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"Revenge, Renewal and the Promise of a New Year" (Boot Hill/D&D)
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<blockquote data-quote="Silver Moon" data-source="post: 1959680" data-attributes="member: 8530"><p><strong>Chapter 77, “What did I get myself into now?”, Tuesday, January 10th, 1882, 6:00 A.M. </strong> </p><p></p><p>As the first light of dawn begins to climb over the mountains to the east a six-horse carriage belonging to the Morand Cartage Company pulls up out front. It is similar in style to the Wells Fargo Stage but not nearly as fancy, with straw-filled burlap bags for seat padding. The passenger coach doesn't have any glass over the windows, with simple cloth sting-drawn curtains that can be lowered to keep the dust out. Zack Morand asks Seawell to sit up with him in the front to direct him to the site. </p><p></p><p>Jake and his companions are dressed and waiting to go, firearms at the ready. Dorita and Manuel are both present to see them off. Dorita hands them a picnic basket full of food for the ride. Pedro gives Katherine a hug and slips a small metal wand into her hand and says "Just in case. It is more accurate than a gun, just focus on who you wish to target and point it in that direction. Just make sure that the Marshall doesn't see you using it." Katherine took the smooth metal and slid it into the pocket of her riding pants. "Thank you, professeur aimé (beloved teacher ). I'll be careful." She kissed her teacher's cheek and went to join the others as Morgan Earp noticed her and climbed out of the coach to sit on top. </p><p></p><p>“What did I get myself into now?” thinks Ruby as she stands before the coach. “I should be in bed sleeping for hours still.” </p><p></p><p>Jake had gotten up before the sun to get ready for his little outing. He tried to be quiet but Ruby woke up anyway. She tried to get him to come back to bed, she asked him to stay with her and not go but he insisted it was something he had to do. Ruby knew she would be awake now and so she refused to stay behind. She had to borrow pants and a shirt from him since she still hadn’t had the chance to get some appropriate traveling clothes and the last set she borrowed ended up torn and bloody. “I should replace those when I get a chance, like I ever have time!” she thinks. So she found herself, too huge clothes, tired and hungry, on another adventure that she was sure she was going to regret.</p><p></p><p>Jake slides his shotgun and rifle on the wagon next to where he is going to sit. Sitting in the back on one of the seats and holding a shotgun is Deputy Marshall Morgan Earp. At the sight of who is coming onto the carriage he very quickly decides to ride up with Morand and Seawell instead. She leaned over and whispered to Jake. "Have I offended him somehow?" she asked, nodding toward the Marshall. "Not that I have noticed. Has he behaved like that before?" He says quietly and gives her a hand up to the wagon. With a small grin, "What kind of fool of a man wouldn't want to sit next to you." He makes eye contact with Ruby. "Laying it on a bit thick this morning, aren't we Jake?" Kate laughed. </p><p></p><p>Kate dropped her voice again. "When I went to see Job on Sunday. He dropped his coffee when he saw me, not when I came in, when he saw me. Then he tried to tell me that visiting hours were over, when there aren't any special visiting hours. I don't understand." </p><p></p><p>Jake offers a hand up to Ruby and Sonoma. He checks both revolvers, puts some extra shotgun shells in one pocket of the leather coat he is wearing, and some extra rifle shells in the other. He walks around the outside of the wagon methodically examining it. 'Just in case things get nasty' he thinks to himself, 'work the odds'.</p><p></p><p>Nanuet comes out with his rifle slung over his back walking his horse. "Mind if I ride alongside? I think I would feel a bit more comfortable, and it's a less bumpy ride anyway." Kate suddenly remembered Storm Goldeneye running alongside the stagecoach on their journey here, barely more than a week ago. She wondered if Nanuet was thinking the same thing. "If I were a bit more awake, I'd join you," she said.</p><p></p><p>Sonoma looks at the transport and decides that she would also rather ride her own filly instead . Before everyone else can get settled she has a spunky little mare saddled and ready for the trail.</p><p></p><p>The journey to Fisk Mountain begins uneventfully. The road travels along the valleys between various hills and mountains, this particular area being the foothills of where the Dos Cabezas and Chiricahua Mountain ranges intersect. The regular hills run for the first mile and then the larger mountains begin, a long mountain with a gradual upward slope being just north of the roadway for the second mile of the journey. They then pass a number of smaller but steeper mountains and hills, the road winding around between them. </p><p></p><p>There is a fair amount of vegetation on the hillsides but no large trees. The final two miles of the journey cross rockier terrain with less vegetation. They finally reach Fisk Mountain, an ugly piece of granite thrusting up to a peak nearly one-thousand feet high, marked with various pockmarks caused by assorted blasting and digging done over the past six months. The stage and mounted elf riders are met by the dwarf Torvald MacNaulty and human Humphrey Lewis, both pointing weapons in the direction of the stage until they see Patrick Seawell with it.