Inactive [Play-by-post] Three Lonely Graves

[Windwir]

Does anyone know this "old wheeler burg" place? Issac says while reading the letter a second time to see if he missed sth

Spoiler

Do I happen to know this place?

 

[SoupNazi]

After just a short inventory take, the down-on-luck posse decides together that they need to know their options and understand the environment they're in. Fortunately, Isaac had packed a length of rope, so when Kane has the idea to climb the rock face, he fashions an improvised grappling hook from a tomahawk and a knife he ties together and - first try - manages to hook it on top of the nearby plateau. The anchor is strong and the grizzly man has excellent upper body strength, so he's up on the edge in a matter of moments - it's very impressive to all those who remain down on solid ground that he scales the 25 feet sheer cliff so quickly.

Once up there, he (and anyone who climbs after him, except Adelita and Isaac who wouldn't make the climb without help, they'd need to be pulled up) gets a much better overview of the locale. Short-distance, you are indeed in a "maze" of canyons, with islands of plateaus just likes this one creating it naturally. Of note is that the maze exit is nearby; your captors only lead you so far inside. Perhaps they were afraid of getting lost themselves. To the south-east, just a bit past the narrow eastern pathway, there is a depression in the rock wall, possibly a cave that could offer some shade and shelter.

What's noticeable once looking a bit further out is that on all the other sides, the "maze" goes on a bit further than it does to the north, but still, it's not big - two or three miles, tops. Kane also warns everyone of an impending heat wave he can discern from looking at the horizon; the temperatures are likely to reach 130°F (54°C) pretty quickly, and with your limited water supply, that will be just as dangerous as a bunch of bandits with guns.

Furthermore, the view along with the bit of map you have gives you some clear long-term "options", if they can be called so:

Pretty much directly east are the San Juan mountains, which are green and livable; Kane estimates roughly 100 miles out. Little civilization, but plenty of wildlife and foraging opportunities. Could use the relative safety of the forest to reach Deseret, Denver, or Santa Fe / Abluqerque.
North-east is Denver... that's probably a bad idea for you all right now. But it's "only" around a 100 miles out . . .
The town of Amarillo is probably a bit south west of your location - but around 300 miles out.
The safest option seems to be reaching the Black Mesa mountain, which is around 80 miles out, and then further 10 miles south you know is the Santa Fe trail, which was an important trading route and despite the railroad up north, still saw some use. From there, you could easily reach either Santa Fe itself, or Dodge City.

 

[Major_Blackhart]

Bill Williamson climbs the rope, slowly and steadily, grumbling the whole way up as he does so. As he reaches the short summit, he glances round and takes stock of the situation around the group. Seeing the cave, he is cautious.

"Caves got critters in em usually. Can be good or bad, depending on the type. My experience, bein' what it is in the rockies an sech, says it be some sorta cat maybe be the wust of it, a big ol' mountain painter or some such. But surely we'll die if'n we stay out here in the heat much longer.

Spoiler

Do I add any chances to find anything additional in the maze from my view? I am a mountain man after all.

 

[SoupNazi]

Spoiler

Do I add any chances to find anything additional in the maze from my view? I am a mountain man after all.

Spoiler

Rolled for you...

Bill Williamson takes a harder look in the immediate vicinity, and on one side of rock face to the east, he sees a small patch of bigger, puffier cactus pads and remembers those are far more useful than ordinary cacti when it comes to providing sustenance. If you can collect a few and start a fire, the big spines can be cut off with a knife, the small hair-like spikes can be burned off, and then it's a matter of hollowing a pad out and you have an improvised water skin. In an emergency, the plant itself can then also be roasted and eaten. Collecting a few, preparing them and then filling them up with water from the smaller cacti will take some time, but you surmise you can probably gather enough water to last the whole party for 2 days comfortably. You can even boil the water using the cactus pads, should you find a potentially unsafe source.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

you can collect a few and start a fire, the big spines can be cut off with a knife, the small hair-like spikes can be burned off, and then it's a matter of hollowing a pad out and you have an improvised water skin

Spoiler

Any way of improvising a needle and thread from the cactus spikes and cloth thread for a stitch job?

 

[nikolokolus]

Jesus pulls on a ratty thread from his filthy poncho. "Hold on Gringo! Let's see if we can stitch you up." He tries to split the wide end of a spine just a tiny bit with his bowie knife, and attempts to jamb the end of the thread into the tiny notch. "Anybody got any tequila? Any whisky?" He looks around at the others fo any sign of understanding.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Jesus pulls on a ratty thread from his filthy poncho. "Hold on Gringo! Let's see if we can stitch you up." He tries to split the wide end of a spine just a tiny bit with his bowie knife, and attempts to jamb the end of the thread into the tiny notch. "Anybody got any tequila? Any whisky?" He looks around at the others fo any sign of understanding.

Spoiler

Yo put that thread in boiled water if we ain't got alcohol to disinfect it with. Think we can start a fire.

 

[Stella Brando]

'Yo tengo.... I have Tequila you can use. Home-made on the Hacienda.'

 

[ERYFKRAD]

'Soy tengo.... I have Tequila you can use. Home-made on the Hacienda.'

Spoiler

We got Tequila but forgot water.

