"He did what?" shouted Lucius, feeling sheer outrage fulminate in his breast.
Gray ducked slightly and looked around, nervous about being overheard. Nobody was listening, of course - they were standing in a logging hut on the edge of Lucius' property, well away from prying eyes.
"It's not so much him, but -"
"I know, you insipid fool!"
"But Doctor Solomon said that Jeffery has regained much of his faculties. He said that he might even be at the next council meeting!"
Lucius fought the urge to throttle his informant. It wasn't the man's fault, of course, he was just doing his job. And maybe he couldn't blame Jeffery for healing, but he was going to be damned if someone wasn't going to pay for this obstruction. It threatened to throw a monkey wrench into the entire plan.
The Newton name still carried a lot of weight, as the recent unrest had definitely shown, just as it had shown that the weigh disappeared if your Newton had a hyphen in front of it. Suddenly, his plans for expanding the town were "not what Bill would've wanted," as if his sniveling bastard of an uncle had a monopoly on Grandfather's opinions.
Feeling his heart rate slow, Lucius decided on a plan. "Gary, I want you to go back to him and do as you've been doing. Congratulate him on his fast recovery. But set your affairs in order - I may have a tremendous amount of money for you if you're willing to do a few...unsavory tasks for me."
Gary narrowed his eyes. So the man had standards after all! "Like what?"
"That'll remain to be seen. Trust me, I wouldn't have you do anything you'd be too uncomfortable with. No, you're far too useful for that."
Tuesday, August 26
Friday, August 22
Episode 4 Summary
December 21st
-The council meets in the afternoon and votes to add a law requiring a sound mind and the ability to attend meetings in person or by proxy to the requirements for administrator.
-Meanwhile, at Fort Newton, there are a number of serious supply deficiencies.
-Dutch gets a message that Chris Wall will be in Smacky's all day meeting the locals and asking him to drop by.
-Representatives from the nearby villages of Sublimity (part of Cody) and Cottonwood (part of Greer) arrive asking to speak with the council. They speak first with Dutch, then are brought before the council. They are being heavily raided by bandits and their respective central governments are not responding with enough speed. They want Newton's protection and are prepared to swear fealty to Newton. They also have some of the supplies that Newton needs.
-There is concern on the council about helping them, because it could be seen by Cody or Greer as Newton infringing on their territory. Corwin is particularly cautious, but Anders and Lorraine want to help them.
-In the end, the council votes in favor of helping them.
-Meanwhile, a crowd has gathered outside protesting what they see as the ousting of Jeff Newton from power. Corwin and Lorraine speak to the crowd and manage to placate them for the time being.
-The council refuses the fealty of the two villages, but requires that they provide supplies, pay tribute and give Newton economic privileges.
-Meanwhile at Smacky's, Chris is talking to Ophelia. He wants to form a long-term business relationship with her, and asks her a question he already knows the answer to. She lies, Chris is extremely displeased.
-Dutch meets with Chris, upset that Chris is acting so openly.
-Chris' goons corner Ophelia in the back alley and warn her against telling anyone that Chris is a mobster or that Dutch knows him.
-Ophelia, now under watch by Chris' goons, meets with Dutch; Dutch tells her to send an anonymous tip to Corwin that Chris and his buddies are working for the bandits.
-We jump ahead a few days to:
December 24th
-It's the evening. The snow has started up again.
-Corwin gets the tip, tells Dutch to round them up quietly and interrogate them in the basement of his warehouse.
-Dutch meets with Virgil and hires him to kill and hide the bodies of all the mobsters except Chris, who he'll deal with personally.
-As Dutch is leaving to deal with the mobsters, his wife tells him she's pregnant.
-As the clock ticks to midnight, Virgil's men ambush and kill the mobsters one by one.
-Dutch wakes up Chris and gets him drunk "to celebrate his wife's pregnancy."
-Virgil notices that Dutch and Chris know each other.
-Dutch leads Chris to Corwin's warehouse, locks him up in the basement, and beats him to death.
-Virgil's men bury the mobsters out in the wilderness.
December 25th
-Corwin makes a speech to the townsfolk, speaking of William Newton and how he is missed, and drawing a parallel between the chances at a new life he gave people with those Jesus gave.
-Dutch reports to Corwin that he couldn't get anything they hadn't already heard out of the "bandit spy" and that he died during interrogation.
-Virgil talks to Ophelia about Dutch knowing Chris. Dutch agrees to put in a good word with Corwin about her giving the tip on Ophelia's behalf, and to pay off Virgil for his silence.
-Sublimity, now with a group of Newton militia stationed there, is attacked by bandits.
This session left off on the morning of December 25th. It will pick up again in the afternoon of the 30th.
-The council meets in the afternoon and votes to add a law requiring a sound mind and the ability to attend meetings in person or by proxy to the requirements for administrator.
-Meanwhile, at Fort Newton, there are a number of serious supply deficiencies.
-Dutch gets a message that Chris Wall will be in Smacky's all day meeting the locals and asking him to drop by.
-Representatives from the nearby villages of Sublimity (part of Cody) and Cottonwood (part of Greer) arrive asking to speak with the council. They speak first with Dutch, then are brought before the council. They are being heavily raided by bandits and their respective central governments are not responding with enough speed. They want Newton's protection and are prepared to swear fealty to Newton. They also have some of the supplies that Newton needs.
-There is concern on the council about helping them, because it could be seen by Cody or Greer as Newton infringing on their territory. Corwin is particularly cautious, but Anders and Lorraine want to help them.
-In the end, the council votes in favor of helping them.
-Meanwhile, a crowd has gathered outside protesting what they see as the ousting of Jeff Newton from power. Corwin and Lorraine speak to the crowd and manage to placate them for the time being.
-The council refuses the fealty of the two villages, but requires that they provide supplies, pay tribute and give Newton economic privileges.
-Meanwhile at Smacky's, Chris is talking to Ophelia. He wants to form a long-term business relationship with her, and asks her a question he already knows the answer to. She lies, Chris is extremely displeased.
-Dutch meets with Chris, upset that Chris is acting so openly.
-Chris' goons corner Ophelia in the back alley and warn her against telling anyone that Chris is a mobster or that Dutch knows him.
-Ophelia, now under watch by Chris' goons, meets with Dutch; Dutch tells her to send an anonymous tip to Corwin that Chris and his buddies are working for the bandits.
-We jump ahead a few days to:
December 24th
-It's the evening. The snow has started up again.
-Corwin gets the tip, tells Dutch to round them up quietly and interrogate them in the basement of his warehouse.
-Dutch meets with Virgil and hires him to kill and hide the bodies of all the mobsters except Chris, who he'll deal with personally.
-As Dutch is leaving to deal with the mobsters, his wife tells him she's pregnant.
-As the clock ticks to midnight, Virgil's men ambush and kill the mobsters one by one.
-Dutch wakes up Chris and gets him drunk "to celebrate his wife's pregnancy."
-Virgil notices that Dutch and Chris know each other.
-Dutch leads Chris to Corwin's warehouse, locks him up in the basement, and beats him to death.
-Virgil's men bury the mobsters out in the wilderness.
December 25th
-Corwin makes a speech to the townsfolk, speaking of William Newton and how he is missed, and drawing a parallel between the chances at a new life he gave people with those Jesus gave.
-Dutch reports to Corwin that he couldn't get anything they hadn't already heard out of the "bandit spy" and that he died during interrogation.
-Virgil talks to Ophelia about Dutch knowing Chris. Dutch agrees to put in a good word with Corwin about her giving the tip on Ophelia's behalf, and to pay off Virgil for his silence.
-Sublimity, now with a group of Newton militia stationed there, is attacked by bandits.
This session left off on the morning of December 25th. It will pick up again in the afternoon of the 30th.
