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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Silver Moon" data-source="post: 3487661" data-attributes="member: 8530">Chapter One-hundred-fifty-seven, “Return of the Hooded Riders”, Wednesday June 14th, 1882, 10:30 P.M.An uncertain amount of time passes with the two locked in the embrace. Kate laid her head against his shoulder and wrapped both arms around him underneath his jacket. Her fingers massaged his back along his spine. Slowly the tension of the last days drained away although the fatigue remained. "Oh, I've been needing you," she whispered. She kissed his cheek and chuckled, "You and a good meal,"She pulled back a little and kissed him again. "You took the rest of the night off, why don't we get something to eat and I can tell you about what's happened over the last two days. We could go over to the El Parador, unless you're still worried about interruptions and want to go to the Gay Lady instead." He replies, "The El Parador will be fine now that things are right again between us.""Mmm, home. Privacy is very nice, but just a bit dangerous. Your kisses are far too tempting to resist for long." She pulled her hands back slowly, letting them slide along his back and sides before she slipped them away completely. "I just need to let some people know where to find me, then we can eat. I doubt I'll be needed again tonight."Conrad says that he will meet Kate at the El Parador in twenty minutes. He heads back to his home where he washes up and puts on a fresh shirt and tie. Kate ran back down the street to where Mr. Harker was now waiting alone to let him know where she would be, and to tell him not to wait forever for Jake, but to try at the Lucky Lady if it got too long.Patient Meribel had been stabled before they went into the grove, so Kate ran home and changed into a dress, explaining to Janet Fly that she was just running back out to get something to eat. She brushed her hair out loose and behind the closed door of her bedroom used a cantrip to clean herself up. At the last moment she added the slightest bit of perfume.When she arrives he is at a candlelit table with a bottle of wine awaiting them as well as a plate of Dorita's appetizers. He says, "I would have ordered the food too, but didn't want you to think I was trying to make decisions for you." She stopped to kiss him lightly before taking her seat. "I appreciate that," she said, leaving any comments on the difference between dinner and Wyatt Earp for another day. "I tend to crave certain things these days. Of course, some of them I can't get, like strawberries. Kate Higgins didn't seem to happy with you."He replies, Yes, well, there's a reason. Maybe you should do your candle trick and I'll explain further." Kate took a pinch of powder from a folded bit of paper she carried and discretely dropped it into the flame with a murmured phrase. "Much better. I hope I'm not the cause of your trouble. I've tried not to interfere with your work."He replies, "No, it's not you, it's this upcoming poker tournament. She had agreed to sponsor both myself and the Long Branch's other top gambler Wendell Spaulding for the tournament, paying half of our entrance fee. Well, earlier tonight she spoke to us about it. I won't go into the details, but the bottom line is that rather than each of us trying to win for ourselves she expects us to be sure to favor her new friend Adair. I refused and said I would pay my own entrance fee and intend to win."Kate states, "So she wanted you to cheat? I suppose she might not consider it cheating if you're not trying to win, but still. I know you would never agree to such a thing, but I'm sorry for the strain it's going to cause you at work. Mr. Spaulding didn't object? I hate to be telling tales, but maybe Jake should know about this?"There had been several days worth of happening to catch up on with Conrad and it was quite late when he finally walked her home. Kate slept soundly once she finally got home. Thankfully Janet Fly was already asleep. Ginnie was not, having got wind of the fact that Katherine had returned. She repeated the tale of what had happened over the last two days, then sent her girl and herself off to bed.Through the night, Minerva and Nakomo take turns watching the Liberty Party headquarters. The tired priestess relaxes her guard as Apollo peeks over the horizon, bringing a measure of safety with his presence. Minerva retires to her room and prays for guidance. Luna flies through the window. "Buenos Dias, Luna. Did you see anything of interest during your patrol of the town?" Luna indicates it was a quiet night with minimal movement around town. Minerva and Nakomo alternate sleeping