Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
"Revenge, Renewal and the Promise of a New Year" (Boot Hill/D&D)
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Silver Moon" data-source="post: 2551697" data-attributes="member: 8530"><p><strong>Chapter 137 ,“Not a very nice way to start a business relationship”, Sunday, January 15th, 1882, </strong> </p><p></p><p>A short while after Ruby and Kate had headed upstairs Chester Martin enters the El Parador, having just come from the four-hour long Greek/Roman worship service. He heads over towards where Kate is sitting and joins her at the table where Dorita has just brought out a pot hot lamb stew and a plate of freshly baked corn bread. Sitting a few tables over is Mr. Austin, reading a book while picking at some food.</p><p></p><p>Nanuet had spent the rest of the morning surveying the damage from the previous night's explosion and fire, offering a hand to anyone who seemed to be still working on cleaning it up. The fire had totally leveled the dynamite shed and Slade's Hardware beside it. Sam Slade was going through the debris seeing if anything could be salvaged and was thankful that he lived in a house 100 feet south rather than in the same building as the store. </p><p></p><p>Also completely destroyed was the Feed and Grain store run by Randall Mason and his wife Helga. They too were thankful to have lived elsewhere, a house right on Sierra Street, and plan to convert the first floor of that into a new store rather than rebuild. Their loss was primarily the building as they hadn't brought in the spring planting seed yet. The exterior frame and most of the wall along the South Street were all that remained of Hoover's Wholesale Liquor and Saloon. Nanuet presumed that the building will need to be torn down and rebuilt. </p><p></p><p>The other eight buildings in the city block bordered by Main, Allen, South and Front Streets, namely Hamilton Fisk's Law Office, The Arizona Billiard Hall, the Rio Grand Hotel and Cafe, the Long Branch Saloon, Johnson's Barber Shop & Baths, the Deputy Sheriff's Office, Condon's Bank and the former Trial Dust Saloon are all made of brick and survived the explosion although each shows some damage to windows, doors and roofs. The explosion also damaged buildings further away. Nanuet realizes that the heavy rains, which had saturated all of the buildings in the 12 hours prior to the explosion as well as afterwards, were responsible for keeping half the town from burning up.</p><p></p><p>During this time Nanuet tried to hear all the theories and ideas about what exactly happened. After that he changes the hay in his horses’ stall, then washes down and brushes the steed. He examines the shoes and figured that they will need to be changed soon, wondering if the smithy would be open on Sunday. After leaving the stables Nanuet looks to the sky and sees that the brightest area of the clouds was just about straight above, it must be about mid-day. He was wet and needed to get out of the weather for a bit. Nanuet decides to wander into the El Parador and see what was being served for lunch. When Nanuet enters he sees Chester and joins him for lunch.</p><p></p><p>Jake hangs around downstairs for a while relaxing and putting the conversation that must be going on between the women out of his mind. Some time passes and he starts to become impatient and worry. Eventually deciding that he needs to go see the Whipples and find out how Katherine has taken the facts as Ruby and Jake have discovered them. He climbs the stairs, somewhat methodically and raps gently on Katherine’s door.</p><p></p><p>Ruby hears a knock at the door and gets up slowly to answer it. She hoped it was Conrad Booth so she could tell him to go away. Kate had been looking forward to seeing him but Ruby didn't trust him at all and now was no time for that anyway. She peeks out the door and sees Jake. She puts her finger to her lips and nods her head towards Kate. She gives Kate one final look and slips out the door. She takes Jake back to her room and tells him what happened. She finishes, "She was upset, but I'm more worried about what will happen when it really sets in."</p><p></p><p>"I don't know what else we can do for her right now." Jake takes off his hat and holds it in both hands. "Let's see if we can close on the Lone Star business while she's sleeping. I'll ask Pedro and Dorita to send someone for us if she leaves the Cantina. I'll get my coat and the paperwork and head down stairs." "Alright, I'll meet you downstairs." Ruby got her long jacket out and pinned her hat on. Poor Kate was all she could think. She shook her head as she made her way downstairs. Yes, she was definitely going to have to get drunk tonight.</p><p></p><p>And as the night sky darkens at around 6:00 PM the rain finally stops. All of the streets in town are not just muddy, they are now flooded with a couple inches of water, as Pine Creek had overflowed its banks. Most of the buildings in town were built a step up and with wooden floors, but the handful of poorer homes with dirt floors are also flooded. The majority of these were along East Street and the southeastern corner of town. They thankfully were furthest from the creek and on slightly higher ground but still managed to each get an inch or two of water on the floor. </p><p></p><p>In an attempt to get to somewhere dry these residents, the wood elves, orcs and half-orcs of the town, headed to the only establishment that would allow them in, the El Parador. Dorita and Pedro were glad that the dwarves had all left, as the these extra rooms would now be needed again, and once more would be five to six people to a room.