Ask to Join Red Dead: Reclamation

[EnviousWorm]

12:00am, Thursday
May 1, 1900
Thieves Landing, New Austin

Cato needed to get out of there, and fast; his life wasn't in danger - yet, anyway, who knew with places like these - but his livelihood was. A chance meeting with a pair of downtrodden, Irish moonshiners, the wheel of their wagon busted nearly beyond repair. had parlayed itself into a night of free drink in a sketchy, crowded saloon, and Cato parlayed that into well over fifty dollars in poker winnings.

Thieves Landing was a dirty place, generally -- the buildings rotting, infested and unclean, and much the same could be said of its inhabitants. Rats, most of them, either low-down scum pickpockets and killers, or the degenerates who made of a living of hunting those rats down for the government, or the rich. Every saloon was brimming with fights that spilled out into the streets and ended with a knife in the belly, or lead in the lungs. The few shops and inns between were more or less the same, influenced by the more-bars-than-beds strategy of town-building. The streets themselves were unpaved dirt which turned to awful mud in the rain, in a place where rain could be constant, heavy for a week at a time. The only source of light available were the multiple burning fires around -- some burning to keep folks warm, some burning by accident, some, simple cases of psychotic pyromania.

The two Irishmen - Mac and Charlie - winked at Cato from behind the bar; maybe it was his prior life of crime, but the ex-outlaw could tell they were up to something. Mostly, it was the fact that every single soul in Thieves Landing was up to something. But he'd had so much of their free moonshine, he couldn't even tell where his left foot was at the moment. At least he had a pair of Kings in front of him, a whole lotta rubes sitting around the poker table.

'Maybe I should be a good Samaritan more often,' He thought, chuckling to himself as he threw some chips into the pot, calling a prior bet, 'I spent all the damned day doin' nothin' but ferryin' Charlie to Armadillo and back for a new wheel, and puttin' on a new wheel, then they asked me to drive. Almost said no, cuz they couldn't pay, til they offered that free moonshine...'

"What're you laughin' at, pal?" A grumpy sucker of a so-called thief asked, over half his money sitting pretty on Cato's pile. He had one eye, almost no teeth or hair, but a whole lotta balls, "Don't say yer laughin at me, pal."

"No trouble, friend," Cato replied, calling another bet, "I weren't even gonna come here today, is all. Now's I'm sittin' here wit' all yer damn money, drinkin' for free."

"You think yer better'n me, then?" He asked, standing up in a hurry. Cato stayed sitting down, "You laughin' cuz I ain't had no luck here?"

"Naw," Cato said again, "I'm only laughin' cuz of those two potatoes tendin' bar back there, yeah? Coupla right fools. Woulda passed em by most other days. Just didn't this time."

"What're you even talkin' about, fella?" He asked, hand reaching for the holster at his hip.

"Do you want a drink, friend?" Cato asked in return, calling one final bet as he did, "Yer standin, yeah? You ain't in this hand no more? Go to the bar 'n tell 'em I sent you. Don't tell 'em you wanted to pull your piece on me, though, I reckon."

Cato switched between watching the dealer play the final card - an Ace, unfortunately - and the rowdy drunk who fancied himself some sort of pirate or something. But the offer of free drink seemed to diffuse the situation immediately. The one-eyed man shrugged, laughed, slapped Cato on the back in a merry acceptance, and trotted off to the bar to redeem the offer of free moonshine.

At the table in front of him, he nodded to his opponent who had pulled a pair of Aces on the final draw, scooped up his money and walked off before the drunk pirate wannabe could stumble back from the bar. The other poker players looked frustrated, but did little to try to stop him. The saloon itself was nearly shoulder-to-shoulder, packed tight, every person sweating from the accruing body heat, the swinging piano music, the voracious dancing from the giddier patrons.

Feeling his luck, Cato found an open spot at a table of people playing Liar's Dice, paid his fee, and sat down with a friendly nod to everyone there, saying, "Fellas" as he collected his cup and the dice, and got ready to play.

@Captain Cardboard @Red Gallade @Void_Nugget

 

[Red Gallade]

The sound of clopping hooves was suddenly heard along with the gentle breeze or the sounds of whatever mischief the locals got in to. Cain rode atop his large smoke colored horse, Greta II, his eyes ere difficult to see under the shade of his hat as his head turned to look around at the riffraff of Thieves Landing. A couple of the locals who saw him whispered among themselves while others merely went about their day... or rather night.

