Sit down, shut up, don't touch anythin'
Posted September 5, 2019
Addy nodded as she gathered all the leads for her charges and then swung into Arabesque's saddle. "Bear's pretty bold, seein' as he attacked us." She nodded to Speed. "Don't often take on four horses an' th' two'a us." Settling into the saddle, she added, "In broad daylight, too. No warnin'..." This was truly a demon in animal form, and just because there were several of them didn't make them safe.
"The law is the law."
"Mining's not everyone's choice of hobbies, it just happens to be mine."
Posted September 6, 2019 / Henry S. Guyer
Speed nodded as he listened to Addy retell the tale of their encounter. "Beast has no apparent fear, not of man or of gunshots, so we'd best be vigilant." He warned as he back stepped toward his horse. "I'd suggest we post to night sentries, but that's just me."
In one smooth motion he stepped into leather and swung aboard, retaining his sharps which he rested across his saddle brows,still having a firm grip on it. "Pistols will be of no use, keep that in mind." Not that he was the leader by any means, he just wanted to relay what he had learned first hand.
‘Over the Mountains of the Moon, Down the Valley of the Shadow, ride, boldly ride, The Shade replied - If you seek for El Dorado
Posted September 6, 2019
Shade allowed Lakota a good long drink before vaulting lightly back into the saddle. "Let's go, fella," he said to the horse as he patted the animal's neck and turned him back onto the faint trail.
Over the next two hours, Shade alternated riding and walking the trail to make sure he did not lose sight of the bear's tracks. He was also stopping frequently to compare the track to the other animals' signs in the area and debris so he could estimate their age. It was not an exact science, and the best anyone could do was make an educated guess. Fortunately, Shade had been taught by one of the best. The relationship was convoluted, but John Warbow was connected through his paternal grandmother's side of the family.
Those thoughts led Shade to think about how things stood with Montana's Indians. Incidents had been on the rise in the territory and all over the west. Good men and bad men on both sides were adding to the unrest. Right now, the Nez Perce were not caught up in the incidents. Shade hoped it remained that way. He did not want to be put in the position of taking up arms against his grandmother's people.
A rabbit shooting across the trail almost under Lakota's front hooves brought Shade's attention squarely back to the job at hand. The big horse snorted with annoyance but did not shy or try to bolt. Taking that as a sign that he should dismount again, Shade swung his leg over the saddle and dropped easily to the ground. Despite the hours in the saddle, he wasn't stiffening up. Riding came as easily as breathing to him.
Tense, because he wondered what had spooked the rabbit out of the brush, Shade made sure his rifle was ready. The rabbit was long gone, but still, he felt uneasy. Leaving Lakota ground-tied, Shade walked slowly forward. Out of habit, he stepped carefully, making as little sound as possible. The warning signs were subtle. There was a sudden silence in the forest around them just as the breeze brought with it a strong, musky scent.
Shade whirled, bringing up his rifle. He managed to get a shot off, but it did not slow the animal down. Before he could fire again, agony flared in his leg as the massive bear's claws raked down his right thigh. Shade's leg did not quite buckle, and he pulled the pistol from his belt and fired. The shot went wide as a massive paw hit him again, sending him off his feet. Shade slammed down hard on a clump of small boulders next to the trail and lost consciousness as his head impacted one of the rocks....
"The law is the law."
"Mining's not everyone's choice of hobbies, it just happens to be mine."
Posted September 6, 2019 / Henry S. Guyer
Speed sensed the quiet, felt the tenseness suddenly in the air similar to just before an attack during the war. Then he saw a flash of fur, the gunshot and then heard Shades horse scream followed by the collision of animals. He turned in his saddle to raise his Sharps when either Shade's horse or the bear rammed into his mount and sent Speed sprawling into the underbrush, the rifle flying out of his hand somewhere to his right. He was dazed but began scrambling in that direction.
Posted September 6, 2019 / Quentin Cantrell
Quentin swore as he reined Paladin uphill out of the milling mass of horses and people. He had relaxed a bit, drifting back in the column as the pace of the ride had lulled him a bit after so many hours of no activity. The sudden outburst up front had to be that monster attacking the front of their group. He turned Paladin and moved parallel to the trail as he brought the Trapdoor Springfield up, using his boots in the stirrups to bring the horse to a halt. He could feel the horse's nervousness and honestly, he didn't blame him one bit.
Quentin's eyes narrowed as he spotted the fast moving bulk racing back along the trail toward the mobile remuda further back. He swung the rifle as his thumb dragged the hammer to full cock. He led the dark brown bulk as best he could and fired. The Springfield belched a cloud of white smoke and he saw a puff of red mist erupt from the bear's side behind its left foreleg. Quentin knew his uphill position meant the round had not hit anything vital as it penetrated. His hands flipped the trapdoor breech up and the empty round spun out with a metallic ping. Quentin fished out a fresh round and thumbed it in as he kicked his leg over the saddle and dropped to the ground. He began running along the hillside, glimpsing the large rear of the grizzly as it bounded ahead of him.
Posted September 6, 2019 / Aurelian Redmond
It had been a long day already, Aurelian was a good enough rider afterall he'd been in the cavalry in the war but he was not used to it anymore. It was a bit deflating but the truth of it was he was a farmer now. Shade had dismounted yet again and moved on ahead on foot, checking the tracks no doubt, or maybe wondering what spooked that rabbit.