Tuesday, August 19
Note to Chris Wall - Episode 3 Downtime
Chris,
Sorry I had to run off; urgent business for my boss, you know how it is.
I'm thinking it's best if you and the boys you brought stay off the radar for now. We've got a lot of people coming into town right now, so everyone's keeping extra eyes on anyone unfamiliar. Wouldn't want anyone down at Smackey's starting to ask questions. I'd put you up myself, but we've only got the one bedroom, and that couch we found ain't exactly great for sleeping on.
I put out some supplies for you; there's a tent, some cots, food and some firestarters. If you head up west from town, there's a nice little spot just over the third hill where the cliffs shelter the site pretty good. Y'all should be comfortable enough there for a couple of days. Keep your guns around, though; plenty of bandits afoot.
I'll talk to you soon.
-Dutch
Sorry I had to run off; urgent business for my boss, you know how it is.
I'm thinking it's best if you and the boys you brought stay off the radar for now. We've got a lot of people coming into town right now, so everyone's keeping extra eyes on anyone unfamiliar. Wouldn't want anyone down at Smackey's starting to ask questions. I'd put you up myself, but we've only got the one bedroom, and that couch we found ain't exactly great for sleeping on.
I put out some supplies for you; there's a tent, some cots, food and some firestarters. If you head up west from town, there's a nice little spot just over the third hill where the cliffs shelter the site pretty good. Y'all should be comfortable enough there for a couple of days. Keep your guns around, though; plenty of bandits afoot.
I'll talk to you soon.
-Dutch
The Journal of Anders Leigh - Downtime 8/19/08
Jeffery's awake, finally. Doctor says there's no brain damage, and that he's going to try to get him on his feet in a week's time or so. Said something about plans "moving too fast;" not sure how I feel about that. On the one hand, a bigger Newton is more traffic, more safety, more prosperity. On the other hand, my job gets a lot harder when I stop knowing everyone as people and start seeing them as "the civilian population." Guess we'll have to see.
Virgil Church, Ep. 3 Downtime
Virgil is getting a bit worried. He's not concerned about the danger of fighting the bandits, he's concerned about it being too safe afterwards. Nobody would be willing to pay for an escort by a band of heavily armed mercenaries if the pass was safe enough that children would be playing in it. That'd shoot his dreams of expanding his business in Newton. No bandits means no risk, meansno money for protection. He'd have to leave Newton and make his living somewhere else, fighting against more competition and, heaven help him, more regulation. He hadn't realized at the time, but Church is slowing discovering that the old status quo had a lot going for it.
Lucius Lessard-Newton, Ep. 3 Downtime
Lucius waited impatiently as Jeffery's manager counted the money. It was all there, of course, just as Lucius promised - he was no spendthrift, especially when it came to something this important.
"Alright, 500 dollars. What do you want again. I think you need to be real clear."
Real clear? Lucius briefly entertained the idea that the man was wearing a wire, but that seemed unlikely - not only were such things rare enough as to be improbable, by all accounts Gary Bucknell was a tremendously unimaginative person, if competent enough at his job.
"Very well, friend Gary. I want you to write up a summary of any substantial order that Jeffery gives you, and I want you to give it to me. Just substantial orders, mind; I don't want pages of nonsense such as what he had for lunch."
"And what are you going to do with it?"
Lucius narrowed his eyes. "I'm going to pay you for it. That's all you need to know. I'll contact you in a few days - I expect an accurate summary at that point. If I like what I see, there'll be more money and more work."
Gary nodded thoughtfully, and Lucius waited for him to go away. He hated dealing with this kind of subterfuge - Grandfather would never have stood for it. He'd have called Jeffery out and they'd have settled their differences one way or another. However, Lucius held no illusions about how his combat skills compared to Grandfather's; at any rate, shooting a man who's ill would hardly be sporting. The confrontation would come soon enough, but to know just when might require Lucius to get his hands dirty a bit.
"Alright, 500 dollars. What do you want again. I think you need to be real clear."
Real clear? Lucius briefly entertained the idea that the man was wearing a wire, but that seemed unlikely - not only were such things rare enough as to be improbable, by all accounts Gary Bucknell was a tremendously unimaginative person, if competent enough at his job.
"Very well, friend Gary. I want you to write up a summary of any substantial order that Jeffery gives you, and I want you to give it to me. Just substantial orders, mind; I don't want pages of nonsense such as what he had for lunch."
"And what are you going to do with it?"
Lucius narrowed his eyes. "I'm going to pay you for it. That's all you need to know. I'll contact you in a few days - I expect an accurate summary at that point. If I like what I see, there'll be more money and more work."
Gary nodded thoughtfully, and Lucius waited for him to go away. He hated dealing with this kind of subterfuge - Grandfather would never have stood for it. He'd have called Jeffery out and they'd have settled their differences one way or another. However, Lucius held no illusions about how his combat skills compared to Grandfather's; at any rate, shooting a man who's ill would hardly be sporting. The confrontation would come soon enough, but to know just when might require Lucius to get his hands dirty a bit.
Lorraine Newton, Downtime Ep #3
My good brother Jeffrey has come back from the dead. Unfortunately, our reunion was not as satisfying as one might hope. Perhaps Jeff will cool down after realizing how brazen the bandits have become. If Newton continues the way it has been, and if the bandits continue the way they've started, all that Bill wanted will have become the equivalent of the piles of horse shit peppering my ranch.
Fortunately Jeffrey's opposition provides me the opportunity of entrenching Corwin in my grasp even further. Thus far he's been thankful for the support I've given. In the coming weeks, convincing him that he needs me, as a Newton, to stand against Jeffrey shouldn't be too difficult. It would a shame if the rift between the two of them were to become too wide, but it might serve to benefit me. I mean, we all know who #1 is.
Fortunately Jeffrey's opposition provides me the opportunity of entrenching Corwin in my grasp even further. Thus far he's been thankful for the support I've given. In the coming weeks, convincing him that he needs me, as a Newton, to stand against Jeffrey shouldn't be too difficult. It would a shame if the rift between the two of them were to become too wide, but it might serve to benefit me. I mean, we all know who #1 is.
Friday, August 15
Note for Episode 3 Downtimes
An important thing to think about when writing downtimes for your council characters is what you think of Jeff's assertion that Newton is on the wrong track and more importantly what you plan to do about it. Remember that you're in a situation without precedent, it's not clear who is really in charge, and you have a wide range of unethical and illegal courses of action available to you as long as you don't get caught.
Also remember that each of your characters will remember William Newton differently. He wore many different hats over the course of his life, so it's possible that Jeff is wrong or that Corwin is wrong or that they're both partially right. Everyone's opinion of "what old Bill would have done" is going to be biased.
For the rest of your characters, downtimes will just serve their normal purpose, which is showing me what direction you want each character's plot to take.
Also remember that each of your characters will remember William Newton differently. He wore many different hats over the course of his life, so it's possible that Jeff is wrong or that Corwin is wrong or that they're both partially right. Everyone's opinion of "what old Bill would have done" is going to be biased.
For the rest of your characters, downtimes will just serve their normal purpose, which is showing me what direction you want each character's plot to take.
Corwin Gray, Ep. 3 Downtime
Journal Entry for December 20th.
Jeffery is awake now. I told him of what was going on in the town, and with the bandits. I told him of our campaign to eradicate their infestation. I told him of our plans to expand the town. His response was less positive than I expected. Far less. "It's too fast. This isn't what my father would've wanted."
Did he even know his father? The naive fool. How could someone as incompetent, as blind, as Jeffery possibly be the son of someone as capable as Bill? I see now that I was correct - Jeffery is badly underqualified to serve as Chief Administrator. Of course, I could never have voiced his opinion to Bill while he still lived. Not only did he love his son, he honestly thought that Jeffery would be the future of the town, would continue to shape it in his image. The imbecile is trying his best, apparently, but it seems as though he has no idea what his father's vision was!
