2019-08-16 - Six Shooters and Whiskey Straight (Invite Only)

Elias sometimes wanders the boardwalk after or before visiting Frankie's shop. Perhaps he'd been on his way there and got distracted. Perhaps he'd just been down on the boardwalk for no particular reason, but he does find himself wandering, hands in his pockets, eventually coming to stop near the book. When it catches his attention, he wanders over closer and crouches nearby. He reaches out toward it, considering, and then doesn't touch it, not immediately. Instead, he pulls off the grey button down that he's wearing over a navy blue tank top off and reaches out to gather the book into it without touching it. "Aren't you curious," he murmurs to himself.

The book doesn't respond. Obviously, because its a book! And talking books would be silly. However, the longer he looks at the books, the more he notices the writing on the book shift and wiggle until it's readable. The book itself looks older, dark blue in color and a sigil of a six-shooter on the front cover. The spine has the book title on it - Whiskey Straight

Elias examines the book, turning it over a bit to look at the spine, to look at the binding, the pages. He uses the shirt to touch it for the time being, because things that Glimmer are unusual, and he's not quite sure what to make of it just lying there where anyone could have seen it or picked it up. Cautiously, he opens up the cover to see if he can read the wiggly and reforming text on the inside as well.

The book looks well taken care of! When he opens the book, is when something a little strange starts happening. There's no foreward or acknowledgement, or even any copyright information like in a regular book. It just starts in right with the story. Which Elias is able to start reading.

"I don't like the look a this Elwood." Sheriff Bunton drawled out. The pair was sitting on their respective horses, surveying an abandoned farm a little ways off. It was the suspected hideout of some of Brute Telford's men. A well known bandit in this area...

Except that Elias wasn't reading the words. They were vaguely in the back of his mind as he found himself ACTUALLY sitting on a horse, next to Sheriff Bunton. Bunton looked over at him. "What'd you think Elwood? Should we get closer?" There was a distant awareness that he was reading a book. That the book could be closed and he'd be right back on the boardwalk. If Elias happened to look down at all he was in an outfit that was typical Old-Time Western fare.

Elias is sitting on a horse, looking at an abandoned farm, and that seems to perplex him just a little bit. When Bunton speaks to him again, he raises a brow, and then glances down to notice the clothing that he has on. Oh. Elwood. He must be Elwood. "Uh, no. Probably not. My guess is we'll get shot if we get closer," he says with a faint smirk. He half considers closing the book right there, but he's curious, so instead he tugs at the reigns a little and says, "C'mon boy, uh, giddy-this-a-way." He has no idea how to ride a horse, and there's no telling if the horse will allow him to guide it in a wide arc around the farm.

The Sheriff considers Elias' response. "Likely right. We tracked them to here. We'll gather up some more a the men and come on back." He agreed. His horse gets a little nudge so they can start moving. He doesn't seem to react to Elias' extra words towards the horse. And Elias finds himself able to ride the horse just fine. Though, it's really more like the horse is on autopilot. It knows right where it's going!

//Sheriff Bunton and Elwood made their way back to town. Whistler's Ferry was a one horse town. The roads were dusty. The buildings were wooden. There was the Sheriff's office, the saloon/inn, a whorehouse, general store, and a funeral parlor. Their goal was the saloon. Where most of the locals spent their free time.//

Sheriff Bunton got off his horse, tying it up to one of the posts outside the saloon. "I'm thinkin' Eddy, Joe, and Marius can help us wrangle 'em up." He's explaining to Elias. And then there's a ruckus inside! A woman screams and there's a gun going off! "Shit, C'mon Elwood!"

Elias is more bemused than anything else by this whole thing. He knows that he's reading a book, but at the same time, there's a kind of fascination about being inside the action. Not one to shy away from an adventure, Elias gives the Sheriff a nod when he rattles off a list of names of men who can help them head back out to the old abandoned farm. He's taking in the sights when suddenly there's a ruckus in the saloon. Does he have a gun? He checks his hip, the horse, his boot, to see just what Elwood might have on him to use in this situation. Then he's hopping down off his horse and pausing to tie it up before he follows the Sheriff over to the saloon. He doesn't going wandering on in there any more than he would have gone right into the abandoned farm house. Instead, he tries to get a peak in through the window as to what's going on inside.

Elwood does indeed have a pistol holstered at his side! Any proper deputy would! Sheriff Bunton bursts into the doors of the saloon. Which, of course, are the standard swinging saloon doors from any probably Western time!
"Telford! You let her go right now!" Sheriff Bunton shouted. His gun trained on a beast of a man, who could only be the infamous Brute Telford. Brute's got a hold of one of the working girls, Tammy - using her as a hostage apparently. There's a hole in the ceiling from the gun going off. Some of the patrons are hiding under tables or behind the bar. A handful of men also have guns trained on Telford too.

"Ya ain't takin' me down Bunton!" Telford holds the girl closer - like a shield. "Now where's my lilly-livered runt of a brother?" He demands.

Elwood bursts into the saloon as Telford calls him out. Elias now finds himself no longer Elwood. But the barkeep. Watching the scene laid out before him from behind the safety of the bar.

"The only one a us that's lilly-livered is you! Hidin' behind a woman. Ya coward!" Elwood and Brute look identical almost, aside a nasty scar that Brute has across the left side of his face. "Let's settle this like men."

The sudden switch from Elwood to the bartender disorients Elias for a moment who reaches for the gun at his side and finds that it isn't there. He watches the scene unfolding in front of him and then glances down at himself to survey who he might be now. Bartender. Well, that's convenient. He reaches over for a bottle of some of the rotgut whiskey that these sorts of places usually serve and pours himself a shot glass and tips it back. What? Unprofessional? He then says, "Hey, settle it outside with pistols at dawn like men, not in here. Think of the booze."

Both men glance towards Elias, "Or are ya too yella-bellied for that Brute?" Eldwood asked with narrowed eyes.

Brute shoved Tammy away, one of the men moved to catch her as she stumbled. "I'll be back Elwood. And we'll settle this. High noon." The man growled out and started to stalk out. Someone tried to take a shot at him. Mistake.

Quick as lightening, Brute had his pistol unholstered and shot the square in the chest. There was a collective heavy silence as Brute left the bar.

Elias was starting to feel a little funny. Like the words of the book were growing fainter in his mind. Like the story was becoming more real and the fact he was standing on the Boardwalk was less real. He was aware of this and yet, felt like he didn't want to close the book. Then all of a sudden it was over.

Some kid ran into him, causing him to maybe not completely drop the book - but fumble it so he wasn't' reading it anymore. "Sorry mister!" The kid called back to a -likely rather disoriented- Elias.

That funny feeling started to concern him a little, that he both wanted to remain inside the story, but that he didn't want to entirely lose grip on reality. It's probably for the best when the kid runs into him, jostling the book, because once he gets over the initial shock of being back on the boardwalk, he shakes his head to clear it, mumbling, "No problem," though the kid is long gone. He closes up the book then, carefully wrapping it in the shirt, and takes it with him back to Likely Stories, for now.