Effekt AP

A new story starts here! A great place to saddle up. It's been a tough winter in Jornada Springs, and Rayburn still thinks the Freeman-Harlesdon boys owe the town another favour.

This is our MOST recent playtest adventure, recorded at the end of June, with a ruleset very, very close to the finished product.
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We are sharing one of our playtests for Tales of the Old West, the game we are creating. This is our MOST recent playtest adventure, recorded at the end of June 2024, with a ruleset very, very close to the finished product.
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What is Effekt AP?

Dave and Matthew from Effekt share recordings of their home games. If you seek a polished improvised adventure, with professional actors, music and sound effects, look elsewhere. We seek to share the authentic experience, with rules discussions, asides and digressions just as they happened around the dining table. We also try to play RAW so you can learn with us as we try out new games.

Marion Freeman:

So I just want to say to everybody, this is an auspicious time Oh, just because we have we've just got 1 hour left of all our previous recordings, which will hit the, channel

Nathaniel Horcock:

You've caught up. Yeah?

Marion Freeman:

Next Friday. And then the Friday after that,

Dave (GM):

We'll have

Marion Freeman:

What we're saying right now will be in that episode. Stunning.

Dave (GM):

Cool. Well, here we are. Yes. You're in Art of Springs, Tales of the Old West. I'm Dave, I am the game master.

Dave (GM):

Let's have a quick run around the table.

Jimmy Harlesden:

I'm Tony. My character is Jimmy Halsden, young lad trying to make his way in the world, keep his ranch running successfully, trying to live up to the legacy of his elder brother who was unfortunately shot in the head trying to do the right thing.

Nathaniel Horcock:

Me? Yes.

Nathaniel Horcock:

Oh, I'm Andrew. I'm the older player of the group or character of the group, and, I'm Nathaniel Hawcock, and I'm the sheriff or the settlement somehow. Well,

Jimmy Harlesden:

yeah. I remember.

Dave (GM):

Yeah. How did that happen?

Nathaniel Horcock:

Yeah. I know. I'm talking about

Dave (GM):

my house.

Marion Freeman:

Well, because there wasn't an election. That bits are clear.

Nathaniel Horcock:

Oh, here we go.

Dave (GM):

No. There wasn't an election.

Marion Freeman:

But you're also my business partner as are you, Jimmy. And I'm, Matthew, and I'm playing Marion Freeman, who is, in fact, the largest shareholder in the Freeman Halson Lounge. Just wanna point that out. As always But I've been spending a little bit less time at the ranch this winter, I feel. A little bit more time at,

Dave (GM):

At the Sundown Saloon.

Marion Freeman:

At the Sundown Saloon in town.

Dave (GM):

And why and why have you been at the Sundown Saloon so much?

Marion Freeman:

Because of my burgeoning nascent relationship with Grainne. Grainne McGinn.

Dave (GM):

Or Or actually widow Goodish as she's known now.

Marion Freeman:

Actually, yes. Gonya She's saying

Dave (GM):

her husband died nary weeks ago.

Marion Freeman:

Been the whole season ago. She made the first move. I know her. She did. Because I I failed my dice on that

Nathaniel Horcock:

1. You did.

Dave (GM):

And then he did, but he didn't wanna push it. I won't take the damage. I'll just just, you know, relinquish. Sorry, Andy. What you say?

Nathaniel Horcock:

As I, oh, what was the time period between this 1, you know?

Dave (GM):

A few weeks. It's still winter.

Jimmy Harlesden:

Still winter. Alright.

Dave (GM):

If we have time at the end of the session today, I think we'll do the turn of the season. If not, we'll do the beginning of the next 1. Alright. But, yeah. So do you remember what happened last time?

Marion Freeman:

Yes. I do. Because I've been editing it on our podcast. So if you want an expert have you been listening to it on the podcast? Because if you've been listening to the podcast

Dave (GM):

I have.

Jimmy Harlesden:

Yeah. I do want to, actually.

Speaker 6:

Have you

Jimmy Harlesden:

gone way behind on the EP, to be honest? No.

Dave (GM):

I did

Nathaniel Horcock:

listen to it. That's why I started again. It was 4 months.

Marion Freeman:

Filled it all out. So you haven't reached it yet. Well, Dave did a pretty accurate summary by email a couple of days ago, I thought, speaking as the person who remembers most about the story.

Nathaniel Horcock:

Oh, okay.

Marion Freeman:

But because I was editing the podcast.

Dave (GM):

So, Matthew, did you wanna

Marion Freeman:

So,

Dave (GM):

the update us?

Marion Freeman:

We were summoned to Lincoln. Is it Lincoln, the town?

Dave (GM):

Lincoln. Yeah.

Marion Freeman:

Where was the nearest judge that could try Mary McGinn and

Speaker 6:

Murphy.

Marion Freeman:

Murphy, who's

Dave (GM):

Her son.

Marion Freeman:

Her oldest son. Right? I just wanted to

Dave (GM):

yes. Yeah.

Marion Freeman:

And, before we went, we we talked about stuff in town with various different people. More most importantly, her youngest son, whose name I've temporarily forgotten

Jimmy Harlesden:

Patrick. Patrick. Patrick.

Marion Freeman:

Who wants to carry on Yeah. The, McGinn Ranch, and I said we'd do. In fact, we did write that and say that we hope that would be the case to the

Dave (GM):

You wrote to Samuel Crosby, who is the territorial Surveyor.

Marion Freeman:

So I'm hoping that will will happen.

Nathaniel Horcock:

Come and made our peace with him, didn't we?

Marion Freeman:

Well, I don't know whether we've made our peace with him, but we did what he wanted. Yeah.

Dave (GM):

Yeah. He basically said, I don't want

Nathaniel Horcock:

I agree.

Dave (GM):

More trouble, you know, if you do right by me and make sure I get what we wanted for the McGinn ranch then I'm happy to let bygones be bygones. So the other the other McGinn family person who's left is their youngest daughter Siobhan, and she's 17. She is living with Mary, not Mary, Grainne.

Marion Freeman:

Grainne.

Dave (GM):

At the Sundown. Yeah.

Marion Freeman:

At the Sundown. So we we, you know, we also tried to do a little bit of patching up people with our relationships with people in town after they discovered that we were or 2 of us at least Yeah. Agents of mister Chisholm. The big sort of outstanding issue is they are convinced that, 2 Skions of the town, 1 of the, Paquito's and 1 of the garlands

Dave (GM):

Rayburns?

Marion Freeman:

The Rayburns.

Dave (GM):

Garland Rayburn is the

Marion Freeman:

Were

Nathaniel Horcock:

Murdered.

Marion Freeman:

Murdered by Yeah. Mister Picker

Speaker 6:

Yeah.

Marion Freeman:

Now Assayel, 1 of 1 of, the associates, shall we say, of mister Chisholm, and they want us to bring mister Picker to justice, which we have agreed to do, I think, but have not made much action towards it. So I

Nathaniel Horcock:

did kinda say to Raeburn that if he did show his face around there, then I would take, you know

Dave (GM):

Yeah. Bring him in.

Nathaniel Horcock:

But I

Marion Freeman:

I think they're kind of more likely expecting that we go and find him wherever he is and bring him to town to Absolutely. Yeah. To show his justice. But I'm

Nathaniel Horcock:

Kind of forgetting.

Speaker 6:

At the

Marion Freeman:

moment at the moment, we're ignoring that, but I think we have promised. I think I promised missus Rayburn. She was particularly upset.

Nathaniel Horcock:

Yeah. And

Dave (GM):

I But Garment is is very angry with you and still is.

Nathaniel Horcock:

Is he?

Dave (GM):

Nola, his wife, is, you know, you you suspect you might never get forgiveness from her because she thinks you've you're part of the group who've murdered her son.

Nathaniel Horcock:

Mhmm. Yeah.

