The group in the mine watches the line of 4 zombie miners file past.  Once they are gone the party notices a ruching sound from the chamber they just left.  Fossar, Jimmy, Lucille, and Maverick move forward stealthily.   Fossar sees creatures sitting on top a pile of parts eating the bits and sucking the marrow out of the bones.  The are hunched humanoids that look ghoulish.  At least 6 of them, maybe more.  Fossar slides back to the group and tells them he sees a dozen or more.   Lucille casts dark vision and reports they are only 6, and follows it up with an entangle spell.  Magnus throws his lantern in there, and Maverick and Charlotte through dynamite into the cave.  The creatures screech in the light, and the dynamite explodes in their midst.  All but one are killed.  Jimmy throws his tomahawks into the last one which keels over.

Several more creatures come out from behind the corner.  Fossar swings his shovel and brains one.  Lucille shoots and kills another.  Maverick takes out the last one.  More creatures surround the party, coming from either direction in the tunnel they were in.  With them is one large one with a sickle.  Lucille entangles one of the groups down the hall.  The rest close on the party and one bites Lucille.  Maverick drops another one, as does Charlotte.  Lucille cast a spell on herself while Charlotte drops another one.   Jimmy takes out the last of the unentangled ghouls.

Three of the entangled ghouls break free and run into the wall.  One incinerates himself.  The others take damage.  Fossar stands in front of the wall and taunts the others.  One runs into the wall and is stunned.  The party waits while they mill about behind the wall.  Magnus looses patience and drops the wall, and the party lights up the survivors.  The remaining ghouls drop quickly, with Magnus disintegrating the last one.

Maverick and Jimmy run out of the mine, heading back to town.  They are amazed at what they have seen so far.  As they head toward The Long Draft they notice that the front door is hanging open.  They do a quick search but find nothing disturbed.  Lucille casts a spell and realizes Thaddeus is somewhere with a bag over his head, but he is still breathing and alive.  Jimmy finds drag marks out of the front door but loses them in the street.

The party find Lawrence and Robert in the street.  They say that they saw Thaddeus dragged out in the direction of the jailhouse.  Fossar runs to the Sheriff’s office, but the sheriff and deputy saw they haven’t seen him.  The sheriff says Dalton, Weekes, and Mitchell were out ranging this morning.  Lucille casts a spell on the doorknob and can see that Dalton is wearing white robes and is looking really bored.  They are somewhere with wood paneling and a stained glass window.  The sheriff says that must be the church.  Lawrence and Robert meet them and ask if they want help, but they party charges into the church.

Thaddeus has been held in the basement and questioned by Reverend McFarland and several of the deputies.  They are asking for the whereabouts of the kid.  Eventually they get tired of the double talk and get the flaming hot poker.

Jimmy and Maverick bust in the back door and the others break in the front door.  There are several people looking scared in and around the church.  The group runs to the other side and Maverick blasts open the door with his shotgun.  Inside this room there are two cowboys and two guys in white robes.  One shoots Jimmy and makes him very angry.  Another shoots Fossar and wounds him.  Maverick pushes into the room and shoots the two robe wearers with bolts, knocking them down.  Jimmy tomahawk’s one of the cowboys, and Fossar shovels the other.  Lucille heals Fossar, and the party breaks through the trapdoor into the cellar.

The priest is down there with 3 robed guys, Deacon, and a cowboy.  Thaddeus shouts “Keep Deacon and the priest alive”.   Fossar kills two of them.  Jimmy splits the cowboy in two.  A robe wearer moves up on Jimmy and attacks but doesn’t hurt him.  Maverick shows this guy the inside of his head.  Lucille casts fear on the priest and Deacon, who curl up and wilt with fear.  Maverick shoots off one of Barton’s fingers.  Deacon says he is a just doing what the reverend wants.  All he knows is that the kid is important.  The reverend refuses to talk to us in spite of some intimidation, especially when questioned about the kid.  Charlotte then takes over and tries to persuade him that if he doesn’t help us there ill be pain and evil for all.   He eventually passes out.

The sheriff shouts down the stairs that we need to come out with our hands up.  We politely decline.  Charlotte goes up the stairs to try and talk peace.  She is cuffed and dragged around back.  There the Sheriff is standing with Soapy and……

 

We start looking around the gory clearing. The wraith children all exploded and turned to goo when they died, but we have several wolf carcasses. Susan is scratched but OK, but Earl is in rough shape. He is fatigued and out of it. Thaddeus goes around and heals everyone who is wounded, except Fossor. Lucille heals Fossor magically, but he is still blind in both eyes now. He gingerly gets into the carriage. The horses are in bad shape. Lucille casts a spell and begins speaking with them, and they calm down. Deacon Barton is hiding in the carriage. He comes out looking for the kid, but the kid ran off. He angrily blames the group for losing him, but refuses to go out and look. Lucille uses the drawing of Magnus that the kid drew to Mind Ride him. She sees that he is running full out up steeper hills. She consults with Jimmy, who nods his head and confirms that this is a couple of miles away to the north.

