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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Silver Moon" data-source="post: 3368509" data-attributes="member: 8530">Chapter One-hundred-forty-four “Be Verwy Qwiet, We’re Hunting Wampires”, Tuesday June 13th, 1882, 10:30 A.M. It takes around two hours for the five riders to reach the general vacinity of the mines. Luna flys ahead to scout out the area. They look around for the mine head, buildings or any other notable landmarks.  Jake keeps an eye out for anyone watching them. Despite her nerves about what they were doing, Kate felt more in place than she had in a long time.  Instead of being separated from her friends, she was with them. She says, "We need information if we can get it, as well as taking down any of these creatures we can," she said.  "Do we have any plan when we get to the mine?  It's not likely to be deserted.  Then again, if these creatures have settled in there, maybe it will be." They arrive. They find there have actually been four separate mineheads, one of which is covered over by a rockslide, another of which has a large wooden gate blocking it, the other two are open into the hillside. One of these has fresh wheelbarrow and boot tracks in and out, the other doesn't appear to have been worked for a while. Chester dismounts and ties his horse. "All right, folks. Don't forget to look at the ceilings, these monsters are tricky. Who's got light?" Chester gestures at the fresh tracks. "Looks like the front door is open. Think it's a trick or just over-confidence, not hiding their trail like that." The lawman shoulders his rifle. "I'd say we want to try this one," Kate said, indicating the less well-used opening.  "They'd have to stay out of the active part of the mine." A very unpleasant thought occurred to her.  "If they've clouded the miner's minds, they could be hiding in the active part." Jake interjects, "I would bet on the one with the gate.  I do not like leaving loose ends around, so we should check on the owners before we do so.  Perhaps those boot tracks."  Looking back to Katherine, "I do not have a plan as yet.  We have the goddesses arrows the boy carries, Chet is handy with a stake, and I have a few tricks up my sleeve.  Best not to split up is my first suggestion." Minerva states, "Hopefully they are not awake this time of day." Chester says, "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. let's try the unused opening first. Then if we have no luck, we'll hit the gated one. Sound good?" Jake says, "Uh, ok.  We will go with your thought Chet.  Let us take care of this." Kate says, "Well, Jake and Chester are in favor of the active opening and I don't object.  Once we're inside and out of sight I'll want to give myself a bit of protection, but otherwise I'm ready." "Let's go see if anyone is home then." Nakomo says moving toward the opening. Jake shoulders his Spencer after loading a pyrotechnics round in the chamber.  He settles his pistols, puts the two sticks of dynamite in an outer duster pocket and shoves a stake in his belt.  Holding an unlit torch he says, "I feel ridiculous.  Let us go.  Lead on Chet, I have your back." Chester nods to Jake. He carries his Spencer at the ready and ducks into the opening without tracks. They make their way through the unused opening and investigate the inner corridors, both of which lead to shafts going down deep.  Holding the torch over the first they see water around 150 feet below.   The other shaft doesn't go down as far, and they appear to be some corridors further down.    There is no mechanism for descending the shaft although there is evidence that braces, pulleys and winches had been present at one point in time. Jake says, "I have rope on the horse.  Do you want to go down?" Chester says, "Yeah, better make sure this tunnel is clear before we move on. I don't want to leave any stone unturned. Going after these monsters more than once is getting on my nerves." Luna glides silently down into the shaft. Assisted by her keen hearing and large light absorbing eyes, see is alert for danger and reports what she sees and hears back to Minerva. Kate nodded and cast the protective armor spell on herself.  Then she wondered how she was going to climb up and down a rope. Luna finds the lower corridors filled with spiders, rats and a small number of bats but no people either dead or undead and no caskets. Using her sharp talons she grabs a rat and swoops back up the shaft. Minerva says, "Luna says there's nothing down there.. Lets go check out the other shaft." Jake states, "Let us try the mine head with the foot prints." "Let's be careful. We don't want to shoot any of your employees." Chester smiles. They cautiously make their way into the shaft with the tracks.   