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Lost Conquistador Mine (D&D/Boot Hill hybrid)
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<blockquote data-quote="Silver Moon" data-source="post: 4489459" data-attributes="member: 8530"><p><strong>Chapter Seven, “Businesses of Dead Mule”, Friday, November 24, 1882:</strong></p><p></p><p>Once they get outside Emily suggests they visit the Apache Trading Post first. The weathered adobe building has a tile roof. They enter to see that it is primarily a General Store, the center of the room support being an old massive tree trunk. There are several shelves with prospecting equipment and telescopes. An unlit fireplace sits at both ends of the building. A few people are shopping. </p><p></p><p>A young man in his early twenties comes out and greets them with, “Welcome to town, I’m Jack Wesley, welcome to my store.” Jake says, “I was kinda expecting to see this place might be run by an Apache.” Wesley says “Nah, we just call it that. We wouldn’t let any of those Indians run the place, although they do sell me horses.” </p><p></p><p>Emily asks, “How come there is a tree in the middle of your store?” He replies, “Why put up a center beam when one is already standing in this spot.” Jake asks what it costs to board horses. He replies, “How long you staying?” “Not sure,” Jake replies. Wesley says, “How about fifteen-cents a day, that sound about right.” “Sounds better than twenty,” Emily comments. “That would be okay.” They notice the corral out back has two horses and four mules. </p><p></p><p>Emily asks about the buggies and is told “You would have to store them over in the Livery Stable, but I don’t own that, it’s Grafton’s.” Jake says, “I have to tell you Jack, I don’t think the owner over at the High Pass cares much for you.” “Why do you say that?” Wesley asks. Jake replies, “Because he’s recommending that the Grafton stables is the place for our horses to stay.” Jack Wesley laughs and says, “Well of course he is, he’s Jim Grafton! It’s his stable.” The girls laugh, with Emily commenting “Well that makes sense.” </p><p></p><p>Jake introduces himself as Silver Jake Cooke. Wesley’s eyes light up and he says “Oh! Silver Jake Cooke! Pleased to meet you,” as he thrusts out his hand. Wesley then exclaims “You won that there darned poker tournament.” Ginnies whispers to her companions “And he just raised all the prices in the damned store.” </p><p></p><p>Wesley continues to gush “Wow, congratulations. I read all about it in the paper.” “Which paper is that?” Jake asks. Wesley states “The one here in town, it covered that tournament.” “Did they?” Jake asks innocently. Wesley says, “Oh, big time, yeah, yeah!” Jake then asks, “Did they say anything good about me?” “They said you won,” Wesley loudly answers, “Boy, am I happy to see you”. “Okay, well you just take good care of our horses here, and we’ll greatly appreciate it.” Jake states. </p><p></p><p>Wesley rambles on about how he will be happy to take care of their horses, throwing in many uses of the word “Sir” in his response. The storekeeper then goes into a sales pitch, pointing out the various wares of his shop, drawing attention to the shelf of telescopes. Jake asks, “Why would you sell so many of those?” Wesley explains how they are good for prospecting, to see where they might want to dig, I have other prospecting good too. Didn’t I hear that you own a silver mine?’ </p><p></p><p>“That would be true,” Jake replies. “So you’re interested in the mines around here?” Wesley inquires. “Not saying, but who knows,” Jake answers. Wesley shakes his head and mutters “Silver Jake Cooke! Golly! Wow!” Ginnie looks around the shop to compare what he has for dry goods to some of her hand-made items. Jake asks to buy some Colt rounds. He then tries to interest Jake in purchasing some dynamite. </p><p></p><p>Colleen looks at the eight telescopes and asks, “Where did you get all of these telescopes?” Wesley mistakes her comment to imply that he stole them and chides her to not make unfounded accusations. She apologizes. He hands Jake the box of Colt rounds and says “That will be two dollars”. Jake sees where the box is actually marked one dollar. Ginnie notices that too and whispers “I told you that would happen.” </p><p></p><p>Ginnie then points out the price on the box commenting that Wesley “Was mistaken”. Wesley tries to say that it isn’t the original box. Ginnie points out from the writing that it is. They get into a debate with her accusing him of price gouging. Wesley offers to cut Jake a discount