[IC]Live By The Gun

One-Winged Eagle

First post for first post shenanigans.

Campaign page. Click on 'Launch Campaign' button to look at the table.

Yarrun's character. Counterclock's character. Jane's character. Acererak's character.

Writing Format

• Normal description is made without any formatting at all, save for italics, which are used for emphasis.
  
• "Speech is written as above, save with quotation marks."
  
• [Out-of-character interaction, like dice-rolling and questions will be formatted with italics and boxes.]
  
• Internal thoughts are written entirely in italics.
  
• Inhuman, demonic, arcane, or otherwise powerful speech is written with both bold and italics.

The Rules

1. If you feel something is unfair, speak up.
2. Describe your action and I will try to fit it in the rules.
3. You don't have to roll on the table, but it would be nice.
4. I will trust you to be honest regarding how the dice come up.
5. When posting the results of a roll, list all dice you're using.
6. When making an attack, roll both your attack roll and your damage roll together. It's faster.
7. Try to post as often as possible or makes you comfortable.
8. Have fun.

One-Winged Eagle

You sit in your cell, waiting. For a sheriff, perhaps? Or the hangman's noose. Straw lines the floor, and your bunk has little more than a dirty pillow and a rough but scrubbed-clean blanket. An empty bucket sits in one corner, waiting for any bodily functions you need to pass.

Outside your small barred window is Gravestone. A silver mining town. You can watch the miners return from a long day's work, sullen and exhausted, or the herdsmen turn in for the night, tired but laughing. Everyone consciously avoids the long shadows cast by the line of trees, the beginning of the woods without end. You can faintly hear the clinking of metal ringing out from the woods.

You briefly recollect the circumstances that led you to be incarcerated.

Yarrun XIX

Zankas fiddled with the lock. Not that he had much of a chance with it -- his tools were confiscated along with his weapons -- but it was better than sitting around letting his fingers rust. Likewise, he kept his mind busy by focusing on the faint clinking from the woods. It was either that or fretting about how slapdash the masonry is in his cell.

In hindsight, this wasn't the best place to practice disguises. A small town means people know the officers well enough to notice when a new one pops out from out of the blue. Oh, well. At least the guy who arrested him was polite about it. 

Salix Babylonika

Asa idly kicked a pebble, cursing herself silently for not being able to hold her tongue yet again.

Hypothetically, when you are hired by a city to dispose of some bandits, you should probably just take the pay and leave after the job is done, but could Asa really help it if she just happened to notice that the sheriff's department was corrupt? One can't just stand idly by while an officer bullies the peasantry on the street.

A fire ant on the cell floor snuck out through a tiny crack in the wall. Asa grinned.

Tanya

Onkwa sat crossed-legged in her meditative pose, she had tried hard to stay out of trouble Of course it was the horses that got her in trouble again. She figured she'd stick out the punishment, a small town like this probably wouldn't be big on executions. 

Alduin

The Man In The Red Robe shook his head. Cop should've stuck his money where his mouth was, he thought to himself. Was just showing him what a real shakedown looked like.

One-Winged Eagle

You hear the iron cell-block door creak open as someone steps in.

She's neither tall nor short, with a slight build. A shock of short black hair, eye folds with yellow pupils, a scar from left eye to bottom lip. Dark blue blouse, blue slacks, canvas duster with a hood, etched with symbols around the sleeves and seams, slightly burned, still smoking. Over her heart is a six-pointed copper star, and in her hands is an ashwood staff carved into a rifle stock, with pivoting lenses of colored glass where the action would be.

One of the sheriff's hands is examining a ledger. The other is busy trying to stamp out the flames from her duster. 

"Cell Block E, four prisoners." she reads out.

"Prisoner #1. Zankas the-" she pauses. "The nothing. No family name. No nickname. No distinguishing marks. Just an underscore. The Blank, then. Zankas. Alias "The Blank." Dwarf. Charged with impersonating an officer of the law. Penalty: Imprisonment for five to ten years, with probation, and fines of up to a hundred golds."

"Prisoner #2. Asa Ansem. Alias 'Sister Sulfur.' Flame Genasi. Nightlantern of Asosai. Charged with obstruction of justice. Penalty: Imprisonment for ten to twenty years, probation, fines of up to a hundred golds."