The corridor forks after fifteen feet, with the wheelbarrow tracks continuing on to the left while the boot tracks go to and from both directions. Minerva walks over to the hungry bird. "Come Luna, Save your snack for later. We may need you to check out the other mine head." Jake points to the left. The corridor with the wheelbarrow tracks goes another fifteen feet and forks both left and right with another shaft going down at this point.   The right corridor goes straight for twenty-five feet ending at another downward shaft.  The left corridor curves after thirty feet. Chester makes his way down the tunnel as quietly as he can. He pauses every few yards to try to hear any noises. Luna flies up and perches on the Priestess' shoulder. Minerva walks silently her pistol at the ready, Nakomo trails close behind . Both of the shafts down have metal winches and pulleys by them as well as rope ladders going down. Jake starts to indicate left again but waits for Chet to finish listening. Luna flutters over to the shaft and listens also. Chester hears nothing unusual and turns back to Jake. He points to the left and sees Jake agree. He whispers to Jake, "We're going down the ladder?" They follow the remaining corridor which goes for another fifty feet until it also ends at a downward shaft with winches, pulleys and rope ladders down.   The space is wider here, with two empty wheelbarrows and various picks and shovels are leaning against the wall. Kate followed quietly behind the others, her hand in the pocket of her duster with the wand.  She kept her ears open for any sounds, including any sounds indicating that anyone was actually working this mine. At the end of the left corridor Jake replies to Chet, "Down it is.  I will go first this time." Jake moves as silently as he can climbing down the rope ladder. Chester nervously checks his rifle. He can feel the rock above him pressing down. "I'll follow you." he slings the weapon over his shoulder and climbs down the ladder. Once Chester was clear of the top Kate followed.  Jake had given the best advice of the day, no splitting up. Jake is around twenty feet down the ladder, Chet ten feet down and Kate just starting down when Nakomo hears the sound of somebody approaching from the corridor behind. "Someone is here!' he hisses to Minerva. "Kate, Someone is coming!" Minerva whispers and swings her gun around toward the noise. "Chester, Minerva says someone's coming," Kate passed on the message.  She looked up and down, unsure if she should continue or get back up.  Finally she decided she could not leave Minerva and Nakomo alone up there and jumped back up. A man comes running around the bend.   He is wearing denim overalls over a dirty work shirt.  He has leather boots and a later belt.   His beard is unkempt.   But what really stands out is the double-barreled shotgun in his hands. Minerva recognizes him as a man who she saw playing cards with Jake at the Lucky Lady a week-and-a-half earlier.    Kate sees the man as she scrambles back up the ladder and recognizes him from both that night at the Lucky Lady as well as the meeting where the ranches, farms and mines indicated their willingness to join the new town.   He is Dudley Jobin, one of the owners, and from the look on his face he is less than thrilled with trespassers in his silver mine. "There you are!" Minerva calls out to him, lowering her gun slightly.  "Thank the gods you are alright. We were worried about you! " Jobin comes to a halt twenty-feet before her while still leveling the shotgun towards Minerva, Kate and Nakomo.   He exclaims, "Who in Hades are you people and what are you doing here!" Minerva confidently steps forward "I am the Priestess Minerva Garcia Florencia for the Church of Olympus and this is my acolyte, Nakomo. This here'" She motions to Katherine  "is  Senora Kale." There has been some trouble of late and we are concerned for your safety. Where are the others? Jake hears the commotion up above, strains for only a second to hear what is being said before he continues to climb down more quickly than before. Chester is torn between helping Minerva and Kate and following Jake. So much for not splitting the group up. Chester climbs down the ladder after the gambler. “There was some trouble at a nearby mine," Kate added, her hands palm up in front of her.  "We thought Niles would have wanted someone to check up on the people he was supporting to make sure they were alright.  