Try to make our way to Roughshod and Silver: 11 Votes
“We gotta get Rough and Silvie outta here,” Kestrel said. “We ain’t leavin’ ‘em behind.”
“I wouldn’t even consider the possibility,” Tumbleweed agreed. “But we gotta be careful, now. There’s gonna be deputies everywhere.”
“At least you made it one less to worry about.” Both ponies grew silent and still when they heard shouting coming from the open window at the saloon, and shadows flickered through the moonlight as pegasi took wing. When they were gone, Tumbleweed quietly began to slip his way down through the dark alley, gesturing for Kestrel to follow.
The two made it to the opposite end of the alley and paused in the darkness. Both outlaws pressed themselves close to the wall and peered around the corner, eyes scanning the streets and the skies for any signs of ponies on patrol.
Are there lawponies at this end of the alley? Critical No
“Clear as can be,” Tumbleweed whispered.
“Not for long,” Kestrel whispered back, and she wasted little time scurrying across the street and into the cover of the next building. Tumbleweed stayed close to her tail, and the two ponies found themselves shrouded in shadow once again before a few shouts and whoops from the other end of town carried off into the night.
“Easy enough,” Kestrel said, and she started to slink against the building’s side, staying as close to the wall as she could to make herself harder to spot from the sky. Her tongue played with wooden grip of her revolver as she approached the corner, ready to fight for her life if a deputy happened to round the corner in front of her. But there was no movement anywhere save for silk curtains gently blowing in and out of an open window above them, and mare and stallion made it to the other end without trouble.
Are there lawponies in the street? No
“Where are they all?” Kestrel asked, looking up and down. “I figured this place’d be crawlin’ with law by now.”
“That big office is just for show,” Tumbleweed said with a shrug of his shoulders. “They ain’t used to ponies that fight back and kill like us, seems like. They’re too afraid to come out and look for us.”
“You’d think with the Vipers breathin’ down their necks they’d be a little more seasoned.” After checking the sky to make sure it was clear, Kestrel fluttered across the street, taking cover behind a wagon parked in front of a smithy. Tumbleweed joined her a moment later, and the two set their sights on the doctor’s office just beyond the corner.
“Seems to me like the Vipers can come and go from here as they wish,” Tumbleweed said. “There were too many of ‘em at the saloon for the law to not notice ‘em.”
Kestrel’s nostrils flared and she worked her jaw from side to side. “Don’t like that one bit,” she said. “Somethin’s up with them.”
Tumbleweed uses Scholar (7) to find a connection between the Law and the Vipers: Success
Tumbleweed thoughtfully chewed on his lip for a moment, then slapped his hoof across the back wheel of the wagon. “They have to be workin’ together in some way.”
Kestrel raised an eyebrow. “You think so?”
“I know so. That’s the only reason the Vipers are tolerated ‘round here. Because they’re wanted here.” He turned to Kestrel. “You never got the chance to meet the mayor of this here town, but he’s as sleazy as they get. I bet he keeps the sheriff reined in so he don’t drive out the Vipers with that oversized police force of his. How much you wanna bet he’s gettin’ good commission from the government or the military to help ‘fight’ them Vipers?”
“Makes sense,” Kestrel admitted. “I shoulda shot Adder on the way out. Don’t think he’s gonna swing if the mayor don’t want him to.”
“Mayor might have to make him swing regardless. That sheriff probably threw him in chains soon as he found him; he seemed like an honest one from what it sounded like when he and I was shoutin’ at each other. Ain’t got no time to consider that, though.” He pointed down the street. “Let’s get across.”
Are there lawponies in the street? Yes
Once more, the two outlaws crept forward, using the shadows of the buildings as best they could to approach the doctor’s office. But when they got close, they heard the galloping of hooves down the road and slipped back into cover. Four ponies dashed forward and paused beneath a street lamp, the candles within casting a flickering glow on their sweat-streaked bodies.