Marion Freeman:

Yeah. Because because Alicia is talking to us, whereas mister, mister Rayburn,

Nathaniel Horcock:

he's just at the moment,

Jimmy Harlesden:

isn't he?

Marion Freeman:

Red foot.

Nathaniel Horcock:

He spends most of his time on the bottle at the moment, isn't he? Or

Dave (GM):

Yeah. They're they're obviously struggling with the death of their their son.

Marion Freeman:

And Nolo is still looking after the, the baby from, Yes. Whichever family it was.

Dave (GM):

The Dean family.

Marion Freeman:

The Dean family. So, you know

Nathaniel Horcock:

Yeah. They've kind of adopted it.

Marion Freeman:

There's a there's a way in there because we've got old grandpa Dean. Living with us and working on the ranch. But then we headed off to Lincoln, and, we sort of surveyed the scene there, looked at all the individual people. The biggest news we found was that, there was a chap called Torrance in town. I can't remember his

Dave (GM):

Norton.

Marion Freeman:

Norton Torrance. He had been the leader of the gang that McGinn was in when McGinn was called Lucky Lawless

Speaker 6:

Yep.

Marion Freeman:

And doing all the crimes which he was wanted, for which we, have shot him

Nathaniel Horcock:

over there.

Marion Freeman:

Well, yeah. And he was here to see that, Mary McGuinn was free. And but then we learned that he and Mary McGinn had been together until well, Mary Richardson Davidson Davidson Yeah.

Speaker 6:

Davidson

Marion Freeman:

Yeah. And maybe had been together until, Lucky Lawless arrived on the scene, wished her away, and married her. And, obviously Torrance still held a torch for her and was thinking if he could do anything to help her get off this thing, this Yes. He did try. Trial, then, maybe I guess he was thinking they could get back together.

Marion Freeman:

But this is with no evidence, I have to say, other than my imagination and timing. Marian Freeman suddenly wondered whether Grainne was actually

Nathaniel Horcock:

His daughter.

Marion Freeman:

His daughter and not Lucky Lawless's daughter, mister McGinn's daughter. And, I went to inquire secretly secretly stealing noiselessly out of the hotel with nobody looks sick. I went to speak to him, and although he couldn't confirm that, it put a suspicion in his head that meant that he sent us a note afterwards saying the bitch can hang.

Nathaniel Horcock:

Yeah. But I remember kicking you on the tail quite a few times when we were talking to the the ex leader of the gang.

Marion Freeman:

Yeah. Yeah. So, earlier on in our first encounter with him Yeah. I've been quite patient about the fact that we were the 3 Yes. Lawmen that were here to do that, And you were not very sure that was the right thing to do.

Marion Freeman:

But my argument is we would probably have failed our performing roles anyway or earn trouble on them and they'd have found out. So

Dave (GM):

Yeah. And Torrance is he he was he was convicted, spent 10 years in prison He was. Paid his debt to society, and is now a respected rancher up in Las Vegas, I think. Yeah.

Marion Freeman:

1 other bit of news, actually, from earlier on, your mother heard the news from Silver City that 1 of her abusers.

Dave (GM):

So Taylor Bullard

Marion Freeman:

Taylor Bullard.

Dave (GM):

Who's the head of the Bullard family now.

Marion Freeman:

Had been murdered.

Dave (GM):

Yep. And he's the older brother of Matthew Bullard

Nathaniel Horcock:

So she shot with

Dave (GM):

the who was the the guy who was abusing her and who you fought and then she killed. Yeah.

Marion Freeman:

So we are I'm not

Nathaniel Horcock:

to that. I'm not a realist to that, you see.

Marion Freeman:

Well, yeah. Because his name is so memorable, you mean.

Nathaniel Horcock:

No. Because

Dave (GM):

As evil.

Marion Freeman:

And reeks of evil.

Nathaniel Horcock:

That was a bit of him hiding under the bed.

Marion Freeman:

Oh, yes. Yes. That that that was our cunning plan. A fan of genius

Jimmy Harlesden:

that worked perfectly, I think.

Marion Freeman:

Well, actually, he did. It

Nathaniel Horcock:

worked in a way.

Marion Freeman:

I remember getting challenged on the landing outside and just bursting into the room rather than getting shot outside. Anyway, that's a whole whole adventure again. We're talking about last adventure. So, when I've had this conversation with your man, Torrance, he immediately sent a messenger to the hotel the sheriff was staying at.

Dave (GM):

Sheriff Horst, who was the key witness.

Marion Freeman:

Yeah. You guys were

Dave (GM):

McGinn was lawless.

Marion Freeman:

On that scene where an argument was brewing. And, obviously, he'd previously sent a couple of people

Nathaniel Horcock:

To stir it.

Marion Freeman:

To stir it up with horse and possibly, I guess, shoot him and kill him Yeah. As as the main witness against against Storm McGinn, and therefore against Mrs. McGinn. But because of my conversation with him, he's in a messenger to stop that. And you guys have got a little bit involved in the argument that was brewing, but suddenly it cooled down.

Marion Freeman:

And then we, you know, we went triumphantly to court because this is gonna work so well. The bitch can hang. That's what the note said. We weren't gonna get any opposition whatsoever, except a lawyer who apparently knew lawyering. Tell him.

Nathaniel Horcock:

The fact that the judge was actually her cousin as well,

Speaker 6:

which I thought was

Marion Freeman:

Well, yeah.

Nathaniel Horcock:

But No. No. No. No.

Speaker 6:

No. No. No. No. No.

Speaker 6:

No. No. No. No. No.

Speaker 6:

No. No.

Marion Freeman:

No. That that had little effect. We were just shit in the witness stand.

Speaker 6:

All 3

Marion Freeman:

of us.

Nathaniel Horcock:

Yeah.

Marion Freeman:

And, I have just, the episode that went out yesterday has the lawyer turning to, I think it was you, Jimmy, and saying, I put it to you that you murdered Donald again and tried to murder his wife or something

Nathaniel Horcock:

like that. Or me.

Marion Freeman:

No. You've gone first,

Nathaniel Horcock:

then me, then it was him.

Speaker 6:

But he built the case against us being a bunch of

Marion Freeman:

hoodlums with a grudge against them agains pretty well, and we just failed all our dice rolls and got away crying. Well, not crying, but, so we thought, at this point, we're thinking we're not gonna win this case. But then, Murphy sort of breaks under cross examination from our lawyer and,

Nathaniel Horcock:

They just got a life sentence in the 10 years

Marion Freeman:

They got a 10 year sentence. It's not a life sentence. Yeah. To which we were much relieved. We thought we'd really lost that case.

Marion Freeman:

We went home to find that your mother hasn't been murdered by anybody seeking revenge fare.

Nathaniel Horcock:

Yeah. And some more cake and whiskey. I've seen her out there.

Marion Freeman:

And, yeah, you said I'm having cake and whiskey, and we all vowed never to rely on the law again except for the law of the gun. I seem to

Nathaniel Horcock:

have I

Jimmy Harlesden:

do remember that. Yeah.

Nathaniel Horcock:

My faith is faith on my 6 shooters, so I've only okay.

Dave (GM):

Doubling down on that.

Marion Freeman:

But I have been learning book learning and lawyering as well. I'm not gonna get caught like that again. Cool.

Dave (GM):

That's a very good story.

Marion Freeman:

Got my XP. Well, you know, it's amazing when you listen to it again and again and again.

Speaker 6:

It was

Nathaniel Horcock:

the last few weeks.

Dave (GM):

Desperately trying to edit out Pringle eating.

Marion Freeman:

Yeah. Yeah. I'm sorry to our listeners about the Pringle eating in that last episode and the biscuit eating that there was plenty of, and the cheese eating that

Nathaniel Horcock:

isn't it as well.

Marion Freeman:

And there will be none of that in this episode.

Dave (GM):

No. We'll be we are being

Marion Freeman:

I have confiscated the Pringles. They're all over here.

