Chapter 54
Healthiness: 4 Votes
Kestrel’s maximum Healthiness has increased by 1 for a new score of 8
Kestrel didn’t know how far away Hoofston was, and she wasn’t alone in that; none of the Gang had ever been there before save Trixie and Wanderer, though Wanderer was at least thirty years removed from his last visit and Trixie had taken a roundabout way from Hoofston to Rock Ridge, so she couldn’t make any direct comparisons. But after three days of following the dusty trail heading east and occasionally checking the lone road marker or traveler heading the opposite direction, Kestrel knew they were fairly close. Probably another day’s travel at the most.
Kestrel, Tumbleweed, Roughshod, Silver Wings, and Wanderer roll to recover Healthiness: Success, Success, Success, Success, Fail
At least the journey had given the Gang some time to rest, even if they kept looking over their shoulders, expecting to see a half dozen wings of cavalry descend on them during the trip. Kestrel’s stomach wound she’d taken during the train robbery finally melted away into nothing more than a scar across her gut, and Roughshod and Tumbleweed had recovered nicely from their injuries as well. Even Silver was feeling better, to the point where she could sit in the driver’s seat on Trixie’s wagon without fear of fainting in the sun and falling off the side. It felt good to be able to hear the young mare’s voice joining in with the Gang’s conversation and jokes, and Roughshod teased her that she must be part earth pony to recover so quickly. Silver jokingly challenged him to a hoof wrestle to prove it, though given how she still winced and shivered whenever she tried getting too active, nothing came of it. She was still seriously injured, and as fast as she may have recovered from the initial shock of the wound, she still had plenty of healing left to do before she was ready to fully help out again.
That morning, Kestrel sat in the driver’s seat next to Silver, cleaning her revolvers and making sure the lever on her repeater smoothly glided through its cycle in case the Army caught up to them again. Silver had huddled herself under a blanket despite the hot sun above them, and she still shivered from time to time, but she was awake, alert, and talkative as ever. Even still, it was a surprise to Kestrel when she shifted the topic of their conversation to something else. “Do you regret not seeing Highball in Rock Ridge?”
Kestrel paused at the question, oil-soaked rag stopping along the receiver of her repeater. “He was there, weren’t he?” she finally asked.
Silver nodded. “Yeah…”
Kestrel sucked on her cheek and tucked the rag away, deciding that her weapons were clean enough for the moment. “I… s’pose,” she finally admitted. “For helpin’ to save my life with the train, if nothin’ else.”
“If nothin’ else?” Silver echoed.
The older outlaw sighed and fidgeted with her hooves. “I’unno, Silvie. Highball and me—we was gonna be married, back in the day. Life tore us apart and we went our separate ways. It’s been years now, and I don’t begrudge him for it none, but I don’t think that wound’ll ever really heal. It probably…” She sighed and shook her head, staring out to her left at where the desert sands had transitioned to rocky plains and drylands. “Forget about it. We ain’t goin’ back, so I don’t have to worry ‘bout it no more.”
Silver pursed her lips, lowered her eyes, and reluctantly bobbed her head, leaving the topic at that.
When they pulled over to the side of the road and had some quick lunch before changing wagon teams, Tumbleweed pulled Kestrel aside. “You got a minute, Kessie?” he asked her.
“Sure do, Boss,” Kestrel said, stuffing an oatcake in her mouth and hopping to her hooves. She chewed on it as she walked over to Tumbleweed, swallowed, and wiped the crumbs off of her lips. “Whatchu need?”
“A little scoutin’,” Tumbleweed said, and he gestured down the road. “We’re not too far outta Hoofston; we should be there by nightfall. That means we need a place to set up camp, someplace safe from the Law, travelers, and other gangs.”
“Yeah, the last thing we need is another gang like the Vipers on us from day one,” Kestrel agreed.
“And Hoofston’s a city, not some podunk town like Rock Ridge,” Tumbleweed said. “There’s a better chance they might recognize us ‘round these parts. There’s also more eyes comin’ and goin’, so we gotta be careful about where we set up and how we handle things. We need to make some serious cash while we’re here before the Law catches onto us again; I don’t know how much longer we can keep slippin’ away from them when the heat gets too hot.”
“We don’t exactly have a lot of places left to flee,” Kestrel said. They’d already been chased across the San Palomino by the Pinks, and though they didn’t show their faces in Rock Ridge, she could only imagine that everything they stirred up in the short time they were there had to have attracted their attention. Soon enough the Pinks would be back on their trail, and they were starting to run out of places to flee to. If they didn’t have the money they needed to get out of Equestria by then…
“We take things one step at a time,” Tumbleweed said with a firm nod. “And the next step is finding a place we can make camp at. Go take a look and come back when you’re able. We’ll go where you decide.”
“Not much pressure there, ain’t it?” Kestrel asked with a lopsided smirk.
Tumbleweed chuckled. “You found our last camp outside of Rock Ridge, and I dare say we couldn’t have picked a better spot.”
“Don’t expect me to find somethin’ that good this time around,” Kestrel said, spreading her wings. “Civilization’s a lot more bloated ‘round here.”
Then she took off, spotted wings carrying her into the sky. As the Gang below her finished lunch and prepared to move out again, Kestrel circled higher and higher until the bottoms of the clouds were right above her head. Then, catching a warm thermal with her outstretched feathers, Kestrel began to glide to the east, where she could see the city of Hoofston emerge from the horizon.