and sell it to him for a dollar-fifty. Jake says, “How about this, I’ll buy the box for a dollar and tell all of my friends that you are a honest businessman.” Wesley agrees. They depart, Jake telling him “I may be back for one of those telescopes.” </p><p></p><p>Ginnie asks Wesley about any women’s groups, sewing circles, cooking clubs, things of that type. He says, “Only group of women I know who hang out together are over at the hotel, but that’s for other purposes.” Jake tells Ginnie, “I don’t think that’s what you had in mind.” As they leave the store Ginnie chides Jake “You do realize that you just blew any chance you had of gambling tonight.” “Not necessarily,” Emily comments, “He may have people interested in playing against him due to his notoriety.” Jake explains, “There were two tactics. Either pretend to be a nobody or be a celebrity. I thought this would be most expedient.” </p><p></p><p>They bring their horses around back, Emily noting that the other horses at the Trading Post appear to be wild mustangs. Out of curiosity Jake has Emily check the mustangs to confirm that there are no brands on them. Emily and Colleen work together to calm one of the horses down and evaluate them as somewhat trained and well taken care of. The mules in the corral appear to be older animals. They appear to be unbranded, leading Jake to conclude that the man is somewhat honest. </p><p></p><p>They pull off their saddlebags and head back over to the room. Jake and Morgan take one room. The twins split up with the druids Colleen and Emily taking a room, leaving Cathleen and Ginnie to the third. They head upstairs, finding each room furnished with a bed, dresser and wash stand. Ginnie goes through casting ‘clean’ cantrips on each of the beds. </p><p></p><p>Jake decides to head over to La Loma Alta, a log building partially built into the hillside, which is a saloon and pool hall. An older man gets up and heads over to Jake stating, “Howdy, welcome to La Loma Alta.” Jake orders a whiskey. A half-elf wearing clothes that appear to be Apache, comes in from the back room. “Hey Sam, what’s up?” the older man asks. The half-elf replies, “A bunch of people just rode into town, most of them appear to be kids.” The older man looks to Jake and asks, “You with ‘em?” Jake says, “Yes. I’m looking after them for their parents.” Sam says, “Heard that one of them was a half-breed like me.” “That’s true,” Jake replies.</p><p></p><p>“Anything we can help you with?” the half-elf asks. Jake says, “I don’t know? Do you have better and cheaper services than they offer over at the High Pass?” “They don’t like us people of Elvan blood over there,” Sam states. “Really?” Jake asks. Sam replies, “You’re not likely to find anywhere in town that likes Elves other than this place.” He then introduces himself as Samuel Running Black Bear. Jake introduces himself and it does not appear that his name is recognized. </p><p></p><p>“Happy to see anybody who is a friend of the Elvan people,” Samuel replies. Jake gestures to his heart and says, “It’s all about what’s in there my friend, how you treat others.” Samuel says, “Good to have you here. This place gets lively in the evening, quiet pretty much until then.” Jake asks about the hotel services such as laundry and baths. Samuel tells him to bring his laundry there directly instead of having the hotel do it and save paying a middle-man fee. </p><p></p><p>Jake asks about food and is told that La Loma Alta has an excellent cook, Miguel Jones, but that he doesn’t come in until evening. Sam then adds, “I’m the only doctor in town in case you need it.” “Here’s hoping I don’t, but good to know that,” Jake replies. Jake has a whiskey and chats with Samuel, mostly small talk, then heads out. </p><p></p><p>Jake heads back to the hotel and meets up with the kids, telling about his visit to La Loma Alta. Emily is pleased to hear of another half-elf while Ginnie is interested in his being a doctor. Ginnie suggests that if the town doesn’t like those of Elvan blood they should rearrange Emily’s hairstyle to cover her pointed ears. It is now 11:00 AM and another hour-and-a-half until they serve lunch. They decide to head out, Ginnie heading upstairs to set traps in the rooms to keep out unwelcome visitors. </p><p></p><p>She soon returns. Jake wonders if they should go introduce themselves to the Sheriff. “As if he doesn’t already know we’re here. It’s only a ten-building town,” Geinnie replies. Emily suggests that they go visit the newspaper office. Ginnie suggests that they could be doing historical research about the cannon. Jake decides to stay at the High Pass so that the conversation will be about something other than the June poker tournament. The teenagers head off.