5/2/2006

08:30 PM
Logfile from Dogs.

The stakes are: Does Sister Clementine learn to stand up and stand out?


Dogs:  Brother Brand rolls 4d6=Generic GM opposition dice: 
Dogs:  Brother Brand rolls 4d6 for "Generic GM opposition dice" and gets 1, 1, 5, and
  5.
Dogs:  Brother Brand rolls 4d10=Generic GM opposition dice #2: 
Dogs:  Brother Brand rolls 4d10 for "Generic GM opposition dice #2" and gets 2, 4, 8,
  and 9.

The first days at Temple are nice. A little dull even. You meet your
  instructors one at a time. Sister Mary is pleasant. Brother Zebidiah is like 
  the older brother you always wanted. Elder Mason is stern but loving. They 
  lead you, guide you, walk beside, and help you find the way. You like them, 
  and life is easy. 

Until survival training starts. The training itself is hard, but you could
  survive. The reason for the harshness of the training has a name: Brother 
  Kishkumen, a mountain folk convert. He does not love you, he does not like 
  you. He seems like he wants you to fail, and it starts coming to a head on 
  the third day out. Three days of riding in the cold, the snow, the rain, the 
  mud without fire, without sleep, without food. And now in the middle of the 
  campground he is yelling at the assembled Dogs-to-be, cursing you and 
  blaspheming the name of the King of Life. He goes through the first two Dogs 
  in line, cursing their mothers and brothers, their families and beliefs. And 
  then he comes and stands, fuming and full of fury, in front of Clementine.

Dogs:  Sister Clementine rolls 7d6 for "Acuity+Heart" and gets 1, 2, 3, 4, 4, 5, and 6.

Brother Kishkumen is a hard older man, his face ragged with windburn and rugged
  with years of hard sun. The crow’s-feet at the corner of his eyes have turned 
  into dried riverbeds that make him look like he's wearing a fierce and 
  demonic mask, and the eyes behind it are green-gold and burning. Coming right 
  up to Clementine and leaning down into her face he says, words soft and 
  burning, "And you, Sister Nothing, you I cannot even curse. You do nothing 
  worth speaking of, for good or for bad." And with that he goes to leave, 
  dismissing her with out so much as a curse.

Dogs:  Brother Brand spends 5 5 for a total of 10.

Sister Clementine sucks her breath in a little, waits until he's almost turned
  away, then looks up. "Brother Kishkumen, I understand that you are hard only 
  because you love us and want us to survive this hard land. Do you love me so 
  little, then, to be so soft with me?

Dogs:  Sister Clementine spends 4 6 for a total of 10.
Dogs:  Sister Clementine spends 5 4 1 for a total of 10 and gains 3 Fallout dice.
Dogs:  Sister Clementine takes 3d4 Fallout dice.

Down the line in the sweltering sun, Sister chase smirks a crooked grin and
  looks sidelong down at the girl and her unexpected sass.

Wet and miserable, Sister Hannah stands further down the line, waiting for her
  turn to be set into.

Dogs:  Brother Brand spends 9 4 for a total of 13.

That stops Brother Kishkumen for a second, his hard eyes blinking as he works
  out what the girl just did. Then, with a shrug, he continues on down the 
  line. Not even bothering to look at the girl as he leaves her standing in the 
  rain.

That is when Brother Joshua loses his cool. He didn't mind when Brother
  Kishkumen yelled at him and called his mother a toad-sucking whore, he stood 
  there and took it. But now all the things his daddy told him about defending 
  girls are in his head, and he steps up between Clementine and Brother 
  Kishkumen and yells, "You old bastard, don't you dare turn your back like 
  that!" 

In so doing he, despite all his best intentions, puts his shadow right over
  Clementine and takes her out of the line of sight of the other Dogs, Brother 
  Kishkumen, and himself. So she's just standing there in the shadow of two 
  yelling men.

