Deadlands - Session 1
Having prevented a Harrowed madman from conquering the North with an army of steel super soldiers, the posse saddle their horses and hit the dusty trail. Rabbi Wallowiscz is troubled by the unnatural things he has witnessed while travelling with the party and leaves to pursue a life of solitary introspection in darkest Peru. To fill the void in their group dynamic, the posse recruit the first two stragglers they meet upon the road; Austin Ripley
(a mysterious hexslinger who crafts his own magical bullets) and Theo
(a slayer of -)
"A slayer of what?" Antonio interrupted, swaying unsteadily in his saddle,
"Demons?"
"No - "
"Vampires?"
"No - "
"Werewolves? Ghouls? Pirates? Rocks?"
Sulkily, Theo digs his silver spurs into his mount's flank and ranges ahead of the group, ignoring the bombardment of ever more outlandish suggestions hollered after him.
"I'll bet it is rocks." Antonio confided to Bob Twofeathers riding beside him. Bob grunted and continued to stroke the barrel of his rotating shotgun in a vaguely homo-erotic manner.
Cobb Whately shuddered and
(for neither the first nor last time) wondered how it came to pass that the Cthulhu worshiping sorcerer should be the least mentally disturbed member of the posse?
---
Some time later, the posse reach the quaint community of Alders Creek, nestled in the foothills of
[wherever in the West we are]. The signpost marking the village limit has been cheerfully decorated with an emaciated corpse. The desiccated flesh is covered by a multitude of scratches where the hungry birds have pecked and torn at the body. The aforementioned birds watch the posse greedily from the surrounding trees, licking their... beaks in bloodthirsty anticipation of their next meal.
Guiding their horses passed the gristly totem, the posse find yet more bodies strung up in the town square
(which was actually more of a rectangle). Flies buzz in the air and yet more carrion birds perch on the rooftops overlooking this grim scene of slaughter. The dead range in minty freshness from several weeks to several days old.
"Why can't we ever wander into a nice town?" Antonio cried, shaking his Mexican fists at the malevolent arbiter of their destiny,
"This is exactly why the Rabbi left!"
"Let's get out of the open," Bob Twofeathers growled,
"I don't like the ways those damn vultures are eyeballing me - like I'm a 25k bag of Dawn Chorus Wild Bird Food, available for £18.99 from www.gardenwildlifedirect.co.uk."
Suddenly, the door to the sheriff's office slams open and the local lawman tosses a little girl out into the street. The door slams shut, leaving the bonny wee lass alone amongst the dead - and the birds. As one, the gluttonous crows take to the air, circling above the rooftops before diving down towards the helpless child!
Heroically, Bob Twofeathers canters forth and hoists the girl up beside him, shielding her from the hungry birds with his broad shoulders. She snuggles into the coarse fabric of Bob's unwashed poncho as the maelstrom of black feathers engulfs them both - but Bob is a hardy fellow who didn't stint on Toughness and he emerges from the swarm unharmed.
"Get the girl to safety!" Austin cried, loading an explosive round into his revolver,
"Theo, help me!"
"Sorry, I don't do birds." the slayer answered, after consulting his list of supernatural horrors.
"Don't worry, senoir!" Antonio called, hurtling into the swarm of flapping hunger,
"I mexiCAN be of assistance!"
"Get out of my burst template you bloody idiot!" Austin screamed in reply, unable to unload his spell until the masked fool was out of the way. Unburdened by areas of effect
(or the slightest concern for Antonio's well being), Cobb Whately began throwing balls of eldrich fire into the swarm. Dozens of crows were killed by the huxster's sorcerous onslaught, yet more birds flocked to join the swarm, replacing those that had fallen.
"Quick! Here! Bring the girl inside!"
The doors to the town livery stable/general store swung open and the elderly proprietor gestured for the posse to take shelter in his barn. Once ensconced in the relative safety of the livery stable, the party settled into the warm hay for some good old fashioned story exposition.
To be continued....
