I had a bad feeling when Lacy sent me that telegram asking me to go to Perdition; and not just for the obvious reason. Lacy didn't mention anything about pay, so I figured it must have had something to do with the Stranger.
That kind of figuring always did get me in trouble.
Even though Lacy didn't have anything about the Stranger, I figured I may as well chip in with that Sam Hellman fellow he said needed help finding.
I wanted to set out on the trail right away, but Lacy said I should wait for a half dozen or so of his friends. (Like I need the help!)
Sure enough, they started trickling in, first a likable Injun fellow named Chayote, or something along those lines... Then came a whole gaggle off the trail lookin' like they hadn't eaten for the better part of a month. George, Charley, and Inigo all seemed more or less alright if non-descript, but the others were some of the oddest characters I've ever met.
Joe seems pretty decent - for a damn yankee - and a sure-fine fellow to have my back in a fight.
Wei Shou was pretty quiet, but he seemed capable. I'm sure he'll open up and have more to say in the future.
Of all of them, only Molly gives me the shivers. She doesn't sleep at night, and that just don't seem right. Plus her little gadgets set my teeth on edge whenever I get too close. That, and the fact that Molly loves to reminisce about how such-and-such trinket "blew up that one time" makes me wonder how much asset outweighs liability...
After getting to known one another, Lacy dropped the bomb on me again. Turns out his buddy Sam isn't so much "lost" as "imprisoned on an impenetrable fortress of a hostile nation". No wonder he wanted me to have so much back up.
On the bright side, Lacy arranged for a backdoor on to that fortress island - the Rock. He was also nice enough to arrange for a diversion out front and map of the cells. I'll say this for Lacy: At least he tries giving a fella a fightin' chance when he sends him out on a suicide mission.
Well, things started off pretty smoothly. Captain Reginald took us out at the dead of moonlit night (I'll get back to last bit later.) The night was pretty calm, and we managed to get a loose sewer drain grating. That led us back through the power generator room. Joe made quick work of the one guard left on the cell block, garnering quite of respect from me through his finesse. But, of the nine people in through room, I was the only one who though about checking the guard's pockets for keys.
In the cell block, we found four poor souls and a corpse. We couldn't do much for the corpse, but living included (another) Charley, Hogleg Job, Eddie, and Sam Hellman. Joe recognized Charley as an old acquaintance, and poor ol' Job had his hand cut off rendering him more-or-less helpless, so we let the two of them and Sam out right away.
That Eddie was a different story. Somethin' about him gave me the heebee-jeebies, and I didn't feel any compunctions abot letting everyone know how I felt. That strange Molly girl seemed set on chatting him up, though; I think she might have been angling for a date. Soon enough, the rest of the group over-ruled me and we set Eddie loose (I'll get back to that last bit later).
Well, with time to spare, the group made its way back to Capt. Reginald, creating plenty of distractions and diversions for anyone who might have thought about following us.
That should have been the end of things, and with a clean getaway, too, but... Remember that moonlit night? Remember Eddie? Yeah, turns out he was a werewolf. I told everybody I had a bad hunch about him. And of course, he picks the moment the boat hit land to go on a murderin' spree.
I, bein' the only sensible one, ran like the hounds of Hell were after me, seein' as how they were. Or at least one of them was. By the time I glanced back over my shoulder, I realized those big damn fools decided to stay and slug it out with dogbreath.
Well, I might be sensible, but nobody's gonna call me yellow! And, seein' as how nothing anybody else was doing had much of an effect of that critter, I figured I'd lend a hand. Sure enough, boy, howdy, I blew that bastard away, too. A lesser man might mention again how much of a bad feeling ol' Eddie gave him.
After giving Eddie his last rites, and a "proper" burial, the entourage headed back to Perdition to give a full accounting to Lacy.
Turns out poor ol' Sam was writing an article on Rev. Grimm. Also turn out Grimm has some strange dietary restrictions, which includes eating people. I used to wonder where Grimm came up with all that food to feed a whole city every Sunday. Ignorance sure is bliss.
Of course, things get worse, too. Grimm also happens to be some kind Satan-powered unholy wrecking machine. And there seems to be just one person who knows how to kill him: Some Injun named Sees-Far-Ahead. Of course, this Sees-Far-Ahead person must not be able to see TOO far ahead, because he went and fell right off the map. So, we're going to go looking for his protege, Born-in-a-Bowl, instead.
Fortunately, this Born-in-a-Bowl is an acquaintance Cha-te-yo (or whatever his name is). After having a few words with Lacy about compensation, the gang set off to find Cho-ha-te's clan. The route there was rough-ridin', but more-or-less unenventful.
After we got there, though, things seemed to be... "off". Cha-hey-ya didn't seem to get the reception he wanted, and went off to confer privately with the local Chief in their own globbledy-gook language for a few hours.
Cha-to-ha came out eventually, with a fellow whose unholy-glowing eyes make my skin crawl whenever he looks at me. For the record, I'd like to say how much of a bad feeling I've got about this guy. Anyway, they're telling me right now to break camp and get ready to ride. Turns out Born-in-a-Bowl was kidnapped by the Rattlesnake Clan, and this Glowing-Eyes fellow is gonna lead us to her. That, or to a shallow grave in the middle of nowhere...
