"Laying it on a little thick there Miss Giles." Claire sighs. "I don't want to stay out here anymore than anyone else," she interjects. "But she does have a point. If we leave the thing running around out here causing trouble, it might be significantly stronger when we find our way back. It wants those bodies for something and given the size of the crate it was in, it can't be that large. Either it needs a lot of extra food for something or it has a distinctly stranger reason to need half a dozen human corpses. Miss Giles, since you seem to know Mr. Seyberth so well, did he say anything about what he transporting?"
Cornelius crosses his arms and stares at the others, and speaks to the posse quiet enough to not alert the civilians. "I. Gave. My. Word. I will get these people to safety, and frankly...they will be a liability hunting anything down! They could get mauled by coyotes or who knows what should we leave them unescorted. If'n this critter is so dangerous, it'll come to us; if not, it will wait. There's no logic to going after it now...beyond bravado. The certain safety of people is more important than a looming, uncertain potential threat some thing may kill them, but the thirst will certainly do so if we don't get them goin...which I plan to do."
With that he heads and mounts up.
"And you're alright waiting for the thing to come after us while we're surrounded by civilians?"
"More than it coming after civilians while we're out hunting it, away from them, yes. What you propose - separating from them - is a coin toss. I'm not willing to take that risk."
"Are you a gambler, Cornelius? I recall you mentioning that you weren't." Samuel continues to flick the cards back and forth in his hands, moving them back and forth through the air. "You might not know this, but any good gambler knows that not taking a risk is a good way to come up empty, so to speak. It might look like blind luck to the... uninitiated, but once you've sat around a Blackjack table once or twice you begin to understand it's more of a calculated risk. The only guarantee you're not going to lose money is when you're dealt a Blackjack, and even that can be a wash if you're not lucky. But you begin to realize quickly the best cards on which to raise, and on which to fold. You don't go splitting a pair of fives, but a pair of eights is a better bet." He ceases shuffling the cards, taking one up in his hand. He turns the card around, an Eight of Spades. He flicks it towards Cornelius, a fluid motion he's likely practiced.
"We didn't get dealt blackjack, sure. But right now, it looks to me like you're decided to stand on a hard 16, and that's about the worst choice you could make. Either hit it or fold, but don't just sit there waiting for the dealer to bust. You understand?"
Askuwheteau shakes his head at the argument going on around him. Why is it that when a trained hunter makes a suggestion regarding a beast he gets ignored, but when some doe-eyed white-woman makes the same damn suggestion everyone takes it as shaman-word, I'll understand white-men. Walking over to Cornealius, Askuwheteau puts one hand on his should and gives him a dead serious look. "Cornealius once, many moons ago, my people faced a similar dilemma when a group of traders came across the remains of a bear attack. the warriors protecting them felt duty bound to protect the traders but knew that the bear posed a threat to near-by settlements. While debating over what to do the elder among the traders approached the leader of the Warriors and gave him advice that is repeated throughout my people to this day and i believe that it has an appropriate translation. Take Drugs, Kill a Bear. We must hunt the beast Cornealius."
Biff looks confused.
"Of course we're hunting it! Why is this an argument? Who in their right mind would pass up a chance to tangle with an ambiguously supernatural beastie like this!?!"
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"Indeed, my good Biff. Indeed. Think about it this way, Cornealius: the famed Hero of the South saves a train and its passengers from the beast of beyond! Obviously helped by a posse and two handsome british gentlemen... I can't wait to arrive to Tombstone -by the way, you Americans should learn to name towns better. Nobody wants to live in such a place. Liverpool II fits it better. Or Chelsea Jr!- and brag about it... I bet a sensual redhead barmaid is there... Eddy drops to the ground, his hands linked on a praying "God Almighty! If you hear me, please will that ominous named town to have a beautiful redhead lady and I will donate a lot of shinies to you!"
