*** Session 10 - Scene 8 (of 12) ***

While the others continue to argue, Tex looks into getting his name on the ballot for sheriff. Since an Indian is currently in charge, the election is coming up at the end of the week.

The only other name on the ballot is Wade Magers, a local friend of Mayor Brad Sweet. Tex goes ahead and signs up.

A short while later, Earl also finds his way to the courthouse to get on the ballot so he can have a well-paying job. He’s surprised to see Tex on the ballot.

The next several days are spent campaigning. Tex takes the tactic of touting his war experience and experience as the town marshal of Odessa. He also likes to point out he’s his own man and not a lackey in the pocket of the mayor. As for Earl, Tex says nothing real bad against him except pointing out the man’s advanced age.

Mayor Sweet, as corrupt as any mayor in the land, pulls out all the stops for Magers. He even hosts an ice cream social to get all of the business owners in the area on his side.

Earl focuses his campaign rhetoric on being the underdog – the local working man and hero who rang the bell after the town was attacked by bandits. He goes so far as to claim the town wanted to give him a “medal of honor” but that he refused it out of modesty. He also talks about his military service, and how he lost his eye in the war (which everyone in town has already heard as he complains about Squantum taking his eye every time he gets drunk).

As election day rolls around, Coltrane and Hennessy decide whether they should go vote or not. Annie and Squantum, as a woman and an Indian respectively, cannot vote. Squantum advises them Earl is the better vote, as Tex is perhaps a little too honest for their casino operation. Earl promises to turn his “blind eye” to any of their unseemly activities.

That night, all three candidates are allowed to give speeches. Earl gives the first speech. As he welcomes the citizens in the crowd, Franklin boos him and calls out claims of him as a “child killer”. Tex also pays some people in the crowd to join in.

Undeterred, Earl continues in his speech. He begins with, “They say justice is blind, but I’m not quite there yet. But I’m halfway and that is better than these other two.” He promises the crowd a vote for him is a vote for “at least half justice”.

Tex gives his speech next. He tells the crowd their choice is limited, as one candidate is the mayor’s lackey and the other has one eye and can’t shoot straight or talk straight. He gives them a clear choice of himself as the experienced lawmen and their city will be on the right path with him (as opposed to heading down the path of blindness or crookedness).

The crowd seems to be going Tex’s way until Squantum decides to speak up himself. He tells everyone how he has done a great job as the temporary sheriff but isn’t running because he knows they don’t want him. He tells them he is working to open a great new business in town, but has worked as a marshal with Tex in Odessa so he wants to say a few words about Tex.

Squantum continues to talk about how when Tex was marshal he would go off to do whatever he wanted and would leave Squantum in charge. The Indian tells them he had everything under control until Tex returned and people died.

Continuing on, Squantum also claims he solved a murder that Tex continued to investigate, wasting the town’s money and time chasing down innocents. He says a vote for Tex is a vote for a liar and a cheat and no-good lawman. He tells the crowd to vote for Earl – Earl is stupid but he’s better than Tex.

The Indian’s speech resonates with the crowd and Wade Magers is elected in a landslide (with Coltrane being one of two votes for Earl and Tex getting all of nine votes). According to exit polls, most people felt that if the men worked with Squantum before they must be no good either.

The new sheriff does offer Tex a position as a deputy. Tex accepts and sends a message back to Odessa to resign. He gets a strange message back about how it is for the best as they were going to have to let him go anyway; something about an incident involving one of the town father’s cousins, a man named Melvin.

*** Session 10 - Scene 9 (of 12) ***

A couple of weeks pass and the casino quickly comes together. Squantum positions himself as head of security in the casino while Franklin decides he will be the floor manager. Coltrane decides to run the bull pen. Even Earl gets a position hiding upstairs, running the whores (as they figure if he can run for sheriff he's rehabilitated enough to do that). Before they open, Squantum insists they all purchase fancy suits like him at the Corner Boutique.

For whores, Earl insists they will have a "special niche" in town, and keep expenses low, by getting some Chinese whores from Chinatown. To keep the peace, Earl heads over to Chinatown to deal with Eddie Hong. Squantum insists on going with him, as his father was Chinese and he believes he can speak Chinese. They make their way over to Hong's Laundry to talk with Hong.

When they arrive at the laundry, they are met by the short, fat manager, a man named Han Li. Li asks what they want. Earl tells Li they are there to speak to his boss. Squantum attempts to translate, making nonsense sounds. When Li responds in Chinese, Squantum insists he is saying Earl is very ugly for a White man. Earl complains it is because someone took his eye in the war.

