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View Full Version : Ready, Aim, Fire! (Round 4) (Ghost Town)



Silkenfist
2006-12-01, 06:41 PM
Three scavengers roam the sky over Western Utah. Some time ago, there had been a great feast for them, but since then, times have been dire and they would soon need to find prize again. In wide circles, the vultures fly over the desert, searching. A number of small shapes below catches their attention. Keeping their height, the vultures narrow their circles, hopefully following the trek.
A few dozen feet below the birds, a band of riders is travelling west. They have endured the scorching sun for the last few days and they are just as tired and dried as their steeds, that trot at a slow pace to conserve energy as long as possible. The road to the western coasts has usually been used by the settlers who were better prepared to travel large periods without water supplies. The band of riders, however, had neglected to enhance their usual loads of potable water. With the next town being only a few miles away, however, their parched calamity would soon find an end.
We take a closer look at that group and their hardened faces. A few months ago, they had been cowboys, being employed by the farmers of the Great Plains to lead cattle drives from their Texan Ranches towards the settlements in Kansas. It was an easy life for them, since the ever growing population caused a high demand for the meat, only the cowboy treks were able to meet. Year after year there would be more cattle drives with even more cows. Then, in the year 1875, several farmers agreed to form one big cattle drive together. They employed a large number of cowboys and wranglers, assigned them a herd of twenty thousand animals and sent them North. This was the biggest mission, each of the men has ever been entrusted to and the nervousness between them was evident. For the first weeks of the trail, everything worked perfectly and as they were passing the second border, their flurry was gone. Then, disaster struck…
Late in the evening, just as the cowboys were going to camp, they spotted thunderheads, approaching them rapidly. Hastily, they broke camp immediately and began circling the herd but they were not fast enough. The thunderbolts rolled over them, striking the trees around them again and again. Quickly, panic spread within the herd and helplessly the cowboys had to watch the stampede begin. Experienced as they were, they knew what to do: They backed away from the rampaging herd and rode in front of it to try and bring it into a circle. However, the density of the vegetation, the downward slope and the repeated strokes of lightning crushed their feeble attempts to control the gargantuan herd. They proceeded to rush downward, even running over one unlucky herder. As the sky cleared, the cowboys saw the aftermath of the storm. Thousands of cattle had escaped, and even more of them had gone down one of the deep gaps, killing or injuring many of them. About half of their trek has been lost, which would undoubtedly infuriate their owners, as soon as they would hear of it.
This has been several weeks ago. The cowboys concluded that it would be a good idea to be far away, when their former employers got word of their failure. Together they formed a caravan in order to move west and try to begin a new life there. This has led them on the desert road through Colorado and Utah to the Western Coast and its young cities where there would be no bounty on their heads. And even Lady Luck seemed to be on their side again as they finally reached a town. The silhouette of a small town becomes visible on the horizon, causing mute cheers to escape from the cowboy’s dry lips.

To be continued...


How does this game work?

1) Each round, each player sends me a message with his action.

2) There are three possible actions. Shoot yourself, shoot in the air or shoot someone else.

3) Shoot in the Air: This has no effect on you, anybody else or anybodys action.

4) Shoot yourself: If you shoot yourself and noone else tried to shoot you, you die.
4a) If you shoot yourself AND at least one other player tried to shoot you too, you remain alive and all assailants die instead.

5) Shoot someone: You have to specify a certain player that you want to shoot. You shoot that player and they die
5a) Exception: If your victim has tried to shoot itself, you die instead (See 4b)

6) After each round, the survivors are put together in a new standoff and the next round ensues. This continues until there is only one player left.
6a) If all players die simultaneously in one round, that round is repeated.

7) One round will last for about 48 hours, with each update there will be a deadline for your submission.
7a) Players who don't submit an action within the deadline are treated as if they shot the air.
7b) Players who don't submit an action twice in a row are removed from the match.

8) You can't join during a match but once a winner has been determined, there will be a new match with new signups

9) Don't take games too seriously and have fun.


Registration for the round is now open and will end on Sunday 7 PM Eastern. Register by replying here.

Previous Winners
Round 1: (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26710) DarkLightDragon (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/member.php?u=7519) (14 contestants)
Round 2: (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=27939) B-Man (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/member.php?u=2002) (8 capos)
Round 3: (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28305) Bookman (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/member.php?u=14935) (12 pirates)

Possible Themes for Future Rounds (All suggestions are welcome)
Feudal Japan (Samurai, Ninja, Shogun)
Thirty Year's War
Pop-Science-Fiction (Star Trek, Star Wars)
Highwaymen (Richard Turpin, Tom King)
Cavemen
Matrix
Fighting Jackie Chan style (Drunken Mastery & arbritary use of improvised equipment)
Royal intrigue (Roman senate, Hamlet scenario, Japanese daimyo...)