"Yer points are good. Tell you what, I'll agree, un'er two conditions. We leave the Squatpumps and chase with guns galore in the train with all of them away from the heat of the day and two, we know, an' I mean know one hunner't percent, they got enough food and water. I will not have people die of thirst while we're out galavantin' with the unknown. I think that's fair and reasonable."
By this point in time, some of the other folks from the train have joined the posse in their discussion. Private Chasen listens intently, and seems mostly to be trying to keep track of the actual plan. Harold is also present, standing with his arms folded and a serious expression. As an agreement seems reached, they begin to speak.
"Of course, sir," Chasen says, snapping another salute to Cornelius. "I'll keep these folks safe and sound, don't you worry. They're in good hands, and I'll make sure the Squatpumps help as well."
"Yep, we'll wait in the train," Harold says with a nod. "And I do know, one hunner't percent, that we have enough food and water. For now, at least. We can wait for a day here and still be okay to make Tombstone, but not any more."
"So it's settled, then?" Laura looks at the group with concerned eyes and clutches her handbag. "Well, I must say I'm glad you've decided to hunt that beast now. Mister Seyberth didn't tell me much about what it was, so I'm afraid I can't inform you any more than that it seems quite dangerous, and apparently likes corpses. I can't imagine why, though." She pauses, chews her lip for a moment, and then speaks again. "I am glad you all are going out, but I'm afraid I must stay here. I'm not fit for such endeavors, I'm afraid, and I suppose I should be able to tell others what happened, should anything unthinkable happen."
Chasen, the Squatpumps, and Harold begin rounding up the passengers and foodstuffs, moving back into the train to get out of the heat and begin the wait. Unless there's anything more to be done here, the posse finds themselves with a choice of where to start: the tracks by the caboose, or the tracks here.
"I suggest we try following the tracks around camp first, if they prove to challenging than we can try the tracks down by the end of the train."
"Sounds like a good idea. The faster we get through this, the better. I'm not much of a tracker, Ash. Seems like this is your territory. We're right behind you, man.."
Askuwheteau heads over to the tracks near the camp and takes a look at them. "I'm afraid I can not make much sense of these. There is so much movement that the tracks seem to cover each other."
"I can't believe y'all spent all that time arguin' to chase down a critter that we can't even chase down!"
"I believe that the tracks by the end of the train might be easier to follow, we could give them a try."
If no one argues, Askuwheteau heads down towards the caboose.
As Ash goes off to try to follow the tracks, Claire pulls Laura aside again.
Ash isn't able to heads or tails of the tracks near the engine crash, but keeping in mind the tracks down by the caboose, he suggests moving there. Meanwhile, Claire and Laura have a brief conversation...
...at the end of which Miss Giles returns to the train. The posse is gathered to decide what to do once more.
Claire has an expression on her face that clearly says she doesn't believe a word Laura said during their private chat. "Let's get this show on the road," she says, checking her revolver. "The sooner this thing is dead, the sooner we can get these people to safety."
The posse heads down to the caboose, where Askuwheteau is able to find the tracks again. He follows them easily enough and the group sets off along the rocks and sand. The trail leads up over a small rise and then down into a bit of a valley, where the rocks come up higher to form small canyons and almost a bit of a maze.
Continuing forward, the tracks lead into this section of desert, heading between the rocks. Although not closeted in, and only about shoulder high, the effect is unsettling, as it means the posse can't see very far in any direction. What's more, the sand here cushions their footsteps, reducing all noise to nothing. The silence is nearly deafening.
The trail winds through for a long time. The path dips slightly for a while, and soon the rocks are overhead, preventing view of all but the blazing sky. The sun still not quite overhead, the path is in shadow, keeping the heat of the day off the posse's backs as they walk. And walk on they do, until a sharp turn brings them out into a clearing in the sand.
The open space is some forty feet across, a rough circle surrounded by the same rocky outcroppings on most sides. Across from the posse, though, is a towering cliff face, which rises up from the sand high into the sky. What looks to be a cave mouth is set in its face, roughly across the clearing. All is still eerie silent here, with not even a breeze blowing, but a chill still runs over each member of the group. Something about this place just ain't right.