Earl then says he has a business proposition. Squantum continues his attempts at translation, telling Earl that Li's response is to ask what the proposition is. Earl has Squantum say it is for Mr. Hong's ears only.

Li says something else and Squantum tells Earl the man needs twenty-five dollars for a "house fee". Earl reluctantly hands it over. Squantum pockets fifteen dollars and hands ten to Li. Li, who understands only money and the name "Hong" from Squantum's attempts to speak Chinese, tells them in English to wait there.

A short time later, they are called into a back room where Eddie Hong and several of his men are. Earl recognizes one of the men as Xiang Tam, known as "Xiang the Butcher" who runs the slaughterhouse in Chinatown. He is a large, menacing figure.

After Xiang and his men leave (with Xiang appearing to say something to his men about Earl). To Squantum, he says something about "at least he sort of looks Chinese".

Eddie Hong speaks perfect English with a strong British accent. He greets the men and asks why they have come to see him.

Earl tells him they have a business proposition for him, explaining they have a new casino ("Hennessy's") going up in town. He says they want to provide their patrons with some female companionship and ask Eddie if he can help with the supply side of that service.

Eddie asks if they need girls or boys. Earl says he wants to cater to all types so he'll take some of each. Hong asks if he wants them old and experienced, suggesting the ages of 10-11. Squantum clarifies they are looking for women in the 18-20 range.

Hong is surprised they want "old maids". Squantum also insists he provide women with all of their teeth intact. Eddie says it will take some time to find women that old that still have all their teeth.

The tong boss then asks how many girls they want. Earl explains they have only four rooms. Eddie suggests they could use about twenty girls then but Earl isn't sure they need to pack that many in. He gives a number of eight. They come to an agreeable amount for the women as well as a 10% "franchise fee" of everything the girls earn.

With the prostitute deal nailed down, Squantum starts asking about the white powder. Hong tells him anything of that nature will need to go through his man at the Black Lotus, Dou-Choi Lung. They decide that part may be more trouble than it is worth so they will approach the man another time.

*** Session 10 - Scene 10 (of 12) ***

It doesn’t take long for Tex to get a feel for Magers, who is clearly a lackey for the corrupt mayor. He’s called into Magers’ office and told there is a new casino in town that hasn’t paid the proper “permit fees”. Magers tells Tex the mayor would like him to go collect the fees so it can open on time.

Tex asks if he has the paperwork, and Magers tells him that is all taken care of and not to worry about it. He tells Tex the fees are three hundred dollars a month, with the first installment due now.

Magers continues by telling Tex that they’ve also heard the casino is offering some special entertainment in the rooms upstairs. He says he’ll also need to work it out with the casino for the local dignitaries to be able to partake in the entertainment free of charge. When Tex asks who the dignitaries are, Magers says it is mainly the mayor making a comment about Mayor Sweet liking a “taste of China”.

When Tex shows up at the casino, Hennessy greets him and tells him they still have an opening for a dishwasher. Tex tells him he thinks he’ll ride out his current position for awhile, saying something about how being on his side of things is safer.

Tex then explains to Hennessy about the monthly permit fee. Hennessy says he’s never heard of a monthly permit fee before. Tex laughs a little, and says he’s not going to like the other part either. He then tells him the amount.

Hennessy asks what he’s paying for. Tex tells him, “not a damn thing” except being able to stay open, telling Franklin the mayor is crooked so what is he going to do. Hennessy tells Tex he won’t pay.

Tex tries to warn Hennessy this won’t go over well, but the barber is insistent he won’t be shaken down by the mayor.

Hennessy says the mayor should be happy they are bringing commerce in. Tex says the mayor won’t give a rat’s ass about that. Franklin does agree to the free whores part of the deal.

Coltrane tries to offer suggestions for Hennessy to sweeten the deal. Hennessy tells Tex he’ll also throw in free bull rides, free drinks, and a hundred a month in fees.

Tex tells him he’ll pass the offer on, sarcastically commenting that “this will be a lot of fun” and telling Hennessy it will be easier to pay the man now than deal with the consequences later.

Hennessy gets angry, asking Tex if he is threatening him. Tex says he is just telling him how it is, and warns the barber not to go for his gun.

Tex heads straight to Mayor Sweet’s office to tell him about the counter offer. Mayor Sweet says it sounds to him as if someone is operating an illegal gambling establishment in town limits. He continues on to say that it would be a shame if the sheriff’s office had to close down such an establishment.

Mayor Sweet makes it clear the counter offer won’t meet the “permit fees”. He suggests if the business were shut down and a city lien placed on it, he himself could always seize it at auction and re-open it. He also says such a place has an equal chance that a fire or something could break out.