</p><p></p><p>"Well that isn't a very nice welcome, now is it?" Ruby says while stepping off the coach. When she gets down she rubs her backside. "I think you're going to need a better road out here..." Jake gets out and looks around. "Did you learn what you needed Morand?" As he talks to him Jake is watching Earp for any usual behavior or if he is looking anywhere in particular. </p><p></p><p>Then Jake wanders over to Nanuet, "Did you notice anything unusual on the way out? If I were going to ambush someone going both ways I'd do it on the way back. That way I could watch them and look for weakness and count numbers." After talking with Nanuet Jake goes to talk to the other miners to see if they have noticed anything suspicious, knowing that Torvald thinks everything is suspicious.</p><p></p><p>Kate jumped down out of the coach and surreptitiously rubbed her backside. "Fichu tour inconfortable” (damn uncomfortable ride) she muttered under her breath, unconsciously aping her mother's habit of talking to herself in French. The trip had thankfully been quiet so far, but Kate kept her eyes moving over the landscape for any hints of ambush. The granite mountain was particularly ugly. Kate wandered about, stretching her legs and waiting for someone to call them back to leave. </p><p></p><p>The miners haven't seen anything out of the ordinary. Torvald insists on going back on the return trip, demanding to be present for the negotiations. Ruby looks around until she spots Morgan Earp. She looks over to Katherine who is talking to Sonoma and she uses the opportunity to walk over to him. "Mr. Earp, I'm so glad you've accompanied us on this trip today. There is something I've been meaning to speak to you about. Would you care to take a small walk? We won't get too far."</p><p></p><p>He looks her over from head to toe and then says "Fine with me, as long as your boyfriend doesn't get jealous." She replies "Boyfriend? Oh you mean Jake? Well, I don't think he's the jealous kind, Mr. Earp. Let's go..." She takes his arm and starts walking him away from the group a bit. They head off around the far side of the mountain where they are still in sight of the stagecoach and most of the group but out of sight of Katherine, Nanuet and Sonoma. </p><p></p><p>He says "Look I know what you want to talk about. All I'm going to say at the trial is what I found out after I arrived at the Lone Star. It will be up to Judge Isby as to whether he lets your friend Job go or now. I wouldn't worry though, he almost always gives the sentences as a choice of jail time or a fine, and I know that Kane has the money." </p><p></p><p>Ruby leans back against some rocks and plays with her hair. "Oh that's good to know.... but not what I wanted to talk to you about..." She waits to see his reaction before continuing. He smiles and says "Really! That's interesting, and you say this Jake guy isn't the jealous type. Should we find somewhere more private?" "What does Jake have to do with us? And here is just fine I think, for now anyway." Ruby gestures to him. "Come and sit down." If he sits too close she will move away a bit. </p><p></p><p>"So, I wanted to ask your expert advice, being a Marshall and all... I have a friend, and you see there was this situation. Now the story about what happened and what actually did happen don't seem to be the same, as far as I can tell. And I am a curious girl, Mr. Earp. A couple of people were involved in this situation and now I know who they are, even spoke with one of them already, but I'm not sure I should ask the other person what occurred, you know to get his side of the story. I think he knows the truth but he might not be happy to know that I know it. What would a smart man like you do?"</p><p></p><p>Earp is totally confused at first by her hypothetical question and stops and ponders this for a minute. He says "I'm fairly new to the town myself, but I think I know what you're getting at. Tom Whipple's reputation is fairly well known and I don't think you'd be spreading any rumors by informing Maggie Whipple of any advances he's made to your or your friend. But I don't think that telling her would do you any good either. It's their saloon and people like him don't change. My best advice for you would be to just move on. You and your friends should find another saloon in another town and put the whole Whipple business behind you." “My, you certainly are perceptive, aren’t you?” Ruby raises an eyebrow. </p><p></p><p>She looks him right in the eyes. “Someone told me you were present the night of Tom Kale’s death. Is that true?” Ruby's comment take's Earp totally by surprise. He recovers and says, "Yeah, I was. Poor guy, was sick when he came out here. Then he got better and called for his wife. Before she arrived he got sick again and died. A crying shame, he was a nice guy. Look, your friend appears to finally be done with mourning, there's no point in getting her upset all over again."