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<blockquote data-quote="Silver Moon" data-source="post: 4800671" data-attributes="member: 8530"><p><strong>Chapter Twenty-six, “Two Minute Warning”, September 3rd, 1882, 4:15 P.M.</strong></p><p></p><p>Several hours of digging later all but seven of the wheelbarrows are filled. Given more time to work they have been filling them this day full to overflowing on the top, in order to dig further down. The tunnel is now approximately 115 feet deep and by Roy's estimation some 64 feet below the surface. Those inside the tunnel then hear the sound of a whistle, two long continuous notes. There is then a pause and two more long continuous notes. James loudly exclaims "That's the emergency signal. All stop!"</p><p></p><p>Ruby and George are in the Photographic Laboratory and hear the whistle sounds, which appears to be coming from the nearby Transportation and Logistics room. Ruby furrowed her brows together. "George, what was that?" She stood up and motioned with her finger to him, whispering, "I think it's in the next room, let's go check it out." Ruby moved quietly into the hallway then peered into the Transportation room to see what was going on. Ruby enters the room to see Luiz standing near the tunnel entrance blowing into a whistle. He is holding a small piece of paper in his hand. She asks, "Luiz, what's wrong? What is going on?" George sighs at the interruption and leaves the photography lab as it, but locks the door as he leaves.</p><p></p><p>Luiz steps back from the tunnel entrance as a dirty and shirtless James Parker charges out from it, with the other diggers right behind him. Thomas steps away from the digging, sets down his pick, and walks quickly towards the opening of the tunnel, where he has left his tunic and walking staff. He takes a moment to drink some water from the basin, uses his shirt to mop his face of the sweat and the dirt, and then goes to join the others. </p><p></p><p>Luiz holds up the note and says, "This just arrived by carrier pidgeon from Alan McKinnon. It reads 'Eleven purposeful and heavily armed men just rode by at a fast gallop. Are they expected? Do you need my assistance?'" Sol rushes out of the room and slides the side panel to the hidden staircase on the west wall. Rather than heading up the stairs he goes through another panel and into the dining room. He runs to the side window and yells back "I see a cloud of dust approaching the hill. Looks like they are around two minutes out." </p><p></p><p>Nanuet finds Maska and tells her "Go girl, go hide but stay close so you can come when I call. Go!" He then finds Alsoomse and goes to her, staying close and waiting for instruction. Alsoomse asks Nanuet "Are you proficient with bow and arrow? The shelves in my office contain various Native American items, including a longbow, shortbow and three quivers of arrows." Nanuet nods with agreement and understanding. "Lead the way." </p><p></p><p>Lawrence exclaims, "Damnation! Anyone got an extra gun? All I own is a little popgun. I better get it anyway." He rushes upstairs to get his Derringer. "I'm not armed," Abby managed between breaths. "I'll be right back." She took off at a sprint for her room where her colt was stored as well as a small pouch filled with spell components, just in case. She barely stopped in the room, rushing right back out to rejoin the others. Roy runs up to his room and grab his gun. He goes to the nearest window and crouches, waiting to pick off anyone who needs it. </p><p></p><p>In Alsoomse’s office she and Nanuet retrieve the quivers and arrows. While in the room she casts a quick spell over both herself and Nanuet, causing a circle of light to travel from head to toe, cleaning their bodies and clothing of dirt in the process. She also grabs a leather basket with berries, consuming a handful and telling Nanuet to do the same. As he eats the dried fruit he immediately feels the fatigue exit his body and is revitalized again. As they return to the hallway she offers a handful of the berries to any of the other diggers who are still around. Abby followed Alsoome's example and used a spell to clean herself up, then accepted the offer of the berries. The digging was harder on her than she liked to admit. Fish grabs and ingests a handful as he heads by.</p><p></p><p>Thomas states, "If they have come here to do harm, which seems likely, they probably think they will have the element of surprise, so it might be worthwhile to find concealed positions along the incoming path, and wait for them to approach, and then catch them unawares from several sides. They will probably send men around the back, so it might be worthwhile to have someone waiting there for them as well. Where do you need me, Parker?" </p><p></p><p>James points out that with Thomas's darker skin tone and covered in dirt he could blend in rather well by one of the archeological dig dirt mounds, suggesting the one closest to the front porch (around 80 feet northwest of the porch corner). Thomas nods, and will head over to the mound to wait for the horsemen Fish follows Dr. Crane, saying grimly, "I hide well, and none of us should be alone!" On his way up from the tunnel, he retrieves his shirt and leather vest (which conceal his throwing daggers).