OK, OK... Before I get flamed about how I'm molly-coddling the group and blah blah blah... Let me tell the story, OK???
Good. But, on the off chance that some Marshal's don't want folks knowing who Stone is, I'll give some spoiler space...
Come on, nothing to see here... Go on to the next message! Really!!!
OK, that should be enough.
The full story... Even Stone has a bad day... It might happen only once a century, but it does happen. Two days ago, it happened. He was just driving along in a car (2070 Caddy Coupe DeVile) that was formerly owned by one of his targets (His Undead Horse threw a shoe and killed him... Which meant that Stone couldn't do it. So he shot that darned horse!), and came upon an ambush situation. Figuring that he hadn't had fun for a bit, he decided to get out and show these fellow badmen of the Wasteland how it's REALLY done! That was his one mistake. It wasn't bad men...
It was an Anti-Templar (Name of "Father Death") and his Warband! The fighting was fierce, but Stone had it all going... Until they dropped a bug on him. Old Model VW Bug. From a Catapult. While something like that would only slow down someone like Stone, it did slow him enough to allow the Warband to get away... AND steal his Coat, Hat, and (Most telling, if not dangerous) Revolvers!!!
After getting out from under the bug, he took store of his assets (Which were somewhere around his shoulder blades... That bug was heavy!), and got on the "Stonephone" to his boss, Death. Who immediately tore a strip off Stone! "Don't touch that Anti-Templar!!! He's ONE narrow step away from becoming a minion of mine! Deal with it!!!".
Yes, this was a *VERY* bad day for Stone. He hadn't had one like this in along time... Maybe the day he died...
Anyhow, after recuperating for a day and a night, and getting heartburn from the Mexican he ate (Just like she said she would...), he was able to spot in the distance a very distinctive shape... "L'tl Red", the Ford F-350 Dually used by W.C. Omer the Warlock Templar Companion Redneck Road Warrior, "Baldy" the Insane Syker, and Ol' Zeke (Who was on Stone's list!). He did some fast thinking, figuring that he could either take out these guys without any effort on his own, or he could use them to take out the Anti-Templar! Heck, if these loosers could take out Father Death, then he didn't really deserve Servitorship. He couldn't loose!
Disguising himself as the Sapper he (Well, his horse) had just taken out three days ago, he flagged down the truck (More like a train... F-350, "Water Buffalo" Tanker Trailer, Trailer made from the box of a Ford F-150, and a wrecked AMC Gremlin on the back), and gave them a sob story about getting hit by a Anti-Templar and offering half the salvage in the trunk of the Caddy in exchange for rescuing it... And the location of Disco Stu, who the group has blood in it's eye for.
To make a long story short ("Too late." "SHUT-UP!!!"), they found Father Death and his remaining Warband (Five Baddies in total) in an aircraft graveyard, and, after the Syker got hisself trapped in a stripped Blackhawk Helicopter (Busted his Sneak Roll), their attempt to sneak into the area failed, and W.C. ended up having to field against four armed folk alone with only his Lever-Action Rifle and Pillowcase of Skulls (He's has some Witch Supernatural Powers) from a stripped Apache for cover. And proptly shot them all from said cover while their shots "Luckily" (Read, chips!) barely touched him. He proved yet again the joy of cover and aimed shots as opposed to "Spray-And-Pray".
After demonstrating his Skull Attack, the two remaining Warband surrendered (Busted Guts Rolls) and begged him not to eat their souls.
Father Death, on the other hand, had sneaked around with his fireaxe, and found the Syker, Baldy, in the Blackhawk, and figured he was waiting to ambush the Warband with his sykokinetic abilities... Or something like that. And launched an assult on the Syker! Dropping down from the sky, axe ready to strike...
Baldy pulled a "Darth Maul" (As the Player put it), and stopped him with Telekinesis, and then "Huston, we lost contact with that orbital probe...", and launched him skyward with the same! After a Grenade Scatter Chart roll... He came down, head first (Good thing he wore his helmet!) onto the side of the Blackhawk and dropped inside the Helo, almost knocked out.
And that was pretty much the battle. Three captured, and a happy Baldy when they FINALLY got the Blackhawk rolled over so he could get out.
After some interrogation of the Warband ("WHERE IS DISCO STU???" "Who???" *WHAM* "WHERE IS HE???" "WE DON'T KNOW!!!" "Aren't these the guys who'll tell us where Disco Stu is?" "No, he's back by the road waiting for us to get his car." "Oh... sorry..."), they got the poor fellow from the road, and took him back to his "Boobytrapped" car...
"You folks don't mind not looking... It's a professional secret and all that..." "Sure, we'll just turn our backs..." "I keep an ear out... Does it sound like he's pulling out a gun or something?" "Nope... But you do hear gingling sounds like lots of small, tinny metal on metal contact." "Can we turn around now?" "Sure..."
At that last word, they knew something was up. It was low and gravely, as if spoken from the grave... When they turned around, I described how I figure Stone looks like (The picture from Weird West "The Player's Handbook", with his coat literally covered with Badges from the Western Era right up to the Modern Day, with one thing in common, a bullet hole in each!).
After setting his guns, and some nice Guts rolls (Noone peed themselves, but Ol' Zeke started begging for his Unlife), and Baldy kept his head enough to do one thing that earned Stone's respect...
*Holding out his Rifle, butt first* "Can I have your Autograph???" "Uh... SURE! Wow, noone ever asked that before... Usually it's 'Please don't kill me!!!' like you're buddy there."
Stone may be an evil, murding SOB whose Momma woulda cut him outta her belly if she knew how he'd grow up... But he's honest! And he put the group at the bottom of his list ("Even further for a fan!" "Wow, thanks!"), and gave up the location of Disco Stu, then went his marry way, leaving the Caddy, and the Warband's remaining working vechicle, a beat up New Model VW Bug.
After some work, and putting yet *ANOTHER* car onto the train, they were off to go get revenge against Disco Stu for his various deeds against them...
Secure in the knowledge that, if they survived STONE, they could live through ANYTHING!!!
Poor, pathetic FOOLS!!! MUH-HA-HA-HA!!!
Ray, who now returns you to our regularily schedualed mayhem and insanity!!!
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