Contestants
Lucky
Tom McFaerwain
Kantur
Moon Called
Alarra
DarkLightDragon
Bookman
Atreyu, the Masked Llama
weebl
Jamie Swiftbow (still known as Lord Herman)
Selrahc
B-Man
Deckmaster
Beta
Captain van der Decken
Altharis

Lucky
2006-12-01, 06:42 PM
MEMEMEMEMEME!!!!

:smallbiggrin:

faerwain
2006-12-01, 06:50 PM
Slowly slapping the dust out of his clothes, Tom "Tame Poodle" McFaerwain enters the game.

Kantur
2006-12-01, 06:52 PM
Oooooh! Me! Me! Me!

Silkenfist
2006-12-01, 07:20 PM
Oh, and I have three good news for you:

1) I've abandoned my other contest (The work to participation/fun/interaction ratio was horrible) which will leave me with more time and energy to put into this little thing.

2) After 5 rounds, I will have enough data to calculate player statistics. They won't make your calculations easier but I hope they add another level of outsmarting each other.

3) I accept suggestions for the theme of Round 5. What kind of battle do you want to see?

Mr. Moon
2006-12-01, 08:59 PM
Meh, why not. Got nothing better to do.

Maybe Round 5 could be sent in Fuedle Japan, or Renisance England?

Alarra
2006-12-01, 11:58 PM
Count me in.

DarkLightDragon
2006-12-02, 12:29 AM
I'll play!

Bookman
2006-12-02, 12:37 AM
I'm in.

Let's keep a perfect record :wink:

Atreyu the Masked LLama
2006-12-02, 01:19 AM
dang. The western llama is still in production. Ah well, I'm in.

Alarra
2006-12-02, 02:31 AM
I'm sure ceika could speed up production on that one. You really don't have a western llama already?

Weebl
2006-12-02, 03:53 AM
I'll be playing in scottish mode!

faerwain
2006-12-02, 04:31 AM
Why don't we do a contest ? The winner of every round decides the theme for the next round.

And here, I relist my suggestions from the last rounds:

It is Scot's versus English! FREEEEEDOM!
Or is it Star Trek? KHAAAAAN!
Or Aussies versus 'Roos? GOOOEEEE!


What about a 18./early 19. century robber-and-soldier-theme? You know, "Richard" Turpin, Schinderhannes, that kind.


Now excuse me, have to clean the horse and feed the Peacemaker..

Lord Herman
2006-12-02, 04:38 AM
Put me on the list.

And for next round, I suggest a Star Wars theme. I already have my avatar!

Selrahc
2006-12-02, 04:53 AM
I'm in. Again.

Lets see if I notch a victory this time :smallamused:

Silkenfist
2006-12-02, 08:59 AM
Why don't we do a contest ? The winner of every round decides the theme for the next round.

Because I try to embed the storyline into history as far as possible and I wouldn't be able to provide a scenario on a notice too short. I'd like to prepare things several days in front, which would be impossible that way.

To your suggestions:

Renisance England: Sounds nice but since the Renisance was firstmost defined by its cultural advancements, it might be hard to find a scenario violent enough.

Feudal Japan: Will surely be done sooner or later, as both Samurai and Ninja are quite popular AND have potential for violent stand-offs. Also there might be room for intrigue between the daimyo and the shogun. We might visit Japan more than once.

Scotland/England: I would love to place you into those times, but the problem is that I need a scenario where you all are fighting each other. Any war or territorial conflict would be hard to implement. Of course, there are some exceptions like the Thirty Year's War or any other conflict with more than two coherent parties.
(The same would also apply for Aussies/Roos)

Star Trek/Star Wars: I see a lot of potential there and probably a good fanbase that would appreciate. The problem is, that I have absolutely no knowledge about their fictional histories. I could brush up on that, but for the next one or two rounds, it won't happen. But we WILL do a science-fiction-theme sooner or later.

RICHARD Turpin/Schinderhannes/Highwaymen: Ooooh...this is one I like (and would not have found myself). Will be used definitely.

Lord Herman
2006-12-02, 12:36 PM
Fuedle is spelled 'Feudal' :p

Other ideas for themes:
- Prehistoric. Bashing each other's skulls in with clubs and rocks.
- The Matrix. Ready, Aim, Fire in bullet time!
- Poorly dubbed kung fu movie.
- Shakespeare's Hamlet. Thees, thous, and lots of backstabbing.
- Roman politics, also quite Shakespearian.
- All-out penguin deathmatch!