</p><p></p><p>Jake goes back to his room and puts on the duster but doesn't button it. He grabs their copy of the contract, rolls it up and stuffs it in his pocket. He looks at his other revolver and says to himself, "It's only the Whipples, I won't need two pistols." But just stands over it. He reaches down and takes it out of the holster and puts it in a pocket of the duster. "You are paranoid Silver Jake Cook." he says to his reflection in the mirror, "Yes but with good reason." He taps his hat and heads down stairs. </p><p></p><p>He locates Pedro and without giving him any details simply makes him promise to keep an eye out for Katherine, and if she leaves to have someone follow her and someone go and get him at the Lone Star. Pedro shakes his head, "Trust me Amigo, you are better off not knowing." Jake goes back to the common room and finds Ruby with Mr. Austin. Ruby stands as she sees Jake approaching. "Can you believe this mob in here? We picked the most popular place in town," she says to Jake, smiling at Mr. Austin as guests squeezing in everywhere jostle her. "Ready?" Mr. Austin approaches Ruby and says "I'll head over there first so it doesn't look like we came together." He puts on a rubber rain slicker and heads out the door.</p><p></p><p>"Ready." Jake adjusts the location of the badge so that it is clearly visible through his unbuttoned duster. "Let's go visit the Whipples. What in Hades is up with this rabble?" Ruby shrugs. "I have no idea." Ruby takes Jake's hand and they try to squeeze past the extra guests. As they past a frantic looking Dorita Ruby calls out to her, "What is going on? Oh I can see you're busy, tell us later. Why don't you have Pedro put my stuff in Jake's room? I live in there anyway and it looks like you can use the room." She turns to Jake, "You don't mind right?"</p><p></p><p>Dorita says "Thank you, that help a lot. Sonoma, Pedro and I be giving up our rooms too, all be spending night with Grandfather." Jake smiles, "If all goes well we'll be moving out soon anyway. I wasn't going to let you sleep anywhere else tonight." They slosh their way over to the Lone Star, keeping to wooden sidewalks and planks whereever possible.</p><p></p><p>Katherine woke with a dull ache in her head and a queasy stomach. From the state of the bed, Ruby must have stayed with her long enough to decide she wasn't going to wake anytime soon. The sun was low in the sky as Kate pushed herself off the bed and stumbled over to the wash basin to retch. She stood still for a moment after she was done, her head throbbing. After she rinsed her mouth with a glass of water, she poured a glass of whiskey and took a sip, waiting to see if it would stay down before she finished it. </p><p></p><p>Tom's picture had gotten knocked over. Kate picked it up and looked at it. It should have be different. Everything else was different. She wandered around the room, sharp shards ground into her foot as she unthinkingly stepped in the broken glass. The little stabs of pain with each step began to seep into her consciousness, and her open eyes began to actually see. Furniture, carpeting, bed, dress hanging on the closet door. Smells of sickness and whiskey, feelings of pain in her foot. She limped over to the bed, pulled out a long sliver, and watched the blood flow out. </p><p></p><p>Blood. Like would have seeped out around the blade of Morgan Earp's knife. Like what was pouring from his body when she kept him from falling beneath the wheels of the stagecoach. She had saved the man's life, and he had destroyed hers. "I didn't know," she whispered to the picture. "Do I know? What do I know? I know Ruby wouldn't lie to me, but I don't know if others lied to her. I know something is wrong. I know Morgan Earp finds me disturbing. I know that Tom is dead and Morgan Earp isn't. Yet." She looked down at the picture in her hand. That was her husband. He would never had killed anyone, what would he think if she....Tombstone. She had to talk to Colby Tucker herself. Where Earp was. Two men to tell her the truth. </p><p></p><p>The rain pattered against the window glass. It wasn't time yet. There were still things to do, people that were counting on her. Tombstone could be a place she never came back from, and Ruby would surely be watching her. So she would go on for now. Out with Conrad tonight, out to the ranch, to her lessons. To protect whatever they were supposed to protect. Once that was over...... She picked up the brush and went back to cleaning her dress. It would be time to go soon.</p><p></p><p>Kate tied the black ribbon around her throat to finish the ensemble. The dress fit a little looser than it had in the past, but no one else would notice. She looked in the mirror and saw the deep wine color, the elaborate hairstyle created by the magical clip, her own colorless face. Yet it seemed like there was no reflection at all. She picked up her wrap and the matching purse and left her room, locking the door behind her. Katherine paused at the top of the stairs and looked down into the crowded Cantina. Like butterflies, or moths, flitting around a flame. She made her way down into the crowd.</p><p></p><p>Kate saw that every chair at every table was full and it looked like several people had brought in their own chairs when the others ran out. Mr. Booth is sitting on a barstool at the bar drinking a cup of tea. Katherine put a smile on her face and made her way carefully over. "It's nice to see a gambler not drinking whiskey," she teased. He laughs "A drunk gambler is a fool. I usually just have water with my supper but with this rainy chill in the air decided that a hot beverage is in order. At the table I'll order a glass of whiskey but that's just for appearances, I'll spend the whole night nursing it and will only finish it when the game is done."