Dave (GM):

We will have breaks to scoff Pringles for 5 minutes, and then we'll carry on. We can just edit out that when it comes to

Marion Freeman:

Neat neat breaks, and I will flag them up with a mark.

Jimmy Harlesden:

You need a

Dave (GM):

a special Pringle alert,

Speaker 6:

don't you,

Dave (GM):

but Cool. Yeah. So, yeah. Since last time, it's still winter. It's a few weeks who have moved on since you've come back from from Lincoln.

Dave (GM):

The winter's been unseasonably mild this year. It's been quite wet, but reasonably warm. The rain's obviously been good for the land,

Speaker 6:

but it's

Dave (GM):

also been very good for vermin. And it's been quite an endemic, rash of rats and other creatures. Rattle the rattlesnakes have all come out of hibernation early. Oh, goodness. There's lots of them for some reason.

Dave (GM):

And the town is plagued by rats and snakes. Yeah, which is causing quite a lot of bother at the moment. Those you know, the people that you've talked about, Grainne has seems to be quite pleased by the result of the trial. She said to you, Marion, that she's, you know, she just wants life to settle down and be able to, you know, be happy and peaceful and get into a bit of a routine that we can everyone could be could be happy with. Have you told her anything

Marion Freeman:

about Well, I was about to say, if she's gonna have that conversation with me, I specifically, in the last event, said I'm not telling her right now. Yep. But as soon as that conversation starts happening, I think I've gotta put cards on the table here.

Dave (GM):

Okay.

Marion Freeman:

She's got to be aware of this. So I'm gonna, tell her.

Dave (GM):

What are you gonna say?

Marion Freeman:

What I learned. And obviously she's not gonna be able to remember any of this because she probably wasn't born yet. But in Lincoln we discovered that your mother was, in a relationship with this man called Norton Torrance. Who in fact had was visiting Lincoln at the time, possibly with an intention of helping her, fight the court case. But we also learned that Lucky Lawless joined the gang and won your mother's heart away from Norton Torrance.

Marion Freeman:

And that's kind of then when he left the gang, they traveled, some of which you will remember, and finally ended up here as the begins with their names changed. The timing of this is particular. I'm gonna confirm her when when was she born? I'm gonna actually

Dave (GM):

So she's she's 24. She was born in 18/48.

Marion Freeman:

1848. And so it could be

Dave (GM):

The timing is very there or thereabouts.

Marion Freeman:

Yeah. There there or thereabouts. I don't know. I'm gonna say. I really don't know, and I don't know how we could find out.

Marion Freeman:

But in conversation with this man, Norton Torrance, he and I wondered whether in fact your mother was pregnant before she left with Lucky Lawless. And whether Lawless, Donald, as you know him, might not be your father.

Dave (GM):

And this other man, obviously.

Marion Freeman:

A Norton Torrance. I mean

Dave (GM):

And he he who is who is he?

Marion Freeman:

He is a legitimate businessman now, but he was the leader of a gang. The gang for which which did the crimes that, we were trying to arrest your father for. That he was wanted for. He has served his time and says he is a reformed character. But, we've seen that he wasn't above using nefarious means to try and get your mother off the case.

Marion Freeman:

However, he was convinced by our conversation so much. This is not I have to say, I didn't try and convince him. I was as surprised by this conversation as he was. But he was so convinced that he left out that he stopped a fight which he had arranged try and get 1 of the witnesses killed, and left town straight away leaving me this note. And I will show her the note.

Nathaniel Horcock:

1 which says the biscuit hang. Yeah. Make a performing roll.

Marion Freeman:

You know how good I am at performing rolls, don't you?

Dave (GM):

I don't remember.

Marion Freeman:

I'm not very good at

Speaker 6:

performing roles.

Jimmy Harlesden:

So are we Just watching through the window.

Dave (GM):

I'm I'm imagining this is a conversation that you're having in the climate now, are you?

Marion Freeman:

Yes. Yeah. No. This is Yeah.

Dave (GM):

I'm I'm No. You're not against me.

Marion Freeman:

I'm imagining this is possibly 1 of those kind of early morning waking up in bed.

Dave (GM):

Like, pillows.

Marion Freeman:

No. I just want my life given what she was saying before. What before I just ruined her life. So these are, all trouble dice, and I'm rolling actually only 4, but not 5. On performing.

Marion Freeman:

Unless I get any bonuses for what have I thought?

Dave (GM):

So you're lying in bed naked with Grainne. Where are you producing the bit of paper?

Nathaniel Horcock:

His ass. I'm not. Like, I went, can't get

Marion Freeman:

I may get up. And this this being a modern production, there will be a

Nathaniel Horcock:

full full

Marion Freeman:

full length shot of me naked, but from behind as I go over to with

Dave (GM):

a pope. To

Marion Freeman:

to my bags and my folded clothes. And from there, I pull out the note.

Dave (GM):

Right. Yeah. Okay.

Marion Freeman:

Not from any other place. And, I give her the note, but I don't get any successes.

Dave (GM):

Okay.

Speaker 6:

I'm not pushing this.

Marion Freeman:

Oh, sorry. I might I might try. I'm try I'm trying to make this as gentle to us possible.

Dave (GM):

Yeah. You have 4. I'll say if you get off trouble dye.

Marion Freeman:

I've got 1 trouble dye.

Dave (GM):

You're not buying it off.

Marion Freeman:

No. Oh. Yeah. I'll buy it off. Come on.

Marion Freeman:

No. Still got a point of trouble.

Dave (GM):

Okay. So, roll your 1 die of trouble.

Nathaniel Horcock:

She beat you to go to the frying man.

Marion Freeman:

1. That dazed to tempt her at once.

Dave (GM):

Yeah. Okay. So you've upset her. Or or she's she's upset.

Nathaniel Horcock:

Actually, like, showing a note saying your bit bet him on that. You're bitch.

Dave (GM):

I mean, she doesn't seem to be too upset about what's happened with the family.

Marion Freeman:

But Upset about the cat candy way I told her. On the

Dave (GM):

I mean, on the on the outside anyway. Who knows what she's really thinking about, you know, her mother and her father. So you suffer a minus 1 penalty to your next role when you deal with this person. So it's a pretty minor outcome, actually, so you're quite but she kind of you can't she goes very stony faced, and, and she says, well, who cares about that? I'm I'm not Grainne McGinn or Grainne Torrance now.

Dave (GM):

I'm with her Goodish. So let's let's leave it at that. And she gets out of bed and finally goes off and gets dressed and goes down goes downstairs.

Marion Freeman:

I think we're both getting dressed and going about our business, aren't we? I'm getting I'm getting that message now.

Dave (GM):

But yeah. So you don't really know how

Marion Freeman:

When I'm dressed, I will

Dave (GM):

did. Yeah. She's been very emotionless, really. She got a bit upset, but then very emotionless about it.

Marion Freeman:

I'll say I I've gotta go back to the ranch. I'll say it. I'll

Dave (GM):

She's good. She's alright.

Marion Freeman:

See you later.

Dave (GM):

Alright. Go on then. Okay. Yeah. I mean you can have cake and whiskey.

Jimmy Harlesden:

Normal breakfast.

Dave (GM):

Normal breakfast. With with Megan?

Nathaniel Horcock:

I don't know

Marion Freeman:

what happened. So is cake and whiskey just a euphemism?

Dave (GM):

I'm not sure it was, but it probably is now.

Marion Freeman:

I do.

Nathaniel Horcock:

I don't know how with the ranch. And, I mean, now that I share something, I suppose they would've spent me to spend more time on the share something, wouldn't I?

Dave (GM):

You'll be expected to be in town a bit. I mean, you're a part time sheriff. Oh, yes.

Speaker 6:

You

Dave (GM):

know, so you're not getting paid that much. Yeah. But you will be expected to have a presence in town. A bit more than you would have done otherwise. Oh, yeah.

Nathaniel Horcock:

I think maybe actually, I'll I'll keep myself out out of the action.