Dogs:  Sister Clementine rolls 2d8 for "Centered" and gets 1 and 5.
Dogs:  Sister Clementine rolls 3d6 for "Body" and gets 1, 2, and 5.
Dogs:  Sister Clementine spends 5 5 3 for a total of 13.

Sister Clementine squares her shoulders and steps between Brother Joshua and
  Brother Kishkumen, deliberately turning her back to her instructor. She 
  reaches up and places a calming hand on Joshua's shoulder. "Brother Joshua, I 
  am not insulted; why should you be? I am here to learn the ways of the Dogs, 
  and Brother Kishkumen is instructing me in my place here, nothing more."

Dogs:  Sister Clementine rolls 1d6 for "Trusting" and gets 1.
Dogs:  Sister Clementine spends 2 2 for a total of 4.

Sister Clementine looks into Brother Joshua's eyes, trying to ascertain if he
  interrupted on her behalf because of who she is as a person or simply because 
  she is weak and defenseless. Slowly she turns to Brother Kishkumen and bows 
  her head in apology. "I am sorry to have disrupted your lesson so much, 
  Brother. I do hope you will consider it my disruption and not Brother 
  Joshua's." 

Dogs:  Brother Brand spends 8 for a total of 8.

Brother Kishkumen flicks his eyes away from Brother Joshua, dismissing him
  without a thought. He turns his face full onto Clementine for a moment, 
  regarding her for a very long time while the rain pours down. His anger seems 
  to abate slightly, and when he talks again he just sounds tired. "You can't 
  even find your own voice when you stand up can you? You just say what you 
  know people want you to say." Slowly the old head shakes, "That's just sad."

Dogs:  Brand spends 8 2 for a total of 10.

That'll be block and raise in one pose -- the 8 reverses the blow, and then adds
  the 2 for my raise, for a total of 10. Your see Clementine.

Brand dropped Fallout List, ending the conflict.

Sister Clementine looks stunned. She stammers over an apology and takes her
  place back in line. When the lesson resumes, she keeps her head down and 
  doesn't talk to anyone. As the lesson progresses, though, she looks less sad 
  and more contemplative.

Down the line, Sister Chase has lost interest in the interaction. She's looking
  far off down the field to the cattails and the strawgrass, where things are 
  actually interesting.

Dogs:   Sister Clemintine rolls her Fallout of 3d4: 1 2 2, totaling 4.

Sister Clementine gains an item of Short Term Fallout.
Sister Clemintine takes: "Other people want to fight my battles for me: 1d4."

Sister Clementine gains an item of Fallout Experience.
Sister Clementine takes: "I long to accomplish a great and noble tasks, 
  but it is my chief duty to accomplish humble tasks as though they were great
  and noble: 1d6." (A quote from Hellen Keller)

Dogs:  Brand sets the stakes to "Does Abby manage to circumspectly not learn to
  shoot a gun".

After days of mud and rain and freezing, Brother Kishkumen brings the
  Dogs-in-training back to temple. After that he's in charge of teaching them 
  to shoot. It's not something that most of the Dogs have a lot of attention 
  for -- all the boys and most of the girls already know how to use a gun. 
  Theology and the hard lessons of social practice are what make them sweat and 
  worry, no matter how mean Brother Kishkumen may be. But his eyes are 
  everywhere, and there is not an ounce of soft in the man, and so it is that 
  day by day he starts to narrow in on those who are not learning, who cannot 
  shoot, and making them wish their mother had never met their father.

Dogs:  Brand rolls 4d6 for "Generic GM dice" and gets 1, 3, 3, and 4.

Dogs:  Brand rolls 4d10 for "Generic GM dice" and gets 4, 6, 10, and 10.

Dogs:  Sister Abigail rolls 9d6 for "Acuity+Heart" and gets 1, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,
  5, 5, and 6.

The shooting range is a long open field that abuts onto a set of bluffs, where
  the Dogs take their guns and go out into the wind and rain and conditions of 
  life to learn to shoot. They space well out, and so each Dog has as much or 
  as little room to themselves as they want. Most stay close together, because 
  there is much pressure to stand together, and because it protects from 
  Kishkumen. 