</p><p></p><p>She says, "Sounds smart to me. I'm sure the house encourages the players to drink, though. But I think you must have had at least one. You haven't told me how wonderful I look yet." Booth replies, "My words would not do justice to describing the vision of beauty that is before me. Plus I wouldn't want you to get the wrong impression about my intentions." She replies, "Intentions? I wouldn't dream of thinking your intentions went beyond enticing players to your table this evening. But a lady likes a compliment, honestly offered now and then. I'm ready whenever you are." Booth takes Kate's arm and escorts her outside.</p><p></p><p>The Lone Star has a dozen people in it including the Whipples, but that is typical of a Sunday night. Tom Whipple is behind the bar and William Whipple is playing "Yellow Rose of Texas" on the piano. Being a Sunday, Job Kane has the night off. Tony Lucky has a card game going with three people including two of his regulars. Teddy Whipple is dealing Faro at another table with Alexsis and three other people playing, one of whom Jake recognizes as the Brickyard owner Travis Calhoun. Jeff Mills is not present. The door to the darkened kitchen is propped open with a brick.</p><p></p><p>Jake and Ruby head over to the bar. Ruby quietly stands behind Jake keeping an eye out on the room, especially for the older Whipple. "Good evening Tom. Is this a good time to talk about finishing our business tomorrow?" Jake casually positions himself so Tom can't miss the badge on his shirt. Tom says, "I'm sorry Mr. Cook, but I'm afraid that you're too late. I got tired of waiting for you to make up your mind and found another buyer." "I'm more than a little confused Tom." Jake scratches his beard. "I told each of you yes, and even did half the sale the way Maggie asked. What in Hades are you talking about?"</p><p></p><p>"A half sale with Maggie? What are you talking about?" Tom raises his voice as he says that and William stops playing the piano and walks over towards the bar. "You don't know?" Jake looks at him incredulously. "Maggie insisted yesterday that she didn't want the stress of being tested anymore and just wanted to sell her half. She said you wanted to sell your half Monday. If I didn't know you all better I'd think someone was trying to pull a fast one on me. Where is she, ask her yourself." Jake pulls out the contract and unrolls it. "All done up properly by Berg."</p><p></p><p>William Whipple yells over the Faro table "Alexsis, get your butt upstairs and wake Maggie. We need her down here RIGHT NOW!" Jake and Ruby would swear that the singer is wearing magical shoes given the speed at which she bounds up the stairs upon the orders of her employer. "Mr. Whipple, there really is no reason to be yelling is there?" Ruby says sweetly. Alexsis quickly hurries back down the stairs and hands Mr. Whipple a note. He hastily reads it and hands it to Tom. </p><p></p><p>William Whipple then glares at Ruby and angrily says "And you're telling me you don't know where Maggie is?" "No, I don’t know where Maggie is," she says truthfully. At this moment, she thinks. Jake says, "Mr. Whipple, are you suggesting that we just completed a business transaction involving $2,000 and I should be worried about where Maggie is?" Jake eyes him suspiciously. "This is highly irregular."</p><p></p><p>William Whipple turns to Tom and says "That Kale bitch will know! I'll be right back." He then takes two steps in the direction of the door. Ruby steps in front of Mr. Whipple. "Kate has nothing to do with this and you will not bother her tonight." Whipple raises his hands up to shove Ruby out of his way. Jake grabs at William Whipple to pull him back. "I'll arrest you if you try that. Tom, talk some sense into your father please." Ruby says, "You have no right to be mad at us because you mistreat your daughter." She turns to Tom. "We are only trying to finish a business transaction that you started."</p><p></p><p>William Whipple says "Take your hand off me Cook.....Tom!" “As a deputized Marshall sir," Jake says with an edge, "If you resist me you'll either spend the night in jail or boot hill." Ruby sees Tom reach under the bar for something. She exclaims "Tom, I hope you're not thinking of pulling a gun on Jake. He does have the badge and you'll all end up in jail." Tom pulls a revolver out from under the bar and cocks it, stating "Let him go Cook. I don't care what's on your shirt, this is still my Saloon and I have a right to protect my customers." </p><p></p><p>Jake is facing William Whipple rather than Tom but Ruby notes that while Tom is holding the gun he is still pointing it downward towards the floor and not at Jake. "Actually, it's half our Saloon too, not a very nice way to start a business relationship." Jake heard Ruby warn about the gun and heard the familiar cocking of a hammer. </p><p></p><p>Ruby turns to Mr. Whipple. "Listen, you might as well accept that you are not going after Kate. Maggie seems to be gone, for good I'm guessing?. Let's just figure out what to do from here, ok?" Ruby is trying to use a calming voice although Jake can tell her temper is rising. Whipple exclaims, "Ah, so you DO know something about where Maggie went! Where is she?" </p><p></p><p>Jake lets go of William Whipple’s arm. "Tom, the only gun drawn right now is yours and you've drawn it against a lawman." Jake does not turn it around. "If you put it away right now so we can talk, Flossie does not have to visit you in jail." Or Boot Hill he thinks as he lowers his right arm within reach of his Colt.