There are those in the Council who feel that I've overstepped my bounds and that I'm pursuing this agenda for personal profit. Anders, in particular, has made little attempt to hide his suspicions. In a sense, they're right - I am doing this for my own profit. I am also doing it for their profit, for the benefit of the entire town. Without the bandits, think how we could grow! Expanding the town is not just a pleasant side effect of our campaign; it both allows and forces us to make good on our promises. It is essential.
In the end, I have no choice. Bandit raids on Newton and her outposts are intolerable. I will do whatever is necessary to destroy every bandit that remains a threat to us - THAT is what Bill would've done. It's what he did, in fact. If Jeffery, or Anders, or whoever else disagrees with that fact, they only prove their ignorance.
Jeffery is awake now. I told him of what was going on in the town, and with the bandits. I told him of our campaign to eradicate their infestation. I told him of our plans to expand the town. His response was less positive than I expected. Far less. "It's too fast. This isn't what my father would've wanted."
Did he even know his father? The naive fool. How could someone as incompetent, as blind, as Jeffery possibly be the son of someone as capable as Bill? I see now that I was correct - Jeffery is badly underqualified to serve as Chief Administrator. Of course, I could never have voiced his opinion to Bill while he still lived. Not only did he love his son, he honestly thought that Jeffery would be the future of the town, would continue to shape it in his image. The imbecile is trying his best, apparently, but it seems as though he has no idea what his father's vision was!
There are those in the Council who feel that I've overstepped my bounds and that I'm pursuing this agenda for personal profit. Anders, in particular, has made little attempt to hide his suspicions. In a sense, they're right - I am doing this for my own profit. I am also doing it for their profit, for the benefit of the entire town. Without the bandits, think how we could grow! Expanding the town is not just a pleasant side effect of our campaign; it both allows and forces us to make good on our promises. It is essential.
In the end, I have no choice. Bandit raids on Newton and her outposts are intolerable. I will do whatever is necessary to destroy every bandit that remains a threat to us - THAT is what Bill would've done. It's what he did, in fact. If Jeffery, or Anders, or whoever else disagrees with that fact, they only prove their ignorance.
Episode 3 Summary
Note: due to downtimes, it was decided to start this session a few days later than planned.
December 15th
-In the early afternoon, Sam, Virgil and Ophelia are meeting at Smacky's for business and a few moments of relaxation. The town has mobilized greatly in the past few days.
-Meanwhile, Corwin, Dutch and Lorraine are discussing the steadily-arriving mercenaries. Dutch will be in charge of them.
-Both groups see a strange, solemn group enter town and proceed to the cemetery, where they leave offerings and prayers at the grave of William Newton--they're a group of pilgrims.
-Corwin is informed that the outpost has radioed that they're under attack. He sends the militia out to retake it.
-Dutch leads one group of scouts on horseback, Virgil another, and Captain Sheridan a third. They set out and surround the outpost while Eva marches the main force to the outpost.
-Half an hour before the main force arrives, the bandits attempt to withdraw and blow up the outpost tower. The scouts engage and manage to stop them.
-Back at town, with most of Newton's forces gone, a group of about thirty bandits on horseback attack the town and try to burn down warehouses. Corwin, Anders and Lorraine barely manage to drive them off. Corwin arms and organizes defenders, Anders mixes it up with the bandits in the warehouse district, and Lorraine leads the firefighting and manages to take out several bandits with a fallen grenade. Sam helps save the day with sniper fire from his roof. In the end, only one warehouse is badly damaged, only two defenders die, many bandits are dead, and the returning scouts manage to take prisoners. Anders and Corwin are both injured.
-An impromptu meeting of council is held in the church, which is being used as a hospital. The council members are concerned that the bandits are acting in a strange manner. They aren't stealing anything, and have nothing to gain from their attacks. Furthermore, no one can think of a faction that would profit from what they're doing. The three surrounding city-states currently have more to gain from Newton's existence than its destruction. They agree to continue to ramp up Newton's mobilization.
-Dutch and Corwin discuss setting up an intelligence network. Lorraine suggests using Ophelia.
-Dutch breaks the news of Chris Wall coming to visit to his wife. His wife is upset and does not want the mob to become a part of life again.
-Corwin meets with Ophelia and hires her to start collecting information for the town's exclusive use--no resale.
-Ophelia talks to the pilgrims. They are Edenists from the city of Laurel, and revere William Newton as a modern-day saint. They reveal that more pilgrims from Laurel are on the way.
We jump ahead several days:
December 20th
-More mercenaries and equipment are trickling in. So are more pilgrims.
-Dutch interrogates (with a baseball bat) a bandit prisoner named Jay that he and Corwin have been keeping hidden in the basement of the town hall. He names someone named Philo as the bandit leader. He says they move around a lot, and are well paid. Dutch plans to send him back to the bandits to spy for him.
-Chris Wall arrives. Dutch is unappy but shows him around town.
-Later that night at the council meeting, Lucius takes the floor and proposes to claim the outpost as part of the town of Newton, and use the land to pay mercenaries.
-Anders, Grissom and White vote against the proposal, concerned that Newton is getting ahead of itself. The other three vote in favor, and the assembly votes in favor and the proposal passes.
-Jeff Newton wakes up and is upset about what has happened while he was unconscious. "This is not what my father would have wanted."
The session ended on the evening of the 20th. The next will begin in the afternoon of the 21st.
December 15th
-In the early afternoon, Sam, Virgil and Ophelia are meeting at Smacky's for business and a few moments of relaxation. The town has mobilized greatly in the past few days.
-Meanwhile, Corwin, Dutch and Lorraine are discussing the steadily-arriving mercenaries. Dutch will be in charge of them.
-Both groups see a strange, solemn group enter town and proceed to the cemetery, where they leave offerings and prayers at the grave of William Newton--they're a group of pilgrims.
-Corwin is informed that the outpost has radioed that they're under attack. He sends the militia out to retake it.
-Dutch leads one group of scouts on horseback, Virgil another, and Captain Sheridan a third. They set out and surround the outpost while Eva marches the main force to the outpost.
-Half an hour before the main force arrives, the bandits attempt to withdraw and blow up the outpost tower. The scouts engage and manage to stop them.
-Back at town, with most of Newton's forces gone, a group of about thirty bandits on horseback attack the town and try to burn down warehouses. Corwin, Anders and Lorraine barely manage to drive them off. Corwin arms and organizes defenders, Anders mixes it up with the bandits in the warehouse district, and Lorraine leads the firefighting and manages to take out several bandits with a fallen grenade. Sam helps save the day with sniper fire from his roof. In the end, only one warehouse is badly damaged, only two defenders die, many bandits are dead, and the returning scouts manage to take prisoners. Anders and Corwin are both injured.
-An impromptu meeting of council is held in the church, which is being used as a hospital. The council members are concerned that the bandits are acting in a strange manner. They aren't stealing anything, and have nothing to gain from their attacks. Furthermore, no one can think of a faction that would profit from what they're doing. The three surrounding city-states currently have more to gain from Newton's existence than its destruction. They agree to continue to ramp up Newton's mobilization.
-Dutch and Corwin discuss setting up an intelligence network. Lorraine suggests using Ophelia.
-Dutch breaks the news of Chris Wall coming to visit to his wife. His wife is upset and does not want the mob to become a part of life again.
-Corwin meets with Ophelia and hires her to start collecting information for the town's exclusive use--no resale.
-Ophelia talks to the pilgrims. They are Edenists from the city of Laurel, and revere William Newton as a modern-day saint. They reveal that more pilgrims from Laurel are on the way.