Cain noticed one man who stood close to a makeshift fire with a cigar in his mouth and smirked, he got off his horse and petted her head before he went to walk over to the man and sat at the fire opposite to him, the light of the fire made it easy to see the man's bearded face as he looked up to see Cain. "Evenin' stranger, what brings ya down these parts?" He asked and took the cigar out of his mouth to exhale a cloud of steam.

Cain reached in to his coat and got out a scroll of paper to show the man who raised an eyebrow and took it, when he opened it, his jaw dropped enough for the lit cigar to fall out of his mouth. 'Morris Wilson, Wanted Dead or Alive for multiple counts of thievery, murder. Reward: $50.' The man--now known as Morris--looked up at Cain and gulped. "Ya think ya'll can just waltz on over here and expect me to just go with ya to jail?" He said as he hastily stood up and put one hand close to his holstered revolver, Cain slowly stood up and did the same, his other hand went to hold his belt.

As the two men stared opposite each other over the fireplace, everything suddenly seemed quiet, neither one of them averted their eyes from each other, nor did their hands move away from their guns. The tension slowly grew between both participants, while Morris' hand twitched a few times from the pressure of potentially being caught, Cain merely flexed his fingers over his gun. One of the sticks in the fireplace gave in and snapped, a split second later, both men quickly drew for their guns to exchange bullets, before Morris' finger let him pull the trigger, Cain was already ahead of him and fired his gun directly at Morris' hand, causing his gun to fly out of his hand... along with the finger that attempted to pull the trigger, Morris let out a sharp grunt in pain and put his hand over where his finger once was to slow the bleeding. "You bastard! Ya shot my damn finger off!"

Cain spun his gun in his hand before he returned it to his holster, he walked over to Morris while he got out a lasso and tied his hands and feet together, then he picked him up and carried him to Greta, he set him down on her back behind the saddle before Cain hopped up on to her. As Cain rode Greta out of Thieves Landing, several of the locals looked at Cain in shock, surprised to see Morris be beaten and taken away, Cain silently smirked as he looked up at the starry sky above him.

It was a beautiful night to get paid.

 

[Void_Nugget]

Shane walked through town keeping his hat titled forward to obscure his face from the prying eyes of the people in this town. He could not let his face be seen as he knew that said face was plastered over many towns with a nice handsome reward. He chuckled to himself as he strode to the saloon but upon noticing the sheer magnitude of sweaty patrons packed within he opted to simple remain just outside the saloon. He spotted a chair on the porch and sat within it taking the opportunity to rest. As noisy patrons came and went from the saloon Shane resisted the urge to kill a few of them to make a point, he was particularly tired today and didnt really feel like fighting any lawmen. So he just sat back and whistled a little tune to himself as he watched people go by.

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Thieves' Landing was not a place Joanne had been hoping to stay. She had thought her journey was timed in such a way as to cross through it during the day, but as small events piled up throughout her journey Joanne found herself in Thieves' Landing as the sun set. Not a friendly place. Still, sleeping in a room in town, even if the town was Thieves' Landing, was more comfortable than sleeping on the ground out the outskirts. Or riding through the night.

The blond woman had made her way into a saloon. Not an unexpected event to do here in Thieves' Landing. Many of them seemed pretty much the same, but this one in particular appeared to be ran by a pair of irishmen. The patrons were drinking, eating, playing games of cards and dice. Joanne had ordered food and drink and finished them, starting on her second drink as she glanced around the room from under her hat. She could faintly hear over the talking and piano someone whistling outside. For a moment, things looked like they were going to get heated by the poker table. But one of them, a scarred man with brown hair, managed to calm down the other. Joanne watched as the man his way over to a dice table, sitting down and getting ready to play.

Joanne considered joining for a moment, before rejecting the idea. Drunken men did usually take losing to a woman all that well. Adjusting her saber to be a bit more comfortable, Joanne downed her drink.

 

[EnviousWorm]

All of a sudden, Thieves Landing went quiet, and tension rose in the air. Just on the outskirts of town where Cain rode his horse, Morris in tow, two carriages positioned themselves into cutting off Cain's path. Lanterns hung from the carriages, and Cain could see four men - two sat atop each one - pretty well, and make out a couple others on horses near the light of their lanterns.

"Where you think you're goin', fool?" A shrill, older man's voice rung out into the night.

"Oh you're screwed now!" Morris laughed, even bound as he was, "You're so screwed now!"

@Red Gallade

Back in the heart of Thieves Landing, just outside the saloon Cato and Joanne were in, Shane could see a commotion brewing. The bounty hunter rushing in to take Morris had set off a string of other busts and robberies, just about every building in town filled and surrounded by some sort of petty crime. Then the stabbings started, and then the shootings.

