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Eddy grimaced as his mind flew through potential actions the second he knew his threat would not diffuse the situation. He really had no intention if hurting the man and did not have much of a talent for fight. Carving up a man was not an option, but on the other hand... The pommel of his knife was driven downwards instead of the blade as Mr. Logan attempted to slip away.

If Eddy was successful the hard butt would collide with Mr. Logan's most sensitive body parts before Eddy leapt from his seat and grabbed the temporarily crippled man to use him as a shield against his own thugs. "Easy, boys!" He said pointing his blade their way as the pot tumbled. "Not a bad payday for looking the other way." He nodded towards the scattered money on the ground, flashing Wade a smile and mouthing "guns" with a nod to the barkeep.

Otherwise if he missed he would hop out of his seat with his knife, ready to defend himself. "Looks like its anyone's pot now, boys."

Meg stood completely now and shoved the table with her thighs toward Logan, hoping to knock him clean onto the ground. A fire blazed in her eyes as her fingers wrapped around the edge of her vest. "I don't appreciate being called a cheater, Mr. Logan, especially by someone so ready to stack the odds in his own favor."

Her hand came away from her vest with a small metallic object visible between her fingers.

((I hope this is okay. I kind of went for a movement/attack and finishing drawing a weapon that she started in the last post. I'm gonna roll a strength check on the table push instead of fighting or quickness; that just seemed the most sensible to me... Let me know if it needs to change though!))

John's ploy to distract Mr. Logan's thugs worked brilliantly... 3 of them scrambled to pick up the fallen money, which evened up the odds right away.

Mr. Logan himself groans in pain as the hilt of Eddy's knife connects, nearly falling out of his chair as he pushes it backwards away from the table. He hunches forward then, sickened by the pain, only to have a whole table clunk him in the head. This time, he does fall out of his chair!

Seeing their boss go down, the three remaining dive into the fight...

Eddy managed to help knockout Mr. Logan with Meg's help, but sadly his victory is cut short by the a thug yanking his chair and send him sprawling. He attempted to spin and catch himself only to have his face collide with the floor. There was a loud "Smack!" It is not clear if his nose broke, but it is pouring blood now. He knew he was no good in a fight, so rather than turning on the man who had attacked him, he turned on Mr. Logan, using his agility to grab at the man and hopefully use him as a human shield to stop the fight.

If he succeeded he would have leapt at Mr. Logan and placed his knife at the leader's throat. "Leave Meg and John alone or you watch you piggy bank bleed out on the floor!"

However if he failed he would likely go to move and slip on his own little puddle of blood.

John Wade utters a grunt of pain as the thug strikes him in the back. He sees what Eddy is doing with Mr Logan, who is the weak point in the opposing party. So he moves over to where Eddy and Mr Logan are fighting, to try to help, for example by grabbing Mr Logan so he can't get away from Eddy's knife. He doesn't punch because he can't get any weight behind it, but even with his low strength, he ought to be able to hamper someone from moving if he grapples them.
John Wade, -2 hp, now he's on 4.

Percy was enjoying the remainder of his whiskey when a fight broke loose at the poker table. Poker always seemed to cause such a ruckus, no one wanting to forfeit their dough for the mere sake of pride. He sat watching, studying the fight- the only studying he could ever do -and deciding on whether he should butt his nose in other peoples' business.

It was only when one of the goons put their hands on the lady that Percy stood up with a fierce tenacity that nearly knocked over his stool. He lumbered over to (thug 2) the man, from behind, and would smash both of his ears with clenched fists.

He wouldn't say a word, whether the hit landed or not. If it didn't, he would take a stance to fight, his hand twitching for his pocket knife. He was no stranger to bar brawls or brawls in general and would have gladly watched, though a man should not put hands on a lady.


( sorry, i wasn't sure when to jump in! and i'm rolling for strength, i guess? or fighting? )

Mr. Logan, still reeling from the blow to his jewels and from being clunked in the head with the table, offers little resistance as John pins him from the other side, effectively trapping him now so that he can barely move.

Meanwhile, the man that had tried to get ahold of Meg turned around just in time to see the large man from the bar coming over to join the fight and managed to duck down quickly to avoid being bludgeoned in the ears.



((No need to apologize. That was a perfect time to jump in!