 

[Windwir]

Issac slowly moves to the depression southeast to see if it can provide shelter for the upcoming heatwave and if there are any "inhabitants" living inside. Just to be safe for the last part, he holds the shotgun in his hands, aiming it at anything that's going to come out and is bigger than an insect

Spoiler

If it is indeed a cave, he is going to stand by the entrance and wait for the others to come down

 

[Stella Brando]

Adelita passes the dusty tequila bottle to her injured companero.

Spoiler

'¡Salud!'

 

[SoupNazi]

Jesus and Adelita set about maximalizing Bill's keen eye discovery of the bigger cacti while the temperature is still bearable. Jesus skillfully splits a cactus spine to fashion it into a needle and sterilizes it with a bit of Adelita's home-made tequila, worm included, along with the thread from his shoddy poncho. The hope is of course that the tequila will also neutralize the needle's irritating property, otherwise the Wildman's irritation with people will be worsened by a constant itch in both cheeks. Kane takes a a few gulps of the strong tequila himself to numb himself at least a little bit. The burning on the inside of his cheeks as the tequila disinfects his open wounds is almost pleasant - it means it works.

Thanks to their combined skills, they manage to stitch up Kane's wound in about half an hour and even if there's some bickering, the teamwork supplements a real doctor pretty well. The stitchwork isn't exactly pretty, and Kane isn't going to be winning any beauty contests anytime ever, but he probably wasn't going to in the first place.

Isaac meanwhile navigates through the narrow pathway to the east, and carefully approaches. It is indeed a cave, a bit deeper than it seemed from an angle, about 30 feet deep, and the ceiling is just high enough so that a tall person doesn't need to bend down to walk in, but jumping would be ill-advised. The depth combined with low ceiling makes it difficult to make out what exactly is towards the end of it, but at least Isaac doesn't see any gnawed-on bones or a sleeping mountain lion...

The temperature has meanwhile gotten a lot less comfortable, even for people used to the climate.

 

[Stella Brando]

"Let's explore la cueva. It's getting much too hot out here." Adelita peers into the darkness.

"How many antorcha do we have?"

 

[SoupNazi]

Isaac, Kane and Adelita decide to check the cave properly - and thanks to Kane's keen eyes, before they enter it, they spot a coiled Python, slumbering after a meal!

 

[SoupNazi]

Kane wastes no time in halting everyone and proclaiming himself the future snake-killer while the posse considers their options. Let's not waste any bullets or arrows, he proclaims and moves into the cave like a cougar, tomahawk in hand. The python's swollen belly tells him it's eaten recently, probably a rat or some such, and the snake's slumber makes it weak and unresponsive. It lifts its head at Kane when he reaches it, but before it can react in any way, the Wildman swings his tomahawk and beheads the python in a single swing. The snake's body uncoils and performs the dance of death for a few seconds, kicking up dust in the cave, but then, all is quiet - all, except for Adelita's constant babbling and comments on the action. It will be tough to stay stealthy in the future with the woman around......

Spoiler

Everyone gets mucho experienco - a whopping 30 XP.

 

[Stella Brando]

Adalita makes a promise to herself -- to stay away from la tequila in future.

 

[Stella Brando]

"It seems muy lógico to camp in the end of this cueva.

Do we want to light a fire? Or will we be too hot?

And what if someone should come down el túnel?"

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Do we want to light a fire?

No

Or will we be too hot?

Yes

And what if someone should come down el túnel

Maybe

 

[Stella Brando]

"Informativo." Adelita prepares to camp in the cool tunnel, even if no-one else is doing so. She doesn't light a fire.



She turns to Jesús Cuevo. "¿Señor Cuevo, Hablas español? ¿No? Do you want me to teach you Spanish? From your name, I suppose you could do with some. Also, we can use it communicate in front of enemies. Or even in front of el Bárbaro and Guillame son of Guillame. El Médico, I believe, can understand it. Think about it."

 

[SoupNazi]

Spoiler

It's just past noon in the world right now, I assume the intention is to only wait out the heat wave, so wait until about sunset, and then set out? Traveling through the night can be more comfortable when it comes to heat, and in a world not yet spoiled by light and air pollution, the starry sky and moonlight are enough not to slow you down when traveling (though there are the other dangers associated with night - predators, bandits, etc).

 

[Stella Brando]

Spoiler

Yeah, that sounds reasonable.

La siesta.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Spoiler

Yeah, that sounds reasonable.

La siesta.

"Siesta nothing. You're taking first watch while the rest of us catch some peace and quiet."

 

[Stella Brando]

"Alright. If you hear me calling, I'm in trouble... Or just bored."

 

[SoupNazi]

Each member of the posse finds a spot in their temporary home, some roll out their bedrolls (all 2 of you who thought to bring some), others settle for their poncho or just solid ground. Adelita is volunteered for first watch and leans against the wall at the entrance to the cave just so that she stays in the shade, but is able to see outside. And it turns out to be a very good choice, as she starts hearing noises from the north. There's shuffling, and her sharp ears even pick up on very, very light steps in the sand and dirt... and then there's the whining.

She can surmise that there's a bunch of, at best dogs, maybe coyotes, coming towards your cave somewhere from the north, so they will probably approach from the west.

You can assume that much like you were, they're also looking for shelter... Adelita quietly goes around to warn everyone in a low voice, or wake them up gently if they were already mid-siesta.

 

[Stella Brando]

"We have a problema... Ssshhh..."