[You've successfully escaped the city! Why? Because it's not there anymore. Hellspoint is rapidly vanishing behind you people as you move at a light gallop on horseback. The landescape is rocky, barren, and blasted. Like desert, but without the sand. The sky is clear and dark. Millie may be dreaming about pretty ponies with less dark. You know, assuming she's asleep.] [Ponies with guns. Yes.] [Regardless, you're running from... something. John described it as "a small mob", and Fanfan noticed a dust cloud coming your way from the distance. Western distance. You're going east.] [Ahead? More barren and blasted landscape. There are some large rock outcroppings in the far distance that may serve as cover, but who's to say if you'll get there in time? Not me, not yet.] [Session Start.] * Jinx frowns and keep watching Millie occassionally as he rides. "Anyone other than Millie good at sharp shooting? I think some shooting to wound is in order." Not I. Never had occasion to shoot a rifle. * Jinx nods and glances at John. * John shrugs. "I know somethin' 'bout rifles, but I'm much better with pistols." Maybe give it a try. If we injure some of those bastards, they may leave someone behind to care for them. * John glances back. "Not likely. Mobs tend to trample those that slow down." (Remind me. Who's on whose horse?) You seem to speak from experience. * John smiles. *ting!* "What gives ya that idea?" * Millie 's since slumped into a comfortable position. The medicine's really taking its toll. If she's not asleep, she looks like she's near it.. ( I'm on Horse, Fanfan's with John, Millie's on a horse being led by Jinx, who's on Lightning ) (Okay, so you guys aren't going that fast.) (Right) ( Decent clip, but certainly not a run. ) (But hopefully fast enough to outrun an angry mob. Mobs have the habit of being slow and disorganized.) I'm thinking this is a posse, not a mob. Question is, do they care more about each other or about us. Hellpoint, they'd care about takin' us down for the money. * Fanfan grins slightly at John. "Just a... hunch." Maybe. But if I just wanted money, I'd loot the estate. Men of the house being gunned down and all. * Jinx grins as he says that. (Good point. Why DIDN'T anyone loot the estate?) Look, I didn't say they were smart about it. Perhaps they have already finished with the looting. (We were trying to get out of town before the possee got there.) * Jinx shakes his head. "Hasn't been time. And if you leave now, you miss out on the prime looting." (Because they were more worried about getting out of there. Especially with two severely wounded people in the party) (Jinx does think about these things. ^_~) (Jinx was knocked out by a cactus.) (That too.) Well, it seems to be a criminally-minded town. They may have fine- tuned their looting methods. (I knew I was missing something. >_< I shoulda looted the weaponry.) ( We did. From one at least.) (Well we did loot the bodies) (Oh, good.) * Jinx shakes his head. "You're thinking organized crime Fanfan. They don't have a boss anymore. Every criminal for themselves." (Apparently I didn't miss it then.) What a shame. Don't forget those who like to be loyal to their boss. Either way, we're not gonna outrun them with Millie in her condition. So unless they lose interest, we gotta make it to those rocks out there... *points* ... if we're gonna have a shot. [The area becomes less barren and more rocky. And hilly. It begins to turn into a valley like area, though certainly not a grassy-green Shomuran one.] (Anything canyon-like?) ( Wrong game for that. =P ) (Damn. I have some TNT too. :D) [Not so much a canyon. More valleyish.] (How far out of range are these guys?) [Far enough so you can't see them. It is nig... well, now it's more like twilight. But still, it's rather difficult to see over long distances.] [Better hope they don't have a tracker like Tairan.] (Would Tairan be able to find us, actually? Given the night time penalties and all the times he's failed over the game? ^^;) (Better hope they have a tracker like Tairan. ^_~) (Mwaha.) ( Ouch, man. ) (I was going to say it...) ( Yeah, you try tracking with a 4 mind score. =P ) (I'd rather try with a 6.) ( That's why he needs to train Fanfan. ;P ) Fanfan, you in any condition to fight right now? I don't think any of us are, really. I took a real beating back there. [The hilly area DOES provide a number of ridges that might... *might* allow you to hide safely.] * Jinx nods. "But she went down. And not to a cactus." I'm in pretty good shape, actually. ( How is she on HP? ) ( 23/60 ) ( Erk. ) I could try, but I do not believe I would be as effective as I would be without my injuries. Relative to the rest of you. Fairly beat up, but still functioning. * Jinx nods and looks to Fanfan. "If you get much worse, take Millie and run. We can't afford anymore unconscious, even if it means one less fighter." * Jinx looks to the rest. "They're faster than us. Let's find a ridge." ...well. All right, I suppose. ( *scratches his head. I have John at 19/70, but that can't be right.