"They Rode to Perdition" starring Arcade's Gang (D&D/Boot Hill)

[Silver Moon]

Chapter 90, “Home Sweet Home”, Friday, March 17th, 1882, 1:00 P.M.

The Zeppelin begins to fall at a rate of almost fifteen-feet-per-second towards the cliffs and mountains that are only a little more than a thousand feet below. “We need to lighten the load!” Hank exclaims. Arcade gestures to the door and states “Feel free to jump out.” Hank says, “Just push the whole sarcophagus out, you can’t hurt the guy, he’s already dead.” Morgana refuses, rumbling through her backpack for the scroll that has one remaining Floating Disk spell.

Hans uses his skills to adjust the fore and aft rudders, propellers and planes to change the angle of the descent from the steep twenty-five degrees that they started at to a more reasonable ten-degrees, which also slows their descent to ten feet-per-second. He says, “I’ve gotten us an extra minute or so. I’ll look for a possible landing site, but most of what I see are jagged rocks.”

Arcade tells Morgana, “Look, I don’t want to hurt the artifacts but I won’t get us killed trying to save it. When we get closer to the ground it’s going off!” “Hold on!” she exclaims as she pulls out the scroll. She begins to read the spell as the Animis Mountains draw closer and closer. They are within fifteen-seconds of crashing when the spell finally goes into effect and Hans is once again able to fully control the craft. They gain altitude again for the trip back to Promise City.

As they approach the New Mexico/Arizona border Hans changes direction to have them fly well north of the towns of Rodeo, New Mexico and Galeyville, Arizona so as to continue to avoid being seen. They travel directly above the mountainous rock formation known as Cochise Head, situated where the Chiricahua and Dos Cabezas Mountains meet. The skies to the west of them are now filled with lightning storms that appear to be moving eastward, causing Hans to be concerned. He spots a good potential location for the airship to stop, in a valley five miles northeast of town between Bowie and Fisk Mountains where the cliffs on the southeastern side of Bowie Mountain will provide both concealment and protection to the craft. He strongly suggests that they stop there.

The group discusses specifically where to go. Hank and Arcade want to fly the Zeppelin right down the center of Main Street to announce their triumphant return, but the others are against that given that they do not know the status of Gonzales trying to clear their names as well as what reception they can expect from Marshall Wyatt Earp. Hans is also concerned with the prospect of drunk cowboys firing their guns at the hydrogen-filled Zeppelin. Morgana points out that the final Disk spell will run out in a few hours, so they’d best come up with an idea soon.

Since it is Friday night and the mines nearest town are closed for the weekend they consider unloading the artifacts and storing them in a mine. The most obvious choice is the Liberty Hill Mine, which the Gang had worked at before as guards. It is also just a short distance from the El Parador, where they had left their horses. They decide to fly within a half-mile of town, unload the items, and then have Hans fly the craft to the location that he had identified. Arcade, Morgana and Louie get off with the artifacts while Hank and Sam stay with the airship to ensure that Hans does as instructed with it.

The trio with the artifacts finds a secluded spot near where they exited the craft to store the four trunks, leaving Arcade to stay and guard them, as Louie and Morgana head into town with the Disk spell still running and carrying the sarcophagus. They approach the mine, whose doors have been locked for the weekend but Louie is able to unlock them. The sarcophagus is levitated inside and lowered, with Louie helping to push it off of the disk.

They then make their way over to the El Parador’s stables, where Morgana and Arcade’s horses are found and saddled up. Louie heads inside and inform Dorita, the Cantina and Inn’s owner, that Arcade’s Gang is back and is taking two of the horses. She confirms that her Grandfather was able to help clear their names of the murder charges.

Saturday, March 18, 1882:

Shortly after midnight they head back to the mine, where Louie agrees to stay and guard the sarcophagus while Morgana rides back to where they had left Arcade and the chests. The chests are slid onto the Floating Disk and then brought back to the mine prior to the spell elapsing where they are unloaded beside the sarcophagus. Arcade returns the horses to the El Parador then rejoins his wife and Louie in the mine where the doors are secured and they then go to sleep.

At 8:30 A.M. Sam wakes up Hank and Hans when he notices a trio of men a few hundred yards away and approaching, two humans and a dwarf, one armed with a rifle. Hans and Sam both strap on their side arms and exit the passenger compartment with Hans as the other trio approaches. The dwarf is the first to speak, pointing to the dirigible and says, “What the hell is that thing?” Hank replies, “A type of balloon. It is a secret weapon of the United States Army so don’t tell anybody.”

Sam asks the men who they are. The humans introduce themselves as Humphrey Lewis and Charlie Mearl and the dwarf as Torvald MacNaulty. Lewis and MacNaulty say that they are owners of the Fisk Mountain Mine, with mining operations on the opposite side of the mountain southeast of the valley. Mearl is one of their guards. The miners offer to bring over a fresh pot of hot coffee and some hot breakfast, which Hank happily accepts.

They spend the better part of the morning chatting with the miners and being shown a tour of the mining operations, which are still in their infancy although they have struck a rich vein of silver. The miners are noticeably impressed when they discover that the others are members of Arcade’s Gang. The miners give them an update of what is going on in town. Hank is concerned about Wyatt Earp and is relived to hear that he is temporarily away. Sam asks, “So, with him gone who is in charge.” “Sounds like we are,” Hank interjects. Lewis assures him that there is a pair of deputies, including Wyatt’s brother Warren.

Morgana gets her two companions up at around 9:00 A.M. She sends Louie over to the El Parador to get breakfast for the three of them and also to leave a message for Manuel Gonzales as to where they are. After breakfast Arcade gets his and three other horses and rides out to the dirigible to bring the others back to town. The miners and guards agree to guard the dirigible for them, which Hans makes sure is well secured with both the controls and compartment’s door locked up with chains and a padlock.

Around 10:30 A.M. they are all back together. They leave Hans with Louie to guard the artifacts while the others head over to the El Parador. Gambler Conrad Booth is enjoying his first meal of the day and approaches them, letting them know that he had been the one to meet with Judge Isby and has cleared up the misunderstanding with the wanted poster. He returns their passports to them. They think him for his efforts.

Gonzales soon joins up with them, lighting a candle and casting a spell to place a spell around their table giving them privacy. He is thrilled that they made it back safely to town. He becomes concerned when they tell of the French wizards and soldiers they had spotted in New Mexico. He says, “That’s a problem. They’ll soon realize they missed you and probably come here.” “Sounds like we have some unfinished business to take care of,” Arcade states.

Morgana asks about what to do with the items, mentioning where they are currently located. Gonzales says that the four trunks are not a problem, that he has somewhere safe within the building to put them and will get the employees of the El Parador to help him move them once it gets dark, adding that a heavy rainstorm is expected from noon until almost midnight so should also help to provide adequate cover for the transfer of the chests.