B-Man
2006-12-02, 01:01 PM
Ah, what the heck. Sign me up... again... this time I'll get Bookman!

Deckmaster
2006-12-02, 01:09 PM
I'll try this out.

Captain van der Decken
2006-12-02, 01:57 PM
You still recruiting? I'll try.

Beta
2006-12-02, 02:18 PM
Don't forget me!

As for theme suggestions, I've already heard just about every good theme I could come up with myself. I would like to suggest, however, something to make one game last a little longer. It's just over too soon for my taste. Maybe increase everyone's HP from 1 to 2? Or something random that makes not every shot hit automaticly. Just an idea, what does everybody else think?

Lord Herman
2006-12-02, 02:24 PM
I've been thinking of some extra rules myself, but I think it's best to keep them the way they are. The rounds can be over pretty quickly, but that means the people who are shot don't have to wait too long for the next round.

Silkenfist
2006-12-02, 04:25 PM
As for theme suggestions, I've already heard just about every good theme I could come up with myself. I would like to suggest, however, something to make one game last a little longer. It's just over too soon for my taste. Maybe increase everyone's HP from 1 to 2? Or something random that makes not every shot hit automaticly. Just an idea, what does everybody else think?

Well...

1. Well, one reason the games are over so quickly is because you guys have a great tendency to attack each other. Other boards/groups have much more airshots than you. Also, I am opposed to the multiple HP theory for the same reason as Javie/Herman.

2. Special rules are something I already thought of when writing up the mafia scenario (Nobody may shoot the air twice, the mafia don't like cowards, etc...). However, the game itself is so simple that each additional rule would have too great an influence on the gameplay. Maybe there will be a special round with extra abilities in the future, but that would be the great exception.


Concerning Javie/Hermans suggestions:

- Caveman clubbing standoff: Cool idea. I'll put it on the list.
- The Matrix: Are you thinking what I am thinking? No, not the Lederhosen, Pinky. Remember the scene from Matrix I on the rooftop, where Smith forces Neo to the ground with several bullets, which engages him so much that he is easily offed by Trinity? THAT'S what this game is about. Will be on the list.
- Kung Fu: There is a lot of potential in it, but adopting it to shooting yourself might be tricky. I'd put it down with Jackie Chan because that would give me something to work with.
- Hamlet/Romans: I would merge them with the daimyo to the bullet point of political intrigue.
- Penguin deathmatch: Actually, I DO have a realistic idea for that: Emperor penguins who are approaching new fishing grounds oftenly face the fact that other predators like seals might be lurking in the water. The birds would stand at the edge of the ice and wait for someone else to dive in first. If noone volunteers, impatient penguins start pushing others into the water.
OK, but seriously: I might do a wacky round with penguins, bunnies or tortoises, but they won't be put onto the list.

Lord Herman
2006-12-03, 06:02 AM
*snip* Well, one reason the games are over so quickly is because you guys have a great tendency to attack each other. Other boards/groups have much more airshots than you. *snip*

I think the people here, like me, have figured that shooting in the air doesn't accomplish much. It doesn't protect you from getting shot, and it doesn't kill your opponents. When shooting someone, you don't risk much, and you have a good chance of killing them. In some situations, the chance of getting shot is great enough to merit shooting yourself. Only in finale battles shooting in the air might make sense, if you expect the other player to shoot him/herself.

v, Blood for the blood god! Skulls for the skull throne!

faerwain
2006-12-03, 06:35 AM
I think the people here, like me, have figured that shooting in the air doesn't accomplish much. It doesn't protect you from getting shot, and it doesn't kill your opponents. When shooting someone, you don't risk much, and you have a good chance of killing them. In some situations, the chance of getting shot is great enough to merit shooting yourself. Only in finale battles shooting in the air might make sense, if you expect the other player to shoot him/herself.

Thank you Jarvie/Herman, I wasn't able come up with an elegant, reassuring, eloquently worded and reasonable-sounding paraphrase for "bloodlust".:smalltongue:

Altharis
2006-12-03, 06:54 AM
Me please!

Lord Herman
2006-12-03, 07:15 AM
Okay. *shoots altharis*

By the way, does the three post rule also apply to threads like this? The thread itself is not really a game; it's more like a discussion thread about the game.

Silkenfist
2006-12-03, 07:22 AM
Well, I would not apply the rule here but I am no moderator. Still, the actual game is not played in the posts, so I think you are safe.

Considering the use of airshots: The thought behind them is that you let the others kill each other. You don't risk being countershot by a suicidal target, while the only disadvantage is that you don't reduce the number of opponents directly. Still, in a round with many homicidal and many suicidal dudes, shooting the air oftenly is the best action.