Claire absently twirls her gun, her eyes darting around as they make their way across the desert. She scowls, hating being too enclosed, especially when they're after some unknown creature. As they wall, she pops her chamber open and pulls two bullets out. She begins to carve a small mark into each bullet, absently muttering to herself as she does so.
She catches her pistol, fingering the trigger as they draw close to the cliff. "You sure we went the right way Ash?" she asks hesitantly. "Because I'm pretty f*cking sure that cliff isn't supposed to be here. This whole situation is going from dodgy to outright weird."
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Eddy turns to Claire and shouts "OH MY! FINALLY! I've been hours wondering if I finally went deaf, couldn't even hear our steps and nobody said a word -which in turn seemed unlikely and strange-" he turns and points to the clearing and cave "Tell me, miss Ireland, how could you think this isn't the place? The eerie vibe, the apparent casual clearing with a spooky hill and a bloody spooky cave... this place IS the place."
"Even the ground is strange, someone have recently dug bodies all around. And please, don't ask why I know how body digging ground looks like, its a family Secret Technique." he crosses his arms and smiles "Indeed here layeth thine beast. Shall we kill it already? My fists are itching."
"No... you're both right. We would have seen that cliff from the tracks, no question. It's too tall and too close for us to have missed it, let alone not be on any maps. But the ground is... something's been digging. Burying... bodies, I'd guess." Sam feels a chill raise the hair on the back of his neck, and again pulls a deck of cards from his bag, this time a set of common playing cards. While he doesn't do anything with them yet, he flips the lid off of the pack and rests them in his front vest pocket. Afterward, he pulls out his Winchester, leveling it at the front of the cave. "Well, only one thing left to do, right?"
The posse gathers at the edge of the clearing and pauses, surveying the surroundings. The strange cliff and uncanny evidence of digging strike deep in their hearts and minds, and they look over it all with some hesitation. The silence is broken by discussion, and Eddy's loud voice echoes off the rocky terrain as several members of the posse ready their weapons.
As the echoes fade, though, something happens that a few members of the posse notice. Askuwheteau, Claire, Cornelius, and Eddy all catch some movement in the sand. As they focus on it, they see that it's a human hand, thrust out of the ground and clawing at the air. It remains for only a moment before there's a burst of sand from over a half-dozen spots around the clearing, and several more bodies claw their way out of the earth. One collapses to the ground for a moment, and its head pulls up to regard the party at an awkward angle. It lets out a noise that's half hiss and half clicking, and all six of the things begin to stagger forward.
It isn't hard to tell that these bodies aren't regular folks. In fact, they're quite clearly corpses of the dead from the train wreck and the shootout, the wounds still present. And that's damn unnatural.
Askuwheteau: JOKER!
Claire: 10 of Spades
Cornelius: 5 of Clubs
Eddy: 9 of Diamonds
"H'wat in the Sam Hill Hell?!"
Cornelius saw a few things in his life, but dead men crawling from the sand was NOT one of them. He was noticeably stunned by the process. He snaps out of it, shakes his head, flips the carbine into shotgun mode and blasts the shit out of the nearest deader.
= Total 11
Claire feels the unnatural chill in the air and shivers, despite the desert heat. It reminds her of the feeling she gets when she channels her runes, but much... darker. Her eyes dart over the clearing and her hand tightens around her revolver's grip. Then they go wide as she sees the sand move. "Sh*te! They're in the ground!" She raises her gun as the dead man steps out of his grave and hesitates as she realizes that her hand is shaking rather badly. "Bloody f*cking hell..." She takes a deep breath and settles her heartbeat then spins her chamber to one of her regular bullets and opens fire on the nearest walkin' dead.
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"For the love of kung fu and tea! Biff was right! They are some foul undead creatures Hahahahaha! Wait.. he shoots a shell to one of the corpses before he turns to another one o' those shambling corpses, a bandit from the day before "Didn't I punch you already? Standing back again destroys my reputation!" he says as he moves close and punchs him.