Tex tells the mayor he understands. Mayor Sweet tells Tex if he is unable to collect the proper permit fees he should let the sheriff know immediately so that the situation can be brought under immediate control.

*** Session 10 - Scene 11 (of 12) ***

Just as Earl and Squantum are getting back to the casino, they spot Tex heading there with a large grin on his face. Earl greets him and says he looks awful happy.

Tex says something about how stuff always runs downhill, and tells Earl it is heading his way. Earl cracks a joke about himself being the one who usually rolls downhill, thinking of his experience in the canyon.

They go inside the casino to talk. Tex gathers Coltrane, Annie, Hennessy, Squantum, and Earl together. He tells them he's going to be as clear as he can about the situation, saying the mayor wants what he wants and if they don't give it to him he'll shut them down and take the business from them. He tells them as friends, he suggests they pay as it will get ugly otherwise.

After Tex leaves, Hennessy tells the others it is bullshit and he won't pay. Squantum says they only need to pay until they get leverage.

Earl offers they could kill the mayor (and the new sheriff). Squantum says they could, but would end up back in jail again and suggests breaking into the telegraph office again would be equally effective. Earl tells the Indian not to make fun of Coltrane. Coltrane, good-naturedly, says getting into the telegraph office went fine – it was getting out that was the problem.

In all seriousness, Coltrane is worried as they are running low on money and aren't even open yet. Squantum says they need to deal with everyone shaking them down for money one at a time, and the mayor will be the easiest. He notes that all kinds of bad things could happen in a casino.

Squantum goes on to talk about how men who take the special powder from Chinatown tend to want more. Hennessy asks if the Indian is suggesting they get the mayor hooked on opium but he clarifies he didn't actually say that.

They then discuss after the mayor, they will need to deal with Mateo Gil and possibly the mysterious Pepe Silvia. Squantum suggests they may be able to get the mayor to help them deal with the outlaws.

After much more discussion, they decide they have little choice but to pay off Mayor Sweet for now. Hennessy gives the money to Earl to take over to the Sheriff's Office.

Tex takes the money from Earl, happy to see they delivered it before the sundown deadline Magers told him about. Magers has Tex drop off the money at the courthouse.

*** Session 10 - Scene 12 (of 12) ***

The next few days see the group getting everything in order for their grand opening. Hennessy insists they advertise around town with fliers offering complimentary bull rides for opening night.

Earl also offers the four whores they have gotten so far can be half price for the night (after he has Franklin check them over to make sure they are healthy). For the stage, they hire a local guitarist to give a small show. Annie even gets into the spirit by offering to cook up a batch of her special brownies.

Ahead of the opening, Coltrane heads off to buy a bull from one of the local ranches. He buys an old, broken down one at the Lazy FS Ranch for ten dollars.

For the gaming tables, they hire a couple of local dealers and leave some of the tables open. They have one house-ran poker table and one faro table along with a craps table. Hatfield even shows up for one of the dealer jobs and they put him on the poker table (as he considers faro “too common” of a game).

Franklin hires a cook and dishwasher, and of course they also have the expensive waitresses they hired from The Cottonwood. They offer full steak dinners with baked potatoes.

While the others get everything else going, Squantum heads back to Chinatown and works out a deal with Dou-Choi Lung. Even with the cut he’ll have to give them, he knows they’ll still double their money. More importantly, Squantum wants to gain control over people with it. He decides Coltrane can actually deal out the powder while he manages the bull riding.

Squantum tries talking to Sheriff Magers about getting some extra protection, but Magers tells him he’ll need to purchase the extra “silver level” monthly service. Squantum complains if they get robbed the mayor won’t get his money, but the sheriff is undeterred. He tells the Indian he can always hire some extra security himself.

The Indian also heads to Chinatown to try and get some extra security from Eddie Hong. Hong offers some men with meat cleavers in exchange for a percentage of overall profits, but Squantum doesn’t like that either. In the end, he decides to rely on his own skills as chief of security to keep the place safe.

Opening night is a success with a good turnout. Squantum handles security and avoids any real trouble. The game tables bring in the cash, the whores remain busy, Annie gets all kind of tips at the bar, Squantum keeps the peace, and even the bull ride pen gets used.

It is all going well right up until Billy Kilburn and his gang show up…

*** Session 10 - Session Notes ***

This session had a lot going on. I started by trying to get the Earl situation back to normal and at the same time I wanted to help the PCs advance their casino plot that they'd spent so much time thinking about. Finally, I wanted a way to get connections with Odessa severed. To wrap it all up together, I always planned for the bandits to kill off the local sheriff and deputies, leaving a gap for the PCs to exploit.

