"Welcome to Lazarus"

After a couple boring days in Black Horse a new stage arrived and the characters hoped on, finally hoping to arrive in Lazarus once and for all. An uneventful ride ensures the characters arrive safely and they are greeted by the sight of hundreds of people milling about the boom town of Lazarus. To the north a massive wagon train is forming up to head to Deseret and the stage is force to slow to a crawl as people clutter the streets. Eventually the man riding shotgun is forced to fire his weapon into the air to clear people so the stage can pass. Stopping outside the palace hotel the characters are greeted with the sights and sounds of the town and a nearby boy sells the characters his last three copies of the Muskeegie Herald. After perusing the paper the men make their way into the hotel to secure rooms only to find that the place is booked up with no openings for a few days. Worse, prices in Lazarus are outrageous and most goods and services are going for double what one would expect to pay. After hearing rumors that some of the locals are putting people up the men move into the town to look at buying a tent or perhaps finding a place to spend the night. James Anderson heads to Morgan’s Guns to see if he can find a Colt Flattop to purchase, a gun he has been looking to acquire for some time. Dick Cody heads to the sheriff to see what bounties are posted and the others begin searching for a place to stay. After some time the characters hear that “Pappy” Patterson is letting people stay in his hay loft for $.50 a night or, if they are willing to put in some labor, $.10. Meanwhile James trades his Colt Peacemaker for a beautifully engraved Colt Flattop with a pearl handle and gold inlay. The previous owner had the weapon engraved to read “For Betsy my love”. Once a place in the hayloft of the stable was secured the men headed over to the Thunderhorse Saloon for some whiskey. James wanted to get into a game of poker and the others were looking to relax and enjoy the town. The saloon was extremely busy and the men were forced to belly up to the bar. One man in the bar seemed to be searching for Dick Cody and once he found him he informed the bounty hunter that the sheriff in Muskeegie wanted his money back. After wiring Saint Louis it was discovered that the man they were led to believe was “Two Gun” Frank Harrison was in fact not. A brief discussion ensued and eventually the deputy left after Dick refused to repay the money with the threat that “this isn’t over yet”. In the rear of the saloon James finally was able to sit in on a game shyly asking how to play. The other gamblers eagerly explained the rules to the novice but as the game progressed the beginner just couldn’t seem to lose. Lady luck seemed to be riding shotgun with him and after an hour of play James decided to pick up his meager winnings, much to chagrin of the other players. In particular one man, Danby “Big Dan” Trask, seemed to take exception to the greenhorn leaving. There was a brief exchange of words in which “Big Dan” made a comment on the fancy gun James carried. James returned the insult and proceeded to try and leave by “Big Dan” didn’t enjoy being insulted and stood up and called the other man out. James approached close and after a few more words Danby reached for his iron. James attempted to wrestle the weapon away and people quickly fled as gunshots began to sound in the rear of the saloon. The men wrestled and several shots were fired before James finally was able to slam Danby to the ground. Reaching for his bowie knife the struggle continued and on his 5th shot Danby grazed James in the head (with a nat ‘20’. James burned his honor to make him re-roll but another nat ’20’ was rolled again! luckily the wound was minor) but he was still able to stab at the other man several times. Wounded and with only one round left Danby was able to finally squeeze his last round off, hitting James in the chest (with a 3rd consecutive nat ‘20’!!!). While this was going on the other men made their way through the crowd to the rear of the saloon. Arriving just in time to see Danby rolling the unconscious body of James off of him. While his friends rushed to ascertain the extent of his wounds Dick Cody pulled his pistol on Danby. “Big Dan” brushed himself off and was about to leave. Dick Cody told him to stop but it is unclear if the other man could not understand him or just didn’t care and he took another step forward when Dick fired on him. His first shot missed and Danby reached for his derringer he kept in his boot but before he could draw