"Prisoner #3. Ownka. No family name. Orc. Monk of the...Secret King? Okay. Charged with horse thievery. Penalty: Imprisonment indefinitely, pending the death penalty."

"Prisoner #4. No name given. Alias 'Amber Eyes.' Alias 'The Man In The Red Robe.' Alias 'And Then There's This Asshole.'" she says, with a smirk. "Charged with assault of an officer of the law, being assault upgraded to aggravated assault. Penalty: Fines of up to a hundred golds, and life imprisonment."

She closes the ledger. "I'm Sheriff Wynona Chester. Lawkeeper here in Gravestone. I know you're all guilty. Ain't no doubt about it. Brought you all in myself. But here's the thing: the only record of your crimes is in this here ledger."

Wynona tears out a few of the pages, stuffing them in her pocket. She takes the ledger by the hand, staring at it. 

"Burn," she commands softly. The ledger glows a scarlet light, before immolating in orange flame.

Wynona seats herself on the bench, taking out a small sack from her duster pockets. "You're lucky you're the first guests ever, here in Cell Block E," she says, as she dips her hand into the sack, drawing out a small six-pointed tin star badge.

"So, here's what's going on. An Old Demigod has come to town, and all guns are called to kill it before it kills us. That means me. And knowing what I know, it's going to take a while, and meanwhile, it's also brought along its own little friends too. And that means you."

Wynona holds the badge in front of her. Etched into the face of the badge is the words 'DEPUTY SHERIFF'. 

"You know what this means. I deputize you, you keep the law in Gravestone. You kill the godlings, you arrest criminals, you enforce justice. You keep people safe. And in the meantime, I hold on to your charges. If I come back, and the town's still here, still standing, still good, then I'll give this here paper to you to do as you please. If not, I get license to hunt you down like dogs."

Wynona tosses the badge in the air, before catching it in the palm of her hand, offering it to you.

"This right here's the crossroads. You take the badge, risk life and limb, and you walk out of here. Or you stay in there, and probably die."

"So. What do you say?"

Alduin

Amber Eyes smiled. He lit his pipe. 

"Sure. Ass's aching, anyway."

Yarrun XIX

"So, as punishment for impersonating an officer, I'm now pressed into impersonating an officer." Zankas shakes his head.

"Well, I have a score to settle against the Old ilk, so I'm in. Will be nice to have the law on my side this time around."

Salix Babylonika

Asa gave a vaguely affirmatory grunt.

Working with the law was never fun. Taking orders, even less so, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

Tanya

Onkwa sat up, stretching her muscles a bit, "may as well" she thought to herself.

One-Winged Eagle

Wynona turns the key in each of the doors, releasing you from your cells. She leaves the bag of stars on the unlocked impound locker.

"This is an emergency, and we don't have any funds for an emergency team of deputies. If you can convince the Mayor to part with some resources, go ahead. He'll also tell you what needs doing."

"I know my staff is dirty as hell, but nobody else will do the job, so try to get along. Or at least, try not to shoot each other."

She turns and leaves, walking away from the sunset.

Yarrun XIX

Zankas takes one of the stars and appraises it. Shoddy work. Looks like DEPUTY SHERIFF was engraved with a spoon and fork.

"Rather risky of her, don't you think?" he said, glancing at the others. "If the other cops are as corrupt as she claims, it wouldn't take too long for a few proper ne'er-do-wells to take over from the inside." He shrugs and pins the star to the front of his front of his shirt. "Nevertheless, corruption or no corruption, taking down Godlings is more than my cup of tea. To the Mayor's office then?"

Salix Babylonika

Asa took her star.

"We kill it, while keeping one eye cocked over our shoulder to make sure that so called 'sheriff' doesn't come up behind us to stab us in the back."

Alduin

Amber Eyes stared at the genasi. It'd been the first time he'd seen one up close, and he thought it a bit freakish - but he was the baby of Old Gods. Who was he to complain about working with freaks?

"Quite frankly, I'm not sure I can trust you folks not to try anything funny while my back's turned." He took out his pipe and blew in the air, forming a small ring of smoke as he exhaled. "Risks of the job, I guess."

Tanya

Onkwa grabbed her star.

"No shortage of exciting new opportunities at least" she gave the emblem nary a thought.

"Now where is my stuff?"

Salix Babylonika

"The fires of adversity forge friendships. We will make it work."