</p><p></p><p>Being the non trusting sort, Ruby almost always had her pistol hidden and on her; strapped to her upper thigh. Today was no different. A few thoughts quickly ran through her mind. "Luiz, I have an idea." She quickly cast a spell and disappeared, making herself invisible. "I will try to detect who they are what they are planning to do. I'm not sure I will be successful but I will try. I will be outside and if there is imminent danger I will let someone know. George you stay out of trouble!" She pinched George's rear end as she moved past him invisibly then made her way outside the house, positioning herself in the direction the intruders were approaching. She retrieved her gun from it's hiding place and readied to cast her detect thoughts spell when the group was closer, but not close enough to hear her. </p><p></p><p>George heads up stairs as Ruby heads out, grabbing his revolver and heading out onto the balcony in the front, to have a better view of what is going on. James and Mina come down from upstairs. In the two minutes he has totally cleaned up from the digging and is in new clothes. A Colt Peacemaker revolver is in the holster on his belt and he has pinned on his Deputy Sheriff badge</p><p></p><p>As the riders crest the top of the hill they slow to a canter and then to a trot. There are a total of nine adult males. Their horses look to be in excellent shape, with western-style saddles and a pair of full saddlebags on each mount. A rifle, shotgun, or both are sticking out from the rifle holsters on the saddles. Seven of the men are attired in standard western attire of cowboy hats, leather coats, leather vests, denim pants, leather chaps, sturdy work boots, and leather belts with gun holsters with revolvers. All but one of these seven look to be in their late teens or early twenties, the other being middle-aged. The other two men are both middle-aged, one attired in a dark suit, the other in an old Confederate army uniform. The man in the suit is clean shaven, the others all with beards and mustaches. </p><p></p><p>Ruby casts her spell when the riders are within 60 feet, then she continues to concentrate on their thoughts, it's especially helpful that they stop within 20 feet of the house. They come to a halt twenty-feet before the front steps. None of the men draw their weapons but most now rest with one hand positioned either to their side near their revolvers or against the saddle near the long-arms. The man with the suit appears to be the leader of the group as he rides up closer to the front steps. </p><p></p><p>Ruby focuses upon the leader, who is closest to her. She is unable to detect anything at all from him. Historically, when that had occurred the individual was either a strong-willed person whose thoughts would always be private or a wizard that had been trained how to shield his thoughts. Looking at the determination on this man's face she concludes that either or both may be the case. </p><p></p><p>Focusing further out on the group of eight beyond him she is immediately overwhelmed by a wave of strong emotions, which vary from excitement to dread. She senses that most wish to be here even though many fear that they will soon be dead. She begins to detect individual emotions, vengeance being the strongest. Other individual stray thoughts that begin to be detected are "Texas pride", "Pa would be proud of me" and that "Justice will be served". Texas pride? she thinks, wondering just what this group is after. She continued to concentrate but otherwise waited for James or someone to come out and ask this group just what they wanted. She readied to cast sleep in case they started advancing further on the house. </p><p></p><p>As she continued to concentrate a sudden loud thought came to her mind, loud because it was repeated by more than one of the intruders. Hardin. She quickly looked around the group for his location. This was not going to end well. But if she could find him perhaps a gun fight could be avoided.</p><p></p><p>James instructs Mina to watch from the window as he steps out onto the porch. "What can I do for you?" he asks. The spokesman and leader says, "We want John Wesley Hardin and James Parker." "I'm Deputy Sheriff James Parker, and you are trespassing. What business do you have with Mr. Hardin?" The suited spokesman says, “Hardin killed my brother.” “And my Pa,” one of the younger men interjects. </p><p></p><p>The man in the suit then says, “Hardin killed kin of every one of us. He was sentenced to twenty-five years in Prison for killing my brother Charlie. Shoulda been hanged, but I was okay with the twenty-five years as he probably wouldn’t have lived that long. I hadn’t counted on some no-account Yankee like you bribing the Acting Governor to pardon him, Mister Parker. Governor Roberts would never have done that.” </p><p></p><p>James replies, “Governor Roberts resigned to teach Law at the new University. Governor Brockton was duly appointed and was within his right to grant pardons as he saw fit. But your accusation lacks evidence, no money ever passed between myself and Governor Brockton.” The man in the suit laughs and says, “No, of course not, you’re too slimy for something that direct. The bribe was for you to go and build him a new school and new library in his home town of Bryan, Texas. All of his relatives now work at those places for high priced salaries.”</p><p></p><p>James replies, “Is that is the extent of your bribery charge? It lacks credibility Sir. If you do some further research you will find that I have been building schools, libraries and hospitals throughout communities in Texas for over thirty years, a period longer than Mr. Hardin has even been alive. Each of those buildings, including those in Bryan, have been named in honor of a dear family friend Andrew Dawson, who died as one of the defenders of the Alamo. </p><p></p><p>Regarding the buildings, I’ve only paid for the initial construction and start-up materials. All hiring decisions and ongoing salaries are the responsibility of the local communities who maintain and run the buildings, and I have no part in that. However, it doesn’t surprise me that Governor Brockton's family have chosen to work at those establishments. His life has been on of exemplary and dedicated public service, so his family members would be inspired by his example and also choose to serve the public. </p><p></p><p>So, please, I invite you to bring me up on charges of bribery based solely on that evidence. Have a judge set a trial date, I promise that I will be there. But don’t be surprised if a jury finds that a philanthropist establishing schools, libraries and hospitals in poor communities is seen as a good thing. I imagine that most Texas juries would also think favorably of honoring those who died at the Alamo.” </p><p></p><p>The older of the cowboys says, “There ain’t gonna be no jury trial back in Texas. We’re gonna discuss this with you among ourselves in private. You two come along if you don’t want to see any of these teachers and students getting themselves in the way.” James replies, “More