* ) * Jinx nods and gives Fanfan a look of respect. If we're gonna hide, we should find the place we wanna hide, ride a bit past it, then double back and cover our tracks so it looks like we disappeared some ways beyond it. And we should do it soon. * John nods, and looks for hiding places. * Jinx nods in agreement. ( Stealth (concealment) ) 2d6 * Diceroshi throws the bones for John (2d6) and gets a natural 5 for a result of 5. 2d6-2 * Diceroshi throws the bones for Tairan (2d6-2) and gets a natural 4 for a result of 2. 2d6 * Diceroshi throws the bones for Jinx (2d6) and gets a natural 4 for a result of 4. 2d6 * Diceroshi throws the bones for Fanfan (2d6) and gets a natural 3 for a result of 3. (... We be good at hiding.) [The majority of you see a ridge that would work: It's long and just high enough so that they couldn't see the horses behind it, provided you dismounted.] * Fanfan looks around and points. "What about that ridge over there?" * Jinx glances at the ridge and then glances at the others. He seems to think a nod is unnecessary and gets headed in that direction. * Jinx makes sure Millie follows along. * Millie is being lead, so it's up to you! I see it. *heads in that direction* * John nods and goes in that direction. * Jinx does follow Tairan's advice and does the double back thing. [You get up to the ridge! Behind it is, oddly enough, a flat area on the side of the hill. There's a shack on the other side of the flat, but it's worn and old, and it doesn't look like anyone lives there now. There's also an empty cart missing one wheel, and a veggie garden gone bad.] * Fanfan hangs on. ( A veggie garden turned to a life of crime. How tragic. ;-; ) ( Well, given the type of area you're in, getting vegetables to grow in the first place is nearly impossible. ) ( Does Mille have a low enough profile that she can stay mounted without giving us away?) ( Only if she's slung over the back of her horse. ) * Tairan eyes the surroundings, and unmounts. "Someone wanna check out that shack? I'm gonna go see what I can do about covering up our tracks a bit." * Jinx secures his horse and then repositions Millie while saying. "We've got a hiding place, but you need to stay low." He's cautious about this, so someone else should probably check the shack while he's at it. * Fanfan slips/dismounts and begins walking over to the shack a bit stiffly. * John dismounts Hazel and also starts walking over to the shack. He's not stiff, though. ( He also wasn't half-frozen. ;P ) * Tairan goes out from behind the ridge and does what he can to cover up their tracks a bit leading to the ridge. ( Tairan, tracking roll! ) ( mountain spec ) * Millie opens her eyes slightly, responding quietly. "Huh?" 2d6-3 * Diceroshi throws the bones for Tairan (2d6-3) and gets a natural 9 for a result of 6. * Millie rubs her eyes with the back of her hand and looks up at Jinx. [Tairan covers your tacks as best he can!] * Jinx stops for a moment. "We're hiding behind a ridge. You need to stay lower if you're not going to be seen." * Millie nods and tries to get down lower on the horse, wincing and holding her stomach. "It still hurts like hell.." Can we dismount yet? Are you well enough to mount up fast? ( Maybe I can help with that... *starts humming 'Sexual Healing'* ) (Jesse: And here I was expecting a mounting joke. ^_~) ( Bah. Too easy. ) * Millie considers that for a bit. "Hard ta say...I think I could chance it..." Alright. But if Fanfan takes another hit she's running and taking you with her. Okay? * Tairan works on covering up their tracks as best he can, filling in divits in the ground, moving rocks and loose vegetation to make the path look undisturbed, and so on and so forth. Will it be successful? Only time will tell. * Millie just goes silent for a few moments, eventually responding with, "...what?" You're both in bad shape and can't ride that fast. You'll need the head start. 