Yarrun XIX

"The fires of adversity also forge roiling infernos that destroy all they encounter" Zankas muttered as he retrieved his pack from a nearby storage locker. He searched through it, at one point examining a strange looking tome, and then closed the pack.

"...that was a bit harsh, wasn't it?" he said after thinking for a moment. "My apologies. I don't really have a taste for platitudes."

Salix Babylonika

"Do you have a taste for rummaging through others' things? Please hand me my rucksack."

Yarrun XIX

Zankas tossed the brown human her pack from the impound locker. 

"Don't worry, just making sure my stuff's in order. Current circumstances notwithstanding, I'm not stupid enough to get caught so easily."

"...so. Obstruction of Justice, huh?"

Tanya

Onkwa picked up her stuff, just casually focusing on what her other "friends" had to say, better to get out of this cell first before trying to "cozy" up to each other. 

Salix Babylonika

"I shot a deputy in the foot for trying to extort a shop owner." Asa explained tersely, loading up her revolver.

Alduin

Amber Eyes smirked. "You've got fire, kid." he said. 

"And I'm not talking about your hair." he added, while standing up to get to his locker.

Salix Babylonika

"No, I just lack tolerance for tyrants and fools."

Alduin

"I like you already." 

There's a smile on his face as Amber Eyes opens his locker.

Salix Babylonika

"Thank you."

Asa pulls out her sword and makes a few quick cuts in the air (safely away from everyone of course) to make sure it's still sturdy.

Yarrun XIX

"There are better ways of striking against injustice than barreling in without thinking. Besides, most enforcers are the bottom rank of the bottom ranks. Would have been better to trail him back to his base, find his boss, and then go off like a loose steam engine."

Salix Babylonika

"The base of a sheriff, you mean, where we are now?"

Asa tucked her prayerbook into her coat pocket.

Yarrun XIX

Zankas purses his lips with surprise.

"...Yes. But as a free agent rather than another's."

One-Winged Eagle

You make your way to City Hall, which is a two-story squat of a building, made of red brick. You make your way into the mayor's office, where you can hear the click-clack of a typewriter, and someone speaking loudly.

Bastion Voltencrank is a warforged, built with a wide chest and shoulders. His frame is made from ironwood, which gives off a distinct silver sheen. Dressed in a black tuxedo and top-hat, you can see that a ragged cushion is bulging at the belly beneath his shirt. A white cotton sash with the letters 'MAY OR' stitched crudely in red is wrapped around his body, and is tied to the sheathed longsword at his side. Completing the costume is a monocle, with the lens conspicuously absent.

Bastion paces up and down the office, dictating, clearly panicked. Bastion's secretary, a bitter-faced gnome, is typing out multiple missives. The secretary reaches to his mouth, removes his cigarette, and taps out the ash. A large stack of paper sits at the secretary's left, and an equally large stack of envelopes at his right.

"For Heaven's sake, put that damn thing out!" Bastion says, berating his secretary, who quite clearly does not care.

What do you do?

Alduin

Amber Eyes took out his pipe, doing his best to feign respect in front of the mayor.

"We're the new deputies 'round these parts. Got anything for us?"

Yarrun XIX

Zankas sidles over to the stenographer.

"Rough job, huh?" he mutters. "Stay on our good side, and we'll see if we can fix things up for you, hm?"

Tanya

"We're here for assignments"

One-Winged Eagle

The secretary stares at Zankas, sizing him up. He takes a big draw on his cigarette, and puffs it in Zankas' face.

Bastion turns to face you.

"Ah, yes! Of course! The new uh...deputies that the Sheriff draft-errr...That she instated. Usually, there's a big parade and festival, but, desperate times, ah-heh-heh." Bastion nervously tugs at his collar. 

"I've heard reports that the north well was poisoned, and the well-god gone berserk, so perhaps you should go see what you can do. That well waters both our temples, and it's imperative that they get along."

"The opportunity to fight an Old Demigod has certainly put our little town on the map, and lately we've got both the Cattlemen Shamans as well as the Eerie Regular Army camped outside. But we've got the two groups scuffling in the street almost every day, with the Shamans accusing the Regulars of stealing the cattle they raise. I'm afraid that the brawls will soon turn bloody, and our town will burn before we even get to turn our guns at the enemy."