Jimmy, Maverick, and Lucille start heading north searching for the kid, but Jimmy picks up an animal’s trail by mistake and realizes his error after they’ve been hiking for about 10 minutes. They double back and Jimmy catches his trail again, but it is slow going and they are at least 30 minutes behind the kid. At Maverick’s urging, they finally give up and return to the wagons, though Jimmy wanted to continue.

Meanwhile Magnus, Thaddeus, Lawrence, and Charlotte go and get Soapy’s men from the nearby camp that had been tied up. They are actually happy to see us and we get them up and start moving back towards the wagons. We navigate and meet up with Earl. The kid search party also comes back empty handed. The Deacon is furious and again blames the group for being reckless, and that they will have to answer to Reverend McFarland  once they get back to town. Magnus and Maverick retort that they saved his life, and the kid was not their responsibility. Barton shuts down and will not talk with them any further. The posse continues heading toward town.

The terrain has less trees and is becoming more rocky. We start having a strange feeling of dread that’s similar to when we were near South Fork, but not as strong. We see the town, which is quite large for the area. There are several hotels and bars, but it is awfully quiet. There are some people milling about, and we hear a blacksmith. There is a naked, starving child wandering the street looking hungrily at the wagons as we roll in. Its mother scoops it up and closes and locks the door of her house. Barton steps off of the wagon, pays Earl, and departs for the church.

We roll up to the Sheriff’s Office and ask for the sheriff. The deputies give us a little grief, but go get him. The sheriff has a bushy beard and has extra leathery skin. He asks us to bring the prisoners into the office. His name is William Light, but everyone calls him Cap, because when he was a kid he wore a….hat. We tell him our story. He questions the prisoners briefly, and they deny any involvement in attacking the supply caravan. They say that they were the ones being attacked, and describe the Starvation Spirits. Magnus says that he doesn’t know what they are talking about, and the Sheriff believes his lie. He locks up the cowboys.

As the group is speaking with Sheriff Cap, Lucille sneaks in and searches around the office for something. She is not noticed by anyone.

The sheriff tells us that the mayor has become a recluse and has not been seen in several months. His son is trying to help, but there has been a rampant criminal element for the last year, and the town is getting stretched to its limits. People have been complaining about supernatural things, but he doesn’t believe them. About 9 months ago the silver and ghost rock mines started drying up, and 6 months ago the mayors wife passed away. He descended into apathy and eventually disappeared. The food shipments have also dried up the last few months. He says that they have tried to find out what is going on by sending a couple of posses out, but they did not find anything. He doesn’t have enough manpower to continue to send men, and would be happy if we’d volunteer.

He tells us that the flyers the posse received advertising the town (the reason that they decided to come) are several years old. Jenkins had the idea of doing a “marketing” campaign to bring more people to the town about for years ago, but he hasn’t since. Once the food shortage started, a woman named Lorelei took a bunch of people down toward Spar City, in spite of the heavy winter. As a result the town is sparsely populated. He also says we should talk to the mayor’s son at City Hall about some of the empty buildings. The Sheriff thanks us and we head out.

Earl bids everyone goodbye. He thanks us and shakes everyone’s hand, but Lucille demurs. The posse pays him $3 apiece for the trip. Earl takes all of the baggage to the Paradise hotel and checks in there for the night. Charlotte, Lawrence and Fossor go with him.

The posse looks around the town and sees that only the blacksmith, two hotels, three bars, a gambling club, a dancing club, the bank, livery stable, and a couple of other businesses are open. The third hotel, one bar (The Long Draught), butcher, barber surgeon, general store, and the school house are closed up.

Maverick drops some food at the door of the naked child, and then he and Jimmy go to the nearby Denver Exchange Gambling Club. Things are slow here with only a couple of patrons. In addition to gambling tables and a bar, there is a makeshift boxing ring in the back. A short man in a bowler and waxed mustache is sparring with a large man with lots of hair, called Bruno. Maverick and Jimmy walk up and order whiskey. The man in the bowler is also the bartender and introduces himself as Bat Masterson. He is writing a book about the town, which is focusing on the nightlife and crime, and that he doesn’t believe the supernatural occurrences that people have reported.

