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Re: Round Up
Posted: Wed Apr 11, 2018 3:33 am
by Archibald Ellsworth
Archibald seems to hesitate and waiver for a moment... Then he steels himself, pulls out his revolver and takes careful aim at the large arachnid. In doing so he spies a patch of ground on the other side of the grove where the dirt seems looser.
Hmm...recently dug? Quicksand perhaps?
"I say, that spot over there between the rock and the tree looks a little askew." Archibald warns the others.
"I'd advise steering well clear!"
"Now let us spend these abominations back to whence they came!"
Re: Round Up
Posted: Wed Apr 11, 2018 6:26 pm
by Jackson
Re: Round Up
Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2018 5:50 pm
by MJH
Spider Grove, Texas
March 25th 1880 2:12 PM
Fear Level: 2
Bishop draws her bow and takes aim at the Terrantula. As she does so, the loose ground erupts and another appears right beside her and attempts to do the same thing the first arachnid monstrosity did to the poor cow, sinking its teeth into the unsuspecting Hexslinger. Archibald’s warning comes too late as the rest of the group concentrates on the first gigantic spider and the swarm.
John’s aim is true and he shoots the spider right between or in this case, amongst, the things multifaceted eyes. Greenish blood and what passes for spider brains coat the dry ground and surrounding cottonwoods.
Hope’s shotgun bucks in her hands and Jackson’s strange device that passes for a firearm sputters and spits as ghost rock fueled eldritch energy and buckshot send the swarm scattering. While somewhat successful, the swarm splits and two and surrounds Hope and Jackson.
Map: https://www.dropbox.com/s/wwcxsd1muegzj ... 4.png?dl=0
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Archibald: KD
Bishop: 10H
Hope: 4S
Jackson: 10D
John: AD
Large Spider: 3S
Spider Swarm 1: 2C
Spider Swarm 2: AH
What are you doing?
Re: Round Up
Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2018 8:08 pm
by Archibald Ellsworth
"Oh blast!" Archibald curses as John very effectively puts down the arachnid monstrosity that he'd been aiming at. Though Archibald's suspicions about the patch of ground proved to be correct as another abomination bursts out of the ground and attacks the female scout. Not having a clear shot on the eight-legged newcomer, Archibald spurs his horse forward and fires his revolver.
"Stand firm! Stand firm!" He cries to the rest of the party.
Re: Round Up
Posted: Sat Apr 14, 2018 7:53 am
by John Baxter
Notice 11
Though John's shot took out the Tarantula, things swiftly deteriorated. He saw several of the party under threat, but bishop looked in the worst trouble and wounded.
"Dammit," John swore,
"I've got Bishop. Rest of you, clear up that swarm of little spiders before they start munching on the rest of you."
Shifting slightly in the saddle, he turned, cocking his rifle, chambering another round and with precision, opened fire with his rifle again.
Shooting 9 Damage 11 AP2
Re: Round Up
Posted: Tue Apr 17, 2018 8:07 pm
by Jackson
They’re on me! They’re on me! Gahhhhh! Jackson can hear himself screaming inside his head, and it takes him a moment to realize that he’s screaming aloud, too.
”Get off!” he hollers, knocking the swarming bugs away with the butt of his Problem Solver and kicking at them with his good leg.
Still flustered but now free of the insects, he gives a wordless shout and mashes the trigger of the problem solver, sending round after round of ghost rock superheated lead into the swarm.
Re: Round Up
Posted: Wed Apr 18, 2018 3:45 am
by Hope Monaghan
***
Hope cried out in shock as the swarm of spiders surged over her, biting and stinging. She swatted at the spiders futilely.
“Lord help me!” Hope cried out.
A magical field sprang up, protecting Hope as she swung her shotgun to aim at the ground and the swarm around her, unloading the second barrel.
***
Re: Round Up
Posted: Wed Apr 18, 2018 3:24 pm
by Bishop
Bishop scowls at the spider that bit her.
”Stupid piece of crap. Here I was feeling mildly guilty for immediately going for the lethal option when y’all were just trying for some food to eat but not any more! I’ll kill you and dance on your grave!” She draws her bow again, determined to get her shot off this time.
This time she goes for her entangling arrow instead of the burst of arrows. Her focus is on the single spider that attacked her and she doesn’t want to hit her compatriots with a flurry of shots. Her magical arrow turns into a bola midair and wraps around the spider’s legs.
Whew. I wasn’t expecting this much action when I was offered a job herding along cattle but it is more fun. Being bitten aside, of course.
”Thanks for looking out for me,” she thanks John.
”I thought I might be done for for a second there.”
Re: Round Up
Posted: Sat Apr 21, 2018 6:17 am
by MJH
Spider Grove, Texas
March 25th 1880 2:45 PM
Fear Level: 2
John and Archibald’s shots nearly go off simultaneously and both strike the spider in its skull patterned thorax. Ichor sprays everywhere again and as Bishop’s arrows entangle seven of its eight legs, the momentum sets it to spinning as it is thrown back into the whole it came from. No one is spared at least a little green blood spatter but although the single free leg twitches, it is quite dead.
The swarm on Jackson is determined to dine on made scientist and continue to bite and burrow into him. Although beginning to panic, Jackson is able to get his weapon to fire true and the hot ghost rock disperses the death’s head arachnids surrounding him leaving acrid smoking holes in the ground before him.