a case of you not wanting any direct witnesses to what you have in mind. Mister Hardin and I are both going nowhere and you men are trespassing on private property. I will give you five minutes to get off the Timucuan Conservancy land before I have you all arrested.” </p><p></p><p>Ruby held her actions, continuing to concentrate on the thoughts with the hope she would have a warning before violence occurred. She prepared to cast sleep as necessary if shooting started. The overwhelming number of thoughts are a combination of wanting to kill Hardin, wanting to kill Parker, and fear of their own deaths. Ruby does detect thoughts from two different men that indicate that the men assume Hardin and Parker to be the only threats, that everybody else present are defenseless teachers and students. </p><p></p><p>Nanuet stood in the hallway with Alsoomse and Abby, the bow in his hands. He ran through options in his mind and surprisingly came up with a few ideas, should it come to a fight he could impede the horses and men with a soften earth spell, or perhaps obscuring mist would be a better option, preventing the men from seeing potential targets. Should the fighting make it's way into the house sanctuary was a good option. He tightened his grip on the bow as he listened to the threats and accusations fly. </p><p></p><p>Lawrence come rushing down the stairs after finding his gun. He has just enough time to duck around the corner of the house before the riders get close enough. He tries to eavesdrop on the leader as he talks to James. He doesn't like the odds in a fire-fight, but he keeps his hand on the Derringer in his pocket. Lawrence and Nanuet each manage to hear the entire conversation between James and the man in the suit.</p><p></p><p>Fish whispers to Thomas, "MacKinnon's note identified eleven men. There's only nine up there near the porch!" Remaining hidden, he begins to scope the environs for the remaining two men. Looking around from his and Thomas's vantage point by the dirt mound he does not see anybody else. "Well, crap on a cracker!" thinks Fish to himself, "where are those other two mooks?" He whispers his intentions to Dr. Crane. Thomas whispers "Be careful -- they have done exactly what I thought they'd do. I do not believe we have much time before this turns to fisticuffs and bullets." Fish replies quietly before moving off, "Fists I can handle. I duck real good!" he says, smiling grimly, "but I'm not too fond of bullets!"</p><p></p><p>Abby casts a Detect Magic spell and then peeked out the window. These men didn't seem the type to use magic, but the only way to be sure was to look. The spell actually reveals magic on four of the nine men. The spokesman in the suit has a magical ring on his finger and the barrel of his revolver glows, indicating magical ammunition. The cowboy who had spoken and identified himself as Charlie Webb's son also appears to have magical ammunition in the barrels of both his revolver and rifle. One other cowboy has a magical rope coiled up and hooked to the side of his saddle. Lastly, the older man in the Confederate uniform glows in such a way that his entire body appears to be covered by some sort of magical spell, as well as magical horseshoes on that man's mount. </p><p></p><p>During the first minute following James's ultimatum none of the mounted men make any attempt to move. James comments, "Several of us are Duval County Deputies, don't think for one minute that I won't arrest you." The man in the confederate uniform says, "What is that? A joke? Charlie Webb was a Deputy Sheriff and Hardin shot him down in cold blood. And you, you stinking Yankee, think you can buy your away around whatever you want. Neither of you have any respect for the law, so don't go trying to hide behind it now that you're cornered." </p><p></p><p>George is standing on the balcony above and listens to the conversations. He stands there, pushes up his spectacles and crosses his arms. He exclaims, "So you men seek to circumvent the legal system? You did not approve of the lawfully rendered decision, so you decide to take the law into your own hands, is that it? Niether Texas nor Florida is under territorial law, it operates under the United States Constitution gentlemen. So you seek an eye for an eye as Hamurabi would have had it. Well doesn't that put you no better than Deputy Hardin? Would your thirst for revenge cause you to commit crimes? You would seek to become charged with the same crimes as he was. Crimes I might add he was convicted for and served his due time. It would seem to me gentlemen that your best avenue of retribution would be to seek an injunction to overturn his parole. </p><p></p><p>Because at this point, you will not get your private meeting, and more so you have now made threats in front of many many witnesses. And should something happen to Deputy Hardin or Deputy Parker you will be brought up on charges. And the local law enforcement here does not look kindly upon out of state men seeking extra-judicial remedies. I would suggest that you find some other way to exact your revenge, the days of the cowboy west where a man takes the law into his own hands is well past us. Best at this point you look to a court to rectify this situation."</p><p></p><p>George's words appear to have some effect on a few of the younger men who look to and from one another with some hesitancy. Ruby detects uncertainty in their thoughts. The man in the Confederate uniform then looks up and says "Fancy talk Professor, but this doesn't concern you. Head back inside and you won't have to worry about getting hurt."