Biff is neither surprised nor horrified.
"I told you!" he cries, excited.
Askuwheteau looks around the clearing not really bothered by the atmosphere, all his attention is on the hunt. Askuwheteau eventually speaks in a quiet voice only to be interrupted by Eddy, "Unnatural, any benign spirits have long since fled this place." Askuwheteau visibly winces at Eddy's outburst before snapping his attention back to the clearing to see the sand moving, "Beneath us!"
Askuwheteau has every intention of keeping these creatures as far away from the party as possible and so moves up to attack the closest one, using the reach of his weapon to stay back from the creatures himself. Askuwheteau's first attack is a straight thrust at center mass to deal damage to any internal organs, that might still exist or be necessary. His second is also center mass but he adds a twist at the end of the thrust in hopes of dealing extra damage with the barb on the base of the spearhead.
As the corpses begin to move forward, Askuwheteau is the first to react. He dashes forward with his spear out and stabs it through one of the bodies. The attack causes a wet, crunchy sound as it spears straight through the center of the corpse's torso, and it lets out another hiss-click sound as it falls to the ground.
Claire moves next, bringing up her revolver and firing down range. The shot catches one of the apparent walking corpses in the chest, and a spray of gore and blood bursts forth, but it remains standing, although staggered by the shot.
At the same time as this, Eddy brings up his shotgun and fires at one corpse, which is blown off its feet and falls to the ground without moving again. He moves as he shoots and finishes with a powerful punch at another of the creatures. There's no thundercrack this time, but the man's arm does pound through the corpse through to the elbow. It writhes for a moment and then collapses off his arm, leaving a trail of gore behind.
Cornelius fires as well, having been momentarily stunned by what he's witnessing. The shotgun of his carbine blasts away with a roar, blowing a huge hole in the chest of one of the corpses. It starts to teeter, but as it does, there's a strange movement inside, almost like its skeleton is breaking free of its own accord.
Then a creature bursts out through the hole. It looks vaguely insectoid, as much as can be told through the gore covering it. The long, spindly limbs seem like they were inside the arms and legs of the body, but the creature itself is smaller than a man, and skitters down onto the ground. It lets out another hiss-click sound, much louder and angrier than before, and looks ready to charge.
Biff: 9 of Clubs
Claire: 6 of Clubs
Cornelius: 5 of Diamonds
Eddy: 5 of Hearts
Samuel: 10 of Hearts
Creatures: 9 of Diamonds
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"You have the right to bear arms! Hahahaha!" says Eddy as he Steven Seagal his way through the corpse, before realizing the insectoid creature that have appeared "I call dibs on that. I'm royally fighting it, indeed I am!"
"Oh f*cking hell," she mutters. "What is that thing? What f*cking gobshite decided to transport giant bugs in a train full of ordinary civilians? That's completely mad."
"You can have first crack at it! Biff cries.
"What in the hell-" Samuel shouts, taking a few steps back as the corpses erupt from the ground, and recoiling even farther after one of the insectoid creatures bursts forth from its chest. He takes a quick shot towards one of the corpses, but his shot goes wide while the gambler is still in shock. Taking a moment to compose himself, Samuel mutters a few words under his breath, and the pack of playing cards in his chest pocket begin to glow bright green, even through the fabric of his vest.
The first few moments of combat see a number of developments, with the revelation of creatures in the corpses and a whole bunch of shots putting some of them down. Now, though, the creatures retaliate.
The corpse Claire had shot stays still for a moment, then the chest is torn open as the creature inside abandons the damaged shell, letting it fall limply to the ground. There are now two creatures out on the ground, and three still in the bodies of the dead.
Two of the corpses move to attack Eddy, ganging up on the boxer as he's moved into the clearing. One misses wildly, and the corpse nearly falls to the ground, and while the other connects with a swing of its arm, it doesn't faze the brawny Brit.