Silkenfist
2006-12-03, 08:10 PM
The predators have kept circling above the small caravan for hours, following them on their journey. From up high they recognize familiar shapes. The riders lead them to the place from where they came…
Below them, the cowboys, having spotted the silhouette of the town, rejoice but they are too tired to cheer loudly. They empty their flasks of water right away in the prospect to refill them soon. Just hours ago, they had cursed themselves for foolishly choosing the path through the desert without taking proper supplies with them. But now their anguish seems to have come to an end. They empty the remainders of their flasks in the prospect of refilling them soon before riding into the small group of houses, a small sign at the road labels “Cactus Town”
As the group of riders passes the first houses, they quickly notice the absence of residents. There are no people on the main street and no sounds can be heard from the houses. An uncomfortable feeling infests the group, but they shrug it off quickly. Clearly, a large group of armed riders would frighten the townspeople and they would have to act calmly to avoid being shot by a panic-stricken inhabitant. They agree to announce themselves at the sheriff’s, but first they would have to get water for their desiccated mounts. They quickly locate the drinking trough, tie the steeds to its railing and pump up enough water for all of their animals. The water smells earthy but the horses drink it reluctantly.

Dehydration is a serious danger for anyone journeying through the desert, men and animals alike. Even with so much as 3 % of their water volume lost, humans are severely impaired by the lack of water, causing them thirst, fatigue, dizziness and limpness, ever increasing with progressing dehydration until paralysis and death set in at a loss of about 12 %. With the body losing two and more gallons of water per day in a desert climate, the danger is obvious.
The cowboys have left their steeds behind and stroll through the town, trying not to look threatening as they search for an official to introduce them and their needs to. The ongoing silence starts to irritate them – wouldn’t someone have the courage to talk to them? They approach the Sheriff’s only to find the building locked and empty. Even after calling out for someone, nobody is coming out to greet the group. They decide to pay a visit to the local saloon, where someone had to be. The cowboys find the bar, announce themselves as peaceful visitors, then enter – only to find another empty lifeless building. The saloon is dark and quiet and completely vacated. Growing impatient, the group starts searching the saloon and the rest of the town for any signs of life, but they find nothing. But what they find alarms them more and more. There are the burial grounds behind the town, where they find several fresh graves. There is the grocery store that is completely broached, while the rest of the town is not. Also, there are two cow skeletons, lying just outside the town, already picked clean. The cowboys look above to the vultures and the vultures stare back.
Finally, the riders come to the well to at least refill their flasks before renewing their search. But as they draw up the first bucket of water, they notice a familiar earthy stench. Dipping their fingers into it, they carefully taste the water – and realise immediately what had happened. Head over heels they run to where they left their horses…

The Sevier Lake in Northern and Western Utah is part of the desert area of Utah and had once been a large water supply for the area. However, its endorheic nature – in combination with ever decreasing amount of condensation – has caused the lake to dry up more and more over the years. Its surface area became smaller, but that was not the problem: With more and more water evaporating, the salinity of the remaining water increased more and more. Good drinking water for humans should not contain more than one grams of salt per litre, two being barely tolerable. Horses and other animals can tolerate slightly more, up to ten grams per litre. Ocean water bears thirty-five grams of salt per litre, thus being undrinkable for men or animals.
Lake Sevier, when measured in 1872, showed amounts of 86 grams of salt per litre with the salinity still increasing with further evaporation. Its water, even in small amounts, would become toxic for anyone. Now this is no problem for the towns around, since their wells go down to the groundwater, which is very much drinkable. This was until later 1872, when Owens Valley earthquake in California struck – causing minor tremors in an area of several hundred miles – including Lake Sevier. The basing, containing the Lake cracked – causing the salty water to intrude into the streams of groundwater below, slowly increasing their salinity until they too became toxic. Any town with wells connected to that stream would quickly face a serious problem…

Hastily, the cowboys arrive at the trough, where they left there horses but they come too late. Their steeds overcame their nausea and ingested the foul water, even furthering their dehydration. Helplessly the cowboys stand there and watch as one after another of their mounts start to stagger, become agitated, then fall to the ground in convulsions. Grief-stricken, they lead the horses to separate places, hoping that at least some survive the night.
Why is seawater deadly? For humans and animals alike, a rapid intake of salt will not directly kill you of dehydration. Still, you consume large amounts of salt, that are passed through your organism. The kidneys, having only one way to rid the metabolism of excessive salt intake, increase urine production, further adding to dehydration while large quantities of the sodium remain in the body, intoxicating the blood. A rapid intake of so much as 40 grams would surely kill any human or animal – which is less than half a litres worth of groundwater intruded by Lake Sevier….