We are among the people he left shares of his mining trust to. We had expected to meet someone much earlier on." Still uncertain about this odd trio before him Jobin says, "What are you doing here?  I was sleeping in the bunkroom, you could have woken me?   What sort of trouble at another mine?  Which mine?"  At no point does he lower the shotgun. Kate says, "Over at the Cunningham mine.  Some people are missing; someone brought young Simon back into town and he was very shaken up. If we had any idea where your bunkroom was we would have woken you rather than blundered about.  But as I'm sure you've guessed, we don't have much experience with mines.” Jobin asks, "The three of you come here alone?" Minerva states, "No, As Senora Kale said, there are people missing. It wound not be prudent for 2 women and a young man to be here alone now would it? One of the other mine owners came along with the Deputy in case there was trouble. They are around here somewhere making sure that it is safe. Have you seen any strangers about? or heard any odd noises?" Jobin says, "No, 'fraid not.   This isn't a safe place for folks to be wandering around, let's head back to the bunkroom and wait for the others to find us."   He gestures his head to the side back the way he came. Below, Jake reaches a corridor around fifty feet down going off in two directions.  The shaft and rope ladder also continue down for another forty feet to a lower corridor. Jake looks about for any clues to what goes on in these corridors and keeps an ear open up above. Jake sees wheelbarrow tracks and footprints at this level.   He thinks he hears some faint sounds from the corridor further below but the noise is drown out by the conversations between Jobin and the women up above. Minerva states, "Perhaps we should at least step outside. That way we will hear them if they should call for us. I would not want to worry them by wandering too far. They will worry if they cannot find us.” "Yes, I would prefer to go outside.  The caves make me a little nervous," Kate said with a sheepish look. Minerva asks, “re you here alone Senor... I am sorry what is your name?" Minerva communicates silently with Luna . "Follow Chester and Jake. If you think there might be trouble contact me." He says, "Fine, go, I was working all night and am going back to bed.   My name's Jobin and I own this place.   Exit and bunkroom are both this way. "  He turns around leaving his back to them and starts to walk away. Kate quietly slipped a mirror out of her pocket and into her hand, then directed it, trying to see if this man cast a reflection. Minerva states, "Wait, Senor Jobin. You did not answer my question. are you here alone?" He turns back towards them, Kate quickly hiding the mirror in her hand and says, "Just me and Messier, he's probably off working somewhere.  Are you coming or not?  Exit's this way."   As he is talking he swings the shotgun back in their direction but still pointed downward. Minerva asks, "Do you and Senor Messier often work all night?" Minerva is looking for marks on his neck or other exposed areas as she talks. Jobin replies, "We work day and night, how in Hades are you ever going to make it rich otherwise!  You obviously know nothing about mining." Minerva lowers her lashes managing to look contrite. "No senor, I am a priestess not a miner.  We will wait here for our friends." Jobin is beginning to show signs of impatience.   Minerva is still a bit too far away to make out any distinctive markings other than grime and dirt, this man obviously not having bathed in a while.   Jobin exclaims, "MOVE IT, I didn't invite you here."  He gestures for them to move using his shotgun as a pointer. "Come Minerva, let's go," Kate said obediently.  "The gentlemen has been disturbed from his rest."  She moved ahead toward the exit. Without warning Minerva steps in close to see his neck more clearly and in her most intimidating voice declares "We did not intend to wait in here, Senor Jobin. You should show more respect when addressing a Priestess of Olympus." Before he can respond she puts her nose in the air and marches past him into the sunlight. He lets the women and boy leave and retreats back inside while watching the entrance and still holding the shotgun in that general direction. Jake waits another few seconds before deciding to continue his  climb down.  He is startled when the white owl silently flutters between he and Chester, and nearly slips into the tunnel going down.  He grabs the rope ladder extra firmly for a moment, shakes his head and starts climbing down. Jake struggles to make some connection of what is going on.  Turner, Messier, Palmer, Jobin; but nothing clicks.  Messier named his mine after his first love, Beatrice.  