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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Silver Moon" data-source="post: 3528470" data-attributes="member: 8530">Chapter One-hundred-sixty-two, “The Hardware Store”, Thursday June 15th, 1882, 2:30 P.M. When the trio arrives at Madson's Hardware there are now three people in the room instead of two. Two of them, the workman who was there before as well as the new man, are at a pair of sawhorses on the far corner of the room with saws and lumber, apparently making another casket. Kate and Jake both notice that the previous stack of twelve identical caskets is now only ten, four on the two bottom rows and only two on the top. The other man in the room identifies himself as Daniel Madson and asks what he can do for them. Kate tried not to panic, unsure what to do now, and thinks to herself “This is what comes of complicated plans“. Likely the ones they wanted weren't even here anymore. She glanced back at Jake who was lounging in the doorway, then turned a smile for Mr. Madsen. "Uh, well there are a few things I need. My friend Priestess Florencia was there this morning and said you might have some tools, crowbars and hammers and such, although she wasn't sure I'd want to come in, with the dozen caskets inside. It seems she miscounted though, I only see ten." Madson pauses and then replies, "Dick Lester bought a pair for his funeral parlor. He liked our workmanship." She replies, "I had heard it was particularly fine. I believe my husband's casket would have come from your hands in Tombstone." Kate bought a couple sundries to excuse her presence, then went to the door where Jake stood with his usual smirk. "I'm positive the creatures aren't here anymore," she whispered and looked back at Madsen with an embarrassed look before she turned back to Jake. "I think we just need Mr. Harker in here with his smoke. If we don't need to fight in here, there's no reason to get these men out." While Jake is waiting for Katherine, he watches Madsen to gauge from the man's body language if he thinks he is lying. Jake nods and steps away from the door, "I will go see if anyone saw anything come in or out of here, and check with Dick Lester. I will be as quick about it as I can. We do not know that they actually left the shop." He waves Chet over as they continue to walk away from the shop, "If anyone leaves this shop before Harker finishes his work, follow them." "Oh, Katherine," Jake says before he runs off, "Madsen was blinking fast and controlling his facial muscles, I think he was lying to you when he said Lester bought them. But you knew that. I will keep an eye in this direction if you need me while I ask around. I will not be far." Kate says, "Don't worry, you'll hear the screams if things go bad." As Jake left to begin his inquiries, Kate stepped over to Jonathan. "There are two caskets missing now, I think they've been moved already. Let's set off your smoke in the building and clear these men's minds so they can tell us who took them and where." He wanders off to discretely see if anyone noticed any caskets being moved from Madsen's store. Jake seeks out any of the children in the area, especially the young half elves that have been useful to him in the past. Between questioning folks he takes a look back towards the store and keeps his ear open for trouble. There are no children around, not surprising as both schools are in session. However, directly across the street is Kelly's Dry Goods at which either Mary or Kevin Kelly might have seen something and next door to that is Barker's Photographic Studio with their adjacent house, where Stanley Barker is usually at during the day. Feeling like he would have to do less explaining to Stanley, he starts there. He knocks and when Stanley finally answers Jake says, "Hi Stanley, I am helping out Deputy Marshall Martin. Did you happened to notice anything unusual over at Madsen's across the way today? Or anything at all? I am especially curious as to whether they delivered any caskets today." Stanley replies, "Not that I noticed, that would have required a horse and wagon and I didn't see any. But I could have missed it too, Harry Rote was by late morning for his hour-long piano lesson." After Jake finishes with Stanley he goes over to the Kelly's shop. He orders two new tailored white silk shirts and makes some small talk. He finally interjects, "There is something odd about that Madsen and his shop across the way. Do you notice it too? Hard to put my finger on it. For example he has a stack of caskets in there this high and he keeps making more. Does he know something we all should? Is he even selling any of them? I have not seen any of those caskets leave his shop have you?" Kevin says, "None that I can see. He was making them outside for a while until Mrs. Hooten over at the Cochise Boarding House complained, now he's moved his operation inside." Mary interjects "Yes, with all those atrocious stuffed animal heads. I swear, that man is preoccupied with death, human or animal. I am so sorry that he convinced the Maxwell's to sell the house to him. They were good neighbors." Jakes nods, "Yes, that was a shame. You never know though, perhaps-" Jake recalls that back when he worked for Condon's Bank Bruce Maxwell was the junior teller. After Scott Taylor quit following the robbery he was promoted to head teller. Back inside, Nakomo and Minerva wander around the shop. Minerva stops in front of a small, snowy white stuffed owl and looks into it's lifeless eyes." tears coming to her own. She thinks, “So much death here and it's only purpose is to give pleasure to those who gaze upon it. ugh." She shudders and moves between Nakomo and the men at the counter to shield him as he casts detect evil. Nakomo concentrates and prays as Minerva has taught him, thinking "Oh gods and Goddesses of Olympus, reveal to me, the evil in this place so that I may cleanse the earth of it's presence." Nakomo hears sounds inside his head speaking to him in the Yavapai language "You are