The sun rises again, shedding its light on the cowboys who kept watch by their horses for the full night – gathering all potential water sources in the town to keep their steeds alive. But as they check their condition in the morning, they find that half of the animals had expired already, with the others being unable to get up and – without further sources of hydration visible – surely doomed. Only one of the horses is able to get to its feet again and keep standing. The cowboys look at the lone survivor of the night, that would not support more than one of them on the way out of the desert. They look at each other and come to one conclusion. Sixteen times, cold steel chafes against leather as they draw their revolvers.


Note to self: Make shorter descriptions

The shootout begins now. Please submit your action until Tuesday, 7 PM Eastern.


Contestants
Lucky
Tom McFaerwain
Kantur
Moon Called
Alarra
DarkLightDragon
Bookman
Atreyu, the Masked Llama
weebl
Jamie Swiftbow (still known as Lord Herman)
Selrahc
B-Man
Deckmaster
Beta
Captain van der Decken
Altharis

evnafets
2006-12-03, 10:49 PM
argh. Too late! Damn work and its keeping me from surfing the messageboards today!!!

Lord Herman
2006-12-04, 02:20 AM
I like the description, but I think the bit about salt water disrupts the flow of the story.

Silkenfist
2006-12-04, 11:52 AM
I like the description, but I think the bit about salt water disrupts the flow of the story.

Yep, should have narrowed that bit. I know that I tend to show off knowledge *sniff*

But cool western avy. I like it.

Silkenfist
2006-12-05, 08:01 PM
The predators have returned. The town has already offered them a feast and it looks like another one would draw near. The bodies of the dead horses look temping for the hungry vultures, but they are waiting until the nasty humans would finally stop moving. Together with them, the last horse, also the only way to leave the desert, watches the action around it. Observed by the animals, the cowboys start planning.
Quickly, there seem small alliances to be forming. Javie Swiftbow and Lucky meet in the barber's to discuss a strategy while weebl and Bookman retreat to the blacksmith to form a plan. On the other side of the town, Selrahc and Kantur hit the saloon together. Meanwhile Alarra sneaks away to the hardware store. Plans are beginning to take shape

A large number of cowboys, however, seem to suffer from an acute case of collective sunstroke. They decide to enjoy the warm sun together and run through the town looking for a nice place to tan themselves.
In the smithy, there is serious business underway as weebl presents Bookman his plan to escape. Wasn't there a cowboy Llama with them? Maybe that could act as a steed as well, if they were able to saddle and harness it. Surely, they could overpower it together and ride it out of town. Bookman seems not that sure about the idea, but finally agrees to help weebl in his attempt. They grab a saddle, a harness and some rope and search for the Llama.
Kantur and Selrahc have formed a plan together too, albeit a much simpler one: They would hit the saloon, get drunk with whatever there was left, then kill themselves rather than have anyone else do it. Arm in arm, they enter the saloon and empty its reserves. They don't notice Javie and Lucky, who decided to team up and kill Kantur, following them silently. The two pursuers decide to wait in front of the saloon and ambush their target as soon as it would leave.
On the other side of the road, weebl and Bookman have found the Llama, contemplating its action. They quietly sneak up on their target, Bookman in front with the rope, weebl behind him with the saddle. Just as they are ready to strike, faerwain, for reasons only known to him, runs across the street, cackling manically and shooting into the Air repeatedly. The Llama becomes startled and looks up, which causes him to see the approaching party just in time. It draws its pistol and points it at the nearer Bookman, while weebl quickly produces his revolver and points it between the Llama's eyes. Then, in a sudden change of mind, Bookman comes to the idea, their failure was only due to weebl's horrible plan. He draws his weapon and points it at weebl's cranium. The three look at each other with deadly resolve and once again the town falls silent, except for a short scream from the other side of the town.
What had happened there? The six cowboys who just wanted to then themselves had found six beautiful rocking chairs standing outside one of the houses. Not questioning their luck, Altharis ran towards them to be the first one to test their coziness. With the momentum from his run, he threw himself into one of the chairs. Unfortunately for him, it was the chair, Alarra had preparred earlier. Seat and back of the chair broke down immediately, causing Altharis to fall with his back down on the rocker - which had been studded with nine inch nails. His terrified screams mingled with Alarra's laughing out of ther hiding.
Undaunted by this, Moon Called, Beta, B-Man, Deckmaster and the Darklightdragon disarmed the remaining chairs and enjoyed the day in the sun together, observing two cowboys on the roof of the saloon.
The two are Selrahc and Kantur, who approached part two of their plan - throwing themselves down from the two-story roof. Selrahc approaches the edge of the building and jumps down on the rocky ground behind the house, snapping his neck immediately. Kantur bids his fallen comrade a last farewell, then decides to throw himself down the other side. He approaches the edge and steps up staggeringly...
A few yards below, Lucky and Javie still wait on either side of the saloon doors for their target to come out, when suddenly a series of gunshots sounds through the air. Lucky and Javie instinctively get back to back to defend themselves. This however, brought them so close together, that the falling Kantur is able to hit both of them on his fall down. With his fall broken, Kantur escapes with just a large hangover - leaving the battered corpses of Lucky and Javie behind.
Meanwhile, the strange men who insisted to be called "Captain" has found himself a more suitable weapon. Armed with a sabre, he runs through the town to become involved in the homicidal activities as well. As he only finds the corpses of Bookman, weebl and the cowboy Llama, he shrugs and stabs weebl a few times additionally, then runs off screaming "Yaaaargh"