That kind of figuring always did get me in trouble.
Even though Lacy didn't have anything about the Stranger, I figured I may as well chip in with that Sam Hellman fellow he said needed help finding.
I wanted to set out on the trail right away, but Lacy said I should wait for a half dozen or so of his friends. (Like I need the help!)
Sure enough, they started trickling in, first a likable Injun fellow named Chayote, or something along those lines... Then came a whole gaggle off the trail lookin' like they hadn't eaten for the better part of a month. George, Charley, and Inigo all seemed more or less alright if non-descript, but the others were some of the oddest characters I've ever met.
Joe seems pretty decent - for a damn yankee - and a sure-fine fellow to have my back in a fight.
Wei Shou was pretty quiet, but he seemed capable. I'm sure he'll open up and have more to say in the future.
Of all of them, only Molly gives me the shivers. She doesn't sleep at night, and that just don't seem right. Plus her little gadgets set my teeth on edge whenever I get too close. That, and the fact that Molly loves to reminisce about how such-and-such trinket "blew up that one time" makes me wonder how much asset outweighs liability...
After getting to known one another, Lacy dropped the bomb on me again. Turns out his buddy Sam isn't so much "lost" as "imprisoned on an impenetrable fortress of a hostile nation". No wonder he wanted me to have so much back up.
On the bright side, Lacy arranged for a backdoor on to that fortress island - the Rock. He was also nice enough to arrange for a diversion out front and map of the cells. I'll say this for Lacy: At least he tries giving a fella a fightin' chance when he sends him out on a suicide mission.
Well, things started off pretty smoothly. Captain Reginald took us out at the dead of moonlit night (I'll get back to last bit later.) The night was pretty calm, and we managed to get a loose sewer drain grating. That led us back through the power generator room. Joe made quick work of the one guard left on the cell block, garnering quite of respect from me through his finesse. But, of the nine people in through room, I was the only one who though about checking the guard's pockets for keys.
In the cell block, we found four poor souls and a corpse. We couldn't do much for the corpse, but living included (another) Charley, Hogleg Job, Eddie, and Sam Hellman. Joe recognized Charley as an old acquaintance, and poor ol' Job had his hand cut off rendering him more-or-less helpless, so we let the two of them and Sam out right away.
That Eddie was a different story. Somethin' about him gave me the heebee-jeebies, and I didn't feel any compunctions abot letting everyone know how I felt. That strange Molly girl seemed set on chatting him up, though; I think she might have been angling for a date. Soon enough, the rest of the group over-ruled me and we set Eddie loose (I'll get back to that last bit later).
Well, with time to spare, the group made its way back to Capt. Reginald, creating plenty of distractions and diversions for anyone who might have thought about following us.
That should have been the end of things, and with a clean getaway, too, but... Remember that moonlit night? Remember Eddie? Yeah, turns out he was a werewolf. I told everybody I had a bad hunch about him. And of course, he picks the moment the boat hit land to go on a murderin' spree.
I, bein' the only sensible one, ran like the hounds of Hell were after me, seein' as how they were. Or at least one of them was. By the time I glanced back over my shoulder, I realized those big damn fools decided to stay and slug it out with dogbreath.
Well, I might be sensible, but nobody's gonna call me yellow! And, seein' as how nothing anybody else was doing had much of an effect of that critter, I figured I'd lend a hand. Sure enough, boy, howdy, I blew that bastard away, too. A lesser man might mention again how much of a bad feeling ol' Eddie gave him.
After giving Eddie his last rites, and a "proper" burial, the entourage headed back to Perdition to give a full accounting to Lacy.
Turns out poor ol' Sam was writing an article on Rev. Grimm. Also turn out Grimm has some strange dietary restrictions, which includes eating people. I used to wonder where Grimm came up with all that food to feed a whole city every Sunday. Ignorance sure is bliss.
Of course, things get worse, too. Grimm also happens to be some kind Satan-powered unholy wrecking machine. And there seems to be just one person who knows how to kill him: Some Injun named Sees-Far-Ahead. Of course, this Sees-Far-Ahead person must not be able to see TOO far ahead, because he went and fell right off the map. So, we're going to go looking for his protege, Born-in-a-Bowl, instead.
Fortunately, this Born-in-a-Bowl is an acquaintance Cha-te-yo (or whatever his name is). After having a few words with Lacy about compensation, the gang set off to find Cho-ha-te's clan. The route there was rough-ridin', but more-or-less unenventful.
After we got there, though, things seemed to be... "off". Cha-hey-ya didn't seem to get the reception he wanted, and went off to confer privately with the local Chief in their own globbledy-gook language for a few hours.
Cha-to-ha came out eventually, with a fellow whose unholy-glowing eyes make my skin crawl whenever he looks at me. For the record, I'd like to say how much of a bad feeling I've got about this guy. Anyway, they're telling me right now to break camp and get ready to ride. Turns out Born-in-a-Bowl was kidnapped by the Rattlesnake Clan, and this Glowing-Eyes fellow is gonna lead us to her. That, or to a shallow grave in the middle of nowhere...
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Posted on December 15, 2011 16:50
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