//------------------------------// // Chapter 10 // Story: Unshaken // by The 24th Pegasus //------------------------------// It took the two mares another hour to fly back to their camp, situated clear on the other side of Rock Ridge. It was slow going as Silvie struggled to carry Sienna back, but Kestrel was simply happy that she could relax her wings some. Sienna was too frightened to make a sound, but then again, Kestrel didn’t think she’d make good conversation anyway. The Gang had chosen their camp well. It was nestled on a cleft jutting out from the side of a mesa, with some cacti and scraggly vegetation for cover to keep the flat area obscured from afar. But from that ledge, they could survey Rock Ridge in the distance and miles upon miles of open desert. Unless ponies approached from the northwest and stuck close to the base of the mesa, or simply flew over it, the Gang would be able to see them coming. Kestrel’s eyes fell on a lone figure perched on an outcropping of rock overlooking the camp. Snapshot’s bright blue coat was easy to recognize at a distance, and she guessed that he’d volunteered for first watch after dinner like he usually did. He stood a bit straighter when he saw the extra passenger on Silver’s back, and he watched them fly into the camp with a frown. It was a rough landing for Kestrel, but she at least managed to maintain her balance—and her dignity. Silver came in a little harder, and she barely took more than a few steps before she rolled Sienna off her hindquarters and let the earth pony hit the ground with a thud. Sienna yelped and squirmed, and the commotion soon attracted the attention of the rest of the camp. The first to approach was an old stallion with a faded red coat and a whitening muzzle in the death throes of old age. Wanderer was the oldest pony in the Gang by far, but he commanded the most respect out of the crew apart from Tumbleweed himself. The old stallion had fallen in with the group a few years back and quickly found himself as something resembling a father figure for many of the lost souls in it. He was knowledgeable and wise, and if he said something, everypony listened. Even Roughshod. “Looks like you had a bit of an adventure, didn’t you, girls?” he asked as he approached. His eyes fell on the blindfolded and bound earth pony wriggling on the ground and raised an eyebrow. “And who’s this? A friend of yours?” “Somepony stupid enough to jump the two of us by herself,” Kestrel said, drawing her knife. “Can somepony fetch Tumbleweed while I help our guest get comfortable?” “I believe he was talking with Miss Irons, I’ll go fetch him,” Wanderer said, and with a ruffle of his messy old feathers, he disappeared back amongst the tents and the wagons. “I’ll go get us some chow,” Silver said, rolling her shoulders and wincing. “Hopefully Rough didn’t eat it all.” “If he did, just kick ‘im until he shares,” Kestrel grunted. The knife slipped through the rope holding Sienna’s forelegs to her sides, and the mare whimpered as she felt metal along her side. “W-Where am I? Where are we?” she asked, blindly whipping her head left and right. “Don’t squirm about so much,” Kestrel grunted, working on freeing her hind legs. “I ain’t gonna waste cloth bandagin’ you back up if I stick ya.” That quickly put an end to Sienna’s struggles, and soon Kestrel was hauling her to her hooves. She didn’t remove the blindfold yet, however. She knew that Tumbleweed would want to do that personally and make an impression. And soon the Boss joined them, Wanderer and Miss Irons, another elderly mare, in his wake. Kestrel knew better than to doubt Miss Irons’ will, however. The unicorn was the enforcer of anything Tumbleweed declared in camp, and if Wanderer was like a wizened grandfather, then Miss Irons was a mean nanny. Still, she was always fair, though Kestrel had to wonder if she or Roughshod was going to get the first turn at working Sienna over for information. “Well, well, well, what have we got here?” Tumbleweed asked as he approached. Sienna locked up at the sound of so many hoofsteps approaching, and Kestrel had to practically hold the mare upright. “She a friend of those ponies that shot at us earlier today?” “They’re called the Viper Gang, ‘pparently,” Kestrel said, shoving Sienna forward. The mare squeaked in alarm and fell forward, only for Tumbleweed to catch her in his magic before she could further break her nose on the ground. “There’s a lot of ‘em. Our friend Sienna can probably tell us more. Oh, and they got gold.” “Gold?” Tumbleweed seemed to consider that for a moment before he grabbed Sienna by the cheeks and dragged her closer. The mare had practically gone limp out of fear by this point, and she put up no resistance as Tumbleweed looked her over and finally