"Revenge, Renewal and the Promise of a New Year" (Boot Hill/D&D)

[Silver Moon]

Chapter 145, "Allies and Information", Wednesday, January 18th 7:00 PM

After hearing of the Earth Spirit Chester comments “I might need a bigger gun.” Ruby says, “I don’t have a choice. If Kate’s going then I’m going.” Chester comments that is sounds like Billy Comstock and his army friends may be involved in this but probably don’t know what it is that they are actually hunting. Ruby says, “How are we going to defend this spirit from these hunters? Are we going to have to kill them? I generally don’t have a problem doing that but some of you might object.”

Kate says “Maybe we could get the Marshall to stop them.” It is pointed out that the Marshall’s jurisdiction is limited to the town, not the Dos Cabezas Mountains. The Deputy Sheriff would have jurisdiction but there are only one or two deputies for the entire eastern half of the county and they are currently out looking for stagecoach robbers.

Ruby contemplates that there might be some way to hide them. They decide to ask Mr. Gonzales for help if he has returned. Chester says, “Maybe we could destroy the tracks that the South American spirit left.” Ruby then raises the point that the evil spirit may attempt to attack them. She suggests that they may want to find it before it finds them. Ruby then says “How will we be able to tell which is which?” Kajika replies “You will meet one tomorrow. She will be with the child. The one that you do not meet is the other one.”

Kate speculates that her South American friends could be one of the hunting parties. They had said that they were in the area seeking revenge against the killer of Miller’s uncle. She had assumed that was a person but in hindsight realizes that it could have been the evil monster.

Chester speculates that Buffalo Bill is one group, Comstock’s group another, the South Americans a third and the group with the giants, bugbears and ogres a fourth. Ruby says “How are we supposed to defend against them? They’re all seasoned hunters.” Chester points out that they’ve now made friends with two of these groups and that he has personally met Buffalo Bill Cody a few times so they could maybe try to talk to these groups rather than fighting them. He says that he doesn’t know about the monster group, but they had a few humans with them so they could try negotiating with them.

Ruby reiterates the idea of disguising the area, maybe hiding the entrance to the cave. They talk about maybe trapping the area. Ruby says they could also try to convince the hunters that there aren’t any earth spirits. The comment is made “Ah yes, move right along, these are not the earth spirits that you are looking for.” Kate points out that they still have another day to assemble things to help them. Ruby comments that they could really use Jake. They discuss the idea of visiting Flint at the ranch to see if he has any more dynamite.

Kajika says “This is a great responsibility and I’m glad that you are all up to the task.” He adds, “This is Riley’s destiny to assist you.” Ruby comments, “What’s he going to do? He can’t even shoot straight.” Nanuet turns to Riley and says, “You’ve had these dreams. Now that you know what this is all about do you have any other insights as to how we can go about this task?” He replies, “Nothing more than what I already told you.”

They ask Chester about what Comstock told him. He says, “They didn’t know what they were to hunt, Buffalo Bill hadn’t told them yet.” Sanoma says, “I’ve read about this Buffalo Bill. He has the ego the size of a buffalo. He wouldn’t have shared any information that could have given the other groups an advantage in this hunt, wanting the glory for himself.” Sanoma also notes that somebody had to have spotted the evil dragon to tell about it, otherwise Buffalo Bill would not have known of it. She suggests that they perhaps find that person. Ruby questions if there is enough time to do that.

Kate suggests that they should consider a strategy of getting the hunting parties and the evil dragon to fight each other. Nanuet suggests the strategy of creating a false trail for the hunters to follow. Ruby whines “We need Manuel!” Sanoma says, “No, we need to do this on our own.” She replies, “Then he’s nuts too! The fate of the whole continent, in our hands?”

She says “He should be the most concerned, you elves will be alive for the creature’s whole lifetime. I’ll be dead and buried.” Nanuet says, “It will affect your descendants. Your children’s children’s children.” She says, “Don’t talk to me about children,” and turning towards Sanoma says “Stay away from me with your fertility stuff.”

They decide to head back to town, speculating along the way about what type of supplies they should bring along with them. Nanuet points out that he has money for the supplies. Ruby says, “Good, because I have no money. I just purchased a saloon.” They decide to get food, weapons, ammunition, something to camouflage the cave entrance,

The reach town, secure their horses and head over to the Lone Star, arriving there at around 8:30 P.M. Sanoma suggests that they not discuss this in front of the customers but as people have ideas they go into the kitchen and tell them to her. She says that she will make the supply list as well as an idea list, writing down each on her slate board.

It’s the typical Wednesday night crowd with the exception of Neil Cassidy being absent from Job’s table, having too much work to do at the lumberyard with two employees under quarantine. Ruby’s singing is not up to her usual standard as she is mentally distracted.

Chester is sent up to the Silver Dollar to find out what the hunters may have said while they were there. The first thing he is told is that he Silver Dollar closes at 9:00 PM so if he’s drinking there he’d best do it soon. “A little early for last call,” he says to himself. He asks the bartender about the giants and hairy creatures. Haywood Smith complains “Yeah, they wouldn’t let us close. They stayed until quarter past ten and didn’t even leave a tip.”

Chester asks, “Do you know what they were in town for?” He replies, “Hunting.” Chester asks, “Did they say what they were hunting?” Haywood answers, “No, they didn’t know themselves. They were meeting Buffalo Bill today at noon up in the hills to find out.”

Chester returns and tells this to the others. Nanuet decides that he and Maska should maybe try to follow some of these hunters tonight to find out where they are. Nanuet talks to Sanoma about her being able to turn people invisible. She explains how that is normally a more powerful spell than an apprentice could do but that her Great Grandfather provided her with a magic item that allows her to substitute Invisibility for a lesser spell as it is one that he really wanted her to be able to do. She says that she has never tried to cast it on anyone except for her and her horse but should be able to. She successfully makes both Nanuet and Maska invisible and they depart.

The night at the Lone Star continues to be uneventful. They review Kate’s spells and conclude that an Enlarge would to increase Chester’s size, weight and strength and thereby allow him easier use of the hand cannon. Kate plans to again use the Mage Armor spell on herself. They discuss using Charm and Persuasion spells to influence the leaders of each hunting group into moving on. Kate notes that none of her spells last for very long but adds that if these encounters aren’t over quickly they are already in trouble.

They discuss how to use Nanuet’s poison to coat the weapons, noting that if the put it onto projectiles such as bullets it will ruin the gun. Sanoma suggests creating a small and thin drumhead to place at the end of the gun barrel and putting the poison on that. Ruby comments that maybe that will only be for the spirit and not any other opponents. She says, “It could also be for the ammunition not the weapons. It might not harm the weapons?”

Sanoma points out that saving the continent is more important than a few weapons. Sanoma comes up with the idea of just getting nails and other assorted objects from the hardware store and coating them with the poison, essentially using them as caltrops. They discuss who uses what weapons. Sanoma mentions that she is proficient in using a cast iron frying pan as a weapon, that he mother taught her. “I used one of those myself,” Ruby says.

They then discuss what they might need to acquire to make traps. Sanoma suggests using grease and oil since it can make things slick and then also be lit on fire. Sanoma still promotes the idea of matching up the hunters up against the evil earth spirit.


Nanuet and Maska encounter very little difficulty in tracking the path left by the giant monsters, isolating the different types of tracks. The follow where the tracks leave town and head up to the hills to the east beyond the mines and human settlements. He locates where the creatures slept the previous night. The three-quarters moon provides ample light.

Maska discerns the different scents. They conclude that these creatues are traveling both together and apart, appearing to be two distinctly different groups, camping and eating separately. Four of the ogre-types are with one human while the others are with the other human. Interestingly enough, the human with the four ogres left his camping area a complete shambles whereas the one with the huge creatures left far less evidence that they had been there.

They follow the trail for another two miles to the east and slightly south, arriving at the large rock formation known as Cochise Head. They find the tracks here of three other groups all of which appear to be mounted humans. These groups appear to number four, six and twelve. Further examinations shows this largest group actually consisted of only nine mounts with riders, the other three tracks apparently being pack animals.

The five groups came together in a canyon valley near Cochise Head and then fan out in four different directions, one to the east, one east-north-east, one north-north-east and the monster group to the north. He follows this one for a short distance until they then break off into the same two groupings as before. Nanuet decides that it is best for him to now follow the trail of a group who can understands the languages of. He backtracks to the area where the groups had met.

He decides to follow the smallest group, deciding that four-on-two are the best odds. He heads off after the four horse tracks. It takes him about an hour to get to the higher elevations. He is about a mile-and-a-half up at the place where the uppermost point of the Chirachua Mountains meet the southeastern most point of the Dos Cabezas Mountains. He approaches Wood Mountain, the fourth highest peak in the area and around two-and-a-half miles southeast of Fisk Mountain.

The trail heads up the southeastern face. He sees a campfire on the western face of the mountain around a mile-and-a-half away. The group that he is approaching does not appear to have made a campfire. He sees the four horses tied up adjacent to a stream. It us rough and rocky terrain and the horses are in the open. He recognizes the animals as having been boarded at the El Parador, as they are the mounts belonging to the South Americans, who Nanuet helped stable when they arrived in town.

He approaches, seeing that the men have positioned themselves on a defensible peak. He makes out three of them with his infravision, the human, the elf and one of the half-elves. He decides to scout around the area for the fourth person. He then hears the missing half-elf, as he is casting a spell onto the area where Nanuet is standing. Nanuet suddenly becomes visible. Maska however remains cloaked in invisibility. Nanuet recognizes Carlos Wyman who says, “I know you. You work at the El Parador. Why have you followed us?” His three allies are all standing and pointing weapons in his direction.

Nanuet tells the four South Americans “I followed you because we are trying to stop this hunt. The future of both of our continents is at stake.” Antonio de Sucre lowers his weapon and motions for he the others to do the same. He says, “Come, join us.” They ask Nanuet if he would like something to drink. He is thirsty from the mountain climbing and answers “Yes.” They pour from a canteen into a metal cup and hand it to him. The drink tastes like a sweet honey mead that does not appear to be alcoholic.

Antonio asks, “You know of this hunt?” Nanuet replies, “Yes, I know of this hunt. What is your reason for hunting?” The human William Miller says, “The creature that we are hunting killed my Uncle. Nanuet asks, “Where exactly have you seen this creature? Have you ever seen this creature?”

He replies, “No, we have not personally. But others working at my Uncle’s ranch in Argentina saw it. It had been attacking the animals on the ranch. It had killed and eaten several horses and cows. To protect his livestock my Uncle led an expedition into the mountains searching for this creature to stop it. It attacked them and killed my Uncle. I am seeking to avenge his death.”

Nanuet says, “Do you realize the power of this creature.” Miller gestures to the others and replies, “Yes, that is why I have brought my friends with me.” Bolivar speaks next “During the Wars of South American Independence from Spain General Miller was a staunch ally and supporter. He was instrumental in leading the pivotal battle in Peru that drove the Spaniards out. Antonio and I owe much to his memory and will do what we can to avenge his death.

The half-elf wizard Carlos Wyman speaks up saying, “My father was one of General Miller’s officers. The General risked his own life to save my father after he was presumed dead. I too owe the man this debt, for I was born after the war and would not ever have been born otherwise. If it is within our power to rid the world of this creature we will do so.”

Nanuet says, “You hunt the spirit of your continent. It embodies the spirit of that land mass.” General de Sucre says, “Yes, we know of Ihuaivula

We are aware of the spiritual nature of it. It has harmed the wood elvan people for centuries. If we can rid the world of it then that is the thing to do. Now that it has traveled here to North America you should permit us this hunt, otherwise it will remain to raise havoc on your land as well.”

Nanuet asks, “Did you meet with the other people who are hunting?” Bolivar replies, “Yes, we met with them today at noon.” Nanuet says, “And they hunt the same creature as you?” Bolivar replies, “They hunt a dragon. They obviously do not know the true nature of Ihuaivula or even what it actually looks like. We decided it best to keep that information to ourselves.”

Nanuet says, “There is more than one dragon.” From the exchange of glances to each other this information is obviously news to them. Nanuet summarizes the story for them. They realize that having a good spirit replace the evil one would be a good thing. Nanuet asks “If you did not know it came here to mate then how is it that you knew to come here?”

Bolivar explains how for the last half-century he and Antonio have traveled the world and participated in a number of great adventures. “Because of our fame and proven ability to handle most obstacles there were one of the groups that the showman P.T. Barnum contacted to find and capture the dragon, wanting to display it as an attraction in his circus. “Alive?” Nanuet asks. Bolivar says “He would have it stuffed. But Buffalo Bill Cody wants to capture it alive to display it in a Wild West show that he is putting together.”

Nanuet raises his voice and says, “They obviously have no idea what they are up against!” Bolivar agrees saying, “It is sheer folly of him to think that Ihuaivula could ever be captured and controlled. Our interest in the creature was just to see it gone from the world, but glory, profit or both motivate many of the other groups. They are all on safari to kill or capture a dragon. My group alone knew the true nature of the beast.”

Nanuet explains “Our goal is to protect the infant and its mother. Killing of the evil one does not conflict with our goal, it supports it. Any way that we can help you kill this creature supports our goal is well.” Bolivar replies “I does not matter to us who slays the evil one, just so that it is dead. But we honestly don’t think that any of the other four groups have the necessary resources to kill such a creature.” Nanuet says, “But if the creature has targets other than you who could serve as a distraction for it then that would help you to slay it.”

Nanuet asks, “Do you know of the plans of any of the other groups?” Bolivar says “They are only known by reputation. Cody and Comstock were soldiers and buffalo hunters. Neither of them has ever hunted anything like this creature. Cody is also more of a showman and many in his entourage have no hunting skills.

Big Jim, a skilled professional whose twenty-year experience is with hunting African big game, leads the group with the Antarctic creatures. The ogress with him is believed to be his mate. They have considerable experience and the large creatures with them appear to be quite powerful. I would not underestimate this group but Ihuaivula is still far more powerful than anything he has hunted before is. They would also be an unreasonable group to try to deal with. He probably doesn’t care about P.T. Barnum or any reward, he would be here strictly for the challenge.

The final group, the four half-ogres and the Southern gentlemen, they’re just insane. I don’t know anything about them but in the short meeting at noon today it became obvious that they relish killing and will do and kill anyone and anything to get the money from Barnum. In my entire political and military career I have met some unbalanced people before and this man would certainly quality with the craziest of them.

Nanuet says that the other dragon and its child will be able to travel on Saturday. If we can keep any of these other groups away from them that would be ideal. Miller says “According to Cody there were three sightings of the dragon within the Dos Cabezas mountains but it is unclear exactly where.

Buffalo Bill as the organizer of this safari had all of our groups begin at Chochise Head and enter at the southernmost point of the Mountains. While the groups are not working together he felt that it would be best for us to all generally move in the safe direction to prevent the creature from being able to hide or escape as we sweep northwest to the other end of the mountain range.

Nanuet says “You indicated that some of the ranchers in South America saw this dragon. Exactly what does it look like?” Miller replies “From the eyewitness accounts Ihuaivula is a hydra, a three-headed dragon.” Nanuet says “I am familiar with legends. A hydra would not have wings and the power of flight.” Miller says “This hydra does have wings. Only the center of its three heads is that of a dragon. Another is that of a lion and the third is that of a goat. It is also of vast size, with estimates of it being fifty-feet long from head-to-tail.

Nanuet tells them “Tomorrow night I will have better information as to exactly where the good dragons are. We think that the evil one will be leading the hunters to where we are going to be. Perhaps once we know where it is you could help to lead some of the other groups astray.” They agree to this.

They consider leaving the mountains but Nanuet advises against it, not wanting to tip off any of the other groups to any change in strategy or tactics until he can meet up with them again. Nanuet comments “It shouldn’t be hard for me to find you again.” They appear to be offended by that assertion. He explains that he is a skilled tracker and of his animal companion.

Wyman says “Do not underestimate us. Until now we have not made any attempt to hide our tracks. That will change as we get into an area where it appears that Ihuaivula is or has been recently.” “How can you tell?” Nanuet comments. Miller replies “There is too much game in this area here. Ihuaivula has a voracious appetite, the game will be scarce.” Bolivar adds “We will also want to make our location less obvious to the other hunting parties.”

Nanuet suggests that they set up a possible meeting place, but this is difficult as neither group knows exactly where they will be yet. Nor do they know where Ihuaivula is hiding so traveling quickly to reach a specific meeting spot would not be wise.” Nanuet says “There has to be some way for our groups to communicate. Perhaps something magical?”

They each give Nanuet a small article of clothing to enable his animal to better detect their scent. He decides that is an appropriate time to introduce them to Maska. Wyman is impressed that the animal has such good resistance to magic at it had remained invisible when hit spell encountered it. Antonio says “I noticed the horses were acting a little agitated, so they must have sensed your animal, but we had not.”

The Mage Carlos Wyman looks through his backpack and comes out with a small metal rod. Carlos says “If you are within 800 feet of us I can cast a Detect Object spell and locate you. That rod can also be utilized by you to signal us. It is a single use wand that sends up a fireworks-style flare.

Carlos instructs him “You state the incantation Lamentamo and an invisible beam will travel upwards. Once it has traveled three-quarters of a mile it will light up. It will be visible for miles. We want you to point it north of where ever you are while holding it at a forty-five degree angle. Anyone seeing the light will either not know what it means or assume that whoever caused it is right below. But we will know that you are a half-mile south of that point and look there for you.” Even after you use it do not discard the wand as the Locate Object could still be used to find you. Nanuet thanks them and returns to the Lone Star, arriving there at closing time.

 

[Silver Moon]

Chapter 146, "Back at the Watering Hole Saloon", Wednesday, January 18th

Jake and Red sleep well into the morning. After they awaken they head out into the main saloon and Red cooks them up a fine breakfast of bacon and eggs. He says "Jacob me boy. How do you feel about being Mr. Allistar again today? We have some more banking to see about as well as revisiting Beck's jewelry." "I'm game." Jake replies between mouthfuls of food. "I'll be glad to get the business over."

They go through the routine of the change and heading out about town. Red explains his philosophy to Jake of never keeping his money all in the same place. He tells Jake that Tucson has six banks and he makes use of all of them, depositing a total of one-fifth of what he makes locally.