Another corpse lunges at Askuwheteau, leaping full-force at the brave with its arms outstretched. Even with the added protection of his spear's reach, the creature forces its way in and strikes him. The hit isn't with the creature's arms, though; instead it grabs hold and jerks a knee into the native's nethers. A wave of nausea creeps through the man, and he doubles over in pain.
The creature shot by Claire rushes the woman, screeching and leaping into the air to snap at her face with its blood-covered mandibles. She brings up her arms to fend the thing off, though, and it drops to the ground in front of her, hissing and clicking.
The last creature stays where it is. It makes a few jerking motions, curiously, and then its head snaps forward and a glob of spittle flies through the air at Eddy. It narrowly misses his head, and instead spatters on a rock in the clearing, where it steams into the air with a foul smell.
Biff flexes and aims a powerful punch at the creature below him, cracking the earth slightly with the force of the blow.
"Have at you, creature of the night!"
Claire fends off the creature with her forearm, knocking it back to the ground. "You want to see how I make holes the size of a 12 gauge lieutenant? Watch closely." She spins her chamber fast, causing green sparks to gather around her bullets before firing at the monster with a green flash. She growls as the small target dodges out of the way. "Stand still you little tick!"
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Cornelius reloads the carbine's shotgun, and blasts at one of the deaders "Well, Miss Claire, that there is an impressive means, but I do believe I prefer the old fashioned way of putting shotgun sized blasts in people. Also, with the dead walking, magic guns, and crazy bug monsters, everything I know about the universe is a lie, apparently, so this has turned out to be a heck of an afternoon!" After the shell misses by just an inch, he growls and tries to get back to back with anyone else to prevent ganging up. "Confounded foolishness!"
Askuwheteau buckles over with a gasp of pain as he takes the hit. After a split second pause a low growl can be heard from the native as he slashes out with his spear at the corpse that attacked him.
Although the fight began in the posse's favor, it seems they're now having a streak of poor fortune. Biff rushes in to strike one of the corpses, but it brings its arms up at the last minute and blocks his strike. Claire comes close to pegging the creature that jumped at her with her Peacemaker, but the spindly insect is difficult to hit as it skitters back and forth on the ground. Eddy has a spot of good luck and blasts the creature that spat at him, and it explodes into pieces of hard carapace and gore. But even with that inspiration, Askuwheteau is unable to spear the corpse before him.
Biff: JOKER!
Claire: 10 of Diamonds
Cornelius: 6 of Spades
Eddy: Queen of Clubs
Sam: 9 of Hearts
Creatures: King of Hearts
Biff is irritate by the insolent bug-things.
He flexes, seams of his vest bulging dangerously, and unleashes a (literally) thunderous punch at the nearest creature with everything he has.
Biff takes a deep breath and flexes mightily, and one of the buttons of his vest bursts forth, striking the face of the corpse before him. It staggers backward, and in that moment he strikes, bringing his fist forward with a mighty blow. The sound of the punch is impressive enough, but more so is the reaction: the corpse's entire back blows outward and the creature within is sent skittering across the ground.
In response, the critter leaps at him, attacking eagerly with flailing claws, but the swift boxer is able to knock the dangerous tips aside. The insect near Claire does much the same to her, with slightly more success: although it doesn't draw blood from the woman, it clings to her front and hiss-clicks into her face, Shaking her.
The corpse by Askuwheteau, having avoided his spear, lunges forward again. This time the brave is able to bring his spear up and prevent the attack, though, keeping the monster at bay. Eddy has a more harrowing experience, though: one of the corpses distracts him for a moment, and while he blocks its arms, the other brings its hands around in a two-fisted hammer motion. Eddy feels the bone in his thigh start to crack, and pain shoots up through his body.
Things could go either way for the posse now, it seems. Can they turn the tide of this battle?
The creature lunges at Biff and he bats away two of its claws, but two hook to his chest and it tears viciously into his stomach, ripping at the muscles.