The sarcophagus is a different matter altogether and he suggests hiding it in a cave in Apache Territory where the Indians would not let the French find or get to. They will need to use the dirigible to move it, so will not be able to do so until well into the night once the lightning storm ends.

That plan will also give the group most of the day to rest, although there are currently no available rooms at the El Parador at the moment as a recent Dwarven Festival called Moradin’s Day has taken place and the inn is now full up with dwarves. Hearing that, Arcade decides that the deserted mine would probably be a better place to sleep anyways. Dorita offers to save them some rooms once the dwarves move out. “Well fumigated I hope,” Hank adds.

Louie announces that he is going to go visit his girlfriend Mary Wong. Hank says, “You’ve sure gone a long way just to get yourself slapped.” Morgana says, “I think he’s hoping to get kissed instead.” Gonzales shows him where the trunk of items for her has been placed. Louie drags the trunk over to the Wong house and knocks on the door. Mary’s father, Charlie Wong, answers the door. He takes one look at Louie and says, “Go away, we already got one,” he exclaims. “One what?” Louie says. “One everything, you go away,” he states.

Mary pops up in the room and expresses pleasure over Louie’s return and asks her father to let him in. Louie presents the chest, which he opens to show it filled with presents. Charlie reconsiders and lets him inside.

It rains for most of the afternoon. Morgana checks with her druid mentor, an elderly wood elf named Mother Jimenez and confirms that the storms will cease at 11:00 PM. They plan on sending Hans and Hank to ride back out to the Zeppelin at 10:00 PM to fly it to the mine just as soon as the storms cease. They also decide to bring along all of their weapons in case they decide to deal wit the French sodliers afterwards. The group sleeps for the afternoon. Gonzales arrives at the cave at around 6:00 PM, offering to watch after the artifacts while the group heads over to the El Parador for dinner.

 

[Silver Moon]

Chapter 91, “Establishing Roots in the Community”, Saturday, March 18th, 1882, 6:00 P.M.

The Gang sits down for dinner at the El Parador. Dorita brings them all full plates of food and Morgana compliments her cooking saying, “I’ve really missed you cooking. The food over in England was awful, they boiled everything!” Arcade exclaims, “Who are you to complain about boiled food! You grew up in an Irish household.”

The gang gets into a debate about what to do with the dirigible with Hank insisting that they need to keep it as their primary mode of transportation. Louie says, “But you’re a Texas cowboy, aren’t you supposed to have a horse as your main transportation?” Arcade says, “Nah, he’d rather keep the horse as his primary love interest.” Hank says, “The balloon is a wonderful invention. I think you should all embrace the concept of the balloon.” Louie says, “I’d rather embrace Mary Wong.”

While they are dining Gonzales returns accompanied by the male employees of the El Parador who are carrying two of the trunks. He assures the party that he left trusted guards back at the mine. He heads upstairs with them, keeping a watchful eye on the trunks. They then depart and soon return with the other two trunks. Gonzales heads upstairs and does not immediately return.

Conrad Booth arrives for dinner and is gestured to join them. Arcade asks, “So Conrad, how is it that Wyatt Earp got to be the Marshall of this town?” Booth replies, “Well, the Merchant’s Association hired him primarily to keep you guys away.” Hank says, “Guess that didn’t work too well.” Conrad says, “Well, he helped lay down the law right away once he arrived, killed a couple of guys who were disturbing the peace.”

“And since then?” Louie asks. Conrad replies, “He’s been kept pretty busy. A group of cattle rustlers known as the Cowboy Gang have been causing trouble the last few months. Then in January the infamous bank robber Deadeye Douglas and his gang robbed Condon’s Bank. Earp also had a shootout with one of the saloonkeepers in town.” “And here at the El Parador?” Morgana asks. He replies, “No great change since you left. Dorita and Pedro make sure that things stay peaceful around here. Too bad you didn’t get back sooner, they held a pretty exciting party here two nights ago.”

“Anything else new in town?” Hank asks. Conrad replies, “Well, Several houses and businesses were destroyed when the dynamite shed at Sam Slade’s Hardware blew up. The owner of the Lone Star Dance Hall and Saloon ran off with a saloon girl so his wife sold the place. The new owners now call it the Lucky Lady. The owner of the Trail Dust Saloon was the one who shot at Wyatt Earp. He’s now dead and his saloon is the Arizona Territorial Office Building. And the town just got a new Priestess for the Greek and Roman church in town.”

Booth then asks, “So, what exactly did you guys do over in England?” Morgana gestures to Arcade and says, “We got married.” Arcade adds, “And we visited my family.” Morgana adds, “Yeah, I discovered that my brother-in-law and father-in-law were possessed demons and monsters.” Conrad says, “A lot of people think that about their in-laws.” Louie says, “Yeah, but we managed to help them get better.” Arcade looks at Morgana and says, “You want to talk in-laws? We found your father naked and living in a cave.” Conrad says, “So, she’s half-elvan, Native American elves do that.” Arcade says, “Except that this was the human side of her family and in Ireland.”

Louie interjects, “We also smuggled an elephant out of England.” “An elephant?” Booth exclaims. Morgana says, “We brought it across the Atlantic for P.T. Barnum’s circus.” Conrad says, “That guy sure gets around. He sent Buffalo Bill Cody here to Cochise County to hunt down a dragon.” “Did he find one?” Sam asks. Conrad replies, “Yeah and he killed it then dragged it back east for Barnum to stuff and display at his museum.”

Conrad asks, “So, are you back to stay?” Arcade says, “Planning to, looks like no rooms at the inn at the moment.” Conrad says, “Just on weekends, that’s when the dwarven miners come to town and since this is the only hotel that takes non-humans they come here. They should have some vacancies tomorrow night, Monday at the latest.” Morgana says, “We should seriously think about buying a house.”

Sam notices a copy of a newspaper lying over near the piano with the banner “Tombstone Epitaph – Promise City Edition” and comments, “They have a new newspaper? Did that other one go out of business?” Conrad says, “The Herald is still barely hanging on, only publishing every –other-week at this point while the local edition of that Tombstone paper comes out every four to five days. An overeager halfling reporter is in charge of it and has had a lot of success. His paper’s tend to be three or four times the size of the Herald.”

Arcade rubs his chin and says, “You know…that Baxter guy who runs the Herald had himself a pretty nice house. You say his business is in trouble?” Conrad smiles and says, “Yes, it certainly is.” Arcade says, “Maybe we should go pay him a visit. I’ve always been interested in the news business.” [Hank’s player quips, “Sure, with the blimp we could do our own eye-in-the-sky traffic reports.”] Sam asks, “But what about that overeager halfling competitor?” Hank says, “We could hire him, he’d probably just want a couple of pies a week.”