Speaker 6:

Do you

Nathaniel Horcock:

see the moment? I'm just doing a round around the ranch at the moment I go into town.

Dave (GM):

Yep. Do

Nathaniel Horcock:

a quick you know, and then go into town later on in the day. That's what

Dave (GM):

I'll do.

Marion Freeman:

Can we just get the timing of that conversation? Is is that something she just brought up? And so I've told her at the beginning of this adventure, or is that a scene that we played earlier in the winter after I came back?

Dave (GM):

This is probably a couple of weeks after you got back. So, yeah, towards the beginning of this this scenario. Yeah.

Jimmy Harlesden:

So she has I

Marion Freeman:

mean, I'm happy to obviously have the minus 1 in my next interaction with her whenever.

Dave (GM):

Whatever that might be. Yeah.

Marion Freeman:

Even if months have passed is what I'm saying.

Dave (GM):

No. And if it doesn't happen, this scenario, then we'll forget about it, so I think that's fine. Yeah. So no. That's fine.

Dave (GM):

The town is I mean, you know, the biggest problem you're getting is people being surprised by rattlesnakes.

Speaker 6:

Mhmm. Right.

Dave (GM):

And the rats are doing nasty things to the town's stores and food. Right. Patrick McGinn had been staying at the Sundown saloon, but he's now gone back to the McGinn house and he's living there

Jimmy Harlesden:

Uh-huh. On

Dave (GM):

his own at the moment.

Jimmy Harlesden:

Are they sorry. The rats and rattlesnakes, are they basically affecting the town or are we getting well, exactly the wrong ones as well?

Dave (GM):

The rats in particular are are causing a problem in town where they've kind of their population has exploded. Mhmm. The rattlesnakes are kind of all over.

Nathaniel Horcock:

No worries.

Speaker 6:

Yeah.

Dave (GM):

So it's a bit it's a bit unpleasant. Yeah. So you you're on your rounds and you're up you're up towards I guess the the the town square and you see, you can see Garland Rayburn's house.

Nathaniel Horcock:

Mhmm.

Dave (GM):

And you can see the kind of the the drapes on the inside being twitched. Right. Someone's looking out and the door opens and Garland Rayburn walks out and Uh-oh. Strides in your direction.

Nathaniel Horcock:

Okay. I'll stop. Turn

Dave (GM):

around. Run away.

Nathaniel Horcock:

Well, yeah. It was boss. Stop.

Dave (GM):

Unhitch your holster.

Nathaniel Horcock:

Make sure where's your shot? He's not carrying a shotgun, does he?

Dave (GM):

He's not carrying a shotgun. He is he is armed, obviously.

Speaker 6:

He's he's

Dave (GM):

got a pistol at his at his hip.

Nathaniel Horcock:

Does he look reasonably sober, or is he still a bit

Dave (GM):

no. He's looking alright.

Nathaniel Horcock:

He's Right. Okay.

Dave (GM):

Yeah. He's not coming out

Marion Freeman:

looking at me like

Dave (GM):

like, he's gonna come and attack you or something.

Nathaniel Horcock:

No. Well, we're we're we're talking about the fact he didn't tell you death for you. You know, you've been hitting the Yeah. The whiskey of your house since

Speaker 6:

death for

Nathaniel Horcock:

his old boy.

Dave (GM):

And he says, you know that you don't stand very high in my estimation at the moment.

Nathaniel Horcock:

Well, good morning to you.

Jimmy Harlesden:

And your

Dave (GM):

you and your you and your friends, but there's there is something I I need you to do. I understand. So if, if you wanna find your way back into the town's good graces, Get your bring your friends to my house at lunchtime today at 12 Uh-huh. And I will tell you what's what's on my mind. Okay.

Nathaniel Horcock:

Like, I should've, you know, be pleasant and say I say good morning. Go, fair enough. I won't talk. I'll try I'll try and be pleasant, shall we? Yeah.

Marion Freeman:

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Dave (GM):

He's not being Yeah. You know?

Nathaniel Horcock:

What I'm saying is I'm not gonna bite when he makes it all. Not a good you know? Yeah. I'm not gonna

Jimmy Harlesden:

Yeah.

Dave (GM):

Okay. Yep.

Nathaniel Horcock:

Yeah. I'd say fair enough, mister Olesha. Well, actually, we'll see you at he's at lunchtime. Noon. Noon.

Nathaniel Horcock:

Yeah.

Dave (GM):

Okay. He just nods and turns around and walks away. Okay. Out of his house.

Nathaniel Horcock:

Okay. I might, I'll go to the Blessings, I think, for breakfast coffee and bacon or something. Yeah. Okay. Yep.

Nathaniel Horcock:

Yeah. No. Not whiskey.

Dave (GM):

Whiskey and cake, that's just when you're with Meg, isn't it?

Nathaniel Horcock:

Yes, indeed.

Dave (GM):

Are you gonna I'll give that down. I

Nathaniel Horcock:

will let him know. Yes. I'm in Houston in town?

Speaker 6:

Or Oh,

Marion Freeman:

no. No. So this is what I'm trying to get. That conversation happened at the beginning of this adventure?

Dave (GM):

Yeah. It happened this morning. Yeah. Okay.

Nathaniel Horcock:

I mean, if if I know, Right.

Marion Freeman:

So you'll see me in town. I was gonna

Dave (GM):

sun down. Yeah.

Nathaniel Horcock:

If I know I'm actually

Dave (GM):

still still at the sun

Nathaniel Horcock:

down, I'll go, you know.

Marion Freeman:

You'll find me coming from the sun down because I've kind of been kicked out.

Jimmy Harlesden:

I'll be I'll be on the run

Marion Freeman:

just working. And I haven't actually worked

Jimmy Harlesden:

trying to keep my head down, basically.

Marion Freeman:

Out on the run because what I was gonna go is get go and ride the range, which you could do and earn yourself a faith point before even spending any. That's what I was thinking. Because that would be an opening scene of any cowboy movie. Just saying.

Dave (GM):

The opening scene is you being kicked out of bed.

Marion Freeman:

Well, actually, I was hoping we were gonna have a lovely breakfast with friends, which could have counted as a meal.

Dave (GM):

She didn't kick you out?

Marion Freeman:

Oh, hold on though.

Dave (GM):

So?

Marion Freeman:

I did have a night with my lover.

Dave (GM):

But the scenario started in the morning.

Nathaniel Horcock:

Oh, god.

Dave (GM):

So do

Speaker 6:

we get

Nathaniel Horcock:

a 5 a faith point? I'll have to buy a break and tell them and use us a

Jimmy Harlesden:

I'll definitely not be grooming some horses as part of my Well,

Speaker 6:

you can

Marion Freeman:

just ride in the range.

Dave (GM):

You can do

Marion Freeman:

that, can't? Just Just go

Speaker 6:

from Yes.

Marion Freeman:

You can get

Dave (GM):

a face point, Tony.

Jimmy Harlesden:

Thanks.

Dave (GM):

If you 2 are having a nice breakfast together, you can get a face point as well.

Marion Freeman:

Alright. Okay. Yeah. Let's do that because I just spent mine.

Nathaniel Horcock:

Sometimes you go to 5

Marion Freeman:

Trying to convince my wife. Not to worry. Anyway, not my wife. I don't know.

Dave (GM):

She's no your wife yet.

Nathaniel Horcock:

Yes. I'll offer to buy Matt breakfast and blessings and inform him about all the brief conversation I had with mister Rayburn.

Marion Freeman:

Yep. It's not good.

Nathaniel Horcock:

No. It's not good.

Jimmy Harlesden:

It's It's never good,

Speaker 6:

is it?

Jimmy Harlesden:

We're not not on there yet. No.

Marion Freeman:

Yeah. You're not there. No. It's not good because they gave us a choice of 2 things to do to get ourselves in their good books. Mhmm.

Marion Freeman:

1 of which was bring Donald McGinn to justice. Yeah. You're thinking about

Nathaniel Horcock:

making money now.