</p><p>Once Jake releases Whipple around and steps right to where his face is within inches of Jake's. "ARE YOU TELLING ME YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT WHERE MAGGIE WENT!" William Whipple exclaims.</p><p></p><p>Jake smiles at William Whipple. "I don't know where Maggie is. I don't know anything about Maggie leaving or not, I thought she was resigned to go back to Denver with you. Could you ask your son to put his gun away before someone gets hurt?" "Look," Ruby says raising her voice, "It's not our fault you can't control your daughter. We told you we don't know where she is! Now calm yourself down before you go too far."</p><p></p><p>One of the men at Teddy's Faro table approaches and says "Excuse me, but could I be of some assistance here?" Jake and Ruby do not know who this man is. They do note that Mr. Austin has now moved over to a table near the front doorway. "And you are?" Ruby says to the new man. Before hearing his reply she turns back to the Whipples. "No matter where Maggie is we have the paperwork, done by the lawyer Mitchell Berg, saying that we now own half of the Lone Star. Tom, we were under the impression that you were selling us the Lone Star along with Job. And now we own one half so can we just figure this out like adults? She is trying very hard to be diplomatic but does give the elder Whipple a dirty look when she says that.</p><p></p><p>The man says, "I’m Niles Hoover, the town's liquor distributor. I was the one who had made an offer to Tom Whipple to purchase part of this establishment. If there has been some sort of a change then perhaps we should go somewhere more private to discuss it." Ruby says, "That sounds like a good idea to me. Boys, do you agree?" Jake turns away from William Whipple and faces Tom. "Please put the revolver away." Jake's eyes are cold and he has cleared the duster from his right side holster. "I'd be happy to sit and discuss this like gentlemen."</p><p></p><p>Tom says "I put the gun down once you leave my father alone." He then says to his father "I think Mr. Hoover has a good idea, let's go upstairs and discuss this." William Whipple yells across the room "Teddy, quit your game and come take over." William then marches towards the stairs. Jake scoops up the contract and waits for Teddy to come over to the bar. He gets two glass of whiskey, hands one to Ruby and then escorts her up the stairs. Ruby looks to Tom. "I know you weren't going to hurt Jake. Let's go figure this out, ok?" Ruby gives Tom a smile, takes the whiskey from Jake and walks up the stairs.</p><p></p><p>They arrive upstairs. The hallway is filled with cases of liquor bottles that are stacked from floor to ceiling. They enter one of the rooms that has a bed and five liquor kegs lined around it. William Whipple sits on the bed and Niles Hoover uses one of the kegs as a chair. Tom Whipple remains standing after he shuts the door once Jake and Ruby enter. Niles begins by saying "Exactly what is this all about? Tom offered me a 75% share in this establishment."</p><p></p><p>Jake offers the contract to Niles. "Tom offered us the same. And we gave Maggie $2,000 yesterday for her half." Niles says "This looks to be valid. Tom, I suppose you could petition Judge Isby tomorrow to try to have this invalidated, but I've never known him to question a document prepared by Mitchell Berg. So I guess the only issue at hand is who will purchase Tom's remaining interest in this place. Tom, you seem to have offered it to too many people, including Mr. Kane who is not present at the moment." </p><p></p><p>Tom says "I don't give a damn. You work it out." He then storms out of the room and slams the door behind him. William says "Perhaps we could have our own private auction for it?" Jake replies, "Not a penny over $2,000 for the balance. Niles, Job and Ruby contribute to the value. Don't mess with that. You let us buy the rest as stated and we'll make a separate deal. I have an idea if you'd care to hear it. It will meet all of our needs."</p><p></p><p>Hoover says "And what are you suggesting Mr. Cook?" Jake answers, "Rather than invest your money in just buying the Lone Star let's look at whether we can make more space for customers. Ruby and the tables pack them in, but there is only so much room. I wonder if there isn't a way to store your wholesale goods AND make a little more room for customers?" Jake looks him in the eye. "I don't know what you thought you were going to be able to do as the primary owner, but we own half of this place now. If you decide to walk away from the sale tonight, I'll keep to an arrangement so your goods aren't out in the street. If you want in tonight, let's go find Job Kane and make a deal. We only paid $2,000 for our half, shame if you paid more."</p><p></p><p>Hoover says "Let's see if I have this right. You're suggesting that I pay the same as Kane, and we each then own 25%, with each of you two owing 25%. So basically, four equal partnerships." Jake answers, "Ruby and I were originally going to purchase 75% between us with Job buying the other 25%. We had planned on hiring a manager. We ought to talk some more about it all and make sure it all makes sense. Seems like you have the skills to run the bar and kitchen, plus you have the benefit of the wholesale business." Jake looks over at Ruby. "Don't know how you feel about it, having an additional partner. You interested in the general management Niles?"