As if on queue, a random drunk near Shane made a grab for the wanted man's collar.

"You been hoggin' this stankin' chair all night!" The raging drunk growled, "That's my seat, one way or another!"

@Void_Nugget

Inside the saloon, every table - even the bar - cleared in moments; some people started brawling out behind the bar, others made a run for it - either for an inn or the fastest route out of town. Some, however, seemed to be goons associated with that Morris man and were forming a posse to go after their boss, unaware he already had people on it. Cato, feeling quite drunk and somewhat bold, made a move for the front door.

The bartender, suddenly with a lot of free time on his hands, peaked out from behind the bar to ask Joanne, "Miss? Can I get you another drink, miss?"

@Captain Cardboard

Before he got out the door, Cato was stopped by a pair of Morris's men, the last to leave the saloon -- maybe a little sloppier than most.

"You in a hurry, fella," One of them pointed out, "Where's you off to?"

"You's a bounty hunter, friend?" The other asked, more to the point.

"Might be." Cato replied, even though he wasn't. But he knew that's what they wanted to hear.

By the two had their hands down to their hips, on the grips of their pistols, Cato had his piece in his hand, the hammer pulled back:

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Four shots -- one to the probing hand of each careless thug, another to one of their thighs. His gun was back in its holster before they hit the ground, which they did with two, impressive thuds. Amidst the sounds of their pained writing, Cato turned back to the bartender and Joanne, tipped his cap, and ran out the saloon door.

 

[Red Gallade]

Cain's smirk faded as he looked back down to see the carriages that blocked his path, Greta II stopped and lightly shook her head, as much as she was used to gun shots fall near her, it didn't make her any less cautious, Cain growled and took out one of his guns to bash against Morris to make him shut up and knocked him out. He knew that it felt too easy that he managed to get his hands on Morris, but of course scumbags seem to attract other scumbags who are either very confident... or suicidal.

"Who's askin'?" Cain bluntly replied, by the way he talked, his accent sounded like a British cockney accent, he tightened his grip on the revolver he used to whack Morris, his finger already on the trigger. He already had a few ideas on who he was going to shoot first as his eyes darted between each man foolish enough to cross him.

 

[Void_Nugget]

Shane sighed heavily as he stood up causing the smaller man to loose his grip on his collar. He glared down at the drunkard "you should check who you shout at my friend, it's a shame you'll never get the chance to right that mistake" he said coldly before slipping a knife from within his coat and slicing the man's throat and walking away as the man crumpled to the floor gargling on his own blood. Shane realised it was probably time to lay low with this sudden influx in crime but as he went to walk away a man came running out the saloon and straight into the outlaw "what is it with you drunkards today, watch where your going idiot" he growled at the man.
@EnviousWorm

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Joanne finished her drink as a commotion started up outside, followed by gunshots. Great. This was just the reason she didn't want to stay in Thieves' Landing. The patrons of the saloon bolted, half of them seeming to go join the fray while half of them ran for cover. Joanne watched as one of the last members, the brown haired gambler, made his way towards the door. The man was cut off by two others, and Joanne overheard them asking if he was a bounty hunter of sorts. They looked ready for a fight. From her seat, Joanne rested her hand on her Colt.

The pair made their move on the brown haired man, but before Joanne had the chance to draw the brown haired man had already gunned them down. Well, not totally. It appeared that they were only injured, not killed. She watched as Cato walked out of the Saloon before getting up from her own seat. Joanne stepped over the two men writhing on the floor and sat at the bar.
"One more should do." Joanne said, tapping the bar.

It sounded like the gambler hadn't even made it out the door before running into someone in a foul mood. Joanne looked over to the entrance, able to see through the doors that Cato had ran into another man. Joanne kept a hand on her saber this time. She was close enough to the door that she could easily close the distance and be on top of whatever threat before they could react.

 

[EnviousWorm]

"We's Morris's family," One of the men atop the carriages replied, his voice unsteady, though the gun in his hands was, "And you best be leavin' him with us, fella, before it starts to get real ugly."

The rest of Morris's "family" cheered in agreement, backing up the person who'd they had chosen to be their voice in Morris's disposed position. Cain could see six men; four with hand-guns, two with rifles -- the riflemen on horses flanking the two carriages, the gunmen being the four riding the carriages.

"You lucky we's even givin you a chance, what wit' our outnumbering you and all." The man added

@Red Gallade

Shane could see the fear in the man's eyes as life drained from his eyes with the blood pouring out of his throat; he hadn't even noticed how large Shane was, given his drunken state, and he sure as hell wasn't used to people standing up to him. And now he lie there, dying, staring up at the shambling porch roof of a beat down saloon.