</p><p></p><p>The men looking up at George provides the distraction Fish was looking for as he begins to duck and scoot around the perimeter at half-speed, doing his best to remain hidden while looking for these missing mercenaries. The human eye is drawn to movement, and photographer George Eastman's eyesight is actually above average [20/10 vision]. From the porch roof balcony two floors above the ground floor he now spots two separate things. The first is Benjaimin Trout moving away from the mound where he and Thomas had been hiding, staying low, and not being seen by the nine men on horseback that are looking in the opposite direction. </p><p></p><p>The second movement is from nearly 200 yards away, near the far end of the southwestern edge of the plateau, which is around ten feet higher than the plateau ground around it. He sees a rifle barrel move and track Benjamin. Looking closer at that area, George spots a second rifle barrel, this one trained towards the porch, and he presumes the shooter is waiting for Hardin to make his appearance on the porch. He does not see either shooter, but notices the hill has two bumps behind each rifle, and concludes that each man is probably lying down under a blanket the exact same color as the bare dirt. </p><p></p><p>George puts his hand in front of his mouth as he silently mouths a Magical Message while pointing with his other hand to both Fish and Parker. The message states “On a mound far end of the southeastern edge of the plateau there are two hidden snipers with rifles waiting to shoot Fish and at the porch, be cautious." Back on the porch, James nods in George’s direction. "Ack!" thinks Fish, affording himself a quick glance in the direction of the mooks, "so that's where those rat bastards are!" He throws himself prone behind the first clump of dirt or shallow dip in the turf with the intent of wriggling his way to the complete cover provided by the tool shed.</p><p></p><p>James tells the armed men "Do not think that I am bluffing." The spokesman says, "Right, a businessman against the nine of us?" James says, "I am more than a businessman, I am a graduate of the United States Naval Academy and proudly served in our Nation's military during a conflict well before this was ever a divided nation." Inside the house Mina lets out an explicative and says, "He did that on purpose. He's trying to make himself out to be more of a threat and their target rather than us, James don't be a martyr." </p><p></p><p>Thomas continues to listen to the conversation twixt Parker and the horseman, sensing that violence was unavoidable and imminent. The unwavering intent in the words of the armed men seeking Hardin, with two others obviously out in some kind of flanking or surprise action, made him extremely uneasy ... Thomas knew that his friends, old and new, were a skilled and able group that was probably quite capable of handling the menace posed by these gunmen. Still, if nothing else, his adventures and training taught him that one could never predict with any certainty how a battle might turn out, and that a potentially poorly planned venture always fell apart whenever the unexpected happened.</p><p></p><p>Steeling himself with a deep breath, Thomas decided it was time for him to be the unexpected. He stood up from the mound, loudly whistling an old Southern tune he remembered from his undercover slave days, and walked up and over the mound towards the road and the horsemen. "LAWDY, MR. PARKER!," Thomas nearly yelled at the top of his deep, booming voice, using the Old South Ogrish dialect of English he affected so well as a slave, "OL' TOM MUST BE GETTING EVEN MO' DEAF, CUZ I DIDN'T HEAR Y'ALL'S COMPANY COME UP FOR DINNER." </p><p></p><p>Dirt-stained and grinning from ear-to-ear, Thomas ambled towards the horsemen, feigning a limp while leaning slightly on his staff. "I'S FINISHED WITH ALL THIS HEAH DIRTPILE FO' MIZ PARKER'S HERBS GARDEN LIKE Y'ALL'S ASKED ... I RECKON'S I CAN GO ON INTO THE KITCHEN AND HELPS MIZ BESSIE WITH THE MEAL, IF DESE GEN'MENS BE STAYIN' WIF US."</p><p></p><p>Thomas kept walking towards the men without stopping, still grinning and nodding, basically ignoring anything they said with a "I'S SORRY BUT I'S JUST ABOUT NEAR DEAF AND HALF-BLIND, SO Y'ALL GONNA HAVE TO SPEAK UP!" or a "MY LAWDS, DEM'S IS SOME BYOOT'FUL HORSES Y'ALL'S GOT THERE... I'S PRETTY SURE WE GOTS 'NUFF ROOM IN DE STABLES FOR ALL Y'ALL'S!"</p><p></p><p>Abby moved away from the window so she'd be out of sight of anyone outside, cast a message spell and pointed outside at Thomas so he could hear as well. Then she turned to Nanuet and Alsoome and said, "The leader and Webb's son have magic on their weapons. The confederate has some magic all over his whole body and something on the horse's shoes. The cowboy with the coiled rope has magic on that rope." Nanuet nods his acknowledgment then looks out the window, trying to match the men to the description Abby had just given. He waits anxiously for something to happen.</p><p></p><p>As Thomas shuffles EVEN closer to the men, making a beeline for the leader, he says "MY LAWDS, I CAN ALMOS' HEAR MIZ ABBY'S VOICE IN MAH DUM OL' HED RIGHT NOW, ALREDDY YELLIN' AT ME NOT TO TRACK DIRT ALL OVAH HER CLEAN FLO'S" </p><p></p><p>Hardin sighs heavily and let the barely opened curtain fluttered shut from where he has been watching the proceedings. He steps to the bureau and opens his valise. A minute later, he is purposefully stepping down the stairs, marking the shadows, angles and potential fields of fire. He whistles softly so as not to startle Mina too much and places the valise on a nearby divan. "Ms. 'Mina, if anyone should need a firearm, there are several spares in this bag."</p><p></p><p>As he moves towards the direction of the door, she notices a brace of heavy Colts belted in a cross-draw harness at his waist. He slides forward, but stays in the shadow of the door...where he can see out but remain concealed. His crooked smile quirks as he fishes the badge out of his vest pocket and pins it on. He whispers again... "James, I'm here. I have no intention of swinging...but I also don't want any of you getting hurt on my account. I have recognized several of these boys - Charlie Webb's kin - and I don't think they will listen to reason. If they slap leather..." His voice trails off menacingly. </p><p></p><p>James takes a few steps back towards the doorway and softly states, "Don't blame yourself, them being here now seems to be more my doing than yours John." The suited man states, "Don't you go running away Parker. It doesn't have to be this way. You and Hardin come with us and all the innocent folks here will be safe, we have no quarrel with them." James then says softly to those inside, "Stay close John, the rest of you should probably go into Luiz's office, that's our first floor safe room." Luiz explains, "Yes, the windows, door and walls of that room are resistant to both bullets and magic. We wanted to ensure that I could operate free of interruption."