</p><p></p><p>Niles says "Sure, but only if I'm a part owner. No incentive otherwise." William says "Let me go talk to my son." He leaves the room but keeps the door open. Ruby hears William and Tom talking in one of the other rooms, she can't make out what they are saying other than William loudly saying "Don't toy with me, I'm in no mood." A short while later William returns and says "Mr. Cook, my son would like a word with you down the hall." Jake shrugs his shoulders at Ruby and meets Tom in the hallway.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Silver Moon, post: 2551697, member: 8530"] [B]Chapter 137 ,“Not a very nice way to start a business relationship”, Sunday, January 15th, 1882, [/B] A short while after Ruby and Kate had headed upstairs Chester Martin enters the El Parador, having just come from the four-hour long Greek/Roman worship service. He heads over towards where Kate is sitting and joins her at the table where Dorita has just brought out a pot hot lamb stew and a plate of freshly baked corn bread. Sitting a few tables over is Mr. Austin, reading a book while picking at some food. Nanuet had spent the rest of the morning surveying the damage from the previous night's explosion and fire, offering a hand to anyone who seemed to be still working on cleaning it up. The fire had totally leveled the dynamite shed and Slade's Hardware beside it. Sam Slade was going through the debris seeing if anything could be salvaged and was thankful that he lived in a house 100 feet south rather than in the same building as the store. Also completely destroyed was the Feed and Grain store run by Randall Mason and his wife Helga. They too were thankful to have lived elsewhere, a house right on Sierra Street, and plan to convert the first floor of that into a new store rather than rebuild. Their loss was primarily the building as they hadn't brought in the spring planting seed yet. The exterior frame and most of the wall along the South Street were all that remained of Hoover's Wholesale Liquor and Saloon. Nanuet presumed that the building will need to be torn down and rebuilt. The other eight buildings in the city block bordered by Main, Allen, South and Front Streets, namely Hamilton Fisk's Law Office, The Arizona Billiard Hall, the Rio Grand Hotel and Cafe, the Long Branch Saloon, Johnson's Barber Shop & Baths, the Deputy Sheriff's Office, Condon's Bank and the former Trial Dust Saloon are all made of brick and survived the explosion although each shows some damage to windows, doors and roofs. The explosion also damaged buildings further away. Nanuet realizes that the heavy rains, which had saturated all of the buildings in the 12 hours prior to the explosion as well as afterwards, were responsible for keeping half the town from burning up. During this time Nanuet tried to hear all the theories and ideas about what exactly happened. After that he changes the hay in his horses’ stall, then washes down and brushes the steed. He examines the shoes and figured that they will need to be changed soon, wondering if the smithy would be open on Sunday. After leaving the stables Nanuet looks to the sky and sees that the brightest area of the clouds was just about straight above, it must be about mid-day. He was wet and needed to get out of the weather for a bit. Nanuet decides to wander into the El Parador and see what was being served for lunch. When Nanuet enters he sees Chester and joins him for lunch. Jake hangs around downstairs for a while relaxing and putting the conversation that must be going on between the women out of his mind. Some time passes and he starts to become impatient and worry. Eventually deciding that he needs to go see the Whipples and find out how Katherine has taken the facts as Ruby and Jake have discovered them. He climbs the stairs, somewhat methodically and raps gently on Katherine’s door. Ruby hears a knock at the door and gets up slowly to answer it. She hoped it was Conrad Booth so she could tell him to go away. Kate had been looking forward to seeing him but Ruby didn't trust him at all and now was no time for that anyway. She peeks out the door and sees Jake. She puts her finger to her lips and nods her head towards Kate. She gives Kate one final look and slips out the door. She takes Jake back to her room and tells him what happened. She finishes, "She was upset, but I'm more worried about what will happen when it really sets in." "I don't know what else we can do for her right now." Jake takes off his hat and holds it in both hands. "Let's see if we can close on the Lone Star business while she's sleeping. I'll ask Pedro and Dorita to send someone for us if she leaves the Cantina. I'll get my coat and the paperwork and head down stairs." "Alright, I'll meet you downstairs." Ruby got her long jacket out and pinned her hat on. Poor Kate was all she could think. She shook her head as she made her way downstairs. Yes, she was definitely going to have to get drunk tonight. And as the night sky darkens at around 6:00 PM the rain finally stops. All of the streets in town are not just muddy, they are now flooded with a couple inches of water, as Pine Creek had overflowed its banks. Most of the buildings in town were built a step up and with wooden floors, but the handful of poorer homes with dirt floors are also flooded. The majority of these were along East Street and the southeastern corner of town. They thankfully were furthest from the creek and on slightly higher ground but still managed to each get an inch or two of water on the floor. In an attempt to get to somewhere dry these residents, the wood elves, orcs and half-orcs of the town, headed to the only establishment that would allow them in, the El Parador. Dorita and Pedro were glad that the dwarves had all left, as the these extra rooms would now be needed again, and once more would be five to six people to a room. Jake