2d6 * Diceroshi throws the bones for John (2d6) and gets a natural 8 for a result of 8. * Millie closes her eyes and shakes her hands. "Okay...okay. I get it." She sighs. "Alright." * Millie looks about at the surroundings, then stops Midnight. She dismounts, then softly clicks her tongue to get the horse to lower his head. * Tairan then gets an idea, moves back a bit along the path they took to the ridge, and walks a bit in the opposite direction, dugging up hoof-sized chunks of dirt here'n there, upturning small rocks, damaging vegetation, and the like. * Jinx finishes securing Lightning and walks over to the ridge. He finds a good hiding/ambush spot and lays out his shotgun and Naginata for easy access. He's staying out of sight with his pistol out for the moment. ( Jinx, gimme a soul-acrobatics (tumbling) roll at +2 ) * Tairan finishes up his attempt at creating a false trail, then heads back to the ridge. 2d6+2 * Diceroshi throws the bones for Jinx (2d6+2) and gets a natural 4 for a result of 6. [Jinx finds a nice hiding spot and heads toward it. But on the way, there's a loud cracking sound, and suddenly he falls through the ground along with a sizable portion of dirt.] ( Oh noes the ground! ) * Jinx grunts as he falls and tries to get his bearings. * Tairan gets back just in time to see that. "... what the hell, Jinx?" *approaches the edge of the 'hole' carefully* [Jinx falls quite a distance, then lands with a splash! Into a rather fast current. Swimming roll!] 2d6 * Diceroshi throws the bones for Jinx (2d6) and gets a natural 9 for a result of 9. (dr1) 2d6 * Diceroshi throws the bones for Jinx (2d6) and gets a natural 6 for a result of 6. * Millie turns around from securing her horse startled at the noise and walks over. "What in blazes...?" [Tairan sees that the hole is an old well that was boarded up and covered in dirt. But of course, the boards snapped when Jinx stepped on them.] [Jinx manages to keep from drowning. Which is, y'know, good. But the current starts pulling him somewhere. This well apparently went straight to an underground river.] * Jinx swims against the current for the moment. He calls out in a voice meant to carry to the top, but not much farther. "Rope! Now!" * Millie looks down the hole, then at Tairan. "Great." She sighs as she takes off her pack and takes out the rope. "Hope it's long enough." * Tairan takes the rope from Millie, wraps one end around his arm to secure it, and tosses it down. * Millie starts to offer part of the rope to Tairan and realizes he already took all of it. Hmmph, how rude. ( Jinx, Swim roll +3! ) (What's my EP count?) ( 36/50 ) (Boost) 2d6+3 * Diceroshi throws the bones for Jinx (2d6+3) and gets a natural 7 for a result of 10. (dr2) 2d6+3 * Diceroshi throws the bones for Jinx (2d6+3) and gets a natural 5 for a result of 8. [Jinx swims up to the rope and grabs it! ... Almost. It slips out of his hand. Another swim roll, this time at +2.] 2d6+2 * Diceroshi throws the bones for Jinx (2d6+2) and gets a natural 7 for a result of 9. (dr3) 2d6+2 * Diceroshi throws the bones for Jinx (2d6+2) and gets a natural 8 for a result of 10. [The current is strong. Jinx ebbs a bit, and is carried back. Another roll, +4!] 2d6+4 * Diceroshi throws the bones for Jinx (2d6+4) and gets a natural 8 for a result of 12. [Jinx is carried off! Oh noes!] * Tairan curses. "Felt him on the rope for a second, and then nothing." *calls down the well* "Jinx! Can you hear me down there?" [Tairan hears no response. Nada.] * Millie grumbles. "Ya coulda at least asked me.." She looks down. "Any idea where this leads?" 2d6 * Diceroshi throws the bones for Jinx (2d6) and gets a natural 6 for a result of 6. ( Can I tell that there's a river down there? ) ( Yes, you can hear it rushing. ) Dunno, but there's definitely running water down there. Underground river most likely. *pauses* Can Jinx swim? Don't think so. There's not much of an opportunity here in Teck. * Millie looks at Tairan for a moment. I'd dive down after him, but I'm not much of a swimmer myself. ... Raight. I'll get the others. Think ya can track a stream? ( I dunno. Can I? ) (It'd be silly if you could :P) [Unlikely, even in the event that you could stay afloat in a current that fast.] ( I meant more if I could determine/follow the path of the stream above ground. ) ( Not really... I mean, it goes -> that way, but to say it doesn't turn is a bit harder. ) * Tairan shakes his head. "I can figure out which way it's generally going, but I really wouldn't be able to tell if it branched or turned." * Millie heads towards the shack as quickly as her injuries will allow. * Tairan peeks out over the ridge, and tries to see if he can get a bead on the mob. ( Sight roll, Tairan! ) 2d6-4 * Diceroshi throws the bones for Tairan (2d6-4) and gets a natural 7 for a result of 3. [Tairan sees the mob! They're in the valley below. A few horsemen who look