Yonderin' About Town

Afternoon of Grolm 7, 578 ...
 
After wrangling a herd of devil-possessed cows, it turns out the real work was waiting to bubble up.
 
The driver and guard of the mail coach were busy sorting out the mail - though not too busy to offer up a round of drinks. Not something I would normally turn down but the whole 'devil-cow' ... and that they came in 'more' ... didn't sit well with me. After all, one devil-cow means a wizard sneezed wrong somewhere or is looking for a sound beating for making that. A herd? Well, I wasn't sure what to make of that yet. It turned out the coach had a passenger. She was dressed well, but practical. The callouses on her hands meant she told a long story of her and weapons.
 
Lee Chung went to the chapel with Padre. The others headed to the saloon to take the coach driver and guard up on their offer. I wanted a look at the coach. Those cows hammered it once or twice. I'm wondering if they left a horn or fur behind. Something with a good scent. A good scent means we might have a back trail and I don't trust that whoever put together that devil-possessed Bad Idea on Hooves will overlook leaving the herd's tracks just waiting to be found.
 
I find a lot of damage and a bit of fur. Collecting that tuft, I find some bone fragments and some hide as well. Nothing useful right away. I pocket those then check the sun. Being late afternoon, I figure to talk with the coach team, the head out to the abandoned farm to look after the animals.
 
Inside, I talked with the others. Miro was gone, which was no surprise. I chalked that up to he hasn't found enough trouble yet, so passed the time with some talk. Mostly that was about how to defend the town against a herd of those cattle coming into Purgatory Gulch proper. Tough call. Ditch might do it, timber as well.
 
Meanwhile, I enjoy a mix of mead and something called Expressed Rage, which is ale with coffee. Tangy taste when you mix them! Almost like a good sipping whiskey.
 
Then there is a sharp crack. It reminds me of lightning. The others were willing to wait but I'm not. I figured it was Miro and things were going sour for him. I slid back my chair and headed out. He had let loose with a spell and cracked the sidewalk. Saying he's 'found some fun' means trouble. I pulled out my tonfas and stepped forward to get to work.
 
The fight was a mess. A whole mob of undead scorpions and a couple of sidewinders. Miro and the lady - who I heard was the tax assessor - had the front, so I ran to the back. No back door so I broke through. An undead mob is really not something to take lightly. I also figured that I'd stay to help repair the shop. I pulled out the tonfas and laid into the mob but there were just so many. So I did what often works best for me in close quarters ...
 
I improvised.
 
Grabbing the barrel of rabbit jerky, I tipped it over and rolled it toward - and over - the scorpion mob. Squashed several, herded others. Jessie cast thundercloud then shoved it to the store. The others flattened the rest that made it out the front door. The barrel turned out to be a good weapon and smashed the rest.
 
When it was over, the store looked like a three-day hangover gone wrong. I didn't see the mayor on the first floor and hoped he wasn't on the second since these undead animals were already inside the general store when all this started. Putting a jar over the last undead scorpion, I set to work sweeping out parts of broken undead parts to set fire to them. I was torn over that last undead scorpion thing. On one hand, the thing ought to be bashed cause ... well ... it's undead. On the other, my curiosity is a bit peaked. It's not every day you come across an undead scorpion.
 
I was in the middle of sweeping when Lee Chung came racing down to stop me from setting the parts on fire. He was concerned the undead scorpions were carrying something stolen from upstairs. It was a good idea but really ... they met the bad end of a rolling barrel and wound up kinda flat. But I searched anyway because you never know.

I find a ledger style book inside a box of cardamom. Not up to date, it was a register book of all ranches and farms in the area both present and past. There were colored designs inside along with the source of each color. Overall the records went back five years, with two weeks on a spread of two pages. The latest entry was just before the giant storm. I slip that into a coat pocket. It might belong to the mayor, it might not. But that seemed like something best not left out in the open. I figured to let the others in about it later.
 
During the cleaning up, Miro came bouncing through the Assessor lady and out the front door. Miro's got a good heart but by Ika's blessed bandages, he's got a knack for breaking damn near anything including himself. I'll catch up with him later. I can only clean one place at a time. Besides, there's a pending visit to the local nyad and I have to get back to that abandoned farm to see to the animals.
 
While I cleaned the others had a long debate over where to go next ... either off to take a nap, or to Arjory Pond, or head north to ... something? I'm still best interested in heading to Arjory Pond to talk to the nyad. My gut's still saying she's got a good piece of information we need to know.
 
The group decided to gather people into the schoolhouse - the 100-year-old and fortified building - for the night. Supposedly the safest place in the area. Problem is that not all the locals will be willing to hole up there, such as one Frederico Bianchi. He won't like leaving his animals and he was already cranky. I'll have to be persuasive.
 
It turned out that Frederico wasn't that disagreeable about it. I warned him just in case there was an attack, which he said there were defenses he could set up. Then I broached the idea of heading out to the Braunvieh Farm because the farm's been raided and the animals there have been left alone and need help. That got his cooperation. He loaned me a couple of ornery animals, both named Molly - which is probably why he calls them 'fighting Mollies' - to head to the farm and see to the animals there. I was thinking to stay the night but its a hard choice. There's a pack of those cows roaming around and heading for the blacksmith's shop.
 
The others weren't keen on the idea of heading in different directions. Jessie and Sephia and Lee in the town to secure the locals. Miro? Ika only knows.
 
From Jessie, the word is that the new pack of hellbovines is out looking for something. As Ranger Horn escaped something that had to do with the hellbovines, odds are better than good they are looking for him. I offered to take Horn with me as I left town, leading the hellbovines away from town. This settled into leaving false trails for the hellbovines to follow - which also gets them away from town. I did remind Jessie that somewhere in there, we'd need to get some sleep. He set out to round up the others, while I was to get more animals.
 
I can't shake the idea that we just need to talk to the nyad and then backtrack the hellbovine herd. While that leaves Purgatory Gulch vulnerable for a bit ... it might cut down on the problems we have got in front of us. Not sure the others agree.
 
How really do you defend against a herd of hellbovines raiding a town? Or keep them out? A trough with some flaming pitch might be work. Not seen pitch around though. Not enough time to make the trough, either. But ... could make arrow-based traps that would fire when the herd comes into range. That's worth a thought or two. I know a couple of ways that could work.
 
I head out with Lee and Jessie to lead the false trail that night. Sephia and Miro and Padre would stay in town in case leaving the false trail just doesn't work.
 
Hopefully, we'll all get some rest. I get the impression it's about to get rough.