in the presence of great evil" it tells him. In a brief instant he sees the three men in the room different as they appeared before, all three human males, but with different faces and bodies than he had seen before. The real face of one of the workmen is familiar to him as he has seen it on a wanted poster in the Town Marshal's Office. They then resume their previous appearance to him. Momentarily unbalanced by the vision, he grabs Minerva's sleeve. She turns at his touch and recognizing the dark look of panic leads him out of the shop. As she passes Katherine and Chester she discreetly motions for them to follow. Once outside she leads them away from the building and turns to Nakomo. "Tell us what you saw." The boy replies, "I heard a voice in my head. The gods spoke to me. They really spoke to me!" Minerva nods but says nothing, understanding his experience all to well. “They let me see the men for real. The ones behind the counter, they are not what they look like. I mean they have masks on, different faces on. I recognized one of them from the poster in the Marshals office. The God said that they are all very evil." He continues to describe each man's real appearance. Kate states, "Then we need to take care of them. As soon as Jake is back. They must know by now why we were back, we have to move or they'll be prepared for us when we return. I'll get Jake, don't let them leave." She lifted up the front of her dress to the tops of her shoes and ran over to Kelly's store. "Jake, we need you," she said from the doorway. Jake turns quickly to see Katherine standing in the doorway. "... perhaps he will decide to vacate the place and someone nice will move in. Sorry, have to run." As he heads out the door he adds, "Let me know when the shirts are ready." He follows Katherine, unconsciously adjusting the pistols in their holsters. Kate states, "Seems the men inside the shop are all wearing borrowed faces. Nakomo did that spell that tells a priest when there's evil present. They are all showing themselves incredibly evil. Vampires or no we want these men." They quickly returned to the others and Kate said, "I think we have to move now." She dropped a mirror into her hand. "I'll look to see who has a reflection. We destroy any vampires and try to take down any humans, agreed?" Chester nods and slides a cartridge into the empty chambers in his six-guns. "We need to cover the back door. Once we start, we can't let them escape. Who knows what trouble they could get into." Harker asks, "Deputy, how do we justify our going in and attacking them? The Goddess may have told the boy that the men are evil but that will not hold up in a court of law, even if it is proven true, evil people still have a right to run a business here in America. And if the attack appears to be unprovoked won't that will all but eliminate your chances of being elected Town Marshal?" Kate says, "They also showed him that they are wearing faces that aren't their own, which would be use of magic that priests do not use. Is that not enough, Chester? At least to try and arrest them? And Mr. Harker's smoke set off in the room would expose them, I believe." Harker says, "It should dispel the magic, but they might realize that when they see the smoke and resort to violence. If people are killed there would need to be sufficient evidence to make it clear cut in Isby's court, otherwise Deputy Martin will be the one to pay the consequences." Kate took a deep breath, trying to drown her increasing frustration with reason. "What do we do then? Watch the building until night? And then what?" Minerva states, "Once we have taken care of them, will they not revert to their original forms? After all they are wanted by the law. It seems to me that Chester will be a hero for ridding the town of such vermin. I am not willing to wait until night fall." Chester states, "Nakomo said that one of them was in one of our Wanted posters. We found that out and then we dispelled the disguises. Shouldn't that be enough?" Harker replies, "Perhaps. So how exactly should we do this?" Jake asks, "What does your device look like and how does it work? Will it make it hard to see? Perhaps I can come up with a distraction to draw their attention for a few moments before they realize what is happening." Harker says, "It looks like a glass marble like a child would play with. When dropped while the command word stated it will break and a cloud of white smoke will pour from it and fill the room in around a minute. The effect of the smoke is that magics will cease to work while the smoke remains. If the false faces on the men is caused by a spell that will end the spell. If it is caused by a device then the change would only be temporary, only until the smoke clears, unless the device were found and removed." Minerva states, "They may be magically protected from attack also so we will have to move quickly. Once the magic is dispelled I could paralyze one of them and Chester or Jake could knock one out with a sleep bullet. Katherine could also safely shoot another from the doorway. Of course it would be loud unless I silence the room first." Harker replies, "Yes, but be aware that once the cloud is there the magical silence would also be dispelled." Minerva pushes her dark hair unconcernedly off of her shoulder "It will be loud then. Katherine could stay outside and make sure that no one enters and gets in harms way. and now that I think of it...No offence Katherine... Maybe it would be best if Chester and Jake fired the sleep bullets. We want to be sure our aim is true and they are both excellent shots." Kate states, "I can tell you what items are causing the change in appearance from the doorway, but I will have to do so before Mr. Harker dispels the disguises. Chester, I would suggest as soon as we can see their real identities you inform the man on the wanted poster that he's being arrested. Let's keep everything as legal as we can." Even as she talked her eyes were glued to the building, watching to make sure their prey didn't