Magnus, Lucille, and Thaddeus head over to City Hall and meet the mayor’s son, Rusty Jenkins.  He is a wiry man in his early 20s, with reddish brown hair and spectacles. His desk is covered with papers and he looks overwhelmed and exasperated. Magnus introduces himself and asks about the town. Rusty relates that things have gotten bad the past few months, especially with supplied drying up. Magnus boasts that the posse stopped a group of criminals while they were hijacking a shipment, and that they intend to stay and improve the town. Rusty laughs and says that not many people as idealistic as them have come to the town in the past couple of years. After some conversation, Magnus convinces him to lets us squat in the Long Draught. He will draw up a contract and get back to Magnus in a couple of days. He still seems upset, and we ask what is bothering him.  He explains that his dad became sick about 2 months ago.  He used to be inspiring and idealistic, but is not the same man that he was. He rarely comes out of City Hall, even though Rusty has tried to get him to go home to “The Compound”, which is the Jenkins family’s group of homes south of town. Rusty’s two brothers, sister, and their families still live there. Thaddeus and Lucille convince Rusty to let them examine his father.  

Thaddeus and Lucille go upstairs to Jenkins’ room, which is dark and smells terribly. Thaddeus finds nothing wrong medically with him, but Lucille does detect a curse which is affecting him.  They go back down to talk to Rusty to convince him to let them treat his father.  Rusty is skeptical, but Lucille says that she knows some things about the supernatural. Rusty gets a strange look and says he did not believe in the supernatural, but there have some strange deaths in the last two months, where people seemed to have been shot but the bullet holes burned them like they had been hit with hellfire. The locals are mostly not aware, and thought that the people were killed by criminals, but some have reported seeing a “Pale Rider” shoot them. Rusty did not believe them until two weeks ago, when he saw a glimpse of a horse and rider, both with glowing red eyes, gun down a miner in the street. He now believes us and asks Lucille to help his father.  He also seems to recognize Lucille — he says that he knows her face from somewhere. She says that she doesn’t know him, and we quickly take our leave.

Everyone except Charlotte and Fossor meet up at the Long Draught and unpack their things. Lucille pulls us aside and explains that she is wanted for a crime, and there is a wanted poster of her in the Sheriff’s office.  She asks the group to help her get the poster so she is not found out.  Maverick and Jimmy go into the Sheriff’s Office and convince him and the deputies to have a drink.  The Sheriff is surprised but agrees. They leave one deputy, Dalton, to watch the prisoners.  Magnus comes in, goes to question the prisoners, and smacks one of them on the head with a shotgun barrel, making a scene. Dalton restrains Magnus and tells him that he can’t hit the prisoners. While this is happening, Lucille sneaks in and steals the poster.  She takes it back to the Long Draught and burns it. 

Maverick and Jimmy takes the sheriff and deputies for a drink at Big Ed’s, one of the remaining local bars.  Ed is at least as big as Jimmy. As they walk in, a man is at the bar and looks like he is rooted to his chair and drink. He is shabby and stinks horribly. Maverick buys the Sheriff drinks and talks about what is happening in town.  The sheriff obviously doesn’t believe in the supernatural occurrences.  After keeping the Sheriff busy for a while, they part ways and Maverick heads back to the Denver Exchange to find a card game. He wins some more money.

Thaddeus stays at the Long Draught and sets up to brew his potions.  He works into the night.

The next morning, the party gets up and explores the rest of the town. Maverick goes to the blacksmith and asks about a replacement pistol.  The smith is a lanky black man who is working iron with his two sons. He has some gear such as pistols and a couple of longarms, but it is a limited supply.  Maverick doesn’t find anything to his liking. He asks the blacksmith about what is going on in the town, and the man agrees that things have been hard but suggests that Maverick keep his head down as he and his family are doing, to get through the town’s current difficulties.

The kid shares that he has seen the creatures, but no other details. The bandit camp has lots of Soapy’s gang gear and has been here for a while. Lots of horse tracks. Lucille joins the group, saying “I heard gunshots.” She then extracts a tooth from one of the dead. We then collect all of the weapons, pistols, rifles, shotguns, some of which are El Cheapo. We keep the El Cheapo to sell and the rest to use. $80 in cash, and some ammo. Also trail rations, bedrolls, tents, and 3 horses with saddles. They are really spooked and fatigued. We lead them to the wagons and take the gear too. It is slow going back down. As we get back down there is shouting and shooting. The kid disappears into the woods. The wagons are being attacked by 3 wolves. The wolves are bigger than normal, but very emaciated and mangy.