He says that each of his six guards has access to an account in a different one of each of the six banks, so that they can draw their weekly salary whether he is around or not. Everytime he comes back he awards them with a substantial bonus, which is incentive enough to keep any from considering emptying the account. He says that each banker, but not the guards, knows that he has instructions to pay each man the balance of each account if word should ever get back to Tucson that he has been killed, that thereby serving as their severance check.

The two larger and better connected banks, the ones visited the day before, are where Van Horne keeps accounts. One-fifth of his earnings are wired from each of those to banks in San Francisco and New York.

The remaining forty-percent of his earnings are sent ten-percent each by Mr. Allister, who maintains accounts in the four smaller banks. He explains how while he does trust each bank owner he still wants the confirmation telegrams for each long-distance deposit. They visit in quick succession the Commerce Bank of Arizona, Harris Trust Bank, MacGillicutty's Bank and National Bank of Arizona where on Monday he wired $ 4,000 from each to banks in Baltimore, Charleston, Chicago and Sacremento.

Since Jake is playing the part of Allister they hand him the receipt telegrams. After leaving the bank Jake attempts to hand them to Red but he replies "Keep them. You may have need of those bank names and account numbers. I think that Adair won't try to harm you and your lady in the short-run, but I could be wrong. I'm going to let you bring the Allister chain back with you to Promise City. I don't want you to use it unless you need it to make a quick escape.

If that happens you may not have time to get to your own resources and may need access to funds. The best bet would be for you to come back here to my safehouse but that may not be possible. But whatever direction you run to could bring you to one of those four cities, where you'll find enough to live off of for quite some time." "Red that's too generous, and won't they miss Mr. Allister here? Don't you need him?" Jake asks earnestly.

Red says, "I'm not giving you anything, simply a loan me boy. When I see you again you can return it. As I said, I don't want you to use it, only for an emergency. As for the money in the six other cities plus this one, only half of that is in Allister's name, the rest I will still have access to as Van Horne. And if you do have to run away and use some of that money Van Horne is listed on Allister's accounts as well, so I would be able to check if any money has been withdrawn and know which city to look for you in. And they won't miss Allister here since he wouldn't be here anyway with Van Horne off to either Benson or Bisbee."

"All right, I'll hold them for now. Thanks again. Why don't we go visit Mr. Beck and see how my luck holds up?" At the jewelry store Mr. Allister has a nice friendly conversation with Mr. Beck. When it appears Mr. Beck is tiring of the small talk he says, "I see much fine work here, do you enjoy working in silver? The reason I ask is I need some gifts made for some friends. Something unique and made for them. It is a playing card theme. I need a set of heart shaped earrings with the queen design and some spade cuff links with the jack design. Is that something you would be interested in? If not could you recommend somebody?"

Lastly Jake brings up the jewelry for sale. "I have enjoyed admiring you work once again Mr. Beck. Have you decided whether or not the jewelry I showed you yesterday is of interest to you?" Beck writes down what Jake is looking for and says that he will see what he can find. He replies "As for the jewelry you showed me yesterday, the offer that I made you of $ 1,000 is as much as I can afford to pay for them."

"Mr. Beck I will accept your offer." Mr. Allister and Mr. Beck work out the details arranging for the money to be transferred to a convenient bank for the two of them. "I'll stop by in a couple of days and see what you think about the silver items." and with that bids Mr. Beck a good day.

As Mr. Allister, Jake spends a few hours shopping, picking up some odd items. He tries several upscale shops inquiring if there is any interest in the gold box, but not finding any. There appears to be a glut of both silver and gold made items in the area due to the presence of so many mines.

Later in the day Jake says to O'Brien. "What do you have in mind for this evening. It's been so long since I've seen you I'd be perfectly happy just getting some food, enjoying drinks and chatting." Even in his Allister disguise, Red is struck that in some ways Jake hasn't changed a bit when he says in his dead pan voice, "Of course, you know I'd be up for a little bit more."

Red decides that he and Jake should visit the various saloons in town where poker is taking place, but not with Mr. Van Horne. So Red uses the Mr. Allister chain and Jake goes as himself with the name of Mr. Jacob. They take in seven different saloons by the time last call rolls around. In each they spend most of the time sitting at either the bar or a table by themselves and observing and evaluating each poker table, bouncing ideas and observations off of each other and sticking around long enough to determine if their predictions were correct.

It is only in the final two places that they actually join into any games. Even at those locations they don't play to win, rather, to meet pre-determined goals while competing against each other. At the Tucson Belle Saloon Red sets a target that the winner of the friendly competition between the two of them is whoever can finish closer to $ 10 ahead without going over after forty-five minutes of play. Red wins, hitting it exactly on the nose whereas Jake winds up $ 8 ahead.

They do the same in the next saloon, The Oxen Ford Inn and Saloon, the target this time being $ 7 below where they start without being under that, this time based upon the number of hands played rather than a timed factor. Jake wins that one with $ 7 under while Red blows it on the last hand and goes under, finishing $ 10 below the starting point.

They head back to the Watering Hole where Red first asks Jake for a detailed critique of both of them from the two saloons. He then supplies some of his own observations. He concludes by saying "Jacob me boy, you've done well. You are a far better poker player now than you were in Missouri." The two turn in for the night and sleep well into Thursday morning.

During their late Thursday breakfast Jake asks O'Brien about some pointers with his gun. "I'm still carrying the same Colt, and I practice religiously with it. I've yet to come across a better gun." He unconsciously touches it in his holster. "I could use some expert advice though to get better. Another set of eyes to help me improve, see what I don't." They talk some more and make arrangements over the next two days to have some shooting lessons, transfer the money from the jewelry sale to one of Jake's accounts in Promise City, and check in at the California bank about those foreign notes.

Red agrees and during Thursday and Friday they make arrangements to do some target shooting at a sandpit over near the railroad stockyards. The money is sent to the First National Bank of Promise City to Jake's Account from Mr. Allister's. The Californian bank indicates that most of the foreign notes are no longer honored, having been issued by governments that are no longer in power, however a handful of notes can still be redeemed, valued at a total of $ 138.45 after currency exchange fees are taken out.

Mr. Allister and Mr. Jacob continue to watch and play poker at the various saloons in town. On Friday they are joined by Roy Carterson, one of the six hired guards from the Water Hole Saloon who Allister had been teaching how to play poker. The three of them continue Red's challenge game of picking a win/lose spot after either a certain time frame or number of hands. After playing this at nine different saloons in town they finish up with Red having won five, Jake two, Roy one, and Jake and Roy tying at the other.

Red appears to be more genuinely happy than Jake ever recalls him being. This short respite in Tucson also brings a sense of relaxation to Jake, enjoying finally having a spell where nobody is shooting at him. Friday night ends with Red still keeping tight lipped about Abilene.

During breakfast Saturday Jake discusses his travel plans. "...so if I leave on the train tomorrow I'll should make Promise City by Monday night. I don't want to leave my three new investments too long." "Three?" Red remarks. "The mine and the saloon but what else Jacob?" Jake grins and raises his eyebrows. "Ah, you truly are married me boy." Red says chuckling.

"I'm just having a good time and you are jealous, Patrick O'Brien." As Jake's laughter trails off he continues. "I hope I can see you again soon. At least sooner than last time. I'm sure you'll let me know some way. I don't mind travelling to Tucson once in a while. But how long is Mr. Van Horne going to operate out of Tucson? Seems to me your poker playing is more hard driving business than fun. Driving is a good word for it. You are driven like I'd not seen before. And it is not just to avoid the noose in Missouri is it, you old drunken Irishman?"

"I hope that you can visit me in Tucson from time to time, but I'm not here that often. We'll have to work out a way for me to signal you when I'm coming back. As for my driving myself, in the last few years I had way too close a pass with death, and more than just that time in Missouri. I'll tell you more about that tomorrow before you go. It taught me that I don't want to be doing this for the rest of my life. I figure another year as Van Horne and I'll have enough of a nest egg to retire for life.

As for fun in town, that happens tonight. The Watering Hole is basically a front, but a front that never has any customers becomes obvious to anyone watching that it's more than it appears. So every Saturday night we have a high stakes poker game here that draws a small crowd. I have a professional dealer and his assistant come in on the train from Tempe to run the game. He and I each put in $ 1,000 to start him out and any profits are split evenly.

He's the main dealer but if I'm around I run a back-up table for folks waiting for a space to open up at his main table. If I'm not here he has his assistant run the back-up table. For the last several months there have actually been enough people showing up for a second back-up table. My dealer sometimes brings a second assistant, but that's not always possible. That's why I've started to teach Roy Carterson how to play the game better. I figure he'll need another three or four lessons from me and he'll be ready to deal.

Anyway, the doors here stay locked until 5:00 PM, which is around an hour after my dealer's train comes in. It's first come first serve for his table, and the back-up table is usually filled by 5:30 these days. The game usually runs until 2:00 AM, or until my dealer loses the $ 2,000 on the rare occasion that he has a really bad night. So we should take it easy today, we'll probably have a long night ahead of us.

Jake comments, "Sounds interesting. How much money do your high stakes customers need to get in? And what do you need me to do for you?" His eyes get that poker twinkle as he says it. "Just how good are these guys?" Red replies "They need a minimum of $ 100 to sit at the table. Each hand starts with everyone putting $ 25 into the kitty. If you don't have enough money to at least call for the first four hands then why bother. The back-up table is only $ 10 a hand minimum, so some people have started out and continued to play there until the have enough for the main table.

As for how good they are, that varies widely. The ambiance of the Watering Hole Saloon keeps away all of the Evan Adair types, who wouldn't want to be seen in such a run down establishment. So we get a lot of miners, drifters and others who don't believe in holding onto their money. But the high stakes nature also draws in some serious gamblers too. And none of them are using any magic to win either, my dealer wears a ring that detects any of that. I wouldn't tolerate any of that kind of dishonesty in my place.

Personally, I love the chance to just play cards. The pressure is on the main table, not the back-up table. That's just to keep them in the place until a chair opens up. I don't even try to win there most of the time, just going with the flow. I figure this is my one chance to just enjoy the game. I know it sounds crazy, a professional gambler playing cards to relax, but it's amazing how much fun a game of cards can be when you don't give a damn about the outcome."

Jake replies, "It doesn't sound crazy to me. Some nights I just want to play and take it easy, take my mind off of the world. Other nights, it's for the money. Still others, is to see how good I am against the best at the table." Jake runs a hand through his hair. "I don't have so much money in my bank account where I can afford to play at the high stakes table and not care if I win or lose." He laughs, "For this youngster when I'm thinking that way, I head for the dollar table most of the time. I like the sound of that ring though, I got to figure out how to get tapped into all this magic flying around. I seem to be missing the boat."

Red replies, "Jacob me boy, magic is a rate thing indeed. It appears to be plentiful in this area but that's due to a combination of three different factors namely the proximity to Mexico, the lawmen's' preoccupation with Indians and outlaws, and a fair amount of people with money to spend due to the mining riches. If any of those three factors were different this place would be as barren of magic as most other parts of the United States.

And magic can also be a curse. The man who I obtained my trinkets from was so dependent on them that he let his other useful skills deteriorate. That's what put him into the grave."

Red then changes the conversation. They spend the rest of the morning and afternoon relaxing. At 3:45 Richard indicates that he's going to head over to the train station to meet their dealer's train. Red instructs him that while he is at the station to purchase a ticket for Sunday's 2:00 PM train to Tombstone, that Mr. Jacob will be leaving them the next day.

"Do you think Mr. Beck is open today? I'd like to find out what he thinks about my special request before it gets busy here. Or at least give him a way to contact me." Jake asks Red in earnest. "One that doesn't make the link to you too easy." He adds. Red says "Sure, head on over. I'll stay for my dealer friend and let him know I'll be running the first back-up table tonight. Do you want the second or should be leave that for his assistant?"

Jake answers, "Sure, I'll run the other backup table if one is needed. I have almost $200 on me to get started, and if I blow it big time we'll let his assistant step in." Jake gets that twinkle in his eye. "If I clean up, maybe I'll blow the winnings at the big table if there is any room towards the end."

As Mr. Allister, Jake visits Mr. Beck, has a nice friendly chat with him while asking about some of the pieces he has on display. After a time he asks, "Have you had time to consider the crafting of my special request ?" Beck says that he knows someone who might do a good job with that and gets some more detail from Jake about exactly what he wants. Beck says that it will be a few weeks until they are ready.

Mr. Allister inquiries to the cost and down payment. "I assume you will be adding something for your trouble and be my advocate to insure the work meets your high quality standard." "We can settle that when the item is in." Beck says. Jake realizes that he is now back in the man's good graces. He thanks Mr. Beck and asks him to send a note over to Mr. Allister business in Tucson when the items are ready or he needs to contact him.

Jake heads back to O'Brien's place. He leaves instructions to send a letter to Mr. Cook in Promise City when he Mr. Allister gets a note from Mr. Beck. He also tells the staff that Mr. Cook should be notified if any of the business partners were in trouble and needed assistance, knowing full well that O'Brien may not approve and not caring a wit. He relaxes with Red until game time.

Red introduces him to his dealer, Isaac V. Stevens and Steven's assistant and sister Marybeth Osborn. She has no problem with Mr. Allister and Mr. Van Horne handling the two back-up tables instead of her. They get things set up and open the doors promptly at 5:00. By 5:15 all three tables are filled and Marybeth begins to get a third back-up table going.

As the night progresses they hear stories of a mine nearer to Bisbee having an exceptionally good haul lately, which is where several of this crowd are from, this being the first weekend off they've had this month. The games don't break up until 2:00 AM. After the customers have left the four dealers sit down to count their winnings. Stevens has a total of $ 1,850 and his sister has earned $ 340. They give Red his cut. Van Horne assigns two of his guards to accompany the pair off to their hotel at one of the better parts of town. They other four guards also leave, the two night guards taking up their positions outside.

Red says "Not bad, almost $ 1,100 bucks from their tables. I actually didn't win any myself, even seem to have lost a little, but no big deal, as the guard Roy played at Van Horne's table tonight and picked up the equivalent of three or four lessons from him.

"How did you do Jacob me boy?" Red asks. Jake says that he has picked up $ 420 and asks Red if he wants half. Red replies, "Keep it, you earned it me boy. We should think about turning in, you need to be on a train in another twelve hours, and I plan to sleep at least nine or ten before then." Jake bids Red goodnight after a last bourbon toast to "Rare friends."

 

[Silver Moon]

Chapter 147, "Into the Mountains", Wednesday, January 18th, 11:00 P.M.

Nanuet explains “I met up with the people you know Kate.” He tells them what he has learned and of the arrangement that he made with them. He emphasizes “The other groups are only looking to kill or capture a dragon. They do not know or care which one, in fact they only believe that there is one.”

He describes the three-headed creature. Chester exclaims “The Chimera! I know of them!” Sonoma exclaims “You have a problem with talking to the dead yet you know about three-headed dragons?” Chester says, “If you’d gone to church on Sunday you would know all about them too. The priest told of the Greek story of the Chimera. The three-headed creature, dragon goat and lion, the dragon head breathes fire. In the Greek story it is killed by Bellerophon riding on the winged horse Pegasus. Ruby exclaims “Oh yeah, like we can just go to the local store and buy a pegasus.

He then tells of Sunday’s church service of the story. How Bellepheron put lead on a spear. The heat from the dragon’s breath melted the lead, which flowed into its body and then killed it. It was killed by lead. We have lead bullets. Ruby thinks that it is more the idea of using arrows, some coated with the poison. Kate says, “That cannon would make a lot of melted lead, wouldn’t it?” Sonoma says, “We’re not throwing the cannon down it’s through.” Kate says, “No, I meant the ammunition.

Nanuet says, “I’m hoping that we don’t have to fight this thing. I’m hoping that they fight it. They are hunters, they can fight it. They don’t know about our creature, let them think the other one is their creature to kill.” Sonoma focuses back upon what Chester said. She comments, “This priest who preached about the Chimera. We should check to see what else he may know.” Kate says, “He changed his sermon. He had planned to speak about Zeus and Hera.” Sonoma says, “What is there to say about them? Cheating on your spouse bad, done with sermon.”

Chester says he may have already left, just coming to town once a month. Sonoma says to check anyway. Kate says, “I’ll check at the Long Branch. Hopefully I won’t catch any contagious diseases when I am there.” Sonoma says, “If you do, talk to Valdez.”

Sonoma asks if the sermon had any reference to how to kill the other two heads. Chester says, “The melted lead in his stomach killed the entire creature.” They ask Riley about the size of the cave in his dreams and whether it was large enough for a winged creature to fly around in. He says that he is unsure. Ruby says, “We wouldn’t want to get trapped inside the cave.”

Kate heads over to the Long Branch to ask about the priest. Kate Higgins indicates that he left town the day before. She asks if anyone present may have attended the worship service and Higgins replies “I doubt it. None of us here are churchgoers.” Kate makes it back to the Lone Star by closing time. Tony made $35, Job made $ 64, Hoover made $ 9.27 in liquor profits and the singing tips cup totals only $ 4.98. They equate the low amount in singing tips to their having been distracted and not putting in their best effort.

The supplies list now includes candles, matches, twine, rope, lanterns, oil, leather water bottles, hammer, iron spikes, grappling hook, shovel and two backpacks. Ruby says to add some dynamite to that list. It is pointed out that the dynamite merchant, Sam Slade, is currently out. Ruby says, “Jake has six sticks and we might be able to get more from Flint.” Kate suggests that dynamite could be effectively used in conjunction with a Mage Hand spell, although the maximum range is only thirty feet for her. She suggests trying to get the dynamite into the creature’s mouth.

Sonoma says she will get some large cans and clean out the grease traps in the sinks at both hotels as the grease could come in handy. They discuss what to use for torches. Nanuet says, “Anytime we need some cloth strips Kate rips up her clothes.” “I will not rip up my clothes for torches!” she exclaims. Sonoma says, “Yes, thank you, we should add bandages to the list.”

They discuss making some Molitov Cocktails using rages and bottles filled with oil. Sonoma points out that both the El Parador and Lone Star have lots of empty bottles so doing this will also help to clean up the garbage. “Your mother will be pleased” Kate states. It is pointed out that they should bring the items needed to make these but not to put them together until needed, given the volatile nature of them. Chester discusses buying hardware such as nails to make some type of makeshift bombs with. Nanuet points out that such an idea may not be practical.

