As soon as she recognizes that this is not going to go peacefully, Myrandya quickly mixes a concoction and throws it at the woman in the blue hat, who she thinks is the leader of the bandits.
Nempura is the first to see the twitchiness and had her spell all ready to go. A wave of water rushes forth from her hand, seemingly brightened by the sun above. The wave catches the light and becomes brilliant in color before turning into a mist. The mist itself harbors the same light, creating a mind-bending effect meant to stun her enemies.
Nempura cocks back the hammer on her firearm and lets loose an explosive shot. As it thunders forward, she aims it at the bandit to the left most of her. The explosive force of the bullet rips forward.
*2 poison damage (DC14-10 then divided by 2). If he fails FortDC14, he is also Weakened: giving him -2 Fortitude saves and Constitution checks. Every time he attempts a Fortitude save against the poison, whether he succeeds or fails, he takes damage as on initial exposure. He will also take 1d2con once each round for 4 rounds until he saves once.
With a DC 5 Ride check, you can guide your mount with your knees so as to use both hands to attack or defend yourself. This is a free action.
When you attack a creature smaller than your mount that is on foot, you get the +1 bonus on melee attacks for being on higher ground. If your mount moves more than 5 feet, you can only make a single melee attack. Essentially, you have to wait until the mount gets to your enemy before attacking, so you can’t make a full attack. Even at your mount’s full speed, you don’t take any penalty on melee attacks while mounted.
If your mount charges, you also take the AC penalty associated with a charge. If you make an attack at the end of the charge, you receive the bonus gained from the charge. When charging on horseback, you deal double damage with a lance (see Charge).
You can use ranged weapons while your mount is taking a double move, but at a –4 penalty on the attack roll. You can use ranged weapons while your mount is running (quadruple speed) at a –8 penalty. In either case, you make the attack roll when your mount has completed half its movement. You can make a full attack with a ranged weapon while your mount is moving. Likewise, you can take move actions normally.
You can cast a spell normally if your mount moves up to a normal move (its speed) either before or after you cast. If you have your mount move both before and after you cast a spell, then you’re casting the spell while the mount is moving, and you have to make a concentration check due to the vigorous motion (DC 10 + spell level) or lose the spell. If the mount is running (quadruple speed), you can cast a spell when your mount has moved up to twice its speed, but your concentration check is more difficult due to the violent motion (DC 15 + spell level).
If Your Mount Falls in Battle
If your mount falls, you have to succeed on a DC 15 Ride check to make a soft fall and take no damage. If the check fails, you take 1d6 points of damage.
If You Are Dropped
If you are knocked unconscious, you have a 50% chance to stay in the saddle (75% if you’re in a military saddle). Otherwise, you fall and take 1d6 points of damage. Without you to guide it, your mount avoids combat.
Nempura's color wave catches the woman in the blue hat and one of her men (and their horses)in an overwhelming rainbow. The woman blocks her vision with an upraised arm. Her horse doesn't fare so well.
Two horses and one rider fall in a heap of flesh, but Lullaby rolls free of her falling mount and lands on her feet.
Higgins shades his eyes from the powerful rainbow before pointing at the threat still standing--Lullaby.
He fires off a single shot, aiming for Lullaby's firearm.
; .
His bandolier conveniently reloads the weapon.
"Still time ta come peaceable," he offers.
The gun flies from Lullaby's hands.
Simultaneuasly, Wes and Maverick move from the raft and release a shot at the bandit leader. John's revolver is of a smaller caliber, but he does have some godly guidance on his side.
[b]"Hey-Ya! Maverick realease a weird shout and assumes a close combat fighting position, wherein the fingers of his left hand are tight together and this hand seems to protect his body from any incoming attacks.
The woman called Lullaby raises both hands, the right shaking from the blow to the weapon it was holding.
"Alright, alright. I'm sorry to have troubled you. Here, this is a magic coin. You take it for the trouble."
She pulls a silver dollar from a pocket an flips it to land on the ground.
The others lower their guns.
Nempura will begin to make sure there are no weapons still in the possession of these gang members and will pat them down.
*+4 frisking
"Trouble is not the right word. You broke the law and held people up at gunpoint. Do you not think this land has enough struggles? I understand the sacrifice and choices faced when being poor, but I never committed crimes or justified my actions when they harmed others. Y'all could have bonded together and worked as a group to buy land so you could have farmed and provided for yourself. You chose the easy way out, and now we're takin' you to jail."