</p><p></p><p>Ruby answers, "Oh I don't figuring on getting her upset, believe me. Thanks for your help. We should probably be getting back." Ruby stands up and starts to walk away, then turns back. "There is one little problem though... it's called a knife in the back... not sure that counts as an illness..."</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Silver Moon, post: 1959680, member: 8530"] [B]Chapter 77, “What did I get myself into now?”, Tuesday, January 10th, 1882, 6:00 A.M. [/B] As the first light of dawn begins to climb over the mountains to the east a six-horse carriage belonging to the Morand Cartage Company pulls up out front. It is similar in style to the Wells Fargo Stage but not nearly as fancy, with straw-filled burlap bags for seat padding. The passenger coach doesn't have any glass over the windows, with simple cloth sting-drawn curtains that can be lowered to keep the dust out. Zack Morand asks Seawell to sit up with him in the front to direct him to the site. Jake and his companions are dressed and waiting to go, firearms at the ready. Dorita and Manuel are both present to see them off. Dorita hands them a picnic basket full of food for the ride. Pedro gives Katherine a hug and slips a small metal wand into her hand and says "Just in case. It is more accurate than a gun, just focus on who you wish to target and point it in that direction. Just make sure that the Marshall doesn't see you using it." Katherine took the smooth metal and slid it into the pocket of her riding pants. "Thank you, professeur aimé (beloved teacher ). I'll be careful." She kissed her teacher's cheek and went to join the others as Morgan Earp noticed her and climbed out of the coach to sit on top. “What did I get myself into now?” thinks Ruby as she stands before the coach. “I should be in bed sleeping for hours still.” Jake had gotten up before the sun to get ready for his little outing. He tried to be quiet but Ruby woke up anyway. She tried to get him to come back to bed, she asked him to stay with her and not go but he insisted it was something he had to do. Ruby knew she would be awake now and so she refused to stay behind. She had to borrow pants and a shirt from him since she still hadn’t had the chance to get some appropriate traveling clothes and the last set she borrowed ended up torn and bloody. “I should replace those when I get a chance, like I ever have time!” she thinks. So she found herself, too huge clothes, tired and hungry, on another adventure that she was sure she was going to regret. Jake slides his shotgun and rifle on the wagon next to where he is going to sit. Sitting in the back on one of the seats and holding a shotgun is Deputy Marshall Morgan Earp. At the sight of who is coming onto the carriage he very quickly decides to ride up with Morand and Seawell instead. She leaned over and whispered to Jake. "Have I offended him somehow?" she asked, nodding toward the Marshall. "Not that I have noticed. Has he behaved like that before?" He says quietly and gives her a hand up to the wagon. With a small grin, "What kind of fool of a man wouldn't want to sit next to you." He makes eye contact with Ruby. "Laying it on a bit thick this morning, aren't we Jake?" Kate laughed. Kate dropped her voice again. "When I went to see Job on Sunday. He dropped his coffee when he saw me, not when I came in, when he saw me. Then he tried to tell me that visiting hours were over, when there aren't any special visiting hours. I don't understand." Jake offers a hand up to Ruby and Sonoma. He checks both revolvers, puts some extra shotgun shells in one pocket of the leather coat he is wearing, and some extra rifle shells in the other. He walks around the outside of the wagon methodically examining it. 'Just in case things get nasty' he thinks to himself, 'work the odds'. Nanuet comes out with his rifle slung over his back walking his horse. "Mind if I ride alongside? I think I would feel a bit more comfortable, and it's a less bumpy ride anyway." Kate suddenly remembered Storm Goldeneye running alongside the stagecoach on their journey here, barely more than a week ago. She wondered if Nanuet was thinking the same thing. "If I were a bit more awake, I'd join you," she said. Sonoma looks at the transport and decides that she would also rather ride her own filly instead . Before everyone else can get settled she has a spunky little mare saddled and ready for the trail. The journey to Fisk Mountain begins uneventfully. The road travels along the valleys between various hills and mountains, this particular area being the foothills of where the Dos Cabezas and Chiricahua Mountain ranges intersect. The regular hills run for the first mile and then the larger mountains begin, a long mountain with a gradual upward slope being just north of the roadway for the second mile of the journey. They then pass a number of smaller but steeper mountains and hills, the road winding around between them. There is a fair amount of vegetation on the hillsides but no large trees. The final two miles of the journey cross rockier terrain with less vegetation. They finally reach Fisk Mountain, an ugly piece of granite thrusting up to a peak nearly one-thousand feet high, marked with various pockmarks caused by assorted blasting and digging done over the past six months. The stage and mounted elf riders are met by the dwarf Torvald MacNaulty