In the end, I think it went well. From an outside perspective, the most humorous thing for me is how two of the players (Squantum and Earl) want to push the casino plot because they think it will lead to more wacky adventures, while the other two (Hennessy and Coltrane) seem to actually want to simulate running a profitable casino. Needless to say, I'm not interested in the minutia of simulating the day to day operations of a casino so it will more likely be used as an excuse for more wacky adventure plots. And of course, it will never be all that profitable - it will be like Paddy's bar in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, earning just enough to keep things moving along to crazy.

Other notes about the session:
* The players don't always trust me to subtly bring the plot threads back together so sometimes they metagame and invent not-really-in-character excuses. I did have a whole plot about how Tex would arrest Clay Riley but have to get him to Quebrada Cruz to get him on a train before his gang caught up to them (I called it "4:20 to Tucson") but instead he just dropped the whole plot with a lame excuse to go back to QC. Oh, well.

* Squantum obviously tried to derail the jailbreak as well, but he was coming at it from the angle of there being no way Earl could stay with them if he actually broke out. It took him a lot of arguing with the others for Earl to agree to his plan and not run out of town.

* Gil should have probably killed Squantum, but that wouldn't be sporting while he was locked up so I figured he'd be more interesting in getting away and can come back for his revenge later.

* Barney and the discussion about Pepe Silvia is an homage to an episode of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

* I special election for the sheriff ended up being pretty rushed, but I couldn't see the town leaving Squantum in charge. I was originally hoping Tex would make more of an effort to undermine Magers and win the election.

* I forced Hennessy to come up with the casino name and plans. Partly to give him something to do, partly because I knew it would result in humor. I didn't anticipate the bull pen, though, that brought a lot of laughs (he was trying to come up with something equivalent to a mechanical bull ride in a country bar).

* The fight over whether or not to destroy evidence against Earl took at least 20-30 minutes of game time. Several of the characters were ready to shoot each other over it. I thought it was annoying but also funny in an ironic way since all they needed to do by that point was wait until Rusty got Earl out.

* There was something of a misunderstanding about the whole "writ of habeas corpus" thing. First, I used that to make it sound fancier. Second, the point (which I did not make clear enough) was that the prosecutor didn't want to dismiss the charges on Earl because it would look bad to free an accused child murderer so they wanted his lawyer to force their hand; and the quickest way to do that was for him to question the legitimacy of holding Earl (as there was no official legal authority in charge of the jail at that point).

* Earl and Tex being upset about being cut out of the casino business was funny, particularly since the players didn't really care (as opposed to Hennessy, who was very serious about everything with the casino).

* Wage Magers and Brad Sweet are named after a couple of real people (who obviously aren't corrupt IRL). It's more of a private joke to me.

* A small town I grew up in actually had ice cream social events, hence my inspiration for Magers' campaign.

* I didn't originally plan for them to give speeches, but one of the players suggested it and we all thought it would lead to humor (which it did).

* Similarly, Squantum has little rationale for torpedoing Tex, it was just rule of funny.

* The joke with Squantum acting as translator was that he thinks he knows Chinese (by replicating sounds he thinks sounds like Chinese) but doesn't actually speak it. Only, Earl doesn't realize that.

* Xiang the Butcher is foreshadowing for later plots.

* The whole thing with buying the women from Hong was intended to be very uncomfortable, though I missed the mark there by adding too much humor to mock them. My intent was to point out how evil they were being by engaging in 19th century human trafficking.

* Hennessy really, really didn't want to get shaken down for more money from the mayor (which was funny, because everyone else was pretty much expecting that sort of thing to happen). I hinted a lot OOC about how bad it would be if he didn't pay (I envisioned it starting with the scene from Donny Brasco and going south from there).

* Overall, the Squantum player was a bit annoyed he ended up being the voice of reason too often, which he felt was out of character but was worried the campaign would derail if the other players went nuts again. He told me later he didn't want another five sessions cleaning up after their mistakes again.

* The joke about Annie and her brownies was added to the write-up to tease the player for an incident earlier in the year.

* The "silver level" service offer is another anachronism using the tried and true joke about tech support that South Park made in its episode about the school's automation system.

* I had everyone roll to see how their area of expertise went for opening night. They all rolled well for once.

* Everyone was expecting Billy Kilburn or one of their enemies to show up at the end of the session.

*** Session 11 - Cast of Characters ***

 "One-Eyed" Earl: A 65 year old prospector from California. He's a rough, mountain man type but is missing an eye from an injury earlier in his life.

 Franklin Hennessy: A 45 year old barber from Maine. He's also quick with a knife or a pocket pistol.

 Johnny Coltrane: A young hunter from the area looking for new ways to make money.

 "Tex": A 29 year old cowboy from Texas. He has a dog named "Dog" and a horse named "Tonto" and carries lots of guns.