and watch throughout the night while Luna continues her patrol.At around an hour before dawn Luna returns to alert her that a wagon driven by a trio of dwarves has rapidly ridden into town, stopping at the Marshal's Office where they carried a human body in the back of the wagon inside. "Minerva reaches over and pats Luna's head. "Gracias, Luna. You have keen eyes." She picks up her weapons and enters Nakomo's room to wake him. She finds that he is still dressed and is sleeping soundly sprawled across the bed. She sakes him gently. "Luna says there is another body. I am going to the Marshals office to see what I can find out."He jumps out of bed. "I will come with you." She nods her assent and he grabs his bow and follows her out the door.They head through the quiet darkened streets until they reach the Office. They enter to see a trio of dwarves, including the Unity Party Town Council Candidate Vidkan Gerhardtsohn as well as Deputy Marshal Helen Barker. A human body with visible wounds lies on the floor with a blanket beneath but not covering him. The man is wearing a dark hood like those of the riders who attacked the town the previous Sunday. Barker states, "Hello Minerva," she states, "Is there a problem?" The Priestess moves toward the body looking for wounds "I could not sleep. Who is this?" she shrugs her head toward the body.Vidkin's friend translates for him stating "The hooded riders, the ones who attacked our mine last Saturday, they came back. This time we were waiting, they got more than they bargained for. There were eight of them, we brought down four of their horses and this one. The others rode off." While they are talking Marshal Berg arrives.Minerva moves forward. "I will pray for his soul." she steps forward and leans over him to examine him, looking for anything unusual. Nakomo stands behind her fingering his bow. She takes out her holy water and anoints him keeping in mind that he could be a vampire. here are no marks near his neck or any other indication that this man is among the undead. The holy water also has no effect on his body. She finishes her task and steps back. "What happened to their horses? And the riders who were on them when you took them down."The dwarves reply that the dead horses are still at the mine. The other outlaws doubled up on the remaining mounts when they exited. Two of the ones who lost horses were wounded, one from the falling horse another from wounds inflicted by the dynamite traps set for the hooded riders. Vidkin adds, "I doubt they'll be back given the beating they took."Minerva states, "We should get one of the ranch owners to look at the horses. If the horses are from local ranches we may be able to identify which ones. I will speak to Senora Kale about it. She is familiar with the brands of the area. We should ask Doc Eaton to alert us of any injuries that he treats today. Do we have any of the horses from any of the attacks that are alive?"Berg says, "Yes, they were among the ones rustled two weeks ago from the Phillip's Ranch." Deputy Rodriguez says he will follow up on Minerva's suggestion and return with the dwarves to the mine to check the brands on the dead horses. Helen says she will go talk to Doctor Eaton. We will be at the El Parador having breakfast. If anything else develops please let us know."At 5:30 A.M. Chester Martin is awakened by a knock on the door of his room. Thom's voice says, "Deputy Martin, Marshall Berg needs you over at his Office." Chester grumbles in his sleep for a moment. Then he sits up in bed and rubs his eyes. With a searching hand, he turns up the lamp sitting on the nightstand. The dim light is enough for him to see the clock in the room. "What is it Thom? It's half past five."Thom repeats, "Marshall Berg need to see you in his office, now." "OK, OK. I'm up. Let me get dressed, then I'll be right over." "You're not mad at me, are you?" No, no, Thom. I'm not mad at you. It's just early, that's all. I'll see you later." Chester gets dressed and straps on his gunbelt. "Please don't be another killing. This place can't take any more of this." He walks over to the office and enters. Eduardo and Chester arrive simultaneously not long afterwards. Chester sees who is there and says, "Morning, Marshall. What's happening? More trouble from the riders?"Berg updates his deputies about what has transpired over at the Last Ditch Mine and some of the Priestess's suggestions of what to do for the follow up. Vidkin then repeats what they have said. Berg reaches down to do the unveiling one the hood. It reveals a man with a brown beard and mustache and receding hairline. Berg says, "I've never seen him before. Have any of you?" None of the other present recognize