goes back to his room and puts on the duster but doesn't button it. He grabs their copy of the contract, rolls it up and stuffs it in his pocket. He looks at his other revolver and says to himself, "It's only the Whipples, I won't need two pistols." But just stands over it. He reaches down and takes it out of the holster and puts it in a pocket of the duster. "You are paranoid Silver Jake Cook." he says to his reflection in the mirror, "Yes but with good reason." He taps his hat and heads down stairs. He locates Pedro and without giving him any details simply makes him promise to keep an eye out for Katherine, and if she leaves to have someone follow her and someone go and get him at the Lone Star. Pedro shakes his head, "Trust me Amigo, you are better off not knowing." Jake goes back to the common room and finds Ruby with Mr. Austin. Ruby stands as she sees Jake approaching. "Can you believe this mob in here? We picked the most popular place in town," she says to Jake, smiling at Mr. Austin as guests squeezing in everywhere jostle her. "Ready?" Mr. Austin approaches Ruby and says "I'll head over there first so it doesn't look like we came together." He puts on a rubber rain slicker and heads out the door. "Ready." Jake adjusts the location of the badge so that it is clearly visible through his unbuttoned duster. "Let's go visit the Whipples. What in Hades is up with this rabble?" Ruby shrugs. "I have no idea." Ruby takes Jake's hand and they try to squeeze past the extra guests. As they past a frantic looking Dorita Ruby calls out to her, "What is going on? Oh I can see you're busy, tell us later. Why don't you have Pedro put my stuff in Jake's room? I live in there anyway and it looks like you can use the room." She turns to Jake, "You don't mind right?" Dorita says "Thank you, that help a lot. Sonoma, Pedro and I be giving up our rooms too, all be spending night with Grandfather." Jake smiles, "If all goes well we'll be moving out soon anyway. I wasn't going to let you sleep anywhere else tonight." They slosh their way over to the Lone Star, keeping to wooden sidewalks and planks whereever possible. Katherine woke with a dull ache in her head and a queasy stomach. From the state of the bed, Ruby must have stayed with her long enough to decide she wasn't going to wake anytime soon. The sun was low in the sky as Kate pushed herself off the bed and stumbled over to the wash basin to retch. She stood still for a moment after she was done, her head throbbing. After she rinsed her mouth with a glass of water, she poured a glass of whiskey and took a sip, waiting to see if it would stay down before she finished it. Tom's picture had gotten knocked over. Kate picked it up and looked at it. It should have be different. Everything else was different. She wandered around the room, sharp shards ground into her foot as she unthinkingly stepped in the broken glass. The little stabs of pain with each step began to seep into her consciousness, and her open eyes began to actually see. Furniture, carpeting, bed, dress hanging on the closet door. Smells of sickness and whiskey, feelings of pain in her foot. She limped over to the bed, pulled out a long sliver, and watched the blood flow out. Blood. Like would have seeped out around the blade of Morgan Earp's knife. Like what was pouring from his body when she kept him from falling beneath the wheels of the stagecoach. She had saved the man's life, and he had destroyed hers. "I didn't know," she whispered to the picture. "Do I know? What do I know? I know Ruby wouldn't lie to me, but I don't know if others lied to her. I know something is wrong. I know Morgan Earp finds me disturbing. I know that Tom is dead and Morgan Earp isn't. Yet." She looked down at the picture in her hand. That was her husband. He would never had killed anyone, what would he think if she....Tombstone. She had to talk to Colby Tucker herself. Where Earp was. Two men to tell her the truth. The rain pattered against the window glass. It wasn't time yet. There were still things to do, people that were counting on her. Tombstone could be a place she never came back from, and Ruby would surely be watching her. So she would go on for now. Out with Conrad tonight, out to the ranch, to her lessons. To protect whatever they were supposed to protect. Once that was over...... She picked up the brush and went back to cleaning her dress. It would be time to go soon. Kate tied the black ribbon around her throat to finish the ensemble. The dress fit a little looser than it had in the past, but no one else would notice. She looked in the mirror and saw the deep wine color, the elaborate hairstyle created by the magical clip, her own colorless face. Yet it seemed like there was no reflection at all. She picked up her wrap and the matching purse and left her room, locking the door behind her. Katherine paused at the top of the stairs and looked down into the crowded Cantina. Like butterflies, or moths, flitting around a flame. She made her way down into the crowd. Kate saw that every chair at every table was full and it looked like several people had brought in their own chairs when the others ran out. Mr. Booth is sitting on a barstool at the bar drinking a cup of tea. Katherine put a smile on her face and made her way carefully over. "It's nice to see a gambler not drinking whiskey," she teased. He laughs "A drunk gambler is a fool. I usually just have water with my supper but with this rainy chill in the air decided that a hot beverage is in order. At the table I'll order a glass of whiskey but that's just for appearances, I'll spend the whole night nursing it and will only finish it when the game is done." She