The spiders mostly seem to ignore you as they make toward the panicking and trapped cattle. There is no way they are going to get out of the pit without add and there are dozens of the palm sized spiders aiming to have a meal.
You see a patch of land near the pit that might be another hidden spider, trap or lair. Something is there and anyone going near it might get a surprise.
Adrenaline surge. You get to act as if you had the Joker this round, Including the +2 to rolls
Rodan being a cowhand from way back tries to save the poor beast.
"I doubt there is any way we can save these cattle from the spiders, there are too many of them. I suggest we leave this area immediately."
Good plan Chief. Kris says, backing away with the shotgun held up.
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Lord Borak stares frowning as the others discuss abandoning the cows they had spent the whole day finding and ceding the field to the monstrous spider horde.
"And so it has come to this," he intones in the deep and dulcet tones of his rich, thick voice. "Long have I warned you of things beyond the veil of knowledge you call learning. Much are the things that may claim ignorance of the ken of men. But nay, all my sayings, all my wisdom, it was cast aside as so much chaff.
You have kept your distance, and I was content to leave you in your bliss. But I see that which haunts nightmares will not leave us. For if we run now, now, now at the first sign of the Monsters In The Dark...we will never stop running.
I will de-fang the beasts now, and we shall see if your STEEL can hold then."
raise
For every spider, for every arachnid, for every creeping, crawling leg and fang amongst the thronging horde, a strong green vine sprouts as if from an angry Earth, as if taking umbrage that so many legs dare to tread in her pristine bosom. The snaking vines seek and latch on to every target like a ball of twine at war with itself.
"Now attack! Attack for the men you are! Attack for the men you will be! Show these invertebrates that MAN is still the alpha predator!
Do not go gently into that goodnight.
Do not cede the planet that is your birthright."
Rodan with his knife slashes at the large spider on the cow.
Round 2
INT
Flying Eagle (Joker)(went)
Kris (8c)( went)
Roden (7h)(went)
Moses(4c) (No action)
Rufus (5d) (no action)
Spiders (5c) (went)
Lord Borak (2d) (went)
Most of the party seems ready to leave the cattle to the spiders, but not Roden.moves to Jumps down into the pit, however with an explosion of dust another of the dog sized beast lunches from his hidden hole and is upon him! It sinks its mandibles into his coat, ripping it but not touching the flesh underneath! Roden manages to keep a clear head and sink the knife into the beast, spilling its blood but not killing the over sized spider.
The swarm in the pit close on the cattle, biting and feasting on the flesh, the don't seem to yet have hurt the cattle to bad but this will not last. Lord Borak, ignoring the single spider for the threat of the swarm, uses his cosmic (and maybe ungodly and evil) powers holds everything in the put with vines. They wrap around the cattle, the spiders, everything is covered in lush green vines.
Rufus quickly leathers his pistol, and digs out his shotgun.
Come on, we just cannot leave them to this swarm, Borak, how long can you keep everything tied up
He nudges Abacus closer to the swarm keeping a distance from the spiders, and racking the slide.
Rodan, get out of there
Flying Eagle dismounts, draws his tomahawk and tries attacking the little spiders with the flat back of the blade :
= 11
Doing
= 11
If the Fighting roll gets a Raise :
Oh hell. Kris says, leveling the shotgun and letting loose with both barrels into the swarm
tn=11 (raise, maybe)
Kris pops out the shells and pops two more back in.
Round 3
Rufus (10d)
Spiders (4h)(went)
Flying Eagle (4c)(went)
Moses(3s)
Kris (3d) (went)
Lord Borak (2H)
Roden (2d)
The Bound spiders can do nothing, but the large dog sized monster lashes out at Roden. His coat catches the bite and he once more is unharmed, if his clothing is not. Flying eagle decides into the vine covered pit and starts smashing like a madman. Scores of spiders die under his tomahawk. Not to be outdone, Kris puts buckshot to more of the fist sized spiders, blasting many to shreds.