Not that it's much protection, in the end. Not for Abby at least, when she's
  been busy avoiding her lessons, and only too late hears the snake soft tread 
  of his boot just behind her. "Sister Abigail," says that soft, deadly voice, 
  "shouldn't you be about something?"

Dogs:  Brand spends 4 4 for a total of 8.

Sister Abigail lowers her eyes and flushes. "You're right, Brother Kishkumen.
  Sister Mary asked me to show the new arrivals where they were sleeping. My 
  mind must have been wandering - forgive me. I'll be about that now."

Dogs:  Sister Abigail rolls 1d6 for ""I know what people want to hear"" and
  gets 5.

Dogs:  Sister Abigail spends 4 5 for a total of 9.

Sister Abigail begins to gather her things preparatory to hurrying off to her
  other duties.

Dogs:  Sister Abigail spends 5 6 for a total of 11.

Sister Hannah watches Sister Abigail and thinks about joining her in escaping,
  if Brother Kishkumen lets her go.

The old man stands silent there, not saying a word, while Abigail gathers her
  things and moves off towards Temple. The whole way though, she can feel his 
  eyes upon her back, like a weight tied to her ankles while she's swimming. 

Sister Hannah scuttles away with Sister Abigail, muttering something about
  "helping" and "duties".

For two days afterwards he doesn't talk to Abigail again, until the brightest 
  and sunniest day of the year so far dawns early. He finds Abigail then, as 
  she's walking towards the range, and hands her his own rifle without a word, 
  and leads her up to where a target is set up and ready. Then he just stands 
  there and looks at her.

Dogs:  Brand spends 10 1 for a total of 11.
Dogs:  Brand spends 3 3 for a total of 6.

Up in a tree, farther down the plain, Sister Chase, who's seen the confrontation coming,
  is hid up in middle branches, looking on. She squints against the sunlight and 
  watches the crusty old mountain man face off against the beautiful girl that 
  she keeps finding herself afraid to talk to.

Sister Abigail accepts the rifle, smoothly swinging it up toward the target
  with a confident air - then stops just before pulling the trigger, lowering 
  the gun again. She turns toward Brother Kishkumen, nodding as if she has just 
  realized something. "You are right, Brother Kishkumen. I am certainly not 
  ready to shoot a rifle, but I will not forget this lesson, and I will work 
  hard to make it up to you."

Dogs:  Sister Abigail rolls 1d8 for ""I once scared off bandits with a rifle"
  (she looks convincing)" and gets 2.

Dogs:  Sister Abigail rolls 1d6 for ""I'm good at making people think it was
  their own idea"" and gets 2.

Dogs:  Sister Abigail spends 5 1 for a total of 6.

Sister Abigail hands the rifle back to the crusty old man, her soft white hands
  making a strange contrast to the harsh oil-smelling metal. "Thank you, 
  Brother. They say you are wise, and now I understand why."

Dogs:  Sister Abigail rolls 1d6 for ""Pretty, soft hands"" and gets 4.

Dogs:  Sister Abigail spends 5 4 for a total of 9.

The old man takes back the rifle all right, and as Abigail smiles at him he
  whips out a pistol and shoves it into her, forcing her to take it. He puts 
  the barrel of the rifle up in the air and pulls the trigger fast, fast, fast, 
  making a rattatatat of noise that turns every eye on the field towards him. 
  Then, just loud enough so his words carry through the soft, beautiful air of 
  the day he says, "No more words. Shoot the gun, or go home."

Dogs:  Brand spends 10 6 for a total of 16.

Tilting her head to the side, Sister Chase watches the girl's sly move. Though
  she's never been so quick on the social maneuvering of those that are 
  talented at being the fairer sex, she breaks into an odd grin after a long 
  moment. But when he pulls the gun and shoves it at her looking as mean as he 
  does, she nearly falls on her head she comes out of the tree so fast.