As for Aurelian he was riding in back with the woman, Addy, and the extra mounts. It all happened so fast then. There was a shot, a roar, the horses were spooked and not without reason. That damned bear was in on them just like that! It was total chaos. Aurelian brought his Sharps carbine up to fire but just as he did, his horse pulled away to one side, no doubt wanting nothing to do with being anywhere near that rampaging bear. He couldn't be sure but he may well have missed completely with his shot. Certainly if it did hit, there was no visible effect. All he could think now was he needed to reload the breechloader, while saddled on a panicky horse. Not an easy task. It was why the cavalry preferred to engage in their firefights on foot.
And here came the bear!!!
Sit down, shut up, don't touch anythin'
Posted September 7, 2019 / Adelaide Chappel
On-going tension was a strain on one's mind and body, and Addy was working to keep her nerves in check, humming a tune to calm herself, but it was on easy task...she had seen first-hand what this bear could do, and although they were in a fairly large group, they still needed to be wary.
Any effort at calm dissolved as the bear appeared, charging in among the riders. At the back of the line, Addy couldn't see exactly what was happening, but it wasn't good, that was evident from the shooting, the shouts and the squealing of panicked horses.
Arabesque started to spin, balking away from Aurelian's horse...and the bear...but the mare turned into the remuda line, tangling in the lead ropes and agitated horses and mules. Off balance, Addy fell from the saddle, quickly scrambling under her horse to avoid being trampled, and came up on the other side. The lead for the remuda had been lost, and those animals were milling around, wanting to get away, but confined by the tethers, and Addy knew she had to protect them...the men could handle the bear.
"Whoa, now," she cooed to Arabesque. If she could control the mare, she could get to the other animals, try to calm them, or at least cut them free...
Before she could get to them, she saw a saddled animal charging her way -- Shade's horse -- and she reached out as it passed, managing to grab a rein, and as the horse lurched to a stop, the momentum yanked on her, causing her and the horse to collide, the contact jarring her already bruised ribs, and she tumbled to the dirt, gasping for air.
Storyteller / Shared NPC
Posted September 9, 2019 / Old Satan, the Bear
The bear was angry, and pain made him less fearful of humans, his one true nemesis. He had been injured after attacking the man a few days ago. The bullet that grazed his skull near the missing eye was not large enough to do serious damage. However, the bear was old, and the wound had festered. The pain was driving him insane and made him throw caution to the wind.
The humans could not know that this was an alien world to him. He had adapted, mainly living high in the mountains. Age had driven him to the lowlands to hunt for easier prey. Although humans were not on his usual menu, he no longer had any qualms about making a meal of them.
The bear had been born far away on an island. Mostly, humans hunted the massive island bears for their fur, meat, and grease. In his case though, a burly Russian had found him next to his mother's stripped carcass. He had taken the cub back to the settlement and tamed him. The cub had been nearly two years old when the man was offered a large amount of money for him by the owner of a traveling Russian circus.
For several years, life had not been too horrible. He performed tricks and danced for crowds of people. Then, his handler had been killed in a shooting over a woman. The man that took over was cruel. Instead of continuing to work with the bear, he had sought to dominate the animal through fear and pain. This was how he had lost his eye, and his face had been horribly disfigured when his trainer had waved a torch too close. His eye and face had been burned. In the aftermath, he had become virtually unmanageable. They had put him in a cage too small for his bulk, rarely fed him and he was virtually forgotten.
The bear's captivity had come to an abrupt end when a fire ravaged the traveling circus. The few remaining animals had been set free or had escaped. Instinct had driven the bear toward the higher ground of the Chogun Mountain range. Periodically, over the years, he had returned to the lowlands to raid for livestock and terrorize the humans that he hated with a passion. In fact, his hatred often overcame his fear. These forays had earned him the name of Ole Satan.
The massive bear was now in the middle of the humans and horses. He roared his rage, his fevered mind driving him beyond fear. He rose up on his hind legs. Standing over nine feet tall, he was a magnificent and terrifying sight. Roaring again, the bear dropped to all fours and turned back toward the human that was laying up against a rockfall of large boulders...
"The law is the law."
"Mining's not everyone's choice of hobbies, it just happens to be mine."
Posted September 10, 2019 / Henry S. Guyer
The Sharps was sticking out of the underbrush, horse were panicked, crow-hopping, bucking, and generally making his position on the ground more dangerous that when he'd been mounted. Yet he fought his way to a crouch and rushed to the rifle grasping the stock and finding it was ensnared in the jumble of the weeds, roots and tangles.
"Dammit!" He uttered as he jerked on the rifle, tug after tug. When it came free it was all of a sudden, and it pitched Speed backward into the rump of one of the frighted horses who was leaping backwards in his own attempt to get clear of the danger. The impact from the animal sent him sprawling into the brambles once again, the rifle tumbling behind him, skittering away from his grasp.
Posted September 17, 2019 / Aurelian Redmond
"Damn it!" Aurelian snapped, his shot missed and while the Sharps carbine packed a good punch the drawback was it was a single shot weapon. He would need to reload and this while the bear was rampaging amongst the party. Aurelian fell back against a rock, ended up on his rump as he snapped open the rifle's breech then ejected the spent shell. Reaching into his pocket now he grabbed for a new round. If the bear chose to attack him now, he was frankly not going to load this thing in time.