“Been a while since I been to a real city,” Kestrel murmured to herself, flapping closer. Appleloosa and Dodge Junction were really large towns at best, and Rock Ridge was hardly a town. Hoofston, though not nearly as big as the cities in Equestria’s north and east, nevertheless had a few dozen streets lined with multi-story brick and stone buildings that eventually petered out into wooden houses and residences on the roads leading in and out of town. There would be plenty of traffic and plenty of ponies there, Kestrel knew, but what golden opportunities were hidden within the city limits, she wouldn’t know until the Gang took some time to sniff around.
But right now, her focus was on finding a suitable spot for a camp. She flew in wide arcs covering many miles out ahead of the Gang, scouting out possible places from the air. After a few hours of flight, she’d narrowed down the possibilities to four, solely based on the geography of the region and the roads nearby. Any one of them would work, but of course, each location would come with its own challenges and dangers.
1. A stretch of land near a lake west of the city. There’s plenty of trees here to hide the wagons in, and the lake should be good for fishin’ and relaxin’, but we’re pretty far from roads and Hoofston itself, which would make getting into and out of town quickly a problem.
2. An abandoned ranch outside of Hoofston. Close to the city and it comes with buildin’s we can use for shelter, but we’re only a few miles outside of Hoofston’s limits. That’s both a good and a bad thing; gettin’ in and out’ll be easy, but we’re more like to attract attention, even if the roads near the ranch ain’t that often traveled.
3. A quarry to the north of the city. Ain’t likely gonna see many ponies ‘round an old quarry, and it’s close enough to the city that we can get there and back in a reasonable amount of time without bein’ too close that we’re pushin’ our luck. If we get jumped while we’re in camp, though, we’ll be stuck on the low ground with little cover, and everypony attackin’ us will be shootin’ fish in a barrel—or outlaws in a quarry, more like.
4. The hills to the south of the city. I see a nice overlook sorta like what we had near Rock Ridge that’s outta the way yet not too far from Hoofston itself. Kinda looks like an entrance to an old mine or somethin’. More concerin’, however, is that there’s smoke comin’ from it. There’s a campfire there right now… wonder whose it is?
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4. More wanderin' types like ourselves means a chance at more crew.
I'd vote for 2, the abandoned ranch.
I vote 1 for hiding places.
Option four. In the worst case, the gang kills a few random strangers to secure a good hideout. Best case, maybe a new recruit or two, and maybe another quest line.
I vote for 4.
If that vote loses, I'd like my vote to go to number one.
(Yes, I read the AN, I just decided to be like Ireland when they count their votes: Their voters have a number one pick, but then say who their vote goes for if that person loses, which is really helpful when you have like 12 different parties. I thought I'd do the same here, if you're ok with that. If not, then I vote for 4.)
9944063
I am not going to do that. Votes have to be explicit to one choice.
Choice is number 1. Watch 4 be the front to a giant huge literally underground gang.
2 is risky but rewarding, and 3 is a bad idea.
Yeah, I’m gonna have to go with option 1. Being far away from a major city with a real law enforcement agency and probably a line to the pinks is better than being a little closer to get in and out faster.
I really don’t like option 4. Need I remind everyone who wants more gang members what happened last time we tried that? Sienna fucked up and almost got the whole gang killed and Trixie is just barely pulling her weight. It’s not in our best interest to add more members to our group.
I’m pretty sure we’re still on thin ice with Tumbleweed anyway, so trying to add more members is just going to make him more skeptical of our ability to lead and be his second in command. Best to avoid that route if at all possible, maybe bring it up in a conversation to see where he stands on the possibility.
Ohhh this a though one, I can see the pros from 1 or 2 but I am going to go for safe rather than sorry and vote for number 1
Honestly, I'm going to go with #1. We could always move in closer to the city later or establish a small forward base, but right now we're not in a crunch, we don't really need anymore
precious cinnamon-bun horses to shoot in the necknew recruits, and Silvie needs a nice environment to heal. Might have picked the ranch instead, but it gives me bad vibes and thoughts of landlords a-callin'.Not bad.
With everything going on, trying to arrange a meet-up with him would have been difficult and dangerous.
Well, Silver isn't going to be scouting for the moment, so it's Kestrel's turn.
I'm torn between the lake and the hills. The other two are too near the city and too much low ground. The lake, I think, we're too banged up still for whatever that smoke may indicate.
I really wanted to say option 2, but my choice is option 1.
Thought Process
1. Lake: free food, good cover; the only real downside is the distance from town (I agree with one commenter who says when we get more comfortable in town we can scout the ranch and move in if we find it's legit).
2. Abandoned Ranch: actual shelter, probably would make good cover; the only big con is that it is close to town and we don't know if someone actually owns that land.
3. Quarry: all cons, so no.
4. Hills: similar to the lake, but no food; as much as I think the Gang can take on whoever is there, that's a hard pass; also we don't know who is there.
9944107
Ok y’all heard the
stallionman.I vote for number 1
My vote goes to option 1. The number one thing they need for now is cover and safety. We still have the law looking for us. A long walk to and from camp can be a blessing as it makes tracking where the camp is all the more hard. And we got some flyers don’t forget. That lets us have some speedy travel time if needed to and from the city. Risk mitigation must be the number one task for now.
Don't want to go to the hills and get into a fight or anything else like that. Quarry just seems like a horrible idea all around. Slight toss up between 1 and 2 but I'm gonna go with 1. Don't know if anyone owns the ranch
1. The lake.
I have a mighty need to go to fishing with Silvie.
Option 4. My curiosity has been piqued anyways
Coming back to this and reading the comments, I also have to go with 1 as well. With such a big town we might not have to go back to base often, and having a fall back point away from the action might be smart.