After their horses are taken across the river waters with them in tow, she will make sure each mount is tied to a driver and each prisoner is bound by rope. If no one has picked up the coin, she will cast detect magic on it and pick it up with a cloth to be placed in her bag until she has examined exactly what it does.
It will delay them some to return these to the jail cells, but such is being part of the law.
"There's a new law in town," adds Higgins. "Time for you Nightthrushes to learn that."
Higgins keeps his rifle pointed at the gang members until they've all fully disarmed and submitted to capture.
It would appear that you have arrested several members of the Night Thrush gang.
Once they get the gang searched, then locked up, Nempura will leave an elegantly written note for the sheriff in an envelope with a wax seal (so that she will know that only she read it). The sign on the door will be flipped to closed, and they will make sure each prisoner has food, water, and the ability to use the pot (bathroom) before returning to the river.
Higgins looks back apologetically at Hallen. "Sorry fer all the extra work. Folks gotta pay to ride, right?" As he says this, he takes some coin from the Nightthrushes and pays the ferrywoman. Their weapons go into the party's saddlebags, and the captives are shepherded aboard. "When ya get bailed out, y'all better shape up or skip town. I'm all fer second chances, but we ain't puttin' up with more o' this nonsense. Even Roderic's ghost is sick n' tired of it."
On the ride back to town, Lullaby makes every effort to change your mind. She offers bribes, cajoles, and threatens, "Mama Nighthrush doesn't care about any lawman. You lock us up, and she'll tear the jail down around you."
A few hours later, the town jail is full of bandits and you've lost half a day.
The Sheriff greets you with a, "Well, that was faster than I expected. What did these banditos get up to?"
Maverick was extremely unimpressed by any attempts the captives made. He did listen and talk to them, though. He had the feeling, they do know more...
"Mama Nightrush, hein? Who is she? Tell us more"
"Good, we want to lock her up too," she will comment. "Anyway, there is no need to be so threatening. You have family here, or had, I'm sure. I also know that there are reasons you are doing what you are doing, but so there is for us. We are ensuring the protection of the people in this region. You want to play gang, go do it somewhere else or the same thing will happen again."
"They held up your deputies at the ferry...," she answers the sheriff. The sheriff can tell that Nempura is trying not to laugh and call them complete idiots.
"How did you fair?"
"Lullaby the ringleader," mentions Higgins to the Sherriff. "If it starts gettin' too crowded in jail, I'd let 'er go last. We got their guns with us--I was thinkin' we just hang on to those.
He worries that they've wasted too much time on this side venture, and starts eyeing the exit.
As regards your queries about Mama NightThrush, Lullaby replies, "Mama is nothing you want to truck with. She was raised by savages and knows their magics. Some say she's older than the States themselves, and I can tell you for certain she is meaner than a snake."
At that last bit she flinches with some dark memory.
"Hunny, the states aren't that old," smirks the elder elf. "And if you want to fear magic, any magic can do...," she hints, as she displayed enough power to bring down multiple of their crew in one blast, and was able to sneak up on them as a caster. "But we're not here ta threaten ya. We are here to extract justice for our community. We wish ya were able to turn over a new leaf. To be respectable and bonafide as part of our community, but we both know that ain't going to happen now don't we?"
She looks to the sheriff as she sets the belongings out on the table.
"Where do you keep all the wanted posters in here?" If shown, she'll go through and gather them to start looking for these faces. "Sheriff, we experienced these crimes ourselves. We don't likely have to wait for a judge in this case do we? We just perform a public hangin'?"
After all, keeping murderers and robbers in jail was just asking to have the gang come and break them out. Plus, they were culpable for any other sins the gang itself did, which was likely more murder and robbery. The sooner dealing with it, the better. The fact they were so quick on the capture probably means the rest of the gang isn't knowledgeable about what happened to their group. Perhaps even an infiltration to some point is possible? Nempura eyes the floppy hat and thinks it will make a fine addition to their party. One of the ladies can wear it and will seem like Lullaby from afar. Might bring others in the gang up close.
Myrandya seems uncomfortable with executing the bandits, if her expression is any sign, but she doesn't speak up in their defense. It does seem true to her that these rough folk would have murdered the deputies for their valuables if they had the chance. She examines their confiscated guns to see if there are any interesting modifications, and their ammunition to check for unusual materials. She also wordlessly treats the injured prisoners' wounds.
Wes too seems reluctant. He usually preferred to avoid lethal force.
