Deadwood the next frontier.

[Andrew Markham]

Hanar turns his pony to face the group and says, "Sticks is flying west, which is apparently where the sheriff's house is. I have located his badge in that direction also. I believe we should proceed there. I have a suspicion that this may be a test to see how we gather information and work together, but I have no evidence to prove this."

[palupton]

Lyna was running a little late to meet up with the others at the sheriff's office, and as she walked down the street, her emerald green skirt swayed back and forth around her ankles. It was a little shorter than the burgundy skirt she'd had on the day before, with a split almost all the way to her hip. Under it, she wore thick black leggings that were skin tight, but didn't hinder movement. Her golden under-bust corset had been swapped for a rich brown over-bust one made of leather, and the shirt beneath it was black like the one she'd had on the day before, though it had a little more movement to it. She was still wearing the same boots, belt with strange writing around it, and weapon arrangements, though they were slightly less concealed than the day before. Her long red hair had been pulled back into a braid to her waist that swung back and forth around her shoulders like a whip that threatened to snap at a passerby.

As she caught sight of the building, she looked up and saw Swizzlesticks in the air flying off. It only took another second before Hanar spoke and caught her attention. When she saw that he was on a pony, which he made look smaller than it was, an eyebrow and the corner of her mouth quirked upwards.

"I'm late and already missing the fun. Sounds like there may be trouble ahead. Lead the way, Hanar. I'll keep an eye out for anything out of place." she says with a touch of amusement to her voice that drops off the longer she talks.

Lyna looks around the area for anything unusual, and plans on following the others with both eyes scanning for information. A feeling tells her that this probably isn't just a test, but she doesn't voice her concern as it may be worry over nothing.

((Added)) She notices something that catches her interest and speaks up. "Hold on; does anyone else think it strange that there are muddy prints on the porch? The ground is pretty dry around here." she says as she kneals to touch the prints to see if she can tell how old they may be.

"There are still damp spots here and there. These are... an hour old? If that? Hanar, how far do you think that badge is from here? If you had to ride around to sense it, then it isn't at his house." she says as she stands and looks at Hanar with a thoughtful expression.

"Sheriff Newhall usually stables his horse here 'round back. I think we should go check, since he's unlikely to have taken her out for a short trip." she says to no one in particular.

[Darius Vibrtrar]

Swizzlesticks yells out.

"No horse round back!, lets check out his house, Come on guys!"

[Andrew Markham]

"I sense the badge approximately a quarter mile to the west of here. If we move in that direction, I will be able to home in on it specifically. However, since my spell's duration will continue for several more minutes, it's worth checking out the stable. Since you seem to be skilled at this sort of tracking, and I have little skill in that field, I will follow your lead as you collect more evidence. Let me know if my magic can assist you in any way."

[palupton]

Lyna looks up at Swizzlesticks as he yells out, and then back at Hanar. "Even though the horse isn't in the stable, there may be another clue there. It will only take me a moment to check if you want to head towards the house and I'll catch up to y'all. It certainly won't hurt to pinpoint that badge while we have a chance." she says as she makes a move to go around back. She hesitates for a moment before she turns and disappears towards the stable.

There, she finds mud matching that on the front porch, and prints from both the horse and some boots running through it. "The mud is the same, but I wonder where it came from. I don't remember hearing rain any time last night...." she says to herself more than anything.

[Ulfy]

Ulfgar sticks around with Lyna incase there's trouble and to offer a ride.

[Andrew Markham]

Hanar shakes his head and follows Lyna, trying to keep the others in sight. "No ma'am," he responds, "Sticks can do as he likes, but if there is some chance of hostile encounters, the rest of us should stay together."

Hanar looks down at the mud. "Our native guide has spent a lot of time out and about, and she knows a thing or two about mud," Hanar continues, remembering the quicksand incident wryly. "I bet she could figure out if this mud is significant somehow. I shall endeavor to see if it is magical in some way, just in case."

Hanar waves Aven over, hoping she will come look at the mud. He then casts Detect Magic and concentrates on the mud. If he finds nothing, he will sweep the entire stable.

[Ulfy]

"Hey, Aven! You can talk to your cat, right? Have it sniff that mud and ask it what animal it smells. 'Cause that ain't mud. Not normal mud anyways."

[STDM Grizzly Ad]

Hanar doesn't seem to find anything magical in the stables.

[Aven]

Aven comes up riding on the back of Addi. As she gets closer to the group, the panther stops and Aven slips off her back. Aven places her hand on the panther's cheek and smiles. Letting Addi go off and do what she was asked to do, Aven joins the rest.

[Ulfy]

"So, whatever was in there either really had to go, got scared, or marked its territory."

[Aven]

After Addi sniffs the mud she looks up at Aven. Aven then turns to the rest of the group

She told me that there really isn't anything special about the mud...it is mud and horse urine... She makes a slight face as she says this

[palupton]

Lyna kneels down and lets her eyes follow the "muddy" tracks around, and she shifts her weight to keep following them with her eyes. She stands back upright after a moment and takes one more quick look around. "The tracks through here seem to be heading back out front." she says more to herself than anything, but loud enough to be heard. She takes a few steps in that direction and at the edge of the building, she can see the hitching post and the tracks leading to it.

She continues following the tracks with her eyes, but doesn't go out of sight or earshot of the others. She looks up at the sky to see where the sun is before looking back down at the ground and letting her eyes jump around while she thinks. "These tracks are leading west. That would put us moving in the direction of Swizzlesticks. Is there anything else you can see here, or should we go ahead an start followin' these?" she says as she looks back over at the group. She seems to be a little uncomfortable about this situation, and even though she is used to being in charge of the brothel, this is different. This could get someone killed.