For the first time in Ready, Aim, Fire! more than half of you survived the first day. But there can be only one. Please submit your action until Thursday, 7PM Eastern.


Armed and Dangerous: 9
Tom McFaerwain
Kantur
Moon Called
Alarra
DarkLightDragon
B-Man
Deckmaster
Beta
Captain van der Decken

Gunned Down: 7
Lucky
Bookman
Atreyu, the Masked Llama
weebl
Javie Swiftbow (still known as Lord Herman)
Selrahc
Altharis

Lucky
2006-12-05, 08:04 PM
Darn, looks like I got too predictable... Maybe I should stop shooting Kantur.

Nah.

Weebl
2006-12-06, 01:52 AM
Damn it! I got killed in the 3 way!

Lord Herman
2006-12-06, 01:58 AM
Drat! I knew I should have shot B-Man!

Captain van der Decken
2006-12-06, 02:17 AM
Heh. Nice description.

faerwain
2006-12-06, 06:12 AM
:smallbiggrin: I'm getting more and more convinced he writes slasher movie scripts for a living....
Great work again.

Kantur
2006-12-06, 06:19 AM
Woo! Surviving and killing Lucky!? This can only be an omen of good luck before my math exam later surely...

And another Woo! for the description.

Bookman
2006-12-06, 10:03 AM
Damn it! I got killed in the 3 way!

Diiiiiiiirty :tongue:

But yeah it's kinda sad......and sorta funny.

Alarra
2006-12-06, 10:20 AM
ooooh, I lived this time.

Atreyu the Masked LLama
2006-12-06, 10:25 AM
at least I took one down with me

nice story telling. Its truly what makes this game a success. *kudos*

B-Man
2006-12-06, 11:54 AM
Drat! I knew I should have shot B-Man!

:amused: Ha! The non-existant plan strikes again!

...but in all honesty, I completely forgot that I signed up for this... :eek:

Lord Herman
2006-12-07, 05:08 AM
Harmless bump, to remind people to submit their actions.

Silkenfist
2006-12-07, 07:36 PM
A few hours have passed since the first shootout and the dreadful silence in the town, together with the dry air, turn each breath into a jittery cough. Nine cowboys have survived the first outbreak of violence only to find them in the same situation as before. Their only steed stands in the center of the town, tied to the railing in front of the sherrif's, while nobody dares to make a run for it. The alliances have broken up and most of the cowboys have retreated into hiding to snipe on their former trekmates. They keep themselves in the shadows and chew cactus slices to keep themselves focussed and barely nutritioned.
The exception are Moon Called, Deckmaster and B-Man, who decided to stay in their comfy chairs in the middle of the sun, rocking back and forth and cracking occassional jokes about they just needed some mint juleps. But with time passing, their motions and laughter become erratic. Then, sun, dehydration and desperation fullfill the work, no bullet could have done better: Moon Called and Deckmaster just slump into their chairs and cease moving. The predators up high rejoice - as well as the cowboys, who positioned themselves on the roofs to keep watch of the scene.
B-Man, having retained his senses marginally better than his comrades, has barely noticed the death of them. Staggeringly, he gets up from his chair, turns around and sees the lifeless bodies of Moon Called and Deckmaster. A croak escapes his throat as he points at what he refuses to believe - then his chest is ruptured by two bullets, entering it from either way. faerwain and the Captain both came to the conclusion that it would be better to end B-Man's agony right there.
After B-Man has fallen to the ground, faerwain and the Captain stare at each other from their respective hiding posts between the houses. faerwain blinks first and decides not to risk a shootout as he turns around and vanishes in the shadows. Captain on the other side of the main street comes to the idea that the way would be free for him to claim the lone mount only a few dozen yards away. He puts away his revolver, breaks out the sabre again and makes a run for it.
Meanwhile, two stories above him, the Darklightdragon shifts her weight slightly to keep herself stable in the small patch of shadow available. She scans the neighbouring roofs for other cowboys nervously, rather certain that she saw something move across the road. However, a sudden movement from below catches her attention immediately. She sees the Captain running towards the horse quickly, his sabre drawn. Quickly, she gets up leans a bit further forward to get a better aim, then sends a hail of bullets into the Captain's back from behind.
Satisfied, the Dragon observes the last twitches of her target who failed to reach his prize by only a few feet. She also notices, her action brought her upper part of the body out of her hiding. Immediately, she arches back to retreat to safety - but it is too late. Indeed, there had been someone across the road. Alarra, hiding on the roof of the grocery store has seized the opportunity and aimed for her diverted opponent. Just as the Dragon is about to retretat, a volley of bullets puncture her back, embedding themselves into her collarbone. She falls to the ground, cursing her lack of caution with her last seconds of awareness.
Kantur and Beta stand unfazed by the fate of their rivals. They have kept themselves in the shadows for all the time to have someone else risk their life. They set themselves up a few bottles and barrels and do a bit of target practice while smiling about the self-destructivity of their adversaries. Still, they would soon have to enter the fray as well in order to escape Ghost Town...