Meg is up again, if you want her to do anything before we get back around to Mr. Logan's henchmen! Or you can 'save' it for right after ... your choice! ))

As two arms wrap around her from behind, Meg manages to spin away from their grip. She gives the goon a "you-oughtn't-have-done-that" look before noticing the burly man approaching from the background. Unfortunately, the goon also notices and ducks away from the man's fists. Meg nods quickly in appreciation before gritting her teeth and bringing her right hand down in a swift chop toward the back of the goon's neck.

((Edit: Ah, bummer! The dice must like this guy...))

((No kidding!))

The man that had ducked to avoid Percival's blow now bobbed left, neatly dodging Meg's strike as well. He, as well as the other two that had directed their attention toward Eddy and John, seemed ready to start throwing more punches. The 3 others that had been collecting the money scattered on the floor stood as well when Eddy's voice got their attention.

"Leave Meg and John alone or you watch you piggy bank bleed out on the floor!"

They hesitated.

"That..." Logan croaked out, "that's enough! Easy now... Ain't no need for killin' nobody over a couple dollars." His tone wasn't nearly as arrogant now that he found himself threatened with being impaled through the neck. "Earl, Butch... hand that nice lady her money, huh?"

Earl grumbled and tried to hand Meg the coins in his hand, while Butch slammed his down on the table, obviously steamed by this turn of events, but unwilling to totally go against Mr. Logan's orders.

(Anyone is free to act.)

Eddy nodded at thugs as the room settled. "Alrighty, looks like the storm's passed, but I'mma go ahead and keep this blade right about here..." He said, his voice surprisingly calm as his blade gently caressed Logan's skin. "You boys go ahead and leave now, -without- your guns. We'll keep Mr. Logan til we've got our things. Afterwards we'll return Mr. Logan and I'll drop your guns off at the edge of Sweetwater. That alright with you, boss?" He said to Mr. Logan before inclining his head towards the barkeep. "A portion of our winnings can help pay for any damage. I'm sure you just want us out of here, though."

His easy manner in the tense situation might be quite unsettling to others. He nodded to the new guy. "Thanks for helping out. You and Meg wanna help escort the big boys out while Johnny and I tie up Mr. Logan here." He leaned in to Logan slightly. "Just for our protection. You'll be leaving here with your life and what little money you didn't lose to us. Not sure which is worth more to be honest." As the others replied or set about to work, Eddy's eyes would scan the room for even the slightest movement against him and greet it with a small amount of pressure against Mr. Logan's neck.

(Lol well this is a pickle. Gonna roll for perception just in case but it seems like the situation is mildly under control lol)

When the thug dodged her strike, Meg immediately went into a defensive position, sure that he'd return the favor. But Mr. Logan's voice croaked to life and brought the fight to an end.

She still retained a defensive stance as he spoke and kept her eyes on the goons in her immediate vicinity. When one of them tried to return her winnings, she only cupped her hand below his instead of removing the money from his palm - no sense in giving him the opportunity to latch onto her.

After Eddy's speech, Meg makes eye contact with the closest, and dodgiest, fellow and tilts her head toward the exit. "Lovely day out. Why don't ya go enjoy it, huh?"

John Wade is very concerned by this. They will have to let Mr Logan go. Now they've got a powerful enemy, who employs at least six goons to do his bidding - heaven only knows what his business is.

"Don't struggle and you won't be hurt" he tells Mr Logan, "which is more than I can say for myself." He can really feel the pain in his back now that the emergency of the fight has died down.

As all the others spoke, Percy only nodded at Eddy's thanks while keeping his dull eyes on the goons. If any of them needed help leaving, he would surely oblige with a rough stare and even rougher hands.

He didn't much know how he had helped, seeing as he missed the thug completely and only mashed his two fists together. It's the thought, he supposed. He looked to the lady, the reason he had even come over in the first place, and found that asking if she were okay wouldn't fit her. She was a loaded pistol, her two eyes having been replaced with firecrackers.

"What are you going to do with him?" Percy's voice, although gentle in it's tone, boomed like a bass drum. He directed the question at Eddy.

He was a giant among them, with an almost grotesque display of muscle. He asked them this as he thought for a certainty that tying him up wasn't the only thing they would do to the greedy rat.