"I don't know, these folks weren't goin' that far. Just wanted 10 gold as a 'toll' for crossin', which ain't the worst I ever heard. And like I said, Lullaby's the ringleader. Your call, Sherriff. Either way, I think we oughta get goin'. If ya need more folk ta guard the jail or the hangin', maybe we leave someone behind while the rest of us go."
He does take Lullaby's hat and toss it to Nempura. "I think this one might look good on you," he offers.
"How about we keep them here while you look into whatever is going on in the Churlwood. We can always hang them later... Maverick can stay back as an extra gun in case Mama gets any ideas about busting them out."
Higgins nods and looks to the once and future lawman. "Thanks for holdin' down the home fort, Maverick."
"Sheriff," he continues, tipping his hat. He then heads on out, ready with his horse Midnight to get back on the trail.
Myrandya looks dubious about leaving behind another deputy, but sets her shoulders and waves goodbye to Maverick before climbing back on the pony. "Kome Gläschen, avay!" she says to the animal, and holds on to the reins again for dear life as they set off.
"Alright, sheriff, John, be careful..." she hints and chuckles as Wes tosses her the hat. "I'm borrowing this." she comments to Lullaby. Personally, the hat looks a bit goofy to her, but she dons it and alters the look of it with a prestidigitation spell so the colors match her outfit perfectly for the moment. When they are closer to the river once more, she can let the color return to normal. Perhaps it will draw out more of the gang, or let them pass unaccosted?
She will ride out with the others once more, making her way toward the river crossing.
While waiting to cross, she will prepare Haunted Fey Aspect.
You don't have any trouble on the road back out of town, and your ferry ride across the river is uneventful.
Once across the river, you have the untamed ancient forest of the Churlwood staring back at you. It would have been nice to have Eunice along for this part, she travels through it all the time, after all. But it looks like you will have to do it the hard way.
Nempura is almost dry by the time they get to the waters again. The breezy ride has chilled her skin though and stopping by the shoreline helps her warm up again in the sunlight.
This time, the crossing goes without instance and she is reminded to reload her weapon having fired it. "Idiots..." she thinks to herself as she reflects on the behavior of the gang.
When they get to the Churlwood, she takes in a deep breath. Something is familiar about it to her elven senses. It reminds her of deep kelp forests.
"I like this place..." she simply comments as she rides forward slowly. "Well...we should look for signs of where they rode from. No doubt there are their tracks. There might also be those from the dwarves."
She tries to spot the presence of tracks a bit further away from the ferry, as there are certainly going to be some there. Finding four horse tracks might be a sign of their foolish prisoners. Her elf eyes see what else there is.
"I am not the best at tracking, if someone else wants to give it a shot. But I think what we are after is that way."
As they make their way across the ferry, Higgins thanks Hallen once more, then starts pulling out the map to the Stone House. "Truth be told, I'm not as great as I oughta be at trackin'. Sherriff mentioned that this is the hill and that is the hanging tree, so if we use those as landmarks, maybe it helps."
The Churlwood is ancient, a mix of broadleaf and mostly evergreen trees. The floor, even the rough road, is covered in a thick layer of needles that soften the steps of your horses. The trees stretch far overhead, turning the space into something that must be like the cathedrals you have heard about back east.
Your horses ears flick back and forth. Their noses flare, taking in the smells, seeking threats. Anything could be lurking here.
Nempura's sharp eyes make easy work of tracking the bandits through the forest. It is a rainforest, or course, and their horses left tracks in the mud and undergrowth.
You ride away from the river and into the depths of the wood. The sound of the water falls away and you are wrapped in quiet.
After an hour of riding, you come to a clearing.
The borders of this clearing are unusual in that they are well tended, clear of brush, and strewn with gravel to form a circular
road of sorts. A single dead oak tree looms at the center of the clearing, and something silver sparkles from one of the lower branches—what appears to be an amulet hangs there. The hanged corpses of two men and a woman hang from the branches of the tree.
Higgins hops off Midnight as they arrive at the clearing. "That must be the hangin' tree," he speculates. "Didn't expect anyone ta still be hangin' though. Would've figured they'd be buried. This the Nightthrush Gang's doing?"
He looks around cautiously for a moment before advancing to check on the bodies to get a sense of who they were and how long they've been dead.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
"No, it is a mystery. It does no good to suspect who the culprit is, but I would not put it on the Nightthrushes. It more than likely has a supernatural connection to something that causes this effect to happen. Perhaps even old Roderick himself? I can't say. Let us be cautious, but I do want to advance and be seein' who these folks are. Maybe I know them and can speak to their crimes."