leave. Minerva states, "And who will be in the room to dispute the legality of this event? We will do what must be done to protect the people." Kate states, "Of course we will, but this time we are taking action in broad daylight in the middle of town, not an out-of-the way ranch or mine. People will know something is happening, Chumbley will ask questions, and they will want to know Chester is not stepping over his bounds. Also, unless you want to tell people about all the hidden parts of the world they don't understand, we need to be able to explain this is dry, legal terms. And try not to kill anyone who isn't a Vampire." Minerva replies, "It is my job to educate others about the hidden parts of the world that they do not understand, but now is not the time for that discussion. Too much time is passing and we are losing the advantage. We must agree on our actions and just do it." she turns to Chester expectantly "Since Deputy Martin has the most to lose here, I will follow his lead." Kate says, "I'll need a moment where no one can see me and then a chance to look in the door before Mr. Harker sets off his smoke." Jake looks confused. "Uh, fine. So no magic will work while the smoke is in there. Chet is just going to march in there and arrest them, or at least one of them. Katherine will tell him what items needs to be removed that create disguises, if any. They might be wizards or vampires or not. We also do not know where the two missing coffins went. Oh, and I forgot, Chet does not know what story he will tell yet about how he knew they needed arresting." Jake shrugs. "This plan is a masterwork of simplicity." Before anyone can chide him for his sarcasm he adds, "I suppose then I will go around back as the Deputy here suggested and make certain none of them run out that way. Try not to shoot me if you can when I come in to help you." He tips his hat, "Ladies, have a pleasant day." Kate exclaims, "Jake, wait. The magic will not work while the smoke is in there. It's important. That's why I need to look in there before the smoke starts. I really don't care what the plan is, it just needs to be simple and it needs to be now and I'm out of ideas. So anyone who can do better is welcome to. We can keep an eye on the place until later, but sadly I think we've already given ourselves away." Minerva's eyes darken dangerously and she marches over to him and holds his arm. When he turns questioningly towards her she smiles sharply and replies. "If you have a better plan, we would be most pleased to hear it. and as for how Nakomo discovered that the men are masking themselves, He has no need to hide his relationship with the Gods. Harker asks, "Would it help the deputies case if he knew exactly who it was that he will be arresting?" Kate says, "I believe so. Anything we know can help." Harker replies, "Well, the boy said the wanted poster is hanging in the Marshal's Office. I believe that your Deputy has access to that building." The Deputy exclaims, "Alright. Guard the doors so they don't leave before I get back. I'll make it quick." Chester jogs to the office. He darts in and scans the bulletin board for the Wanted poster he's looking for. He says, "Hey there. I got a lead on one of the guys here. He's over at the coffin makers in disguise. I just wanted to make sure who our man is." Chester heads back with three wanted posters in hand, not being completely sure of which of the three men was the one that Nakomo had seen. While Chester is running his errand Jake says, "Look, arresting people is not what I do. Neither is this, this," he waves his hands around, "supernatural stuff. I am here to help, fool that I am. If we were certain of anything at all I might be able to bluff something to give us an edge. At this point I have no better plan, it is far too late for that in any case. We are standing about here like a school boy afraid to ask the girl to the dance. Doing something is better than what we are doing. It is best that I watch the back door. Do not worry that pretty smile of yours Senorita, I will be there when you need me. No need to pummel me again." Jake smirks, buttons his duster down to the waist and heads around back. Once out of the main street he carefully picks his way to the back of the store, watching for who may be about and attempting to not be noticed. He moves the flap of his coat off his holster, expecting that he will need the gun before this is through. The Deputy returns. When Chester shows Nakomo the posters the boy points and says, "That one." Of the three pictures Nakomo points to the one that Chester preferred not to think about, Brice Koontz. Koontz and his brother Elmer were both participants with Arthur 'Deadeye' Douglas's Gang during their robbery of Condon's Bank on the thirteenth of January of this year. At at time both Chester Martin and Jake Cooke were employed as guards at that bank and both were shot during the robbery, Jake almost fatally. Marshal Wyatt Earp had fired shots at the fleeing bank robbers and word was that at least one of the Koontz brothers was hit and later had died, although recent rumors have said otherwise, with them both having been spotted near Galeyville within the last month. Chester calls Jake back over and says, "You're not going to like this." He shows the poster to the others. "Brice Koontz is the guy Nakomo recognizes. He was part of the Douglas Gang when they robbed Condon's Bank last spring. Both me and Jake were shot. He would have died if it weren't for Nanuet healing him in time. We owe him one. I'd say that's reason enough for me to go in there and try to arrest Koontz." Harker says, "Indeed it does, he's not just a wanted criminal but wanted for crimes right here inside this town." Kate nodded. "So give me a chance to look inside. I can tell Chester how he's changing his appearance. When he goes to arrest the man he can either pull the item off, or Mr. Harker can set off his smoke. After that I think we have to react to them."</blockquote>

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