They discuss bringing some pack animals in addition to their horse but then decide against it. Nanuet says that he should buy a handgun for himself. Sonoma says that tomorrow she will get one of the ones that she had taken from the bandits and buried. Nanuet tells Chester to go to the gunshop and purchase extra ammunition for all of their firearms. Kate comments how she doesn’t like the idea of using firearms but that she likes the prospect of being dead even less.

They discuss how they should probably head back and get to bed soon, and also all sleep in the next morning, as they might be up all night the following night so need to get a good night’s sleep. Chester comments that he still has to try to talk to the Condon’s about getting the next few days off from work. Sonoma suggests that he use “I really don’t feel good, I have to go see the priest.” Nanuet suggests that he coughs when he says it and mentions the Long Branch and mention “Hanging out with my good friend Edsel Trask the other day.” Sonoma adds, “Ask him to feel your head to see if it is warm.” “And comment that it feels cold in the room,” Nanuet suggests.

They all head back to the El Parador except for Ruby who heads upstairs. Before going to bed Sonoma talks to Dorita about putting together any herbal mixtures that could be helpful as well as anything to maybe create a smokescreen. She makes a point of NOT telling her mother why she needs this, as Dorita then would not let her go on the mission.

They discuss using the hand cannon but it is pointed out that Chester hasn’t had the opportunity to test it out yet. “I’d be careful doing that. I don’t know that Dorita wants her hotel burnt down,” Kate says. Nanuet comments, “Well, maybe she wants a basement. He could point it down.” Sonoma asks about the special ordinance and he says he doesn’t know yet what they are, that he has to check back with the gunsmith.

Thursday, January 19th, 1882:

The group sleeps in and then spends the morning and early afternoon on their shopping spree. They purchase saddlebags for the horses that they don’t already have them for then spend the morning packing up the items into the assorted saddlebags. A large canvas and some blankets are purchased to try to cover up the cave entrance with. Kate and Nanuet make a trip out to the ranch to pick up a few extra horses to use as pack animals and/or replacement mounts if the chimera should get a hold of one or two.

Kate asks “Should we tell Flint about the chimera?” Nanuet says “Do you like the mountain range the shape that it is?” They opt not to tell him but still borrow his remaining ten sticks of dynamite, telling him that their friend Jake now is part owner of a mine and that dynamite is hard to come by in town since Slade’s shed blew up. They ride back to town. Nanuet and Kate make sure that all of the horses are well feed and rested.

Sonoma talks to Valdez to see if he knows anything about the chimera or the earth spirits. He doesn’t. But upon request he does manage to find them some elixirs to be used to help keep them awake.

Kate checks the assorted books in the library, particularly texts about the Greek legends, to see if she can find out any more information about the chimera. They deduce that the dragon head spits fire, the goat head may spit lightening and the lion head has a deafening roar that can be heard for miles and causes fear. “Let’s make sure the horses aren’t spooked by that,” Kate comments. Sonoma and Ruby discuss using bard skills of their to try to counteract the sound, although they would have to be within thirty feet.”

Chester goes to the gunsmith and finds out that both of the special ordinance are indeed magical in nature. While they still contain explosive shells as per the normal ordinance they also are enchanted with magical properties. The ones with the red markings create fireballs upon impact where the ones with the blue markings generate the equivalent of a lightening blast where they strike. Sonoma gets both Kate and Nanuet a handgun.

Chester works until 3:30 PM. At the end of the day he then goes up to Morgan Condon and says, “I think I’m coming down with something. I was at the Long Branch the other day…” Morgan exclaims “GO SEE DOC EATON! GO, GO NOW!” Chester says, “If I feel bad tomorrow….” Condon yells “Just see the Doctor! Stay away if you’re sick.” So Chester goes to see the Doctor and is given a useless elixir. He tells the Doctor to bill Condon’s Bank for the medicine.

They use two pack horses to exclusively carry the hand cannon and the ammunition. Instead of bring the crate they repack the extra ordinance using saddlebags, sheets, rags and straw so that they do not bang together. They decide to bring all forty-two shells “just in case”.

Ruby lets Niles Hoover know that she and Kate will not be available to perform for the next night or two. She emphasizes that if anyone asks where the singer is NOT to tell them that she is sick, just to say that as a new owner she needed some time off to take care of business matters. Ruby writes out and leaves a note behind for Jake in case he returns while they are away. Kate writes out a letter and will for her parents in the event that she does not return from this expedition.

They have a nice meal and set off from the El Parador The group of Chester, Kate, Nanuet, Riley, Ruby and Sonoma set off at around 7:00 PM As they ride out to the cave Sonoma comments, “This whole world on our shoulders thing. I don’t like it. Let’s not do this again.” “I agree with her,” Ruby says. Nanuet says, “It wasn’t my choice. It’s not like we were given much of a choice.”

They enter the Dos Cabezas Mountains. They look to the east to see if there are any campfires that may indicate where the hunters are. They see one distance fire near Wood Mountain; another is a lot closer, on the opposite side of Bowie Mountain than where Kajika’s cave is situated, two miles to the east. The proceed with caution, knowing that other groups are near.

They reach and enter the cave where they had been the night before. Kajika is there and he gets the fire going to summon up the spirit of Storm Golden Eye. Storms body appears more solid than before, reminding them of what she looked like back in her physical form.

Kate apologizes to Storm for leaving her body lying the alleyway following the shooting on the 2nd. She replies, “It was not disposed of in the way of the people but I have moved on from that point. “Sorry,” Ruby states. Storm answers, “No you’re not, but it was nice of you to say.” “I really am sorry,” Kate states, meaning it.

She tells them it will take a few hours to travel. After an hour of going through the mountains she informs them that they are now well beyond any of the hunting parties. Nanuet and Sonoma ride in the rear of the party and attempt to help hide the group’s tracks. They are heading towards the twin peaks of Dos Cabezas Mountain, the highest elevation in the mountain range at over 8,300 feet. They pass the mountain, circumnavigating it to the north, and continue to travel to the northwest. They go for several more miles, so that they are now a few miles northwest of the town of Dos Cabezas.

They estimate that they are now fifteen to twenty miles from Promise City. They are now nearing the northwestern end of the Dos Cabezas mountain range. They approach another mountain, which Storm tells them is their destination, Mount Luzena. They travel to the northern side of it so that the mountain itself blocks the view of the lights coming from the town of Dos Cabezas, which are now three to four miles distant.

They continue to climb up the forested mountainside. The trail gets rockier and harder for the horses to travel. They then exit from the tree line, with only dirt, rocks and ledges from that point onward. The see the top of Mount Luzena a half-mile higher up from their present location. It is around 10:30 PM when they reach their final destination, a cave mouth approximately halfway between where the tree line ended and the top of the mountain.

As they near the cave opening they notice that Storm Golden Eye’s body is no longer translucent, appearing totally solid, her physical form just as they knew her before. Ruby thinks, “It’s not every day that you see a ghost become real.” The cave mouth is about fifteen feet wide and varies from ten to fifteen feet.

They enter the cave, finding it very large on the inside and going deep into the mountain. They see the earth spirit before them. She is a massive dragon, seventy-feet in length from head to tail. Her scales are a metallic color, appearing to be several different shade ranging from copper to brass to silver to gold. A sweet soft feminine voice comes from her stating, “Hello. Thank you for coming to help.” Ruby gapes in awe.

Chester is the first to speak, “Err, hello?” “Do you have a name, great spirit?” Nanuet asks. She replies, “I have been known by many names. When I was young the Shawnee called me Msi-Kinepeikwa. I stayed with them for over a century in the land that the humans now call Ohio. As I became older I moved further east to the great lake called Ontario. For a while I lived with the Seneca elvan people, known as the great hill people, and they referred to me as Gaasyendietha. I later crossed the lake and lived among the Huron people on the other side, who knew me as Angont. I have spent the last century in the great central plains of North America with the Lakota Sioux. They knew me as Unhcegila. So I have been known by all of these names.”

Nanuet asks, “Which one did you like?” She replies “Kinepeikwa was my first name. You may address me as that.” Ruby moves forward but not too close. She says, “My name is Ruby, although you probably know that already. I don’t know why you chose us. It doesn’t really matter at this point but do you have any information that will help us in this mission that you have chosen us for? Especially information about this other earth spirit that wishes to do you harm?”

She replies, “Yes, it wishes to have me slain by the hunters. It knows where this cave is and will most likely be leading them to it.” Ruby asks, “If it wishes to do us harm how can we defend ourselves against it?” She replies, “It is a very powerful and dangerous creature. I do not know if you could defend yourselves against it. I doubt that you have the power.” Ruby says, “So, you’re sending us to our deaths?” She replies, “No, you are the ones who decided to come here, not I.” Ruby turns to the others and says, “Let’s go!”

The dragon says, “I appreciate your help, your willingness to save my child.” She moves aside and gestures to a creature behind her. It resembles a chimera that is approximately the size of a cow. Its wings are pressed tightly against its back and it does not appear to know how to use them yet. She says, “It resembles its father in physical form, but hopefully it will not in temperament.”

Nanuet says, “If it leads the hunters here won’t it harm the child?” She says, “I have no doubt that once I am dead it will then intervene to protect the child from harm. It wishes to be the one to raise the child.” Kate asks, “Does the child have a name.” She replies, “We do not name ourselves. The indigenous people who we live with derive names for us from their own languages.” Nanuet asks, “Does the evil spirit have a name?” She replies, “Yes, it is called Ihuaivula by the wood elves of South America.”


Sonoma suggest that they start figuring out the best way to hide and cover the area. They set Riley and Maska up on watch outside. They investigate the caves finding that there are some smaller side passageways into the cave which they decide to block off in order to prevent any of the hunters from finding another way in, forcing them to try to enter through the main opening.

The dragon gestures to the horses and says, “I see you brought us some food.” “NO” Kate exclaims. Ruby says, “We need them.” “They are our mode of transportation,” Nanuet states. “Are you hungry?” Ruby asks. She says, “We have a stockpile of food. My mate would probably be hungry now and horses are its preferred food. When we first arrived in these mountains six weeks ago over a hundred wild mustangs inhabited the area. They are now all gone, having been eaten by my mate.”

Kate gasps and says, “All those horses.” Ruby tells her “Don’t think about it now Kate.” They decide to bring all of the horses deep into the cave and to the far back area, not far from an underground stream, to both provide them water and prevent the giant Chimera from smelling them.

They decide that attempting to hide the cave entrance should probably wait until dawn when they can better see how it looks. Sonoma begins painting the tarp to match the exact color of the rocks near the entrance.

Kate sets up their bandages and supplies inside the cave for easy access and Chester checks, cleans and reloads all of the group’s firearms. He leaves the Hand Cannon unloaded but readily accessible, with the extra rounds of ammunition safely inside the cave.

Ruby and Nanuet scout out the area immediately near the entrance, with Nanuet finding a rocky outcropping with large stones to also hide behind not far from above the cave. He decides this is the best lookout spot in the area. Ruby suggests this might be a good spot for Chester to use the hand cannon from, as he could shoot at anyone coming up the hill or the evil spirit flying through the air.

Ruby and Nanuet climb the remaining quarter-mile up to the top of the mountain, giving them a wide view of the entire area. They do not see any campfire lights, the only light coming from the town three-to-four miles to the southeast. They decide to scout out from here again at first light.

They decide that the ledge at the front of the cave would make for a good defensive spot, with a clear view below the quarter-mile down to the tree line. There are other ledges higher up but off to the side, none immediately above the cave mouth. They conclude that the spot is well defensible, that nobody will be able to get within a quarter mile of it from any direction without being seen.

They discuss moving a few rocks over to make more of a wall on the ledge but fear that doing so would make it look unnatural and draw more attention to it. They decide to at least move a few more rocks but to leave them in such a way that it appears they rolled down to that spot on their own.

Sonoma also suggests having some of the party head down the mountain to direct the other hunting parties in different directions than up this mountain. She considers heading over the farm where she got the sheep from, around five miles away, to get some help from them.

 

[Silver Moon]

Chapter 148, "Convergence", Friday, January 20, 1882:

The sun comes up over the horizon. It looks to be a warm and sunny day. Sonoma decides to ride over to the sheep farm. Nanuet accompanies her. They circumnavigate around Luzena and then around Dos Cabezas Mountain. They spot over a mile away from them the group of hunters comprised of the human and four half-ogres climbing up the eastern side of Dos Cabezas Mountain, apparently looking for a vantage point from the highest peak in the region. They conclude that the northern face of Luzena Mountain will not be visible from where they are climbing to, so not to worry. They are concerned however that any of the groups are this far west, having thought them all still further away.

Back at the cave, the others check on the earth spirit. She feels that on the next day the child will be old enough to travel, that she will spend this day in the cave teaching him how to unfold and extend his wings.

Nanuet and Sonoma reach the farmers. They ask the farmers if they have seen any monsters or if they have lost any of their livestock. The farmers say that they have not but they have heard of other farmers in the area who have lost horses in the past month, which they assumed was the work of rustlers. They ask if the farmers have seen any strangers in the area. The farmers describe the group with the human and half-ogres who rode through the their land the previous night. This group did not come near the farmers’ home or livestock so they let them go thought without question.

Sonoma points to the south, towards the Sulfur Springs Valley and away from the mountains and tells the farmers that a monster was seen in that area and to please tell that to any other hunters who come through their land. She says that the monster is known to seek sulfur so went there. They conclude by purchasing some sheep from the farmer.

They arrive back at the cave at around 10:00 A.M. The sheep are brought to the good earth spirit for her to consume, sharing some of the meat with the infant. The group becomes concerned when they hear that at least one hunting party is in the neighborhood.

Chester loads two of the regular rounds into the hand cannon while keeping all ten slots in the weapon case filled with ten more rounds of ammunition, including all six magical rounds. Ruby positions both of her loaded shotguns and both fully loaded rifles near the cave mouth where she can get at them easily. Kate asks, “Did you leave any of Jake’s extra distance weapons back at the Lone Star.” She replies, “No, what does he need them for? He’s off on vacation.” Chester also has his military saber as a backup weapon. Nanuet keeps the vial of poison handy but decides to wait to coat his arrows with them.

They consider what to do with the cave interior but conclude that if anybody makes it that far they will only notice the huge dragon and nothing else.

About a half-hour after Sonoma and Chester have returned they hear the sound of firearms discharging. The sounds are at least two miles off to the east, possibly even longer, as sounds echo through the canyon and up the mountain. They hear a large quantity of shots in rapid succession and conclude it is a big group armed with repeating rifles. The rifle fire ends after around three minutes.

The group assumes that this is one of the hunting parties and that it is shooting at something that they think is the monster. They speculate that it could be the giant chimera but possibly not, as some of the groups could easily be trigger-happy.

Sonoma prays for help and guidance. Another half-hour passes and they hear another series of rifle fire, these much closer. Ruby and Chester climb up to the top of Luzena Mountain, where they can firearms smoke and flashes of weapons coming from some of the higher elevations on Mount Dos Cabezas. They conclude that this is probably a different group of hunters than the previous volley of rifles, as a group would not have had the time to cover a mile distance and then climb the highest mountain in a half-hour.

They then spot some sort of large winged creature flying near the top of that mountain, which appears to be what the hunters are firing at. They conclude that it is similar in size to the dragon they are protecting. It then flies down the western side of that mountain and flies below the tree line a little over two miles away. They only see one large head and deduce that the chimera must have made the other two invisible to give the appearance of being a single-headed creature. The coloring on it is not excessively different than the one they are protecting.

They climb back down at tell the others, saying that the giant chimera appears to be two to three miles away and drawing the attention of the hunters and herding them westward towards this mountain. Nanuet and Sonoma surmise that the group they saw climbing the mountain earlier was probably the hunting group firing from the top. “That group will now have to climb back down, we shouldn’t see them anytime soon,” Chester concludes.

Sonoma points out that they didn’t see any horse with those five. Nanuet notes that they had horses when they began the hunt. “So they must have left them lower in that mountain,” Kate says. Riley suggests, “Or maybe the creature ate their horses.”

The group spends over the next hour in anticipation of either the chimera or hunting parties arriving at their doorstep, neither of which occurs. This raises the level of tension with Ruby commenting how the waiting is the worst part of this. Kate disagrees, saying that she would be happy to just continue waiting and never see any potential opponents.

At around 12:45 PM they all see a large winged creature rise of from amongst the trees in the valley below at a point around a mile-and-a-half to the east and slightly north. If flies directly towards the northface of Mount Luzena, where the party are situated.

Nanuet is behind the rocks above the cave entrance. He decides that it is now time to get ready to prepare the poison for use. He had prepared an cup-like area in a rock near him. He sets up the vial of poison beside it. He set up several arrows to be able to later dip them into the poison.

Ruby positions herself behind a rock a short distance from the cave entrance. Kate remains in cave entrance at the opposite side. Sonoma and Storm are both inside of the cave with the earth spirit. Chester and Riley position themselves behind rocks near the front of the ledge outcropping.

When the flying creature closes to a mile they can see that it does have three heads but that they have intertwined them to the center to give the appearance of being a single-headed creature. Ruby says, “It may not be planning to attack us. It is trying to lead the hunters here instead. We may not have to fight it so let’s not give away that we are here.” Riley comments, “It will see us. These rocks will give us cover from anyone on the mountain below, not from something flying up in the air.”

It continues to rise in elevation to a point higher than Mount Luzena. At a distance of three-quarters of a mile away it flies back down to the trees and disappears inside of the tree cover. The waiting game continues for another half hour.

They then spot a cloud of dust rising of from a group of trees a little over a half-mile away. Looking in that area they then spot the tops of the heads of the 15-foot high giants walking amongst the smaller trees. Ruby asks, “Do we want to try to talk to this hunting party?” Sonoma says, “We could try the ‘They went thataway’ idea.” Riley exclaims, “These monsters were in my dreams.”

“Okay, what’s the plan? Do we have to fight them?” Ruby asks. Sonoma suggests, “We should find a way to distract them. We’re not their main target. Their main target is a dragon. This group has the hunter who is here to hunt, that’s his goal.” Ruby says, “But we may still have to fight them. If we have surprise on them and can take them out before they get close to here. If we do a preemptive strike when we have the advantage.”