</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Silver Moon, post: 4800671, member: 8530"] [B]Chapter Twenty-six, “Two Minute Warning”, September 3rd, 1882, 4:15 P.M.[/B] Several hours of digging later all but seven of the wheelbarrows are filled. Given more time to work they have been filling them this day full to overflowing on the top, in order to dig further down. The tunnel is now approximately 115 feet deep and by Roy's estimation some 64 feet below the surface. Those inside the tunnel then hear the sound of a whistle, two long continuous notes. There is then a pause and two more long continuous notes. James loudly exclaims "That's the emergency signal. All stop!" Ruby and George are in the Photographic Laboratory and hear the whistle sounds, which appears to be coming from the nearby Transportation and Logistics room. Ruby furrowed her brows together. "George, what was that?" She stood up and motioned with her finger to him, whispering, "I think it's in the next room, let's go check it out." Ruby moved quietly into the hallway then peered into the Transportation room to see what was going on. Ruby enters the room to see Luiz standing near the tunnel entrance blowing into a whistle. He is holding a small piece of paper in his hand. She asks, "Luiz, what's wrong? What is going on?" George sighs at the interruption and leaves the photography lab as it, but locks the door as he leaves. Luiz steps back from the tunnel entrance as a dirty and shirtless James Parker charges out from it, with the other diggers right behind him. Thomas steps away from the digging, sets down his pick, and walks quickly towards the opening of the tunnel, where he has left his tunic and walking staff. He takes a moment to drink some water from the basin, uses his shirt to mop his face of the sweat and the dirt, and then goes to join the others. Luiz holds up the note and says, "This just arrived by carrier pidgeon from Alan McKinnon. It reads 'Eleven purposeful and heavily armed men just rode by at a fast gallop. Are they expected? Do you need my assistance?'" Sol rushes out of the room and slides the side panel to the hidden staircase on the west wall. Rather than heading up the stairs he goes through another panel and into the dining room. He runs to the side window and yells back "I see a cloud of dust approaching the hill. Looks like they are around two minutes out." Nanuet finds Maska and tells her "Go girl, go hide but stay close so you can come when I call. Go!" He then finds Alsoomse and goes to her, staying close and waiting for instruction. Alsoomse asks Nanuet "Are you proficient with bow and arrow? The shelves in my office contain various Native American items, including a longbow, shortbow and three quivers of arrows." Nanuet nods with agreement and understanding. "Lead the way." Lawrence exclaims, "Damnation! Anyone got an extra gun? All I own is a little popgun. I better get it anyway." He rushes upstairs to get his Derringer. "I'm not armed," Abby managed between breaths. "I'll be right back." She took off at a sprint for her room where her colt was stored as well as a small pouch filled with spell components, just in case. She barely stopped in the room, rushing right back out to rejoin the others. Roy runs up to his room and grab his gun. He goes to the nearest window and crouches, waiting to pick off anyone who needs it. In Alsoomse’s office she and Nanuet retrieve the quivers and arrows. While in the room she casts a quick spell over both herself and Nanuet, causing a circle of light to travel from head to toe, cleaning their bodies and clothing of dirt in the process. She also grabs a leather basket with berries, consuming a handful and telling Nanuet to do the same. As he eats the dried fruit he immediately feels the fatigue exit his body and is revitalized again. As they return to the hallway she offers a handful of the berries to any of the other diggers who are still around. Abby followed Alsoome's example and used a spell to clean herself up, then accepted the offer of the berries. The digging was harder on her than she liked to admit. Fish grabs and ingests a handful as he heads by. Thomas states, "If they have come here to do harm, which seems likely, they probably think they will have the element of surprise, so it might be worthwhile to find concealed positions along the incoming path, and wait for them to approach, and then catch them unawares from several sides. They will probably send men around the back, so it might be worthwhile to have someone waiting there for them as well. Where do you need me, Parker?" James points out that with Thomas's darker skin tone and covered in dirt he could blend in rather well by one of the archeological dig dirt mounds, suggesting the one closest to the front porch (around 80 feet northwest of the porch corner). Thomas nods, and will head over to the mound to wait for the horsemen Fish follows Dr. Crane, saying grimly, "I hide well, and none of us should be alone!" On his way up from the tunnel, he retrieves his shirt and leather vest (which conceal his throwing daggers). Being the non trusting sort, Ruby almost always had her pistol hidden and on her; strapped to her upper thigh. Today was no different. A few thoughts quickly ran through her mind. "Luiz, I have an idea." She quickly cast a spell and disappeared, making herself invisible. "I will try to detect who they are what they are planning to do. I'm not sure I will be successful but I will try. I will be outside and if there is imminent danger I will let someone know. George you stay out of trouble!" She pinched George's rear end as she moved past him invisibly then made her way outside the house, positioning herself in the direction the intruders were approaching. She retrieved her gun from it's hiding place and readied to cast her detect thoughts spell when the group was closer, but not close enough to hear her. George heads up stairs as Ruby