Armed and Dangerous: 4
Tom McFaerwain
Kantur
Alarra
Beta

Gunned Down: 12
Lucky
Bookman
Atreyu, the Masked Llama
weebl
Javie Swiftbow (still known as Lord Herman)
Selrahc
Altharis
Moon Called
Captain van der Decken
DarkLightDragon
B-Man
Deckmaster

I will be away for most of the weekend. Send your action until Sunday 12 PM Eastern

faerwain
2006-12-07, 07:47 PM
S-T-R-I-I-IKE !! :smallbiggrin:

DarkLightDragon
2006-12-08, 03:17 AM
Pffffffft. I still won the first round!

Kantur
2006-12-08, 06:59 AM
Woo! Wonder if I'll manage to survive another round...

Lord Herman
2006-12-08, 12:28 PM
Woo! Wonder if I'll manage to survive another round...

Famous last words...

Silkenfist
2006-12-10, 03:29 PM
Time issues....

Beta: Please submit your action

all: I won't be able to do something for you until tomorrow.

Lord Herman
2006-12-11, 09:34 AM
*tumbleweed rolls by*

faerwain
2006-12-11, 10:36 AM
*rattlesnake rattles*

Captain van der Decken
2006-12-11, 02:24 PM
*sign creaks*

Silkenfist
2006-12-11, 05:36 PM
The predators have lost their caution as they see the feast before their eyes. They set their claws into the shoulders of the dead wranglers in the rocking chairs. The momentum of their beaks, hacking into the chests of the corpses sends the chairs into a soft, peaceful rocking.
The remaining humans hardly notice this. With only the four of them left, Beta, Alarra, Kantur and Tom McFaerwain have abandoned their carefulness as well. Moving quickly between the buildings, they advance to the junction, where the horse is standing in the shadow of Ghost Town’s sheriff’s former home. It has recovered a bit and watches a small rocking motion in the distance.
Beta has had the worst place of observation, apparently. Finding no shadowy place, the sun has sent him into a state of deep exhaustion. Facing the risk of dropping dead, he gets down from his observation post on the roof. Staggering, he leaves the house and sits down on the shadowy porch, looking at the intersection with the sheriff’s and with his gun drawn. His rattling breath echoes through the air as he keeps sitting in the open.
Out of his hiding in the nearby smithy, Tom McFaerwain watches the scene. He has a perfect shot at anyone daring enough to make another run for the steed. The action of Beta, however, unsettles him. He can’t risk shooting him without giving away his position, yet he would have to keep him under observation. McFaerwain curses his luck and keeps waiting. As time passes by, he decides to prepare for upcoming battle. He finds a large hunting knife in the back of the house and tucks it into his belt.
The last two cowboys have formed more elaborate plans. They estimated that they could reach the sheriff’s if they moved across the nearby roofs. Coming from the east, Alarra climbs from one housetop to another, keeping herself concealed to not reveal her plan. Carefully, she uses a batten to move over the gaps, drawing nearer house for house. Finally, she moves the batten one last time, pushing it onto the edge of the sheriff’s roof – when she sees a board moved onto it from the other side. Kantur had the same idea, reaching the house just in time to stop her. The two cowboys look at each other across the roofs and draw their weapons…
McFaerwain winces as he sees sudden movement from across the street. He looks over and sees Kantur and Alarra standing on the roofs, engaged in a face-off. Sensing a chance, he leaves his post silently.
Meanwhile, Beta has not realised much of those events. But as the sun settles, the air cools down enough for him to regain some of his energy. He sees that none of the others has dared to attack him. Could it be that the way was free for him? Slowly he gets up to try his luck – when he is suddenly grappled from behind. He draws breath to yell out in protest, but the sharp knife of McFaerwain quickly ends the feeble attempt. Satisfied, the ambusher smiles and leans the corpse of Beta against the wall.
On the rooftop, Alarra and Kantur fixate each other, estimating their chances to hit their target with a volley or to make a run for the mount below. A shootout seems to become inevitable, when they suddenly hear a loud cracking noise from below. They twitch and their focus widens for one moment – time enough for them to notice movement in the corner of their eyes. They lie flat down to keep safe from each other’s bullets, then look out below, where they see the dead body of Beta, that had fallen onto the wooden stairs, producing the noise. Undaunted by this, McFaerwain has already cut the horse free and put the first foot into the stirrup. He grasps the saddle to swing over, but Alarra and Kantur are quicker. Two bullets bite into his soft defenceless flesh and throw him back to the ground.
From across the roofs, Kantur and Alarra look at each other once again, this time the last living humans in the city, below them their prize. They reload and duck into hiding, pondering their next move.


