Chapter 3 - City of 10,000 Guns

[ateno]

Doos follows thru as directed.

I do have 2 sets of saddle and tack.

Doos

[jemmus]

No one should have any extra tack. The rustled horses didn't have saddles or bridles.

PCs investigating the area of last night's shots, please roll for Observation and any other skill you think might help (if you haven't already).

[Thumper]

Firefight location:
Observation 15: [1d20]=13

He does not have Scouting or Tracking.

[redwarrior]

William pays close attention, looking for anything that seems odd or out out place.


Observation target 15 [1d20]=1

[Thumper]

Andreas Larson

My roll and Andreas’ rolls copied from the DT solo thread

[cybersavant]

Andreas Larson

[ateno]

two sets of saddle and tack

observation [1d20]=2

[jemmus]

Flashback
The riders gathered up the horses led in by reins, each wide-eyed by the many gunshots and men dropping off of horses backs. Unsaddled horses in a corral, under the bright moonlight, whinnied and ran in circles. The stolen horses galloped from one temporary herd of led horses to the company of a corralled one.

The Tonkawa men who'd given their horses to their women and children led the moneyless riders to riders to the outlaw Texans' place stepped forward and claimed their promised reward: their pick of the best of the of recovered horses-- if any. They consulted and chose Doos's mare. Doos consented, after saying he'd taught his own daughter to ride on the horse, and moved his saddle from to his new claimed rustled horse. A fine one. The poor Tonkawa men welcomed Judge Doos as a good man, and welcomed him to the Tonkawa camp. Should he ever end up there.

[Grognardsw]

Paladin rode Copper down Congress Ave. looking for a horse dealer. He stopped and asked a local.

"Well Gideon," said Paladin as the two cantered along the streets of Austin. "There has to be a horse dealer somewhere around here."

[jemmus]

Gideon replies, I've never bought a horse in Austin, but I've noticed a horse trader's establishment that seems to do good business and always have good stock. He leads Paladin to a stable, corral and office. The sign over the office's porch roof says,
WM. Evans & Sons
Purveyors of Horses
Gideon dismounts by the corral, following the usually practice of taking a look at the livestock and seeing what catches one's eye before discussing prices. The stock look healthy and well cared for, with shiny coats and long, untangled manes. They're rangy Texas horses, or some mix of the type. A Texas horse ain't much ta look at, with that long neck and them skinny haunches. But fer coverin long distances quick in this infernally hot and dry country, ya can't beat em. And they don't need much more water in a day than a Ay-rabb's camel.

Five horses catch Paladin's eye. Four are standout strong and healthy-looking: a bay mare with a white blaze and stockings; a heavier chestnut gelding with a white star and stockings; a paint mare and a paint gelding. Ya probably know that them paint marking likely indicate some Indian pony blood. Part mustang. Of course, all horses of the Texas breed is part mustang. That heavy chestnut gelding probably got more Back East blood than most. But as Paladin watches, one of the five stands out the most. A young buckskin gelding with a black mane and tail. He examines Paladin for a moment with an intelligent, understanding look in his eye, and when he runs, it seems he runs with a particular high spirit, shaking his head and black mane.

Bay, chestnut, paints (Good) - $100
Buckskin (Excellent) - $150

[Grognardsw]

Paladin admired the horses as Gideon talked. “I once rode a camel. Ornery but great for the desert.” He thought back…

“Look at the haunches on that stallion,” he commented to Gideon. “Pretty crest. Nice musculature around the stifle joints.”

The gunslinger liked his horse Copper, but knew sooner or later he may get into a chase that would leave him in the lurch.

Paladin inquired within. “Good morning. I was curious what the trade-in value is for my horse toward that excellent stallion you have there.”

What Str. does the Good horse have compared to the Excellent? And do they sell camels?

[jemmus]

The riders discuss the shots heard out on the prairie last night. All agree that the reports came from the north-northeast, around maybe a mile out. They ride out from the rail camp in that direction, line abreast. At around three-quarters of a mile out, Andreas at the west of the line spots horse tracks. They’re of “barefoot” unshod horses—either Indian horses or mustangs. He stops his horse and Doos rides up to take a look. The tracks seem to be those of around six to eight horses. The spot dried blood on the stems of the yellow prairie grass. The drops extend just a couple of yards northwest-southeast.

At the east of the line of horsemen, William also spots horse tracks. These are of horseshoe-shod horses, maybe four or so of them. DT rides up and the two men see a few spent shell casings in the grass.

The good rolls, including Andreas Orienteering and Scouting rolls, helped a lot. Please not that Scouting and Tracking are distinct skills. Scouting allows spotting “sign”—tracks, smoke from distant campfires, disturbed wildlife, etc. But it doesn’t allow following tracks over dry ground. (But any character can roll on a skill they don’t have and succeed on a 1).

[ateno]

"Looks like someone is shooting at the locals.
We need to follow that. Sort it out."

Doos

[Thumper]

I ageee, Doos. We need ta follow.