“Damn it,” Kestrel muttered under her breath, ducking back to the safety of a house’s corner. She and Tumbleweed watched the four deputies confer, and from there they began to spread out, two moving to the left and out of sight, two starting to march down the road toward the outlaws. They left the buildings alone, Kestrel was happy to see. At least that meant they didn’t check the doctor’s office and wouldn’t find Roughshod and Silver inside… assuming the two of them were even still there at the moment. But she could see the candles burning through the cracks around the door, so she knew the doctor had to be up for some reason…
“Let them pass,” Tumbleweed said, backing away from the corner. Kestrel nodded and retreated as well, crouching low in the darkness and out of sight of the moon so light wouldn't glint off of her revolver. She heard the crunch crunch crunch of horseshoes marching over grit drawing closer, closer, closer…
Kestrel uses Lady Luck (6+2) to avoid being spotted by the deputies (+2 from Hiding): Success
…and then farther, farther, farther as the two ponies passed by with only a quick glance toward Kestrel and Tumbleweed. Only when she was sure they were gone did Kestrel quietly steal forward, and when the coast was clear, she and Tumbleweed quickly crossed to the doctor’s house and lightly pounded on the door. “Silvie! It’s Kessie!” Kestrel hissed through the gap between door and frame. “You in there?”
The door opened a moment later, and silver feathers quickly pulled Kestrel inside. “Kessie! You’re alright!” Silver exclaimed on the other side, giving Kestrel a nuzzle to the cheek and letting her wings relax in relief. Tumbleweed scurried in after Kestrel and shut the door behind him, his magic propping up a chair against the handle and sliding the bolt closed. Silver grinned at him as well and ruffled her feathers. “I been watchin’ deputies go up and down the streets,” she said. “What happened?”
“I’m sure you heard the gunshots,” Tumbleweed said. “Just as much as the sheriff and his posse heard ‘em, too. But we got what we needed outta Adder, that’s for sure.” He glanced to the far end of the room, where an older unicorn stallion worked thread and a needle through the deep gash in Roughshod’s chest. “How’s Rough?”
“He’ll live, thankfully enough,” Silver said. She frowned at the doctor when he nervously glanced over his shoulder at them, and the unicorn gulped and went back to work. “Doc ain’t too happy to be tendin’ to outlaws, though. He’s plenty happy to keep his horn, though, so long as he helps us.”
“Well, that’s mighty kind of you, good sir,” Tumbleweed said, smiling at the doctor. “My friends and I will remember your good deeds here today. Say, how ‘bout you and I have a little chat while you work…”
While Tumbleweed crossed the floor to the doctor, hovering over his shoulder while he finished Roughshod up, Silver turned to Kestrel. “Well, Kessie? Where’s the old coot?”
“At the Viper camp,” Kestrel said. “Rattlesnake wanted him as collateral to keep us here. He was gonna trade Wanderer for Sienna, make sure he brought us to the table.”
Silver winced. “Don’t think he’ll take her body back?”
“He might, but he might send Wanderer back to us in a little wooden box if he finds out.” She rubbed her jaw with her feathers. “We gotta figure out somethin’ to do once we slip this place. Shouldn’t be too hard to lose the law if we hold tight a little bit, wait for them to lose interest and think we’re already gone into the night. From there, though…” Kestrel shook her head. “Things ain’t lookin’ good for Wanderer. I ain’t sure what to even try next.”
1. Sneak into the Viper camp and free Wanderer. The Vipers only got thirty or forty ponies, and we got a bunch of ‘em accounted for already here in Rock Ridge. Might be they’re even more spread out ‘round their hidey hole and they ain’t there in big numbers. We could slip in, find Wanderer, and slip out ‘fore they even know we was there. [DANGEROUS]
2. Try to negotiate Wanderer’s release. Only thing common bandits care about is money, and we got lots of that. We’d have to fork over a good amount of what we got saved up to get him free, though, assuming Rattlesnake’s even willin’ to let us buy Wanderer back. [RANSOM PRICE UNKNOWN]
3. Take Wanderer back by force. We got a showmare who’s got a Chatter gun loaded into her wagon. We draw in Rattlesnake and as many Vipers as we can during this parley he wants to have tomorrow, then cut ‘em down where they stand. The confusion should be enough to let us sweep ‘em aside and get Wanderer back. [DANGEROUS]
4. Abandon Wanderer. Sorry, Wanderer, but tryin’ to get you free is just gonna get us all killed, and I know you wouldn’t want that… [GANG MORALE -2]