[Ulfy]

Ulfgar gets down off of Mayble and checks the front door one more time.

"Yep. Still locked and everything normal on the inside."

He climbs back into the saddle on Mayble, offering Lyna a ride and a hand up.

[palupton]

Lyna looks up at Ulfgar and gives him a small smile before she reaches up and takes his hand. She easily gets up on Mayble's back behind him. "Thank you, Ulfgar. Alright, looks like we should be ready to go." she says as she looks around at the others.

[STDM Grizzly Ad]

Everyone mounts up and begins to follow Sticks' lead, however before you reach Sheriff Newhall's house Lyna can tell that the tracks turn off into the open land beyond the town limit. (Do you continue to the house or follow the horse tracks?)

[Andrew Markham]

Hanar concentrates for a moment, then points in the direction of the tracks. "The sheriff's badge is that way, just at the edge of my spell's range, 900 feet or so. Let us continue with the tracks." If he can not hear, Hanar uses his Message spell to send the same words to Sticks.

[Ulfy]

Ulfgar addresses Lyna.

"Tracks sound good?"

[palupton]

Lyna nods. "Following the tracks would definitely be my vote. The sheriff could be in trouble at the end of them." she says as she looks down to follow the tracks with her eyes.

[STDM Grizzly Ad]

Swizzlestick reaches the sheriff's house and finds it empty. Nothing seems out of place so he looks back to the rest of the group and notices them heading out of town. Hurrying to catch up he makes a bee line for the party.

Just as Sticks catches up with you, you see on the horizon a saddled horse that appears to be dragging something (DC 20 perception to identify). The horse has stopped to graze.

[Andrew Markham]

"The sheriff's badge is still 450 feet off. That might not be him. Let us check quickly and continue to follow- either to find him or avenge him."

[Darius Vibrtrar]

swizzlesticks flies forward to scout from overhead

[Ulfy]

Ulfgar rides forward at a slightly faster than normal pace.

[Andrew Markham]

Hanar closes his eyes and focuses on his spell. He points and moves his hand until he points directly at the horse. Then he sighs in resignation. "Let us go examine the scene and see if we can determine what has happened." Hanar rides over to the horse, slowing down on approach so as not to frighten off the animal.

[STDM Grizzly Ad]

Swizzlestick flies higher to survey the surrounding area. While Hanar and Ulfgar move on to investigate the scene with the horse. It takes just over half a minute to reach the top of the hill where the horse is grazing. Aven and Addi approach cautiously and hang back a bit as to not frighten the beast of burden.

Upon drawing near, you see the body of a man, still and face down. His foot is caught in the horse's stirrup. His clothes are soiled from being dragged and his shirt is soaked with blood. Hanar's magical sense tells him he is now next to his target.

Swizzlestick lands next to Hanar, and says "There's a house down in the valley. It's about a half mile from here."

[Andrew Markham]

Hanar's eyes turn slightly whiter as he stares at the body intently. Then Hanar announces, "He's alive, but just barely holding on." Hanar casts a spell while still on his horse. "He should no longer be losing blood. Now I can attend to his specific injuries in due time." Hanar dismounts and begins slowly approaching the body, so as not to frighten the horse.

If he is able to reach it, he touches the body and uses arcane reserve to cast Cure Critical Wounds, healing (4d8+13)[29] damage.

[STDM Grizzly Ad]

The rise and fall of lungs breathing can now be seen from the man's back, where before these subtle movements were too weak to be visible. A small cloud of dust erupts from either side of his head as he coughs loudly. His wounds close and he begins to rise off the ground, freeing his foot and pushing up with his arms. As he sits up and shakes his head, dust circles him. You can recognize Sheriff Newhall, though he is very dirty and his clothes are torn and tattered from the rocky ground. He looks around.

"Oh! It's you. I don't know how you found me but I'm glad you did." a look crosses his face as if a thought had suddenly occurred to him and he quickly dashes down the hill a ways and ducks behind a thick woody shrub. He waves you down to his new position.

[Ulfy]

Ulfgar rides down to the bushes and offers a hand to Lyna if she wants get down and hide, a look of concern on his face. He stays mounted and looks in the general direction the Sheriff is looking, hoping for a good view from his slightly elevated position.

Perception: [roll]1d20+12[/roll]

[Andrew Markham]

Hanar raises one eyebrow skeptically, but follows the sheriff's actions, dismounting and walking the pony off the beaten path. He then looks around for a clue of what the sheriff is reacting to.

Perception: (1d20+7)[11]

[STDM Grizzly Ad]

Both of you notice that the crest of the hill now blocks your view of the valley.

"Thanks Doc, thought I was a goner there. I rode out this morning to try and see what we were up against. The bank was held up yesterday while you were out at McCoy's ranch. I was pretty sure it was the Blackwall boys. They let out of here a few months back with their old man. They claimed our water rations were too strict and thought they could make it better on their own. I thought for sure they had withered up out here. After yesterday's events I decided to send you out to bring them in, but I wanted to gather some information for you. I guess they were expecting me. I did get close enough to see that they've taken up with some injuns and at least one of them is a heluva shot. I was at least a quarter mile off when I caught a round."

Sheriff Newhall pats his chest where he had been shot. He finds a piece of lead that must have been forced out as Hanar's magic closed his wounds.