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Silver Moon, post: 4489459, member: 8530"] [B]Chapter Seven, “Businesses of Dead Mule”, Friday, November 24, 1882:[/B] Once they get outside Emily suggests they visit the Apache Trading Post first. The weathered adobe building has a tile roof. They enter to see that it is primarily a General Store, the center of the room support being an old massive tree trunk. There are several shelves with prospecting equipment and telescopes. An unlit fireplace sits at both ends of the building. A few people are shopping. A young man in his early twenties comes out and greets them with, “Welcome to town, I’m Jack Wesley, welcome to my store.” Jake says, “I was kinda expecting to see this place might be run by an Apache.” Wesley says “Nah, we just call it that. We wouldn’t let any of those Indians run the place, although they do sell me horses.” Emily asks, “How come there is a tree in the middle of your store?” He replies, “Why put up a center beam when one is already standing in this spot.” Jake asks what it costs to board horses. He replies, “How long you staying?” “Not sure,” Jake replies. Wesley says, “How about fifteen-cents a day, that sound about right.” “Sounds better than twenty,” Emily comments. “That would be okay.” They notice the corral out back has two horses and four mules. Emily asks about the buggies and is told “You would have to store them over in the Livery Stable, but I don’t own that, it’s Grafton’s.” Jake says, “I have to tell you Jack, I don’t think the owner over at the High Pass cares much for you.” “Why do you say that?” Wesley asks. Jake replies, “Because he’s recommending that the Grafton stables is the place for our horses to stay.” Jack Wesley laughs and says, “Well of course he is, he’s Jim Grafton! It’s his stable.” The girls laugh, with Emily commenting “Well that makes sense.” Jake introduces himself as Silver Jake Cooke. Wesley’s eyes light up and he says “Oh! Silver Jake Cooke! Pleased to meet you,” as he thrusts out his hand. Wesley then exclaims “You won that there darned poker tournament.” Ginnies whispers to her companions “And he just raised all the prices in the damned store.” Wesley continues to gush “Wow, congratulations. I read all about it in the paper.” “Which paper is that?” Jake asks. Wesley states “The one here in town, it covered that tournament.” “Did they?” Jake asks innocently. Wesley says, “Oh, big time, yeah, yeah!” Jake then asks, “Did they say anything good about me?” “They said you won,” Wesley loudly answers, “Boy, am I happy to see you”. “Okay, well you just take good care of our horses here, and we’ll greatly appreciate it.” Jake states. Wesley rambles on about how he will be happy to take care of their horses, throwing in many uses of the word “Sir” in his response. The storekeeper then goes into a sales pitch, pointing out the various wares of his shop, drawing attention to the shelf of telescopes. Jake asks, “Why would you sell so many of those?” Wesley explains how they are good for prospecting, to see where they might want to dig, I have other prospecting good too. Didn’t I hear that you own a silver mine?’ “That would be true,” Jake replies. “So you’re interested in the mines around here?” Wesley inquires. “Not saying, but who knows,” Jake answers. Wesley shakes his head and mutters “Silver Jake Cooke! Golly! Wow!” Ginnie looks around the shop to compare what he has for dry goods to some of her hand-made items. Jake asks to buy some Colt rounds. He then tries to interest Jake in purchasing some dynamite. Colleen looks at the eight telescopes and asks, “Where did you get all of these telescopes?” Wesley mistakes her comment to imply that he stole them and chides her to not make unfounded accusations. She apologizes. He hands Jake the box of Colt rounds and says “That will be two dollars”. Jake sees where the box is actually marked one dollar. Ginnie notices that too and whispers “I told you that would happen.” Ginnie then points out the price on the box commenting that Wesley “Was mistaken”. Wesley tries to say that it isn’t the original box. Ginnie points out from the writing that it is. They get into a debate with her accusing him of price gouging. Wesley offers to cut Jake a discount and sell it to him for a dollar-fifty. Jake says, “How about this, I’ll buy the box for a dollar and tell all of my