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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Silver Moon" data-source="post: 1389633" data-attributes="member: 8530">Good point Gary, the Gang was a bit too trusting on this one, even though everybody except Sam did had concealed weapons.   If this had been a planned ambush I'm sure they would have thought twice about going through with it with Arcade absent from the group.    Thanks for the reader's comment, keep them coming.   Now on to the next chapter:Chapter 40, “Point me in the direction of Albuquerque”, November 14th, 1881:The Saloon owner Evan Adair demands, “All right, what is it that you people want?”  Hank replies, “We don’t want anything. We were notified to come here.  One of your guests has a message for Arcade.”    The party describes the boy who delivered the note.  Adair opens the door and yells out “Somebody go and find Jimmy, NOW.”  The boy soon arrives and when asked tells his boss “Yes, Mr. Duncan had me deliver a message to the El Parador Cantina.”   Adair tells the party, “Duncan’s an Easterner staying up on the top floor.”  He turns to the boy and orders him to “Go get him down here RIGHT NOW.”    Jimmy hurries off and his employer also exits the room.    Hank comments, “I tell you what.  You’d almost get the impression that guy doesn’t want us hanging around here.”A man soon enters the lounge.   He is wearing a wool suit with a pressed shirt, a bow tie and freshly shined shoes.   Beneath the coat jacket they can see an empty gun holster.   The man introduces himself as Detective Duncan of the Pinkerton Detective Agency.   “We didn’t do it,” Sam blurts out.   “Do what?” Duncan asks.  “Whatever you want us for,” is Sam’s reply.   Duncan answers, “I have a message for Mr. Arcade.  He doesn’t appear to be with you.”   Hank interjects, “We’re Arcade’s Gang, you can give it to us.”   Louie points to Morgana and says, “She’s a very personal assistant to Arcade.”  Duncan states, “I’m sorry but the message is only for him.  Please have him come here.”   Hank says, “Listen, Arcade doesn’t go to people, they come to him.”   Duncan asks, “Does he always inspire this degree of loyalty?”  “Yep,” Sam answers.   Duncan states, “Look, I came all the way here from Boston and….”   Hank interrupts with, “Then you shouldn’t mind traveling a few more streets to find him.  Follow us.”    They head back to the bar for Hank and Sam to collect their firearms.   The bartender also hands a gun to Duncan, which he inspects and then quickly slides into its holster.   Morgana notes that it is a top quality piece that also shows some wear to it.   They exit the Palace Saloon and Duncan comments, “Why is this Arcade so reclusive?”   Morgana replies, “He’s just being careful.  We’ve run afoul of a number of people lately, including the James Gang, the Clantons and the Earps.”   Louie interjects, “James Gang all dead.”  Hank replies, “Not all of them.  Frank and Jesse got away, and Arcade shot up their beloved cousin Cleatus, so they may come back for revenge.”Duncan says, “Ah, so that’s why you’re being so protective.”  Hank is still very uncertain of this man and gives him an icy stare while commenting, “It doesn’t hurt to be careful.  You never know exactly who might have been hired to kill him.”   The Pinkerton picks up on the insinuation and sternly replies, “My agency does not engage itself in hired killings.”  “That’s a nice change,” Morgana casually answers.   “How did you know to find Arcade here?” Sam asks.   Duncan states, “News of your exploits have traveled far and wide.”   “And those accounts are rather exaggerated,” Morgana interjects.   Duncan laughs at that and says, “Oh, I don’t believe everything I’ve read in the papers.  If I did I would have expected to see a shootout taking place on every corner in this town.”   The half-orc comments, “No.  Louie no buy rice today.”   Duncan replies, “Oh?  You get a lot of rice-related violence around here?”   “More than you’d suspect,” Hank answers.  The detective then asks, “So what can you tell me about this Arcade?”  Hank says, “Don’t make him angry.”  With Morgana adding, “You wouldn’t like him when he’s angry.”They arrive back at the El Parador, where Arcade is still seated at the same table and drinking a beer.   Morgana introduces the visitor as “Detective Duncan from the Pinkerton Agency in Boston.”   Without bothering to stand up or shake the man’s hand Arcade states “I’m Arcade.  What do you want?”   Duncan says, “I have a letter to deliver to you from England.  You need to sign for it.”  Arcade is given a form and fountain pen, and he signs it.   Duncan then hands him a closed up envelope, which Arcade nonchalantly opens up and scans the contents of the note inside.“Well?” an impatient Morgana exclaims.   Arcade states, “My father is ill and I have been asked to return home.”   The centaur asks, “You’re from England?”  Louie blurts out, “You not talk funny.”   Arcade glances up and says, “I am originally from England, and Louie, you’re hardly one to complain about how other people talk.”    