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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Silver Moon" data-source="post: 2849425" data-attributes="member: 8530">Chapter Thirty-four, “The Lynch Mob”, Saturday May 27th, 1882, 10:15 P.M.Pierre Jaquet has charged into the Lucky Lady yelling "Deputy Barker, Deputy Martin, Emergency!"   Chester gets up from the table. His chair clatters to the floor. "Excuse me, I got to go." He hurries over to Pierre. Helen Barker follows shortly thereafter, hand on her revolver. "What's going on, Pierre. Is it the shop?"    Kate exclaims, "Good heavens, Mr. Jaquet. What's going on?"  He exclaims, "Mob...an angry mob...they just stormed out of the Palace and marched down Fremont Street. They're outside of the Marshall's Office with guns demanding that the Indians inside be turned over to them to be hanged! Some of them want to hang Deputy Rodriguez as well."  Chester says, "Son of a gun. Helen, let's go. He's going to need our help."   Kate states, "That's absolute madness! Someone must have gone in there and purposely fired them up. How many, and how drunk are they?"  Neil Cassidy stands up and exchanges glances with both Travis Calhoun and Niles Hoover. He announces "Gentlemen, it looks like the Committee for Racial Equality needs to back up our words with actions. He then glances towards Helen and Chester and adds, "Provided that you Deputies will allow us to join you."   Stanley Barker quietly pleads to his wife Helen "Five sounds like better odds than two".  Chester says, "We'd be happy to have you. Consider yourselves deputized for this." Kate hurried up the stairs where she still kept a stash of bandages and grabbed the bag. "Phil, Maman, I need you to stay here. That mob is between here and the El Parador," she said when she got back downstairs. "Henry would you come with me? I'm not going all the way there, just to the corner by the Comique where we can see and I can help if worse comes to worse."Helen agrees and Niles hands out weapons from behind the bar to Neal and Travis, taking the shotgun for himself. Jem Calhoun and Jeremiah Peck offer to come as well but Travis says, "If they're looking to hang Indians you two had best head back to your place Jerry before somebody remembers your wife Cornflower."  Chester comments, "I don't know. They might be safer with us."The Deputies are led by Chester back to the Marshall's Office. There are around thirty men gather outside, many of them prospectors and miners. Near the front of the crowd is Evan Adair surrounded by his men Prosper McCoy, Dave Carleen, Bob Skull and Nick Karp. Other familiar faces in the crowd include Ike Sherman, Porter Norris and Gregory Reston. Chester also spots the two ranch and farm hands who helped them find and apprehend the Indians among the crowd. Nearly all of the men are carrying firearms. Chester raises his voice. "Folks! Please go home. The Indians are in custody. They're not going anywhere." Somebody yells out some profanity in response as the Deputies move up to the porch of the Marshall's Office. Only then does the door open and Mitchell Berg walk out. He is holding a shotgun but not pointing it at anyone.    The Deputies are led by Chester back to the Marshall's Office. There are around thirty men gather outside, many of them prospectors and miners. Near the front of the crowd is Evan Adair surrounded by his men Prosper McCoy, Dave Carleen, Bob Skull and Nick Karp. Other familiar faces in the crowd include Ike Sherman, Porter Norris and Gregory Reston. Chester also spots the two ranch and farm hands who helped them find and apprehend the Indians among the crowd. Nearly all of the men are carrying firearms.  Chester mutters to himself, "I should have guessed they would spill the beans. Too late now."  Chester raises his voice. "Folks! Please go home. The Indians are in custody. They're not going anywhere." Somebody yells out some profanity in response as the Deputies move up to the porch of the Marshall's Office. Only then does the door open and Mitchell Berg walk out. He is holding a shotgun but not pointing it at anyone. Bob Scull yells "You'd best move out of the way and let us through. This is a human town and it's time them redskins realized it."  "Idiots," Kate muttered to Henry and stealthily handed him Tom's pistol. "Bigoted idiots. Do you know how to use that if you have to?"  Chester tells the mob, "Why don't we let Judge Isby figure out if they're guilty or not, huh?"Even Adair says, "They're just following your lead Deputy. You dealt decisively with Pony Deal and Johnny Ringo, you didn't save them for Isby."   Chester shrugs and yells back, "They should have surrendered then, like the Indians did. You ought to remember that." Mitchell Berg says, "Enough of this nonsense. Deal and Ringo chose their own fate, these Indians are safely behind bars and the Judge will get to them Monday morning." One of the prospectors yells out "Aw go to Hades, the only good Indian is a dead Indian. We're just saving the Judge time." Another man yells out "Stop protecting them ya Indian lover." Berg raises his voice louder and says, "I'm protecting THE LAW. These men may very well be hanged, but that's up to the judge to decide." Some of the crowd begins to move forward. Helen Barker raises up her pearl-handled revolver. Following her cue, Martin, Cassidy, Hoover and Calhoun raise up their guns towards the crowd. Berg keeps his gun lowered still holding the shotgun with one hand. He then reaches into his suit jacket with his other hand and the tea-toteler uncharacteristically removes a small stoppered metal whiskey flask. He pops the stopper off with his thumb, down the contents, then drops the