"We're also on the lookout for the Boomtown Gang, who've been robbing banks in the area. Reports say they're using small explosive charges to breach bank vaults, which is unheard of. They also have a wizard, and could strike at any moment."

Salix Babylonika

"With all due respect, Sir Mayor, we were told we'd be engaging with the demigod, which makes the rest of this information irrelevant, unless you mean to offer us options. Hm, pardon my manners."

Asa steps forward, offering the mayor her hand.

"Asa Ansam, also called Sister Sulfur, priestess of Asosai."

One-Winged Eagle

Bastion takes your hand in a firm grip, shaking it with a good two pumps.

"Sister, we asked for help from both the Shamans and the Regulars, and I'm still not sure if that's enough. I'm sorry we weren't clear, but you were made deputies to keep the peace in the town before the monster comes."

Salix Babylonika

"Watching the watchmen? You're in luck, that happens to be my specialty."

Asa bows slightly "I think we have an agreement, Sir Mayor. We will keep eyes on the druids and the infantrymen."

Yarrun XIX

Zankas's nose burned a bit. Smoke wasn't exactly a rarity in the steamtown of Hamilton, but it was an acrid blend in that cancerstick. He learned forward into the gnome's face, trying not to show how badly the smoke got to him.

"Listen, 'friend'. Until this demigod is driven off, I'm one of the four people who control what happens in this town. All I'm asking is that you work with us. I grew up with a lot of gnomes, so I'd rather not throw you down the well, understood?". 

Salix Babylonika

Asa turned an eye toward Zankas.

"I apologize for my....colleague's actions."

Yarrun XIX

Zankas glances in her direction.

"Merely establishing relations with the hoi polloi," he said with a calm tone. "Don't mind me."

One-Winged Eagle

Zankas' attempt at intimidation fails as the secretary just blows more smoke into his face.

Yarrun XIX

Zankas, realizing that he was embarrassing himself at this point, muttered "Later" under his breath and walked back to the rest of the group.

"My apologies, Mr. Voltencrank. Can't seem to make friends with any of the locals here."

Alduin

Amber Eyes laughed silently. Great, just what I needed. A group full of idiots.

He turned to the mayor. "Some heroes, huh?" he said, not sure himself if he was referring to the groups hired to kill the Demigod or his fellow deputies.

One-Winged Eagle

"No offense, my boy, but I don't believe in heroes. Bigoted, violent, and greedy fools, the lot of them. No, sirrah. I believe in the common man, pulling together. Codependence and cooperation."

"One last thing I forgot to mention, the coming of a Demigod is oft heralded by appearances of Godlings in the area. As junior deputies, you will be asked to patrol at night, and charged with protecting the safety and peace of our people. Be wary and have your hand on your gun at all times."

Yarrun XIX

"Not to worry, sir. We'll be more than happy to take care of it."

Alduin

"I like that sentiment. I like that." Amber Eyes pointed and shook his pipe at the warforged. 

"Sure. Whatever you say."

One-Winged Eagle

"There is one other thing. Now, since we didn't have any time at all to plan, there's no space in the budget to pay you this month. However, we do have some surplus funds from last month, which we can use on your advance. However, while I know all of you will do your best in your new office, I am...skeptical about your survival, and ours."

Alduin

Amber Eyes put his pipe back in his mouth and lit it again. He pointed his fingers and fired a spark at the mayor's hat.

"Then you don't know me."

Tanya

Onkwa let out a grin and said "We weren't brought here for our abilities in pottery, ain't no way we're going down easy". 

Yarrun XIX

"Sir, I know I may have made a...less than stellar first impression." Zankas glances ruefully at the clerk. "But the Children of the Old Gods and I have a history together. There's nothing I wouldn't do for the sake of getting in their way and living to spit on the corpses. I learned their language just so I could insult them properly. Believe me, you don't have to worry about me dying before this town is clear of their ilk."

Zankas pauses for a moment. 

"Do you want to know anything about them? I do have a bit of first-hand knowledge about them that most don't know about. Not exactly weaknesses but they might be useful in preparing the town."

One-Winged Eagle

Acererak said:

Amber Eyes put his pipe back in his mouth and lit it again. He pointed his fingers and fired a spark at the mayor's hat.

"Then you don't know me."

Bastion snuffs out the flame with an ironwood hand. "Yes, I'm sure you can handle yourself, but what about the rest of us? The town? What are you going to do?"