As Eddy scans the room, he notices some movement from the curtains on the second floor, which has an interior window to look down into the main area of the saloon. A short, fat man dressed in a white suit is watching the scene below.

The portly saloonkeep smiled nervously as Eddy drew attention to him. He glances quickly up toward the man in the window. "Uh... don't rush away too quick."

Mr. Logan looks ready to spit nails as he glares at John, but remained mostly still. "Wouldn't dream of it," he replied. Then his eyes scanned his men and titled his head slightly toward the batwings on the doorway. They started toward it, casting multiple looks back. The one that Meg spoke to was last in line, eyes lingering on the woman longer than might be comfortable. "Oh, I'll enjoy it, Toots. Catch ya later, huh?" He said, then followed the others outside.

Their captive tensed further in Eddy's and John's grasp when Percival spoke; catching and not liking the implication behind his words.

Eddy's eyes catch the goings on with relative ease, but he doesn't quite know what to make of the man in white. However, the salon keeper's reaction make it clear enough that something else is off about this situation. If he can, he maneuvers himself and Mr. Logan out of the man's sight before while listening to the other's, his own glances likely signaling to his new companion's that they were being watched. If the others did not catch his glances and he could find a place out of the figure's line of sight his actions might seem quite strange.

"Well, as our friend here can likely tell, I've killed before. It was during a war though and I'd prefer not to make a habit of it." He said, his voice hopefully hushed enough that only those on the main floor could make out his words. "If he's good, Mr. Logan is gonna be returned to his thugs soon enough. He can have the money he brought here, minus our winnings, and whatever the ol' fella might need for him and his thugs drinks." The knife dug in, just barely avoiding a cut. "If he tries his luck... well he hasn't got much left to try. First poker with a heavy wallet on his side, then a fight with some heavy hitters on his side."

He looked from face to face. "If you fellas got any opinions I'm glad to here them, but I figure we aughtta get out of Sweetwater with our winnings. We'll take the thugs guns if the keep obliges and leave them somewhere in town. I'm no cheat and I'm no thief, but I'm also no fool. If anyone has any knowledge of this bastard or any argument to make, I'll gladly hear it. If not, let's tie up this little piggy and collect the guns." If he was not able to avoid the man in white's gaze then his eyes would return to him for a moment while the others either burst into action or gave their opinions on what came next. The only time thing he actually seemed concerned about was the figure in the window and his affect on the saloon keeper.

"Oh, you'd better hope not," Meg mutters under her breath as the thug grins and disappears through the swinging doors. She turns and retrieves the coins from the table while slipping whatever-it-was back into the upper edge of her vest.

Meg had been planning on buying the guys a drink as thanks for their help, but now Eddy seems overly eager to be leaving. Her eyes find the man in the upstairs window after following Eddy's glances.

She waits a moment after Eddy has finished for one of the others to speak up before shrugging and responding, "It doesn't much matter to me what you do with him or when. Care for a drink before you hit the trail though? Let a lady show her appreciation?" She glances at Eddy, John, and the big fella.

"i'm gonna need some work" John says to Eddy, "I can't be moving from town to town every time someone cheats at poker. But this guy is a threat to us - his goons might come back with weapons. We can't hold him hostage forever. I say we give him a nice drink to show no hard feelings, then let him go."

He looks at the figure in a white suit. Who is he, and what is his interest in them?

Percy watched Eddy as he spoke and was keen on what he said. So keen he didn't catch his facial gestures toward the man in white, though he probably wouldn't have anyway. He finally did look, after the other two did, and tried for one second to piece together what could be happening here. Nothin'.

He listened to the lady speak, then his polar opposite of a man spoke and he gave both of them quick, questioning looks. The lady wanted to buy everyone drinks and 'Tiny Tim' wanted to play nice! When eyes landed on him, Percy would shrug his shoulders without a word. This wasn't his game, his money, or his business. Though he had stuck his neck into it and wasn't sure if whatever was about to happen to them wouldn't lump him in with it. Prepared to defend, his hands gripped his loaded rifle (which he had gotten back from the barkeep after the others), his pistol safely in it's holster again.

It was mere instinct, an intuition, that told him something was off now, like a dark smog swirling about them. Leering down at the thieving rat in their midst, he waited.