Sister Abigail flinches and covers her ears - one with her free hand, the
  other, less adequately, with the one holding the pistol - as the rifle goes 
  off practically next to her head. Tears stand in her eyes, but she rocks her 
  head back and gives Brother Kishkumen a proud look. "You want me to shoot the 
  gun?" she says calmly. "All right." And, imitating Brother Kishkumen's 
  gesture, she holds the gun up in the air and fires six quick shots, emptying 
  the weapon while looking him straight in the eye.

Dogs:  Sister Abigail rolls 6d6 for ""Adding will for gunplay"" and gets 1, 2,
  2, 3, 5, and 6.

Dogs:  Sister Abigail rolls 1d6 for "No matter how chaotic things get, I always
  stay focused and calm" and gets 5.

Dogs:  Sister Abigail spends 5 5 6 for a total of 16 and gains 3 Fallout dice.

For a long minute Brother Kishkumen watches Abigail's face. He stands there,
  not moving or speaking, until the echo of the gun's thunder is gone. He 
  stands there until the other students are getting uncomfortable. And then he 
  finally says, "At least you have a Dog's pluck. You'd best think about what 
  you're going to do though, when you have to actually shoot at something." 
  With that he turns his eyes onto the other students, and says, "That goes for 
  all of you. There is more to shooting than being able to hit a target." 

Sister Chase finds herself feeling exposed out in the open in the tall plain
  grass, and doubly foolish for thinking that the girl couldn't take care of 
  herself. In a rustle, like the wind, she turns tail and takes off across the 
  plain.

From that day on, Kishkumen doesn't speak to Abigail again, though he watches
  her always with a sense of disapproval.

Dogs:  Sister Abigail takes 3d6 Fallout dice.
Dogs:  Sister Abigail rolls her Fallout of 3d6: 2 4 5, totaling 9.

Sister Abigail gains an item of Long Term Fallout.
Sister Abigail takes: "I'm that girl who beat Brother Kishkumen in a contest of wills: 1d4."

Sister Abigail takes: "I've never learned to shoot: 1d6."

-FREEPLAY-

The day was long, the lessons brutal. You all thought you knew the scriptures,
  thought you knew how to be tough. But every one of the teachers, even nice 
  old Sister Snow, seemed to want to hurt you today. As Brother Kishkumen told 
  you, "We don't love you, we love the people you're called to serve." Today 
  showed it. 

Night brings no relief either. After a lovely filling dinner, your block gets
  called to the kitchen for clean up. There are almost 500 people at Temple for 
  dinner that night, and 5 of you to clean up. There is the long kitchen, the 
  pots of steaming water, and the endless stacks of dishes and bitter, harsh 
  soap made from raw fat and lye.

"Here, don't hold it like that, dry it like this..." Sister Hannah says as she shows
 Sister Chase how to hold the plate with one end of the towel while drying the plate 
 with the rest of it

Sister Abigail is up to her elbows in soapy water, periodically trying to elbow
  a stray lock of hair out of her face without getting soap in her eyes. 
  Nonetheless, the stack of dirty dishes to her left rapidly diminishes, with 
  shining clean plates coming out the other side, ready for Hannah to dry.

Sister Hannah says "If we keep going like this, we'll be done in almost no time
  at all!"

No matter how tough the days go, how harsh the teachers, how heavy the
  workload, it never seems to bother Sister Chase much. She's a regular 
  workhorse, though she's not particularly careful about any part of it unless 
  she's minding the words of a specific instructor. She seems competent enough 
  most times, but in moments like this, that flies out the window. She looks 
  sidelong at Hannah, slightly overwhelmed by the immediacy of the interaction, 
  slightly exasperated by her instruction. Still, she doesn't argue; she just nods
  and goes to take the dish, dropping it in a shatter on the floor.

Sister Abigail points a soapy finger at Sister Chase, softening her words with
  a smile. "If we keep on like this, we won't see bed until the morning. 
  Sister, you might be better off with a broom. I think there's one by the 
  door."

Flushing a little with embarrassment, Sister Chase manages a nod. "Must be, my
  hands is tired after all that chopping 'afore dinner." She offers as a lame 
  excuse, and comes back to sweep the shards up.