Kate says, “If we can avoid having to fight them we will be better off.” Ruby replies, “I’m just wary of us tying to talk to them, we’d be giving away our element of surprise. Kate says, “I’m not suggesting that we talk to them unless they see us.” Ruby says she’d rather shoot at them when they are still 1,000 feet away and downhill rather than letter them get up to the group. Kate says, “There’s some middle ground there. We could talk to them when they are still 100 feet away, not right up to us.”

Ruby says, “Well, you could talk to them and me, Chester and Nanuet can stay hidden and pick them off one-by-one. That would be better than letting them all get up here.”
Kate says “I know that what you are saying makes sense, but I am not comfortable with attacking people who haven’t done anyone any harm.” Ruby turns to Chester and says, “What do you think? Do we try to talk them into being distracted to somewhere away from here and louse our surprise on them? If we try to distract them they will get right up here and all might be lost.”

“Right,” he answers, “It might be really hard to distract them, the chimera is leading them directly here.” Kate interjects, “Our hope is that they might not notice us here. They might not see the cave mouth now that we have it covered over.” Ruby replies, “That will only work when they are far away. When they are close up they will be able to tell that it is a painted tarp and blanket.” Sonoma interjects, “Even if they see that we are covering over the cave they will not know what is inside.” Ruby says, “But the chimera knows what is inside.”

Based upon the rising dust and occasional glimpse of a giant head or tree breaking they conclude that the group is now around four-tenths of a mile away. Chester raises the concern that this particular group may not speak English.” Ruby says, “They’re not going to go for my charms.”

Ruby points to the tarp and says, “They’re going to walk right up here and see that!” Sonoma says, “They are going to walk right up here unless we go down to them.” Kate says, “Even if they see there are some people here they are not just going to assume that we are hiding a dragon.” Ruby exclaims, “They are going to see a tarp covering over a cave and think we are hiding something.” Kate answers, “Will they even think that we would be able to coexist with the dragon?”

Riley points out that going down to them would put the group in the same section of the woods where the giant chimera just flew. Ruby says, “We can’t leave where we are and abandon the one we’re guarding.” Riley says, “Maybe that’s what it wants us to do.”

Kate says, “We’re not going to just start fighting them because of Riley’s dream!” Ruby says, “There’s no point in doing everything else. What he dreamed of has all happened. We can’t change this.” It is pointed out that Riley also dreamed that Jake was with them. Ruby replies, “He’s not here yet, but he could show up before the fighting is done!” Kate says, “You think he’s just going to pop in?” Ruby answers, “He could. He’s with Gonzales!” Sonoma does not think that her Great Grandfather would do that.

The monster group has now gotten closer. Sonoma still suggests climbing down the mountain. Chester asks, “How would we explain why we were on the mountain?” Sonoma says, “We just say we heard of the big prize that P.T. Barnum offered.” Ruby still suggests that the group wait until the monsters cross the tree line to begin firing on them. Kate is still strongly opposed to the idea of a preemptive strike.

Sonoma says to Chester “The furry ones saw you at the bar. You could say you found out what they wanted and needed the cash. Then send them off the wrong way. They’re not going to believe women but they might believe you, a single stupid soldier.” “Don’t insult Chester,” Ruby exclaims. Sonoma says, “No, I meant he acts the part of a stupid soldier when talking to them.” “I could do that,” Chester states. “Easily” Riley mutters.

Sonoma exclaims, “It’s worth a try. We have nothing to lose…..except Chester.” “I like Chester!” Ruby replies. “So do I,” Sonoma states. “Obviously not that much!” Ruby answers, “You’re planning to send him off to his doom.” Sonoma answers, “Not to his doom, it’s worth a try.” Chester yells out “I’ll go.” Ruby surprisingly says, “I’ll go with you Chester.”

He suggests Nanuet or Riley might be better to go with him. Sonoma says, “They’re not going to believe that she’s a hunter.” “Why not?” she asks. Sonoma replies, “You don’t look like a hunter.” She answers, “I have my gun and outdoor clothes on.” Ruby says, “I’m good at convincing people. If you want them to be convinced I’m the one who should go.” They notice that this hunting party has now stopped, about a half mile away.

Chester says, I’m not sure I want Riley.” Ruby points out that Riley appears to be terrified at the moment. Chester debates bringing the hand cannon with him but decides against it, feeling that it should be kept near the dragon they are protecting. Sonoma says, “Go speak soldier to this hunter.”

Chester and Ruby start to head down the mountain. Sonoma and Kate both exclaim “Good Luck.” They decide not to disturb the canvas so climb down on foot rather than taking the horses.

The others watched as Ruby and Chester climbed down the quarter mile across open terrain and then disappeared into the trees. The move carefully through the woods and see the group with the giants perhaps a sixth of a mile away both ahead of them and off to the left, moving slowly through the woods.

They notice that the three large furry creatures are down on their hands and knees sniffing the ground and moving slowing in a particular direction. The giants are immediately behind them carrying spiked clubs. The hunter and the ogress are further back, both dressed in buckskin clothing and looking forward while carrying some very large rifles.

Chester decides that it is best to stay low and out of sight until the group is at least parallel to them, given that the forest is not very dense at this high elevation so they will be seen if they move any closer. The group continues to move and Chester decides that he and Ruby need to get closer. Staying low behind the trees they move in that direction. When they are around 300 feet away the bugbear closes to them stands up and begins sniffing the air. The rest of the hunting party stops.

Chester suggests that the two approach them. After seeing these creatures Ruby reconsiders that plan saying “If we tell them we’re after the creature how do we know they won’t just shoot us to eliminate the competition?” She convinces him so Chester and Ruby opt to stay hidden and crouch further down.

They then hear the sound of distant horse hooves approaching from further down the mountain. The sound intensifies as the riders get closer to where Ruby and Chester are hiding, Chester estimating that they are now maybe a quarter of a mile away. Ruby suggests yelling something like “The Dragon is over here” to get both of these hunting groups to start shooting at each other and then she and Chester could just sneak away. Chester comments, “We don’t even know who this second group is and I don’t really like the plan of being in the middle of a crossfire.”

When the riders are around 600 feet away Chester is able to identify them as Billy Comstock and his soldier friends, who are now riding up from the northeast. Meanwhile, the other hunting party is still 300 feet west of Chester and Ruby. They stop and stand up, looking in the direction of the approaching riders. The hunter leading this group clutches his rifle like a club and has a look of disgust on his face. Chester says, “He’s blaming their loud approach for ruining his element of surprise in stalking the creature.”

Comstock and his group continue to ride up the mountain. They stop when they spot the other hunting party around 400 feet off to the northwest of them. The giants and the furry creatures hold their ground while the hunter and ogress begins marching towards the solder hunting party. The very angry hunter is still clutching his rifle with both hands but not pointing it.

Comstock and his men start to ride towards the hunter at a slow leisurely pace. Ruby whispers to Chester “I know these guys are your friends but if they start shooting at each other you stay out of it.” Comstock rides a bit further ahead of his others and stops when he reaches the hunter, at a point around 80 feet away from where Ruby and Chester are hiding.

The hunter begins yelling a string of profanity at Comstock, saying that they’ve given away his position. He points back down the mountain the way the soldiers had ridden from and orders them to ride away. Comstock looks uncertain as to what to do. A loud piercing screech then sounds out from yet another direction, from the forest up near the tree line a few hundred feet behind Chester and Ruby. “Uh oh,” Chester comments. Several trees shake, drawing the full attention of both hunting parties. Ruby says, “Great, we’re now between both groups and the monster.”

 

[Silver Moon]

Chapter 149, "Chimera", Friday, January 20, 1882:

Kate, Nanuet, Riley and Sonoma watch as the three-headed winged chimera rises out from the trees. It flies high up in the air but southward towards the mountain peak while letting out a loud roar from the lion’s head followed by a screech from the dragon’s head.

Both groups of hunters begin to move quickly in that direction. Those up at the cave mouth hear the sound of horses galloping at a fast pace. The hunter yells something in a language that Chester and Ruby do not understand and the bugbears and giants stop. The six cowboys are heading in a path that will take them fifty feet to Chester and Ruby’s right. Chester debates standing up but Ruby reaches out to stop him.

Much to Ruby’s dissatisfaction Chester stands and yells out to Comstock. They stop and look in his direction, very surprised to see him. They ride over to Chester. Ruby decides to stand up. Chester exclaims “Hi Bill!” The hunter and ogre yell something to their creatures upon seeing Ruby and Chester and the monsters begin to move back over in that direction.

“What are you doing?” Comstock asks. Chester replies, “I’m hunting the creature. What are you guys doing?” Comstock says, “The same, why did you stop us? It sounds like it’s right up there,” and he gestures towards the mountaintop. “Can’t you hear it?” Mitzer asks. Chester says, “I thought that we could join forces.” “You don’t even have a horse!” Mitzer says. “Oh yeah,” is Chester’s answer. The creature lets off another roar.

Chester says, “I found out something about that thing. I got pretty close to it.” “What do you know?” Comstock asks. Chester replies, “That thing has got three heads. It’s a real freak.” “Three heads? What is it?” Elisha Whittemore exclaims. “I don’t know,” Chester answers. Comstock says, “And the two of you are out in the woods by yourself trying to hunt it with those revolvers?” Ruby says, “He’s trying to hunt it. I’m trying to convince him that we should go home. That thing breathes fire.”

Whittemore says, “Miss, I think that’s a good idea. I think you two should go home.” She says, “I think you should go home too. It’s been coming this way and flying back that way every once in a while.” She points in the opposite direction. Meanwhile, the hunter and ogress have joined up with the bugbears and giants and the five are moving north in the direction of the dragon roars.

Kate listens carefully to the screech sound so that she might be able to later recreate it with a spell. The creature is still a long distance off, high in the air, and continues to roar. The creature is now flying even higher and roaring, it’s heads intertwined together.

Chester gestures to the hunters and asks, “So Bill, what do you know about that mob over there? I tried to get into the Silver Dollar the other night and they wouldn’t let me in.” Comstock says, “The guy is a hunter of big game in Africa. I don’t know what those creatures are.” “Friendly sort?” Chester asks. “No,” Comstock replies, “But Barnum contacted him so he’s here working for him.” “Barnum set this all up?” Chester comments. “Whittemore replies “Yes, he wants to display the creature in his museum.” Chester says, “Great, it’s got three heads. You should get triple the price.”

“How are you going to capture a thing like that?” Chester asks. Comstock gestures to the other hunting party and says, “I don’t know, but they’re going to catch it first if we don’t catch up.” “Oh, alright,” Chester comments, “I think you’re right. We’re out of our league on this one.” This six ride off to the north and Ruby says to Chester “So that was your brilliant idea?” Ruby and Chester run after the riders but are left far behind.

Kate, Nanuet, Riley and Sonoma see the cloud of dust from the trees again and hear the sound of hooves. The creature notices this too because it now starts to fly lower and in the direction of the cave mouth. As it nears the quartet guarding the cave. Sonoma exclaims “Get Riley on the damned gun!” Riley picks up the hand cannon, more due to fear than bravery.

Sonoma tells Kate “Enlarge Riley, I think he’s going to have to shoot this thing.” Kate moves up into position. Sonoma begins a chant. Kate casts the spell, which makes Riley larger, stronger and eight times as heavy, giving him the size and power to effectively use the weapon. The now giant Riley, twice his previous height, points the weapon upward towards the rapidly closing giant chimera.

The monster is 80 feet away when the shot fires out, the recoil knocking him back. He was aiming for the head but is slightly low as the projectile strikes the creature’s chest. A vast explosion follows leaving a gaping wound in the monster and showing those below with several dozen dragon scales.

The creature was clearly not expecting such an attack and lets out a huge roar simultaneous to the six horsemen exiting the trees. It continues to fly but changes direction and attempts to gain altitude. The second hunting party exits the trees and watches the creature.

Riley figures out how to get the prior shell ejected and the other shell to slide into place. He fires the shot, which misses wildly, flying well to the right and exploding against a ledge on another section of the mountain. The wounded creature flies over the top of the mountain and then drops in altitude to use the mountain itself as cover.

The spell wears off as Comstock and his friends ride closer to the ledge. Sonoma slips back behind the tarp and into the cave. Nanuet remains under cover behind the rocks above the cave. The other hunter and his party return to the forest and disappear from sight back into the trees. The spell wears off and Riley returns to his normal size. Kate remembers this group from when they were at the Lone Star. As Comstock and his friends reach the ledge Ruby and Chester emerge from the threes and continue to climb.

Kate acts as spokesperson, explaining that she and Riley are with Ruby and Chester. Comstock asks, “What are you doing?” Whittemore exclaims, “What just happened here?” Kate says, “We brought a really big gun.” “A big gun?” Comstock asks. She replies “Yeah. What did you bring?” “Just our buffalo rifles,” Comstock replies. She asks, “Those little guns? Did you see the creature? Do you really think those rifles will be effective against it?”

They exchange glances and Mizner says, “Maybe we should ride back to the town of Dos Cabezas and see if we can find something that will be more effective against that thing.” Kate says, “We’re finding that really big guns are very useful.” Comstock says, “But you hit it with that and it still flew away.” “It didn’t like it though,” Kate comments.

Kate then says, “We didn’t think it would take only one shot.” She then points to their rifles and says, “Imagine how many shots from those you’d need to use.” Comstock says, “I think we’d better go down to Dos Cabezas.” Kate replies, “I say that’s a pretty good idea. You might want to spread that word onto the others. You might want to get some really big guns.”

They head away, waving to Chester and Ruby as they ride by. They soon join the others. Riley tells Chester how the gun works. “Did you hit it?” Chester asks. Riley replies, “Yeah, the gun packs quite a wallop.” Chester says, “Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you about the recoil.” “So you hit it and it still flew away?” Chester asks. Kate says, “Yes, but it looked in pretty bad shape where he hit.” Kate says, “And it is leaving a blood tail for the hunters to follow.”

Sonoma says, “All we have to do is keep Mama and Baby quiet and let them go after Daddy instead.” They realize that the other groups may have heard the creature roaring or seen it flying overhead, but even if they had missed that they would have heard both hand cannon shots firing and echoing through the valley. “We may have some company,” Kate comments.

Ruby says, “We can tell them it went away but why would they believe us?” Sonoma replies, “Because we shot it and we have the gun.” Ruby says, “But then why would we stay here if we were hunting it?” She says, “Because it is big and angry and this is a place for us to hide if we have to. Wounded creatures are dangerous, hunters will understand that.” Kate says, “Well two groups know about it already and another group are our friends. That just leaves the ogre group and Buffalo Bill’s.

Billy Comstock and his allies ride out of sight and down the mountain, heading southeast in the direction of the town of Dos Cabezas, approximately three miles away, to try to obtain more powerful weapons.

Chester, Kate, Nanuet, Riley, Ruby and Sonoma remain on the ledge on the northern face of Luzena Mountain, watching out in all directions while guarding the mouth of the cave. Fifteen minutes later they spot the second group of hunters exiting from the tree line approximately one-third of a mile west. This group begins to climb higher up the mountain but does not appear to making any attempt to move towards the cave. They continue to climb straight until they pass the elevation of the cave. They then change the direction of the climb more eastward while still keeping a quarter-mile distance from the cave.

Chester reloads the hand-cannon. He and Sonoma climb up above the top of the cave mouth, using some large rocks for cover, while they continue to observe this group. Sonoma breathes a sigh of relief once the bugbears find the location where the monster named Ihuaivulu had bled onto the rocks below.

Chester anxiously picks some gunpowder residue from the hand cannon. "This thing really packs a punch. So, Miss Sonoma, do you think we'll have any problems from the other hunting groups? Hopefully the Chimera will draw them away from here? I don't fancy seeing that thing again, especially since it knows we can hurt it."

They watch as the bugbears, giants, orgress and human big game hunter that comprise this party continue to climb higher in the direction that Ihuaivulu had flown off to, bringing them away from the cave where they are protecting Kinepeikwa and her offspring.

Ruby relaxes as she sees the hunting group following the injured chimera away from where they are. After looking around and feeling safe for a moment she steps inside the cave. The adrenaline rush had worn off and she was hit was a wave of sleepiness from staying up all night. She got out some of Dorita’s tea that was supposed to help them stay awake. As she prepares it she glances at the dragon carefully watching over her young. She shakes her head. Jake will never believe this. Heck, she was here and still didn’t believe it. She still felt like they had no plan and just got lucky. Splitting up the party was the worse thing they could have done. As she drinks the tea she notices the dragon watching her. She slowly approaches but doesn’t get too close. “So,” she says hesitantly, “Where will you go after you leave here? What will you do?”

She replies, "Away from where the humans have moved into. I was thinking of heading up along the northwestern coast of what you know as the Pacific Ocean. Humans have shown little interest in the region and I believe that the elves of the Harda, Kwakiutil, Tlingit and Tsimeshein tribes would be good companions for myself and my child until it is old enough to fend for itself in South America."

Ruby looks at the little monster and laughs to herself. As far as she was concerned all babies were little monsters. "Well, I guess you know what you are doing. We have injured the other spirit and hope it cannot return. We also hope the other hunters will follow it but I suppose we can't count on being that lucky. I still don't know why you chose us to do this but hopefully we can succeed."

Nanuet manages to find a spot with some relatively soft dirt. He lays the quiver with his arrows nearby then kneels down close to the earth. He takes the vial that was given to him by the druid from a small leather pouch and whispers a prayer as he opens it. He pours the dark liquid on the ground and stands back to observe. Nanuet sees that the liquid mixes with the sand below into a type of paste and the color changes from dark blackish-maroon to more of a maroonish-red.

Nanuet hesitantly takes an arrow out and dips it into the muddy mix. He then lays out a rag and places the arrow on it gently. One at a time he coats about a dozen of the arrowheads with the dark red mixture and places them on the cloth. He then wraps the cloth around the arrows being very cautious to avoid the dangerous arrowheads, remembering what the druidess told him.