Once the dinner is over they decide to go follow up on this idea. Morgana and Arcade make their way over to the Promise City Herald’s offices, finding them closed but the typesetter Josiah Young inside. They knock on the door and the terrified boy lets them in exclaiming,” I didn’t write anything about you! Honest!” They explain what they want and their interest in becoming his new employer. He expresses relief and satisfaction about that idea. They ask about the building, being told that Baxter owns both the office and his home, plus the building that Young and his family live at and rent from Baxter.

They decide to go pay Baxter a visit, finding him half-drunk at the Gay Lady Variety Hall and Saloon. They help escort him back to his home without explaining what they want. He is rather intimidated but appears to sober up as soon as they tell him they want to buy him out. He says, “You want to buy my paper?” Hank says, “Yeah, Louie here has always wanted to be a beat reporter.” Arcade says, “Yes, we’ll send him out to report and he’ll get beaten.”

They begin to negotiate price, indicating that they want all three buildings including the contents of both the newspaper office and Young household but that Baxter may keep the furnishings and contents of his house provided that he and his things are out of it by noon the next day. Baxter starts by asking $ 1,200 to which they counter with $ 500. They eventually settle upon a price of $ 950. They drag him over to the office of lawyer Mitchell Berg to handle all of the necessary paperwork and witness the cash transaction.

Next they stop by the Alhambra saloon to look for the Tombstone Epitaph’s reporter, as that is where he stays when in town. The saloonkeeper Steve Lord tells them “Chumbley came in on the early afternoon stage but left again for Tombstone an hour later as he needed to go back and revise the front page of his paper. He should be back tomorrow.” “We’ll catch him then,” Arcade states.

They head back to the El Parador to relax and celebrate their new business venture. Conrad Booth has already left for his gambling table at the Long Branch Saloon. Morgana sits down at the piano and begins to play and sing some lively tunes, including many from the pubs that she visited in England, Ireland and Scotland. Gambler Carlos Ramirez is leading a card game, working girls Pepita Alvarez and Angelica Huesca are entertaining a pair of male patrons at another table, and many of the other familiar Saturday night regulars eating and drinking. It continues to pour outside.

A stagecoach pulls up outside and lets two human woman off who head into the Cantina. One heads into the kitchen to talk briefly with Dorita. The other woman takes a seat alone at one of the tables and gives the Gang a curious look. The first woman comes out from the kitchen accompanied by the Cantina's handyman Grant Keebler. She asks Keebler to escort her friend over to the bathhouse. After they leave the woman heads upstairs. When Keebler returns Sam asks who the two women were. He says that the one who he walked to the bath house if Miss. Florencia, the town's new Priestess and that her friend is Mrs. Kale, an El Parador resident and the pianist at the Lucky Lady.

The others continue to relax as they still have a few hours before they have to head out. The place starts to get crowded with patrons on this rainy Saturday evening. Dorita and Pedro’s daughter Sonoma no longer waitresses there, having established a ranch a mile outside of town, but they are now assisted by a young human girl named Ginnie.

By 9:00 PM the place is packed with elves, dwarves and a few humans with Morgana accompanying elvan musician Estaban Fuente with entertaining the house. An hour later the storm is at its most violent point, with loud clasps of thunder and lightning striking near, so Hank opts to wait a while longer before riding out to get the balloon.

The weather continues to get worse, with a few exterior shutters being torn from their hinges and blankets of water striking against the walls. An almost deafening clasp of thunder sounds accompanied by a massive bolt of lightning that forks just above the El Parador and strikes the ground on all three sides of the building but does no damage other than three burn marks on the ground. The storm then begins to slow down in intensity, allowing Hank and Hans to then ride off to get the transportation.

 

[orchid blossom]

If Kate knew she wasn't news with Conrad, she might be just a bit miffed.

Seriously, it's fun to see when the campaigns affect each other. Good thing it doesn't happen too often or it would be horribly complicated.

 

[Silver Moon]

Yes Orchid, it can be a little challenging running parallel campaigns with two different gaming groups, although thus far the overlaps have been minimal. Right now the 'Arcade's Gang' posting is a few character days ahead of the "Wizards, Whiskey and Wonderful Things" Story Hour, and so much happened in our Play-by-Post game during those days that it will be at least a dozen chapters until we get to that same point in the story. Now, back to this tale....


Chapter 92, “The Atlantian’s Mausoleum”, Saturday, March 18th, 1882, 11:00 P.M.

Arcade, Louie, Morgana and Sam accompany Manuel Gonzales back to the nearby Liberty Hill Mine where Gonzales dismisses the two men he had left on guard duty. He has brought with him some magical levitation devices. They are magnetic so he attached them to the metal handles of the casket and casts the incantation to activate them. Nothing immediately happens.

“Well, when will those things kick in?” Arcade asks. Gonzales replies, “They already have, but the total weight of the stone sarcophagus still exceeds the lifting capacity of the devices by a good 300 to 400 pounds. We’ll still have to help lift it ourselves even with the magic doing the majority of the work. They decide to wait until the dirigible has arrived to move it, given that Hank is also one of the strongest in the party.

The rain has now ended but the damp stormy weather has managed to keep most of the townsfolk inside, so nobody sees the large dark object approaching from the northwest. Hans uses his skills to turn the Zeppelin around and lowers it so that the large rear door of the passenger compartment is as close to the mine entrance as possible. Hank helps the others to move the casket on board, with the levitation devices being sufficient to carry enough of the weight to get the craft airborne.

They fly back northeast until they are clear of the town and then turn to the southeast. Gonzales directs them deep into the heart of the Chiricahua Mountains, home of the Apache. Hank has a stray thought and says, “Hold on a minute, what’s to keep us from being attacked by Apaches?” Morgana tells him that a short while ago she had sent a bird to deliver a message she wrote out to the Apache Shaman. Sam asks, “Do we have any way of knowing that it delivered the message?” Arcade says, “Sure, when we see a barrage of flaming arrows flying up at us we can assume that it didn’t”

It is a relatively short flight as they see the distant lights to the east of the town of Galeyville, Arizona. Gonzales directs them to towards the side of a mountain around two miles away from the town. He has Hans fly towards a point about two-thirds of the way up the mountain along the eastern side. They see a road up the mountain through the thin forests that ends at a clearing with a large pile of rubble near the entrance to a large cave. Gonzales has Hans bring the Zeppelin to a plateau over a hundred feet above this where two more caves head into the mountain.

There is not enough room on the twenty-foot-wide and fifty-foot long plateau for Hans to land so he hovers just above the outer edge of it as Hank uses his magical rope to safely get himself, Arcade and Sam down onto the plateau. Ropes are then used to help secure the sarcophagus, which is then lowered down to the plateau that the other three pull it onto. Sure shot Sam is pulled back up to watch Hans while Morgana and Gonzales slide down the rope to join the others. Hans then flies the blimp a little bit further out so that there is no risk of the wind blowing it against any of the jagged rocks on the mountainside.