heads out, grabbing his revolver and heading out onto the balcony in the front, to have a better view of what is going on. James and Mina come down from upstairs. In the two minutes he has totally cleaned up from the digging and is in new clothes. A Colt Peacemaker revolver is in the holster on his belt and he has pinned on his Deputy Sheriff badge As the riders crest the top of the hill they slow to a canter and then to a trot. There are a total of nine adult males. Their horses look to be in excellent shape, with western-style saddles and a pair of full saddlebags on each mount. A rifle, shotgun, or both are sticking out from the rifle holsters on the saddles. Seven of the men are attired in standard western attire of cowboy hats, leather coats, leather vests, denim pants, leather chaps, sturdy work boots, and leather belts with gun holsters with revolvers. All but one of these seven look to be in their late teens or early twenties, the other being middle-aged. The other two men are both middle-aged, one attired in a dark suit, the other in an old Confederate army uniform. The man in the suit is clean shaven, the others all with beards and mustaches. Ruby casts her spell when the riders are within 60 feet, then she continues to concentrate on their thoughts, it's especially helpful that they stop within 20 feet of the house. They come to a halt twenty-feet before the front steps. None of the men draw their weapons but most now rest with one hand positioned either to their side near their revolvers or against the saddle near the long-arms. The man with the suit appears to be the leader of the group as he rides up closer to the front steps. Ruby focuses upon the leader, who is closest to her. She is unable to detect anything at all from him. Historically, when that had occurred the individual was either a strong-willed person whose thoughts would always be private or a wizard that had been trained how to shield his thoughts. Looking at the determination on this man's face she concludes that either or both may be the case. Focusing further out on the group of eight beyond him she is immediately overwhelmed by a wave of strong emotions, which vary from excitement to dread. She senses that most wish to be here even though many fear that they will soon be dead. She begins to detect individual emotions, vengeance being the strongest. Other individual stray thoughts that begin to be detected are "Texas pride", "Pa would be proud of me" and that "Justice will be served". Texas pride? she thinks, wondering just what this group is after. She continued to concentrate but otherwise waited for James or someone to come out and ask this group just what they wanted. She readied to cast sleep in case they started advancing further on the house. As she continued to concentrate a sudden loud thought came to her mind, loud because it was repeated by more than one of the intruders. Hardin. She quickly looked around the group for his location. This was not going to end well. But if she could find him perhaps a gun fight could be avoided. James instructs Mina to watch from the window as he steps out onto the porch. "What can I do for you?" he asks. The spokesman and leader says, "We want John Wesley Hardin and James Parker." "I'm Deputy Sheriff James Parker, and you are trespassing. What business do you have with Mr. Hardin?" The suited spokesman says, “Hardin killed my brother.” “And my Pa,” one of the younger men interjects. The man in the suit then says, “Hardin killed kin of every one of us. He was sentenced to twenty-five years in Prison for killing my brother Charlie. Shoulda been hanged, but I was okay with the twenty-five years as he probably wouldn’t have lived that long. I hadn’t counted on some no-account Yankee like you bribing the Acting Governor to pardon him, Mister Parker. Governor Roberts would never have done that.” James replies, “Governor Roberts resigned to teach Law at the new University. Governor Brockton was duly appointed and was within his right to grant pardons as he saw fit. But your accusation lacks evidence, no money ever passed between myself and Governor Brockton.” The man in the suit laughs and says, “No, of course not, you’re too slimy for something that direct. The bribe was for you to go and build him a new school and new library in his home town of Bryan, Texas. All of his relatives now work at those places for high priced salaries.” James replies, “Is that is the extent of your bribery charge? It lacks credibility Sir. If you do some further research you will find that I have been building schools, libraries and hospitals throughout communities in Texas for over thirty years, a period longer than Mr. Hardin has even been alive. Each of those buildings, including those in Bryan, have been named in honor of a dear family friend Andrew Dawson, who died as one of the defenders of the Alamo. Regarding the buildings, I’ve only paid for the initial construction and start-up materials. All hiring decisions and ongoing salaries are the responsibility of the local communities who maintain and run the buildings, and I have no part in that. However, it doesn’t surprise me that Governor Brockton's family have chosen to work at those establishments. His life has been on of exemplary and dedicated public service, so his family members would be inspired by his example and also choose to serve the public. So, please, I invite you to bring me up on charges of bribery based solely on that evidence. Have a judge set a trial date, I promise that I will be there. But don’t be surprised if a jury finds that a philanthropist establishing schools, libraries and hospitals in poor communities is seen as a good thing. I imagine that most Texas juries would also think favorably of honoring those who died at the Alamo.” The older of the cowboys says, “There ain’t gonna be no jury trial back in Texas. We’re gonna discuss this with you among ourselves in private. You two come along if you don’t want to see any of these teachers and students getting themselves in the way.” James replies, “More a case of you not wanting any direct witnesses to what you have in mind. Mister Hardin and I are both going nowhere and