(Savage Pulp) #3.5 Double Foiled

After a contentious election, a wall being constructed, and TWO hostile takeovers, the desert town of Sohai was finally back to normal under the rule of Lt Colonel Thaddeus Ovaltine.

Outside of their usual cut on business transactions, Ovaltine and his Rough 'n Ready Riders added one rule to the usually lawless town:  No gunfire.  His men were given specific instructions to fire on any individual discharging a firearm in plain sight.  It had taken months, but the factions agreed it was usually better to be stabbed in the back than gunned town in the marketplace with a Tommy gun.

If there were tracks in Sohai, this would be on the bad side of them.

Months ago, a team of German treasure hunters until the command of Colonel Wolfgang "The Gazelle" von Klockenspiel had arrived to join their European counterparts to find relics lost within the desert.   Rumors stated that they ran into some trouble with bandits outside of town and ran back to Berlin with their tails between their legs, but recent news told another story.

Klockenspiel and his minion Alfredo deBerg

Klockenspiel had discovered something out in the desert and managed to sneak it into town and hold onto it, for a number of months while his team researched it and coordinated its shipment back to Germany.

Realizing that any proper transport of any artifact resulted in multiple gangs descending on the truck, The Gazelle decided to secure a car, and with the help of mysteriously strong subordinate, Alfredo deBerg, decided to brave the streets of Sohai for a few blocks to reach the car and drive out of town.

It was a wise move, as only two groups caught wind of the activity

A group of wayward Russian sailors, led by the ever-shirtless Captain Kaputin.

And the old fanatics of Mayor Roland Tower. Leaderless for months, they finally fell into the Cult of the Sand Bat, led by deranged Englishman Jerome Livingstone.

As Livingstone dispatched his men to intercept the Germans, he spied an out of place individual hanging out on the edge of town.  Assuming the worst and having only a small repertoire of spells from the Sand Bat, he used one to try to befriend the man, with some initial success.

Meanwhile, one of the cultists spotted one of Ovaltine's questionable lieutenants on the edge of the market and attempted to parlay with him.

Unfortunately, he wasn't the smartest of men, engaging the officer while he was decked out in full cultist garb, including hood.   Ovaltine's man made shockingly quick work of the ne'er do well.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the neighborhood, the new first mate, Oscar Yemfremov eyed one of the "European" diggers for hire and tried to shake him down for any info or rumors he had.

Ka-Boong!

That didn't work out either, although Oscar only suffered a whack with a shovel for his pushy behavior.

The other sailors successfully flanked the German and his overtly muscular henchman.  They drew weapons and tried to shoot deBerg, but one shot only emitted a tiny trickle of blood off his shoulder, and the second was so bad, the sailor accidentally shot a merchant in the back.

This alerted Ovaltine's sharpshooters manning the wall, and the Russians quickly realized that while they had good cover against their enemies in the small marketplace, they were sitting ducks for the snipers.  Two Russians quickly killed on the spot, and other scurried for cover.

Meanwhile, Doctor Livingstone politely introduced himself to the out-of-place man and struck up an unusually amicable conversation.  Before walking away, the man confirmed that the sedan around the corner was for Klockenspiel and that he would be arriving soon,

Livingstone waiting in the shadows.

One question the dear readers may have is, "Where in the world is Captain Kaputin?"

It appears the Captain saw the officer executing the cultist on the spot and proceeded to run over to him to admit finding more of those devious scoundrels around the corner in the marketplace.  The officer bought it hook, line, and sinker, and the duo dashed forward, just in time to run into said cultists.  

The battle was short, with no significant injuries, other than the cultists pride, as they scrambled back through the marketplace.

Back at the sedan, Klockenspiel jumped into the driver's seat, instructing deBerg to secure item to the back of the vehicle.  The mountain of a man complied.

Livingstone jumped out from around the corner and cast another friendship hex, trying to take control of the behemoth, but Alfredo deBerg was no over-muscled lout with a pea sized brain.  Even Livingstone doubling down on his god-given powers failed miserably, only succeeding in pissing off Alfredo.

Catching the cult leader off guard, Alfredo reared back and punched Livingstone so hard, it would have killed lesser men.  Livingstone flew backwards, rolled over, and began to run away, only to trip over the extended leg of the strange man from earlier.  Perhaps, they weren't as friendly as Livingstone originally thought.

Livingstone started the car and sped off through the town guard... destination: unknown.

By the time the officer and his newly assembled posse, led by Captain Kaputin, had surrounded two of the cultists, Alfredo deBerg rounded the corner, holding the unconscious body of Livingstone upside-down, by the ankle. 

Even before calculating a winner, it was simple to say that the German escaped, the cultists are essentially wiped out in town (one did escape), and Ovaltine and the Russians decided to begin colluding together.  

We're not quite sure which group will formally get the service musclebound Alfredo, but the biggest questions lay to that odd man Livingstone was talking to.   It was Bob Njano, long-time assistant to famed archaeologist Maja Millie, now-turned into his own heroic endeavors.   Unfortunately, not only did he provide essential data to the Sand Bat leader, but he also relayed the future home of the Klockespiel's discovery.  The Royal Swedish Museum of Antiquities in Stockholm.

This scenario was directly inspired by Almost Stolen Goods by Preacher by Day and concludes a largely villain-focused first half of the third season of our Pulp Game.

Our attention turns to the old reliable heroes enjoying a holiday in episode #3.6: Meanwhile, Back in Sweden.