friends that you are a honest businessman.” Wesley agrees. They depart, Jake telling him “I may be back for one of those telescopes.” Ginnie asks Wesley about any women’s groups, sewing circles, cooking clubs, things of that type. He says, “Only group of women I know who hang out together are over at the hotel, but that’s for other purposes.” Jake tells Ginnie, “I don’t think that’s what you had in mind.” As they leave the store Ginnie chides Jake “You do realize that you just blew any chance you had of gambling tonight.” “Not necessarily,” Emily comments, “He may have people interested in playing against him due to his notoriety.” Jake explains, “There were two tactics. Either pretend to be a nobody or be a celebrity. I thought this would be most expedient.” They bring their horses around back, Emily noting that the other horses at the Trading Post appear to be wild mustangs. Out of curiosity Jake has Emily check the mustangs to confirm that there are no brands on them. Emily and Colleen work together to calm one of the horses down and evaluate them as somewhat trained and well taken care of. The mules in the corral appear to be older animals. They appear to be unbranded, leading Jake to conclude that the man is somewhat honest. They pull off their saddlebags and head back over to the room. Jake and Morgan take one room. The twins split up with the druids Colleen and Emily taking a room, leaving Cathleen and Ginnie to the third. They head upstairs, finding each room furnished with a bed, dresser and wash stand. Ginnie goes through casting ‘clean’ cantrips on each of the beds. Jake decides to head over to La Loma Alta, a log building partially built into the hillside, which is a saloon and pool hall. An older man gets up and heads over to Jake stating, “Howdy, welcome to La Loma Alta.” Jake orders a whiskey. A half-elf wearing clothes that appear to be Apache, comes in from the back room. “Hey Sam, what’s up?” the older man asks. The half-elf replies, “A bunch of people just rode into town, most of them appear to be kids.” The older man looks to Jake and asks, “You with ‘em?” Jake says, “Yes. I’m looking after them for their parents.” Sam says, “Heard that one of them was a half-breed like me.” “That’s true,” Jake replies. “Anything we can help you with?” the half-elf asks. Jake says, “I don’t know? Do you have better and cheaper services than they offer over at the High Pass?” “They don’t like us people of Elvan blood over there,” Sam states. “Really?” Jake asks. Sam replies, “You’re not likely to find anywhere in town that likes Elves other than this place.” He then introduces himself as Samuel Running Black Bear. Jake introduces himself and it does not appear that his name is recognized. “Happy to see anybody who is a friend of the Elvan people,” Samuel replies. Jake gestures to his heart and says, “It’s all about what’s in there my friend, how you treat others.” Samuel says, “Good to have you here. This place gets lively in the evening, quiet pretty much until then.” Jake asks about the hotel services such as laundry and baths. Samuel tells him to bring his laundry there directly instead of having the hotel do it and save paying a middle-man fee. Jake asks about food and is told that La Loma Alta has an excellent cook, Miguel Jones, but that he doesn’t come in until evening. Sam then adds, “I’m the only doctor in town in case you need it.” “Here’s hoping I don’t, but good to know that,” Jake replies. Jake has a whiskey and chats with Samuel, mostly small talk, then heads out. Jake heads back to the hotel and meets up with the kids, telling about his visit to La Loma Alta. Emily is pleased to hear of another half-elf while Ginnie is interested in his being a doctor. Ginnie suggests that if the town doesn’t like those of Elvan blood they should rearrange Emily’s hairstyle to cover her pointed ears. It is now 11:00 AM and another hour-and-a-half until they serve lunch. They decide to head out, Ginnie heading upstairs to set traps in the rooms to keep out unwelcome visitors. She soon returns. Jake wonders if they should go introduce themselves to the Sheriff. “As if he doesn’t already know we’re here. It’s only a ten-building town,” Geinnie replies. Emily suggests that they go visit the newspaper office. Ginnie suggests that they could be doing historical research about the cannon. Jake decides to stay at the High Pass so that the conversation will be about something other than the June poker tournament. The teenagers head off. [/QUOTE]
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