@Shotgun BearHell. He was late. Conrad grimaced and leaned forward on his horse, nudging it to a faster speed. The train roared by, heading away from him and back towards the nearest track switch. That meant the hunters had already unloaded and entered the town. Another horse trotted behind the one he road, kept in check by both training and a line tied to the back of his saddle, a matching saddle adorning it’s back.
It wasn’t great to be heading out so far, but work was work. He had avoided the train because of his firearm. It was worth enough to make him worth attacking for the weapon itself, if not for the crystals within it despite their small size. Parting from it for the sake of policy was insane. Conrad hadn’t bothered explaining that to the employer though, just simply giving a dry request for a ride. The man was stingy as a demon chewing a mouse-tail though. Messenger horses. It was a simple, if expensive system. The riders could switch off the mounts every mile to keep one fresh, so that they could keep faster paces. The rich could afford to have a few extra mounts on hand, but couldn’t
possibly lend one to their poor employee. Curse them.
Conrad reigned the horse in to a slower trot, eventually slowing to a stop as he approached where the hunters had been abandoned by the train. It likely would bring another load of hunters back; men who were late to the fight, and scavengers looking to grab up equipment from newly dead hunters. That wasn’t his concern though. He dismounted, kicking up a small cloud of dust with his boots. He adjusted his pistols and the pipe-sword in its loop before tossing the reigns to a waiting man. He had taken the train out here so he could take the horses back. It was a compromise. Take the horses there, and ride the train back- if he was successful. The quiet man slid a leather tube as long as his forearm from one of the saddle bags and a small pouch of jerky that he tied to his belt. That tube represented his job. Conrad slung it across his back by its strap. Inside would be paper and some charcoal.
A lot of the hunters here likely wanted a shot at the crystal, a definite grand prize. Some would likely be willing to stab backs before this was over to get at it. Luckily, Six Shot had snagged a decent contract from his old mentor; get a copy of the inscriptions used on the crystal, specifically around any cracks. Simple enough with some skilled rubbings and a bit of knowledge of inscriptions. All Conrad had to do was get close. He stood silently to watch the other man mount and race back towards the nearest outpost along the train tracks before turning towards the town. Even from a short distance, the smell was prevalent. Smoke.
Up close was worse. Usually was. Conrad didn’t flinch when his foot snapped a gnawed rib in half on the way into town, opting to take a more dominant stance towards the center of the street than to try to sneak around the edges. The other hunters were already in town, so cringing about was only inviting oneself to become prey. The screeching echoed across the wilderness- the roar of demons was easy to recognize. Someone had to put these damn demons in their place. Gunshots started to ring out over the town, some carefully placed, others frantically released in droves that ended in screams from time to time. He stepped off the road onto a surviving porch and sat down calmly on a slightly charred rocking chair, quietly watching the antics of one of the hunters who faced five- four demons. She was quite agile, climbing up the wall of the building and onto it’s awning before crashing through the window to get away from her pursuers. Part of Conrad tugged, urging him to stand and shoot down the demons, rush to her aid. That part of him had no chance. A tsunami of cold fascination and grimness drowned it like a puddle in a flood. Every single shot made the man wince inwardly though. She wasn’t making it easy on herself. In the silence that followed, he heard creaking above him as more demons moved onto the roof, pouncing down to stalk down the street towards the bar. Conrad tracked another two leaping from nearby buildings to the roof of the bar. Two on the street, two on the roof. Company.
Conrad calmly drew his handgun in his right hand, drawing and readying his pipe in the other. The demons were too focused on the noise to notice him behind them. At least until another crashed out the door behind him as he was sneaking closer to the demons stalking the bar from the ground. That plan was shot. The two in front of him jerked at the noise, looking back. Conrad made a split second choice, knowing the two on the roof could leap at any time. He replaced his pistol and drew the true ‘Six Shot’ in a blink of the eye, flicking the chamber to Gravity burst and taking an instant to line the shot up with the chest of the beast in front of him even as he ran forward, the beasts howling and charging him. Conrad pulled the trigger, and the muzzle flashed- but no sound came out- other than the crash as the demon was rammed through the wall of the bar across from them as it’s own bodyweight carried it backwards into the bar- and possibly out the other side, if it was heavy enough.
Conrad didn’t wait to watch the spectacle though, continuing his charge forward as he holstered the pistol and swung the bar like a bat at the face of the second demon as he passed- forcing it to raise its arms to block the hit. He didn’t pause for a second swing, rolling through the hole he had just made with the other demons body in the wall of the bar and turning to brace the pipe-sword against his foot, impaling the first demon to come charging through after him, shoved along by it’s ‘friends’.
That woman would be in here somewhere, hopefully. Conrad didn’t spare a glance though, dragging his .44 out of it’s holster and sending two shots whistling into the demon jerking on the end of his sword. He had already started ignoring the beast before it stopped twitching, trying to place a shot on it’s buddy trying to shove through from behind. The demon’s on the roof would be coming through soon too.
"If you are alive, I could use some help here."