"What is it with you drunkards today, watch where your going idiot" Shane growled as Cato bumped into him, the smaller ex-outlaw thrown off balance by the much larger, wanted man.

"Pardon me, mister," Cato said, tipping his hat to the mean and murderous individual, taking a casual glance at the dying man on the floor and the blood on Shane's knife, "If I ain't die and we see each other again, I'll buy you a drink." He paused, looking Shane up and down once over before adding, "Or three."

@Void_Nugget

And like a marathon runner, Cato took off, shifting from being on his own ass to his feet and off running across the street to where he'd stabled his golden Appaloosa horse, Sheena. He had a foot in one stirrup, swinging his other leg over as he sat on the saddle when Sheena took off running, listening for the sound of galloping hooves over the violent noise kicking off in Thieves Landing, hoping he could out-pace the men who'd left the bar in search for the bounty hunter who'd taken Morris.

Inside the saloon, the bartender poured Joanne a drink and passed it her way before picking up some empty, used glasses to clean or store off to the side for a moment.

"Ain't partakin' in the senseless beatin' 'n killin' 'n robbin', miss?" He asked, seeming genuinely curious, "Why else you in Thieves Landin' this time o' the day?"

@Captain Cardboard

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Joanne downed the drink the bartender poured before responding.
"I was just passing through and needed a place to stop for the night. This ain't my particular idea of fun. I was on my way to the MacFarlane's Ranch to see if there was any job openings there, took a wrong turn on the road, and ended up here." Joanne said. Whatever was going on right outside the saloon appeared to have been resolved. Another gunshot, and a the sound of glass breaking as a bullet went through one of the windows of the saloon. Joanne still didn't react, and even seemed to relax a little. The woman stayed silent, taking another glance through the doors.

"Although, I bet jobs tend to open up 'round these parts quite a bit with the way life out here is. Doesn't mean I wanna live here though." Joanne said. "Who's that Morris fella some of them folks were talking about before they left, shortly after this whole shebang started?"

 

[Void_Nugget]

Shane wat had the man leave and shrugged "huh strange guy" he muttered to himself before entering the saloon satisfied it was now empty enough. He walked up to the bar not paying attention to anyone and wave to the bar keeper, "hey can I get a drink here, I've been waiting for ever for this place to get a little less busy" he said as he wiped his knife clean and slipped it back in his jacket. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted a few different wanted posters, his own included and tipped his hat down slightly to avoid being recognised. He didnt feel like killing anyone else today, at least not until after he'd had a drink.

 

[Red Gallade]

Cain shook his head and let out an annoyed sigh as his eyes darted between each gunman, the finger on his gun trigger twitched a few times. "Hmmm... lemmie think about that..." He said and pondered with his other hand in a seemingly sarcastic manner. "No." He added in a casual tone of voice as he pulled out his revolver and shot the two riflemen on horse back while his other hand grabbed the horse reigns, the second he did was the moment Greta started to dart around the carriages and take off.

Cain looked back to watch the carriages follow him while had his gun ready, he knew that the moment they caught up was the moment they had an easier chance to shoot him, but if they could shoot him with revolvers at that range, then Cain definitely could as well. He quickly looked in his gun and decided to reload any missing shots for then the carriages were within his range.

 

[CrazyWolf]

A voice snapped James back into reality. He had been thinking about the gang, the heist and his dead friends. He looked at where the voice was coming from and saw a man standing in front of him. The man wasn't very tall, maybe 165 centimetres, and he had long brown hair running down on his shoulders. James realised that the man was probably the owner of the boat James had escaped on, and his suspicions got confirmed not long after.
"What are you doing here, mister?" the man asked. "You can't just be jumping onto my boat, get the hell off!" James sighed, stood up slowly and in less than a second he was pointing his silver Schofield at the man in front of him.
"I need this boat, so if you're not gonna let me stay on I'll take it by force," he said and started squeezing the trigger before he realised that he could not afford to bring any attention to him right now. He decided to try the nicer approach. "You've caught me in a sticky situation, mister. If you wouldn't mind lending me your boat?" The man looked at him, a mix between scared and angry. James took a step towards him, still pointing his revolver straight at the man's forehead.
"This is my boat, get the hell off!" the man yelled, and James took that as an invitation to harm him.
"I guess we'll be doin' this the hard way, then," he said and slammed his revolver against the man's forehead, knocking him out cold. He grabbed the man's legs, dragged him to the side of the boat and dropped him into the water. This wouldn't bring any attention to James, and the owner would not come looking for the boat again. James walked up to the wheel and took control of the boat.

