Moses gladly accepts the offered horse, as he had sold his last one to pay off an old lady's gambling debt here in town.
He then nods politely to the men and woman as they are intruduced.
"Guten afternoon. Moses Hirschler at your service. I hope our little expedition vill go vell."
After Borak offers his bizarre conclusions, he turns to the man as he is getting his horse ready.
"Borak, how vould you suggest vee stand against illusion? Ze devil iz ze tempter and ze lord of illusion after all, no?"
Tapping abacus on the shoulder
Easy boy, easy
Rufus shakes his head.
I may not be as good with words as others, but I figure to let deeds do a lot of the speaking
He keeps the travel thong on the holster, as he quickly checks over the grip on his rifle.
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"But sometimes our words -are- our deeds," Lord Borak says, smiling to himself as if sharing an inside joke of one.
"Our conversations with other entities have led to a refining of pseudo-sublime consciousness. We are in the midst of an astral blossoming of understanding that will let us access the solar system itself. Humankind has nothing to lose."
Then he turns to Moses.
"Borak, how vould you suggest vee stand against illusion? Ze devil iz ze tempter and ze lord of illusion after all, no?"
"Lord. Borak." says Lord Borak.
"Throughout history, humans have been interacting with the nexus via four-dimensional superstructures. We are at a crossroads of sharing and desire. Reality has always been aglow with mystics whose bodies are opened by guidance."
Then he pauses in ulfish thought.
"Your question answers itself," the Despoiler suggests. "To use the framework you state--accurate or no--to struggle against the dark one is to struggle against illusion. Hence, the answer is simple:
Examine your thoughts.
I have heard, in my, O, many travels, that the devil will come to you disguised as Everything You Have Ever Wanted.
Yet, when accepting the "Faustian Bargain" in receiving your dream, unearned, one becomes ensnared in the pit, and stumbles down the slippery slope into inequity. But by examining your own thoughts, you fight the Illusion. But to do this you must know whom to trust."
He smiles at Moses through his darkened smoked-quartz sunglasses and rumbles out,
"You can trust me."
Flying Eagle, who so far had been listening to Borak spout his nonsense without comment, audibly snorts at Borak's very last sentence.
You make your way to the ranch, a sprawling single story ranch style house you can make out as you ride into the chaos that is round up time. You can make out a barn, a bunk house and a corral as you ride in. A half dozen hands seems to be about their business as a tall black man takes note of you riding in and heads your way.
Bill points to the man "That is my foreman, Luke Canton. He'll see to you and get you squared away" With that he dismounts and goes over t talk with Canton. Leaving you to tie up your horses and fend for yourself. Owen, the tall scraggily fella with the Mustache leads you over to where you can unsaddle and corral your horses.
"Its always hectic this time ol the year." He says "Boss give us half a day off Sunday, on account of preaching and such. Most of the boys rather sleep" He says with a laugh. "I'll show you to the bunk, when Luke sees you he'll find something to keep you busy, tired and sore"
As they are taking care of their mounts Rodan asks "Does this place see any trouble with rustlers? Is there any issues or places near the ranch that we might need to know about?"
Kris frowns and goes looking for whiskey if there's any about.
As he is taking his gear to his ranch rack.
Any chance on trying to pick a string for the riding, or do we get them picked for us?
he then goes out to unsaddle, and brush down Abacus and then look over the horses that are available.
(Bill) looks over at Thomas "I brought a few extra into town in case any stragglers I might pick up. I'll provide mounts if you need them for the job, be happy to sell you one when the jobs done."
JT nodded. ”Fair enough, you’ve got yourself a hand. Taking a look at the extras, he picked out one of fairly fair temperament and mounted up.
***[b]"Its always hectic this time ol the year." He says "Boss give us half a day off Sunday, on account of preaching and such. Most of the boys rather sleep" He says with a laugh. "I'll show you to the bunk, when Luke sees you he'll find something to keep you busy, tired and sore"
JT smiled. ”now that is something that I’m not looking forward to. Although.... I imagine if we get at least a day off, that’ll be plenty of time to stay in practice.... how does it look for a friendly game of poker among the hands here and there?”
Owen shales his head at Rodan "we don't normally get such around here. But the Boss is more than ready to get moving fast and us boys have heard of some , misfortunes some of the other ranchers have had." He just shrugs at Rufus " Some of the boys are brings some mustangs in soon, I reckon once they are broke you'll get ya string"
Kristophe looks around, but the bunk hose is rather plain. If there is drink to be had it would be in the belongs of the other ranch hands. Maybe someone will share a bottle, but it looks like he is out of luck outside of town.