Before doing anything else Morgana tells the others to wait until she has spoken with the Apache, who she says are nearby and now observing them. She makes some animal calls and hears similar ones in response. A group of four men all in native garb comprised of three high elves and one human come out from hiding. The leader of the group is the Shaman Kajika, who they had all met the previous year at the same ceremony where they met Geronimo. He introduces his three companions as Kanweock, Gray Fox and Harvey Knowles.

Morgana eyes Knowles suspiciously. Kajika explains to her in the Apache language, “He helped our tribe to survive the last winter. Game was scare and he brought us cattle. When the human authorities sought to arrest him we offered to provided him sanctuary with the tribe.” She asks, “Why were they after him.” Kajika replies, “The cattle were not his.” She says, “Can he be trusted?” Kajika replies, “Yes. The United States Army knows that he is now here under our protection. If he leaves our land he will be arrested and imprisoned. His leaving would also jeopardize the most recent treaty with the military so we will ensure that he does not attempt to leave.”

Morgana translates this for the others. “Why did they bring him here?” Arcade asks. Knowles answers directly “Because the Apache are afraid of these caves and will not enter them. I used to live in them so know which passageways to take. Consider me your guide.” Gonzales says, “I know of these caves. Please bring us to the cross-shaped room with the three chambers deep within the mountain.” Knowles says, “Yeah, I figured that was where you wanted to go.” Knowles takes a torch and leads the way.

They head into the cave to their left, which begins with a twenty-foot diameter room with a passageway in the rear. It continues for fifty feet before curving right at a downward angle. After another hundred feet it reaches a T-intersection at which point Knowles leads them to the right. They continue down a series of downward sloping corridors and avoid a number of side passageways that sprout off from it. A few sections of the corridor are narrower and it is difficult to get the sarcophagus through them. They eventually reach a section with a pit and narrow wooden bridge crossing it. Hanks rope is used to help get the casket and people across this section.

On the opposite side of the pit is an iron door. The door is locked but Knowles has a key. He opens it to an X-shaped room that is lit with magical light. Each of the two sections of the X is sixty feet long and twenty feet wide. They walk to the center of the room where they can see that the at each of the other three sections of the X there is a chamber. Dust and rubble cover the room and the chamber on the left has a partially collapsed roof.” “What was this place?” Sam asks.

Knowles replies, “Native legends say that the Dark Elves once lived here. Most recently it was the Headquarters for the Cowboy Gang’s leaders. That ended in January when the Earps cornered them here.” He gestures to the chamber with the partially collapsed roof and says, “The Gang’s leader Curly Bill Brocious died in there after the Earps tossed in some sticks of dynamite.”

He gestures to the chamber at the opposite end of the doorway and says, “That was Johnny Ringo’s room. He escaped and still has another key to the iron door to this room.” He gestures to chamber on the right and says, “Better room belonged to Tom and Frank McLaury. They both died here” Arcade says, “The McLaury brothers? We kept those from getting killed by the Earps last October in Tombstone.” Louie comments, “Looks like all we did was postpone it.”

The casket is brought into the chamber to the right. Gonzales casts a spell and then removes the levitation devices. He then casts some magical wards onto it casket. They then exit the room and he casts another spell, which appears to create a stone wall blocking the doorway. They exit the chamber and the door is locked. Gonzales then casts another spell on the iron door and pockets the key.

Gonzales warns Knowles “For everyone’s safety please make sure that nobody attempts to come down here to open these up….that includes you.” Knowles replies, “I won’t, robbing from the dead isn’t my style. The Apache will make sure nobody disrupts your mausoleum.”

Sunday, March 19th, 1882:

It is shortly after midnight when they all exit the caves and Morgana speaks to Kajika about keeping the caves safe from all intruders. Hans flies back in and the magical rope is used to pull the others back up to the Zeppelin. Arcade says, “That was quick and easy. How about we spend the rest of the night finding out what those Frenchmen are up to?” The others agree and the Zeppelin turns east towards the mountains of New Mexico. They fly over the northern end of the Hidalgo Mountains, not seeing anyone and continue east towards the Animas Mountains.

Towards the southwestern end of these mountains they find evidence of where a small army had camped out. From here there are fresh horse tracks of two-to-three dozen animals as well as wagon wheel tracks from eight vehicles heading west. Arcade estimates the tracks to be between six and eight hours old. He says, “Looks like they spent the day here and are traveling at night.” Morgana says, “Make’s sense, that’s the easiest way to travel in rugged terrain with a hot daytime sun.”

Sam asks “What’s with all of the wagons?” Hans interjects, “Those may not be wagons but cannon, that’s what they went to Mexico to get.” Arcade investigates further and says, “I think he’s right, these ruts look to have been made by horse drawn two wheel vehicles not four, and are rather close together to be wagons.” Hans is concerned about cannon being fired up at the airship.

Hank says, “Don’t worry, we’ll take this slow and careful. We can travel much faster than them so they aren’t going to get away. There’s no need to be reckless.” Arcade gives Hank and odd look and says, “Who are you? You look like Hank Hill but you sure don’t talk like him.” Louie interjects, “He finally found something he cares about, not his teammates but his vehicle.” Hank says, “You all can better defend yourself now than it can. But once I mount a gattling gun on it that’ll be a different matter.”

They have the Zeppelin fly low and to the southwest, the moon providing enough light to illuminate and follow the tracks twenty-five feet below the passenger compartment. The trail continues on towards the southern Hidalgo Mountains. They land near the first of the mountains, with Arcade getting out and checking the tracks, which he says are only a few hours old. They decide to fly north of the tracks and circumnavigate around the first couple of mountains.

They continue to watch diligently, finally spotting some movement in a valley a little more than a mile to the southwest. They immediately pull back behind a mountain to keep from being seen and fly on ahead and around this mountains to a point a mile ahead of where the French are riding. Hans flies as close as he can get using the mountain as cover.

They decide to set up an ambush on the ground, and only have the Zeppelin fly in from behind if they run into trouble. They discuss who to leave behind to guard Hans. The German pilot assures the party that he is as anxious to defeat these Frenchmen as they are and that the prospect of living in the United States appeals to him. Gonzales says, “I say we trust him….and I also have the means to find him anywhere in Mexico if he does attempt to escape.” Hans says, “I will not leave. I would not want Arcade’s Gang to come hunting after me.” “Good man,” Arcade replies. The six exit the dirigible, giving Hans instruction to fly back around the mountain and wait in the rear until he sees a signal of light from them.

 

[Queenie]

Knowles replies, “Native legends say that the Dark Elves once lived here. Most recently it was the Headquarters for the Cowboy Gang’s leaders. That ended in January when the Earps cornered them here.” He gestures to the chamber with the partially collapsed roof and says, “The Gang’s leader Curly Bill Brocious died in there after the Earps tossed in some sticks of dynamite.”