We jump ahead several days:
December 20th
-More mercenaries and equipment are trickling in. So are more pilgrims.
-Dutch interrogates (with a baseball bat) a bandit prisoner named Jay that he and Corwin have been keeping hidden in the basement of the town hall. He names someone named Philo as the bandit leader. He says they move around a lot, and are well paid. Dutch plans to send him back to the bandits to spy for him.
-Chris Wall arrives. Dutch is unappy but shows him around town.
-Later that night at the council meeting, Lucius takes the floor and proposes to claim the outpost as part of the town of Newton, and use the land to pay mercenaries.
-Anders, Grissom and White vote against the proposal, concerned that Newton is getting ahead of itself. The other three vote in favor, and the assembly votes in favor and the proposal passes.
-Jeff Newton wakes up and is upset about what has happened while he was unconscious. "This is not what my father would have wanted."
The session ended on the evening of the 20th. The next will begin in the afternoon of the 21st.
Tuesday, August 12
Corwin Gray, Ep. 2 Downtime Addendum
Dutch,
I agree completely. I'm going to be presenting the council with a bill that will provide for the hire of a number of "irregulars," mostly mercenaries and hired guns from out of town, but also including natives like Virgil Church's band. This might seem unusual, but there is much at stake and we cannot afford to lose.
Under normal circumstances, these men will be integrated with the normal militia, but I will see to it that you, as our new Supervisor of Irregular Troops, will have complete oversight of their use. This will involve making sure they do what they're supposed to, of course, but you will be free to use independent detachments in special circumstances.
-Corwin
I agree completely. I'm going to be presenting the council with a bill that will provide for the hire of a number of "irregulars," mostly mercenaries and hired guns from out of town, but also including natives like Virgil Church's band. This might seem unusual, but there is much at stake and we cannot afford to lose.
Under normal circumstances, these men will be integrated with the normal militia, but I will see to it that you, as our new Supervisor of Irregular Troops, will have complete oversight of their use. This will involve making sure they do what they're supposed to, of course, but you will be free to use independent detachments in special circumstances.
-Corwin
Captain Charles Sheridan, Ep. 2 Downtime
After-Action Report, December 10th
At length we found the remains of the bandit raid – seven dead men (find their names attached) with a small fraction of their cargo, mostly worthless sundries of no use to uncivilized men. Of horses, weapons, and carts there was no sign. There is substantial evidence of a firefight in the area, and all of the men died of gunshot wounds.
Afterwards, we decided to push forward slightly, to see if we might be able to catch the bandits dividing the spoils nearby, or perhaps overtake them on the way back to their camp. In this we were unsuccessful, but we did see evidence that points to a considerable bandit presence: a number of abandoned camps, fresh garbage, and traps for large game. These are too far off the road to be the detritus of normal travelers, and too far from Newton to be townsfolk.
Attached are pictures of several of the abandoned camps.
At length we found the remains of the bandit raid – seven dead men (find their names attached) with a small fraction of their cargo, mostly worthless sundries of no use to uncivilized men. Of horses, weapons, and carts there was no sign. There is substantial evidence of a firefight in the area, and all of the men died of gunshot wounds.
Afterwards, we decided to push forward slightly, to see if we might be able to catch the bandits dividing the spoils nearby, or perhaps overtake them on the way back to their camp. In this we were unsuccessful, but we did see evidence that points to a considerable bandit presence: a number of abandoned camps, fresh garbage, and traps for large game. These are too far off the road to be the detritus of normal travelers, and too far from Newton to be townsfolk.
Attached are pictures of several of the abandoned camps.
Dutch Williams Downtime for Ep. 2
Mr. Grey,
It's been a hell of a couple of days, hasn't it? I'd like to say I'm sorry about what happened to the caravan; I should have known that the first shipment of the year was going to get attacked hardcore. Maybe with a heavier guard... well, I doubt we would have saved the gear, but we might have kept a few of our men alive. Maybe.
Anyway, I'm writing to ask you for a favor, of a sort. That militia woman just drafted me. Thing is, I think I'll be able to do better work without a chain of command over my head. There's things one man or a few can do that an army can't. I'd like to ask if you could inform her that I'm busy working on some "special projects" for you. At the very least, it'll probably end up being true.
-Dutch
It's been a hell of a couple of days, hasn't it? I'd like to say I'm sorry about what happened to the caravan; I should have known that the first shipment of the year was going to get attacked hardcore. Maybe with a heavier guard... well, I doubt we would have saved the gear, but we might have kept a few of our men alive. Maybe.
Anyway, I'm writing to ask you for a favor, of a sort. That militia woman just drafted me. Thing is, I think I'll be able to do better work without a chain of command over my head. There's things one man or a few can do that an army can't. I'd like to ask if you could inform her that I'm busy working on some "special projects" for you. At the very least, it'll probably end up being true.
-Dutch
Corwin Gray, Ep. 2 Downtime
Journal Entry, Corwin Gray, December 11th, 2073
After reviewing Cmdr. Cervantes’ report on militia readiness, and after Lucius’ generous but (I am quite sure) not entirely selfless donation, I have decided to pass through the Council a bill authorizing the militia to purchase arms and heavy weapons from neighboring towns, as well as non-Newton “irregular” forces, to be armed with aforementioned weapons.
Though I have no doubt my plan to bring in foreigners to fight for us will not be an entirely welcome decision, I feel that there is no reason to commit to an endeavor of this magnitude without being prepared to take it all the way. For the first time in its history, Newton needs a standing army.
I am no fool; I have read my history. Mercenaries can be uncontrollable and dangerous. Therefore, we shall distribute them evenly throughout the militia, as well as keeping their numbers to the bare minimum possible.
Idea: Lucius will no doubt be pleased to hear me say this, indeed, he strongly hinted at this himself in his speech to the Council. Much as Bill did, we shall wrest control of the pass and the mountains from the bandits, as well as expanding the safe zone around the Crossroads Outpost. Rather than being content to leave it safe yet still “contested,” we should strongly consider annexing that territory.
It is my understanding that there are several claims on the land, including a tenuous one from Newton proper, but, in clearing it, I have no doubt that our claim would be recognized by any objective source as strongest. Therefore, let it be done – I shall propose it to the council myself at our next meeting. This will also allow us to reward those who serve best with additional land, always the strongest motivator. Who knows – perhaps in time some of these mercenaries will become proper citizens.
After reviewing Cmdr. Cervantes’ report on militia readiness, and after Lucius’ generous but (I am quite sure) not entirely selfless donation, I have decided to pass through the Council a bill authorizing the militia to purchase arms and heavy weapons from neighboring towns, as well as non-Newton “irregular” forces, to be armed with aforementioned weapons.
Though I have no doubt my plan to bring in foreigners to fight for us will not be an entirely welcome decision, I feel that there is no reason to commit to an endeavor of this magnitude without being prepared to take it all the way. For the first time in its history, Newton needs a standing army.
I am no fool; I have read my history. Mercenaries can be uncontrollable and dangerous. Therefore, we shall distribute them evenly throughout the militia, as well as keeping their numbers to the bare minimum possible.
Idea: Lucius will no doubt be pleased to hear me say this, indeed, he strongly hinted at this himself in his speech to the Council. Much as Bill did, we shall wrest control of the pass and the mountains from the bandits, as well as expanding the safe zone around the Crossroads Outpost. Rather than being content to leave it safe yet still “contested,” we should strongly consider annexing that territory.
It is my understanding that there are several claims on the land, including a tenuous one from Newton proper, but, in clearing it, I have no doubt that our claim would be recognized by any objective source as strongest. Therefore, let it be done – I shall propose it to the council myself at our next meeting. This will also allow us to reward those who serve best with additional land, always the strongest motivator. Who knows – perhaps in time some of these mercenaries will become proper citizens.