Owen laughs at Borak " A man who thinks with his stomach is often a wise man. I was gonna give y'all the grand tour." he turns around with his hands wide, pointing to the beds and stove in the rooms center "Well, I reckon you have seen it all. There is an out house out back. some of the boys use a trough to take a bath on Sundays and earl has a kettle going outside. He'll ring the bell in a bit. As for a game of card, it gets powerful boring some nights, or lest it did until it got busy. Some fellas may fancy a game. Pick a bunk and store your gear, then come meet the fellas"
Rodan looks around to find a bunk that can be as far from that "Borak fella" as possible.
Dropping his gear on the bunk he calls Flying Eagle and Moses over.
"Why don't you fellas take these two bunks near mine. That Borak gent can have the one way over there on accounts, that is where the stove is and it will keep Borak warmer than over here on this side. He does not look like someone who spends much time sleeping outside on the ground." he says a little louder than normal with the hopes that Borak will think that he is doing him a favor. But gives Flying Eagle and Moses a wink.
Dropping his gear on the other bunk by the wall opposite of Rodan.
I'll make up my bed, when I have had a chance to look out after my horse. He has taken me a long ways in the last few days.
Not finding any whiskey, Kris stows his meager belongings and waits.
While he waits he inquires if anyone has whiskey they'd part with
I'll let Kristiohe keep that roll for when the other men are around if you want.
Flying Eagle says to Rodan "That's fine with me. I do not trust a man who says he can be trusted. Trust is earned over time by your actions, not your words." He stows his gear in the bunk of the cot next to Rodan's cot.
Outside there is a fire set up with a pot above it, A mustached Mexican stirs the pot with a few other cow pokes forming a line. "That is Javier Ortega, don't touch anything food related without his say so. He is like a dog with a bone covering the cooking" Owen says
"Greetings gents." Rodan greets the others. He then heads outside to take care of his horse, Sandstone, and to get a better look at the ranch.
Rufus also greets all the others, as he heads out.
So when is grub Javier
Flying Eagle says hello to everyone, and waits to hear the answer to Rufus' question.
The cook looks you over and points to the forming line "Can't see the line gringo? Senor Sutter is scrapping the barrel with this bunch"He says to the men in line with a laugh as he starts scooping out whatever is in the pot.
Hey, I am no greenhorn.
But I will be back for some of the stew, it smells better than my own cooking
Rufus continues outside to finish looking after Abacus.
He will then go grab his mess kit and grab a bowl of stew to eat
He will plop down on a chair next to whoever offers and will inquire about what lies ahead while he eats
Moses waits in line patiently, singing a slow hymn to himself under his breath. When he is given his food, he thanks the cook and finds a seat anywhere where there's shade.
He finds himself walking up to a tall black man with a trusting face, who seems to be sitting by himself under a slender young tree. Moses takes off his hat and politely inquires of him: "Excuse me sir, iz zis bit of terf next to you taken?"
The man is a bit surprised to be addressed so directly, and looks like no one has talked to him in a while.
"Yes, you're free to sit anywhere you like. My name is Antonio Bowlingreen, pleased to make your acquaintance." he says, scooting over to make room for the new arrival.
Moses bows slightly. "Moses Hirschler at your zervice, originally from Pennsylvania. Vere might you call home, Mr. Bowlingreen?"
"Kentucky," Antonio replies, "but I wouldn't exactly call it home. Not anymore at least." His face falls as he says this and he goes back to eating his dinner.
Kris queues up to get his stew.
As he walks by he says Hey hombre. Any whisky to be had around here?
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Lord Borak takes his issue of rations and sits down next to a young man in checkered shirt and tough pants.
"Greetings. By what are you called?"
"Uh, Martel. Charles Martel. But most folk just call me Chuck. You?"
"Lord Borak. So called The Despoiler."
"That's a funny name."
"It serves. Where are you from?"
"Back East. Daddy died of th' plague a few years back an' Janice ran off with this coal feller so there weren't much for at home. So I hitched my wagon to the next thing going West and hear I am!"
"The reason that you roam is because the goal of electrical impulses is to plant the seeds of will rather than materialism. Interconnectedness is a constant. This life is nothing short of a redefining quantum shift of holistic wonder."
The man stops chewing and stares at the horizon.