He gestures to the chamber at the opposite end of the doorway and says, “That was Johnny Ringo’s room. He escaped and still has another key to the iron door to this room.” He gestures to chamber on the right and says, “Better room belonged to Tom and Frank McLaury. They both died here” Arcade says, “The McLaury brothers? We kept those from getting killed by the Earps last October in Tombstone.” Louie comments, “Looks like all we did was postpone it.”

Poor Ruby... never getting any credit. Course, that's probably a good thing in this case

 

[Silver Moon]

Chapter 93, “The Hidalgo County Battle”, Sunday, March 19th, 1882, 1:30 A.M.

The party moves out to until they reach a dry riverbed. During the annual rainy season a river up to fifteen-feet wide and six-feet deep covers this bed, but now it is dry and the French are using the riverbed as their roadway through the valley, given that it travels along a low and easy path with a minimum of obstacles to tow their cannon around.

The six observe the approaching French Army from higher ground, counting a total of thirty-eight horses, sixteen of which are paired and pulling the total of eight cannon behind them. As the cannon are being towed with the barrels pointing towards the rear they decide that a frontal attack would be best, since they would then need to turn the cannon around in order for them to be deployed. The group carefully climbs further down the hillside to the riverbed without being seen.

They choose a spot along the road where a series of boulders, some up to ten feet high, can be used to provide cover to the party. They decide to split into groups of three, with each group on a different side of the road to catch the enemy inside crossfire. Arcade, Gonzales and Hank and Arcade go to the southern side while Louie, Morgana and Sam remain on the northern side. Each group member finds a good rock to hide behind that is no more than twenty-feet from his or her next teammate. Each trio then stays together initially at the center person’s rock, to plan and then move out when the enemy close in.

As the approaching forces get closer the group can see that they are comprised of four distinctly separate groups of individuals. There are ten-mounted French Foreign Legion troops attired the same as those fought earlier, all of which are paired up with each pair pulling a cannon. Accompanying these forces are fourteen Arabs riding Arabian horses. They too are paired, with the first four leading and acting as scouts with each of the other five pairs riding behind each pair of Legionnaires.

Following them is a group of six mounted men dressed in civilian garb, who Gonzales concludes are probably the French wizards. The final group of eight is French Soldiers wearing the uniforms of the regular French Army. Three of these pairs are enlisted troops who are pulling the remaining three cannon. The other two appear to be officers, a French General and his aide, a Major.

Each team members evaluates these threats differently. Gonzalez is most concerned about the wizards; Arcade thinks the officers should be the main targets; Sam and Morgana are both concerned about the Arab scouts because they are closest to them and probably the most experienced with fighting in rough desert terrain; Louie sees the Legionnaires as the greatest threat; and Hank just wants to shoot somebody.

The plan is for Arcade’s trio to initiate the attack, but not to begin until all the enemy has moved up along the road so that they can all can be seen by the party. Hank positions himself on the tallest rock, looking down at the enemy below while Gonzales moves to a spot closest to the enemy so that he will have a clear view of the wizards and their specific actions.

Arcade takes the first shot, the bullet striking and killing one of the Legionnaires hauling the second cannon. Hank immediately fires his rifle at that Legionnaire’s partner, seriously wounding him and causing him to both drops his gun and fall from his horse. This effectively leaves the cannon blocking the roadway/riverbed, causing all of those behind to have to stop while cutting off the eight troops in front from the remainder of their battalion.

Gonzales next lets loose a Fireball spell two-thirds of the way back, which envelopes over four of the wizards and two mounted Arabs. Pair of the wizards appear to have magical fire protection on them and are minimally harmed although their mounts are both killed as are all of the others caught in the blast. This pair immediately runs for cover behind the nearest rocks. This move has the effect of further dividing the battalion, with the thirty troops not yet engaged in battle in the roadway now comprised of the front eight, a middle group of twelve, and the final group of ten.

Louie and Sam both fire at a pair of Arabs in direct line of sight from them at the end of the front group, killing one and wounding the other. Morgana watches the two unhurt wizards towards the back, holding off on throwing her Magic Missile spell until they begin spells of their own.

The four Arab scouts in the very front of the Army ride forwards towards higher ground. Louie and Sam both fire at them, prompting the quartet to keep on riding. Hank pivots around on the rock and fires two more rifle shots, striking the pair of Arabs now at the front of the middle group. Arcade shoots at a Legionnaire behind those Arabs, missing, but striking his horse, which collapses to the ground.

Morgana releases her Magic Missile at the two still unhurt wizards, disrupting their spells. Unfortunately her hiding place is not far from the front of the middle group and the sight of magical light flying out from her position causes the remaining nine Legionnaires and Arabs in the middle group to concentrate their fire towards her. She immediately ducks down behind a rock to avoid being hit. Gonzales now lobs the second of his three Fireball spells towards the enemy in the rear group, catching the two wizards who Morgana had struck in it as well as four of the regular French army troops, their mounts and two cannon and killing all of them.

A pair of Legionnaires now cut the cannon they are towing loose from the mounts and charge the rock that Morgana is hiding behind. Sam stays low on the ground and crawls out from behind the rock. He fires a fatal shot up into the closest of these, the man falling back in the saddle of his horse. Louie deals with the other by standing and unloading his shotgun into both the man and his horse. Unfortunately this move also makes Louie a prime target for the other seven troops who had previously fired at Morgana as well as the one that had been previously dismounted. All eight fire at Louie with two shots hitting, one rather seriously. The half-orc collapses in pain behind the rock Sam stops shooting and crawls over to help protect his ally.

With Morgana and Louie drawing the attention of the remaining enemy troops that leaves Hank and Arcade free to rain fire down upon the other troops, with them concentrating on the rear four in the second group. Both Legionnaires are killed and the horses are shot out from beneath the Arabs, who run to the cannon that the Legionnaires had been pulling to use it as partial cover. The two lone mounted Arabs at the front of the second group opt to ride away and gallop off the road towards the south and past the rock that Hank is on top of, with him deciding to just let them go.

The two French Officers in the rear order the remaining pair with them to turn the last cannon around and fire at the rock where Hank’s shots are coming from. They have the cannon half turned when Gonzales lets fly his final fireball, dropping all four of them. The burning debris, bodies and adjacent grass and brush resulting from the fireballs now illuminate the entire area, assisting the remaining foes in better seeing their surroundings.

Morgana manages to get over to Louie and cast a healing spell onto him as Sam moves to another rock and fires at the two remaining Legionnaires in the middle group, killing one of them. The remaining three Legionnaires and Arab in the front group have managed to regroup and move to slightly higher ground, concentrating their fire down on Sam, Morgana and Louie, with Louie getting shot once more. Sam fires back, supported by shots from Arcade and Hank, wounding one Legionnaire and killing the Arab.

One of the two remaining front group Legionnaires now gets Arcade within his sights for what would have been a fatal shot but at the very last second a well-placed shot from Sam keeps him from firing while a very angry Louie dispatches the other. The remaining wounded Legionnaire in the front group decides to surrender.