Lucius Lessard-Newton, Ep. 2 Downtime
Address to the Council:
“Ladies and Gentlemen of the Council, fellow citizens. This town has begun on a journey of a magnitude that it has not seen since my grandfather, William Newton, first killed the bandit kings of this valley and declared it free territory. I am speaking, of course, of the campaign to ride our town of its bandit menace, and to free the road for trade of goods and ideas.
I feel that this is exactly what grandfather would have done. I have heard that he spoke often of the bandits in his later years, but was concerned that we lacked the strength to deal with so deadly a menace. However, I feel that, understandable as it was, his concerns were not justified – not only are we capable of dealing with this threat, we must deal with it.
As a patriotic citizen of Newton, then, I feel as though I must to everything I can to ensure our operation’s success. To that end, I shall commit every non-essential employee of my family and my lands to the militia, and to furthermore make a substantial donation to the town’s coffers, to be spent on arms and experts to assist us.
It is my hope that, as a result of this campaign, Newton will emerge from its chrysalis into a Golden Age, which will catapult it from a small trading town to the greatest city-state in the land. Thank you!”
Mild applause.
“Ladies and Gentlemen of the Council, fellow citizens. This town has begun on a journey of a magnitude that it has not seen since my grandfather, William Newton, first killed the bandit kings of this valley and declared it free territory. I am speaking, of course, of the campaign to ride our town of its bandit menace, and to free the road for trade of goods and ideas.
I feel that this is exactly what grandfather would have done. I have heard that he spoke often of the bandits in his later years, but was concerned that we lacked the strength to deal with so deadly a menace. However, I feel that, understandable as it was, his concerns were not justified – not only are we capable of dealing with this threat, we must deal with it.
As a patriotic citizen of Newton, then, I feel as though I must to everything I can to ensure our operation’s success. To that end, I shall commit every non-essential employee of my family and my lands to the militia, and to furthermore make a substantial donation to the town’s coffers, to be spent on arms and experts to assist us.
It is my hope that, as a result of this campaign, Newton will emerge from its chrysalis into a Golden Age, which will catapult it from a small trading town to the greatest city-state in the land. Thank you!”
Mild applause.
Ava Cervantes, Downtime #2
Dear Councilmembers,
It has come to our attention that Newton has a prime opportunity to deal with the well-known bandit issue. While Newton was founded in an effort to ensure a measure of safety on the trade route, it is easy to become overly complacent in accepting the bandits as a problem without end. The difficulty with this is that as we become more complacent, the bandits become increasingly bold. This has become vividly evident with the attack on Corwin Gray's supply caravan. Also, with the new threat from an unknown party on the Newton heirs, I think it best that we deal with our known enemies quickly and reduce any dangers as much as possible.
I have no wish to draw this process out, as I prefer Newton in a time of peace rather than tension and fighting. I plan to deal with this situation with efficiency and speed. However, I think it equally important, if not more so, to keep in mind Newton's defenses. It would not be wise to send all of our troops out to deal with these rogues while leaving our homes naked and vulnerable. If anything, I believe Newton's defenses should be increased during this period of tension. All I can hope is that I will receive the council's agreement on this matter.
I have gone over preliminary listings of all registered able-bodied persons and I estimate that after establishing our defenses, we will have an attack force that will be sufficient to deal with the bandits provided their numbers do not exceed our current understanding. I have sent an armored caravan to Cody to procure any items that will be necessary in the time ahead, such as plentiful supplies of ammo, assault rifles, grenades, and hopefully a howitzer or two.
Sincerely,
Eva Cervantes
Militia Commander
It has come to our attention that Newton has a prime opportunity to deal with the well-known bandit issue. While Newton was founded in an effort to ensure a measure of safety on the trade route, it is easy to become overly complacent in accepting the bandits as a problem without end. The difficulty with this is that as we become more complacent, the bandits become increasingly bold. This has become vividly evident with the attack on Corwin Gray's supply caravan. Also, with the new threat from an unknown party on the Newton heirs, I think it best that we deal with our known enemies quickly and reduce any dangers as much as possible.
I have no wish to draw this process out, as I prefer Newton in a time of peace rather than tension and fighting. I plan to deal with this situation with efficiency and speed. However, I think it equally important, if not more so, to keep in mind Newton's defenses. It would not be wise to send all of our troops out to deal with these rogues while leaving our homes naked and vulnerable. If anything, I believe Newton's defenses should be increased during this period of tension. All I can hope is that I will receive the council's agreement on this matter.
I have gone over preliminary listings of all registered able-bodied persons and I estimate that after establishing our defenses, we will have an attack force that will be sufficient to deal with the bandits provided their numbers do not exceed our current understanding. I have sent an armored caravan to Cody to procure any items that will be necessary in the time ahead, such as plentiful supplies of ammo, assault rifles, grenades, and hopefully a howitzer or two.
Sincerely,
Eva Cervantes
Militia Commander
Friday, August 8
Episode 2 Summary
December 9th, 2073
-The council meets. Masterson and Keller are gone, Lorraine and Anders are in.
-Corwin briefly addresses the crowd with the facts to stop rumor-mongering.
-Electing a temporary administrator is discussed. Croft nominates Corwin Gray, seconded by White. after no one puts forth a second nomination, Corwin nominates Anders, seconded by Grissom. They depart the chamber while deliberations and voting is conducted. The council votes to suspend a normal rule allowing 24 hours for nominations from citizens.
-Sam Newton visits Virgil Church in his cell, lowering a radio through the bars. Virgil is willing to keep Sam's secret as long as Sam is willing to make it worth his while. Virgil points out that Ophelia knows too. Sam leaves him some money and some tools to escape if he so desires.
-Back at the council, Lorraine and White speak in support of Corwin.
-Sam runs into Thomas Brass, community leader and leader of the local neighborhood watch. Tom asks Sam if he knows anything about the explosives. When Sam protests his innocence Tom reveals that Judy White (the councilman's daughter) saw another local dealer in illicit goods, Erwin Parks, meeting with strangers that night, and most people believe he's the one who sold the explosives.
-Virgil gets restless in the cell and decides to escape.
-Sam meets with Parks and taunts him. Parks insists he was just selling drugs to the strangers. Sam plants money and dynamite hidden outside Parks' shed.
-Corwin is voted administrator with only Grissom opposed.
-Meanwhile, Anders notices a mob growing inside and outside Smacky's bar. Also, Virgil entering the bar despite being ostensibly imprisoned.
-Virgil meets with Ophelia and confirms that she's willing to keep Sam's secret too if it's worth her while.
-Anders goes to try to calm the crowd. Meanwhile, Corwin calls out Eva and the militia to help break up the mob.
-Anders, Corwin, Eva and the militia work together to break up the mob. Anders talks to them and eventually shoots somone in the leg, Corwin invokes William Newton ("I'm glad old Bill is dead tonight, because if he saw all of you it would break his heart, and then he'd break you"), and Eva expertly leads the militia in applying restrained force. At the last moment Virgil riles the crowd up again by yelling that he had personally seen Parks selling the explosives, but the situation is barely defused in the end.
-Anders tosses Virgil back in the slammer.
December 10th
-Anders releases Virgil and gives him his stuff back, knowing Virgil would probably just escape again/steal it back otherwise.
-Anders investigates Parks' home. He finds him gone and finds the money and dynamite planted by Sam. He thinks it's strange that Parks would leave money and hide his explosives poorly, but he has no other leads.
-Work begins on reopening the pass.
-Virgil and Ophelia pay a visit to Sam to discuss his secret. Virgil extracts a discount on supplies from him, Ophelia gets him to agree to feed her information.
-Mr. Hardy shows up with paperwork for Anders, who is faced with tons of work between his many new duties.