About half of the liquid still remains, so he covers it over with brush to prevent anyone from accidentally stepping in it. He climbs to the top of the cave and finds an area where he can hide while still viewing the mountainside leading up to the cave. He takes out his rifle and lays that next to him as well as his shortbow and the coated arrows. He unfurls the cloth so that the arrows are readily available should they be needed. As he is doing this he repeats the chants of several of his shaman prayers to himself, preparing them if the need arises.

Katherine was sitting cross-legged in the back of the cave, her slim spellbook in her lap. It was the first time she had dared to remove it from her room at the El Parador, but they were to be here for several days. Without it she would be no help at all.

The other spell she had learned that morning was mage armor, but it would be more important to enlarge Chester so he could use the cannon than to protect her. After a little while she felt she had successfully committed what she needed to memory and closed the book. Kate took a deep breath and walked over to where Storm stood near the Earth Spirit. "I hope you know how much I hated to....To leave you there. No matter how I try, I cannot think what we could have done differently. I'm sorry."

Sonoma looks to Chester "I have no idea if we will see any other groups but I assume that we might after all we were seeing some of the more practiced hunters we still have no idea where Buffalo Bill Cody's group is and they aren't really good hunters so they will likely follow the pre-laid trail that brought the rest here only slower." Chester replies, "And with his large group, we'll probably see or hear them before they notice us."

Sonoma says, "A lot will depend on how well those hunters do tracking the monster in the meantime we need to keep an eye out and try to keep her and the baby safe hopefully they will be able to get away soon." Chester comments, " That's true. But even if we keep the hunters away from Kinepeikwa and the baby, eventually the Chimera will try again. So we might have to kill him. But, I guess first things first. Do you want to stand guard with Nanuet? I think I have things under control here."

"So," Ruby continues as she walks closer to the dragon. "What's it like being a spirit? I mean, having to protect a whole continent, or whatever it is you do..." The more time goes by the less hesitant Ruby becomes as she walks closer to the dragon. "And I'm curious, what's it like being a, um, dragon..." Ruby is standing right next to the dragon at this point and starts stretching out her hand.

Storm only nodded, her eyes serene. Kate wanted to ask about speaking with the dead, but she kept looking at the bullet hole in the centaur's forehead. Could she stand to see Tom like that? A wound in his back where Morgan Earp's knife plunged in?

Kajika had said Storm was still here because her purpose had been unfulfilled. Katherine couldn't think of a purpose for which Tom would have needed to hang on. They had spent the better part of year preparing for his death together, and said their good byes on the train platform when he left Boston. That the death had come after they thought the risk was gone, that it had come in a different manner shouldn't matter. Kate turned slowly and went back to her place on the cave floor. She pulled out the strips she had ripped for bandages and began to neatly roll them, hoping she wouldn't have need of them.

Kate watched as Ruby stretched out her hand and touched the dragon. It watched her, but didn't stop her. But it was an old creature. Perhaps it understood wonder. Kate watched the small Chimera. It's eyes followed Ruby as she moved. Whatever answer the dragon gave to Ruby's question, Kate couldn't hear it.

She didn't mind. Silence was comforting. This time, even before a fight could start, Kate had found that calm place. What would happen, would happen. She found herself fighting off the urge to sleep and got up to stretch her legs. She peeked out from behind the canvas and saw a puff of dust down the mountain. She let the canvas fall shut again.

"Ruby, there's more people coming up the mountain," she said quietly. A half-mile down the mountain comes the sound of horses and a cloud of dust is seen rising up from beneath the trees. The direction is different from the way that Comstock and his friends had ridden off.

Ruby has a hard time breaking away from the stare of the dragon. She finally pulls herself away and makes her way out of the cave. She climbs up to above the cave mouth and rechecks all the guns she has with her, then waits.

Nanuet directs his attentions to the new group heading up the mountain. He asks Chester and Sonoma to keep an eye out elsewhere in case there was more than one group coming. Nanuet checks that the rifle is loaded and repositions the arrows so that they are easily within reach. He risks standing up to get a better look at the approaching group, but will not risk his cover for long if he doesn't get a better view right away. The cloud gets closer as do the sound of the mounts. In another minute they will break through the tree line.

Kate pulled out Tom's pistol and took a deep breath. She stayed behind the canvas for now, watching through a small crack between the canvas and the cave mouth. She carefully slid the barrel into the crack, being careful not to jar the fabric and cause it to ripple.

Chester comments, "I see them. They're probably a group we haven't seen yet." Chester takes a long look to his left and right. Once he is satisfied that no one else is coming, he'll prepare the hand cannon and his Spencer.

 

[Silver Moon]

Chapter 150. “Attack of the Earth Spirit”, Friday, January 20th

The men break through and it isn't who they were expecting. Heading in there direction are seven mounted United States cavalry soldiers including three ogres riding ogre-mounts. Chester recognizes the leader of this group as his former commander, who he had the confrontation with on Main Street a week-and-a-half earlier. They ride up the mountain in that direction.

"Hey Chester!" Nanuet whispers. "Those look like soldiers. I think those are the guys we saw in town a while back. Do you know any of them? Did you hear about them being involved in this hunt at all?" Chester hisses back, "Yeah. I know them. The leader is my former commander. We didn't get along at all. He was in town a while ago asking about the stagecoach robbery that we were caught up in. Bill didn't tell me that they'd be involved. Could be that they're trying to keep us poor folk safe from the monster."

Kate listened to Chester‘s answer and wasn't sure whether to put the pistol down or not. The soldiers might try to make them leave, or at least put up a fuss with Chester. She sighed. She'd almost rather it had been someone coming for a fight. Ruby sees the soldiers and sighs before grabbing the rifle and climbing down from her position. She walks a bit away from the covered opening and waits for the soldiers to approach. Nanuet comments, "How did they know where to find us? I guess they must have somehow followed the creature or the other groups to this spot. Should we announce ourselves and greet them?"

The soldiers close to 100 feet. Each of the soldiers has a weapon in hand and at the ready but are not yet pointed towards the party. The Lieutenant calls out "Lay down your weapons." Nanuet speaks from behind the rock where he is taking cover. "Mr. Soldier, why do you come here? Kate pulled the barrel of the pistol back inside the canvas and held it at her side, continuing to watch.

Chester calls out from his position, "What's going on Lt.? We're looking for the Chimaera. What brings you all the way over here?" Nanuet states, We won't lay our weapons down, we are doing nothing wrong." The Lieutenant replies, "Doing nothing wrong? Like protecting the cowboy gang perhaps. We know they're up in these hills somewhere around here. Maybe you're part of their group. Weapons down, we're coming up." The seven soldiers pick up their pace as they continue to climb the mountain towards the group.

Before speaking Ruby uses her quick hands to get her rifle behind her back. Seems the soldiers haven't noticed her yet. Using her charms she states, "Do we really look like members of the Cowboy Gang? Why would we want to hide those fugitives? If you remember they tried to ambush the stagecoach we were on last week. Believe me, if we saw them we would turn them right in." Nanuet states, "Sorry Mr. Soldier. No cowboy gang here. We hate the cowboy gang too! They shot our friend Mr. Jake. I am saying this to you, you might be sorry if you come up here. There are things here you may not want to see."

The soldiers continue to close and they near the ledge by the cave mouth. The Lieutenant says "You're being on that stage could have been a set up. They've hit two Tombstone stages in the last week, the last one just yesterday. We've tracked them to this area." An ogre wearing corporal's stripes gestures to the tarp covering over the cave and says something in the Ogrish language. The Lieutenant replies in the same language and they all stop. Chester strains to hear what they are saying. While he's doing that, the ex-soldier tries to hide the cannon under some rocks.

Three of the soldiers point their weapons towards the party on the ledge while the orges draw their weapons in the direction of the cave. "Can't say I didn't warn you." Nanuet says in a no nonsense tone.
"Alright then, why don't you make sure we aren't hiding them in the cave, since you don't believe us. But one of us is in there, let her come out." Ruby calls for Kate to get out of the cave. Kate took a few steps back from the canvas and shoved the pistol in her pocket. "I'm coming," she called with an exaggerated yawn.

"What's going on?" She shouted as she ran over to her spell book and shoved it into one of the cracks in the cave wall, hoping the soldiers wouldn't find it there if they came in. She then rumpled up her hair a bit, hurried over to the canvas, and pushed it aside. She widened her eyes as she looked at the solders. "What is going on?" Ruby replies to Kate. "Well, they think WE'RE hiding the cowboy gang in that cave." Ruby shrugs. "So they are going into find out if we are or not. I told them we aren't."

"The cowboy gang?" she repeated incredulously. "Us? I don't even know how you all convinced me to come up here and hunt for this monster. I would have turned you all in to the madhouse before I'd agree to do anything with the cowboy gang." Nanuet turns to Chester and whispers "I am glad you left the Army Mr. Chester." Chester replies, "So am I. So am I."

Lieutenant Oscar Gamble orders two of the soldiers to go check out the cave. Two of the ogres move the blanket aside and go in while the others continue to cover the rest with their weapons. The next two minutes pass very slowly until the ogres come out and announce that the only thing in the cave are the group's horses. Gamble gives Chester a nasty look and then says "What were those cannon shots we heard coming from over here?" Chester replies, "We were using some dynamite, Lieutenant. That's probably what you heard.”

Nanuet puts down his rifle. While ducking down to put the rifle on the ground he loosens his knives in their sheaths and then gets up and makes his way from above the cave mouth to where the soldiers, Ruby and Kate are.

Storm walks through the canvas and stands in full view of the soldiers glowing with an unworldly light a beam showing through her head where the bullet lodged in her brain causing her death In a voice full of the power of the other world and the earth spirits she protects she speaks in Ogrish “This is not the place you seek. The evil ones you seek would not tread on my holy grounds. These people are here because I have need of them here. Seek the evil ones who caused my death to the south east of here.”

The very superstitious ogres all begin to shake. Gamble sees that they are about to desert him so to save face yells "Mount up men, we ride to the southeast." As quickly as possible they then make their way down the mountain. Nanuet also gets the shivers. The sight of Storm in her solid form with the bullet wound is enough to shake him. Chester asks, "What's going on?" Then he looks down at Storm. "Oh, right." Louder, he yells at the retreating soldiers, "Thanks for stopping by Lieutenant."

Katherine sat down with a thump as the soldiers thundered away. She stared at Storm. "Thank you, I don't know what we could have done. Shooting soldiers is a bad idea." She slowly sunk her head into her hands and struggled to stay in the here and now. "I don't know how much more I can take," she muttered. Storm tells her, "You will take what you can and go on. You have become an amazingly independent woman who your husband would be proud of. You are the butterfly that emerges from the cocoon. Your wings are still wet but you will fly with all the power of the winds in time."

Nanuet says, "Miss Kate, maybe you should take some rest. We don't all need to be awake right now. Have some hot tea and try and relax and rest." He bows to Storm. "Thank you Storm, your aid is welcomed and needed." Katherine lifted her head up and pushed herself off the ground. She smiled a sad little smile. "Perhaps he would. But I don't think flight is in my future quite yet. Maybe I'll just start with that tea." Ruby finds a boulder and sits on it, rifle in hand, waiting for the next situation to arise.

Nanuet peeks his head into the cave to see what happened and where the dragon went. Looking inside the cave Nanuet notices that it now only goes back fifteen feet and then ends in a solid wall. The only thing inside the cave are the horses. "What happened here? Where is the dragon?" Nanuet makes his way further into the cave and begins feeling the walls. He knows that there was a much larger cave here not too long ago.

She pushed aside the canvas again and went into the cave, which suddenly stopped fifteen feet back. Kate laid her hand on the wall, testing to see if it was an illusion or stronger magic. The wall fades away as do the horses. Nanuet sees that the dragon and her child are where they had been all along. The horses are still way back in the back of the cave. She tells Nanuet "I am not without powers of my own. We needed those people gone quickly, they would have only been a distraction. I'm sorry to have to tell you this but my mate is returning."

Nanuet turns to Kate "That tea will have to wait Ms. Kate." Nanuet then scurries out of the cave and shouts "The Chimera is coming back, everybody get ready! Chester, get that cannon out, we are going to need it.” "Damn! I knew one shot wouldn't scare it off long." Chester pulls the rocks from atop the cannon. He loads it with two lightning shells. "I hope this will do the trick."

Nanuet climbs back to a spot above the cave mouth and gets the bow and one of the arrows that had been soaked in the muddy red mixture. He begins to scan the sky to see if the creature can be spotted.
Ruby doesn't move from her rock outside the cave, but looks around to see if she can spot the creature. Kate hurried back out of the cave, strangely glad to have something to focus on. She walked as close as she could to Chester without climbing up, ready to use her spell to enlarge his body.

The next ten minutes pass as everyone waits in anticipation. The shape of the chimera then emerges, flying over the peak of the mountain, 600 feet back and 200 feet above where the party is. They notice that the goat head is dangling lifeless to the side of the creature's head and it is also bleeding from a cut on its neck. Gripped in its right front claw is the severed head of one of the bugbear creatures. It closes to around 400 feet and then banks higher and to the left. The previous hand cannon wound is still visible but it is no longer bleeding from that spot. It begins to let out a loud cry from the dragon's head followed by a roar from the dragon's head.

"What kind of range do you have on that thing Chester?" Nanuet yells. "It needs to get a lot closer for me to have a shot with the bow. I dipped the arrows in the liquid I got from the druidess but I can't reach it that far away with a shortbow." Chester replies, "Pretty far. It's based on a ship cannon after all. But Riley's right. Without practice, I don't think I could hit him at this range. Question is, do we want him to come closer so I can?" Riley says "Earlier when my second shot missed the shell continued on for a good half mile before it hit an outcropping on the next peak and exploded. Range isn't the problem, it's aiming and shooting the damned thing."

Nanuet states, "Well Chester, feel like giving it a go? What's the worst that happens? You miss and have to reload. Let's see what that thing can do!" "I could enlarge you now, but it only works for a couple minutes," Kate said to Chester. "Do you want to give it a chance to get a little closer?"

Ruby sees the bugbear head in the creatures claws. "Eww, nasty," she says outloud to no one. She remembers Jake's lesson with the rifle and that it can shoot that far, so she gets behind the boulder and rests it on the rock, waiting until she has it in her sight to shoot at it. She doesn't think she'll do much damage but maybe she'll get it's attention and it will fly closer so Chester can shoot it.

The party then notices some more movement higher up the mountain. A group comprised of a human and four half-ogres climb up from the opposite side of the mountain. Two of the ogres are carrying the barrel of a five foot long cannon. A third ogre has a pair of cannonballs. The walk until they reach another ledge, some 250 feet back and 100 feet higher up than the party. The ogres begin to secure the cannon in place with some wooden braces. The human has a long rifle which he starts to sight onto the dragon. The remaining Ogre begins to wave his arms and then starts to levitate up in the air. Up until this point they had been focused entirely on the dragon and hadn’t noticed the party on the ledge below strategically placed behind the rocks. The levitating Ogre now sees them and points this out to his allies.

Nanuet says, "Well that just might work too. There cannon is big, but it must be hard to hit a flying target with that thing. But hey, if they want to help hunt this thing down, I'm all for it." The Chimera makes and sudden turn and goes into a dive, not unlike that of a falcon diving towards prey. It initially appears to be heading in a direction that will take down the mountain and away from both groups but then shifts in a ninety-degree turn once it has closed to around 300 feet from the party and dives directly towards them, quickly closing to 150 feet. Up the mountain the three ogres attempt to load and shift the cannon while the human hunter takes aim with his rifle. The levitating ogre pulls out some type of wand.

Ruby starts singing some words of encouragement for herself and the rest of her friends and will shoot if the creature gets close enough to really threaten them. Nanuet waits until it closes within 120' then fires his shot. He then begins firing rapidly using the arrows that have been dipped in the muddy liquid.

Nanuet states, "Not so sure we will be the ones who decide that. Miss Kate is ready to enlarge you so that when it flies closer you can try and shoot it. I am in the same bind as you. My bow could reach that far, but I would have no chance to hit it. Just be ready!" Kate says, "I don't think it's going to get any closer, and they're going to start soon no matter what." The dragon continues to circle overhead. Kate took a deep breath and began her incantation. The gestures were expansive to match the spells intent. A few moments later Chester's body filled out and stretched until he was twice his normal size. "That's all I can do," she said, exhaling heavily.

Chester says, "Thank you. That should help me hold this thing. Watch out. I think one of those ogres can use magic, too. It might try to use some on us." Kate nodded to Chester and moved back to shelter behind a large boulder. She only had the energy left to perform minor tricks with magic, and her pistol would never reach far enough. She dashed inside the cave and came back out with her hands full of bandages and crouched back down behind the boulder.

Chester draws a bead on the Chimaera and fires when he feels it it right. A lightning shell arcs towards the beast. Chester grunts from the recoil and thumbs the second trigger, loading the second lightning shell. Chesters shot flies directly towards the creature and his aim is true. The shell strikes the dragon's head directly in the eyes just as a spout of flame is starting to emerge from the creature's maw. The shell strikes with even greater impact than normal given the speed that the monster is traveling opposite it and the ensuing explosion leaves nothing of the dragon's head than a stump.

Equally fantastic is the aura of silvery-blue lightening that simultaneous to the explosion envelopes the monster's back and wings, the lightning traveling up the thin bones between the wing folds. While the wings appear to still be intact they no longer appear capable of supporting flight and the creature drops to the rocky mountain below.

It hits hard and then rolls down the mountain forty feet before coming to a stop beside a boulder. It lies lifeless for around a minute, then surprisingly begins to stand as the lion's head raises up and roars in defiance. This is short lived as Nanuet's arrow pierces its eye. Three more arrows strike the creature, two penetrating it's back.

The party on the ledge then sees the ogre with the wand float past them as it levitates down the mountain and towards the monster. The ogre uses its wand in a rapid back-and-forth motion to send three consecutive fireballs into the already dying monster, after which the burning husk moves no more. Nanuet lets forth an unbridled war cry, pouring forth all of his emotions into the outburst.

 

[Silver Moon]

Chapter 151. “I have a bad feeling about this...", Friday, January 20th

Ruby watched Chester and Nanuet take out the Chimera with pleasure and relief. She gets up from behind the boulder she was behind. Then she saw an ogre start shooting fire out of a wand and becomes very concerned. She keeps her eyes on him and keeps her rifle ready.