"I, huh. I never thought of it that way."
"It is in unfolding that we are reborn. It is time to take complexity to the next level. This journey never ends."
"Your right! You're totally right! I've never really felt comfortable anywhere. It's like there's something inside of me that just needs to, y'know, move."
"Soon there will be a flowering of stardust the likes of which the quantum matrix has never seen."
Chuck just stares at the ground and nods, emphatically.
"You have taken your first step into a larger world," says Lord Borak.
Flying Eagle gets his stew and sits down next to one of the established hands. The other guy nods and says "Name's John. What's yours?"
"Flying Eagle," said not curtly.
"Welcome, Flying Eagle to our ranch. What's your story?"
Flying Eagle pauses a moment and then says "Soldiers raided my village, killing everyone in it, including my parents, and...as you would say...my fiance. I seek vengeance upon those men, and will not rest until I have it."
The other guy says nothing, and starts paying very close attention to the bowl in his lap.
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[b]"Greetings. By what are you called?"
"Uh, Martel. Charles Martel. But most folk just call me Chuck. You?"
Rufus plops down next to a brown headed younger man. When asked what's next He takes time away from shoveling food into his maw to answer "You the new folks? I reckon Luke will give you chores. Names Ashly by the way, Me and Amos have been helping birth cattle all morning" He says as he dives back into the beans.
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The men Sitting around Kris, shrug and one black haired fella says "We might have a little something, might pass it around tonight. You'ens be welcome to join us"
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After you get a bit of food in your bellies, Luke Motions to you. " You new fella's gather round. I have some chore for you. We have half a day left and no reason to let you sit around when there is work to be done."
He points to Borak and Blackthorn "You too get rattlesnake duty. walk the area near the herd and clean out any dens you find. Can't let those bastards near the herd" He points to Moses and Flying Eagle " You two are now on slaughter duty. You work for Ortega now, he'll tell you what he needs, you kill and slaughter it.'
He points to Roden "You get with John, your on bail duty. Once we get underway you will also groom the horses and check the shoes' He then points to Rufus" And you can work the tackle, harness and saddles'[b] Then to Kris [b]" And you can work with Perry and Alfred branding steers. He looks you over " Any questions?
"No." Flying Eagle looks around for Ortega, and walks towards him.
After the meal, Rodan screeches his back grabs his gloves and goes with John. Bail after bale they stack them in the barn. "I am so glad these are grass hay bales and not Alfalfa bales. Those darn things will break a mans back at my age.". Then his smile fades when they get to the pile of Alfalfa. "Well I guess I spoke too soon." As they continue with their work.
With the work done, He gets cleaned up, pulling grass from places he has no idea on how it got there on him. And then he staggers to his bunk knowing that tomorrow will come way too soon.
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"If you had to pick from all the person's the Earth, you could literally have not picked better for this task."
Seeing no reason to tarry, he immediately sets out.
= 11!!
Once away from the group, Lord Borak deeply intones to you, "What you are about to see, should we happen upon snakes, it would be best if you kept it to yourself. The time shall come to reveal it to general knowledge, but, even if you told them, none would believe you."
Moses nods at the foreman's selection, "Right you have it, boss" as he goes about his work.
Judging from his actions, it is clear that this is not Moses' first time slaughtering animals. It's bloody work, but he knows it has to be done.
As they are going about their work, Moses largely keeps quiet, but tries to get a sense of Flying Eagle and what kind of man he might be.
[b]"Greetings. By what are you called?"
"Uh, Martel. Charles Martel. But most folk just call me Chuck. You?"
Kris spits and says Branding. Sure.
Tack, Got it boss.
Rufus gets up and makes his way to the barn to start cleaning up the tack as it comes it.
During this time, he will look around from the barn and see if he can see anything else needing done.
Flying Eagle dispatches the animals efficiently and without qualm.
Moses - Flying Eagle appears to be quiet and driven, but not unfriendly. You sense there is more about him than meets the eye.
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Lord Borak has little trouble spotting nests, its almost as if he has a gift for it. BlackThorne just shrugs and lets the crazy man take the lead
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"I have threads woven in to snake culture, you could say," Lord Borak says by way of explanation of how he is able to find their lairs so well.
As he contemplates the snakes' eradication he toys with his ring. Indeed, it appears as if a fiercely emerald snake wrapped around his finger and was then transfigured solid. So too, the detail, so fine and crisp in the dying sun, is so exquisite it might appear that at any time the ring might move and bite the unwary.