him either.The mention of another attack chases away any drowsiness Chester had. "Good for them dwarves. Sounds like they gave more than they took. Marshall, you didn't recognize the dead fellow? I guess someone is bringing in outside help for this. We should definitely bring in a rancher to see if he can place the horses. Who do we trust enough for that? Someone from Shaw's ranch would do." Berg tells his deputies and the Priestess "You may be right Chester. The most there were last time was eight, we killed two, and now there's eight again. Well, let's see if we can find somebody who can identify this guy, that'll at least give us some direction."Chester says, "It's a long shot, but let's start with the local hotels. We should get a photograph to make things easier." Berg says to Helen, "Can you set that up?" Chester continues, "If we don't get any luck here, we'll have to go to the nearby towns, Galeyville first. In the meantime, figuring out whose horses we have will cut down on the list of suspects. These guys must be getting money from someone."A few blocks away Kate awakens. After all of the business and danger of the last few days it was a relief in the morning to go into the schoolroom and teach. A wood elvan family named Santos arrives. They are new to town having come from Texas. Mrs. Santos has a long conversation with Kate about their son Matthew and his classes. She says that he has enjoyed his first few days of school and she should be proud of what they have accomplished. Kate states, "Your son is doing very well, we're impressed. I'm still a little surprised by it all, myself. It's a much grander undertaking than I'd originally imagined, and thank goodness for it. With all the help the school has received we can offer much more to the students."The priestess and her protégé walk over to the El Parador in search of a strong coffee and a hearty meal. Dorita welcomes Minerva and Nakomo to the El Parador. She is pleased to be able to offer the Priestess some freshly ground coffee that just arrived from Columbia. They are each served up a nice meal. Given the early start of the morning there is no need to rush, as it will still be a while until 7:45 when Nakomo will start school.They are soon joined by Doctor James Eaton, whose very presence in her establishment clearly surprises Dorita. The Doctor orders a cup of coffee. He shows some urgency in his voice and tells Minerva, "Priestess, I was concerned when I heard that you and Father Harbrace were both called away. I trust this has something to do with those arrows that the Goddess gave to you. I confess that I do not fully understand what is going on, but the desires of the Goddess take precedence over all else. I....I'm not sure how to tell you this, but based upon things that I have seen and heard I believe that there may be wizard magics involved with this whole matter.""Minerva sips her coffee and offers the Dr. a seat. "Por favor, sit and tell me why you believe this to be true." Doctor Eaton reluctantly takes a seat and says, "Well, my business associate Ron Porter, he runs an apothecary shop. He says that a lot of his inventory seems to have disappeared. At first he thought a crate or two might have gotten misplaced on his trip here from Tombstone, but he now thinks otherwise. He says what is missing is very specific things, items that could be used to create magical elixirs. He thinks some wizard may have stolen them. Given what the Goddess said I'm thinking it may have been those creatures. Devils would use devil magic wouldn't they?"Minerva's brows knit together and her mouth purses into a thin line of disapproval at the bias of his comment. "I leave the judgment of others abilities to the gods Senor. Now tell me specifically what items were stolen and when." Eaton replies, "No, but Mr. Porter would probably give you an inventory if the town's Priestess asked him as he is a rather religious man." Jim Eaton departs. Not longer afterwards Jonathan Harker arrives. He asks Minerva "Are you interested in paying a visit to that new hardware store where we suspect some of the undead may be at?"When Doc Eaton stand to depart, the priestess and Nakomo rise also. "Gracias, Doctor. I am grateful that you have come to me with this information. I will go to the apothecary after breakfast. May the goddess keep both you and Senora Eaton safe from this evil." As they are about to resume their seats Jonathan Harker arrives. Nakomo and Minerva follow him out, leaving their breakfast behind.On their way Harker tells Minerva "Daniel Madson ran a hardware and taxidermy in Tombstone but got burnt out last month. His brother Bronco lived around here, working out on the Thayer Ranch, so Daniel