She will move up with Wes, keeping her distance from the reach of the branches of the tree, but moving up close enough to perhaps see who is hung there.
The hanged bodies appear to be wearing blue army pants and have been stripped to the waist. You spot some rotting jackets on the other side of the clearing. Looks like someone punished some soldiers for something.
"Ah, is that right? Sounds like a tall tale for hangin' folk you don't like," suggests Higgins. "Like, if I were an Indian and didn't like no army folk on my land."
He tugs at his horse, then hops back on for a ride. "Gonna see if I can get that amulet," he says, pointing at the item hanging off a lower branch.
Higgins and Midnight run through the clearing. Higgins has to stand in his stirrups to reach the silver amulet, but he snatches it neatly from the branch, steering Midnight back to the safety of the road.
The horse steps sideways, unsettled by something it scents. Just then, the ground and piled leaves between two roots of the tree erupts as dessicated arms reach upward. A corpselike figure sits up, reaching for something at its hips. It pulls a rusty pistol from a gunbelt.
The amulet is a silver locket on a chain with an image of a butterfly etched into it. The latch doesn't immediately open.
"Well, tall tales sometimes have some grounding. Could be dangerous. In fact, just being out here could be pretty dangerous. That's why 'afore you were gettin' up this mornin' I wrote express to some people I've met in the past for help...gunslingers and the like...some...patrons..." she looks aside briefly. He would know just what kind they'd be. "Doubt any will come, but I'm sure the sheriff could use some more deputies with so many factions against us. I'm deadly with my Ruby, but I'm a sweet darlin', not born and bred 'army'...and look what happened to them."
When the figure reaches upward to swipe at Midnight, Nempura calls out, "Blast! A cursed zone! What'in' I tell ya! (what did I tell you!)"
She will angle her horse's head away from where she's about to shoot and will pull up her pistol.
A blast comes from her pistol, tearing through the silence of the field. As it does, a skull surrounded by swirling acid streaks across the field toward the offender. After her shot, and explaining what this creature is (if she succeeds), Nempura looks around to make sure she is not in danger of any others rising from the ground. If she is, she will ride her horse further away.
The acid sizzles into the walking corpse.
After communicating what this is (Feel free to look in her spoiler), Nempura looks for a road. They had been traveling for some time following tracks, but would it be considered a "road"?
Myrandya lets out a highly-accented yelp and instinctively grabs for a flask of chemicals, which she throws at the attacking corpse.
The fire splashes over the corpse, sending flames dancing across the wool of his pants.
The borders of this clearing are unusual in that they are well tended, clear of brush, and strewn with gravel to form a circular
road of sorts. A single dead oak tree looms at the center of the clearing, and something silver sparkles from one of the lower branches—what appears to be an amulet hangs there. The hanged corpses of two men and a woman hang from the branches of the tree.
The dead thing lurches to its feet like a marionette jerked by its puppeteer. It races toward Nempura on her horse before pulling up short at the gravel road. Unable to reach her with its outstretched hand. Then it seems to remember the gun in its hand and raises it, the barrel looking like a cavern as Nempura looks down it.
Round 2. Heroes are up.
"I ain't got nothin' ta slash that thing!" complains Higgins when Nempura explains how to hurt it. He does the only thing he can think of and tries to shoot the gun out of its hand with his powerful rifle.
; .
At Higgins' urging, Midnight backs up to the other side of the circular road.
Nempura chuckles at Wes's declaration of not having a sabre. She then goes eyes-wide as the thing rushes her.
"What, did it not like that I gave away its racial secrets? Did its desire for a 'thrust' pass beyond the grave??"
"You want to touch hands? Here..."
She casts a spell and then rides past the undead creature. Its outstretched hand not sporting a gun provides just the target to arc electricity to. She then reaches as she rides by and reaches toward one of the undead's fingers and the weapon it weilds, arcing a zap from her to them.
*The +3 is from the weapon being mostly metal. If this doesn't count, subtract. Or if in initiative order it's out of his hands and he isn't wearing armor, then ignore.
Higgins shoots the pistol from the dead thing's hand, the gun flying aside with a pang! sound. In fact, the bullet tears through the fingers holding the gun, leaving behind a broken mess.
Nempura pours electrical energy into the creature, and it convulses. Smoke trickles from holes in its body.
And it collapses to the earth.