flask onto the porch. He then bellows to the audience "I said enough of this nonsense. I'm telling you men now, walk away right before this gets any uglier."Kate looked around her, seeing everyone's eyes glued to the scene, then turned her body toward Henry so they were facing one another. "Go with me here," she whispered. "When I stop muttering give me a hug." She started fussing with his sling, standing very close and cast a detect magic. Then she leaned forward and hugged her brother, hoping that anyone who might have seen would have just seen a fussy woman giving a man a hard time. Kate turned back to the scene and concentrated on Mitchell Berg.She hears her father's voice behind her state "I'll take that gun Henry." She turns and see her father standing with Michael Seawell, Judge Lacey, Henry Pleasants, Emery Shaw and a man she assumes to be Ferdinand von Zeppelin. Seawell and Shaw are both armed, the others are not. Seawell turns to Pierre and says, "Looks like the Marshalls could use some help. Could you get us some guns from your shop? That'll save us a trip cross town." Pierre agrees and Lacey goes with him to get the weapon. The Caudells have also followed Kate out. "Need a hand Henry?" Nate asks. Pleasants looks towards Seawell and says, "Nate's my best friend. He'll hold up well under fire. He was a First Sergeant at Gettysburg." The men all obviously caught Caudell's North Carolina accent but that doesn't stop Seawell from replying, "Welcome onboard Nate. Just so there's not too many chiefs here you follow my lead." "Yes Sir," Caudell replies. They are still waiting for Jaquet and Lacey to return from the gun shop two doors up. Mollie says, "I can handle a gun too." Pleasants replies, "I know you can Mollie, but now is not the time." Caudell said "She's calm under fire. She was with me for over two years back during of the war." Seawell says "Many wives accompanied our Army as nurses too. Stay close Mrs. Caudell, we may be needing those skills as well." Mollie looks like she's about to say something else but another look from her husband silences her.Kate held up her bag a moment and said, "Bandages. I'm a terrible shot. Can't hit a thing. I know how you feel though, Mrs. Caudell. I'd like to give them all a beating with my own two hands."  Mollie mutters back, "You don't know how I feel. I can do anything they can, Nate and Henry both know that too."   Kate says, "Perhaps not, but when we know each other better you'll see I understand more than you'd imagine. Until then..." Kate made sure none of the men were looking and quickly pulled the derringer from her bodice. "Take this." Kate's Detect Magic spell kicks in. She can see that all five of the men from the Palace have magical aura around the barrels of their weapons, indicating magical ammunition. Evan Adair also has on a magical ring and Bob Scull is wearing magical gloves. A group of six men who she has never seen before who are either miners or cowboys also appear to all have magical ammunition in their firearms. One of these six also has a magical vest, another has magical boots and a third is covered in a magical aura indicating a magical disguise. She also notices that the shotgun shells inside of Mitchell Berg's gun appear to be magical in nature. She then detects a few drops of magical liquid on his lips and a few more drops on the mouth of the flask that he drank from.  Minerva has been readying the guest room. The windows throughout the house are open inviting the cool evening air inside. She leans out the window to inhale the perfume of the fragrant desert flowers she has planted just this afternoon. She cocks her head and listens to the sounds of the creatures who roam in the night and catches a faint roaring sound caught in the breeze. It seems to be punctuated by the staccato of angry voices. Must be another saloon fight. she thinks to herself before she turns back to the task at hand. She walks into the parlor and smiles at the boy. "There now, you will sleep in a comfortable bed tonight... but If you are anything like your cousin, I am sure that you must be quite hungry by now. I shall see what I can find in the ice box and then we can sit and get to know one another better."  She casually comments to Nanuet. "Must be a fight brewing at one of the saloons. You can hear the ruckus from here. Hopefully it isn't at Ruby and Jake's place."Nanuet states, "Here my love, unlock the handcuffs and then I will go and see what is going on. I did give my word that I would watch over their house, but I can's see why anything would be going on there." Minerva unlocks the cuff from Nanuet's wrist. He gathers his knives and rifle in case the raised voices lead to violence. "Are you staying here or coming with me? Nakomo, it is for your safety that we must leave you here, I am sure you understand" Nanuet says as he cuffs his wrist to a cross beam on the table. "You gave us your word, so please stay here until we return."Minerva grabs her rifle, a box of shells with regular and magical bullets, and picks up her parasol on the way out. She turns back to Nakomo. "We will not be long."  Nanuet and Minerva head in the direction of Ruby and Jake's house. Once they realize where the sounds are coming from they will approach the area where the raised voices are coming from.   While that is going on Dave Carleen and Neil Cassidy are exchanging words, with Cassidy indicating that he, Hoover and Calhoun have been deputized. Adair exclaims, "The Merchant's Association didn't authorize that." Helen says, "The bylaws allows the Marshall to make temporary appointments." Meanwhile, Berg remains silent as he looks toward his deputies. Hoover and Calhoun each turn and nod to him.   