Shooting has now ceased. Gonzales casts a spell to allow himself to detect invisibility and then has Arcade and Hank accompany him towards the rocks where the protected wizards have retreated to. No one is present and Gonzales concludes that the pair has managed to teleport away. Sam is ordered to climb the hill and confirm that the six Arabs who rode off have left the area.

The two Arabs cowering behind the cannon are tied and gagged. Gonzales discovers that the French General and Major are both still barely alive with severe burns. They are both securely tied up before Morgana casts healing spells on them to prevent them from succumbing to their injuries. The General remains unconscious while the Major temporarily wakens before falling unconscious again.

Most of the party is surprised to discover that the only surviving Legionnaire is not French but Italian. Arcade tells them “That’s pretty common, the French hire mercenaries from many countries. He introduces himself as Joseppi Franjoluppi and asks that the party not kill him, saying that he is no soldier and never even fired a gun until that day. “What were you doing with these troops then?” Morgana asks. He replies, “I was the Company Cook, I work as chef back in my native Milan.”

Arcade and Hank exchange glances and Arcade says, “An Italian Chef? You interested in staying here with us?” He replies, “Here? In Tunisia?” “What makes you think we’re in Tunisia?” she asks. He replies, “That where French Wizards say they bring us.” Morgana says, “Guess again, you’re in the United States.” “America!” he exclaims. “The good old U. S. of A.” Hank replies. A wide grin crosses Joseppi’s face as he pulls his Legionnaire hat from his head, tosses it onto the group and stomps on it. “I quit Legion,” he exclaims. Arcade then helps heal the bullet wound in Joseppi’s arm that he had just a short while earlier caused.

The Zeppelin in signaled to fly in and land near where the battle is fought. It is decided that the two French officers and the pair of Arabs should be turned over to the United States Army. The closest Army Fort is near Deming, New Mexico, which would be a two-hour flight to the northeast. They decide that Arcade should lead that group and be the one to talk to the army due to his reputation as the Gang’s leader. They also decide to bring the four undamaged cannon with them, but to keep for themselves for potential future use instead of giving them to the army. Gonzales attaches one of the four levitation devices to each and then activating them in order to not weigh down the Zeppelin.

Gonzales does not want to leave behind the fifteen horses that survived the battle, six of them Arabian stallions, since his granddaughter Sonoma now owns a ranch. Morgana and Louie offer to ride back west to Promise City with him and the horses. They decide it best to also send Joseppi with the riders to avoid having to explain who he is to the U.S. Army and potentially lose their newly acquired chef.

 

[Silver Moon]

Chapter 94, "Heading Back", Sunday, March 19th, 1882, 7:00 A.M.

As the sun rises up on the eastern horizon the Zeppelin reaches crosses above the town of Deming, New Mexico. The site of the town had been a stagecoach stop since 1850 but it had not been officially declared a town until the previous November. It derived its name from the maiden name of Mary Deming Crocker. She was the wife of a railroad magnate of the Southern Pacific Railway system, the town being the direct result of railroad expansion to the West. The Southern Pacific Railroad was building toward the Pacific coast and reached this point in late 1881, where they decided that this would be a good location for construction of a roundhouse and repair shops.

The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad had been laying track south from Albuquerque, New Mexico parallel to the Rio Grande River. They had originally planned to intersect with the Southern Pacific Railroad at Las Cruces, but with the roundhouse and repair shop now at Deming they decided that it would be the best location for the railroad junction. As this location was soon to be the intersection point of two major rail lines a town began to develop almost overnight.

It began as an erection of a city of tents and shanties, which then started to expand into more permanent structures. As 1882 progressed settlers began to flock in by rail, stopping at Deming as it was essentially “the end of the line”. Substantial buildings and many stores were soon constructed.

A short distance to the north an army fortress known as Fort Cummings had been established on high ground between the town of Deming and the rock formation known as Cooke's Peak. The oldest part of the Fortress was a protective wall that had been built by Colonel Philip Cooke and his troops when they first patrolled this region back in 1846, when the land was officially still part of Mexico. The present Fort had been initially established back in 1863 to monitor and the Apache and other elves of this region and was kept busy back in the days of Cochise's uprisings. The fortress's importance has now risen given that the natives might wish to hinder the railroad operations.

A wooden stockade was built on the lower hill while a high stone and adobe wall surrounded the upper hill. The Forth had originally been occupied by troops from California's Company B but was now manned primarily by New Mexico based cavalry troops of mostly Ogrish blood known as Buffalo Soldiers, with humans as the commanding officers.

Arcade, Hank and Sam wisely have Hans land the airship out of sight of the fortress on the opposite side of a hill a half-mile away from the Fort. Hank decided to stay with the airship and guard the prisoners while Arcade and Sam approach the wooden stockade fortress on foot. They soon reach the guardhouse doors and identify themselves, asking to see the commanding officer.

The reputations of ‘Arcade’ and ‘Sure-shot Sam’ have preceded them and the two are quickly ushered into the headquarters of fortress’s commander. He had earlier received telegram dispatches from El Paso about the attempted train robbery by French Troops in a balloon that had come up from Mexico, so they had put the Fort on alert, the Mexican boarder being only forty miles away.

Arcade and Sam briefly explain about how they were on that train and repelled the attack, commandeering the balloon as their own. They then tell of the second invasion that they just stopped down in Hidalgo County and mention having prisoners to turn over. The Captain sends a squad of troops with Sam to go retrieve the prisoners, also bringing Hank back to the Fort as well. The three are treated to a fine breakfast and regaled as heroes by the soldiers and officers.

They then fly back to Arizona, arriving at the valley between Fisk and Bowie mountains mid-way through the morning. Sam, Arcade, Hank and Hans ride back in town, arriving at around 11:00 A.M., discovering that the other members of their party have not returned yet. Hank comments, “No surprise, we had the faster means of transportation.”

Since their house down the street is still unfurnished they inquire about rooms from Dorita, who has three available. Arcade and Sam each take one room while Hank and Hans take the other and all four immediately fall asleep.

Simultaneous to this the group of Louie, Morgana, Manuel Gonzales and Joseppi Franjoluppi are at the ranch a mile south of Promise City owned by Gonzales’s granddaughter Sonoma. Louie remembers Sonoma from when she waitressed at the El Parador and Morgana knows her well as they both are druidic apprentices of an older wood elf woman in town named Mother Jaminez.

They had been riding for most of the last six hours, through New Mexico and then through the Chirichaua Mountains where the Apache welcomed Morgana’s return and helped accompany them on the shortest route to the ranch. The ranch is a bustle of activity, having just received an influx of sixteen cows and close to a dozen horses that Sonoma’s business partners had just rescued from cattle rustlers. Emery Shaw, owner of the nearby Lazy-S ranch had helped her partners herd these animals to the ranch as gratitude for several rustled cattle with the Lazy-S brand having been returned to them.