you men are trespassing on private property. I will give you five minutes to get off the Timucuan Conservancy land before I have you all arrested.” Ruby held her actions, continuing to concentrate on the thoughts with the hope she would have a warning before violence occurred. She prepared to cast sleep as necessary if shooting started. The overwhelming number of thoughts are a combination of wanting to kill Hardin, wanting to kill Parker, and fear of their own deaths. Ruby does detect thoughts from two different men that indicate that the men assume Hardin and Parker to be the only threats, that everybody else present are defenseless teachers and students. Nanuet stood in the hallway with Alsoomse and Abby, the bow in his hands. He ran through options in his mind and surprisingly came up with a few ideas, should it come to a fight he could impede the horses and men with a soften earth spell, or perhaps obscuring mist would be a better option, preventing the men from seeing potential targets. Should the fighting make it's way into the house sanctuary was a good option. He tightened his grip on the bow as he listened to the threats and accusations fly. Lawrence come rushing down the stairs after finding his gun. He has just enough time to duck around the corner of the house before the riders get close enough. He tries to eavesdrop on the leader as he talks to James. He doesn't like the odds in a fire-fight, but he keeps his hand on the Derringer in his pocket. Lawrence and Nanuet each manage to hear the entire conversation between James and the man in the suit. Fish whispers to Thomas, "MacKinnon's note identified eleven men. There's only nine up there near the porch!" Remaining hidden, he begins to scope the environs for the remaining two men. Looking around from his and Thomas's vantage point by the dirt mound he does not see anybody else. "Well, crap on a cracker!" thinks Fish to himself, "where are those other two mooks?" He whispers his intentions to Dr. Crane. Thomas whispers "Be careful -- they have done exactly what I thought they'd do. I do not believe we have much time before this turns to fisticuffs and bullets." Fish replies quietly before moving off, "Fists I can handle. I duck real good!" he says, smiling grimly, "but I'm not too fond of bullets!" Abby casts a Detect Magic spell and then peeked out the window. These men didn't seem the type to use magic, but the only way to be sure was to look. The spell actually reveals magic on four of the nine men. The spokesman in the suit has a magical ring on his finger and the barrel of his revolver glows, indicating magical ammunition. The cowboy who had spoken and identified himself as Charlie Webb's son also appears to have magical ammunition in the barrels of both his revolver and rifle. One other cowboy has a magical rope coiled up and hooked to the side of his saddle. Lastly, the older man in the Confederate uniform glows in such a way that his entire body appears to be covered by some sort of magical spell, as well as magical horseshoes on that man's mount. During the first minute following James's ultimatum none of the mounted men make any attempt to move. James comments, "Several of us are Duval County Deputies, don't think for one minute that I won't arrest you." The man in the confederate uniform says, "What is that? A joke? Charlie Webb was a Deputy Sheriff and Hardin shot him down in cold blood. And you, you stinking Yankee, think you can buy your away around whatever you want. Neither of you have any respect for the law, so don't go trying to hide behind it now that you're cornered." George is standing on the balcony above and listens to the conversations. He stands there, pushes up his spectacles and crosses his arms. He exclaims, "So you men seek to circumvent the legal system? You did not approve of the lawfully rendered decision, so you decide to take the law into your own hands, is that it? Niether Texas nor Florida is under territorial law, it operates under the United States Constitution gentlemen. So you seek an eye for an eye as Hamurabi would have had it. Well doesn't that put you no better than Deputy Hardin? Would your thirst for revenge cause you to commit crimes? You would seek to become charged with the same crimes as he was. Crimes I might add he was convicted for and served his due time. It would seem to me gentlemen that your best avenue of retribution would be to seek an injunction to overturn his parole. Because at this point, you will not get your private meeting, and more so you have now made threats in front of many many witnesses. And should something happen to Deputy Hardin or Deputy Parker you will be brought up on charges. And the local law enforcement here does not look kindly upon out of state men seeking extra-judicial remedies. I would suggest that you find some other way to exact your revenge, the days of the cowboy west where a man takes the law into his own hands is well past us. Best at this point you look to a court to rectify this situation." George's words appear to have some effect on a few of the younger men who look to and from one another with some hesitancy. Ruby detects uncertainty in their thoughts. The man in the Confederate uniform then looks up and says "Fancy talk Professor, but this doesn't concern you. Head back inside and you won't have to worry about getting hurt." The men looking up at George provides the distraction Fish was looking for as he begins to duck and scoot around the perimeter at half-speed, doing his best to remain hidden while looking for these missing mercenaries. The human eye is drawn to movement, and photographer George Eastman's eyesight is actually above average [20/10 vision]. From the porch roof balcony two floors above the ground floor he now spots two separate things. The first is Benjaimin Trout moving away from the mound where he and Thomas had been hiding, staying low, and not being seen by the nine men on horseback that are looking in the opposite direction. The second movement is from nearly 200 yards away, near the far end of the southwestern edge of the plateau, which is around ten feet higher than the plateau ground around it. He sees a rifle barrel