Magnus creates a blue shimmering wall between the wolves and the wagons. The wolves turn towards us. Fossar and Maverick move up. Maverick tries a deal with the devil. He wins and kills one of the wolves. One wolf runs into the barrier and is shaken, the other runs at us. He attacks Fossar and bites him. Lucille rubs her rabbit foot (not a euphemism) and mumbles something, and one of the wolves suddenly stops his attack. Thaddeus also shoots that wolf.

Jimmy the Indian steps out from the trees behind one of the wolves. One of the wolves runs up and attacks his buddy and rips his throat out. Maverick runs up, shoots, and his gun explodes. With his other hand he shoots the wolf and kills him. Lucille mumbles some more and detects that something evil has been cast on the wolves. There is some evil source behind them. Jimmie starts skinning the wolves, but Lucille says “I wouldn’t do that.” Magnus runs up to Jimmy and points a gun at him. “What are you doing here?” Jimmy gestures at the wolves and then indicates he wanted to help.  He is dumb and can not talk except in sign language. Thaddeus also see the evil force with his goggles. The wolves were controlled.

Lucille asks if we have heard of Reckoners. They are a primal force of evil. Several in the party have heard of them. The evil was unleashed at the Battle of Gettysburg. Lucille burns the wolf bodies. Earl says we need to go, but Deacon is looking for the kid. Magnus yells for him. Lucille grabs the picture that kid drew, and is able to see what he sees. He is heading west.  The kid seems to know that Lucille can see through his eyes. Jimmy starts tracking the kid. Earl, Susan, Magnus, Deacon, Maverick, and Thaddeus stay with the wagon, while Jimmy, Fossar, Lucille, and Charlotte head after the kid.

The tracking party heads up the hill and follows the kid. Charlotte hears some whispers that also sounds like screeches. Sounds like “Feed us”, or Fetus, or something. She stops, and the party turns back to her. They are in heavy woods. She is determined that she heard something and tries to persuade them. Fossar argues they can find the boy and he can lead them to the source of the sound. She agrees and they keep going up the hill.

They find a path that looks familiar and follow the kid. Lucille can see that he is sitting under a tree. They catch up to him and catch him on the edge of the clearing. The kid is under a tree, and says “They were here.” He shows them his drawing of them. Charlotte convinces the kid to head back to the road.

They get back to the wagons and the kid says he thought he heard them come this way. Deacon says never leave again. The kid has he can look and starts to leave but Deacon holds onto him. We continue slowly up the road and the day is waning. It will be dark soon. We pick up the pace, but he kid says “I hear them” and jumps out. Lucille yells STOP and the kid stops, but we all hear ”FEED US” and more wolves appear from the tree line.

Earl shoots one of the wolves. The kid jumps out of the wagon and takes off. Maverick shoots one of the wolves. Magnus throws up his barrier again which blocks a bunch of the wolves. A wolf advances on Jimmy but gets cut in half for its trouble. One jumps at Fossar and bites him. One attacks a horse and bites it. One jumps at Thaddeus and misses. Fossar hits a wolf with his shovel. Thaddeus shoots one. Lucille climbs on top of the wagon and touches Magnus’ gun. It glows and discharges. Jimmy goes crazy and attacks one of the wolves, and takes him down.

Just then three of the spirits from the kid’s drawing step out of the wood saying “FEED US”. It was not coming the wolves. Charlotte shoots one of them but the bullet seems to go right through it. Magnus shoots one and it is also not effected. MAgnus then shoots the lightning gun at a spirit but is it not affected. Thaddeus throws an exploding potion which kills a wolf but the spirits are not affected. Charlotte is shocked at their appearance and acquires a phobia. One of the sprits opens it mouth and the people in the stagecoach feel the spirit being sucked out of their bodies. Deacon falls, but everyone else is OK. Another one bites at Thaddeus but instead bites the chest next to him. The last one also does the spirit suck attack, but no one is affected. Fossar runs up to one and throws rations into it mouth. The food disappears. Maverick shoots one for no damage. The wolves try to jump over the barrier, one succeeds and bites Maverick.

Lucille casts on Maverick and removes his shaken. Charlotte misses the wolf. A wolf bites at Maverick but misses, and one misses Charlotte. A spirit bites at Jimmy and misses. Another bites at Fossar and takes a chunk out of him and gets his last eye. He is now blind. The last one does the spirit suck attack on the stagecoach and everyone resists except Earl. He slumps down. Maverick blasts one of the spirits, and Thaddeus blasts another, but they shake off the effects and keep coming.