Chester lets loose a whoop as the monster crashes to the earth. "Huh. I wonder how we can claim the bounty. That group isn't going to be too happy with our poaching." Without taking her eyes off the ogre mage Ruby replies to Chester, "I think we'd better just let them take it. I don't think that guy looks like the type to negotiate. I have a bad feeling about this..." Chester unloads the shell from the hand cannon and packs the weapon in its case. He shakes his head. "Whew. I never thought I'd be happy to have used a Navy gun. It sure packs a wallop."

Kate says, "Ruby's right. The bounty isn't important, it's not why we're here." Kate looked over at the other group. "Let's hope they only care about the money and not a solo kill." Chester looks back at the fallen spirit, "That sure would have earned us a pretty penny."

Nanuet gathers up his rifle, but leaves the soiled arrows behind. He scrambles down the mountainside until he reaches the cave mouth again. He enters looking for the dragon. "Your mate lives no more!" She says "I know, I sensed it. Your friends should brace themselves, the earth is about react to the passing of one of its spirits."

Nanuet beams. "You are safe from him now. There are others who would hunt you though, you should stay here, hidden from their view." She states, "Yes, he was leading them back here." Nanuet replies, "Why don't you hide yourself like you did with the soldiers. Of course, we'll stay until the danger passes, but that would help us greatly." Chester enters the cave and says, "Ma'am. You and the child should be safe for now. Those hunters should be happy with the first monster they find."

The man and his three half-ogre companions climb down the mountain in a hurry, leaving the cannon behind. It is unclear whether they are heading towards the carcass or the party on ledge as they are both in the same general direction from where this quartet had set up the cannon. The half-ogre with wand continues to levitate downward towards the creature, landing beside it.

The human and the three half-ogres bypass the party and head down to the body. The ogre mage casts some sort of ice spell that extinguishes the fire. The four examine the charred husk. While it probably isn't the trophy they were seeking, especially with the central dragon head now missing, it is still impressive enough to have stuffed and displayed.

The human leaves one of the half-ogres by the body as he and his three companions start to climb back up the 150 or so feet to where the party is. They are all dressed in regular cloth and wool clothing. Each is armed with hunting knives, one or two revolvers as well as a rifle, a shotgun or both. But for right now all of their weapons are still holstered on their belts or strapped across their backs on a strap or fastened alongside backpacks. The ogre mage, however, continues to hold the fireball wand in his hand.

Ruby, who is still positioned away from the mouth of the cave, steps forward a bit. She keeps her rifle down and tries to keep it positioned behind her but she is still ready to pull it up at a moment's notice. She puts on her charm and diplomacy and concentrates on talking with the human.

"Can you believe that hideous creature? We have no idea what it was but it looked like it was going to attack us. We thank you for your assistance in destroying it, you must be very skilled hunters to take down such an animal. We are very lucky that you were here to help." She steps forward and offers her free hand. "Ruby West. And you are?"

"Beauregard Dodge" he states in his rich Carolina accent. "So, you say that you're not with any of the hunting parties?" As they are talking the ground begins to shake. "Nice to meet you Mr. Dodge. No, we're not with any of the hunt.... " Ruby starts her introduction but the ground starts to shake. She quickly looks around at the area to check for possible disasters.

When the ground started shaking Kate got back behind the boulder and got down on the ground, knowing there was no way she was going to be able to keep her balance. The shaking intensifies and everyone present soon realizes that they are in the midst of an earthquake. Some up the rocks higher up in the mountain being to fall and roll down in the direction of the group.

"Kate! Get out of that cave!" Ruby yelled. She keeps her eyes on the falling boulders and will jump out of the way if one gets too close. She also keeps her eyes on Mr. Dodge and his companions if she can. Dodge yells "Are you crazy lady?" as some large rocks roll by causing most of the group to quickly move out of the way. "That cave is the safest place to be right now! Come on boys," and he starts to move in that direction.

Ruby gives a quick laugh while dodging some rocks. "I might be crazy, but if that cave collapses, and it probably will, you'll be dead or at least trapped for sure." And as if on cue, the roof of the cave collapses, with at least a ton of rocks and dust falling down and blocking what had been the entrance. Ruby, Chester, Riley and Nanuet are still outside. Kate had been near the entrance and the collapse would have definitely killed her. Sonoma and the dragon were both further back in the cave but may have also just been killed.

"Kate!" Ruby screamed out as she started to try to dodge the falling rocks running to get as close to the cave mouth as she could. She gets near where the opening was and realizes that anyone standing there would be dead. "Damn it! damn it damn it!" she repeats over and over again looking for any signs of Kate, or even slimmer chance, Sanoma.

As Ruby looks closely for signs of anybody still alive she then notices a shimmer of magic. She concentrates further to see that the tarp covered cave still stands, the collapse having just been an elaborate illusion.

The earthquakes end. And Dodge says "Guess you were right about the cave lady." He then laughs and says "Sorry about you friend but that will save you the trouble of having bury her." She looks to him. "You're sick," is all she says. Meanwhile, twenty feet away Kate is lying on the ground behind the rock and starts to stand up again from where she has fallen.

Chester picks himself off the ground. As he dusts himself off, he says, "Is everyone OK?" Then he looks around and does a head count. "Where are Sonoma and Kate? Are they out here somewhere?" Chester rushes for the cave entrance. Looking at Dodge, he says, "Help me dig. A couple of our friends might be trapped under there." Ruby grabs Chester as he tries to run by and start digging. "No, Chester, it's too unstable..." She looks him in the eye, giving him the "go with it" look normally reserved for Jake.

Dodge says "Leave her, don't waste your time." He looks further up to see that the large cannon is still where they had left it. Chester growls and reaches for his revolver. Ruby grabs his arm and says, "Kate and Sonoma wouldn't want you to throw your life away. Let him go." Chester lets go of his weapon. "Good choice, young man," says Dodge. "Listen to your friend. I'm not one to put up with too much nonsense. Now if you don't mind, I'll be going. Good day to you." Chester turns and starts for the rock pile.

Dodge and his ogres head past the party and climb further up the mountain to retrieve the cannon. As they walk away Ruby gets very close to Chester and whispers in his ear, "It's magic, I think they're ok inside." Dodge and his three companions reach the other ledge, 250 feet back and 100 feet higher up than the one that the party is on party. The half-ogre with the wand continues to watch the party while Dodge and the other two begin to disassemble the cannon. Further down the other half-ogre continues to inspect the carcass of the giant chimera.

Kate crouched back down behind the boulder before she could stand all the way up. It was a strange thing to be under illusionary rocks as they fell. And to get up now would expose it all. She kept her breathing as quiet as possible. She listened as the others argued briefly with Dodge. She hated hearing the worry in their voices until Ruby realized it was magic. Still, it was sweet and stupid of Chester to go after Dodge. She kept still and quiet, waiting for the all clear from Ruby.

Once Dodge was out of earshot Chester told Ruby, "Thank Tyche. How do you know this, Ruby? The cave-in looks real to me." Ruby replies, "Trust me on this. They're fine. But that ogre is watching us. So don't just walk into the cave, now. We can pretend we're digging."

Ruby just smiles at Chester. "Come on let's dig." They pretend for a while to be moving rocks, while really watching the other party. Ruby realizes that she doesn't actually know where Kate is and start to get worried, but as she looks around sees her head peeking out from behind a rock. She smiles and returns her attention to the Mr. Dodge.

Ruby sees that Dodge and his friends continue to work with the cannon, except for the one with the wand who continues to watch the party. They have removed the large heavy object from both of the wooden braces and Dodge and one half-ogre are holding it up while it is turned around so the barrel is now facing away from the party as the other half-ogre seems to be doing something else to it that from the lower angle the party is she cannot determine .

Ruby keeps watching them, trying to figure out if they are disassembling or setting the thing back up in a different spot. Chester whispers to Ruby, "What are they up to?" He spots Kate hiding in the rocks, "You had us worried there. Stay there until Dodge and his group leave." "That was the idea," Kate whispered as she made herself comfortable behind the boulders. "I'm sorry to have frightened you both." Kate pulled her knees up at her chest and laid her head on them. "At least I can rest a bit now."

The men on the other ledge continue to fiddle with the cannon, which is disattached to the braces and is being held pointing down and away from them. Riley says "Guys, I don't want to alarm you but I think I just saw them load a cannonball into that thing." "Or maybe not," Kate says in response to her earlier comment about resting. She pulled out Tom's pistol but stayed down despite her desire to peek. "I'm sorry, I only have the energy left for a few minor spells. You'll have to make do with my poor shooting."

Ruby turns her head towards Chester without taking her eyes off the other group, "You'd better get that cannon back out, Chet, and quick..." "What in Hades are they doing?" Chester opens the case and removes the hand cannon. He loads two normal rounds into the weapon. "Are they aiming at us?"

"I have no idea, but let's not wait around and be unprepared when we find out..." Ruby glances up and only sees Chester and Reilly. Kate was behind a boulder but still near the cave mouth. She couldn't see where Nanuet went. She figured he was hiding, or maybe making his was up the mountain. She says up to them, "Make sure you aren't all together giving them something to aim at." Ruby glances around looking for something to rest the rifle on if she needs to aim up at the other party.

Nanuet had been shaken by the quake and had tumbled a few feet to an area below the cave mouth on the steep mountainside. He had hit his head so his focus was wavering. Nanuet was unsure how much time had passed. Minutes, maybe even hours. He thought he heard Chester and Ruby saying something about getting out the hand cannon and another voice mention loading a cannonball. He tried to stand but found himself swimming in dizziness when he lifted his head. He begins to weakly cry out for help, hoping the others will see him.

Chester and Ruby had both focused their attention on the group of hunters. Without the ability to look, Katherine strained her ears to hear what else might be happening. It was strangely quiet except for the metallic sounds coming from the strangers and their cannon. And something else.

For a moment she thought it might be an animal, but the timbre of the sound was familiar. Chester and Ruby were both right there, and she could see Riley as well. Sonoma had been in the cave and was likely doing the same thing she was, hiding so as not to give away the illusion. The only person she could not account for was Nanuet. "Ruby, Chester, do you hear something? Listen." She heard the voice again. "Where is Nanuet?"

Riley points and says "It's the Indian guy, Nanuet. Looks like some rocks fell on him when the earth shook." Riley heads over towards Nanuet to help him up. Chester continues to load the hand cannon, having gotten one shell into the main chamber and grabs for the second shell to load into into the reserve chamber.

Up the mountain Dodge and one of the half-ogres change places, Dodge moving to the back and the half-ogre moving over to one of the side trunnions (the side holders that typically rest the weapon onto the wheel base). The five-foot long barrel is still pointed down and away from the group. The half-ogre with the wand continues to watch the party, moving over to the end of the upper ledge but still a good 230 feet away.

Being father away from the group, Ruby didn't not hear Reilly's comment about Nanuet. She continues to watch the group above, unsure of what they are doing. Every once in a while she looks down to make sure no one else is approaching from below.

The two half-ogres pivot around while holding the weapon by the trunnions. They now point the barrel of it directly towards the ledge that the party is on. It is hard to see Dodge as the half-ogre on the left and the canon shield him from their view. The other half-ogre still stands at the end of the upper ledge holding his wand.

Even laying down Nanuet can see the cannon being pointed towards them. He wonders if one of his spells will help but realizes he doesn't have time to figure out if it will. From the ground he starts his incantation, using the same spell he used the day Jake got shot, aiming for a spot directly under the ledge the other party is on.

Sonoma hearing Nanuet begin a spell begins to chant hoping to add to the strength of whatever he may be doing and protecting both the group and the earth spirit in the cave. The dragon tells Sonoma "He seeks to move the earth. He has not the power by himself, but this is the one area where my powers are the strongest. I can assist him."

Ruby hears Nanuet start casting a spell although she doesn't see him or know what he is doing. She quickly looks around and sees the cannon now pointing towards them. After the comment Dodge made about Katherine getting buried Ruby lost any of patience she would have had for him or his friends.

She looks around and sees a big boulder to lean her rifle up against, her gun was already prepared she just needed to get to the rock. She knows the ogre with the wand is watching them so she quickly moves to the rock, uses the boulder for support and shoots at the ogre with the wand, hoping her lessons with Jake have paid off. "Get close to the cave!" she yells out to her friends. "And Chester, blow them off the mountain before they do the same to us!"

He replies, "You don't have to tell me twice, Ruby. Watch for the ogre with the wand." Chester calmly loads the second shell into the chamber. He mutters to himself, "When did I sign up for the artillery?" Once the hand cannon is loaded, Chester aims for the half-ogre to the left of the field cannon and pulls the trigger.

 

[Silver Moon]

Chapter 152. “Ogre Battle", Friday, January 20th

Nanuet notices that his necklace glow increases in intensity to a brightness equivalent to looking directly into the sun. Oddly enough, the glow has no ill effects on him, although both Riley and Chester are momentarily distracted by the brightness. His hands then begin to glow as well, but it is not the tourquise color of the healing spells, instead they begin to glow a bright red. As he touches the ground he sees the color flow into it and up the mountain in the direction of the other ledge.

The boulders beneath and supporting the upper ledge then glow the same bright red color and then transform, but not into the mud that he is expecting to see. Instead, it turns into the magma of a volcano and the rock above begins to desolve and crumble, the magma splashing up between the cracks.

One of the half-ogres is caught beneath a now forming crack in the upper ledge and falls into the magma for a quick but very painful death. The half-ogre on the other side dives off of the ledge, falling twenty feet to the mountain below which he then begins to roll down. Much to everyone's surprise the cannon remains where it had last been, levitating in the air and still pointing towards the lower ledge. Dodge has wrapped his hands around the rear of the weapon and is holding onto it for dear life, dangling in the air as the magma pool speads a mere four feet beneath his shoes. The ogre mage rapidly levitates through the air towards him, ignoring the splashing magma below as he grabs his master.

Ruby's shot at the ogre mage missed. She then hears a shot from further down the mountain where the other half-orge was. A bullet enters and immediately exits through her right upper leg, managing to miss the bone and major blood vessels but causing major pain . She leans against the rock to keep from falling.

Ruby feels the bullet go in and out of her leg but at first does not realize what happened. Then she starts to feel a searing pain in her leg and when she looks down she sees blood starting to seep through her pants, flowing out the bullet hole left by it. The pain is excruiating and she falls to the rock next to her for support, letting out a string of unlady-like explicatives.

She looks down the mountain to see where the shot came from and sees one of the half ogres there with his gun, shooting at Chester who came flying off the ledge. Using the rock for support she picks up the rifle and shoots at him, letting loose a few more choice words.

Chester's shot then fires. He had not been enlarged this time or well braced and the recoils sends him sailing backwards and off of the ledge, dropping the hand cannon as he falls. He rolls down the mountain for fifteen feet, banging his head against several rocks. He hears the sound of the round exploding but his view of the highest ledge is now obstucted by the one with his friends on it.

"Blast it," yells Chester as he goes flying off the ledge. After he lands, he rubs his head and feels a big knot forming on his forehead. "I guess you boys didn't want to share the bounty." A bullet shot from the half-ogre down by the carcass then strikes against a rock just above Chester's head, narrowly missing him. He scrambles behind the nearest rock he can find and shakes his head to clear it. Once he can see straight, he draws his Remington and returns fire at the half-ogre by the carcass.

As the hand cannon fell Riley made a wild dive through the air to grab it. He manages to catch the gun in midair as he sails off the front of the ledge and into the open air as he then begins a forty-foot fall to rocks below.

One aspect of Riley's dreams that he had not shared with the others is that they all ended the same way, with his death. There were many variations as to how he died. In some he was killed by the team with the giants, in another he took a gut shot from Buffalo Bill Cody and in several he was killed many different ways by the three headed-dragon. The common theme in all of them was that he died a meaningless death, too afraid to act. That was what had tortured him the most.

The last day few days had been surreal for him. All of these people who he met were willing to sacrafice themselves for a greater purpose. It was these people who Kajika said that he needed to learn from. He was still destined to perish on this trip but that death would stand for a greater purpose.

He thought that he had already achieved that when it was his shot that struck the three-headed dragon, but in truth, that shot had mearly been one of self-preservation. The soldier Chester had been away at the time and the weapon was the best thing around to save Riley's life. Once Kate cast the spell on him he was committed. He felt momentarily proud, but then the creature returned. Riley cowered in the far corner of the ledge while the others attacked and killed it, his only contribution being in telling Chester about the weapon's range.

Riley spent the next half-hour feeling ashamed of himself. He watched as Chester selflessly reloaded and fired the weapon, and was shocked when the recoil flung Chester back to his probable death. Something in Riley's mind snapped at that instant. He saw his one act for redemption and took it, leaping towards the falling weapon.

The fall to the rocks below lasted but a matter of seconds but to Riley it was as though life now moved in slow motion. With perfect clarity he surveyed the surroundings, seeing the half-ogre that had dived from the upper ledge now standing and pointing a shotgun across to where Ruby stood on the lower ledge, with Kate and Nanuet also both lying within the shotgun's range. Riley's left thumb clicked the lever that ejected the spent shell and slid the reserve shell into place.

As the ground came near Riley steadied his aim towards the half-ogre and fired. Riley's final sight was that of the shell exploding against the half-orge's neck, blowing the creature to pieces before it had a chance to fire the shotgun. Riley then fatally struck the ground.

Chester's shot hits the half-ogre for a massive explosion, blowing away the creatures right arm, shoulder, lower jaw and upper chest. The levitation spell remains in the effect and his not being grounded causing him to sail back thirty-five feet and into the mountain wall. He releases Dodge as he sails back but the temporary assist was enough to allow Dodge to pull himself up and onto the rear of the cannon still floating in the air.

Chester's shot misses the half-ogre, who dives behind the Chimaera's body for cover. He watches Riley fall and, amazingly, fire the hand cannon at the other half-ogre. The ex-soldier sees Riley hit the ground below him with a crunch. He says to the doomed man, "Riley! Don't you die on us. That shaman won't be happy. You didn't have to risk your life for that gun." Chester recocks the hammer on his revolver and fires again at the sharpshooter.

Nanuet is still a little fuzzy and the mass confusion around him doesn't help. He looks around for his companions and remembers that Ruby has been shot and that Chester fell. "Anybody need healing?" he yells out excitedly, finally standing on his feet and dusting himself off.