A few hours had passed when he could see land. He immediately recognized the small town known as Thieves Landing, and James decided that he should probably head over there. The majority outlaws like him, and the place was also relatively safe from bounty hunters and Pinkertons. The perfect hiding place. When the boat was finally close he could hear the gunshots and chaos that was going on. He decided not to join in as there could be bounty hunters involved, and he also couldn't really do anything that would bring attention to him. James decided to keep his head low and put his brown-ish hat down a little, making it harder to get a clear look at his face. He got off the boat and decided that he was gonna have to sell it, as someone might have seen him get on. But first, he needed a drink. He ignored the bullets and screaming, but it felt nice when they finally rode away as the place got a little quieter. He entered the saloon and immediately noticed that there had been a brawl of some sort, and James got a little disappointed that he had missed it. As he started walking towards the bar he saw some glass on the floor, a broken chair and some other signs of a brawl. He leaned on the counter, looked the bartender straight in the eyes and said:
"A whiskey, please." He looked to the right of him and saw a man standing next to him. No wait, maybe it was a woman? He decided that it didn't matter and went back to thinking about what had happened not even a day before. That damned heist.

 

[EnviousWorm]

"I was just passing through and needed a place to stop for the night. This ain't my particular idea of fun. I was on my way to the MacFarlane's Ranch to see if there was any job openings there, took a wrong turn on the road, and ended up here." Joanne told the bartender, "Although, I bet jobs tend to open up 'round these parts quite a bit with the way life out here is. Doesn't mean I wanna live here though. Who's that Morris fella some of them folks were talking about before they left, shortly after this whole shebang started?"

"You'd reckon right 'bout work, not that there's more'n a few honest ones about, not that there's any at MacFarlane's neither," The bartender shrugged, "And Morris? Morris Wilson runs some two-bit gang outta 'ere 'n Fort Mercer. Thinks they's big-time but they just killers 'n thieves, like most folk about Thieves Landing. Government gonna come down from Blackwater for 'em soon 'nuff, I's bet. Been happenin' more 'n more the last few years."

Then the doors swung open. A little fearful, the bartender reached - just momentarily - under the bar, until he realized it was just someone looking for a drink; that someone being Shane, he was rough, tough, quite intimidating even if he wasn't quite directly angry at someone. And he seemed to want to remain anonymous, even in a place full of people laying low from law.

"Hey can I get a drink here, I've been waiting for ever for this place to get a little less busy." Shane said.

"You's come in, right on time, fella," The bartender said, turning away from Joanne for a moment, "Whisky? Moonshine? I got some rye in the back, I think."

Before he could get the man's answer, the door's swung open again. It seemed like Thieves Landing was quieting down, the fighting and thieving slowing down as people sobered up or tired out. The new man looked quite the worse for wear, but he walked up to the bar with a confidence, looking the bartender in the eye as if nothing were wrong.

"A whiskey, please." The man said as he looked at Joanne, giving her a glance as if he weren't quite sure what she was -- or maybe, he was just bothered by something else entirely.

The bartender obliged, pouring a drink before the newcomer and looked back his way.

"Whisky for you," The bartender said, turning back to call out toward Shane, "And what was it you wanted again, fella?"

@Captain Cardboard @Void_Nugget @CrazyWolf

In an instant, Cain's bullets ripped through the jaw of one man and the eye of another. Before the men had fallen dead from their saddles, the bounty hunter was speeding off on his horse. Though much faster than the carriages normally, Greta II was holding two grown men on her back, and so she couldn't move quite as fast as she often did.

Still, his reaction time and surprise fact had won him precious time. The carriages, bulky and slow, had to turn around and follow after him, and it took them a while to pick up speed. And instead of being pulled by four horses, these were only pulled by two. Still, they were gaining enough ground over time to start opening fire.

And Cain could hear more hooves beating down in the distance.

@Red Gallade

Cato Denton raced off on Sheena, reaching in to the holster on his saddle for the bolt-action rifle buried within; dark as it was, he could see figures, shadowy outlines, and one shot from his rifle was all he needed to put those figures down. By the time he'd checked to make sure his weapon was loaded up on ammo, he could see Morris's men riding ahead of him, racing off.

Two gunshots rang out in the distance of the direction they were headed. Everyone sped up, but Sheena was faster than the thug's lame, poor-bred horses. He began to catch up, and as he began to catch up, the former rifleman readied his aim at the first man he could see.