 Annie: A young cowgirl who works for Tex's father.

*** Session 11 - Scene 1 (of 6) ***

When Billy Kilburn shows up with six of his men, Squantum spots him right away and makes his way towards the back, allowing them to enter the casino without any trouble. From outside where he was keeping an eye on things, Tex notices the men as well and makes his way to slowly follow in behind them.

Acting as floor manager, Hennessy sees Kilburn before Kilburn sees him. He makes his way to the back as well and notices Squantum has already headed out the back door in the kitchen. Up on the mezzanine, Earl is too busy managing the whores to notice what is going on.

Behind the bar, Annie sees Kilburn as well as Hennessy and Squantum making a run for it. She decides to stay at the bar for now, though makes a mental note to make a run for it if any trouble breaks out.

Kilburn and his men head over to Annie at the bar. Billy, half drunk, asks where Hennessy is. She says she doesn’t know. He starts to get angry, suggesting she’s lying. She asks why she would lie to him. He says he guesses he believes her.

Across the bar over near the opening to the outdoor bull pen, Coltrane observes Kilburn talking to Annie. He looks around and doesn’t see Franklin or Squantum. Deciding this means trouble, he spots Earl upstairs handling the girls and Tex lingering in the doorway watching what is going on.

Coltrane tries to signal Earl by waving his arms. Earl spots him as he is warning one of the girls about using her teeth again. When Coltrane realizes he has caught Earl’s eye, he points towards the bar and mouths, “Kilburn”.

Earl looks down over the railing and spots Kilburn and his men. He doesn’t spot Hennessy or Squantum anywhere, but does see Tex watching while holding his shotgun.

Down below, Tex and Annie separately think about how this is all Squantum’s fault for not being there to take the men’s guns at the door. Tex wonders if the Indian ran out in fear or just had a sudden urge to visit the stink lodge.

Tex maneuvers his way behind Billy and cocks back the hammers of his shotguns. He tells the men the establishment does not allow guns and they should put them up on the bar. Billy turns around real slow. Tex calls him out by name, saying he knows he’s outnumbered but Billy will be the first to die and it won’t be pretty.

Billy says all he wants is Hennessy for killing his brother. Tex suggests he’s remembering the death wrong and that Jake died from the tomahawk the Indian put in the back of his head.

Kilburn isn’t convinced, since Hennessy was the one who shot first. Tex says he must have been misinformed, but tells him he still needs to leave.

Billy starts yelling out for Hennessy, calling him out as a yellow bastard. When he doesn’t appear, Tex insists again they leave. Billy and his men reluctantly leave. Annie muses perhaps naming the place “Hennessy’s” wasn’t the best idea after all.

*** Session 11 - Scene 2 (of 6) ***

Tex goes looking around, finding Hennessy cowering in the back. He asks if Franklin heard what was going on. He said he did. Tex says Billy is gone for now, but warns him if he goes walking out of the casino he'll likely be gunned down.

Hennessy says he'll stay inside then. He suggests to Tex he try to go get Billy and he'll agree to talk to him if he leaves his men outside. Tex is concerned what Hennessy means by "talk", and forces him to agree to no guns at the meeting.

Tex walks out the front door to go find Billy and is immediately ambushed by Kilburn and his gang. He's hit once in the head, twice in the abdomen, and once in the leg. He collapses, dead on the street. His dying thought is, "Why couldn't Squantum be here instead?"

Back inside, everyone hears the gunshots ring out. Earl moves around to a window on the second floor and spots Tex's body in a pool of blood on the street with seven men on horses riding off.

Earl goes outside, carefully, and plans drags the body around the side of the building to the bull pen. When he sees it, he finds a folded note stabbed into the body with a knife. The outside of the note has "Hennessy" crudely written on it.

Taking the body around to the side, Earl shows it to Coltrane. Coltrane secures the bull then goes over to investigate.

After making sure there is nothing he can do to save Tex, Coltrane asks Earl what happened. Earl says he heard the shots then found the body.

Earl then takes the bloody knife and the note inside. He puts them down on the bar next to Hennessy.

Franklin asks what he is doing. Earl explains he pulled the knife and note out of Tex's back. Hennessy remarks, "I guess he didn't want to talk..."

Hennessy suggests someone go get the sheriff. Earl isn't so sure Magers will care since he's corrupt and all.

Franklin then reads the note. It says, "Main Street, noon, tomorrow". Earl tells Hennessy he'll be fine as he can "take a shot", particularly one on one. Hennessy points out the note doesn't say it will be one on one.