Banking rolls:

Observation 15: [1d20]=13, Luck 8: [1d20]=19, Tracking 1: [1d20]=2, Scout1: [1d20]=20

Obviously DT is not observant enough to succeed at anything but observation.

Using DT's shooting talents, can he determine anything from the shells? Probable type weapon?

Shooting Pistol 18 Rifle 17: [1d20]=16

***Edited***

I don't we were told what the Tonkowa scouts were carrying. Spencer .56 carbines, Colt Army .44 (Peacemaker) beginning in 1870, and Winchester '73s would indicate possible Army as they were Cavalry standard.

[jemmus]

A smiley man in his thirties sticks out his hand to Paladin for a shake. Jake Evans. Pleased ta meet ya. Ya like the buckskin, huh? Good eye. That horse is special.
He got special kind a spirit. And he sure don't like to lose to another horse when it comes to runnin. I wouldn't be sellin him, but I need the money. He winks.

Evans takes a look at Copper. Hard to tell with the saddle on, but just a little swaybacked. No offense, I wouldn't insult a man about his horse. Gideon says, Uh huh, not like he's agreeing, it's more like he's confirm what he was expecting. Like "Yep, here it comes." Evans examines Copper's teeth.Got a little wear from the years, don't they? But got good healthy gums. Gideon says, Uh huh. Evans checks Copper's ears. Got an ear tick in there. Might want to see a vet about that. Some men pull em off themselves, and nine times outa 10 that's alright. But the one time it ain't, the ear will fester. Gideon says a little more loudly, Uh huh. Evan walks around the horse, examining the hooves and lifting them to check the horseshoes. Sir, I'd recommend takin this horse to a farrier before long. Gonna need hoof trimmin and shoein before long. If it was me, I'd do that before you ride forty fifty more miles or so. Gideon says, Yup. Finally, Evans stands in on each side of the horse and claps his hands. Copper slightly turns his head to look toward the action both times. Hearin seems fine, and a pretty alert animal. Gideon doesn't say anything. He just launches tobacco juice in a six-foot arc into the street.

Evans thinks for a minute. Tell ya what. I'm putting together 10 head a affordable horses to sell to a gentleman as a lot, and I need a couple more ta round it out. Fer that horse and $140, ya can put yer brand on that buckskin today and ride him home. In case ya don't have yer brand registered in Travis County, we can help ya with that.
the process can be slow, but we been working with the registrar ole Stan Simmons fer years. He's a good ole boy. Ya probably got yer brand with ya, right? Ar wranglers can do the brandin for ya, we'll throw that in as a courtesy.

[cybersavant]

Andreas Larson "Vhe got tracks here. Dey go dis vhay." He ambles along, following the trail of the unshod horses.

[jemmus]

The fourth tracking roll succeeded. Do you want to take the time to make four rolls? Please see the new house rule at viewtopic.php?p=688205#p688205

[jemmus]

DT on the right looks around for sign of which way the shoed horses went. But if any of the millions of blades of tough yellow prairie grass around were flattened by hooves, it seems that the flattening didn't stick for long. It was a dry night, with the Sun rising on another bright and dry day. The doctor dismounts and picks up the seen brass cartridge. It's a big .52 caliber one from an old Sharps single-shot breech-loading rifle or carbine.


DT and other Army veterans on the scene have seen plenty of these along the way. U.S. Army government issue Sharps rifle or carbine ammunition. Standard, until recently. Now considered outdated by the Spencer, then the lever-action Henry. And then the modern precision firing, smooth-chambering, non-jamming Winchester 1873.

But some Army cavalry troopers still prefer the old single-shot, breech-loading Sharps. Even with its comparatively slow rate of fire, it has amazing accuracy at long range. Some older active duty troopers still carry them, but most of them have been assigned to Indian scouts, state militias, or sent back east to be scrapped for the steel. But everybody knows that many, many Sharps hang lean against are out there. Hanging from or leaning against the walls of in town homes and settler cabins. Resting in the ornate hand-tooled and rifle sheaths of across the Rio Grande bandidos. Or or being oiled in buffalo grease and lying on wolf or buffalo skins in countless lodges. From the Mississippi River to the east to the Rockies to the west. And from Mexico to the south to Canada to the north.

[Thumper]

The fourth tracking roll succeeded. Do you want to take the time to make four rolls? Please see the new house rule at viewtopic.php?p=688205#p688205

So, 3 hours of searching followed by a chance discovery of the tracks again?

I think DT would believe, after losing the initial tracks, that the indications are the Indians are under pursuit and probably not close by. If he sees no obvious circling of Turkey Vultures nearby, he’d recommend we give up the search and head into town.

Rather than spend all morning scouring for tracks, I think I’d like to get the band back together again (Elwood) and strike out for Burnett.

**Edit**
If Andreas is still on the tracks, DT would want to follow.

[cybersavant]

The fourth tracking roll succeeded. Do you want to take the time to make four rolls? Please see the new house rule at viewtopic.php?p=688205#p688205

what about the first roll?