Bang! One shot ran out, falling just shy of the man he'd aimed for, instead burrowing itself deep into the neck of the horse the man was riding; Cato could hear the violent sounds of the horse crumpling to the ground, throwing the man off of it and flopping on top of him with a disgusting crunch.

A pair of outlaws peeled off from the group, circling around to meet their surprise pursuer. Even as one wheeled their horse about, another: Bang! rang out, shredding through his belly and passing through his spine and out the middle of his back. The other outlaw, distracted by the poorly developing situation, watched his friend slip off his saddle, dying.

In an instant, Cato had passed him. He came to, turning to fire off his revolver at the speeding Cato. But Sheena was racing ahead; Cato was spun about, aiming his rifle at the second man.

Bang! His third shot just spared its victim the same fate as his friend, instead passing through the side and maybe catching a kidney before exploding out through pounds of flesh. Regardless, the man fell limp in his saddle, and his horse ran off on its own accord, back toward Thieves Landing.

Three men down. He wasn't sure how many had rode off after Morris, but three was a good start. Cato kept going. Time was running out now.

 

[Void_Nugget]

As another man entered Shane simply ignored him as he looked at the bartender, "Whiskey will be fine" he stated as he sat at the bar carving random things like different letters and doodles into the surface of the bar with his daggers as he often did when he was bored. He would probably have to get some more money at some point so some kind of job would need to be performed he would probably need to keep an ear out of any opportunities and what not.
(Sorry for short post)

 

[Captain Cardboard]

At the sight of movement at the door, Joanne put a hand on her revolver only to relax as another patron made their way into the saloon. The man was tall but thin, dressed in black and covered in knives. A knife man and desperado combined, something that wasn't too common, yet Joanne had seen his type before. Either someone who was serious, or someone who wanted to just look serious. Whoever he was, he didn't seem to want to start a fight. At least, right at this moment. The man ignored Joanne and sat at the bar, asking for a drink and receiving a whiskey.

A second man entered just after, a man in a brown duster and black pants who also sat at the bar. Joanne narrowed her eyes as the man looked her over, but he turned to his drink. Joanne glanced from one man to the other before think back on what the bartender had said. Government would be coming down soon enough? Well, not soon enough in Joanne's book. She might have some mix opinion when it comes to the sheriffs, but this place could stand to benefit from some law and order. Joanne had heard tales of people getting snatched off the streets in broad daylight in this town, and wouldn't be surprised if quite a few bystanders had died from the various gunfights like the one that had just occurred out on the street. As she was considering that, Joanne could still hear sounds of gunshots in the far distance.

Morris Wilson... Joanne hadn't heard the name before, but she knew the type. A small time bandit that thought he was bigger than he really was. Joanne had encountered quite a few of those types working on the Ferris Ranch, or at least the rustler counterparts. But for a small time bandit, it sounded like he had quite a bit of muscle in this town. A group of the muscle that had just left to form some sort of posse... She had overheard some of them talking about bounty hunters. Was that what had happened?

It seemed like quite a lot of men for a single bounty hunter, even an experienced one to take on alone. Joanne thought for a moment before sighing and cursing quietly under her breath. The woman downed her drink.
"Thanks for the drinks and the info." Joanne said, placing payment for the drinks plus a small tip on the bar. Adjusting her hat, she made her way out of the saloon and towards the stable. She retrieved her Cleveland Bay, Roc, and began to ride towards the sounds of the gunshots.

 

[CrazyWolf]

James only now noticed the other man at the bar. He felt familiar, but James couldn't quite place him. The guy was huge though, and James reckoned that it would probably be best to just leave him be. As the other person left James finished his drink and reached into his pocket to pay. One drink was probably enough, and when he checked how much money he had he realised that he would probably not have been able to afford more. Damn, he was poor. All of his money was at his gangs old hideout and as the Pinkertons would have probably found it already he couldn't return there. He had to make more money and decided to keep his ear out for an opportunity. He had too big of a price on his head to do some bounty hunting, and most people out west weren't worth robbing. James decided that the best way he could get his hands on some money out here was a heist. Either on one of the gangs running around, Armadillo's bank, or a train. This would be very difficult to do without some sort of team though. He pulled out 10 cents and gave it to the bartender.