Waiting for the sheriff to arrive, Earl takes Tex's shotgun and badge to hand it over. They find Tex's will inside his jacket, leaving all his worldly possessions to his beloved childhood friend, Annie.

*** Session 11 - Scene 3 (of 6) ***

When Wade Magers arrives, he asks to speak to the owner. Reacting in his usual surly manner, Hennessy tells the sheriff he wants to talk to him, as a gang of armed men burst into his establishment and killed a deputy in cold blood. Magers notes Tex died outside.

Hennessy clarifies the timeline a little. Magers asks him if he knows who did it. Hennessy says it was Kilburn, though admits when pressed he didn’t actually see the shooting.

Magers asks Hennessy why he didn’t talk to the man. Hennessy claims he was working on some business in the back. Wade suspects the former barber was hiding.

The sheriff then asks who talked to Kilburn while he was there. Annie admits to talking with him, so the sheriff interrogates her. Annie says only that Kilburn was asking for Hennessy and didn’t say why. She says she told him she didn’t know where he was. When Magers points out she was lying she admits that is so, but Kilburn believed her so she doesn’t see the harm.

Wade asks if anyone else talked to Hennessy. Earl says Tex talked to him. Magers says his deputy was a dumbass and got shot for not being careful when he left the building, saying he’s lucky he didn’t get killed by a horse crossing through.

Magers suggests to Hennessy that Kilburn must be looking for revenge for killing his brother. Franklin insists the killing was in self-defense. Magers isn’t so sure, and is fairly certain Billy doesn’t see it that way. Mentally, he notes Mayor Sweet won’t like this.

The sheriff tells Hennessy he may want to get out of town and asks if he has enough friends to protect him, asking what happened to that Indian they had around for security. Hennessy says he thought protecting him was the sheriff’s job, but Mager says his only deputy was just killed and he’ll need to look for new deputies.

Hennessy says he doesn’t seem too broken up, but Magers says he didn’t like Tex anyway. Hennessy needles him about outlaws running wild, but Magers says he isn’t paid enough to deal with all that. Hennessy asks who is paying him, and Magers says the citizens. When Franklin asks which citizens, Wade notes Hennessy will have that one figured out when he gets the bill from the mayor in the morning.

The sheriff tells them they should close up the casino for the night. Hennessy bitterly notes he can’t close early with all the money he has to pay out to the mayor. Sheriff Magers tells him he can’t guarantee his safety if he stays open, to which Hennessy replies he’s already made that perfectly clear.

Magers tells Hennessy he should go bury his friend then. Taken aback that the sheriff is leaving them to deal with the body, Hennessy sarcastically thanks the sheriff for his help and says he runs a hell of a town. Magers smiles and says he thinks so as he leaves, telling them he’ll check back in with them tomorrow. Everyone decides to sleep inside the casino for the night to be safe.

*** Session 11 - Scene 4 (of 6) ***

Sheriff Magers decides to head over to Chinatown to see if Mayor Sweet is visiting one of his "special constituents". He spots the mayor's carriage over by one of his favorite spots, the Moon Massage Specialty House.

He waits for Sweet to emerge and goes over to talk to him. He tells the mayor there has already been trouble at the new casino and explains about Billy Kilburn. Magers asks the mayor if they really care.

Mayor Sweet contemplates for a moment, and then says since Hennessy has agreed to pay while the Kilburns have always been slow at paying (particularly after moving out to the canyon), that Hennessy is better for the community. He advises Magers to deputize the men from the casino and send them to deal with Kilburn.

Sheriff Magers feels that is too much effort. He says it will be easier to put a warrant out for wait for Kilburn to come back into town then kill him, rather than chasing him around the canyon.

Sweet asks if they couldn't just send the Indian after him. Magers responds they can't trust an Indian to get the job done. They decide to wait and see how things play out the next day.

As for a new deputy, Magers wants to hire a local gunslinger, thinking of the tales around Reno "Gunhawk" Jones out in Bluestem. Sweet tells him it's his call, but to keep an eye on that place. Not only does it bring in money, but Sweet is concerned Pepe Silvia is connected to the casino as well and he wants to keep Silvia's influence in town limited.

*** Session 11 - Scene 5 (of 6) ***

The next morning, Sheriff Magers starts asking around town for anyone who was at the casino the previous night. While he doesn’t get any eye witnesses, he does hear some third-hand information about a note found on Tex’s body. He decides to head over to talk with Hennessy and his companions again.

Magers finds the door to the casino locked. Annie exits and briefly talks to the sheriff, but she doesn’t know where Hennessy is and is headed out to Edna’s for some breakfast.

Hennessy, spotting the sheriff from a window, hides inside while Earl goes out to talk to him. Earl tells the sheriff Hennessy is hiding inside but asks what he can do.