Sister Abigail turns to Hannah, rolling her eyes slightly and giving a tiny,
  exasperated shrug.

Sister Hannah picks up the next plate and wipes it swiftly dry and winks at
  Abigail.

Sister Clementine pokes her head in from the Dining Hall, where she was wiping
  down tables. "Is everything okay? I thought I heard a crash".

Sister Abigail says "No, no, nothing to worry about. Just Sister Chase drying
  dishes."

Sister Abigail grins momentarily. "Admittedly it means fewer plates to wash
  tomorrow."

Sister Hannah says "and thank god for that!"

Sister Chase makes a frustrated face at the china and sweeps it into the
  dustpan, wincing at Sister Abigail's words. "I'm used to dishes made of 
  metal." She ducks her eyes and goes to fit the broom back in the cupboard.

Sister Hannah sighs "it's all right, I'm sure you'll get the hang of it before
  we're out of here

Sister Abigail hands Chase a gleaming double handful of battered metal forks.
  "Here. Then you might do better with these."

Brother Wiley is not wily; he isn't even quite smart as Constantine's horse,
  but he is a handsome lad, and no doubt about it. He's all blonde and blue and 
  shining teeth. He comes in the door past Sister Clementine carrying another 
  huge tray stacked with dishes high as his cleft chin. "Here you go, Sister 
  Abigail" he says, putting them down next to her and smiling at Abby like 
  there wasn't another sister in the room. He then sits there fretting with the 
  edge of his untucked shirt for a moment, smiling like an idiot.

Sister Hannah giggles at Sister Abigail.

Sister Chase nods at Hannah "Either that, or we'll run out of dishes
  altogether." She gives a grateful, awkward smile at Abigail and takes the 
  cutlery, and she's making quick, and safe work of them when Brother Wiley 
  breaks the room for her. She gives his back an even glance, and goes to fit 
  the utensils in the drawer.

Sister Abigail swipes at the unruly lock with the back of her hand again,
  leaving a streak of bubbles clinging to her forehead. "Thank you, Brother. 
  Perhaps you could see if Sister Clementine needs any more help bringing 
  things in from the dining room?" She smiles sweetly.

Brother Wiley grins even bigger at Abigail, sending out enough light with the smile to
  fill the whole room. He bubbles, "Yes, sister, of course!" He then bounds to 
  the door, and stops there, looking at one girl after the other and trying to 
  remember which Sister Clementine is.

Sister Chase happily points Sister Clementine out to Brother Wiley to
 facilitate his exit.

Sister Hannah turns to Sister Abigail after he leaves and says "well, where did
  that come from?"

Sister Abigail shrugs and smiles. "I think he's a nice young man. Eager,
  certainly."

Sister Chase folds linens. Can't hurt linens.

Sister Hannah shrugs

Brother Wiley looks at Sister Chase's finger and follows it up to Clementine's face. He
  goes over to her and, with a look over his shoulder to see if Abigail is 
  watching says, "Sister Clementine, why don't you let me finish out there? You 
  can stay in here with the women and talk about women's... um... stuff."

Sister Clementine gives him a winsome smile. "Oh, sure. Thanks Brother Wiley!"

Sister Hannah says "well, you certainly held up against Brother K--! I'm not
  sure I could have done that."

Sister Abigail leans over toward Hannah and quietly adds, "I heard his older
  brother just took his second wife. A good family."

Sister Hannah says "you don't say!"

Sister Abigail ignores Hannah's comment about Brother Kishkumen, deftly
  changing the topic. "Of course, I wouldn't want to be in his shoes tomorrow. 
  I heard he lost his copy of the Book of Life - and hasn't even realized it 
  yet. Sister Hepzibah found it in the garden."

Brother Wiley nods to Clementine and says, towards her but to Abigail, "It's
  not a problem at all. I'm strong enough to work all night... my family has 
  two farms, lots of livestock, so many that sometimes we almost can't take 
  care of them all." Having thus established his credentials in his version of 
  subtlety, he goes out to actually do the work, passing by Clementine with a 
  small nod and then yet another look back at Abby.