Hope glows with a warm white light and if everyone else wasn’t preoccupied, the sight would have caused everyone to find religion. The barrier does not deter the spiders, but it does stop them from causing any harm and the follow up shotgun blast sends them scurrying back to whatever depths they came from.
Once the spiders are defeated, you find one steer is quite dead but the other is not as bad as you once thought. The leg that appeared broken was just twisted up in a cottonwood root and although it takes some work, John and Archibald are able to get it out of the pit while Hope looks over Jackson and Bishop. A quick search of the grove discovers over a dozen drained carcasses of Lazy S cattle along with a few deer and other smaller animals. The other cowboys likely completely missed them because the husks are so desiccated that they’re only visible
from within the grove itself.
Not too far away, Devil Eye’s is snorting and trotting around the rest of the horses and cattle. The horse has prevented any of the rest from running too far. You are down to three cows and another ton of prime beef on the ground in the afternoon sun. It’ll probably keep if you get the innards out and hang the cuts of meat but right now you are already looking at an hour or so after full dark when you will arrive back at the Lazy S. Dealing with the steer will push that timetable and none of you like the idea of spending another night on the prairie, especially with fresh meat hanging.
What are you doing?
Re: Round Up
Posted: Sat Apr 21, 2018 4:19 pm
by Archibald Ellsworth
Archibald breaths a sigh of relief when the oversized arachnid attacking the group's scout was swiftly dealt, he'd feared his aim had been off and that he might've struck the hexslinger. Thankfully it seemed that the only harm she suffered came from the attentions of the giant spider. After holstering his revolver, he dismounted from his horse and assisted Baxter with checking over the surviving cattle.
His attention kept wandering to the remains of the two abominations that the party had fought. After a while he asks out loud.
"I say, would anyone object if I did some sketches and made some notes on these creatures? They seem the sort of thing the chaps at the Royal Society would be interested in."
"I dear say that Mr Sutter's men seem an easily spooked lot, so might be a little bad form if we brought back one of the carcasses back as a specimen." Archibald adds as he proceeds to fetch a notebook, pencil and a ruler from the saddlebag of his horse.
Re: Round Up
Posted: Sun Apr 22, 2018 12:53 am
by Jackson
Jackson drops to the ground, sitting with his knees pulled part way up and leaning his arms on his legs, a somewhat dazed look on his face.
”You know, I have a younger brother who is fascinated by spiders. He might have liked to seen this.“
He lets out a cough and wheezes a bit with it.
”Vile things bled me. I don’t suppose any of you moonlights as a doctor?” he asks only half-jokingly.
Re: Round Up
Posted: Sun Apr 22, 2018 3:22 am
by Hope Monaghan
***
Hope shook the last of the spiders off of her and took a moment to reload her shotgun.
“Let me take a look at it, Jackson,” Hope said, slinging her shotgun back as she walked over to the inventor. She rolled up his torn trouser leg to see the puncture wounds, bubbling with green bile and blood.
Hope took a breath and rubbed her hands together. Then she pressed them over his wound. She whispered some soft words. Her hands started to glow, and heat seeped into Jackson. The pain receded. When Hope removed her hands, they were bloody, and so was his leg, but the wound was gone.
“Better,” Hope said, pulling out a handkerchief and her canteen to wash her hands. She murmured another prayer for herself.
***
Hope shook the last of the spiders off of her and took a moment to reload her shotgun.
“Let me take a look at it, Jackson,” Hope said, slinging her shotgun back as she walked over to the inventor. She rolled up his torn trouser leg to see the puncture wounds, bubbling with green bile and blood.
Hope took a breath and rubbed her hands together. Then she pressed them over his wound. She whispered some soft words. Her hands started to glow, and heat seeped into Jackson. The pain receded. When Hope removed her hands, they were bloody, and so was his leg, but the wound was gone.
“Better,” Hope said, pulling out a handkerchief and her canteen to wash her hands. She murmured another prayer for herself.
The Hope turned to the injured steer, lowing in agony.
“Hush,” Hope soothed, running her hands along the broken leg and praying.
***
***
***
***
Re: Round Up
Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2018 4:27 am
by John Baxter
notice
[dice]0[/dice]
wild dice [dice]1[/dice]
John nods at Bishop
“I’ve always got people’s backs.”
John kept an eye out for another moment, just in case of anything further coming out of the ground. As it became apparent nothing else was looking for trouble, he reloads the two rounds he used before riding his horse down into the creek and helping Archibald disentangle the steer.
As Hope heals Jackson, he calls up to her.
“Does what you can do work on cattle? She is one of God’s creatures after all.”
As Hope heals the steer, John helps the steer back up to its feet and up the slope.
“Well, that makes getting back a lot easier,” he says, securing the remains of the dead steer to take back.
“Let’s get out of here and round up the other two steers. I don't think any of us want to spend another night out here."
As he waits for the others to get sorted, he plays a little ditty on his harmonica.
Re: Round Up
Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2018 9:20 am
by Bishop
After being looked over by Hope and thanking her, Bishop goes to make sure the spider really is dead.
Nothing worse than something you thought dead popping back up again while you’re off your guard. That is one dead beastie, though.
”Well, that certainly was an adventure. Anyone know what else to expect in these parts, especially once the sun goes down?”