(ignore this they are bound)
"Darn nations, you could put a saddle on this thing."
Rodan yelps out.
The oversized eight legged critter strikes at him again and again. But being familiar with the harsh desert and have dealt with rattlers before. Rodan has so far been able to keep one step ahead of the large spider.
Drawing is pistol out with his other hand, his thumb flicks the switch to shotgun and fires it at the attacking spider.
AP 1
Rufus lines up a large amount of the remaining spiders with his shotgun and lets fly.
only to have a lot of the pellets strike the vines and ground, and none of the spiders.
Muttering to himself.
I guess I got to get off this horse to be accurate.
At which point he puts actions to words and slides off abacus, as he racks the slide for his next shot.
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"Darn nations, you could put a saddle on this thing."
Rodan yelps out.
The oversized eight legged critter strikes at him again and again. But being familiar with the harsh desert and have dealt with rattlers before. Rodan has so far been able to keep one step ahead of the large spider.Drawing is pistol out with his other hand, his thumb flicks the switch to shotgun and fires it at the attacking spider.
Lord Borak nods sagely at the men, steeled by his invigorating words and the greenery of fetters put on the swarm.
"You see?" he calls out as the spiders are shot and stabbed and butchered. "We, all of us, are reborn! Where a moment ago we did cry 'Hold! Enough!' and were ready to retreat and run and leave the many precious cows to a horrid fate, NOW where those cowards stood now stand MEN! MEN of STEEL! Men who CHARGE upon the enemy and take back what is OURS!"
He nods, agreeing with his words. "Before I have done this. Indeed, many times. And those men called me Lord. I do not -give- men steel, I but allow them to find it within themselves."
He's not done. He walks. Wanders. Leisurely sashays over to where Rodan is caught up in MORTAL KOMBAT with the dog-sized Queen of Spiders.
"And that is why they have called me Lord," he says softly, almost humbly. He says it casually, as if simply capping off a conversation they had earlier. "However, that is not the whole story...."
His peaceable face turns toward the huge spider and screws up into a visage and odium and rage. His hands open and both begin to glow with a horrible red light.
The power builds as his look turns into purest hate. Soon both palms glow as with the heat of a thousand suns.
As if such power is no longer able to rest, both hands direct beams of glowing crimson into the spider!
raise
= 24.
Lord Borak frowns down as his flaming beam burns into the large arachnid.
"And that, is why they call me The Despoiler."
So that is a total of 8 with AP 1
Round three
Roden Blasts the spider at close rage, taking some of the monsters Legs off as Lord Borak does, well something strange as all hell. A beam bright as the sun burns though the already wounded spider. Little is left but burned legs spread across the landscape.
Meanwhile Rufus puts off a load of shot into the ground and Lord Boraks vines more than the spiders swarming the pit. The spiders are held and are not a bug threat as long as the vines contain them.
Round 4
Roden (Ah)
Kris (Jd)
Rufus (8d)
Lord Borak (7d)
Moses(6d)
Spiders (3c)
Flying Eagle (2c)
Kris stares at "Lord" Borak in awe
Damned hellfire. he whispers before letting loose with a blast from his shotgun
He then reloads hastily.
Rufus now on the ground, and a little calmer takes aim at the mass, and fires a shot at the remaining mass of spiders
Die you abomimations
he then walks forward as he racks the slide again.
"What the hell was that?" Rodan says, unsure where the bright light came from.
He starts to stomp on the little spiders since all the big ones have been killed.
With another blast of buckshot, the spiders are no longer a real threat. Some are left trapped, but not enough to really threaten you as a group, a few dozen at best. You should spend time killing those left or just leave them be. The vines might vanish and let them out, but there is not enough as a group to threaten cattle. At lest not this size. The cattle are still trapped in the pit with the vines however.
"Borak - are you able to turn off your...abilities...at will? We need to get the cattle out of the pit, but the vines are holding them in place."
Kris walks over to Rodan and whispers
The man called down hellfire is what he did.