Marion Freeman:

No. I'm not thinking about that. We the deal was at the time, 1 of those 2 things.

Nathaniel Horcock:

Yes.

Marion Freeman:

Now obviously, we were then told the other 1 was still outstanding, but this sounds very much like a third thing. And we're not his hired thugs.

Nathaniel Horcock:

Gardeners. Yeah. Exactly. There is that. Yeah.

Nathaniel Horcock:

There is. There is that indeed.

Marion Freeman:

You need to be aware Yes.

Speaker 6:

But

Marion Freeman:

that when we go in there, I may refuse to do it and upset you either.

Nathaniel Horcock:

Well, I'm like, so I mean, I think when we had the discussion with, who's the the patriarch of, the the Mexican family.

Marion Freeman:

The matriarch indeed because she's a woman.

Dave (GM):

Miss Christina Oh, yeah. The ghetto.

Nathaniel Horcock:

Yeah. I I did actually get I think I had a thinking of very well because I said something about being a hired gun. I did, make that point before when we went off and begins in the first place.

Marion Freeman:

Right. Well, I'll let I'll try and let you do the talking since you're better at this sort of stuff Oh, yes. Amazingly. At least in dice, if not what you actually say.

Nathaniel Horcock:

Yeah. Oh, dear.

Marion Freeman:

And we need to go and find, Jimmy to tell him.

Nathaniel Horcock:

Well,

Marion Freeman:

yeah. He's probably out on the range. Yeah. Shall I should I ride out and find him?

Speaker 6:

Well, do

Nathaniel Horcock:

you want your breakfast so you Oh, sure. Mate.

Marion Freeman:

Alright. I finished my breakfast.

Speaker 6:

Yeah. Yeah.

Marion Freeman:

Okay. Sadly, everything else takes a shift, so you can't have breakfast, think about the range and get 2 points.

Dave (GM):

No. I think I think riding out of the range to find Jimmy

Marion Freeman:

Is not It's

Dave (GM):

probably not.

Speaker 6:

Riding out

Dave (GM):

of the rain is to just enjoy nature and commune.

Marion Freeman:

Which was my original intention. But, yeah, fine. Now you're right. Let's not abuse this system we invented. No.

Marion Freeman:

Exactly. Even though we invented it, we should

Dave (GM):

We're really liking it. If no one's allowed to abuse it, but that's then yeah.

Marion Freeman:

Yeah. Okay. So, anyway, I will leave you in town and go find him. Yeah.

Dave (GM):

Okay. So I think we can move on. You find Jimmy, and you get him back into town.

Marion Freeman:

Mhmm. Filling you in on the news. Yeah. Did you have any concerns you wanted to say? Because I noticed you're trying to butt in the conversation.

Marion Freeman:

Well, when you weren't there.

Jimmy Harlesden:

Feels like, as you say, Marion, we did they offered us a deal that we took. We performed the task that we said we would. And it feels like we they're just trying to make us into their

Nathaniel Horcock:

Gandalf.

Jimmy Harlesden:

Their lackeys that will do whatever tasks they don't wanna do themselves. So I think we wanna be careful. We don't wanna don't want it to become a habit that that we'll do whatever crap they wanna give us. So let's we'll listen to them, but, as you say, reserve the right to refuse whatever they ask us to do.

Marion Freeman:

I agree entirely. Anyway, let's go and Uh-huh. Meet the sheriff. Will where will you where will we be meeting you?

Nathaniel Horcock:

Must probably be at the office, I suppose. Yeah. I won't be here. Could say.

Marion Freeman:

Oh, yes. You've got an office there, haven't you?

Nathaniel Horcock:

I've got an office. Yeah.

Dave (GM):

I like a

Marion Freeman:

Let's try up our horses outside the office.

Dave (GM):

Small hut.

Nathaniel Horcock:

Small hut. Okay. Yeah. We built it. It's a crappy challenge.

Dave (GM):

Yeah. Well, you did, actually. Yeah. That was 1 of your Amini teas, wasn't it? Yeah.

Marion Freeman:

No.

Dave (GM):

Yeah. Don't let us sit down under the table.

Nathaniel Horcock:

Yeah. I suppose by the time it's by the time I get back, it must be getting near near at noon, I imagine, By the time he found it.

Dave (GM):

Did he come out?

Marion Freeman:

Yes. Well, noon is when you wanted to see us, so it'd be good if it was about noon when we go and find him.

Nathaniel Horcock:

Yeah. Bring him, but

Dave (GM):

yeah. Yeah. Okay. So you're you're going up to the house? Uh-huh.

Dave (GM):

Yeah. So the the door opens for you before you get

Nathaniel Horcock:

there. Yeah.

Dave (GM):

And 1 of Rayburn's servants is is at the door. Alright. He says, alright. On time, gentlemen. Come here.

Dave (GM):

Mister Rayburn move your chair. Mister Rayburner's expecting you.

Speaker 6:

I have

Jimmy Harlesden:

shingles there.

Dave (GM):

Yeah. I think he's right behind you too. Oh, okay. Yeah. And he he leads you in, trains you into the drawing room, and, Rayburn is there Oh.

Dave (GM):

Sat in his comfy chair. And, yeah, and you're invited to take a seat.

Marion Freeman:

Alright. It's my natural inclination to take my hat off and

Nathaniel Horcock:

Yeah.

Speaker 6:

Of course.

Marion Freeman:

Be kind of capping it. I've not spoken to him.

Dave (GM):

Be respectful. Yeah. Yeah. There's no sign of Nola.

Nathaniel Horcock:

Alright.

Dave (GM):

Can't see her anywhere. So, yeah. It's a it's a sit down, gentlemen. We, we need we need, we need a service.

Marion Freeman:

We?

Dave (GM):

As in the town. The, you, you know, you you you you you'll be aware, you know, the rats are, never seen rats like it. I've never seen so many. The rattlesnakes, yeah, you know, well, they're easy enough to deal with, but they don't they don't spread the disease and they don't eat eat all our food stores. People are gonna start going hungry in the next month or 6 weeks, if we don't get more food supplies.

Dave (GM):

And, you know, grain, corn, flour, vegetables, whatever it is, it feels to me, and it does to the likes of missus Paquito, that you folks are still still a little bit in red to the town. I know you've done some services, You've done some good work, but but in terms of trust and loyalty and goodwill, you know, considering your recent acquaintance with Chisholm, we we we feel you still owe us to to to recompense for for that deception. I've got $500 here and he puts it up on the table. Money which which I'm putting up to to buy supplies, but I need you to go and get them for me.

Nathaniel Horcock:

Where be

Dave (GM):

the? Well, into the north, there's Fort Craig, the army the army camp. They they should have some supplies that you could buy. Alternatively, go south to Las Cruces. Again, they it's a it's a town they, you know, we should be able to buy supplies from from there.

Dave (GM):

We can provide you with a wagon, but, you know, it's we need this done we need it done quickly, and we feel that you 3 men are the are the best men for the job.

Marion Freeman:

Can we have a moment to discuss this?

Dave (GM):

Uh-huh. Yeah. You're going to discuss this? You do not wish to help the town?

Marion Freeman:

Of course, we wish to help the town. I'm just thinking about what we might do precisely. Well, but but broadly speaking, let me say, I'm I don't wanna speak for the whole group because sheriff Hawcock's got a better performing skill. No. I I but I don't wanna speak in front of the sheriff, given that he's sheriff.

Marion Freeman:

But, I was worried what you were gonna ask of us when he told me you wanted to see me. And I'm relieved that all you're asking is for us to help. I wanna offer good Christian help to my brother. If a town goes hungry, I wanna do all I can to stop that. So let me just say that.

Marion Freeman:

But I just wanna have a brief discussion about how we might best find the food. And then maybe we can suggest that to you, open and above board, and see how you feel. But can we have a moment to discuss it?