Armed and Dangerous: 2
Kantur
Alarra

Gunned Down: 14
Lucky
Bookman
Atreyu, the Masked Llama
weebl
Javie Swiftbow (still known as Lord Herman)
Selrahc
Altharis
DarkLightDragon
B-Man
Deckmaster
Beta
Captain van der Decken
Moon Called
Tom McFaerwain


Only two left. Please submit your actions ASAP

faerwain
2006-12-11, 05:41 PM
So.Close.

*picks out Harmonica and is doing the Morricone*

Alarra
2006-12-11, 05:53 PM
Woooooooooo!

Kantur
2006-12-11, 05:59 PM
Woo!
Oh Shock, Alarra's left?
*Fails Will Save*
You've got to ask yourself a question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?

Silkenfist
2006-12-11, 06:29 PM
The sun descends to the brink of the horizon, its last rays illuminating the faces of two cowboys in a bright red. Alarra and Kantur, the last survivors of the cowboy gang cower on roofs to each side of the sheriff's. Whoever leaves their hiding first will be an easy target for the other one to pick of. Sweat runs down the shirt of Kantur as he begins to brew a plan. Maybe he could lure his opponent to him, then overpower her in the infight. He searches the roof for material to realise his cunning plan...
Alarra's thoughts on the other hand have been rather peaceful. As they are just two remaining cowboys, they could maybe find a peaceful solution. She fights with herself whether or not to openly address Kantur, who seemed rather self-absorbed.
Indeed, Kantur's mind races as he is about to set up his trap. Out of debris from across the roof, he has created a shield against bullets. Hiding behind that barrier, he would move it gradually to the edge of the roof. Alarra would have to intercept him from escaping, then he could gun her down easily. He sets himself in motion, carrying his construction to the edge of the building.
On the other side, Alarra has made up her mind. She and Kantur would work together to find a peaceful solution. There was no need to kill each other. But how to make it clear to him? Alarra decides to give him the best sign she is capable to provide. She stands up and empties her revolver into the blue yonder, effectively disarming herself. However, this startles Kantur, who was just about to cower behind his barrier at the very edge of the building. He loses his balance and plummets to the ground, hitting the railing with his back.
Alarra, having fired into the Air waits for Kanturs response, but all she hears is a terrified scream from below. She rushes down to investigate only to find the battered dying corpse of Kantur lying on the ground. This time, there was noone to break his fall. Alarra falls into a brief mourning, including the other victims of the slaughter as well. Then, she shrugs it off and grabs the reins of the horse, leading it out of the cursed town.
The predators rejoice. The last of the nasty moving humans has left, leaving behind another feast for them. Surely this will suffice until the next visitors reach their realm.

Congratulations Alarra for winning Ready, Aim, Fire! #4

I'm writing up round 5 now, but I probably won't finish it until tomorrow. We will be moving back in time again, my friends.

Kantur
2006-12-11, 06:33 PM
Congratulations Alarra!

Alarra
2006-12-11, 06:36 PM
Whee, I winneded. Battle of the psychologists indeed. =P

Lord Herman
2006-12-12, 02:07 AM
Congrats, Alarra!

Captain van der Decken
2006-12-12, 02:41 AM
Congratulations!