-The pass is opened. Corwin's shipment to Greer is the first out the door.
-Dutch gets an encrypted message from Chris Wall, a fellow mobster from Dutch's past who announces he will be visiting for Christmas and checking out Newton as a possible place to set up shop.
-Lorraine asks Corwin to bump up one of her horse caravans on the queue for outgoing shipments in exchange for her continued support.
-Lucius pays a visit to Anders, asking him to expedite the public auction of Edwin Parks' land so he can buy it. In exchange, he agrees to provide Anders with an able assistant to help him with all of his newfound work.
-That night, Corwin's shipment gets jumped by bandits in the pass.
-Corwin realizes this when the outpost fails to sight them. He sends his assistant to wake up Eva and hire Virgil. Anders, working late, sees the commotion and follows everyone to the fort to see what's going on.
-Corwin sends the militia out to try to find his shipment. Anders and Corwin get into an argument. Anders is angry that Corwin is using the militia for his own purposes, and Corwin insists that with Newton wealthier and more powerful than ever it's time to end the bandit problem once and for all.
Session ended late on the night of the 10th. The next session begins early on the 12th. The major plot arc for the next few episodes will be the bandit problem.
-The council meets. Masterson and Keller are gone, Lorraine and Anders are in.
-Corwin briefly addresses the crowd with the facts to stop rumor-mongering.
-Electing a temporary administrator is discussed. Croft nominates Corwin Gray, seconded by White. after no one puts forth a second nomination, Corwin nominates Anders, seconded by Grissom. They depart the chamber while deliberations and voting is conducted. The council votes to suspend a normal rule allowing 24 hours for nominations from citizens.
-Sam Newton visits Virgil Church in his cell, lowering a radio through the bars. Virgil is willing to keep Sam's secret as long as Sam is willing to make it worth his while. Virgil points out that Ophelia knows too. Sam leaves him some money and some tools to escape if he so desires.
-Back at the council, Lorraine and White speak in support of Corwin.
-Sam runs into Thomas Brass, community leader and leader of the local neighborhood watch. Tom asks Sam if he knows anything about the explosives. When Sam protests his innocence Tom reveals that Judy White (the councilman's daughter) saw another local dealer in illicit goods, Erwin Parks, meeting with strangers that night, and most people believe he's the one who sold the explosives.
-Virgil gets restless in the cell and decides to escape.
-Sam meets with Parks and taunts him. Parks insists he was just selling drugs to the strangers. Sam plants money and dynamite hidden outside Parks' shed.
-Corwin is voted administrator with only Grissom opposed.
-Meanwhile, Anders notices a mob growing inside and outside Smacky's bar. Also, Virgil entering the bar despite being ostensibly imprisoned.
-Virgil meets with Ophelia and confirms that she's willing to keep Sam's secret too if it's worth her while.
-Anders goes to try to calm the crowd. Meanwhile, Corwin calls out Eva and the militia to help break up the mob.
-Anders, Corwin, Eva and the militia work together to break up the mob. Anders talks to them and eventually shoots somone in the leg, Corwin invokes William Newton ("I'm glad old Bill is dead tonight, because if he saw all of you it would break his heart, and then he'd break you"), and Eva expertly leads the militia in applying restrained force. At the last moment Virgil riles the crowd up again by yelling that he had personally seen Parks selling the explosives, but the situation is barely defused in the end.
-Anders tosses Virgil back in the slammer.
December 10th
-Anders releases Virgil and gives him his stuff back, knowing Virgil would probably just escape again/steal it back otherwise.
-Anders investigates Parks' home. He finds him gone and finds the money and dynamite planted by Sam. He thinks it's strange that Parks would leave money and hide his explosives poorly, but he has no other leads.
-Work begins on reopening the pass.
-Virgil and Ophelia pay a visit to Sam to discuss his secret. Virgil extracts a discount on supplies from him, Ophelia gets him to agree to feed her information.
-Mr. Hardy shows up with paperwork for Anders, who is faced with tons of work between his many new duties.
-The pass is opened. Corwin's shipment to Greer is the first out the door.
-Dutch gets an encrypted message from Chris Wall, a fellow mobster from Dutch's past who announces he will be visiting for Christmas and checking out Newton as a possible place to set up shop.
-Lorraine asks Corwin to bump up one of her horse caravans on the queue for outgoing shipments in exchange for her continued support.
-Lucius pays a visit to Anders, asking him to expedite the public auction of Edwin Parks' land so he can buy it. In exchange, he agrees to provide Anders with an able assistant to help him with all of his newfound work.
-That night, Corwin's shipment gets jumped by bandits in the pass.
-Corwin realizes this when the outpost fails to sight them. He sends his assistant to wake up Eva and hire Virgil. Anders, working late, sees the commotion and follows everyone to the fort to see what's going on.
-Corwin sends the militia out to try to find his shipment. Anders and Corwin get into an argument. Anders is angry that Corwin is using the militia for his own purposes, and Corwin insists that with Newton wealthier and more powerful than ever it's time to end the bandit problem once and for all.
Session ended late on the night of the 10th. The next session begins early on the 12th. The major plot arc for the next few episodes will be the bandit problem.
Wednesday, August 6
The Journal of Samuel Newton: December 9th, 2073
Damn! Whoever the hell bought that damned dynamite off me just tried to use it to kill my nephew. Didn't work, but did a number on Will's house and put both the boy and his boy out for a while.
Dammit. This is bad. There's at least one person who knows where the bastard got the bombs, and as much as I like Church, I don't know how far I can trust him. Even if he's smart, it's gonna be bad for my pocketbook, and if he ain't... hellfire. The sheriff or that militia woman figure out where the explosives came from, I'm humped, and I'm willing to bet there are enough of my brother's loyalists still around to make sure that the penalty for selling bombs is death by public lynching.
I don't even know if anyone else knows, though I'd be a fool to assume otherwise. There's no way in hell I'm gonna keep my name off this, I reckon. Only thing to do is make sure it goes on the right way.
Dammit. This is bad. There's at least one person who knows where the bastard got the bombs, and as much as I like Church, I don't know how far I can trust him. Even if he's smart, it's gonna be bad for my pocketbook, and if he ain't... hellfire. The sheriff or that militia woman figure out where the explosives came from, I'm humped, and I'm willing to bet there are enough of my brother's loyalists still around to make sure that the penalty for selling bombs is death by public lynching.
I don't even know if anyone else knows, though I'd be a fool to assume otherwise. There's no way in hell I'm gonna keep my name off this, I reckon. Only thing to do is make sure it goes on the right way.
Monday, August 4
Ophelia Wolfe, Downtime #1
“Oh, Ophelia. Oh, Ophelia, what have you been doing?” Nobody knows. Well maybe Mr. Fritter, Smacky’s hired mouse (he scares the finer types away, so says Ophelia), but really he doesn’t count.
Lorraine Newton, Downtime #1
Glancing at the clock, 5 after 9, I realize it’s time to shut the books. I’d been pouring over them for the last half hour. Twisting and turning numbers to see if they might make themselves any more appealing than they seem to be, unfortunately numbers tend to be so goddamn stubborn. Winter has never been my favorite season, but with the pass being closed so long, it’s almost unbearable this year. I can feel my gut damn near twinge every time I contemplate how low those numbers have fallen. Not a single horse has gone since October. I let out a huff of breath as I push out my chair. Not a thing to be done, I’ll have to speak to Corwin. Lord knows, I’m not the only one suffering. That pass has got to re-open.
Lucius Lessard-Newton, Downtime #1
The map of the town was hopelessly out of date. Additional land Grandfather had acquired late in his life had been crudely and imprecisely penciled in, and the places where the “official” border of the town had expanded had been annotated with that information and absolutely nothing else. It was the same on survey documents, deeds, and the handful of other official documents that he’d looked over so far.