move and track Benjamin. Looking closer at that area, George spots a second rifle barrel, this one trained towards the porch, and he presumes the shooter is waiting for Hardin to make his appearance on the porch. He does not see either shooter, but notices the hill has two bumps behind each rifle, and concludes that each man is probably lying down under a blanket the exact same color as the bare dirt. George puts his hand in front of his mouth as he silently mouths a Magical Message while pointing with his other hand to both Fish and Parker. The message states “On a mound far end of the southeastern edge of the plateau there are two hidden snipers with rifles waiting to shoot Fish and at the porch, be cautious." Back on the porch, James nods in George’s direction. "Ack!" thinks Fish, affording himself a quick glance in the direction of the mooks, "so that's where those rat bastards are!" He throws himself prone behind the first clump of dirt or shallow dip in the turf with the intent of wriggling his way to the complete cover provided by the tool shed. James tells the armed men "Do not think that I am bluffing." The spokesman says, "Right, a businessman against the nine of us?" James says, "I am more than a businessman, I am a graduate of the United States Naval Academy and proudly served in our Nation's military during a conflict well before this was ever a divided nation." Inside the house Mina lets out an explicative and says, "He did that on purpose. He's trying to make himself out to be more of a threat and their target rather than us, James don't be a martyr." Thomas continues to listen to the conversation twixt Parker and the horseman, sensing that violence was unavoidable and imminent. The unwavering intent in the words of the armed men seeking Hardin, with two others obviously out in some kind of flanking or surprise action, made him extremely uneasy ... Thomas knew that his friends, old and new, were a skilled and able group that was probably quite capable of handling the menace posed by these gunmen. Still, if nothing else, his adventures and training taught him that one could never predict with any certainty how a battle might turn out, and that a potentially poorly planned venture always fell apart whenever the unexpected happened. Steeling himself with a deep breath, Thomas decided it was time for him to be the unexpected. He stood up from the mound, loudly whistling an old Southern tune he remembered from his undercover slave days, and walked up and over the mound towards the road and the horsemen. "LAWDY, MR. PARKER!," Thomas nearly yelled at the top of his deep, booming voice, using the Old South Ogrish dialect of English he affected so well as a slave, "OL' TOM MUST BE GETTING EVEN MO' DEAF, CUZ I DIDN'T HEAR Y'ALL'S COMPANY COME UP FOR DINNER." Dirt-stained and grinning from ear-to-ear, Thomas ambled towards the horsemen, feigning a limp while leaning slightly on his staff. "I'S FINISHED WITH ALL THIS HEAH DIRTPILE FO' MIZ PARKER'S HERBS GARDEN LIKE Y'ALL'S ASKED ... I RECKON'S I CAN GO ON INTO THE KITCHEN AND HELPS MIZ BESSIE WITH THE MEAL, IF DESE GEN'MENS BE STAYIN' WIF US." Thomas kept walking towards the men without stopping, still grinning and nodding, basically ignoring anything they said with a "I'S SORRY BUT I'S JUST ABOUT NEAR DEAF AND HALF-BLIND, SO Y'ALL GONNA HAVE TO SPEAK UP!" or a "MY LAWDS, DEM'S IS SOME BYOOT'FUL HORSES Y'ALL'S GOT THERE... I'S PRETTY SURE WE GOTS 'NUFF ROOM IN DE STABLES FOR ALL Y'ALL'S!" Abby moved away from the window so she'd be out of sight of anyone outside, cast a message spell and pointed outside at Thomas so he could hear as well. Then she turned to Nanuet and Alsoome and said, "The leader and Webb's son have magic on their weapons. The confederate has some magic all over his whole body and something on the horse's shoes. The cowboy with the coiled rope has magic on that rope." Nanuet nods his acknowledgment then looks out the window, trying to match the men to the description Abby had just given. He waits anxiously for something to happen. As Thomas shuffles EVEN closer to the men, making a beeline for the leader, he says "MY LAWDS, I CAN ALMOS' HEAR MIZ ABBY'S VOICE IN MAH DUM OL' HED RIGHT NOW, ALREDDY YELLIN' AT ME NOT TO TRACK DIRT ALL OVAH HER CLEAN FLO'S" Hardin sighs heavily and let the barely opened curtain fluttered shut from where he has been watching the proceedings. He steps to the bureau and opens his valise. A minute later, he is purposefully stepping down the stairs, marking the shadows, angles and potential fields of fire. He whistles softly so as not to startle Mina too much and places the valise on a nearby divan. "Ms. 'Mina, if anyone should need a firearm, there are several spares in this bag." As he moves towards the direction of the door, she notices a brace of heavy Colts belted in a cross-draw harness at his waist. He slides forward, but stays in the shadow of the door...where he can see out but remain concealed. His crooked smile quirks as he fishes the badge out of his vest pocket and pins it on. He whispers again... "James, I'm here. I have no intention of swinging...but I also don't want any of you getting hurt on my account. I have recognized several of these boys - Charlie Webb's kin - and I don't think they will listen to reason. If they slap leather..." His voice trails off menacingly. James takes a few steps back towards the doorway and softly states, "Don't blame yourself, them being here now seems to be more my doing than yours John." The suited man states, "Don't you go running away Parker. It doesn't have to be this way. You and Hardin come with us and all the innocent folks here will be safe, we have no quarrel with them." James then says softly to those inside, "Stay close John, the rest of you should probably go into Luiz's office, that's our first floor safe room." Luiz explains, "Yes, the windows, door and walls of that room are resistant to both bullets and magic. We wanted to ensure that I could operate free of interruption." [/QUOTE]
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AGELESS Campaign Episode 2 - Temple of the Cat-Goddess
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