Express Train to Hell

Posse's Account

My posse are midway through the adventure at the moment but when they've completed (or failed!) this adventure I'll finish off what I've started here for you Marhshal's to read, hopefully it will help you out when you come to run it yourself.

The pair who partook in the investigation were Martin "Two Guns" Riggs, a harrowed hexslinging shootist, and Padre Green, a military chaplain and undercover member of the CSA Special Chaplains Corps. Neither of their Character profiles are availiable at the moment...

This pair have an uneasy alliance going. Riggs distrusts the man of God but knows he needs a sober individual at his side to counterbalance his hot-headed impulsiveness, the occasional miracle that the Chaplain performs makes his company more tolerable too. The Padre, on the other hand, knows both of Rigg's secrets - that he's harrowed and a hexslinger - and tries to keep him out of trouble. He also knows that some of the missions he's sent on require a bit of firepower too, and Riggs has planty of that...

Chapter 1

Riggs and Green arrive in the City of Gloom, Rigg's home town, to take a bit of a break from saving the world. They've just come back from Devil's Tower and are the only two left from the posse of 6 who made the journey. One was gunned down, another made off through some strange gateway to the future, another harrowed began losing his fight with his manitou and disappeared into the wilderness, and the last, a huckster, decided to retire for a while from all this madness.

Riggs decides he needs to go a gambling to make a little money, he only has $5 to his name, he asks the Chpalain to lend him a little cash , promising he'll double what he makes. The holy man goes goggle eyed and launches into a tirade against the evils of gambling. He even stands outside The Steamer on a soapbox continuing his sermon as Riggs takes up a table inside. Things go well at first for Riggs and he makes $10, feeling his luck is with him he bets all his money (and some he doesn't have) in the hope to make a stack and blows it completely. He ends up in debt $120 to the table's resident gambler and when it transpires he cannot cough up the dough things get a little heated. The saloon is spared a shootout by the arrival of Deputy Adams, who has come looking for Riggs (locally known as a bounty hunter) with an offer...

Riggs and Green are soon aboard Adam's Steamwagon and heading out to the murder site. The first $120 of any money Riggs makes on his reward will be paid to the gambler he owes it too.

At the crime scene the pair get cracking looking for clues. they determine the number of attackers involved and Riggs begins to suspect another Hexslinger may be responsible when he sees the bullet holes in the armoured steamwagon. They figure something of value must have been stolen for the attackers to ignore everything else (including any weapons on the dead) and follow the tracks back to Gloom City. There they go to speak to Sheriff Eli Waters

Chapter 2

Once the posse have recounted what they have found to the Sheriff he tells them he suspects this is the work of Ace Stark, a gunslinger and local source of trouble. He also recognises the dead Texan, saying that he too is a local no-gooder. When Padre Green asks if he can have a photo of the dead man to show around town Eli agrees and says that Ace was a regular at The Ledge and also had a fondness for soiled doves, not that you'd find any in the mormon controlled City o Gloom (a Streetwise test tells Riggs that Madame Marie's Dance Hall is the exception to this rule).

Riggs heads over to The Ledge with the photo and shows it around, at the same time he keeps an eye out for anybody matching Stark's description. No luck. He does stay a while to watch the next Swing match and begs the Padre for some money to bet on the outcome. Green admonishes the sinful gunslinger and suggests they get on over to the whorehouse instead...

The Padre will not enter Madame Marie's as it is a house of sin, and instead sets up shop outside and begins a sermon on the evils of the flesh, competing with resident protestor Reverend Hardwick. Between the two of them they even manage to persuade a few locals never to visit the establishment again! Meanwhile Riggs has gone inside to talk to the clientelle and shows one of the dancers the photo of the Texan. She recognises him saying he was in here last night with Ace Stark, a regular here. Riggs has no money to bribe the lady with for more info so instead has to rely on his charm. He's Purty so the plan works and the soiled dove tells Riggs all he knows about Ace Stark, including the meeting he had with a Wasatch employee last night. Riggs takes notes on Zach's description and goes outside to drag the Padre from his soapbox. Next stop - Hellstromme Industries.

Riggs and Green arrange a meeting with Mr Hanuman, whom they've met before. He helps the posse all he can, and when they bring up Zach's description he has a look through his worker files and reveals Zach's name and where he is currently working. The posse thank him and head on over to Plant#1 to talk to the miscreant!

They are disappointed to learn Zacharia is not there at the moment, Spanners tells the duo that he has not turned up for work today and is probably ill. She turns coversation around to the Rocket Car, asking if the posse are here to test drive it. The Padre looks horrifed at the notion but Riggs says he will if it pays well! Spanners informs him it will not be completed until this evening and to come back tomorrow. She gives out Zach's address and asks the posse if they will check on him. They agree and head over to The Rathouse

Chapter 3

Padre Green thought he'd seen how low humanity could go. However, until now he hadn't been to The Rathouse. The heroes step over garbage and human waste in order to get to the front desk where a huge lady is tossing scraps of The Lord-knows-what to a disgusting, filthy dog. The posse ask her a few questions about Zach, the Padre gives her some money, she answers and gives them a description of the man and a room key. Riggs goes to check out his room whilst the Padre has a look around the building. Upstairs he finds a dead body just lying there in the corridor. It seems somebody has literally drunk themselves to death. Being a man of God the Padre drags the body downstairs to arrange a proper burial. He then goes up to the next floor to see if anybody else has died and needs burying. He hears gunfire from one room and rushes towards it to investigate. Riggs, upstairs, opens Zach's door and looks about the hovel. Before he can find anything he hears the shots and runs downstairs to see what's happening.

Padre Green can hear talking from indside the room. It sounds like a pair of goons have shot a man for his belongings. Green sneaks into the room and shouts out a command from God to blind these two sinners. There's a flash of light and the hoods clutch thier eyes as they are blinded. The nearest goon fires off a few wild shots from his pistol, forcing the Padre to dive for cover. The Padre then asks God to give him strength and leaps at the blinded man, punching him unconscious. He then turns on the other man, whom he assumes is still blinded, and prepares to knock him silly too. Unfortunately the hood has shrugged off the effects of Strike Blind and shoots the Padre in the arm, he shouts out in pain but is spared another bullet as Riggs arrives and fires two shots into the head of the hood, killing him instantly and saving the Padre's life. Green claims he had it "all under control" and scowls at the hexslinger for needless killing. Then the pair take the body downstiars leaving the other man unconscious and unarmed.

Riggs goes back to Zach's room to carry on his search whilst Green is busy in the lobby. The Padre notices three strangers arrive. They certainly look out of place in this Hell Hole and his suspicion is further aroused when two of them head upstairs toward Zach's room. The Padre follows them.

When the Cultists get to Zach's room they realise it is open and somebody is searching around inside. They also notice Padre Green following them and decide to walk past Zach's room and ignore it. They then knock on a stranger's door, ask for "Bill" and then leave when they are told they have the wrong house. The pair of cultists meet the third downstairs and they all make a hasty exit from the Rathole and mount up outside. The Padre's Scrutinize serves him well and he sees through their little bluff. He guesses they were here for Zach and grabs Riggs, who has found most of the clues, and follows the cultists into the streets. He doesn't get far though, the horse tracks soon get lost in the busy streets. The heroes only know they headed East. After looking at Zach's map of a farmstead to the East they guess that's where the cultists are headed...

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