and human Humphrey Lewis, both pointing weapons in the direction of the stage until they see Patrick Seawell with it. "Well that isn't a very nice welcome, now is it?" Ruby says while stepping off the coach. When she gets down she rubs her backside. "I think you're going to need a better road out here..." Jake gets out and looks around. "Did you learn what you needed Morand?" As he talks to him Jake is watching Earp for any usual behavior or if he is looking anywhere in particular. Then Jake wanders over to Nanuet, "Did you notice anything unusual on the way out? If I were going to ambush someone going both ways I'd do it on the way back. That way I could watch them and look for weakness and count numbers." After talking with Nanuet Jake goes to talk to the other miners to see if they have noticed anything suspicious, knowing that Torvald thinks everything is suspicious. Kate jumped down out of the coach and surreptitiously rubbed her backside. "Fichu tour inconfortable” (damn uncomfortable ride) she muttered under her breath, unconsciously aping her mother's habit of talking to herself in French. The trip had thankfully been quiet so far, but Kate kept her eyes moving over the landscape for any hints of ambush. The granite mountain was particularly ugly. Kate wandered about, stretching her legs and waiting for someone to call them back to leave. The miners haven't seen anything out of the ordinary. Torvald insists on going back on the return trip, demanding to be present for the negotiations. Ruby looks around until she spots Morgan Earp. She looks over to Katherine who is talking to Sonoma and she uses the opportunity to walk over to him. "Mr. Earp, I'm so glad you've accompanied us on this trip today. There is something I've been meaning to speak to you about. Would you care to take a small walk? We won't get too far." He looks her over from head to toe and then says "Fine with me, as long as your boyfriend doesn't get jealous." She replies "Boyfriend? Oh you mean Jake? Well, I don't think he's the jealous kind, Mr. Earp. Let's go..." She takes his arm and starts walking him away from the group a bit. They head off around the far side of the mountain where they are still in sight of the stagecoach and most of the group but out of sight of Katherine, Nanuet and Sonoma. He says "Look I know what you want to talk about. All I'm going to say at the trial is what I found out after I arrived at the Lone Star. It will be up to Judge Isby as to whether he lets your friend Job go or now. I wouldn't worry though, he almost always gives the sentences as a choice of jail time or a fine, and I know that Kane has the money." Ruby leans back against some rocks and plays with her hair. "Oh that's good to know.... but not what I wanted to talk to you about..." She waits to see his reaction before continuing. He smiles and says "Really! That's interesting, and you say this Jake guy isn't the jealous type. Should we find somewhere more private?" "What does Jake have to do with us? And here is just fine I think, for now anyway." Ruby gestures to him. "Come and sit down." If he sits too close she will move away a bit. "So, I wanted to ask your expert advice, being a Marshall and all... I have a friend, and you see there was this situation. Now the story about what happened and what actually did happen don't seem to be the same, as far as I can tell. And I am a curious girl, Mr. Earp. A couple of people were involved in this situation and now I know who they are, even spoke with one of them already, but I'm not sure I should ask the other person what occurred, you know to get his side of the story. I think he knows the truth but he might not be happy to know that I know it. What would a smart man like you do?" Earp is totally confused at first by her hypothetical question and stops and ponders this for a minute. He says "I'm fairly new to the town myself, but I think I know what you're getting at. Tom Whipple's reputation is fairly well known and I don't think you'd be spreading any rumors by informing Maggie Whipple of any advances he's made to your or your friend. But I don't think that telling her would do you any good either. It's their saloon and people like him don't change. My best advice for you would be to just move on. You and your friends should find another saloon in another town and put the whole Whipple business behind you." “My, you certainly are perceptive, aren’t you?” Ruby raises an eyebrow. She looks him right in the eyes. “Someone told me you were present the night of Tom Kale’s death. Is that true?” Ruby's comment take's Earp totally by surprise. He recovers and says, "Yeah, I was. Poor guy, was sick when he came out here. Then he got better and called for his wife. Before she arrived he got sick again and died. A crying shame, he was a nice guy. Look, your friend appears to finally be done with mourning, there's no point in getting her upset all over again." Ruby answers, "Oh I don't figuring on getting her upset, believe me. Thanks for your help. We should probably be getting back." Ruby stands up and starts to walk away, then turns back. "There is one little problem though... it's called a knife in the back... not sure that counts as an illness..." [/QUOTE]
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