Chester then hears Berg's voice inside his head state "Chet, turn and nod if you can hear me."   Chester shouts, "You heard the Marshall, get going." He turns toward Berg and nods. Chester says in a low voice, "Can you hear me? Or is this trick one-way?"  Berg doesn't show any response to Chester's thoughts while first Neil Cassidy and then Helen Barker each turn and nod to the Marshall. Nanuet and Minerva heard Chester's voice shouting although they cannot make out the words. They move closer.   Ike Sherman yells to the lawmen and law-woman “Are you daft? We outnumber you five-to-one. Why throw away your lives for a bunch of stinking Indians who Isby will just hang anyway.” Berg remains stiff lipped and doesn’t reply. The other lawmen remain silent too.  Nanuet and Minerva catch the last half-sentence of Sherman's shout as they near the Marshall's Office and Jail from the rear. Approximately 100 feet to the north Lacey and Jaquet finish passing out the weapons. Frederick Seagram checks the pistol that had belonged to Kate's husband. "Papa," Kate said and walked up next to him. She dropped her voice to a whisper and said, "That crowd is loaded with magic. Mostly bullets."  In a soft voice he says "Who Princess? Quickly, we're about to go."Those five," she said, indicating the men from the Palace. "And those six there, I'm not sure if they're Cowboys or miners. That one is hiding his real face with magic as well." She pointed out Adair and Scull, as well as the man in the vest and the one in the boots and added, "They have other things as well, I don't know what they do. Be careful."He replies, "I will Princess." A shiver runs down her spine as he repeats a pet name he hasn't used for her since the time of the Civil War.  The gathering of war veterans at the intersection of Main and Fremont are all set. The mob some 100 feet to the south haven’t noticed them yet. Seagram says “Okay troops, we’ll walk together, weapons forward but pointed down.” The seven men head southward in a single row across the street.Kate watched them go wishing she could take that walk with them. There were things she could do with magic, but with Mollie Caudell there it was too risky. It had been chancy enough using the one spell she already had. Still, she mentally considered each spell she had learned that morning, preparing herself in case she had to take the risk. Henry was unconsciously pulling at his sling. "Damned arm," he muttered.Nanuet pulls Minerva back to where they won't be seen and hopefully not heard either. He quickly casts Sanctuary on Minerva and then Bless on them both. They then attempt to move into a position where they can see and hear the mob but not be easily spotted.Chester tenses at Sherman's threat. he doesn't <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /> his pistols, but he prepares to do so. His gaze scans the crowd until he finds the two ranch hands. Chester stares at them and shakes his head side-to-side in disappointment. Nanuet and Minerva realize that the closest they can get to this angry mob without being seen is the thin alleyway between the north wall of the Marshall's Office and south wall of the County Claims Office. They approach the rear of the Marshall's Office. The Marshall and the Deputies remain silent while an unknown cowboy yells out "We want them elves and we want 'em now."  The Circle-R ranch hand Flynn yells out “Them Indians hurt me bad, it’s time for some vengeance. Move out of the way you fools and let us through.”  Palace Saloon gambler Nick Karp yells out "The only good elf is a dead elf". Several men near him echo that sentiment with one adding "Give us that stinking elf deputy too!" "Rotten elf lovers!" Ike Sherman hollers. Minerva and Nanuet both realize that him stepping forward right now would be tantamount to suicide. She too wishes to help, but given her known relationship with an elf it is just as likely that any direct actions by her at this point could be the spark that sets off this powder-keg instead of diffusing the situation. That thought is confirmed when she hears Even Adair's voice, a man who personally hates her, yelling out "Too scared to talk Berg?"  The Marshall and his men remain silent for a few more minutes.   The Marshall finally speaks up. He loudly states, “What I’m going to do is give you all to the count of ten to lay your weapons down in the street and walk away. You can reclaim your guns tomorrow.” Kate's father and his companions are 75 feet away and walking towards the mob, still unseen by the mob and the law officers. A crowd of people who had been in the Comique, Lucky Lady and Alhambra saloons gather near Kate and her family at the intersection of Main and Fremont Streets. Another crowd starts to form on Fremont Street across South Street between the El Parador and Rixton's Furniture although those in the area of Elvan blood are smart enough to remain indoors and unseen, watching from the windows.With each new person who joined the crowd, Kate felt more trapped. She turned to her brother again as they stood against the wall of the Comique on the Fremont Street side. "Stand in front of me," she said, nudging him between her body and the crowd even as she guided him to the fringes.   She checked again to make sure all eyes were on the scene and not her, then quietly and rapidly cast a See Invisibility spell.Minerva's anger is tempered by fear for Nanuet's safety. "We must get in a position where we can help Marshall Berg without being seen." She scans the area looking for a building with a second story window that would be suitable to shoot from if it should become necessary.</blockquote>

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