Fossar gets bitten again and is seriously wounded. Maverick is bitten b a wolf and wounded. The sprit screams again and Earl dies. Barton slumps over. Thaddeus is bitten again and shaken. Maverick blasts one of the wraiths, but it recovers from the shaken. Thaddeus jumps off the back of the wagon and tries to push it towards the wraith, but it tramples him. Magnus shoots a wolf. Jimmy attacks a wolf and kills it. Charlotte misses a wolf. Thaddeus crawls away with his wound. Magnus kills a wolf. Jimmy suddenly can attack them and damage. He takes out one of the spirits.

He then runs up and kills another one of the spirit. Maverick blasts the last spirit.  We heal the wounded and look dazedly around the clearing.

The fire is put out and the crowd is dispersing. The sheriff starts rounding up some of the cowboys who are left, so the party becomes scarce and heads to the hotel. Magnus is not with us. In the hotel, Lawrence is playing poker and waiting for us. He greets us, and asks if anyone wants to play cards. Thaddeus goes up to bed. Charlotte hangs out with him as eye candy. Bill takes him up on the offer. They both notice that Lawrence seems to be sweating and uncomfortable. Charlotte declines to accompany him, but Maverick agrees to a game of cards. Maverick takes him again for $60. After the game, Lawrence seems forlorn and says to Maverick, “I do believe you’ve played this game before.” Maverick sheepishly admits that he has played “a time or two before.” He offers to buy Lawrence a drink and that seems to lift his spirits a bit. Magnus walks in as the game breaks up. He and Maverick discuss leaving early to avoid notice. Magnus tells him that it should not be a problem.

Von Klemp comes in and sits with them. He talks to Magnus about an item that he wants to sell, namely his lightning gun. He asks for $1000. Maverick says he will loan Magnus $100. Magnus talks Von Klemp down to $450. They agree to meet behind the saloon. VK leaves, and Magnus asks Charlotte to provide backup for the deal. Charlotte agrees and takes a covering position behind the saloon. Maverick and Magnus meet VK and two of his friends from the Sciencing guild. They meet and VK shows Magnus the gun.

Magnus inspects the gun and sees that the gun is more powerful than an off-the-shelf model, but is very likely to explode if used. VK suggests that the user wear chain mail to protect against possible premature electrocution. (?!?!?!) He is also missing a few fingers, probably from failed experiments. The cash is exchanged and the deal is done. The party gets it back to the hotel and retires.

Maverick gets up early and checks his gear and cleans his guns (not euphemisms). There is a significantly increase law enforcement presence, including new law enforcement officers who are rounding up people. He heads back to the hotel and wakes everyone else. We decide to get a light breakfast to go and meet our wagon. At 6 am we meet Earl, load up, and get going. An older man with a large hat and mustache, The county Marshall, is addressing the crowd. Marshall James Carr is rounding up people with the Sherrif. Behind him is a Mexican man with dark hair who is not talking. Several of O’Kelleys men, along with VK, are in manacles and being led away. They are not searching our stuff, (?) but Earl gets us out of town. Marshall Carr says that he has taken over this jurisdiction and is bringing in a judge who will bring law back to this town. We leave. Magnus hints that he had a hand in providing us with a guardian angel.

As we are traveling we notice Lawrence is even more white. A new member joins our stage, Deacon Barton. With him is a 9 year old who is freckled, dirty, with read hair. Deacon says that he is returning to Paradise Falls to return to his church. Deacon came down here to get “The Kid”, and was not able to return before the snows. The kid tries touching Mavericks pistol, but gets his hand slapped. Deacon cuffs him and the kid jumps into the carriage. Deacon says he was told to bring him back to his parents, but doesn’t know the whole story. He takes a swig off of Maverick’s flask. Maverick rides up with Earl, and the rest are in the carriage. Magnus is next to the kid.

The kid talks to Magnus and draws his picture:

Magnus talks to the kid about school, but the kid loses interest and asks to see Charlottes titties. Barton gives the kid the riot act for his rude behavior. Reverend McFarland will give the kid a punishment when they get home, but the kid is not cowed. Some of the kids other drawing are not normal. He has a drawing of a dragon on a pile of gold, with a mouthful of gore. There are other pictures of monsters with gore in their teeth. The kid refuses to share his drawings with Magnus. Thaddeus also asks the kid to show him his drawings, but the kid does not want to share. Barton is annoyed at the conversation.

Maverick plays harmonica while watching for trouble up front with the driver. We keep heading to South Fork. Magnus jumps up on top of the stage, but the kid follows him. Barton tries to stop the kid, but Magnus catches him and pulls him up top. Charlotte persuades Barton to let the kid go. Barton sulks.