Sister Hannah rolls her eyes

The moment Brother Wiley leaves the room, Abigail almost drops a plate herself,
  overcome with an attack of the giggles.

Sister Clementine says "He sure seems sweet on you, Sister Abigail."

Sister Chase sighs, and slides the pile of half folded linens down the table
  towards Clementine. She opts to heave the pig slops buckets out to the back 
  door. She swings the heavy pails as if they weighed nothing, and without 
  pausing for breath, hefts the heavy bag of flour over her shoulder and back 
  into the pantry.

Sister Abigail says "It's just that . . . well . . . oh dear . . . livestock. 
  A girl does like to be courted a little."

Sister Hannah laughs and says to Clementine "Well, surely she's used to that
  sort of thing by now, what with her smile and the bubbles in the hair!

Sister Clementine says "I'll have to remember the bubbles thing. It does seem
  to work."

Sister Abigail says "It's not as though you have to try too hard, Clementine,
  with Joshua practically following you everywhere you go."

Sister Hannah says "oh-ho!"

Sister Abigail says "I think it's sweet. And I'm sure he doesn't think you find
  livestock romantic."

Sister Hannah says "no, I'm sure he'll find other ways of showing her how well
  endowed he is!"

Sister Abigail tries to look shocked, but can't quite manage not to smile.

Sister Chase blinks, as she picks up the bushel of apples, and looks up at
  Abigail. "Bubbles?" the look says, and then catches on. She shifts the apples 
  to the other hip and takes them down the stair to the root cellar.

Sister Abigail calls after Chase, "Don't forget to wipe your feet when you come
  back up, or we'll just have to mop again."

Sister Chase says "Sure thing!"

Sister Clementine blushes a bit at the mention of Brother Joshua and attends to
  folding napkins.

Sister Abigail says "Be nice, Hannah. Joshua's a fine, upstanding young man,
  even if he is a bit hot-headed."

Sister Hannah laughs!

Sister Abigail says "I'm sure he has no inappropriate plans on Clementine's
  virtue, or they wouldn't have brought him here in the first place."

Sister Hannah says " point." she picks up another plate "are these ever going
  to end? It never took this long to clean up after feats days at home"

Sister Abigail says "It'll be done when it's done. That's what my mother always
  used to say to me."

Sister Clementine says "I'm sure Brother Joshua's feelings are of a more
  protective nature, Sisters. Trouble is, I already have an older brother. Two, 
  in fact."

Sister Abigail says "I'm sure you're right, Clementine," in a tone which makes
  it very clear that she isn't by any means sure of it.

Sister Abigail says "Of course, it's not as though he's another Brother Ransom.
  I heard he had to leave before his training was done for, well, doing a bit 
  more than courting."

Sister Hannah says "no!"

Sister Abigail says "Well, they didn't give an explanation, but I heard that
  Sister Rebecca won't be teaching theology to the young initiates any more, 
  and I'm sure you can put two and two together. Shameful, really."

Sister Chase tucks the apples away in their dark corner aside the carrots, 
  the potatoes and the onions, and breathes in the deep cool earth smell of 
  time and quiet. Not in such a hurry to get on up to the conversation that
  she doesn't know how to fit in to. So, on the stairs she pauses for a long 
  moment, leaning her strong back against the cold stone wall and listening 
  to the words that roll out of the kitchen like flooding mop water, trickling
  down, unheeded, unminding.

Sister Clementine gasps. It's clear that she would never have put two and two
  together in quite that order.

Sister Abigail says "I don't see why he couldn't simply have waited until he'd
  done a year or two of his service, then come back and married her decently."

Sister Hannah says "Men!"

Sister Abigail says "I'd certainly wait a year or two, for a match as good as
  Brother Ransom."

Sister Abigail smiles at Hannah. "Amen!"

Sister Hannah splashes water at Sister Abigail

<WRAP UP>