When it came, it came faster than Katherine could have imagined. The waiting seemed so long, and the shooting went on for a few seconds. With only Dodge himself left, Kate grabbed the bandages and crawled out from the illusion toward Ruby. "They both need you, but I can help Ruby and I won't be able to help Chester up. I don't think Dodge is a problem right now, he's preoccupied with not falling." Kate started unrolling a bandage but Ruby pulled back. "Not now, Kate. Get back to the cave!"

Nanuet looks around and sees Chester and Ruby firing down at the dead three-headed dragon with an occassional rifle shot back firing back from that direction. Looking the other direction he sees a badly wounded half-ogre over three hundred yards away on its remaining hand and knees, apparently searching for something among the rocks.

Nanuet remembers the new pistol that he recently acquired. He pulls it out in hopes that it hadn't gotten damaged when he fell and begins shooting at the human. He yells for Kate to get Ruby into the cave. He then looks over his shoulder towards the direction that Chester fell and begins making his way toward him.

The only other person is the human named Dodge of is sitting atop the cannon, which is levitating in the air and still pointed towards the lower ledge that he is standing upon, Ruby and Kate both nearby. Nanuet makes eye contact with Dodge Dodge who yells back "You killed my sons. I'll see you all in Hades!" Nanuet then notices a spark of fire in the man's hand that touches the rear of the cannon.

"I don't believe in Hades," Kate muttered to herself. "Ruby we have to go, now! We don't want to be anywhere near here when that thing goes off." She tried to wrap her arm around Ruby's waist and pull her away, hoping she wouldn't resist. Nanuet continues to shoot at the human, looking back and forth between him and Chester.

Nanuet empties the pistol of ammunition but given his inexperience with the gun and the very long distance between him and his target none of the shots connect. The cannon thunders, the recoil knocking Dodge off from it. The southern plantation owner falls into the magma beneath him, joining his half-ogre son in death.

The cannonball strikes the ledge, shattering it into multiple pieces and causing another landslide. Kate and Ruby were both headed back into the cave when the ball stuck, rocks and debris knocking them to the cave floor and hitting both Ruby and Kate. Nanuet was near the edge of the slab that had been the ledge and is thrown from it, falling and rolling down the mountain to a point near where Chester is at who gets hit by some rocks. Any hopes of Riley having survived the fall are dashed as several tons of rock wash over him and bury him from sight.

Kate got herself back up and went for one of the packs. Jake had been thinking of this expedition, and had bought supplies. She had some cuts and bruises, but she could still move alright. She reached the pack and pulled out the rope. "Ruby, honey, we need to get Nanuet and Chester back up here. Can your heal yourself a bit? It'll be quicker than me bandaging you up." "Sure, Kate." She watched as Kate took the pack out of the cave to help Nanuet and Chester. Ruby took in a huge breath. She was in bad pain and didn't feel like singing, so instead of working on the spell she closed her eyes and rested for a few moments.

Katherine went as close to the edge of the cave mouth, the ledge that had been next to it having now collapsed, carrying a rope. She looked for the most stable boulder she could find and wrapped the rope around it several times, leaving plenty of rope free on each end. She tossed it over down to Chester and Nanuet.

"I'm not sure how hard that climb will be, use the rope to help you," she called down. She took a moment to look farther down the mountainside where Riley lay beneath the rocks, the same fate that for just a moment the others thought had befallen Kate. Praying wasn't part of her nature, but she hoped that whatever came after he would find peace.

She sighed and went back to the boulder. There was no way she would be strong enough to hold the rope for the men. Wrapping it around the boulder should have made it stable enough, but she sat down on the free end of the rope for good measure.

Chester and Nanuet stay huddled behind the rocks. There has been no movement or gunfire from the area of giant chimera for several minutes now but they assume that the half-ogre sharpshooter is still hiding behind it and waiting for a target.

Up at the cave mouth Kate scans the area as well. The magma has now started to cool down and is changing color from red to black. Further over the mortally wounded half-ogre mage appears to have succomed to his wounds and is lying draped over a rock, blood still pouring out from the missing upper right side of his body.

Around three-quarters of the mile down the mountain she sees dust rising up over the trees heading in their direction at a good pace which based upon the prior arrivals of both Comstock's group and the soldiers and the directions they left she recognizes this as the sight of yet another group of mounted riders heading their way.

Nanuet assessed his wounds before trying to stand. He had some scrapes and bruises, but nothing too serious. Chester was nearby and seemed to be in similar shape.

He knew the sharpshooter was somewhere below, but there had not been a shot fired for some time. Sonoma's invisibility trick would have worked nicely, Nanuet made a mental note to try and learn that one someday.

"Chester, can you climb?" Nanuet asked the wounded soldier. "If you need healing first I can do that, otherwise I think we need to get moving." Just as he finishes saying that he notices the tell tale cloud that indicated more riders were approaching. "Yeah Chester we need to get moving now, we have more company."

Kate backed up a few feet and said into the cave, "More riders coming up the mountain, I can't see who it is yet." She pulled Tom's pistol out of her pocket and watched the dust cloud.

Ruby opens her eyes hearing Kate's words. "Crap," Ruby says outloud to no one. She tries to concentrate on her song to heal herself but is having some difficulty through the pain in her leg. She stops singing and shuts her eyes tight, clearing her mind. She opens her eyes and tries her song again.

The spell has the intended effect of healing over the wound and erasing the pain, leaving behind only two small purple-and-yellow bruises where the bullet had entered and exited. She finds that she has no difficulty walking again, and only feels a minor irritation from where the wound, comparable to the feel of an insect bite.

The dust could gets closer and the rumble of galloping horse hooves now begins to echo through the valley. At the sound of the approaching horses the half-ogre by the chimera's carcass decides to make a break for it. He has approximately 600 feet of fairly open rocky ground before he will make it into the relative safety trees below. He is still holding his rifle in one of his hands as he runs but is not pointing back, though he does occassionally glace back in the direction of where Nanuet and Chester are.

Ruby stands and is surprised at how well her spell worked. She looks to the back of the cave, to see if Sanoma, the dragon and the baby are ok. She then walks back to the front of the cave and looks in her bag at the dynamite she brought with her. Now that the cannon was gone they might need it, so she quickly got all of it together and ready if necessary.

Then she picks up one of her other rifles and heads out to stand next to Kate. She looks at the pistol in Kate's hand and laughs. "Jake must have not given you too good a lesson. Try this instead," as she hands Kate the rifle and some ammunition. "It's only one shot before you have to reload it." "I know this won't reach," Kate said, indicating the pistol. "But it's all I had. And I hope we won't be needed to shoot at all. If we're lucky, it will be Senor Bolivar and his group." Kate slipped the pistol back into her pocket and held the unfamiliar rifle instead. Ruby glances down the mountain to take note of Nanuet and Chetser, then Ruby waits to see what will emerge from the trees.

Nanuet takes a quick look at Chester's wounds. "You should be fine to climb up there, with those new riders approaching we need to be able to defend the cave." Nanuet helps Chester get up the rope and back to the cave mouth. He then proceeds to climb up the cliff face using the rope as well. His arms and legs ache as he climbs, but he grits his teeth and pulls himself back up to the cave mouth.

Taking a quick look he notices that the riders will be upon them soon, so he climbs back up to his spot above the cavemouth where his weapons and hiding spot were. Nanuet first reloads the pistol and tucks it back away, fumbling with the unfamilar weapon. He then makes sure his rifle is loaded and ready to be fired and lastly checks his shortbow and arrow supply. He still has 8 of the arrows coated in the reddish mud nearby and several more untainted ones as well. He lays the bow down, takes up his rifle and watches the approaching riders. The half-ogre makes it into the trees a quarter mile south with just seconds to spare before the riders charge out from the trees a good four-tenths of a mile further west of him.

 

[Silver Moon]

Chapter 153, “Buffalo Bill", Friday, January 20th

There are a total of sixteen riders the emerge from the forest. They are mostly human but a few wood elves are with them. Although they have not encountered him yet, based upon the outlandish spangled yellow coat, oversized hat and flowing locks the party can deduce that the man leading this group is the now famous actor, storyteller and ex-solider who goes by the name Buffalo Bill.

Ruby looks to Kate. "I suppose we're going to have to deal with all the groups hunting this thing, eh?" She replies, "I imagine so. But since we don't want the creature for ourselves anyway, I don't see why there should be a problem. They want it, they can have it as far as I'm concerned. We might have a bit more trouble about the dead bodies."

Sanoma comes to the front of the cave and takes a good look at the oncoming group. She comments, "I think we may be in luck. I know one of the men that the actor hired. As a matter of fact I made a fairly large purchase from his flock. If we do this right we may be able to get out of it as long as Buffy Bill gets the credit for slaying the monster" Kate replies, "I don't care who gets the credit as long as it's dead. He can throw himself a parade and I won't argue. I just want to be done and go home," Kate finished in a tired voice. "Best we don't hide, they might think we were trying to ambush them."

The riders slow as they take in the scene. The curvature of the mountain does not afford them a good view yet of the dead monster and their attention is all focused upon the cannon floating eight feet up in the air above the cooling pool of still glowing and steaming magma. The group cautiously rides towards that spot, slowing as they see the two dead half-ogres but not approaching either body. They dismount a good forty feet from the magma and carefully approach towards the cannon, rifles in hand.

Nanuet is not near Sonoma but he can make out some of her comments. The idea of a non-violent encounter with these men appeals to him. "Magma, dead half-ogres and floating cannons must make some sight." Nanuet thinks outloud. He decides to stay put and keep an eye on the group, rifle in hand.

The men attempt to get closer to the cannon but the rock surrounding it is still too hot. They then follow the line-of-sight from the direction that the cannon barrel is pointed. The ledge that had been by the cave is no more, the pieces of it having slid down the hill. They then spot the chimera carcass another 200 or so feet beyond. Bill lets out a cry and he and his men charge on past and over to the creature. Nobody is watching the cave at the moment, allowing anyone who wishes to to climb down.

Sanoma looks at her friends "what do you think? now is the time to get down there and try to cover our backs. The other thing is that wand might still be there too, oh and the sharpshooter with the rifle so we really should warn them at the very least" With that she starts to head down the mountain "Storm will you keep the dragon safe I'll try to send this group on their merry way. Send us some kind of signal if you see another group coming"

Kate exclaims, "Wait, Sonoma, I..." But Sonoma was already on her way down the mountain. Kate wasn't entirely certain what Sonoma intended to do, but she knew what Dorita would do if Sonoma got hurt and found out they let her go down alone. Katherine began to clambor down after her. "What do you mean by 'cover our backs?' The elf replies, "There are a bunch of dead bodies with bullets. The dragon surely didn't do that. We need to convince them that the other group got hurt in the cross fire of all of us working together to take out the monster."

Kate replies, "You don't think they'll believe they attacked us in a disagreement about who got the carcass? I know we shot first, but once there is a cannon pointed at you I think the intent is fairly clear." Katherine continued behind Sonoma. "But I'll follow your lead."

Sanoma quickly makes her way down the rope. Kate and Chester follow. This movement catches the attention of Buffalo Bill's group, who have now surrounded the dead giant chimera but none have gotten close enough to touch it yet. They cautiously watch as Chester, Kate and Sanoma begin to move fowards. Chester spots where the custom-made case for the hand cannon has fallen to but opts to stay clear of it at the moment, as it is partially covered over with rocks and dust so is not likely to be noticed by anyone else.

Sanoma, Kate and Chester approach the group of men around the monster's body. The one who recognizes Sanoma whispers something to one of Buffalo Bill's men, who then whispers something to Bill. Chester grabs his rifle before following Sanoma and Kate down the rope. "I hope you know what you're doing, Miss Sanoma. By the way, I've met Buffalo Bill before. He was the chief of scouts when I was in the Fifth Cavalry. This was a few years ago, so he probably doesn't remember me. It shouldn't be too hard to convince him to take credit for the bounty." Nanuet keeps vigilant watch over his companions from behind the rock above the cliff face. He crosses his fingers in hopes that they are saying the right things, whatever they may be.

Buffalo Bill steps forward. "Hello, William Cody. We heard your cannon roar all the way from the other side of the mountain. I see that one or more of my rivals decided to also hire people who knew these parts. I see two of Dodge's force lying dead over there and the head of one of Big Jim's force in the creature's claw. Which of those groups are you working with? And what exactly happened here?"

Sonoma states, "It is true that we are from the area and know some of the individuals that were hunting the monster. It was a fierce battle with many people on all sides working to take down the great monster. I am greatly relieved that the dangerous creature is dead and our ranch and farmlands will now be safe. Without you chasing the monster to the cannon I doubt the creature would have ever been taken down. Do you not wish your photographer to place your picture with the prize?"

It takes Bill a moment to process through exactly what she has just said. He then says, addressing his comments to Chester, "Well, I'm glad that my group was able to herd it for you. I'm just sorry we were a bit late for the final takedown. Yes, I do believe that a picture is in order."

He has his personal photographer begin to set things up. Bill then points to the cannon and says to Chester "I understand your need to use some magic to eliminate such a powerful creature, but others might not be so inclinded. You'd better deactive that thing before anybody else arrives." Chester says, "Oh yes, that. Let me talk to the boss, in private. We don't want our secrets getting out." Chester brings Sanoma aside. "Um. Miss Sanoma, How are we going to get that cannon down? Do you have any magic that can do that?"

Kate bit her tongue. How rude to ignore Sonoma and talk instead to Chester, as if Sonoma wasn't even there. She looked back up at the floating cannon, trying to remember if Mr. Gonzales had told her of any ways to stop a magical effect, or if she had any idea of when the effect might wear off on it's own.

Sanoma directs her first statement to Bill Cody "I fear the cannon is not ours but the group that had the human and ogres in it. I will see what I can do to deactivate it for magic is frowned upon in this area but I really don't know how it works I will need to wait until the gound cools of course."

Sanoma speaks loud enough for Cody to gather all of the details while seeming to speak mostly to herself. "It was such a sight to see! The cannon blasting and then the earth turned into a molten lake from the power of the creature in its death gasps. The others in that group mostly fell to their death except for the human who was able to grab onto the cannon as the earth fell away from his feet. The cannon swung as he gripped it, dangling above the molten pool until he could hold no longer aadn fell to his death."

She looks directly at Cody "It was a fearful and deadly enemy that you have vanquished and I fear what may follow to pick it's bones in these parts the sooner it is gone the better" With that Sanoma heads over to the cannon. She tries to deduce a way to even get to it as way as to find a way to obtain whatever makes the cannon float. The ground beneath is cooling but is still in the range of 150 degrees, too hot to walk upon.

Sanoma tries to keep herself out of the limelight as much as possible while looking for the wand that the ogre used to take down the monster and keeping an eye out for the sharpshooter. Ruby has made her way down and is also searching the area for the wand. Katherine kept back and quiet. Sonoma was spinning a story, and Kate wasn't much of a liar. She made sure to stay out of the camera's range, although she was certain the shots were carefully orchestrated.

Cody didn't seem to interested in the activities of anyone who was female, so she slipped away from the group a bit and kept an eye out for the sharp shooter. Considering the father's attitude, she imagined the son wouldn't think twice about risking his life for revenge. A shiver went down her spine thinking of thier poor mothers. Her father had been an abolishonist; she knew what happened to the slaves of men like Dodge. She wasn't sure if it was a good or a bad thing that she felt no sorrow or regret about Dodge's death.

Buffalo Bill dispatches a contingent of his men to ride to the town of Dos Cabezas to obtain something to move the monster with. He spends the next half hour being photographed with the carcass. The picture taking is then interrupted with the unexpected arrival of the hunting party with the giants, climbing down from higher up the mountain.

All six members of this group are wounded. One of the giants has his arm in a sling made from ropes and blankets. The other giant has bedsheets tied around his chest, with blood seeping through it. He is carrying a blanket wrapped body in his arms. One bugbear is now mostly devoid of fur, it having been burnt away and leaving only black tufts. The other bugbear has a splinted leg and requires assistance from the ogress to walk. She too is wearing bandages. The hunter who Cody called Big Jim has a splint on his arm and a bandage wrapped around his right leg.

They approach the dragon and silence falls over all present. Jim and the charred bugbear move foward and pry apart the claw still clinching the head of the deceased bugbear. The giant sets down the blanket and unwrapps the headless bugbear inside. The charred bugbear places the head atop the body and then carefully rewraps the body in the blanket. The giant then picks it up again, cradling it in his arms.

The hunter named Jim walks up to Cody so that their faces are only inches apart, causing Buffalo Bill to back up. Big Jim gestures to the cameras and says "Do I need to destroy those, who can I trust your word that there are no pictures that show my friend's head in them." It takes the very intimidated Cody just a fraction of a second to reply "None will ever see print. You have my word."

The hunter says something to his companions in a language that none present understand. They turn and begin to walk away towards the forests. Big Jim then turns and points to the monster and says "The head that looks like a goat was our kill. I expect to be paid one third of the bounty." He then turns back and walks away. They are out of sight before anybody speaks.

Chester asks, "Who was that, Buffalo Bill? And what where those things with him?" Bill replies "That was Big Jim MacCluskey. He's a big game hunter, made a name for himself in Africa. The ogress is his assistant and some say his mate. The others are creatures from the southern continent of Antarctica. Too bad he wouldn't allow them to be photographed, that would have added alot to the published account of this. I won't be able to use half of the pictures I took earlier either. Oh, and by the way, you look familiar. Have we met before?"

"We have. I'm Chester Martin. I used to be a scout with the Fifth Cavalry out of Fort McPherson a few years ago. We've a couple times, but we weren't in the field together much." Chester gestures toward the Chimaera. "How'd you hear about this beast? It must have been some invitation, to bring you and these other great hunters here."

Bill says, "Pleasure to meet you again Mr. Martin. The Fifth Cav, brings back many memories. How did I hear about this monster? My from Mr. P.T. Barnum. He's the one who put together this 'Wild West Safari'. To be to totally honest, I didn't believe that it actually existed until now." Chester replies, "I didn't either, until it came flying down at us. It should be quite a scene at Mr. Barnum's circus."