Having apparently settled on an appropriate means, he raises his hands outstretched, and yells boldly into the cooling air, "By the Twisted Enchantment of the Princess of Flesh and Chaos, I bring thee SUFFERING!"
From his hands fly a light, indigo rush of small thorns, which bury themselves deeply into his chosen reptilian target, which dies, twisting and writhing in pain.
"By the Living Incantation of the Tombstone of Death, I bring thee AGONY!"
This time from his palms gouts a constant, violet shaft which rakes another snake as might a precocious child torment an ant with a magnifying glass at noontime. The flesh boils from the segmented bones until only the husk remains.
"Say nothing, but now you know why -others- doth call me 'The Despoiler'."
And so it goes, broken with periods of rest. Thusly does Lord Borak the Despoiler bring DOOM to any snake that breaks his pact of peace with the ranch.
Rufus sits quietly and cleans the tack while he keeps his back to the bunkhouse wall.
Kris will complain as much as possible while "helping" with the branding.
Stupid dumb animals.
The day passes with hard labor and a supper of beans and biscuits, much like the lunch had been. You were tired after only half a day of work, most of the cowboys were exhausted. Several thousand cattle do not feed or brand themselves and the work of feeding twenty five hands and getting a herd ready to move was not an easy task. A few called to Kris for a round of drinks, two pulled out a worn deck of cards but most wanted nothing more than to sleep soon after the sun set. After all the dawn came awfully early and a man tried to get what shut eye his worn bones could get.
And early it did come, sooner than anyone really wanted. Breakfast was a heaping of beans, salted pork, eggs and hard tact biscuits. Seems the boss liked to feed his men a hearty breakfast, at lest at home. Moses and Flying Eagle knew a number of lame animals had joined the pot as well, so chili looked to be in the cowhands future. Luke looks over the new guys "Finish up as soon as you can. We will be busy after lunch" A few men hooted and laughed at that, looking at the new cowhands with almost an evil glee as if they had a secret.
Working hard to get back into the swing of life on a ranch, Rufus saddles up in the morning keeping himself ready for any job the foreman sends his way.
In the morning he eats up.
Anyone know what the boss has planned for today, other than being busy.
Rodan gets out of bed heads for breakfast. He makes sure to get his coffee before talking with anyone.
When told that it was going to be a busy day and then the men laughing at the "new" guys. He just sits and eats. Then asks "So we are going to be roping and branding then?"
Thinking how sore his arms and back is going to be in the morning.
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Lord Borak is already up to greet the sun, going through arcane, yet silent, rituals in a language that few alive understand. Though the Ritual of Power involves a few swooping hand gestures, mostly he sits at Lotus and directs his energies inward, making ready his power for the day.
Used to a cycle of feast-and-famine, he eats that is put in front of him. At the mention of chili he looks up, for man doth need meat fresher than this.
Left to their own devices, and not content on only salted proteins, he seeks out a few of the choicer corpses he made the prior day. Cutting off the heads, he buries the corpses in coals of a slow fire and lets the meat smoke for an hour. Then he pulls out the desiccated snakes and smells them, nodding in approval. Some think snake inedible, but, well cooked, it can be quite pleasant.
He puts the fresh meat in a bag and ties it to a tree.
Kristophe does as little as possible. He grouses a bit, and maybe takes a nap.
He smirks at Borak sitting all weird. You're gonna get stuck like that.
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Lord Borak makes no sign that he heard. His eyes stay closed, his breathing even.
One hand raises a bit to point at Kristophe.
"Avada...." But then he seems to rethink it and puts his hand down.
A few of the Guys laugh at Rufus "Wouldn't want to spoil the bosses surprise" They say with a laugh. Perry Looks at Rodan"Something like that" He said, bringing a chuckle from the old hands
So long as it aint a burr under the saddle, I think I can live with the surprise
Rufus finishes eating, then rinses off his dishware, and stows it.
He then gets up stretches and goes out.
Looks over his chosen horses and picks out the Mustang with the evil eye.
After finishing saddling he feeds him a carrot that he snuck from the chow line.
I guess we will see how hard a day it is today, you with me.
He then gets up stretches and goes out.
Looks over at Abacus and calls him over.
Well boy, I think it is going to be a hard day today.
After finishing saddling he feeds him a carrot that he snuck from the chow line.
He then heads in and waits for the boss to give out the assignments.