The sheriff mentions he heard about a note found with the body. Earl confirms there was, but says he doesn’t read so much with his one good eye. However, he “guesses” if it did say something, it might be something about a duel at noon. Magers tells him that would be good to know.

Earl then offers his service as deputy. Sheriff Magers swears him in right there on the street. He then tells Earl the plan is to shoot Billy Kilburn on site if he comes back, saying there is already a warrant out on him. After all, Magers explains, they can’t have people just going around shooting lawmen.

Magers asks Earl if he is any good with a rifle, given his one eye. Earl says he was better with two. Magers says they can just shoot Kilburn in the back for all he cares. Earl agrees, and says he knows a good spot on a roof to snipe from.

The two decide to set up on Main Street before noon. Magers figures it doesn’t matter if yellow Hennessy shows up or not. He also hopes by killing Kilburn, his men will run off.

The sheriff then asks if any of Earl’s friends could help, saying he could deputize them too. Earl says the Indian is good for nothing, Hennessy is a coward, and Coltrane is good for nothing. He also says Annie is good with a gun after the sheriff asks.

Earl goes back to talk with Hennessy. He mentions the sheriff wants to deputize Coltrane, and possibly have relations with Annie. As for Hennessy, he tells him the plan is to use him for bait. Earl notes he just wants to help clean up this mess for Hennessy, in exchange for 10% of his share in the casino.

When Earl goes to find Coltrane, he is out back with the bull. Coltrane is trying to hide the evidence of using the opium, but Earl’s suspicions are more about Coltrane’s close relationship with the bull. After a brief explanation, Coltrane heads over to Magers and gets deputized (by swearing to “kill the sumbitch”).

Everyone talks about what position to get into. Magers heads into town to find any more deputies he can. He manages to round up a couple of local lumberjacks named J. K. Gilcrest and George Jewitt to help.

As everyone else gets into position, Sheriff Magers and Hennessy get into a heated argument over Hennessy not wanting to wait around as bait. Eventually, Magers walks off in disgust (even though Hennessy ultimately agrees to show up) and gets everyone into position. As part of the plan, Annie stays behind at the bar ready to shoot anyone who comes inside.

Hennessy waits around in the street with the sheriff and his new deputies positioned behind cover. But as noon comes, no one shows up.

Coltrane goes over to the highest building nearby (Skagg’s Cash Store) to look for the group coming into town. He spots some quail, but no Kilburn gang.

Just then, he spots a small group of nuns coming from the canyon area behind the casino. He wonders if they are on their way to the Old Spanish Mission in town.

As he looks closer, he notices the nuns are a bit sturdier looking than normal. He tries to get the attention of the others to point out the nuns.

From his angle, Earl can’t figure out what Coltrane is pointing at. The sheriff can, and starts to round up the men to head over and investigate. Hennessy gives him the finger. Magers resists the urge to shoot him.

He walks back over to Hennessy. Hennessy asks what he wants. Magers says he is trying to save his life, calling him a dumbass. He then explains a half-thought plan to pretend to shoot Hennessy and have him play dead, but Franklin is skeptical.

Before they can put the plan into motion, there is a large explosion from in back of the casino. The building collapses, burying Annie in the wreckage.

*** Session 11 - Scene 6 (of 6) ***

Magers makes a run for the back of the casino, readying his gun. Gilcrest and Jewett follow. Earl decides to stay in position to provide cover while Coltrane shimmies down the building to help the sheriff. Hennessy heads across the street to the safety of the El Ranchito cantina where he can enjoy a beer.

As Coltrane moves into position, he can see the nuns are on the run. And in back of Skagg's Cash Store, there appear to be several more men waiting with guns.

The men make their way around the casino rubble and hear an annoyed call for help. They quickly dig on an injured Annie, along with some pieces of the whores.

Coltrane, Magers, Gilcrest, and Jewett head around to the back carefully; Magers wants to stop them before they get back up the hill into the Redwine Canyon. Annie, however, refuses to come help.

As they head around, Kilburn and his men get behind cover of some crates sitting on the loading dock of the store. Magers and the others start diving for cover as well.

Coltrane fires off a quick shot, hitting one of the men in the arm. The man drops his gun. Gilcrest and Jewett attempt to fire as well, but miss, as does Sheriff Magers.

A second shot from Coltrane misses. Gilcrest and Jewett injure a couple more men, and Sheriff Magers kills another with a shot through the chest.

Gun shots ring back and forth, and Jewett is killed. Coltrane takes a shot to the leg, but takes down another man with a serious wound to his arm.

Magers gets a glancing shot to his arm and hip. Coltrane also gets a glancing shot to the hip. Coltrane responds by dropping the man with another serious shot to the leg.