Buffalo Bill then asks, "So tell me Mr. Martin, exactly what did the middle head on this thing look like before the cannon destroyed it?" Chester states, "If I remember right, it was a lizard or something. That cannon did a bang-up job on the monster. So, what are you going to do with it now?" Bill answers, "Haul it back and give it to Barnum. I imagine that he will have it stuffed for display. I'm sure he'll come up with something interesting to replace the middle head with."

Another hour passes until a series of heavy wagons and draft horses returns with Bill's other men. They are unable to lift the creature up onto the wagons and have to drag it over to another ledge and roll it onto the wagons below. The men said that they sited a way back to Dos Cabezas wide enough for the four wagons to move side-by-side but the trip will still be tricky. One of Bill's men said "We ran into that Comstock guy in town and told him it was all over and not to bother coming back."

The sun is starting to set to the west when Buffalo Bill and his enterage make their way off of the mountain. Neither Sanoma or Ruby were able to locate the wand and conclude that it must have fallen into the magma as the orge mage was above that when his arm was blasted off. The cannon remains up in the air, although the soft lava-like ground beneath it has finally cooled enough to we walked upon. They are unable to detect what is keeping the cannon afloat.

Sanoma returns to the cave to speak with the dragon. She states, "I realize that you may be hungry and I do not want to accidently offend you, however there are two bodies that the spirits of the individuals will have left. I can place them in the earth or bring them to you as I do not know what their burial rights require. Which would you prefer?"

She replies "My consuming them would not be wise. Others of my kind consume the flesh of humanoids but I have always tried to refrain from that behavoir. During a harsh winter some 200 or so years back I had gone many days without food when I came upon a dead elvan body in the woods. I consumed it and for a short period thereafter was overcome by the desire to eat humanoid flesh. I eventually regained by senses and perspective, but unfortantely many dozen elves perished while I was overcome with the instictive desires. It is probably best that I continue to avoid eating such things, my emotions are already in turmoil so I doubt I could control myself."

Katherine hauled herself back up the rope and onto the ledge. She sat there quietly taking long breaths. It was amazing how tiring doing nothing could be. And she felt as if she really had done nothing. Yes, two spells cast, but they could have done just fine without her. Braced against a boulder they could have shot the cannon just as easily. She looked out over the landscape and sighed. The important thing was that the dragon and her offspring were still well, and in no more danger from her mate.

Kate got herself up and went into the cool darkness of the cave. Their small fire still burned, so Kate prepared that tea Nanuet had suggested a couple hours ago. She retrieved her spellbook as it steeped. She wrapped herself in a blanket to sip it and once it was empty she leaned against the wall of the cave.

She waited for Sonoma to finish her conversation with the dragon. "We should signal Senor Bolivar tonight and let him know the creature is dead," she said quietly. "The only danger left now should be the half-ogre that ran off into the woods. And we're going to have to figure out how to get the horses down the mountain tomorrow."

Chester climbs up to where Riley fell. He calls over to Ruby, "I don't suppose this is another illusion? Poor Riley. Doesn't look like we'll be able to move all these rocks." He kneels by the pile and places his hand on it. "May Eirene grant you the peace in death you sought in life." Chester rises and looks for the hand cannon. Then he goes back to where he saw the case and retrieves that as well.

It takes a while but Chester eventually manages to find the hand cannon lodged between some rocks. It appears to be undamaged but he decides that it is safer to refrain from any further use of it until after the town's gunsmith has a chance to clean and examine it, realizing that if there are any dents or debris within the barrel they could cause a round to jam and explode within the weapon. He secures the weapon within the case. Chester tells the group, "This isn't safe to use. So, I hope we don't get any more people trying to kill us."

Ruby finds a pouch with spell components in the general vacinity of the orge mage's body. Lodged between some rocks near the body she finds what appears to be some type of magical amulet, possibley what he was searching for when he died of his wounds. She does not find the wand.

Maska tracks the trail of the half-ogre that had managed to get away for about half a mile finding that it continues down the mountain. While it is possible that the humanoid could feasibly come back to the area the party concludes that it has probably fled the mountain.

Watches are set up as evening falls upon the mountain. The dragon tells the party that her child will be strong enough for them to leave on the following day. As four of the five hunting parties have now concluded the hunt it should be safer for them to travel although she still has concerns about both the army soldier and this group of outlaws both being in the area.

Chester comments to the centaur spirit, "Well the soldiers are spooked by Miss Storm here, so they shouldn't be a problem. The Cowboy Gang is a different matter. But we can't worry about them yet. They may not even be in the area."

 

[Silver Moon]

Chapter 154, “The Protectors Arrive” , Saturday, January 21st, 1882, 12:15 A.M.

The night goes on. Shortly after midnight Kate is on guard duty, watching from the mouth of the cave, when she sees some riders appear at the tree line. They are following the wagon ruts left by the caravan that hauled away the chimera, tracing the trail back to where the creature had initially fallen. Storm Golden Eye appears beside Kate and says, "It is your friends from South American. They have questions for you about how the earth spirit died."

Kate replies, "Storm would you wake the others, let them know that visitors are on the way? They don't have to come out if they don't want to, but they should know," she said quietly to Storm's spirit. "I should at least guide them." Kate began an incantation and four balls of light appeared in front of her. They floated down the mountain toward the men and once they were noticed, Kate had them lead the men up to where she stood in front of the cave mouth.

Storm gently shakes Chester. He awakens with a start and reaches for his rifle. "What's going on? Is something wrong?" The centaur replies, "No, your weapon is not needed. Katherine's friends are coming to the mountain. She felt you all should know." "Thank you, Miss Storm." Chester puts fresh wood on the fire.

The men ask permission to come up and Kate lowers the rope. Some of Kate's companions have awakened by the time all four men have climbed up to the cave. Seeing the dragon Antonio de Surce says "So the earth spirit to be protected still lives. That is good. We will help to keep her and her child safe."

The human William Miller says "We saw the body of Ihuaivula, the killer of my uncle. The human named Cody tried to take credit for killing it, but he had neither the weapons or any spellcaster among his group to have accomplished such a task so we know that he was lying. Will you please tell us how it was slain?"

Kate replies, "I'm sorry for the falsehood. Some things happened here that Cody wasn't prepared to deal with. Earlier today the creature flew above, trying to draw the hunting parties here. Mr. Riley shot at it with a hand cannon we acquired and hurt it, but not enough to kill it.

Later on Mr. Dodge's party arrived and started setting up a cannon a little farther up the mountain. The creature returned, and Chester was able to shoot it with the hand cannon again, this time with magical ammunition. Dodge's people used a magical wand of fire to strike it. Nanuet used a special paste on his arrows that was also very effective. Between us we brought it down.

Afterward we talked to Dodge, but there was an earthquake shortly after the earth spirit died, and that ended the conversation rather quickly. He and one of his sons went up to deal with the cannon while one stayed with the carcass and the other watched us. We suspected they were going to attack us, but we didn't want to fire first in case we were wrong. But once the cannon was pointed at us his intentions were clear. There was a fight. Dodge and two of his sons died, the other ran off into the mountains.

Mr. Cody came along before we could do any cleaning up. We didn't want another altercation with a hunter, and we didn't want him asking too many questions about bodies with bullet-holes in them, so Sonoma talked to him and led him to believe he could take credit and we wouldn't argue. Since our only goal was to protect this dragon, we have little care who claims to have slain the creature."

Kate sighed. It was the most she'd said in days. She hadn't realized how tiring talking could be. "We'll be glad of your assistance in protecting the dragon. She says she should be ready to leave tomorrow, but there are still dangers." Bolivar says "When she and the child are ready to leave we will accompany her for as long as she wishes. We will keep them safe."

Kate answers, "It's comforting to know that she will still have some protection, I know your skills are formidable. Thank you. There's a small fire inside, and tea if you want it. Why don't you gentlemen get some rest before morning comes? I'm sure keeping up with her will require you to be well rested." Katherine ushered them inside the cave and made sure everyone was comfortable before she went back to her watch.

They sit for a while and enjoy the tea. Miller thanks them for assisting with destroying the killer of his Uncle and says that the man will be able to now rest comfortably. Storm Golden Eye says "That's not how it works." He gives her a quizzical look and then turns back towards the fire. Kate turned her head to look back toward the cave. "How does it work?" she asked in a flat voice.

Storm replies "With death I made my choice, to stay and be a conduit between those who I watch over now and those that lead the spirits from the other side. I was given a choice and a mission to protect and lead and teach as those from the summer lands see fit. Most who die move on quickly and peacefully even when their deaths are violent or unexpected.

It is only with great magics that a choice can be made from your world to stay in it, even after death has come, and the cost is very great to the soul. Often a goodbye will take place at the time of death to a loved one if it is something that has been planned and both people are aware that death is coming, otherwise even the most violent passing is a place of peace at the end." "Thank you." Kate turned her face back to the mountains and blinked away the tears the clouded her vision.

As she spoke so of death and its meaning the four South Americans turn and look at Storm. Only then do they notice the bullet hole in her forehead and realize that she is more than the Native American centaur that they took her for. They exchange glances but none of them are sure quite what to say.

The dragon comes forward and in response to their unasked questions says "Storm perished over two weeks ago. She was a priestess of the Earth and was given the opportunity to stay and help assemble my protectors. Her guidance was instrumental in all of you being here now. Without her I would now be the one being hauled away by the hunters instead of Ihuaivula."

Feeling more comfortable speaking to the giant earth dragon than the dead centaur, Antonio de Sucre asks "I have heard of such things before, but how is it that she can take physical form?" The dragon replies "That is only due to my presence to her. Once we are separated she will once more be closer linked to the spiritual realm, her only remaining bonds to this world being Nanuet and his animal companion."

The dragon then says to the men "Thank you for agreeing to accompany me. You came here seeking revenge against Ihuaivula. Why is it that you have agreed to help me?." Antonio answers "Nanuet told us of your purpose and how you will teach the next spirit for the South American continent to share your values. We have served as leaders of that land and wish to see it prosper. It is time for the violence and misery that has held the continent in its grasp for the past several centuries to come to an end. Anything that we can do to facilitate that is worth any sacrifice that we can give, up to and including our own lives if necessary."

She replies "It should not have come to that. I believe that we can be mutually helpful to one another. I know the land of North America as well as any creature living on it. We should be able to travel unhindered to my next destination, the Canadian province of British Columbia. But the movement of the humans is unpredictable so this journey is not without risk. Your company would be greatly welcomed."

Kate listened to the men and the dragon speaking of things that she had never imagined a month ago. Traveling with one who had been dead, protecting an Earth spirit, and sitting with men who had once ruled countries. Vaguely she knew these were amazing things, there was wonder in them that should excite her. Kate tried to focus on the conversation. "I hope you will return to Promise City someday. I'm sure my teacher would pleased to see you again, as would I. It has been my pleasure to meet you. And you," she said to the Earth spirit. "It is good to be reminded of how much there is in the world that I have yet to learn."

Ruby had slowly woken up when she heard the last group was coming. She sat up and stretched but her body told her she should still be sleeping, and the bruise on her leg hurt. She wanted nothing more then her bed and some whiskey. She listened to their conversation for a while, but all the talk of saving the world bored her, so she grabbed her legs and pulled them to her and put her head down in her lap. She wondered if Jake had returned yet. It had been 5 days now and he should be back. She would be so happy to get back to the Lone Star and see him. With that thought she turned toward the wall and laid back down, and went back to sleep.

Watches continue throughout the night comprised of one party member and one from the South American group. The night passes uneventfully. Guards continue into the morning but since there is no immediate need for anyone else to be up they let the others sleep. It is close to 9:00 AM when the baby chimera lets out a loud cry that wakes everybody who is still asleep. The mother apologizes for her infant, stating that it was hungry. He is already eating solid food and gobbles down a stockpile of salted meats that she had gathered together prior to its birth.

Chester wakes with a start at the sound. He grabs for his rifle again, but relaxes slightly when he sees it was just the baby. Ruby hears the child's noise and sits straight up, wide eyed, obviously startled. She calms down once she sees everything is under control. She slowly gets up and makes her self some of Dorita's tea then waits, for what, even she wasn't sure.

Seeing the creature eat Chester Chester inches away slowly from the baby. "Wow. That's really… nice. Does he eat, umm, a lot?" She replies "Well yes, after all, he has three mouths to feed. His body also has three stomachs. I'm glad you friends are joining us for this journey. I'm sure they will be very helpful in finding game for us to eat along the way."

For a moment, Kate had thought the Chimera's cry was part of the nightmare she had been having. None of her dreams were pleasant anymore. Being woken by the child was a relief. She rubbed the sand from her eyes and sat up. Even with it's three different heads and frankly, monstrous form, the foreshortened features of the creature gave it a childlike look that appealed to Katherine. She quickly pushed down the feelings of longing and sorrow that welled up. "It seems very sturdy, and certainly has a powerful voice," she said. "A good start for South America's new steward. Who will influence that continent until the child is able to do it?"

"I wondered about that myself" Bolivar comments. The dragon replies "The continent is bordered on both sides by two great oceans, each of which has its own spirit. They will help watch over it until the child has been taught what to do by me and is old enough to protect and defend himself."

"Well, if today is the day, I'd best go out and see how we're going to get the horses back down the mountain. The terrain has changed quite a bit since we came up here." Kate headed out to what was left of the ledge and looked at the mountainside, trying to determine whether the animals would be able get down in any way.

The group discusses how to get their horses down. The dragon offers to assist but the horses are too afraid to allow them near her. Carlos Wyman says that he has some spells that might work, but that they might be needed to deal with the still levitating cannon instead.

Eventually they come up with a plan using blankets, ropes and saddles to make up harnesses to lower the horses one-by-one. The dragon provides the strength needed to hold and lower them while Sonoma calms each animal. Once the mounts are all down they are moved off a safe distance. She then uses the harness system to lower her child before climbing down herself.

Wyman examines the cannon as best he can from the ground, unable to determine what is holding it up. He casts a Levitate spell onto himself to get up for a closer look. He then casts a Detect Magic spell, which reveals four invisible magical devices fastened on the device, each a round disk approximately five-inches in diameter. He has everyone move back when he casts a Dispel Magic spell onto it, the cannon crashing onto the volcanic rock below. The disks are now visible and no longer levitate, although appear to still be magical. He says that there are probably control words needed to activate them.

Ruby looks at the discs curiously. "I wonder what kind of magic that is?" she says out loud to no one. "Could be useful though..." She snaps out of it and looks to the dragon. "So, is it time to go?"

The dragon says "Yes, best not to stick around here in the open given how busy it was yesterday. We will probably do most of our traveling at night but with the assistance of these men several miles today are also possible if we are cautious." Storm Golden Eye says "I will accompany you for the first day as well."

The four South Americans say their goodbyes as well to the party. The British human William Miller tells Chester "We will have to meet again some day. I have some stories of my Uncle that I think a former soldier like you would enjoy hearing." Chester shakes Miller's hand. He says, "I'd like that. I bet he had some adventures. It was nice meeting you and your friends, Mr. Miller. Have a safe trip."

Carlos Wyman tells Ruby "Your friend Gonzalez should be able to help you figure out how to use those disks. I'd like to apologize once again for the disturbance at your saloon. I enjoyed what little I heard of your singing it would have liked to have had an opportunity to hear some more of it."

"Oh I didn't say we would take them. I mean, we would take them but... " Ruby just stops and smiles at Wyman. "We will take them." Why would they need them anyway, right? Ruby thinks.
"You don't have to apologize at all for the disturbance as you put it. Those Whipples don't own the place anymore and I hope things like that won't happen now that Jake and I own the place. I do hope you will be able to visit again. It's a shame for you to miss out on my singing!" She gives his hand a little squeeze. "So please try to stop by again so I can finish singing for you. And I'm sure Mr. Gonzales would like to see all of you again too."

Bolivar and de Surce take Kate aside. Antonio says "Goodbye Katherine, I thank you for helping to reunite me with young Consuela. The reunion was a happy one for all of us. The events that you have helped put into motion will be of benefit to hundreds of women in the years ahead." Kate replies, "I was in the right place at the right time. Consuela is a lovely woman, I'm glad to have played some small part in your reunion. It's good to see people happy."

Bolivar tells her "After we have helped to bring the dragons to their new home we will travel to Los Angeles to help enlist the labor for the renovations of the hotel and restaurant. Are there any messages you would like for us to bring to your friend Maggie Whipple?"

"Ah, yes, thank you. I'll write something, if you don't mind waiting a few moments." Katherine went over to her bag and wrote a note to Maggie on a piece of paper ripped from her journal. There wasn't much to tell, as she hadn't seen Maggie's family after Maggie left. She waited a few moments after writing it to let the ink dry and folded it carefully.

"Thank you," she said as she handed the letter to Senor Bolivar. "I know she will do well. I wrote it, but tell her I miss her. It's been a pleasure meeting you, I hope we'll see you again. Thank you for taking this to Maggie, and for letting me be part of helping those women, in whatever small way I could."

Before they head off Storm Golden Eye asks Nanuet to join him for a few minutes. She places her hands on his shoulders and says "Thank you for all that you have done. It was unfair of Geronimo to ask you to take on my responsibilities. Your work here is more than I should have asked of one person and you have performed admirably in these tasks. Please give some thoughts as to what you wish for your future and I will do what I can to assist you to achieve that. We will meet again although I will no longer be in a physical form at that time." She then kisses him lightly on both of his cheeks.

He states, “Storm, I have done little in the repayment of your life that you gave for my selfish reasons. I proudly take on any responsibilities that you had in life, it is the least I could do. I appreciate your kind words, they bring me much honor. As for my future, I do not know. I have always been a traveler, a wanderer if you may. I like it here, although it has been a busy place over the past couple of weeks. At the moment I plan on trying my hand at ranching and expanding my shaman skills, but I am not sure for how long that will appease me. I am glad to hear that we will see each other again. Your influence and guidance have been good for me.”

Storm and the four South Americans depart along with the dragon and her infant. Kate watched the creatures fly away low over the trees as the men kept up moving along the ground. She breathed a sigh of relief and turned back to the cave. It only took a few moments to douse the small fire and collect her things. She lifted the saddle bag over her shoulder, wincing a bit at the weight on her still-bruised shoulder. "Everyone ready?" she asked as she went over to shimmy down the rope.