it Dick Cody shot him in the chest, dropping him to the ground. Finally at the behest of the others the doctor arrived. Henry convinced him to attend to James first and it was quickly determined that he was in very bad condition. The two unconscious men were brought to the doctor’s office (along with an innocent man who was accidentally shot in the leg). The sheriff arrived shortly afterwards but let the doc finish his work before confronting the men involved. Unfortunately for James he suffered a broken sternum and ribs. The bullet was also lodged in his chest and there was severe internal bleeding. Luckily for him Doc Merrick was quite skilled and able to stop the bleeding and extract the bullet but James will be off his feet for some time while he recovers. Once the surgery was finished the sheriff came inside and confiscated the weapons of the men involved in the conflict without arresting any of them, yet. The next day the men decided to follow up on some rumors they had heard that a woman named Alexandra Taylor was looking for men to help her with her mining operation. Turns out Alexandra’s husband died in a terrible mine cave-in and she has been feeling the pressure to sell her mine and move back to Texas. She intends to stay in town but she is concerned enough that she has decided the presence of armed men near her would help dissuade anyone from following up on some of the veiled threats she has been receiving. Alexandra has allowed the men the use of horses while in her employ and even arranged for rooms at the hotel for them. With a steady income the men have begun to turn their attention towards buying land and perhaps opening a business. Lazarus has proven to be a place of opportunity and the men are looking forward to great things to come. "Rewards" Group Rewards: Welcome to Lazarus: 1 rep Anyone who opened a bank account at the McCabe Bank of Lazarus: 1 rep, 1 fame Brent (Henry Smith) Getting a job working for Alexandra Taylor: 2 rep, 2 fame, 2 BP Beginning the search for land in town for a new business: 1 rep, 1 fame Fast talking the doc to attend to James Anderson before the others: 1 rep, 1 fame, 1 BP Working the livery for a night in the loft (one time award): 2 rep, 1 fame, 2 BP Chris (William O’Toole) Getting a job working for Alexandra Taylor: 2 rep, 2 fame, 2 BP Beginning the search for land in town for a new business: 1 rep, 1 fame Working the livery for a night in the loft (one time award): 2 rep, 1 fame, 2 BP John (Gaspar Chavez) Getting a job working for Alexandra Taylor: 2 rep, 2 fame, 2 BP Beginning the search for land in town for a new business: 1 rep, 1 fame Working the livery for a night in the loft (one time award): 2 rep, 1 fame, 2 BP Mark (James Anderson) Falsely laying claim to “getting a bandit” (while it is true you killed the unconscious man he was taken down by others): -3 rep, 3 fame Working the livery for a night in the loft (one time award): 2 rep, 1 fame, 2 BP Purchasing fancy colt previously engraved with “For Betsy my love”: 1 rep, 1 fame Being in a knife/gunfight: 2 rep, 2 fame Being publicly insulted by Danby “Big Dan” Trask: -2 Rep Challenging the slight to your reputation: 1 rep Surviving a gunshot wound to the head (severity level 3): 3 fame Surviving a gunshot wound to the chest (severity level 9): 9 fame Gamble and win (personal goal): 1 BP Being stripped of “Betsy” by the sheriff: -1 rep Ryan (Dick Cody) Getting a job working for Alexandra Taylor: 2 rep, 2 fame, 2 BP "Are you deaf?”, Ironic quote of the night: 1 rep Shot an unarmed man: -3 Rep Being stripped of your weapons by the sheriff: -1 rep Having another claim the capture of “Two Gun” Frank Harrison, stealing your bragging rights: -2 rep. Refusing to return the money to Ricardo “Lucky” Perretti for false claim of the famous bank robber who has been sighted in Iowa: -2 rep, 2 fame Brent’s Horse: Quarter Horse Stallion Black. Short speed: 17, medium speed: 16, long speed: 8, agility: 12, endurance: 11, horse sense: 19, temperament: 10, trainability: 15, mettle: 10, soundness: 9, strength: 10 HP: 33 Vices: wood chewing Chris’s Horse: Morgan Mare Blood bay with white ankles. Short speed: 14, medium speed: 12, long speed: 17, agility: 7, endurance: 18, horse sense: 16, temperament: 13, trainability: 11, mettle: 18, soundness: 13, strength: 17 HP: 39 Vices: halter pulling, pawing John’s Horse: Thoroughbred Mare Dun with a black mane and tail. Short speed: 12, medium speed: 17, long speed: 12, agility: 5, endurance: 4, horse sense: 10, temperament: 12, trainability: 8, mettle: 7, soundness: 12, strength: 14 HP: 29 Vices: none