pulled the bandana off of her eyes. Her eyes met his, and she seemed to shrink even further inside herself. Even Tumbleweed could be scary when he wanted to. “You look like you’ve enjoyed a healthy relationship with a cactus,” Tumbleweed teased, looking over the scars on her face. Her nose was crooked from Kestrel breaking it earlier, and dried blood clung to her muzzle. “Or maybe you wrestle griffons. Whatever it is you survived, I guarantee you that your stay here will make it seem like a vacation in paradise. Unless, of course, you cooperate.” “I-I’ll be g-good!” Sienna whimpered. “Please, j-just please don’t kill me!” “Part of me is inclined to think that killin’ you would be a mercy,” Tumbleweed said. “Maybe you’ll think that too, in time.” He dropped Sienna to the ground, and the young mare merely covered her face and cowered. “Roughshod, will you come over here and get this mare bound to somethin’ secure?” he asked, eyes falling on the bulky earth pony sitting by the fire. Then, turning back to Sienna one last time, he put a hoof on her shoulder. “Let me put it to you this way, filly. I will do my best to be fair, and honest, and just with you. But if you do not reciprocate,” he said, emphasizing each syllable, “then I will be forced to get nasty. However nasty your boss may have been in this Viper Gang, I guarantee you, I will be worse. My friend Roughshod here is good at breaking bones. You got an earth pony’s bones, but he’s got an earth pony’s strength.” He grabbed Sienna’s face one more time and forced her to look at him again. “Do not make me have to have him use it.” Sienna was little more than a sniveling wreck at this point, and Tumbleweed let her head fall back to the ground as Roughshod stepped forward to haul her away. “C’mon, little filly,” he said, eyes falling over her lean form like a starving coyote. “Let’s go get you tied up nice and secure.” Kestrel watched the whole scene unfold with a frown on her face, but she nevertheless politely nodded when Tumbleweed approached her. “You did good today, Kessie,” he said. “I thought you were a fool when you wanted to go and find their camp, but it appears I was mistaken.” “Naw, I’m still a fool,” Kestrel said with a shake of her head. “Just a lucky one.” “Fair enough. Oh, and I counted our take from the job.” Kestrel mentally braced herself for the disappointing numbers she knew she was about to hear. “Oh?” “Little under three hundred bits,” Tumbleweed said, his face turning dour. “I’m glad you found that extra hundred in bills, at least. It ain’t much, but it’s a start. I set half aside to stash and save, and I gave Miss Irons free use of the other half to make sure we got supplies for our camp.” “We’ll have to do more diggin’ in Rock Ridge,” Kestrel said. “Maybe we can find somethin’ a bit better.” “It was our first day in town, and we were just desperate for somethin’, anythin’,” Tumbleweed said. “But at least we have enough money to last us a month or two out here if we don’t spend it on anythin’ fancy. But I agree; tomorrow, I’m gonna take a bunch of us down into town and see what we can dig up. For now, though, I think most ponies just wanna celebrate our first successful take after slippin’ the Pinks back in Dodge Junction and caravanning across the San Palomino.” His magic produced a bottle of whiskey from somewhere, and he tilted it in Kestrel’s direction. “You gonna stay up some?” Kestrel yawned and covered her muzzle with her feathers. “Dunno. Gonna eat somethin’ when Silvie comes back, then think about it.” “Whatever suits you,” Tumbleweed said. He pulled the cork out of the bottle and put it to his lips, smirking at her as he walked away. “Try not to let Wanderer outlast ya, at least. He’ll never let you live it down.” Kestrel merely shook her head as he walked away. 1.     Sit by the fire with Silver and Wanderer. 2.     Drink with Tumbleweed and Roughshod. 3.     Retire early for the night. (Confidence Required: 30 Votes) Kestrel has returned to the Gang’s camp. The camp is a safe place to rest and recover after missions, and also where hauls must be taken once a job is finished. Hauls will only be added to the Gang’s total savings if they can be brought back to the camp safely. Armored Wagon Robbery Summary: The Gang's morale has improved slightly following their first successful take in Rock Ridge Law Attention remains unchanged due to the Viper Gang attack on the wagon taking the blame Kestrel has gained honor for attempting to take the wagon's haul without violence (+5) Kestrel has gained honor for taking Sienna back alive instead of killing her (+5) Kestrel has gained no bounty from this mission. Total Take: $293 Gang Savings: $147 Camp Morale: Good Law Attention: 1 (Low) Kestrel’s Honor: +10 Kestrel’s Local Bounty: $0