Sonoma agrees to board the horses that the party had obtained beyond those needed by the quartet to ride back to town. Morgana asks Sonoma* about the rustled cattle as is told that those with local brands have been returned to their owners but that the other brands are not known so will take further to find. Morgana casts some healing and hair-growth spells over the brands, effectively erasing them, and tells Sonoma to now just consider them hers.

The quartet ride back to town, arriving back just before noon. Morgana tells Gonzales and Joseppi that they can each keep the horse that they have been riding this day. Upon hearing that the others have returned and are upstairs sleeping. Dorita heads upstairs to let Morgana into Arcade’s room. Another room is also now available which Louie and Joseppi take. Having been awake all night and morning, the group decides to all sleep throughout the afternoon.



*[DM’s Note: It was fun watching these two characters interact, as while they are each from my two different Western campaigns set on the same world they are actually both played by the same player.]

 

[Steve Jung]

*[DM’s Note: It was fun watching these two characters interact, as while they are each from my two different Western campaigns set on the same world they are actually both played by the same player.]

How did you end up playing that out?

 

[Silver Moon]

Chapter 95, "The Mirror", Sunday, March 19th, 1882, 4:00 P.M.

Towards late afternoon there are several gunshots fire outside, but the group is all so tired that only Hank is awakened by them. He sits in bed for a while debating whether to get up or not when the shots end. He decides to go back to sleep but just as he is about to fall asleep is awakened by the sound of more gunfire, with this sounding closer than the other shots.

Hank gets up and looks out the window where he sees an Indian standing at the intersection of South and Fremont Streets and shooting at somebody to the east. He also notices that the lower end of Fremont Street is littered with burning debris that appear to have been clothing and a mattress.

The Indian then gets shot by a human in western garb further up Fremont Street near the County Claims Office. Another cowboy who is standing at the intersection of Fremont and Main Streets then shoots this man. Not knowing who any of these people are, or what is going on, Hank decides to head downstairs to investigate. Not bothering to put on his shirt, vest or pants, he straps his gunbelt on over the red long johns he was sleeping in, dons his Cowboy hat, and heads downstairs to the Cantina lobby.

He goes to the front door of the El Parador, by which time the town’s new Priestess is busy tending to the rather wounded Indian while other people are checking the other dead cowboy. A wood elf wearing a Deputy’s badge is talking to the man who had fired the final shot but does not appear to be planning to arrest him.

Hank overhears something being said about Johnny Ringo, a man who he had met last October in Tombstone. Hank looks around but the gunslinger doesn’t look to be anywhere in the vicinity, nor is he the dead cowboy. Hank is then spotted by Bill Watkins, owner of the Great Western Boarding House across the street. Hank had lived there until Watkins evicted him the previous summer. Watkins glares angrily and Hank. Hank smiles back, then heads back inside and upstairs to bed, figuring that whatever the commotion was is now over.


It is close to 8:00 P.M. when Arcade’s Gang is all awake and sit down for dinner at the Cantina. Each group tells the other about what they have been up to since leaving the battle site. Gesturing to their new chef and new pilot at the end of the table Arcade asks, “What are we going to do with them?” Morgana calls Dorita over and makes arrangements for the two new hirelings to keep the rooms at the El Parador where they are staying this evening.

Sam comments, “So right now we have us a Chinaman, an Italian, a German, an Irishwoman, an Englishman, a few Americans and are eating at a Mexican restaurant.” Arcade comments, “Yeah, it’s like we’ve founded our own filthy little League of Nations.” Hank interjects, “Don’t forget, Texas was its own country too.” “Like you’d ever let us forget,” Louie states. Hans is told that he can keep one of the extra horses for himself, as he will need it for the five-mile ride out to where the Dirigible is parked. He is very thankful for that, saying that he always wanted to have a horse of his own.

Following the dinner they head over to the Alhambra saloon to find the halfling newspaperman Chumbley. The fast-talking hyperactive little man is very surprised to hear that Arcade’s Gang is back in town and even more surprised to hear that they have bought out his competitor. He is then flabbergasted when they make him the offer to be Editor of the paper. Chumbley is a good negotiator and manages to convince them to pay him a significant amount of the profits from each paper as his salary. He says that he is very interested but will have to first speak to the owner of the Tombstone paper John Clum before he can formally accept their offer.

Monday, March 20th, 1882:

Morgana meets with the County Claims Manager to finalize the purchase of the valley where the Dirigible now sits. She purchases the entire 300-acre valley for $ 5.00 an acre. The group meets and decides that they will possibly offer a rental agreement to Count von Zeppelin rather than attempting to resell the property to him.

Tuesday, March 21st, 1882:

Morgana and Hank travel with Manuel Gonzales via teleport spell to Chihuahua, Mexico to meet with Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin to explain to him about the status of the dirigible and Hans Schmidt. She strongly suggests to von Zeppelin that due to the French invading America he would be very wise to distance himself from them and that incident as there will probably be serious international repercussions.

She suggests that he should probably relocate his operations to the United States and to Promise City, Arizona in particular and suggests that she might know of an ideal location in that area. They then spend an hour of so walking around the city, during which time Manuel bumps into elvan woman who he introduces as “an old friend” although neither Hank or Morgana think that she looks very old at all. They eventually are ready to head back, with Morgana gesturing to Hank and saying, “You can’t go leaving a Texan down here in Mexico, he’ll try to annex it.”

Wednesday, March 22nd, 1882:

Chumbley accepts the position as Editor of the paper. After a lengthy debate about the new name for it they decide upon calling it the Promise City Mirror. Arcade visits Burton Lumley, owner of the Gay Lady Saloon and current President of the Promise City Merchant’s Association to make him aware of the change in ownership of the newspaper.

Thursday. March 23rd, 1882.

At the morning meeting of the Promise City Merchant’s Association Burton Lumley introduces Josiah Arcadiam as the new owner of the Promise City Mirror, formerly the Promise City Herald, and states that he will be taking Parker Baxter’s membership in the association.

The main order of business that morning is the appointment of a new Marshall and new Deputy Marshall as Wyatt and Warren Earp have both resigned. Some of the Arcade’s Gang members consider volunteering for the positions but opt not to. The positions are filled by others present at the meeting. Afterwards Hank complains about not getting to wear a badge. Morgana says, “What do you expect? The other day you went outside without wearing pants.” Sam says, “Well, at least they accepted Arcade as a business owner.” Louie comments, “That means we really are now respectable gang.”

 

[Silver Moon]

Chapter 96, "LOUIE, LOUIE", or "THEY'VE KIDNAPPED OUR CHINAMAN"

Monday, April 10th, 1882:

The day begins with Charlie Wong running into the El Parador Cantina screaming to the owners Pedro and Dorita Figures something in the Orcan language that nobody present can understand. They eventually deduce that it has something to do with his daughter Mary and her boyfriend Louie both being missing. Dorita sends handyman Grant Keebler over to the house where Arcade’s Gang resides. Morgana is up early, as usual; she gets the message and has to go rouse the others.

