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<blockquote data-quote="Silver Moon" data-source="post: 2686855" data-attributes="member: 8530"><p><strong>Chapter 151. “I have a bad feeling about this...", Friday, January 20th </strong> </p><p></p><p>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. </p><p></p><p>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." </p><p></p><p>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." </p><p></p><p>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." </p><p></p><p>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."</p><p></p><p>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.</p><p></p><p>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. </p><p></p><p>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.</p><p></p><p>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. </p><p></p><p>"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?"</p><p></p><p>"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.</p><p></p><p>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.</p><p></p><p>"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.</p><p></p><p>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.</p><p></p><p>"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.</p><p></p><p>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. </p><p></p><p>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.</p><p></p><p>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.</p><p></p><p>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. </p><p></p><p>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.</p><p></p><p>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.</p><p></p><p>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." </p><p></p><p>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.</p><p></p><p>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 .</p><p></p><p>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."</p><p></p><p>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."</p><p></p><p>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?"</p><p></p><p>"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.</p><p></p><p>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.</p><p></p><p>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. </p><p></p><p>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?"</p><p></p><p>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. </p><p></p><p>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.</p><p></p><p>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.</p><p></p><p>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.</p><p></p><p>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. </p><p></p><p>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." </p><p></p><p>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. </p><p></p><p>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!"</p><p></p><p>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.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Silver Moon, post: 2686855, member: 8530"] [B]Chapter 151. “I have a bad feeling about this...", Friday, January 20th [/B] 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. [/QUOTE]
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