Lucius took another swallow of his now lukewarm tea and turned to the next document. Just like most of the rest, it indicated the borders of the town with a reasonable degree of precision, but it was a brand new number – not a single one of the documents agreed with any of the others as to Newton’s exact boundaries. Furthermore, Lucius had no doubt that most of the farmers on the periphery tilled and sowed on land that was technically outside the borders of the town and therefore contested. His father certainly had.
Most likely the reason for the inaccuracy lay in Newton’s extremely ad hoc origins. Nobody could agree on how big the town was at its founding, with the few sources that named it (Neither Grandfather or anyone else in his band had been much on paperwork in the early days, it seemed) saying that it was either the walls of the bandit compound Newton had formerly been, or the trickling Washington River, or the edge of the forest as it had existed then.
Whatever the reason, Lucius’ felt his hopes lift, if not exactly soar. Maybe with a full blood, first generation Newton or two on his side, especially one with land on the periphery, he might be able to convince the council that the town extended beyond his current fields, possibly all the way to Dosset Creek. That’d add almost 100 acres of unimproved land to his claim by itself, and reasonable good land too. The more people that agreed with him, the larger the expansion was likely to be – they’d all want a slice of the pie after all. Aunt Lorraine, for instance, would certainly not say no to some more of the prime grazing land watered by the creek. With 100 acres of additional land, he’d just need square inches more to edge old Gus White out of the council.
Lucius leaned back in the town hall’s uncomfortable chair. He’d need to put all this away before the meeting started – the council were the last people in town he wanted hearing of his plan.
Lucius took another swallow of his now lukewarm tea and turned to the next document. Just like most of the rest, it indicated the borders of the town with a reasonable degree of precision, but it was a brand new number – not a single one of the documents agreed with any of the others as to Newton’s exact boundaries. Furthermore, Lucius had no doubt that most of the farmers on the periphery tilled and sowed on land that was technically outside the borders of the town and therefore contested. His father certainly had.
Most likely the reason for the inaccuracy lay in Newton’s extremely ad hoc origins. Nobody could agree on how big the town was at its founding, with the few sources that named it (Neither Grandfather or anyone else in his band had been much on paperwork in the early days, it seemed) saying that it was either the walls of the bandit compound Newton had formerly been, or the trickling Washington River, or the edge of the forest as it had existed then.
Whatever the reason, Lucius’ felt his hopes lift, if not exactly soar. Maybe with a full blood, first generation Newton or two on his side, especially one with land on the periphery, he might be able to convince the council that the town extended beyond his current fields, possibly all the way to Dosset Creek. That’d add almost 100 acres of unimproved land to his claim by itself, and reasonable good land too. The more people that agreed with him, the larger the expansion was likely to be – they’d all want a slice of the pie after all. Aunt Lorraine, for instance, would certainly not say no to some more of the prime grazing land watered by the creek. With 100 acres of additional land, he’d just need square inches more to edge old Gus White out of the council.
Lucius leaned back in the town hall’s uncomfortable chair. He’d need to put all this away before the meeting started – the council were the last people in town he wanted hearing of his plan.
Virgil Church, Downtime #1
Virgil sat in the lockup, twiddling his thumbs. Anders had thrown him in here as soon as he’d had a spare moment, to “think for a spell” on what he’d done. He’d dealt with a threat to the town, right? The men were patsies; there was no way that had useful information. It wouldn’t do to leave them behind where they might make trouble. Besides, the only good bandit was a dead bandit. As long as things didn’t get too peaceful, anyway.
At any rate, Virgil had other things to ruminate on. He had realized, sitting in the Fort with the doctor and Anders and Eva, that only he and Ophelia Wolfe knew where the stranger had gotten his explosives, and it naturally would not be good for Sam Newton if word got out what he’d done to his nephew. Virgil tossed around the idea of blackmail, but decided in the end that Sam was too goo d a friend for that, and too useful as an ally in any case. Still, he could make some money off of this – doubtless Sam’d pay good money to protect what was left of his reputation. Otherwise, well, it didn’t bear thinking on.
At any rate, Virgil had other things to ruminate on. He had realized, sitting in the Fort with the doctor and Anders and Eva, that only he and Ophelia Wolfe knew where the stranger had gotten his explosives, and it naturally would not be good for Sam Newton if word got out what he’d done to his nephew. Virgil tossed around the idea of blackmail, but decided in the end that Sam was too goo d a friend for that, and too useful as an ally in any case. Still, he could make some money off of this – doubtless Sam’d pay good money to protect what was left of his reputation. Otherwise, well, it didn’t bear thinking on.
Corwin Gray, Downtime #1
So, Keller and Masterson were off the council. Keller was a fool and it Corwin wished that it had taken an event less momentous than Bill’s death to knock him off his high horse. Masterson was competent enough, more so than his lineage might suggest, but he was also something of a non-entity. That left Ed Grissom, Gus White, and David Croft on the council, plus Corwin himself, in addition to the two most likely new members: Anders Leigh (Corwin was still shaking his head over this one) and Lorraine Newton.
Corwin pushed his ledger aside and rubbed his eyes. He was not looking forward to the evening’s meeting. The others were going to be howling for blood with no real ideas to back up their rage, and demanding action without allowing for planning. Just like any other week, except no administrator to break up disputes, plus doe-eyed Leigh and Lorraine too new to hold their own.
He paused for a moment before pulling a blank sheet of paper and, with a brief hesitation, started writing notes. Corwin’s position as Council Speaker, tenuous and honorary as it was, meant that he was more or less first among equals. The town’s bylaws were rather incomplete, but if anyone was going to stand up and take the position of administrator pro tempore, it would be him.
Corwin hated the thought of scheming his way into Bill’s old post; his death still felt a little unreal, like he could walk in through the door any moment and start barking about how things were going to get done. No more of that. Jeffery certainly didn’t have the spine for it. Corwin would just have to get things done himself, without the old man’s omnipresent stare to break through deadlocks.
Corwin shook his head. Back to the matter and hand. Leigh and Newton didn’t know how things worked and probably wouldn’t try to stop him. Grissom would protest no matter what Corwin did, but his greatest supporters had been Keller and Masterson, so he was neutered. Croft would disagree with Grissom for just about any reason. White would be wary, but if the rest of the council (Grissom aside, of course) fell on his side White would go along.
Corwin put his pen aside and crumpled up the sheet he’d been writing on. Politics were supposed to stay out of the council; it was for “the good of the town, and the good of its people,” as Bill had always said. No more of that either, it looked like.
(P.S. I didn’t mention this in the narrative, but Corwin has a substantial, high-value shipment ready to go to Greer, and is getting very frustrated with the pass being closed. This is very much an open secret – a fair amount of Corwin’s wealth comes from the shipping concern he owns, and much of the stuff he ships is grown or produced on his own land.)
Corwin pushed his ledger aside and rubbed his eyes. He was not looking forward to the evening’s meeting. The others were going to be howling for blood with no real ideas to back up their rage, and demanding action without allowing for planning. Just like any other week, except no administrator to break up disputes, plus doe-eyed Leigh and Lorraine too new to hold their own.
He paused for a moment before pulling a blank sheet of paper and, with a brief hesitation, started writing notes. Corwin’s position as Council Speaker, tenuous and honorary as it was, meant that he was more or less first among equals. The town’s bylaws were rather incomplete, but if anyone was going to stand up and take the position of administrator pro tempore, it would be him.
Corwin hated the thought of scheming his way into Bill’s old post; his death still felt a little unreal, like he could walk in through the door any moment and start barking about how things were going to get done. No more of that. Jeffery certainly didn’t have the spine for it. Corwin would just have to get things done himself, without the old man’s omnipresent stare to break through deadlocks.