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"Borak - are you able to turn off your...abilities...at will? We need to get the cattle out of the pit, but the vines are holding them in place."
"Lord. Borak," Lord Borak sighs at Flying Eagle. "You would not think it sweet if I cut off most of your name and just called you 'Gle."
Lord Borak spends a few moments hunting down trapped and lone spiders. "You can not let this breed escape in too large a numbers. Such a breed are able to scurry away and re-build their fearsome tribe, perhaps harrowing another party not so well equipped.
So too, no, the powers I have but small talent over do not also go away upon command. But they are not invulnerable."
Rufus takes a couple of moments to grab ammo from his saddlebags and reloads both his pistol, and shotgun.
He then rescabbards his shotgun and grabs his lariat.
Anyone want to cut the vines on this cow, while I get it pulled out.
He then looks takes up tension, and then walks back to try and cut the cow out.
Rodan holsters his pistol and calls out. "I got this." as he starts to cut the vines from the cow, and every now and then stomps on the spider.
Talking with Kris Yer saying that Borak has that kind of power? What happens if when we are sleeping tonight in the bunk house and that sod kicker has a bad dream. He could torch the whole place down on our heads.
Don't get me wrong, and I hate to admit it. But with out his...powers, I think it could have gone a lot worse for us. But with that said, Mr. Sutter will need to be told about this. This Borak fellow is far more dagrous than what people know. What else do you think he can do? Maybe command the dead to rise up and be some kind of undead army of darkness. Then what's next, he replaces an arm with some kind of motorized saw blade?"
Rodan just get chills up his spine thinking about these powers of Borak.
Kris just gives Rodan a strange grin
Maybe he can. And then, maybe those who help him. Maybe they can take advantage yeah?
Rufus asks Kris to keep the cows in the area as they are pulled out.
Once we get all these steak on the hoof's pulled out, we can drive them to the corral.
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'Hrmmmmm,' Lord Borak contemplates as the cows are extricated from their pitted dilemma. 'The men seem not overly appreciative of my efforts. That one did not even thank me for saving him from the giant spider. Perhaps next time I shall have to allow a few to suffer some injury before pulling their fat from the fire.'
Moses walks up to Borak and offers him a hand.
"Thank you, sir. I know zee others are intimidated by your use of magic, but it doesn't bother me much. Among my people, magic is not uncommon, aldough it is quite a bit more zubtle and used to help us in our chores. I know it will most likely not be in your nature to do so, but you might try to meet zee uninitiated among us halfway. We can't vork together as a team if we don't trust one another, and zose boys certainly don't trust you right now. You are headed for a knife or bullet to ze back of ze head vhile you are sleeping. Zis magic scares zem, and if its one thing cowhands don't like being reminded of is that zey can be afeared."
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Lord Borak chuckles. "Intimidated? Scared? By me? Oh, I'm just an old man who has some parlor tricks he can use to save his own skin. If a man doesn't trust me, it's only because there's something inside him he doesn't trust himself.
I'm quite a boring topic, but tell me more of your people, Moses. You must come from a very stout stock. However did you end up on this pretty end of nowhere?"
After the spiders are dealt with you can check the cattle out. The two cows have a few bites, but nothing that would not heal right up, once they are freed of the vines. It does take a little work to get them out of the pit, nothing you can't do with some rope and trial and error. It leaves you hot and sweaty but in the end you get the cows out of the pit and back toward the ranch.
Once you get back, the chow line is under way. A few folks great you and your stomachs could use a good meal after the day you have had. But evening supper is interrupted when you hear horsemen approach, the dust is visible before you see them and more than one ranch hand puts their plat down and watches the new comers approach with hands close to gunbelts. You see Sutter come to his porch, shotgun in hand.
The riders are six rather surly looking gunmen following a better dressed man sporting a pair of shiny Colt revolvers. Off to one side is a seventh man, a hard-looking Indian dressed in a threadbare Army jacket decorated with a smattering of bangles and fetishes. The well dress man calls out a greeting.