Dave (GM):

You may. Yes. And, yeah, the the servant leads you out onto the stoop.

Marion Freeman:

So, I'm just wondering, he talked about Las Cruces.

Jimmy Harlesden:

Oh, man. And Fort Craig. Which is Las Cruces is to the north. Fort Gregg to the north.

Marion Freeman:

Fort Gregg to the north. Alright. Fort Craig.

Dave (GM):

So 1 slight thing just to bear in mind that it's not really that relevant to the scenario. On the map, Fort Craig is on the wrong side of the river.

Marion Freeman:

He's on the other side of the river.

Dave (GM):

As is Las Cruces.

Marion Freeman:

Right. Right. Okay.

Jimmy Harlesden:

So Okay. So Las Cruces is on the same side of the river as we are. Yeah. And Fort Craig is on no different. I mean, there's there presumably there's a bridge at Fort Craig to Kingsley River.

Dave (GM):

Or there's a forward, at

Speaker 6:

least. Yeah.

Dave (GM):

There would be a bridge at Las Cruces.

Marion Freeman:

So my feeling is Fort Craig, will be charged with, making sure the Indian reservations are getting

Speaker 6:

Yeah.

Marion Freeman:

Enough food. And

Nathaniel Horcock:

Have you been to the last group?

Marion Freeman:

Will they?

Jimmy Harlesden:

Will they? They care

Speaker 6:

about that?

Marion Freeman:

Well Yes.

Dave (GM):

So there at at this time, there are no Indian reservations.

Marion Freeman:

Are they not?

Dave (GM):

No. There was 1 in in near Fort Sumner called Boscredondo, but that was shut down a few years ago because it was a complete failure.

Nathaniel Horcock:

Right.

Dave (GM):

And the the natives who were sent there Just left. A lot of them staffed, a lot of them left.

Marion Freeman:

So just as a player, a 21st century player, I was just not wanting to go and buy food that was meant for.

Dave (GM):

So, no, the supplies that they would have there would be for the army or Right. Not for

Marion Freeman:

the But again, yeah, that's they they got, you know, they got enough food to keep. If we buy food off them, that's effectively, you know, a corrupt practice. There's a there's a proper market in Las Cruces,

Speaker 6:

but Have

Nathaniel Horcock:

you been to Las Cruces?

Marion Freeman:

I don't know.

Dave (GM):

You've been through Las Cruces. Yeah.

Marion Freeman:

It's a town, I don't know. Any other, I think?

Jimmy Harlesden:

It's a

Marion Freeman:

It's a it's a market town, is it?

Jimmy Harlesden:

It's a yeah. It's a Bigger. How much bigger is it than that? It's an agricultural In Autumn Springs.

Dave (GM):

It's got about a population of about a 1000 people at this time. And they farm things like, they've got pecan orchards and vineyards and So that would

Marion Freeman:

that would give you the best idea.

Nathaniel Horcock:

Sense to

Marion Freeman:

go there. But I have another idea.

Dave (GM):

Okay. So

Marion Freeman:

Will as

Speaker 6:

well. So,

Jimmy Harlesden:

yeah. Well

Nathaniel Horcock:

further you mean.

Jimmy Harlesden:

I think maybe it's worth doing that because what it might be worth is buying smaller quantities of supplies from more than 1 place. If we go in and say Mhmm.

Marion Freeman:

We need to

Jimmy Harlesden:

leave the child. Yeah. The child turns in, you know, real trouble with the rats. We need to we need urgently need a massive load of supplies, that's gonna immediately bump up the prices, isn't it? So we don't really want to go and give an impression that this is really urgent stuff that we need Okay.

Nathaniel Horcock:

So that's that's price.

Jimmy Harlesden:

Yeah. In big quantities immediately.

Marion Freeman:

The other thing about Roswell

Dave (GM):

It's quite a long way away.

Marion Freeman:

Yeah. But

Dave (GM):

So each square of on that map is 10 miles?

Marion Freeman:

Chisholm operates out there. So we've got a big launching empire coming out of

Dave (GM):

you as well.

Nathaniel Horcock:

Why do you wanna go back towards the Yeah.

Marion Freeman:

Well, 2 things. 1 is he may have a surplus of food, and we may get mate's rates on there.

Dave (GM):

Well, we've just resigned

Jimmy Harlesden:

from his service. I don't

Marion Freeman:

Well, I don't know. Have we have we resigned? Yeah.

Jimmy Harlesden:

You said to them, we resigned. Beginning of the last So

Speaker 6:

I'm not

Jimmy Harlesden:

sure we'd want to Right. Okay. Get involved in any more dealings with Chisholm, in any

Marion Freeman:

what do we think about the food supply in Lincoln having just been there a couple of weeks

Speaker 6:

ago?

Jimmy Harlesden:

It's quite

Dave (GM):

a small town. It's smaller. It's a lot smaller than Las Cruces.

Speaker 6:

Right then.

Marion Freeman:

So, so Las Cruces, maybe go down to El Paso as well. Yeah?

Nathaniel Horcock:

That's nice. Yeah.

Marion Freeman:

I mean, the reason I wanted to speak

Nathaniel Horcock:

out here was to bring that up. But if you think

Marion Freeman:

that's too far and

Nathaniel Horcock:

So, yeah, I don't think it'd be wise just for you to to go with it.

Jimmy Harlesden:

No. I I agree with that. I don't wanna stay as far away from Chisholm as we can.

Nathaniel Horcock:

And, also, we may just bump into you matey boy again, and that's going to be

Jimmy Harlesden:

Oh, yeah. Awkward? Yeah. When you're trying to wreck him.

Nathaniel Horcock:

Yes.

Marion Freeman:

That was my unspoken third thing I thought.

Nathaniel Horcock:

Oh, heavy cold. Marvelous.

Dave (GM):

You wanna

Marion Freeman:

go and

Dave (GM):

take out Cody Picker

Nathaniel Horcock:

as well?

Marion Freeman:

Well, Not necessarily. I mean, but

Nathaniel Horcock:

I've really got it.

Marion Freeman:

Maybe, you know, we we've not actually I wouldn't take him out. I'd confront him with the issues.

Nathaniel Horcock:

And how do you think that?

Marion Freeman:

Well, he may have a tense conversation with a Kemper like we did last time. I'm not I'm not saying I'm gonna fight him. Yeah? But anyway, but, you know, he should be aware of the fact that he's pursuing an ongoing.

Nathaniel Horcock:

Didn't you, Neil?

Marion Freeman:

We sent yeah.

Dave (GM):

Even before now. We did we did

Jimmy Harlesden:

include that information, I think.

Speaker 6:

So I'm just looking for drama. You know me. I've got a podcast

Nathaniel Horcock:

to run. You got me shocked, really.

Dave (GM):

Okay. Hopefully, we can provide some drama later in the scenario.

Marion Freeman:

That's Chris's why why don't we go back? Let's go back

Jimmy Harlesden:

in life.

Marion Freeman:

Side and tell him we'll try that's because this is in El Paso.

Jimmy Harlesden:

I will say, I think, as Yeah.

Nathaniel Horcock:

I'll say I'll say

Jimmy Harlesden:

Following our previous discussions, it does feel like we as agreed we did with the last service we provided, discharge our debt.

Nathaniel Horcock:

Beauty. Yeah.

Jimmy Harlesden:

But of course, as good citizens, we will be delighted to help the town out in this matter. And Yeah.

Nathaniel Horcock:

Of course. I feel that

Jimmy Harlesden:

I will absolutely go and, get get these supplies to help the town,

Dave (GM):

of course.

Nathaniel Horcock:

And as a chef, I do feel it's, you know, part of my responsibilities for me to actually, you know, help the town out. So yes.

Dave (GM):

Excellent. Good. The the wagon is around the back of the house. You can it's ready, and the horses just need to be hitched. You'll need to fill it for enough food for the for the next few weeks.