like they've been sent out to scout the area are returning, and they're discussing.] ( Meanwhile, Fanfan and John have hot sexings in the shack. ) * Tairan mutters. Not good... ( How many? Approximately. ) (Just tell me when I get to the Luuuuuuuuv Shack) [Roughly twenty, though there might be some who are out scouting. But they seem to be having an argument. One of the men raises an arm and gestures around the entire valley.] (So I can bark and tell them how Jinxy fell down the well.) * Tairan holds back the urge to grin, lest he tempt the fates, and makes sure the horses are out of view. ( It's really too bad we don't have a collie with us. Then Jinx would've been in no danger. ) ( Stealth roll -4! ) * Tairan takes his hat off, so that his head presents less of a profile, and tries to glance out at the mob every so often, while working to keep the horses calm/quiet. 2d6-6 * Diceroshi throws the bones for Tairan (2d6-6) and gets a natural 9 for a result of 3. [They sweep around the valley one more time with their eyes, then discuss a little more. Finally, they turn around and start riding back to Hellspoint.] * Tairan wipes his brow and glances back towards the shack before continuing his work with the horses. Better safe. [It's still standing!] ( He lies. We've all been eaten by a chair. ) ( The shack, too. ) * Tairan stays put for the time being, then, keeping an eye out just in case the bandits double back. [The 'bandits' (if they even are bandits), have apparently given up hope of catching up with you lot. They ride off into the sunse.... rise. Sunrise.] ( It's sunrise already? ) ( Yes. ) ( It was night when you fought Lucius, and you've been riding for a while. Which, incidently, leaves some of you quite tired. ) * Tairan makes sure that they're really gone, eyes the shack, then heads over slowly with the remaining horses in tow. [Tairan makes his way to the shack. Inside, he can see Millie, John, and Fanfan all crouched on the ground, looking at something. Well, part of Fanfan. He sees her head, and that's... it. It's very strange.] Our mob gave up and left. I think the lack of available beer helped. It always does. * Fanfan drops something into Millie's hand and turns to Tairan. "Fortunate." * Fanfan glances at John. "Your pants are safe." I'm glad they are. [Fanfan's head floats in the air! Her hand flashed out of nothing, then it returned to the nothing. Very eerie. Very zen.] ( I find it hilarious, by the way, that Millie has not commented on Fanfan's lack of body. ) (Hey, she's high on drugs. Anything looks normal to her. :P) ( Millie! Zombie coming! Quick, give me all your money! ) Can you make anythin' of these? * John looks for a date on them. I hope they date their coins. ... it may be lack of sleep talking, but shouldn't Fanfan have a body? ( No, it's not. I never had one to begin with. >.> ) Oh, she got jumped by an invisible man-eating chair. Nothing we couldn't handle though. (John and Fanfan have found the GLORY OF INJOKES.) 2d6-3 * Diceroshi throws the bones for Millie (2d6-3) and gets a natural 3 for a result of 0. * Fanfan looks down. "Oh, this? It's--" She snerks and lets a giggle slip out at John's explanation. "Yes." (YAY INJOKE. ) ( Also: Freezer-burn Fanfan = LOOPY. ) * Millie peers at the coins. "Huh. Wow." * Millie glances back at the place. "This place's been around a while." How old are they? * Fanfan picks up a corner of the garment. "As an alternative explanation, we found some sort of cloth that imparts invisibility to the wearer." It's so much less exciting when you say it that way. * Millie looks over at John. "Definitely from before the war. I'd say they're 'bout 80 years or so. And I doubt they were buried just when that shack was built over it. I apologize. * John whistles. "How much would you gather they're worth?" An interesting question, and one definitely worth trying to figure out at some time that Jinx isn't being swept away by an underground river. * Millie deadpans then snatches up the coin. "Eh...yeah. Almost forgot." ... Oh, right. Which direction was the river flowing?" Doesn't really matter with the twists and turns it could take. But if we find a stream relatively downhill from here... They'll converge, you think? 2d6-2 * Diceroshi throws the bones for Millie (2d6-2) and gets a natural 8 for a result of 6. We can hope. * Fanfan stands up. "Shall we, then?" Local cave might be a decent bet, too. * John nods. "Let's get going then." He then gets up and waits to get out after people get out of the way of the door. [You go to find Jinx! Meanwhile, he is eaten by a cactus. And a chair.] [Session End.]