Arcade and Hank complain about the interruption and how they don’t want to have to walk all the way down the street to find out what is going on. Morgana points out that today is the day that their chef Joseppi has off, so breakfast has not been prepared yet. Reflecting upon Dorita’s excellent cooking the two reconsider and state that a visit to the El Parador is in order.

The group of Arcade, Hank, Morgana, Qualtaqa and Sam arrive at the El Parador and talk to a frantic Charlie Wong, who states that Mary Wong and Louie have both been kidnapped. Hank says, “Calm down, they probably just wanted some alone time.” Charlie hands them a ransom note that had been left at his laundry shop. It reads:

TO ARKADS GANG

WE GOT YER CHINAMAN AN HIS GURLFREND TO. IFFEN YER WANT HIM BACK BRING 500DOLLERS TO WHERE WE TELL YER TOMORER, AN 100DOLLERS FER THE GURL. DONT GO TO THE MARSHALL OR THERE DED.

THE OBANNON GANG

Arcade comments, “It could be legit. Louie doesn’t know enough English to write that out.” Morgana adds, “Yes, and with the few words that he actually does know his spelling is better.” Arcade says, “Maybe we should just view this as an opportunity, that Louie was really getting to be a bit of a pain.” Sam comments, “But they took Mary too, she does our laundry.” Arcade says, “Okay, we want to get at least her back.” Hank says, “We need Louie too. The bad guys shoot him instead of the rest of us.” Qualtaqa is miffed. "They're calling themselves a gang. We're the gang! We can't have anyone else be the gang!"

“Exactly where did you find this note?” Morgana asks. Charlie says that it was at his laundry shop, that Mary went there first thing in the morning to get the laundry started and that Louie often stops by to assist her. They head over to the shop. Morgana tells her allies not to touch anything until they examine the place for clues. One of the players makes a comment about the game now being “C.S.I. Promise City”.

They find Louie’s rifle propped up against the wall in the corner. Charlie says, “That’s where he puts in while he’s working.” Arcade examines the floor for tracks and declares that there is some evidence of a struggle but no bloodstains. Qualtaqa tries to find tracks outside with deep impressions to indicate if people left recently carrying something heavy. He concludes that “Somebody recently swept the street”. A dusty broom is then found in an alleyway, which Charlie concludes belongs to his shop. The group also sends Joseppi to discreetly visit the Marshal, and get their newspaper reporter Angelica Young to the sheriff.

Qualtaqa comments, “We need to get Louie back. He has a good heart.” Morgana says, “Not so loud, if the kidnappers hear that they’ll sent it back to us in a box.” Arcade says, “I still don’t know if we should bother.” Sam asks, “Are you afraid to go up against this Gang to get him?” He replies, “I don’t know that afraid is the right word, more like indifferent.”

The group's assistants (Joseppi and Angelica) arrive from their trips around town to try to find out more about this O’Bannon Gang, stating that they found that the leader is a part-time gambler who isn’t all that good at cards. He is known to have gotten into a few fistfights over in Tombstone, but nothing is known about him heading a gang. The general consensus is that he isn’t all that bright. Arcade comments “Maybe instead of opposing him we should hire him.” Sam says, “Did you hear everything we just heard about this guy. He’s stupid, clumsy and useless.” Arcade replies, “And how does that differ from Louie?” Silence follows that comment. No further information is found about the O’Bannons.

The gang discusses possible plans to find Louie and/or deal with this other gang. There is talk about using the airship to search, but since they haven't allowed it to be seen locally and certainly haven't let on that they own such a thing, they decide not to bring it out just yet. They also talk about putting notices or articles in the newspaper, but decide that they should have something more to work with before it becomes public knowledge. Morgana casts a "Reflecting Pool" to look for Louie. She sees him tied up in a cave and Mary nearby. As she pulls back her vision, she sees it is located in some unfamiliar hills. While the rest of the group discusses setting some traps for the bad guys, she goes to the cantina to wait for some of the local dwarven miners to come in for their next meal, hoping they will recognize the location. She is told that it looks like the site of the "First Strike" mine, the one that started the little "Silver Rush" that was the beginnings of the town. The mine is rumored to be haunted, and no one has been there for many years.

The gang splits up to do a little more research. Hank and Sam seek out their gambler friend Conrad Booth to see if he knows anything more about O'Bannon, but he hasn't. Qualtaqa rides out to the Apache to see if they can help - not much they can or want to do, but they will keep their eyes open for any unusual movement. Arcade grills their halfling reporter Chumley, since he knows Tombstone, but he doesn't know any more about O'Bannon than they already knew from the sheriff. Morgana checks at the local boarding houses to see if any newcomers rented a room for the night last night.

After they regroup for dinner they make plans for the night, to see if they can capture whomever is delivering the next note. Qualtaqa will take up a position in the hills above Boot Hill, where he can see much of the town. Hank takes a cot in the laundry in case they return there. Sam sets up in the entryway of their house, and Arcade and Morgana on the roof, hoping the messenger is stupid enough to deliver the note there. They also instruct their pilot Hans to fly the dirigible to hide in the low hills about 1 mile from town in case they need to start a quick pursuit.

Tuesday, April 11th, 1882:

The morning begins with Pedro bringing the next ransom note, which had been left at the back door of the cantina, to the house:

TO ARKADS GANG

BRING THE MUNEY TO THE OL FIRST STRIKE MINE AT NOONE TODAY. NO TRICKS OR THER DED. WE MEEN IT.

THE OBANNON GANG

The group reads the note and discusses strategy over breakfast. “If we pay the ransom and get them back what’s to keep this Gang from just grabbing somebody else later?” Hank gestures to Sam and comments, “Sounds good to me.”

First , they check for tracks by the cantina, but by then the morning crowd has covered over anything that might have been there. They then go to a lawyer friend to get information about the mine. He reports that a Joshua Macomber filed a deed in 1868, brought one load of silver ore into Tombstone, hired a few helpers and went back, and was never heard from again. The group checks a few other locations in town to see if anyone knows or has seen anything, then heads back to the cantina for a late breakfast. Qualtaqa finally shows up, having stayed at his post in the hills until now. Their dwarven friend, Nils "Great-Axe" Svelsfjord, shows up and they ask him about the mine. He knows little, since it wasn't worked by dwarves, but has heard the old stories about how Macomber's assistants may have turned on him, and there was an explosion or shootout at the mine and that was the end of things; supposedly their ghosts haunt the mine to this day.

The group decides to fly out to where it says to bring the ransom note. Qualtaqa runs to the blimp to alert Hans, while Morgana heads to the church to get holy water and any other kinds of blessings or protections from undead. Arcade and Hank go to the bank to get money for the ransom, in case they actually decide to pay it.