Dave (GM):

But $500 should be should be enough to to

Speaker 6:

to to

Marion Freeman:

Show do

Dave (GM):

that supply. Naturally enough, I know you're all putting roots down here. $500 is a lot of money.

Marion Freeman:

No. I was thinking, yeah, you know, we could put a contract out on you. No. I'm not saying that.

Speaker 6:

Yeah.

Jimmy Harlesden:

So we just run for it.

Speaker 6:

Well, I'm not a little

Marion Freeman:

bit of actually $500. I think we're making more than $500 a year, currently.

Dave (GM):

Naturally, your your good face and, honesty is is something that's

Marion Freeman:

Is 1 of the qualities which means that we're the right men for the job. I'm sure it's what you were trying to say. Exactly. Precisely,

Dave (GM):

mister Freeman. That is exactly what I was trying to say. And he hands over the what if the Woohoo. You've got the money at that point. You don't need to shoot it.

Marion Freeman:

So, hey. Like, obviously, they expect us to go quite soon.

Dave (GM):

Yeah. He does stress urgency because obviously the food supplies are are running out and people are starting to go hungry. So speed would be.

Jimmy Harlesden:

I would I would suggest, mister Rayburn that

Nathaniel Horcock:

The 1 or the 2

Jimmy Harlesden:

not be widely circulated that we're going on this task?

Dave (GM):

I'm well, I've I've only discussed it with Augustine and

Jimmy Harlesden:

just because if a couple of the

Dave (GM):

other sort of leaders

Speaker 6:

You know, I

Dave (GM):

think it's always

Jimmy Harlesden:

put out that we were riding off with $500 in our pockets. If that information fell into the wrong hands that could potentially lead

Marion Freeman:

to Who's the gang? Who's the gang who we think may actually

Dave (GM):

The Kyla gang.

Marion Freeman:

Kyla gang.

Jimmy Harlesden:

Yeah. So I'm There's a few

Dave (GM):

of them still roaming around.

Marion Freeman:

Yeah. Kyla gang, are still

Nathaniel Horcock:

lonely. Want them to get away and

Jimmy Harlesden:

So to maximise our chances of safely buying the these flyers and getting them back to Junard Springs, and the fewer people who know about this, I

Nathaniel Horcock:

think, would

Jimmy Harlesden:

be the better.

Dave (GM):

That's that makes eminent good sense. Yes, We won't we won't advertise, advertise what's happening. Yeah. Well, hurry along.

Nathaniel Horcock:

Mhmm. The only thing I was thinking, should we let let our start, you know, because your mom

Marion Freeman:

Well, we're gonna go back by the lunch anyway. It's on the way.

Dave (GM):

It is on the way.

Marion Freeman:

Yeah. That's another reason why

Nathaniel Horcock:

we're not going to Fort. Fort Craig.

Dave (GM):

Craig. Okay. And obviously the Sundown and the, Home Sweet Home are

Speaker 6:

kind

Dave (GM):

of on the way as well. That that side of town. I mean, it's only about 500 feet away, but it's not very far.

Marion Freeman:

Yeah. I will before I hit you out of the night, and I'm gonna walk over to the sundown and talk to Claudia about it.

Dave (GM):

Yeah. Okay.

Marion Freeman:

And I'm probably not necessarily gonna say where we're going or what we're doing. No. I won't say I'll go

Jimmy Harlesden:

against that. Yeah.

Marion Freeman:

I'm gonna say, mister Rayburn's given us a job to do.

Nathaniel Horcock:

Oh, there's no

Marion Freeman:

I'm gonna be out of town for

Nathaniel Horcock:

Basically, I wouldn't say what we're doing, what

Marion Freeman:

we're doing. Yeah. Yeah.

Jimmy Harlesden:

For a while.

Speaker 6:

Can

Dave (GM):

you make a performing role, please? Oh,

Marion Freeman:

with 1 less dice.

Dave (GM):

Yeah. With 1 less dice. Yeah.

Marion Freeman:

So my performing is, just just reminding myself of my score. 4. Now 3.

Nathaniel Horcock:

Oh, she's in there. Oh, okay.

Jimmy Harlesden:

You're fishing. Okay.

Marion Freeman:

Success and a 1. Can I buy that 1 off? You can. Yes. I can.

Dave (GM):

Does that cost you 2 face? Yeah. I think you're without performance, I'm not sure there is a result

Marion Freeman:

of that on on that 1.

Dave (GM):

I think you're gonna have you're

Jimmy Harlesden:

gonna have quite a difficult relationship going forward with that with that performance skill.

Marion Freeman:

Yeah. Well, I hope there's a point where in a relationship, you don't need to perform.

Dave (GM):

It's under the circumstances of what you've just told her, which is quite a shocking thing. Yeah. So, she she seems to have warmed to you again slightly. She's not quite so offhand as she was. And even if she's a little bit, you know, seems in a little bit of a mood, she does say as you leave as you go out to the to the swing doors Yeah.

Dave (GM):

Take care.

Marion Freeman:

I pause. I come back. I give her a little hug.

Dave (GM):

Make a no. That's I won't do tempted as I am, I won't do that.

Nathaniel Horcock:

I don't know.

Dave (GM):

Yeah. Okay. No. Yep. Yeah.

Dave (GM):

Okay. Right. Yeah. So you've got this wagon, it's got a couple of horses hitched to it. It's it's good to be slow going with a wagon.

Dave (GM):

You're gonna do maybe 20 miles a day.

Marion Freeman:

Well, I think we will take these horses with a wagon, but I think we'll take a little remover of our own horses as well.

Dave (GM):

Yeah. You can do that. Absolutely. Uh-huh.

Nathaniel Horcock:

So who's gonna be the,

Marion Freeman:

The wagon driver.

Nathaniel Horcock:

That's what

Speaker 6:

I would

Nathaniel Horcock:

look for.

Marion Freeman:

Now Well,

Dave (GM):

he can hitch you he can hitch you

Marion Freeman:

off the back As written, did we say that driving a wagon is operate rather than animal handling, or did we say it was

Speaker 6:

I think

Dave (GM):

it was animal handling.

Marion Freeman:

I think we had this conversation. Yeah.

Dave (GM):

Because it is more about

Nathaniel Horcock:

handling the animal.

Marion Freeman:

Driver stage. Animal handling.

Dave (GM):

Than actually operating a machine or operating a device.

Marion Freeman:

Yeah. Whereas control factory machine, you apply the brakes on a train, wire up a detonator, or work the telegraph.

Speaker 6:

Yeah.

Marion Freeman:

That's all great. Okay.

Dave (GM):

So it's animal handling. Yeah.

Marion Freeman:

Okay. We we can take turns, but just saying, my animal handling is 5. 1 is 7.

Nathaniel Horcock:

8. Old

Marion Freeman:

timer, you can do bloody everything you can.

Nathaniel Horcock:

That's what I did all the say. I was stuck in the blood.

Dave (GM):

Well, I'm

Speaker 6:

I'm AIDS.

Marion Freeman:

We'll we'll take turns, but maybe when there's difficult terrain or something or if if we get attacked by engines or whatever

Nathaniel Horcock:

Yeah. Just

Speaker 6:

bear in

Nathaniel Horcock:

the distance.

Marion Freeman:

We might you might then be the driver that leaps onto the wagon or the other ones get on their horses.

Nathaniel Horcock:

Yeah. Okay. Horses at the back. Yeah.

Dave (GM):

Yeah. Okay. So it's gonna it's gonna take maybe 3 days to to ride with a wagon down to Mhmm. Down to Las Cruces.

Jimmy Harlesden:

I guess, every now and then 1 of us should ride ahead and around to scout, watching out for bandits or similar.

Dave (GM):

Yeah. Okay. Okay. So who What's

Nathaniel Horcock:

this what's this leading leading the way roles, is it?

Dave (GM):

No. It'll be a Hawkeye for whoever is doing the scouting. So okay, for the 1st day then, who's scouting on the 1st day? We'll make 1 roll a day, I think.