“Good day to you, Mr. Sutter. My name is Bartholomew Phelps and I’m here as a representative of the Bayou Vermilion Railroad. I’m authorized to purchase your cattle at the agreed-upon price of $5 per head.”
Sutter screws up his face and snarls. “Like I told them other fellers from your railroad, you can pound sand. That ain’t half what they’re worth on the open market!”
Phelps sneers. “Ah, but this isn’t an open market. I understand no one hereabouts will purchase cattle with your brand and I’m afraid my employer’s stock cars are booked up for the foreseeable future. I’d recommend you take the offer before prices drop further.”
Sutter turns suddenly serious as a preacher. “Prices ain’t the only thing about to drop around here, if you and your lot don’t head out pronto.” And cocks the shotgun, a few other hands look ready to drawl to back the boss up. Phelps looks around at the growing crowd, tips his hat and turns around,, his gun-men following him. The Indian does not move at first, he looks at Sutter with a cold hate. Sutter stares right back at him and after about a minute he turns his horse and rides off with the others.
Flying Eagle asks the nearest cowhand "What was that about?"
Kris grins like the devil at the prospect of violence.
Want to set us an ambush boss? he says wickedly.
Call em back to buy the herd, get em in a tight spot. Then teach em a thing or two? Kris nods at the shotgun
Kris, I hold no truck to outride murder. If they die in the course of a fight, so be it, but I don't do murder, which is all an ambush is.
Rufus excuses himself, and walks out to his gear, and he shakes his head as he pulls out the other gunbelt and straps it on.
I really was hoping that I didn't need this one.
He then goes in to finish eating.
Walking up to Flying Eagle "It sounds like a shake down to me. Basically forcing the Mister Sutter to sell his cattle at a very poor price. Or Mr. Sutter will not be able to sell his cattle anywhere."
Watching the Indian that came with the group. "You have an Idea who that might be, Flying Eagle? He has the look of this being personal."
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As Lord Borak sees the confrontation go on, he sees the weapons the men hold, the anger and bloodlust building up, the history of a hard press and the imminent and lethal response. He sees all this and mentally prepares himself to...do absolutely nothing.
'It seems that I am right, and this current lot does not embrace a solution unless they have been bitten by the problem. Oh, there might be a mess to clean up, but I can do that well enough....'
Sutter looks at Flying Eagle “I apologize I didn’t say nothin’ before about Bayou Vermilion. They sent an agent out with an offer a week ago to buy the whole herd at $5 a head. As you know we can get a lot more from anyone trying to ship the beeves to the Maze. So I said no, that I was gonna drive ’em north to the big stockyards. They implied we’d never make it and I don’t like bein’ threatened. We can handle what they got now, but if they send for reinforcements we’ll be in trouble. Especially if some of the rumors I’ve heard about ’em are true. So I’m gatherin’ the herd and headin’ north in three days. There will likely be trouble. If that’s more than anyone signed on for, now’s the time to cut out.”
Hearing Kris speak up he says "I have killed enough during the war. I'll defend what's mine, but killing men like that in cold blood just does not sit right with me. Seems there will be enough trouble to suit your bloodlust without going and looking for it!"
Boss, I hired to the brand, I will ride for the brand, so long as you want me
Rufus adjusts both gun belts.
I guess I should be wearing this one as well from now on I take it.
Rufus continues to eat, as he burnt off a lot of energy during the day
Kris just shrugs at Rufus and Sutter's moralizing.
Dead is dead. Stab em in the back or shootem in a gun fight. The reaper gets everyone in the end.
Kris will meet with Borak though later and lay it out.
Rodan walks over to the foreman, Luke Canton.
"Sir, you might make a suggestion to Mr. Sutter that no one leaves the ranch alone and they needs to be well armed. And if he needs to do a supply run in to town, that he send a good size group to do it. That feller sees our numbers here, and I don't think he will try anything at the ranch. So I think he will bide his time to catch the ones away from the protection of the ranch.
And who was the Indian? He seem to have it out for Mr. Sutter?"