says, "Sounds smart to me. I'm sure the house encourages the players to drink, though. But I think you must have had at least one. You haven't told me how wonderful I look yet." Booth replies, "My words would not do justice to describing the vision of beauty that is before me. Plus I wouldn't want you to get the wrong impression about my intentions." She replies, "Intentions? I wouldn't dream of thinking your intentions went beyond enticing players to your table this evening. But a lady likes a compliment, honestly offered now and then. I'm ready whenever you are." Booth takes Kate's arm and escorts her outside. The Lone Star has a dozen people in it including the Whipples, but that is typical of a Sunday night. Tom Whipple is behind the bar and William Whipple is playing "Yellow Rose of Texas" on the piano. Being a Sunday, Job Kane has the night off. Tony Lucky has a card game going with three people including two of his regulars. Teddy Whipple is dealing Faro at another table with Alexsis and three other people playing, one of whom Jake recognizes as the Brickyard owner Travis Calhoun. Jeff Mills is not present. The door to the darkened kitchen is propped open with a brick. Jake and Ruby head over to the bar. Ruby quietly stands behind Jake keeping an eye out on the room, especially for the older Whipple. "Good evening Tom. Is this a good time to talk about finishing our business tomorrow?" Jake casually positions himself so Tom can't miss the badge on his shirt. Tom says, "I'm sorry Mr. Cook, but I'm afraid that you're too late. I got tired of waiting for you to make up your mind and found another buyer." "I'm more than a little confused Tom." Jake scratches his beard. "I told each of you yes, and even did half the sale the way Maggie asked. What in Hades are you talking about?" "A half sale with Maggie? What are you talking about?" Tom raises his voice as he says that and William stops playing the piano and walks over towards the bar. "You don't know?" Jake looks at him incredulously. "Maggie insisted yesterday that she didn't want the stress of being tested anymore and just wanted to sell her half. She said you wanted to sell your half Monday. If I didn't know you all better I'd think someone was trying to pull a fast one on me. Where is she, ask her yourself." Jake pulls out the contract and unrolls it. "All done up properly by Berg." William Whipple yells over the Faro table "Alexsis, get your butt upstairs and wake Maggie. We need her down here RIGHT NOW!" Jake and Ruby would swear that the singer is wearing magical shoes given the speed at which she bounds up the stairs upon the orders of her employer. "Mr. Whipple, there really is no reason to be yelling is there?" Ruby says sweetly. Alexsis quickly hurries back down the stairs and hands Mr. Whipple a note. He hastily reads it and hands it to Tom. William Whipple then glares at Ruby and angrily says "And you're telling me you don't know where Maggie is?" "No, I don’t know where Maggie is," she says truthfully. At this moment, she thinks. Jake says, "Mr. Whipple, are you suggesting that we just completed a business transaction involving $2,000 and I should be worried about where Maggie is?" Jake eyes him suspiciously. "This is highly irregular." William Whipple turns to Tom and says "That Kale bitch will know! I'll be right back." He then takes two steps in the direction of the door. Ruby steps in front of Mr. Whipple. "Kate has nothing to do with this and you will not bother her tonight." Whipple raises his hands up to shove Ruby out of his way. Jake grabs at William Whipple to pull him back. "I'll arrest you if you try that. Tom, talk some sense into your father please." Ruby says, "You have no right to be mad at us because you mistreat your daughter." She turns to Tom. "We are only trying to finish a business transaction that you started." William Whipple says "Take your hand off me Cook.....Tom!" “As a deputized Marshall sir," Jake says with an edge, "If you resist me you'll either spend the night in jail or boot hill." Ruby sees Tom reach under the bar for something. She exclaims "Tom, I hope you're not thinking of pulling a gun on Jake. He does have the badge and you'll all end up in jail." Tom pulls a revolver out from under the bar and cocks it, stating "Let him go Cook. I don't care what's on your shirt, this is still my Saloon and I have a right to protect my customers." Jake is facing William Whipple rather than Tom but Ruby notes that while Tom is holding the gun he is still pointing it downward towards the floor and not at Jake. "Actually, it's half our Saloon too, not a very nice way to start a business relationship." Jake heard Ruby warn about the gun and heard the familiar cocking of a hammer. Ruby turns to Mr. Whipple. "Listen, you might as well accept that you are not going after Kate. Maggie seems to be gone, for good I'm guessing?. Let's just figure out what to do from here, ok?" Ruby is trying to use a calming voice although Jake can tell her temper is rising. Whipple exclaims, "Ah, so you DO know something about where Maggie went! Where is she?" Jake lets go of William Whipple’s arm. "Tom, the only gun drawn right now is yours and you've drawn it against a lawman." Jake does not turn it around. "If you put it away right now so we can talk, Flossie does not have to visit you in jail." Or Boot Hill he thinks as he lowers his right arm within reach of his Colt. Once Jake releases Whipple around and steps right to where his face is within inches of Jake's. "ARE YOU TELLING ME YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT WHERE MAGGIE WENT!" William Whipple exclaims. Jake smiles at William Whipple. "I don't