Jimmy Harlesden:

Well, my Hawkeye is

Nathaniel Horcock:

5. I'll be I'll be the wagon driver then.

Marion Freeman:

What are your what's your

Nathaniel Horcock:

okay. 5.

Marion Freeman:

Tell you what, while while it's comfortable, shall I ride the wagon? Because my scouting's only 4.

Nathaniel Horcock:

Alright. What

Dave (GM):

are you good at?

Marion Freeman:

What are you good for? Yeah. I shoot 9 shooting.

Nathaniel Horcock:

Okay. Okay. Yeah.

Jimmy Harlesden:

I imagine that'll probably come in handy at some point. Okay. Shall I scout on the first day then?

Dave (GM):

Yeah. Can I get up

Nathaniel Horcock:

my hands with both?

Dave (GM):

So you're both scouting, are you?

Nathaniel Horcock:

Well, I'm sure. Are you both riding your head or

Jimmy Harlesden:

you're leaving Matthew on his own?

Nathaniel Horcock:

1 with the wagon and 1 scout.

Jimmy Harlesden:

Yeah. Yeah. That's probably the Yeah.

Nathaniel Horcock:

They don't like that, isn't it? Uh-huh.

Dave (GM):

You pushy?

Jimmy Harlesden:

There he is. Okay. So I've got 1 trouble I'll which I'll I think I'll buy that off. So 1 success.

Dave (GM):

Yeah. As you're riding along, you

Nathaniel Horcock:

where are you with that? No.

Dave (GM):

You don't see any signs of trouble.

Nathaniel Horcock:

Okay. That means the Apaches are highly worried.

Marion Freeman:

Yeah. They they got 2 on there.

Dave (GM):

And they're still thrall.

Nathaniel Horcock:

I don't want to lose the tongue of this character.

Dave (GM):

We will see. Yeah. Okay. So I won't make you make a rule for camping overnight. You've got the you can sleep in the wagon.

Dave (GM):

Mhmm. Or I don't know, you're just gonna keep I guess it's too dark. I probably do. I'm assuming you're not gonna wanna try and keep rolling whilst it's dark.

Nathaniel Horcock:

No. No. We all wanna I'm not gonna be

Dave (GM):

I will make you make a roll for that.

Marion Freeman:

Minimize risk, I

Nathaniel Horcock:

think, on this journey.

Dave (GM):

Okay. 2nd day, who's scouting?

Nathaniel Horcock:

1 of these. Yeah. Do you wanna scout this 1? Okay. It's a

Speaker 6:

lot on there. We'll try the we'll try these black dice to where we see it. Kind of throwing them puts throwing them in the microwave.

Nathaniel Horcock:

The oh. Another one's on the Can that that Another 1 small

Speaker 6:

1. Can

Dave (GM):

that 6? That 1 that's on the 6 did kinda roll in a funny way.

Marion Freeman:

Nah. It's it's it's a good 6. I know these weighted dice, they're wooden looking.

Nathaniel Horcock:

They're not weighted. I find that long weighted.

Dave (GM):

You do have track record, though,

Nathaniel Horcock:

don't you? That's nice. No. First of all, you mock my t shirt for someone else.

Dave (GM):

I wasn't mocking it. I just saw it and it made me laugh, but obviously not in a way that I could be thinking of.

Nathaniel Horcock:

I think I'd find those 2 of my myself.

Marion Freeman:

Well, you got me to. If you if you don't want to push the

Speaker 6:

dust. Yeah.

Dave (GM):

Push it. Yeah. Okay.

Marion Freeman:

Then again, he didn't notice anything with 1 success.

Dave (GM):

I'm sure that's because

Jimmy Harlesden:

you don't know something.

Dave (GM):

So you but you don't see

Nathaniel Horcock:

you don't see anything out of the ordinary. Okay. So who's actually got the money out of my or are we holding it in the wagon?

Jimmy Harlesden:

Before before we split it and we've got it.

Marion Freeman:

Yeah. I think I think

Jimmy Harlesden:

we've got it. All of us, isn't it? Yeah. Okay.

Dave (GM):

So you've taken a third of the money each? Yeah. I think so. Yeah. That makes sense.

Dave (GM):

Right. Okay. You're in the money. Stashed it

Jimmy Harlesden:

in my bag or

Marion Freeman:

something. Boots, I think.

Jimmy Harlesden:

Yeah. Probably.

Dave (GM):

You got it stashed in your boot?

Marion Freeman:

Yeah. I mean, not tucked into the top, properly in the foot of of the boot.

Dave (GM):

Okay.

Jimmy Harlesden:

I don't mind like that sweaty, sweaty money when it comes out of that.

Dave (GM):

Okay. Yeah. 3rd day. Last day on the run into Las Cruces.

Nathaniel Horcock:

So I'll be on the I'll be in the wagon. I'll be leaving the wagon then. So who's doing this?

Jimmy Harlesden:

Let's load it on the scout. I get 1 success, I'm not gonna put that.

Dave (GM):

Okay.

Nathaniel Horcock:

Living brave here, aren't we?

Dave (GM):

What you you you do see, I mean, the weather is is is isn't it's it's it's warm, but it's it's unsettled. It's a bit stormy. But you do see, as you're kind of coming to the to the Rio Grande Road, you can see quite a lot of dust. Alright. Kicked up by

Jimmy Harlesden:

what looks like, overnight A number of riders. Overnight last night, I would have been polishing my guns when we were camping. Okay.

Dave (GM):

You can do that. Yep.

Marion Freeman:

I think we're all we were having a big gun polishing party, weren't we?

Nathaniel Horcock:

It's all around the campfire. I mean, you can Rubbing our gun.

Dave (GM):

It's another euphemism.

Nathaniel Horcock:

So See

Dave (GM):

men in the builders rubbing each other's gun.

Nathaniel Horcock:

For for now.

Jimmy Harlesden:

No. They're they're not touching my gun.

Speaker 6:

I've I've

Marion Freeman:

rubbed my own gun. Thank you very much.

Dave (GM):

Oh dear.

Speaker 6:

Oh dear.

Dave (GM):

Oh dear. Oh dear. Okay. But yes, sir, you do see, it's not very recent but there's obviously been dust kicked up of a number of us. Right?

Nathaniel Horcock:

Heading towards the stores, just

Dave (GM):

No. Heading towards Las Cruces.

Nathaniel Horcock:

Alright.

Jimmy Harlesden:

So how far, of Las Cruces are we at this point?

Dave (GM):

You'll get there by sundown.

Jimmy Harlesden:

So is this are we still on the road from Giordisring or return to the

Dave (GM):

You're just you're just coming on to the

Jimmy Harlesden:

Right along the road.

Dave (GM):

Yeah. When you see it, it's kind of as you're approaching the the Rio Grande Road.

Marion Freeman:

I could ride ahead and see if I can get closer, see who they are.

Nathaniel Horcock:

You're trying to fly on the inside road, seeker. Try and guess how many horses or tracks? Or does that look like?

Dave (GM):

You could make a Hawkeye roll.

Nathaniel Horcock:

Hawkeye. Okay.

Dave (GM):

If you're gonna if you're looking for tracks. Yeah.

Nathaniel Horcock:

If you're

Dave (GM):

trying to Can I help judge how many yep?

Speaker 6:

I have

Jimmy Harlesden:

an extra dollar, I have an extra

Speaker 6:

dollar, I have an

Jimmy Harlesden:

extra dollar, I have something either.

Dave (GM):

6 again.

Speaker 6:

You,

Dave (GM):

it's difficult to tell. But you suspect there's probably at least 20 riders. 20.

Jimmy Harlesden:

Okay. Well, we don't need to take him in on a straight flight.

Marion Freeman:

Tales of the old west is brought to you by Effect. The music is old west game by Stu Venable, used with kind permission of the angry folk media empire.

Nathaniel Horcock:

It's just like the last game. We have to play all games. It's just like the