Duncan states that he needs a response from Arcade to deliver back.  “I guess I probably should go,” Arcade states.   The detective retorts, “Could you please be more definitive?”  Arcade crumbles up the paper and says, “Yes.  I’ll go.”   “Thank you,” Duncan replies and then exits. Hank says, “I tell you what.  Maybe some of us should go with you.   The Clantons and Earps are a bit too close for comfort, so what’s to keep them from coming after us once word gets out that you’re gone.”  Louie utters, “Sam now has big reputation.”  Hank asserts, “Yeah, for shooting up those guys in Tombstone!  Sam’s the one they’ll be gunning for first.”  Sam turns to Arcade and emphatically states, “I’m going with you!”   “I’m going as well,” Morgana comments.  “Me too!” Louie exclaims.  “What the hell, I’m in,” Hank comments.   “And I,” states the Centaur.   Aiden says, “Sure, sounds good.  A few thousand miles further away from my homeland can only help.”  “Do they have gangs in England?” Louie asks.   Sam replies, “They will now.”  Hank jokes, “So Arcade, you’re bringing Morgana home to meet the folks?”  Arcade ignores the comment. “How are we going to get there?” Sam asks.   “Boat,” Arcade answers.  Louie says, “I be on boat before.  Long ride from China.  Me down at bottom of boat.  Want to stay on good part of boat this time!”   Aiden comments that he’s never been on a large boat before and has some concerns.  Morgana comments that she doesn’t know how to swim.   Hank tells her, “If it sinks in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean knowledge of swimming really won’t make that much of a difference.”   [One of the players comments, “Nobody has to worry.  It will be another 30 years in Arcade’s timeline before we have to worry about him DM’ing us on a major ship disaster (alluding to the fact that this DM is a “Titanic” aficionado).   The DM laughs and replies, “Are you kidding?  The Titanic wasn’t the first ship in the White Star Line to be lost at sea.  For that matter, it wasn’t even the first one to sink after hitting an iceberg.”  “That’s reassuring,” another player comments.]   Hank says, “I don’t see very many ocean liners picking up passengers here in southeastern Arizona".   Sam states, “We’ll have to take a train.”  Louie states, “Me build choo-choo, never ride on one.”   Morgana now has a panic stricken look on her face and says, “Oh no.  That means’s we’ll have to go to Boston.  That’s where my family is.”  Glancing at her Indian attire Aiden comments “You’re from Boston?”   Hank interjects, “Her last name is O’Shea.  Where else would she be from?”   “First we need to get to train,” states Louie.   Hank says, “Closest one would be to the west, but we’d have to go back through Tombstone to get there.”   Arcade says, “No.  We’d probably be better off taking the eastern stage through the New Mexico Territory instead.   It’ll make for a longer stage coach ride, but probably still worth it in the long run.”   Morgana says, “Well, if we’re going that direction anyway let’s stop off in Santa Fe and check on that reward money that’s owed to us.”  The group decides that would make a good cover story about their immediate absence.  Cantina owners Pedro and Dorita are told that the gang will be away for a long time but to let everybody think they’re expected back at any time.  They arrange to leave their horses at the Cantina stables but give the owners permission to go ahead and rent out their rooms.   Hank checks with the Wells Fargo Office to see about taking the stagecoach to Santa Fe.  He is told that the stage normally only goes as far east as the neighboring town of Galeyville, but is directed to check with the Morand Cartage Company, as they occasionally make longer trips east.    Tempel Morand tells Hank that he was planning to make a trip to El Paso in December, but is willing to move up the trip a few weeks.  He gives the party a very reasonable price for the transportation, being thankful to have Arcade’s Gang along to help protect against bandits that occasionally cross over the boarder from Mexico. The group spends the five days traveling the 175 miles east along the rough and nearly barren land until they reach the town of Las Cruces, New Mexico, which is a day’s travel north of El Paso.   The trip had been uneventful, encountering only a few very small communities which Arcade describes as being “About the size of a postage stamp and built around the skeleton of a dead oxen, the family having stopped because that was where the ox pulling their wagon died.”  In Las Cruces they change to another stagecoach to travel the 225 miles north to Albuquerque.  They make good time on this well-traveled roadway that runs parallel with the Rio Grande River, arriving in Albuquerque five days later.   They then travel northeast on another stage for two more days to the community of Santa Fe, the capital of the New Mexico Territory.</blockquote>

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