know where Maggie is. I don't know anything about Maggie leaving or not, I thought she was resigned to go back to Denver with you. Could you ask your son to put his gun away before someone gets hurt?" "Look," Ruby says raising her voice, "It's not our fault you can't control your daughter. We told you we don't know where she is! Now calm yourself down before you go too far." One of the men at Teddy's Faro table approaches and says "Excuse me, but could I be of some assistance here?" Jake and Ruby do not know who this man is. They do note that Mr. Austin has now moved over to a table near the front doorway. "And you are?" Ruby says to the new man. Before hearing his reply she turns back to the Whipples. "No matter where Maggie is we have the paperwork, done by the lawyer Mitchell Berg, saying that we now own half of the Lone Star. Tom, we were under the impression that you were selling us the Lone Star along with Job. And now we own one half so can we just figure this out like adults? She is trying very hard to be diplomatic but does give the elder Whipple a dirty look when she says that. The man says, "I’m Niles Hoover, the town's liquor distributor. I was the one who had made an offer to Tom Whipple to purchase part of this establishment. If there has been some sort of a change then perhaps we should go somewhere more private to discuss it." Ruby says, "That sounds like a good idea to me. Boys, do you agree?" Jake turns away from William Whipple and faces Tom. "Please put the revolver away." Jake's eyes are cold and he has cleared the duster from his right side holster. "I'd be happy to sit and discuss this like gentlemen." Tom says "I put the gun down once you leave my father alone." He then says to his father "I think Mr. Hoover has a good idea, let's go upstairs and discuss this." William Whipple yells across the room "Teddy, quit your game and come take over." William then marches towards the stairs. Jake scoops up the contract and waits for Teddy to come over to the bar. He gets two glass of whiskey, hands one to Ruby and then escorts her up the stairs. Ruby looks to Tom. "I know you weren't going to hurt Jake. Let's go figure this out, ok?" Ruby gives Tom a smile, takes the whiskey from Jake and walks up the stairs. They arrive upstairs. The hallway is filled with cases of liquor bottles that are stacked from floor to ceiling. They enter one of the rooms that has a bed and five liquor kegs lined around it. William Whipple sits on the bed and Niles Hoover uses one of the kegs as a chair. Tom Whipple remains standing after he shuts the door once Jake and Ruby enter. Niles begins by saying "Exactly what is this all about? Tom offered me a 75% share in this establishment." Jake offers the contract to Niles. "Tom offered us the same. And we gave Maggie $2,000 yesterday for her half." Niles says "This looks to be valid. Tom, I suppose you could petition Judge Isby tomorrow to try to have this invalidated, but I've never known him to question a document prepared by Mitchell Berg. So I guess the only issue at hand is who will purchase Tom's remaining interest in this place. Tom, you seem to have offered it to too many people, including Mr. Kane who is not present at the moment." Tom says "I don't give a damn. You work it out." He then storms out of the room and slams the door behind him. William says "Perhaps we could have our own private auction for it?" Jake replies, "Not a penny over $2,000 for the balance. Niles, Job and Ruby contribute to the value. Don't mess with that. You let us buy the rest as stated and we'll make a separate deal. I have an idea if you'd care to hear it. It will meet all of our needs." Hoover says "And what are you suggesting Mr. Cook?" Jake answers, "Rather than invest your money in just buying the Lone Star let's look at whether we can make more space for customers. Ruby and the tables pack them in, but there is only so much room. I wonder if there isn't a way to store your wholesale goods AND make a little more room for customers?" Jake looks him in the eye. "I don't know what you thought you were going to be able to do as the primary owner, but we own half of this place now. If you decide to walk away from the sale tonight, I'll keep to an arrangement so your goods aren't out in the street. If you want in tonight, let's go find Job Kane and make a deal. We only paid $2,000 for our half, shame if you paid more." Hoover says "Let's see if I have this right. You're suggesting that I pay the same as Kane, and we each then own 25%, with each of you two owing 25%. So basically, four equal partnerships." Jake answers, "Ruby and I were originally going to purchase 75% between us with Job buying the other 25%. We had planned on hiring a manager. We ought to talk some more about it all and make sure it all makes sense. Seems like you have the skills to run the bar and kitchen, plus you have the benefit of the wholesale business." Jake looks over at Ruby. "Don't know how you feel about it, having an additional partner. You interested in the general management Niles?" Niles says "Sure, but only if I'm a part owner. No incentive otherwise." William says "Let me go talk to my son." He leaves the room but keeps the door open. Ruby hears William and Tom talking in one of the other rooms, she can't make out what they are saying other than William loudly saying "Don't toy with me, I'm in no mood." A short while later William returns and says "Mr. Cook, my son would like a word with you down the hall." Jake shrugs his shoulders at Ruby and meets Tom in the hallway. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
"Revenge, Renewal and the Promise of a New Year" (Boot Hill/D&D)
Top