We approach South Fork before lunch, a town at the base of the mountains. We are not stopping and things are bad in South Fork. Folks have gone missing and people have seen wired things. The air seems heavy. We just push through. There really is a weird sensation here. Ominous. We should not be here. As if the trees and brush are angry, and are staring at us. We roll through as fast as possible. A few miles out of town it seems to get better, but doesn’t completely go away. Like we are being followed.

We stop for food several miles past the town. Magnus finds some ghost rock near the lunch site. We mount up and keep traveling. The kid wants to see the ghost rock. Magnus tells him to stay in school. There is a big branch across the road. Several people pile out to move it, and Thaddeus lifts it almost by himself. This happens twice more on our travel. It always seems natural. The last time we are cleaning debris, Charlotte notices a shape moving down in the trees off the road.

Eventually we come upon a huge landslide that we will not be able to move. Some dude steps out on top of the rocks and talks to us. Next to him is the biggest Native American we hav ever seen. They are shabbily dressed, and they have some horses behind them. He asks if we are heading to Paradise falls. The Indian, “Jimmy’ does not move a muscle. Maverick talks to the man, Glen. Glen offers to show us a way around if we were able to pay him. The kid is agitated, and Barton is upset. The kid offers to let them suck his little d*ck. Charlotte comes out of the carriage and tries to persuade them to help us. Magnus also chimes in and offers to use dynamite, either on the rocks or on Jimmy. Thaddeus offers to give them 3 bottles of his cure, plus $5. Jimmy is very interested and agrees to show them a way around. Glen introduces them as the Dust Boys. They are good folk, but like to fleece individuals. Earl talks to Glen and finds out that things are bad in Paradise Falls. They are starving up there and haven’t gotten shipments of food in weeks. Things normally come in from the West, but Glen is not sure why shipments have stopped.

We take the back way around and the traveling gets much tougher. We eventually get into more open country and it is beautiful country. Maverick starts looking for deer on the route, but does not see any. Charlotte notices a fleeting shape through the woods which looks like a person a long way off. She doesn’t mention it to the rest of the group.

The country starts getting easier as we reach the plateau. Maverick sees something up ahead. It looks like a wagon that has been totally destroyed. We stop. Maverick and Lawrence scout ahead, Magnus and Charlotte cover from on top of the wagon, and Thaddeus walks behind, checking our six. We slowly close on the clearing. There is white everywhere. Magnus thinks it might be flour. It looks like the wagon was carrying flour up the hill, but bites have been taken out of it. There are parts of bodies, blood, gore, and gut scattered with the flour all wound the clearing. Thaddeus is freaked out and gains a phobia for gore. Lawrence gags, and Earl vomits. Meanwhile the kid has slipped out of the carriage and is gone. Charlotte mentions that she saw something in the woods earlier, and the group asks why she didn’t share that info earlier.

People spread out and start looking around the clearing. The wagon was turning towards Paradise Falls when it was hit. Boot prints and hoof prints go off in several directions. Magnus sees some tracks with three toes, but very few of them. Seems like they flew in and flew out. He sees that there is a trail that heads out of the clearing and heads up the hill. The boot prints and hoof prints head up that way. Earl backs up the horses and goes back down the trail. Barton is concerned abut us finding the boy. Maverick puts a gun to his head and asks why the boy is so important, but Barton doesn’t know. The grave digger from Del Norte steps out of the bushes behind us, and joins the party, saying that he noticed bodies piling up around the group and that it could be good for business. We start up the hill.

We walk up the trail after the prints. Magnus spots a clearing up ahead, with several guards in front of it. There are tents in the clearing. Maverick takes point and keeps walking. Maverick spots the boy off in the bushes. We are hailed by the guards in the clearing.

The party attacks. Maverick drops three guards. Thaddeus runs up and throws a potion, which sails over the guards and explodes in the camp. Maverick is shot by one of the guards. Magnus pulls a magical gun out and evaporates him. Smoking boots are all that is left.

Magnus also shoot one of the guards who is hiding in the woods, but he is still up. One of the guards is taken out by the kid, who throws a rock at his head and knocks him out. Charlotte runs after the kid. The one remaining guard shoots Magnus and hits him good. Fossar runs up to that guard and lays him out with the shovel. Magnus heals himself and Maverick.

The guards have gear from Soapy’s gang. The camp is shabby and has been here for a while. We line up the survivors and start questioning them about the wagon on the trail. They say that some weird thing killed their men. It looked like a child but with a huge head and took bites out of the wagon and his men. As the guy is talking the kid is drawing. The kid asks for more details. Maverick asks why he is drawing the things, and the kid says that he draws everything that he sees. Maverick catches him in his logic and says “If you’ve seen them, where are they?” The kid agrees to show us where he saw them.