What was Job's girl's name?  Could Messier be Mortimer Turner?  No, the woman's name was Bernice.  Damn, what is the connection?  Maybe none you fool, perhaps the mine is just a convenient location. Jake taps Chet's shoulder, points down the shaft and then taps his ear. Jake soon reaches the bottom corridor.  It branches off in three directions.   He thinks he hears some noise coming from the one going off in a northeasterly direction. Jake leaves the torch leaning against the wall for Chester who is still in the tunnel climbing.  He moves off into the shadows as quietly as he can in the direction of the noise.  He continues as long as he can still see in the shadowy light of the distant torch. Jake continues onward with Chester following up a short distance behind him.   The corridor itself has many alcoves where it appears that dirt and rock have been removed.  He hears a sound ahead that sounds like liquid being splattered around. Jake attempts to stay ahead of the torch light at corners.  He pauses only a moment at the sound of the liquid, puzzled.  He continues forward. Kate hurried out into the sunlight, certain that Jobin wouldn't follow them.  She walked further away from the minehead than was really necessary to be sure she couldn't be heard from inside the opening. "He has no reflection," she whispered to Minerva.  "Can Luna alert the men somehow?" Minerva's eyes widen. "May the gods save us! She closes her eyes. "LUNA! Jobin is a vampire! Do not let Jake and Chester come up the ladder!" The sounds get louder as he heads further into the tunnels.   He sees a dimly lit room ahead where the sounds are coming from.    Peering carefully around the bend he sees two people inside.  One is a large man using a large scooped shovel to scoop up mud from a large mud pool in one corner. He is depositing it into a bathtub-like basin with a wire screen on the bottom, the liquid flowing though into another tub below.   Once the tub is filled the large man then places a wooden slab over the top and cranks a press above, pushing the mud through the screen, not unlike the way an apple press makes cider.    He then uncracks the top and removes it, revealing only rocks left on the screen.  He lifts up the screen and pours the rocks into a large wooden crate.   The second man in the room is M. Paul Messier, attired in the same neat but worn suit that he had worn to the Lucky Lady ten days earlier.  He is steated in a chair reading a book while the other man works.   On a small folding table beside him are the candle illuminating the room, a handgun and a metal wand. Jake hides himself quickly and motions for Chester to stop moving.  Removes the mirror from his pocket and attempts to get a glimpse of the man from around the corner.  He is careful not to let the mirror reflect the candle light back into the room. The large man shoveling the mud has no reflection.   Jake is unable to do the same check on Messier without risking a reflection from the candle. Minerva whispers to Nakomo. "Have your arrows at the ready." When Jobin disappears from sight she cautiously makes her way back to the entrance. "Minerva, what are you doing?" Kate whispered and stuck her hand in her pocket to grab the wand. Minerva replies, "I am trying to see what direction he went in. We can not let Chester and Jake get trapped in the hole! If Jobin is a vampire then Messier is probably one also! Jobin said that Messier was wandering around somewhere.” Kate replies, "I know.  But getting past Jobin will be difficult.  He'll be listening for us now.  We will either have to be exceptionally silent or be prepared to destroy him.  Are we?  Without help?" Minerva answers, “If Nakomo's arrow is true. It will destroy him." Minerva communicates to her animal companion, "Luna, what is going on down there?" Luna communicates back that Chester and Jake are in a dark corridor and Jake is peering ahead behind a wall into a larger candle lit room.  Luna also communicates that there are a number of rhodents around, many of which look very tasty. Jake removes the two sticks of dynamite from his duster.  He cuts the fuses short, estimating only about ten seconds.  He inserts them, walks quickly to Chester and lights them whispering urgently to the Deputy, "Run!"  He turns, tosses the dynamite into the cavern towards Messier and the large man.  He then runs after Chester while drawing his long barreled Colt. The corridor shakes with the sound of the explosion in the room behind where Jake and Chester have run.   Dirt and dust erupt from behind filling the hallway and making it hard to see.</blockquote>

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