"Fifty dollars, the best I can do," the potential buyer said. James had finally found a guy who was willing to buy the stolen boat, but that price was terrible.
"Fifty dollars? For a goddamn tugboat?" James said, getting a bit annoyed. He glanced at his holster and thought about just straight up robbing the guy, but that would probably bring too much attention to him. Even in a town of outlaws and thieves, one couldn't just commit any crime they wanted.
"Fifty-five, my final offer," the buyer said, even though he obviously saw straight through James. "Make a decision before it's too late.
"Oh, what the hell," James said, giving up. "Deal." The buyer handed him fifty-five dollars which James accepted, though a bit annoyed. After handing him the money, the buyer climbed up on the boat and drove away. James looked after him for a bit, before heading towards the hotel to get a room.

When he was outside of the hotel he saw how shabby the place was. Run-down, trash everywhere and not very beautiful to look at. Well, what more could you expect from a "hotel" in a place like this? He entered and saw a man, probably the owner, stand behind the counter. James walked up to him and asked:
"Can I rent a room for the night?" the owner looked up and said:
"Sure, that'll be two dollars. Your room is room 102." James handed him the money and went upstairs. There were not many rooms, so finding room 102 wasn't very difficult. He entered the room and saw how small it was. The bed was pushed against the wall, and the only other furniture was a mirror, a chair and a small table in the corner. He sat down on the chair and started thinking about his next heist. First of all, he needed a new horse, as his old one was still in Saint Denis, probably stolen or killed at this point. Damn it, now he was thinking about the gang again, and the heist, and his dead friends. He continued sitting on the chair, as he embraced a probably very restless night.

 

[Red Gallade]

As Cain readied his revolver to shoot down his pursuers, he heard the sounds of more distant gunfire and noticed one rider chase after Morris' men, he didn't know who the guy was, but he certainly made his job easier as Cain fired at the carriage drivers, one of them received a bullet directly between the eyes and fell limp on their own carriage, the bumpy road made his lifeless body shake and fall off. Cain smirked as he aimed his gun at the other carriage, but rather than shoot the driver, his bullet shot the lit lantern next to it which caused the area around it to suddenly ignite. The carriage driver looked in horror and attempted to jump off, but it was too late as one leg of his trousers caught fire.

Morris woke up from the knockout just in time to see that a lot less of his men were after Cain, and those he did see were either already dead or about to be killed by the bounty hunter. "N-No! My boys! You bastard! I'll kill you for what you've done!" Morris started to struggle as he growled in anger, clearly furious at the death of his men. "Shut up." Cain said coldly as he whacked him over the head with his revolver again to knock him out. As Cain was about to put his revolver back in his holster to continue his journey to Blackwater, he looked back to where the other shooter was--the one that wasn't with Morris' men and decided to slow down a little bit, he kept his gun ready in case this person was a likely rival who wanted the bounty money for themself.

 

[EnviousWorm]

As Joanne rode toward the sound of an increasing number of gunshots, both revolver and rifle, she would see bodies - human and horse -, their outlines shaded in the night, Roc's hooves clopping through blood and ground alike. She'd draw nearer, until the gunshots started to die down into an uneasy silence -- if only for a few seconds. And in that silence, she didn't just hear horses up ahead. Joanne could distinctly hear another trio of hooves following up behind her.

@Captain Cardboard

Cain slowed his roll a little bit as a darkened outline pulled up to him. Unfortunately for both of them, they were enemies. One of Morris's men drew so near that the two could almost make each other's faces out in the darkness.

"Hey, wait," The main said, pulling the hammer of a revolver back, "Yew ain't Morris-!" Bang!

Before the man could open fire, a bullet from Cato's bolt action sliced through his neck and blew out the other side in a gruesome explosion of flesh and blood. Cato pulled up just as the other man's body hit the ground, his horse running off in a fright.

"You might wanna keep movin' fella," Cato warned, "This guy's got more men than a damn next o' cockroaches 'n I think they're all onto you!"

@Red Gallade

The bartender took in James's money without a word, moving professionally on to pour Shane his whiskey and set it in front of the large man. He let a few moments pass, but the bar picked up no further straggling wanderers.

"You're seemin' down, big feller," He said, putting it bluntly, "You needin' somethin'?"

@Void_Nugget

(@CrazyWolf I'm just gonna let James chill in his room? Unless you want a prompt, I'll let you do your thing)

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Joanne began to slow her horse as she saw the glimmers of flame in the distance. The gunshots were beginning to become less frequently, and she could hear the sounds of hoofbeats riding up behind her. There were already quite a few bodies starting to pile up on her ride here... this place was starting to look more like a massacre. Or like back in Cuba.

No time to reminisce. Thinking quickly, Joanne had Roc slow. The woman pulled a bandana over her nose, and turned back towards the three men riding towards her. She pointed in the directions of the gunshots, using the cover of darkness to mask her identity. Hopefully the members of the gang would simply think that Joanne was another guy loyal to Morris. With her other hand, Joanne held the hilt to her saber.