decided to move here. He bought out a private residence up on the corner of Sierra and Front Streets."They arrive at Madson's Hardware and Taxidermy, a two-story wood framed twenty by twenty-five foot building. The shop is on the first floor and is open for business. Mounted on the walls are stuffed animal heads and several whole animals mounted on plaques. The northern and eastern wall is covered with shelves with various hardware goods. But what their eyes are drawn toward is along the western wall, namely a dozen nicely caskets, stacked four wide and three high. They are identical to the pair of nicely made caskets that had been found and destroyed in the Cunningham Mine. Two men are in the building, both bearded and in standard western garb. "May I help you?" one asks.Minerva steps forward smiling brightly. "Buenos Dias Senores. I am the Promise City Priestess of Olympus, Minerva Garcia Florencia, this is my apprentice Nakomo and Senor Harkin's. We have come to see your fine shop and ask how you are faring since the fire. It would appear that you are recovering well." she admires the animals on the walls and strokes the pelt of a preserved fox." You do fine work!" She nods toward the caskets "Do you plan to preserve people as well?"Daniel Madson replies, "Always been one of my specialty, and from the way the ranchers have been getting killed off by that lunatic Earp there appears to be a real need. Do you like the workmanship? I use a much better board than the scrub pine you find around these parts and mix the stain myself. I feel that the departed deserve to have some place decent for their remains."Minerva walks over to the caskets and turning her back to the man, runs her hand over the wood as though admiring the quality and attempts to detect any evil within them. Minerva senses a presence of evil from the none of the caskets on the top two rows or the two on the ends of the bottom row, but does detect evil from the two bottom caskets surrounded by the others. She also gets a sense of evil from both Madson and his assistant, but nowhere near the extent that she got when near vampires.Minerva's grits her teeth as the sensations of evil flood her mind. but her smile is in place when she turns back to the men. "The craftsmanship is lovely." She continues to browse noting the layout of the room and the placement of windows and doors. The main door is on the south wall. Another door is in the back. There is a staircase up to the second floor. There are two windows on the south wall. She notes dark curtains pulled back on both sides of the windows.Nakomo and Harkins wander about the room casually browsing and keeping alert for trouble. Minerva continues to make casual conversation and then wishes the gentlemen a good day before exiting the shop. When they are out of earshot, she shares what she has learned with Harkins and Nakomo. "Those men are evil and the caskets on the bottom harbor evil as well. We must get everyone together and destroy them before night fall."She turns to Nakomo. "You need to get to school. When you arrive find a way to speak with Senora Kale privately and inform her of our find. Tell her we will meet this afternoon after school at the Lucky Lady to decide on a course of action. Sr. Harkins, I would like you to find Deputy Martin, Senor Tomlinson and whoever else is involved in this and have them meet with us also. I need to go and speak to Senor Porter at the apothecary. I will meet you all at the Lucky Lady at 2:00." Minerva makes her way to the apothecary.Back at the Marshal’s Office Deputy Helen Barker takes the photograph of the dead hooded rider and the lawmen spend the morning circulating it around. A few ranchers recognize him as "A John somebody". Icabod Shakelton is asked to come in to identify him and confirms that it was the man named John who had seen with Jason Snavely the previous Sunday morning. Further inquiries uncover the man's full name to be John Rouse and that he was a miner in Galeyville before the silver played out.Three of the four dead horses have the mark of the Phillips ranch and match the description of those that had been rustled two weeks earlier. The fourth appears to have had a different brand but it has been burned off. When the group meets back in the office a little past noon, Chester says, "I can't say I'm surprised the Cowboy Gang is mixed up in this. I bet Snavely was one of the riders who got away last night. Since this John Rouse came from Galeyville, what can we do about it?" Berg says, "We don't have any authority there, but the sheriff does. If the riders hired Rouse, they may have hired some of his friends."</blockquote>

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