nanuet comments, “Either we fight or we get going, what do you think?" Nanuet points to Chester to ride in the direction that will keep them hidden and put distance between them and Claiborne and his companion. Nanuet then spurs his horse forward and rides hard, keeping his head low to lessen any target he may present when he leaves the cover of the mist barrier. While Claibourne reloads his weapon his companion fires off six shots into the mist, another four in rapid succession followed by the final two spaced apart. The first five shots all fly to their right, the final shot passing between Chester and Nanuet's horses, which are now around 150 feet away from the mist. Given the angle of the road and foothills they will soon pass out of the protection of the cloud barrier. Nanuet suddenly has a change of heart. He checks his mount and unslings his rifle. "Last time Claiborne’s messes with us." he says, gritting his teeth. He focuses on the area where he last saw Claiborne and waits for the cloud to clear. A breeze blows and thins the mist. As soon as he can see either of them Nanuet aims and fires. Nanuet's aim is off, the rifle bullet striking the ground ten feet in front of Claibourne. Both men are still standing where they were earlier, neither having moved towards their mounts. Claibourne's friend is reloading as Billy Claiborne returns fire with his revolver. He again lets off four shots in rapid succession. The first two of these shots are aimed well but slightly high, passing just above Nanuet's left shoulder. The third shot barely grazes Nanuet's left arm. The final shot falls lower, fatally striking the horse that Nanuet is riding. Nanuet drops off the horse, keeping the fatally wounded beast of burden between him and his enemy. He uses the horses body as cover as he reloads his rifle. Chester is confused by Nanuet's actions, saying to himself “I thought he said to keep riding? he thinks as he sees him wheel his mount.” Chester hears more shots being fired and sees Nanuet’s mount go down and sees the elf wince in pain as a bullet grazes his arm. "Wow, this just got interesting!" he exclaimed. Chester unslings his rifle and takes a shot before heading towards where Nanuet is taking cover. Nanuet then peers over the dead animal and uses the body to steady his arms and takes another shot. Nanuet's shot strikes Claibourne in his left arm. Claibourne was holding his revolver in both hands so his fifth shot it thrown off, flying wildly to the left. He raises the revolver back up with only his right arm and takes aim at Chester as his companion finishes reloading. Nanuet continues the pattern of using the horse for cover while reloading and for stabilizing his arms while shooting. He slides back and forth behind the horse’s body, trying to not come up in the same place twice. After firing, Chester spurs his mount towards Nanuet, dismounts and joins him behind the cover. Claiborne's last bullet misses Nanuet's head by a couple of inches. He turns around and runs back towards the stream where his and his companion's horses are still standing while his companion kneels down to make himself a smaller target as he raises up his revolver towards Nanuet and Chester to cover Claibourne's retreat. Chester’s first rife shot misses. "Dang, that was close!" Nanuet exclaims as Chester dismounts his horse and joins Nanuet behind the cover. Chester follows Nanuet's example and braces his arms as he shoots. The two continue to reload and shoot at the two bandits. Claibourne manages to successfully get to the stream and mount up, gun still in hand but not yet reloaded. His companion lets off another four shots in rapid succession, two hitting the horse carcass and the other two striking Nanuet, one for a serious wound in Nanuet's left shoulder and the second a serious wound to the upper chest below the shoulder. Simultaneous to this Chester lets off three shots from his Spenser rifle at the man firing on them, all missing. Nanuet grits his teeth after receiving the two wounds. "Keep firing Chester, while I heal myself." Nanuet takes the last three-inch stone and says the command word, waiting for the healing light to take at least some of the pain away. Chester's military training takes over and he realizes he must keep the two bandits at bay while his injured friend heals himself. He takes aim with the rifle and fires three shots, emptying the rifle. Nanuet sees the necklace blow and feels the energy from the stone in his hand as it begins to glow. Chester's first shot barely misses the kneeling man who lets off his fifth shot which misses. Chester adjusts his aim and his second shot is perfect, entering the man's forehead just above the eyes and causing his brain to blow out the back. Chester's final shot is at the mounted Claibourne, hitting him in the back. Claibourne reacts to the hit and then kicks his horse onward, as he starts to ride out of the stream and off towards the nearest hills away from Chester and Nanuet. As he rides away Chester sees him unsnap and draw a fresh revolver from a holster in the horse saddle, replacing it with his empty gun. The dead companion's horse is left behind. Nanuet watches as the green energy flows from his hand and up to his upper chest and shoulder. The blood begins to flow back into the wounds. The shoulder shot had gone cleanly through but the upper chest wound still contains the bullet which Nanuet then sees get expelled from his body. The wounds then both begin to heal over. While the healing is taking place Chester reloads his Spenser rifle. The wounded Claibourne continues to ride away. Nanuet sits up and sees the body by the stream. "Great shot Chet! Well, I think I'll be OK. Let's get out of here before he comes back with friends." Nanuet gathers his supplies from his dead mount and begins searching the dead man and his horse. The man has a wallet containing $ 43.00 and some paperwork that tends to indicate the man was named Monty Blackwell. Chester keeps an eye out in the direction where Claiborne rode off. They mount up to head westward. The horse that Nanuet now rides does not take willingly to a new rider and it takes a few minutes for Nanuet to calm the animal. [/QUOTE]
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