A member of the gang rode past her, and Joanne slashed out with her saber. The bandit let out a scream as Joanne's blade cut into his side, and he fell off his horse. The two other bandits, who at this point had already ridden past Joanne, looked back in confusion. With her left hand, Joanne drew her Colt Thunderer. The woman let out a battle cry as she fired her revolver at the two men.

 

[Red Gallade]

Cain was just about to shoot the moment he could make out the bandit only to watch him lifelessly fall off his horse and see another rider approach him with a warning that he had more men than he thought. Cain merely nodded and looked ahead while Greta picked up the pace, in his mind, he blamed himself for having underestimated Morris' influence and how he had so many men with him, he should have expected it if they were able to take over Fort Mercer.

"Let them come..." Cain said to Cato without looking his direction. "They'll all meet the devil soon enough." He added before he noticed another one of Morris' men ride towards them with a rifle in hand, even with the shaking of his galloping horse, the man seemed to have a pretty decent lock on Cain. Before he could pull the trigger, Cain already fired in the man's direction, the bullet passed through the scope and directly into the man's eye, the man fell off his horse shortly after he dropped his rifle.

 

[Void_Nugget]

Shane glanced at the bar keeper and chuckled "yeah I need something, money and lots of it. So you tell me have you heard of any juicy opportunities around here" he said to him while turning his thoughts to the gentleman earlier, "also that guy who came in after me, do you know if he's from around here or not" he asked intrigue becomes increasingly noticeable in his tone of voice and some ideas crocked up in his brain.

 

[EnviousWorm]

"Sorry, fella," The bartender shook his head, "I ain't know that man 'at just walked in 'n outta here. Served a lotta people in my day, so he might been one-a 'em. But know? His face, his name? Naw, not like 'at. As fer work, well -- nothin' quite so honest. Had a pair of moonshiners hirin' bodyguards last few days. Morris were always lookin' fer muscle, lotta got 'at did 'im."

@Void_Nugget

Joanne's bullets rang true, striking through the cheek of one man and direct through the chest of the other; She didn't have much time to celebrate a victory, however. Before her victims' bodies could fall to the ground, more riders rode up behind her, and she still had plenty to catch up to ahead of her. This cowgirl was in quite the pickle at the moment.

@Captain Cardboard

The ex-outlaw mumbled under his breath to himself, something about the cocky, poetic cowboys, although Cain couldn't hear Cato's quip over the sound of gunfire filling the air.

Even as Cain took one man down, another three came up from behind him. Cato slung his rifle over his back and pulled a pair of pistols from parallel holsters at his hips, just as much opening fire to cover Cain as he was shooting to kill Morris's men. Still, a horse took a bullet in its leg, sending it and its rider tumbling to the ground in a vicious collapse. The other two had to swing around them, which took some more time.

"We better hurry up, man," Cato called out, "I don't know if there's an end to these people."

@Red Gallade

 

[Captain Cardboard]

The two men feel, but Joanne still sensed there were others coming. Urging on Roc, Joanne fired her remaining shots blindly towards the group of riders. As she rode, she could see there were others ahead. The riders behind her opened fire, but either they were too far away or terrible shots. Or perhaps both. She heard the crack as a bullet whizzed past her ear. A small part of Joanne that wasn't feral at this moment was regretting every life decision that had led her to this point. Her damn bleeding heart. How many bastards did this Morris guy have working for him?! She reloaded her pistol as she rode.

As she rode, she could see a few other men ahead, two of them having a standoff with others. At this point, it looked like Joanne was leading the bandits and might end up getting caught in a crossfire. Or shot at by all parties. Joanne attempted to alter her course so she would find cover by the carriages that were used by the first group of bandits. As she rode, she continued to fire blindly back at the group of riders.

 

[CrazyWolf]

James tossed and turned in his bed, but whatever he did he could not fall asleep. He stood up and went back to his chair, looking out of the window. He could see the saloon on the other side of the road and decided to go back. If he couldn't fall asleep, why not go back to drinking? Still looking out of the window James stood up and started heading towards the door. He grabbed his coat and put it on, checked and loaded his revolver, and walked out of the room. As he headed downstairs he saw the owner reading a book, and as James walked by he looked up from the book, gave him a weird look.

When James had crossed the road he pushed the doors to the saloon open and headed inside. The tall guy was still there, and James decided to take the place next to him.
"I'm back. Give me a whiskey, please," he said to the bartender and then turned to the feller next to him. "So, what's your name, feller? You from around here?"