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Lord Borak snorts derisively. "Could I or would I, do you mean to say?
Could I make impotent 20 armed men who showed up looking for violence? Oh, of course," he says, making it sound as easy as spearing a plate of hard tack. "But would I want to?
You saw the reaction when I saved the collective bacon from a horde of spiderkin. Distrust! Derision! And not a word of thanks!
For the next time it seems obvious that I must needs wait until the threat becomes more...solid. There must be casualties. Two, or perhaps three deaths. Or at least, as the bards says, palpable hits. Then will I deign to display, I think, my greatest power. 'Tis a thing some have even guessed at. A thing most handy, indeed.
But, it can be disturbing, for the ignorant. Hence, it would be best if it was something welcomed, in an hour most desperate, rather than something that just keeps an easy thing easy."
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Once things calm down Rodan grabs two cups of coffee and looks around until his eyes lock on to the one he seeks. He hobbles over to where the man is seated just as he finishes talking to Kris.
Most likely somemore snake oil speech I bet He thinks as he approaches.
"Borak," Rodan shakes his head and takes a breath " I mean Lord Borak, I may never trust you since I do not understand your powers or even know if you are in full control of them. Every time I have seen you use them, it make me wonder what else can you do and what would stop you from turning those powers on us. But with that said for good or bad when those spider started to attack. You were the one that made short work of them and was able to save that cow from a painful death. Then blasting the big spider that wanted a bite out of me with hell fire from the sky. And at my age I try and find the right thing to do even when I don't want to do it. So with that said."
He hands the cup of coffee to Borak before saying "Thanks pard for what you did."
He then turns and makes his way back to the bunk house, to clean his gun knowing that with this Bayou Vermilion trouble he will need it.
Talking to himself in the bunk house. "I knew I should have bought that long gun when I had a chance, but that dancing girl sure made me feel young."
Luke hears Rodan out and seems to weigh his words. "I agree, this does not sit well with me. I think they might try something. I was planning on sending a few hands out for supplies in the morning. You tell the other new hires to ride into town in the morning. You seem to be working well together, take the wagon and go armed."
He seems to looks out over the gathered men "Keep an eye on that Blood thirsty fella, but you might need a man like that. Make sure everyone is armed. I don't like the feel of this, you hear me?'
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"Lo--," Lord Borak begins as Rodan begins to talk, but he keeps his peace as the honorific is regained.
"Gratitude," he simply rumbles at the man's back, raising the cup in salute before taking an evaluating sip.
As Luke cajoles the group to go to town armed and expecting trouble, Lord Borak doesn't really react. He always expects trouble.
And he's always armed.
"If we are going into town, every one should have a pistol and a long gun with them. Luke do you know if Mr. Sutter has any spares he can loan out? I am not sure about everyone else but I could use a long gun."
You need to borrow a long gun? Come with me for a moment
Rufus takes Rodan over to his bunk, gets his mares leg, and passes it over along with 20 shells.
She has rounds in the magazine, but not im the chamber, and I expect her back.
He then grabs his rifle scabbard, and goes out to saddle up Devil Eyes.
he then comes back in.
I am ready
Speaking to the group in general, Flying Eagle says "I would appreciate a rifle as well."
Luke just nods "I am not sure how much we have laying around, a man should keep his own firearms. But, I'll see what the Boss has, if anything. Be ready to move out in the Moring.' with that Luke leaves you to the rest of your evening.
The Next day
The Next Morning finds you approaching as Luke and Abby are having and argument. You hear her yell "I'm going and that is that!" as she storms off toward the barn. Luke, with a look of long suffering sees you approach.
"Morning, you will be escorting Ms.Abby into town. I have managed to scrounge up two long guns. Well one long gun and a mare leg." He Nods toward the Porch where the guns lay with some ammo. One is a battled sawed-off Winchester, the other is a cap and ball Sharps Big 50. "keep an eye out for Ms.Abby, I tried to talk her out of the supply run but the girl is her Uncles blood" He says with a sigh