Kilburn is the last man standing. The sheriff gets a light wound on Billy, who gets him back with another glancing shot. Coltrane finishes him off with a bad gut shot.

They walk over to find Billy lying on the ground, calling out Hennessy's name. Magers shoots him in the head. They then finish off the rest of Kilburn's wounded men.

By the time Earl gets over, it is all over and he sees the carnage everywhere. Magers sends for Don Strait to come get the bodies as well as Doc Nichols to patch up himself and Coltrane. Magers makes sure to take any guns and money off the bodies.

Back in the cantina, Hennessy jokes about anyone wanting to buy a casino when he is approached by Miguel. Miguel reminds him Pepe Silvia is still going to want his money from the casino.

Magers, meanwhile, tells the mayor Kilburn is dead but the casino isn't going so well. Sweet says that could be a problem. He says if Hennessy and the others aren't of any use any more, there's no reason to protect them, saying, "whatever happens, happens".

Later, Hennessy digs out the safe from the casino and get the money from the night's takings. Hennessy takes the cash and pays off Silvia, the mayor, and Eddie Hong. Doing so takes all the money, leaving him penniless once again.

They do still have the bull left. Coltrane wonders if they should continue with the opium business.

*** Session 11 - Session Notes ***

This session occurred about 6 weeks ago (as we are playing session 13 tomorrow), I've just been lazy in getting the notes posted.

This was a lousy, short session. The Squantum player got sick right before the game. The Earl player was 45 min late. The Coltrane player plays via Skype, using either the Squantum or Earl player's laptops so he had to wait, too. Then, the Earl player showed up without his, so we ended up Skyping Coltrane in on just a phone.

On top of all that, my head wasn't in the game. My boss had just quit and I was made interim CIO, which not only gives me lots of new responsibilities at work but has me distracted thinking about my own career planning. The end result was the game was nasty, brutal, and short.

Some notes about the session itself:
* We started directly where we left off last session, which means I had to have Squantum disappear quickly.

* The Earl player wanted to delay his character noticing what was going on as late as possible, both to avoid danger and because it would be funny.

* Annie wasn't lying about Hennessy, she wasn't paying attention because she only comes to the game with her dad. In fact, she spent all of her time on her laptop doing schoolwork.

* The "stink lodge" comment was added to the notes because I had just re-watched the Family Guy episode that made the same lame joke.

* Tex trying to pin the murder of Jake on Squantum was not seen with amusement by the Squantum player when he read the notes later.

* I didn't realize it until I listened to the recording to type up the notes that Tex literally dies seconds after warning Hennessy of the same danger that he himself ultimately died from.

* What I did plan on was having Tex ambushed for being stupid enough to threaten a gang leader and not smart enough to take precautions against the gang taking retribution.

* The player really did complain about Squantum missing the session as he died.

* The reason it took a while for the PCs to read the note was they didn't realize there was more to the note than Hennessy's name.

* The Tex player spent the rest of the session playing Sheriff Magers. I figured that was easiest.

* Hennessy's sarcastic remarks during this session were so hilarious we had to stop at points to finish laughing.

* The Moon Massage Specialty House is named after one of the local Asian massage parlors in our city. Over the last few years, a dozen or more have sprouted up in the city and they all look sketchy at best.

* The whole "recruit Reno Jones" thing had to do with the Tex player wanting to play Reno, because it would allow him to play a character similar to his Hawk character from Cthulhubusters Crescent City.

* Coltrane spotting quail from the roof was another gag at Earl's expense for shooting the Frese boys.

* Gilcrest and Jewett are named after the founders of the lumber company the Tex player works for.

* The "bad guys dressed like nuns" is a staple I wanted to use for comedic value.

* In retrospect, I wish I hadn't blown up the casino because it threw the campaign off track. Killing Tex was probably already a consequence enough, but the fact was they spent so much time sitting around talking about what to do instead of just heading in to stop the bad guys I thought they deserved it at the time.

*** Session 12 - Cast of Characters ***

 "One-Eyed" Earl: A 65 year old prospector from California. He's a rough, mountain man type but is missing an eye from an injury earlier in his life.

 Squantum: A 27 year old Indian scout of an undetermined tribe. He's tough, if strange, and is hideously scarred.

 Franklin Hennessy: A 45 year old barber from Maine. He's also quick with a knife or a pocket pistol.

 Johnny Coltrane: A young hunter from the area looking for new ways to make money.

 Annie: A young cowgirl who works for Tex's father.

And introducing...

Jonas Jones: A preacher / gunslinger from Bluestem and the (White) half-brother of Reno Jones.