The party wakes up and everyone has breakfast at the hotel in Salida. We all pay $1 for room and board. Lawrence and Charlotte had been sharing a room, and he offers to bring her breakfast so she can continue to rest. After this Charlotte takes a (much needed) bath. Thaddeus works the dining room to see if he can sell any bottles. He sells bottles at 3 tables. Lawrence hangs around Charlotte. The hotel owner brings the group out to meet the stagecoach drivers, Earl and Susan Baker. They are quiet. Earl drives the coach and she drives the wagon. This is one of the first trips since the mountain passes just cleared.

There is a passenger joining the group here that they have not met. He is well dressed and carrying two pistols. He calls himself Maverick. We introduce ourselves, especially Charlotte – we’re not sure if she’s a prostitute, but she’s definitely a whore. Lawrence is also well dressed this morning and does not seem to be carrying a pistol. He always has cards in his hands and is doing card tricks. He and Charlotte remain close together. Maverick meets Lawrence and convinces him that he doesn’t know cards, so Lawrence agrees to teach him.

Earl explains that the trip is 120 miles and is a rough ride. We will stop in Del Norte which is a little more than half way. He has made the trip many times and there are no interruptions for the long bumpy excursion. We start off on the trail. Conversations ensure.

Maverick and Magnus compare West Point rings and stories, as they were both in the military. Thaddeus shares stories of his travels and how he learned of his cures which the group finds mostly boring. Lawrence seems to be sticking close to Charlotte after their encounter last night, but she doesn’t react one way or the other. Lucille does not talk at all, but when Maverick asks a somewhat rude question — what percentage she is — suddenly explains that she is half white, by rape from a plantation owner.

We stop for lunch, a basic meal of beans, jerky and bread. We keep going and the afternoon goes quickly. Lawrence talks about the city and has letters from Poker Alice. (Is her nickname because….) She says there has been a crime element from people who have come into town this last year. You had to be part of their group to share in the benefits of Paradise Falls. There is lots of opportunity, however. There is ghost rock in the area and the silver mind is booming. Bill Jenkins runs the town and she likes him. He is very entrepreneurial and wants people to be successful. There is also some religious folk in town (Catholics) that have caused some trouble.

Late afternoon we pull into Del Norte. The view of the mountains is spectacular, though the town is on a flat piece of land. There is a lot of activity in town. Many people packing stagecoaches. They are leaving in the morning for Paradise Falls. There are cowboys, miners, gentleman, ladies, kids. The town is packed. There is a creepy guy standing next to the graveyard on the way into town. He is burying someone, and gives the party a look with this one eye.

Earl stops us at a hotel, and they unload our stuff. We spread out around town. There are several people with brand new equipment, obviously tender feet but seem like a gang. Lucille investigates the sheriffs office, looking at wanted posters. She does not seem to find what she is looking for.

Several of the group meet up at one of the town’s many bars. Lawrence asks Maverick to play a no stakes card game. Thaddeus joins in. Maverick wins $30 from Lawrence, which Lawrence is not happy about, but he doesn’t guess that Maverick is a veteran card shark. Maverick offers to buy him a drink to make up for it, which seems to lighten Lawrence’s spirits a bit.

Charlotte goes and chats up some of the greenhorn cowboys. They warm up to her, and start complaining about their jobs. They are from the region and are working for a boss, but they don’t want to talk about him. They talk about rolling people for money. Charlotte takes them to The Rusty Bucket Saloon. They spread out and start drinking and gambling. Lawrence, Maverick, Thaddeus, and Magnus are all there. The gang starts whistling at Lucille when she walks in.

The activity picks up in the bar. We notice one guy with goggles and a shock of white hair. He approaches Magnus and starts a conversation. He is part of the Sciencing Guild, which is a group who have been doing with ghost rock and they produce low quality, dangerous stuff. They are primarily in Colorado. They look a little wild and crazy. He has a design for a lightning gun. His name is Professor Etrian von Klemp. He invites us to see his inventions later. Magnus creates a translator and speaks German to him, and von Klemp is impressed. Von Klemp tells Magnus that he is not going to Paradise Falls because Soapy’s gang has taken over the town.