Corwin shook his head. Back to the matter and hand. Leigh and Newton didn’t know how things worked and probably wouldn’t try to stop him. Grissom would protest no matter what Corwin did, but his greatest supporters had been Keller and Masterson, so he was neutered. Croft would disagree with Grissom for just about any reason. White would be wary, but if the rest of the council (Grissom aside, of course) fell on his side White would go along.
Corwin put his pen aside and crumpled up the sheet he’d been writing on. Politics were supposed to stay out of the council; it was for “the good of the town, and the good of its people,” as Bill had always said. No more of that either, it looked like.
(P.S. I didn’t mention this in the narrative, but Corwin has a substantial, high-value shipment ready to go to Greer, and is getting very frustrated with the pass being closed. This is very much an open secret – a fair amount of Corwin’s wealth comes from the shipping concern he owns, and much of the stuff he ships is grown or produced on his own land.)
Saturday, August 2
Episode 1 Summary
December 5th, 2073
-Heavy snow. Pass closed.
-William Newton succumbs to illness and dies surrounded by friends, family and townspeople.
December 7th, 2073
-Heavy snow continues. Pass still closed.
-William Newton's funeral. Friends and family speak of what he brought both to themselves and to the town of Newton:
-Corwin Gray: Force of Law
-Anders Leigh: Order
-Lorraine Newton: Focus and Direction
-Lucius Lessard-Newton: Wealth and Prosperity
-Dutch Williams: A New Life
-Eva Cervantes: Safety
-Samuel Newton: Something from Nothing
December 8th, 2073
-Heavy snow continues. Pass still closed.
-William Newton's will is read by Mr. Abrams, the town lawyer.
-The estate is divided up, most friends and family only get small bequests.
-Isabel Newton has gone catatonic following the death of her father, her husband also having recently died. Lucius takes over the management of her property, including the new bequest of a substantial area of farmland.
-Lorraine Newton gets the Four Winds Ranch, making her effectively the only game in town for horses.
-Anders Leigh is surprised to be given all of William Newton's warehouses, valued at nearly 30% of his total estate, along with an injunction to protect them as they are the lifeblood of the city.
-The council unanimously elects Jeffery Newton as the new administrator, though Corwin is skeptical of Jeff's ability to lead. Concern is expressed around the council about the upcoming shakeup due to the changes in land ownership from William Newton's will.
-Anders meets with Mr. Hardy, the manager of the warehouses, and discovers how much paperwork is involved in running them.
-A stranger shows up at Smacky's bar looking for information on where to buy weapons. For a small fee Ophelia points him to Sam Newton.
-The stranger buys plastic explosives and dynamite from Sam. Virgil shows up just as the man is leaving, fresh from a bandit attack right outside town and complaining of a jammed weapon Sam sold him. On his way out, he notices the stranger turning off the main path into the wilderness by the Masterson farm.
-Virgil sells this information to Ophelia, who then sells it to Anders.
December 9th, 2073
-The snow dies down. Captain Sheridan, 2nd in command of the militia, reports to Commander Eva Cervantes that it's possible the pass could be reopened, but only if the weather holds.
-Anders asks Eva for help investigating the stranger who bought explosives.
-Jeff Newton gives a brief public speech promising to uphold his father's legacy.
-Eva reports to Jeff Newton on the pass. Jeff leaves the pass to Eva's discretion, and retires to the Newton house with his son Andrew to meet with community leaders the rest of the day.
-Corwin insists to Eva that the pass must be reopened tomorrow so trade may flow. He sends Dutch Williams, his assistant, to observe Jeff and Andrew for the day.
-Eva hires Virgil and a few of his band to back up herself and Anders.
-Eva and company track down where the stranger went, and find a campsite a couple men from outside the town, and an empty dynamite crate. Questioning and threats reveal that other men from the camp took the explosives into town to blow up the Newton House. Eva takes off to warn Jeff and Andrew, and Virgil immediately kills the two outsiders, angering Anders.
-Eva arrives yelling just in time for Dutch to get clear of the Newton House. Jeff and Andrew hear her warning and attempt to escape but are caught in the blast. They survive, but both are horribly injured. They are moved to Fort Newton where the town doctor manages to stabilize them, but both are in comas.
-Corwin calls an emergency meeting of the council.
Session ended around noon on December 9th. Next session will begin on the evening of December 9th, at the emergency meeting.
-Heavy snow. Pass closed.
-William Newton succumbs to illness and dies surrounded by friends, family and townspeople.
December 7th, 2073
-Heavy snow continues. Pass still closed.
-William Newton's funeral. Friends and family speak of what he brought both to themselves and to the town of Newton:
-Corwin Gray: Force of Law
-Anders Leigh: Order
-Lorraine Newton: Focus and Direction
-Lucius Lessard-Newton: Wealth and Prosperity
-Dutch Williams: A New Life
-Eva Cervantes: Safety
-Samuel Newton: Something from Nothing
December 8th, 2073
-Heavy snow continues. Pass still closed.
-William Newton's will is read by Mr. Abrams, the town lawyer.
-The estate is divided up, most friends and family only get small bequests.
-Isabel Newton has gone catatonic following the death of her father, her husband also having recently died. Lucius takes over the management of her property, including the new bequest of a substantial area of farmland.
-Lorraine Newton gets the Four Winds Ranch, making her effectively the only game in town for horses.
-Anders Leigh is surprised to be given all of William Newton's warehouses, valued at nearly 30% of his total estate, along with an injunction to protect them as they are the lifeblood of the city.
-The council unanimously elects Jeffery Newton as the new administrator, though Corwin is skeptical of Jeff's ability to lead. Concern is expressed around the council about the upcoming shakeup due to the changes in land ownership from William Newton's will.
-Anders meets with Mr. Hardy, the manager of the warehouses, and discovers how much paperwork is involved in running them.
-A stranger shows up at Smacky's bar looking for information on where to buy weapons. For a small fee Ophelia points him to Sam Newton.
-The stranger buys plastic explosives and dynamite from Sam. Virgil shows up just as the man is leaving, fresh from a bandit attack right outside town and complaining of a jammed weapon Sam sold him. On his way out, he notices the stranger turning off the main path into the wilderness by the Masterson farm.
-Virgil sells this information to Ophelia, who then sells it to Anders.
December 9th, 2073
-The snow dies down. Captain Sheridan, 2nd in command of the militia, reports to Commander Eva Cervantes that it's possible the pass could be reopened, but only if the weather holds.
-Anders asks Eva for help investigating the stranger who bought explosives.
-Jeff Newton gives a brief public speech promising to uphold his father's legacy.
-Eva reports to Jeff Newton on the pass. Jeff leaves the pass to Eva's discretion, and retires to the Newton house with his son Andrew to meet with community leaders the rest of the day.
-Corwin insists to Eva that the pass must be reopened tomorrow so trade may flow. He sends Dutch Williams, his assistant, to observe Jeff and Andrew for the day.
-Eva hires Virgil and a few of his band to back up herself and Anders.
-Eva and company track down where the stranger went, and find a campsite a couple men from outside the town, and an empty dynamite crate. Questioning and threats reveal that other men from the camp took the explosives into town to blow up the Newton House. Eva takes off to warn Jeff and Andrew, and Virgil immediately kills the two outsiders, angering Anders.
-Eva arrives yelling just in time for Dutch to get clear of the Newton House. Jeff and Andrew hear her warning and attempt to escape but are caught in the blast. They survive, but both are horribly injured. They are moved to Fort Newton where the town doctor manages to stabilize them, but both are in comas.
-Corwin calls an emergency meeting of the council.
Session ended around noon on December 9th. Next session will begin on the evening of December 9th, at the emergency meeting.
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