After a while, the place starts getting rowdy. A shorter Irish dude in a bowler comes in and bosses everyone around. They abuse the staff and act like they own they own the place. One serving girl is quite thick and may not really be a girl, and is not taking as much crap. Late in the evening people start getting surly. Thaddeus notices a well coiffed stranger enter the bar wearing upscale traveling clothes. He looks Mexican and has an understated air of authority. The man comes up behind Magnus, and Thaddeus lets him know that someone is approaching. The man discreetly shows Magnus a badge. He asks Magnus to accompany him, and they both go outside. No one else notices this in the crowded bar. They return in about 15 min and Magnus doesn’t say anything about the encounter.

Maverick asks the bartender about the Irishman. His name is Edward O’Kelley, one of the lieutenants of Soapy’s gang. The bartender is putting bottles below the bar because of impending violence. One of the cowboys pinches the large serving girl and she punches him. A massive bar fight ensues.

Lucille is punched and shaken. Charlotte leaves. Lucille punches the guy who hit him. Thaddeus hides behind the bar, joined by Maverick. Magnus pulls a device, points it like a pistol and creates a tunnel/barrier to the door. Lucille lays a guy out with a beer bottle. She also picks his pockets. Thaddeus and Maverick head through the tunnel and out the door. Magnus follow them. The fighting is also happening out in the street.

The fighting escalates. Maverick intimidates one guy by pulling out both of his guns, and the man pauses. Charlotte shoots him in the face and he goes down. Lucille picks up her meat shield and pushes through the crowd. More gunplay. Lucielle drops one guy and so does Thaddeus. Magnus creates a shield that protects the group. Several of them shoot at us but the shield deflects them or they miss. Maverick is hit and shaken.

A stranger with one eye strides into the light and takes out two guys with a shovel. The stranger moves very quickly. Lucille pushes her meat shield into one of the other guys. The group focuses their attacks on O’Kelley, who is yelling profanities. Magnus shoots Edward O’Kelley with his shotgun. Maverick also shoots him with a double tap. Charlotte wings him.

Prof von Klemp shows up on the street with a lightning gun, calling out to Magnus. He charges up his weapon and fires it at the cowboy standing next to O’Kelley, and he is turned into a pile of ash. Unfortuntely this also starts the building on fire. O’Kelley is wounded and shaken, but clears his head and shoots at Magnus, who is shaken. Other people shoot but miss, except for one who wounds Maverick.

Shovel man takes out another guy. Thaddeus drops Edward and all of the remaining cowboy scatter. Magnus and shovel man attack a few more people as they run away. Citizens converge on the burning building and begin to put out the flames. Magnus wades through them, wanting to make sure O’Kelley is dead, but after breaking through the crowd he sees that O’Kelley is gone.

The town takes the fight in stride. It seems like a normal day. The party heads back to the hotel. Fossor, AKA shovel man, takes the bodies to be buried, and negotiates for a good price — 50% more than what he normally gets.

All characters have received a flier and are going to Paradise Falls. It is early April 1880, and winter is just leaving the mountains. The party meets while on the train traveling to the town, starting with Magnus Effing and Thaddeus Lowe. There are lots of conversations about the strange things that people have seen in their travels. In Glenwood Springs, Charlotte Vaughn and Lucille Smith get on the train. A dapper gentleman with a bowler also joins the train, and greets everyone, he is Lawrence Wilcox and shows everyone card tricks. Half a day later we get to Salida and travel toa local hotel that we all stay at. Lawrence gets comfortable and starts working with the guests. He invites all the guests for a no stakes poker game. Lucille goes to find a chicken.

He deals the cards. Thaddeus wins $20 and Charolette loses $20, but that hand doesn’t count as there were no real stakes. Charolette keeps going and loses big, $120. She starts talking her way out of it with Lawrence. He is looking to meet his old friend “Poker” Alice Ivers in Paradise Falls. She took to gambling after her husband died. Charolette asks if she can come to an arrangement and….

Meanwhile Lucille is looking for a chicken. She knocks on a farmers door and asks to buy one. After some persuasion, he sells her a chicken for 2 dollars. She gets the scrawniest chicken imaginable, but curses him on the way out of his yard (not really). She sacrifices the shit out of it (direct quote).

…..meanwhile, Charlotte proposes partnering with Lawrence’s friend Alice to help recover some of her money. He counters with a trip back to his room. She accompanies him.

Magnus and Thaddeus work the dining room. Many people are excited about Paradise falls. Others from South Fork say it is not like it used to be. Weird things happen around Paradise Falls. People disappearing. There is a silver mine in Paradise Falls. There is also a pretty hefty crime element selling items of dubious quality. Soapy Smith is one of the more powerful people in the town.

After a while, everyone heads to bed as there is a long stagecoach ride tomorrow.