In the Beginning

I am posting the thus far combined back stories which brings the two separate groups together.

I am still working on bringing all four of you together but I also need to address Amos abilities since those were not described in his back story much like Marie's huckster abilities had not been (or at least not explicitly enough so as to be obvious). If you have any feedback or ideas on any of this do chime in because a collective story could end up being a much better finished story than even my mixing of stories that I have done thus far.

Amos Brown

Amos Brown was born on May 17, 1850. Parents were Leroy and Henrietta Brown, both slaves on a cotton plantation in Hale County, Alabama. He was almost eleven years old when the Civil War started. When the slaves were freed in 1865, Amos was 15. He then joined the Confederate Army in 1868. His mother died of an illness, and his father was killed in the war. Prior to that Amos' father had given him his harmonica before he went off to war saying, "Keep it until I return." On retrospect almost perhaps as if his father knew he would not return. Amos now he plays it when he can.

Amos' gift comes from his grandfather on his mother's side. His grandfather, therefore his mother and now Amos have strong religious upbringings and solid ties to the Holy Word. Amos' mother saw how her father had been exploited when his gift became known to others as such she was extremely careful to keep her a secret. And she instructed Amos to do the same when his gift first manifested. As such, Amos has safeguarded his secret as his mother instructed him too, only using it when absolutely necessary and then only when strangers were not around.

At the end of the war, Amos heard that there was work to be found on the railroads. So he left and begin working for the Bayou Vermillion Rail company where he met George, who talked Amos into doing some bare knuckle fighting for money. Things were going well but George made a deal to have Amos throw a fight, but then told Amos that they really needed a win. George took the massive of winnings and skipped out leaving George holding the proverbial empty bag. Angry railroad men came looking for George but only found Amos. They informed Amos that he owed them and as such they now owned him and that he would be fighting for them now. This arrangement was not at all that pleasant, although he was not abused either since he basically meant money to those who owned him but he was still just meat to them.

Callum Kelly

Callum Kelly was an indentured Irish immigrant to the Bayou Vermillion Rail company which meant if he wanted out he had to buy his way out. However the pay was never good enough for that as it barely covered his living expenses which seemed a bit high all things considered but he was not given a choice in that matter as he had to live in one small railroad town or another as was needed. Then there was moving expenses when he had to go to a different town that always seemed to put him back at square one.

So in an effort to pay off his debt, he would try to get odd jobs in the town when he was not working on the rail. Basically anything he could stocking items for the Grocer, a mucking stalls at the stables, repairing roofs and such at other various locations in and about the town. He even did overnight guard duty for a Ranch from time to time.

While in a town in Arkansas he met another indentured rail hand named Amos. They struck up a mild friendship as they shared each others plights and then would talk about what they wanted do once they were truly free and realized they shared common interests and agreed to help one other if they could.

One evening, while guarding some cattle, Callum came across a dead bounty hunter. Further this dead bounty hunter ahd him a bagged and bound bounty and the poster he had on his person said she was worth a great deal of money. So he buries the bounty hunter and took the useful items he would no longer need such as the bagged and bound bounty. He takes the bounty into town to the local sheriff concocting some story about recognizing her and catching her unawares. Which unknownst to Callum was actually not to far from what actually had happened. This got him enough money to not only buy himself out but Amos as well which he then did.

It also made him a somewhat renowned bounty hunter in that town, for the woman he turned in was a notorious gang boss. This got people to talking about him, and as gossip goes it just kept getting bigger as it went down the line. The only real problem with all this was, the bounty had been a Black River a gang boss that answered directly to Mina Devlin herself a Wichita Witch named Violet Esperanza. If pissin' off Mina wasn't bad enough to land him in boilin witch oil Violet was known to have a mean streak a mile wide, a memory that would put an elephant to shame, and a pride as big as Mount Helen that was twice as volatile. And well, it was not long after turning her in that he heard she had disappeared, leaving behind one sheriff and a handful of his deputies gruesomely ready for pine boxes.

Now if that wasn't enough of a reason to high-tail it far far away, when he went and got his stuff and Amos he did not mention he'd bought them out just that he and Amos were done here and were leavin for good ta heck with what the railroad said. When no immediate reprisals came for this action some of the other indentured folk took it as a sign of weakness an this started a mini-revolt a few days after he left but before the word had gotten around about how mighty fine and crafty of bounty hunter he was for having bested none-other than Violet Esperanza the leader of the Witcha Witches. This mini-revolt did not go over with the Bayou Vermillion Rail company and one can be certain that reprisal will be forth coming for this should the two ever cross paths again.

Amos Brown and Callum Kelly

As Callum and Amos were headed out northwest they came upon a ranch. Seeing that it had a stable, and that it appeared to be in fairly good condition, they stopped by to see about maybe doing some work that maybe earn them a good meal and a place to lay up for a day or two. However they did not find anyone about the place, but looking into the kitchen through the back door they could see fresh fruit and a set table and figured that the owners would return soon from wherever they had gone. So the two went and sat on the front porch to wait. When dusk rolled around and no one had come, the two went inside to see if the occupants had been injured some how. The place was nearly pristine, no dust no dirt, there was even blood still wet upon a large knife lying on the table in the kitchen which they must have missed when looking in through the back door.

Callum and Amos found no one in the house but as they were headed back to the front porch the found a pair of shotguns lying on a table. Shotguns that had not been there before. They both picked one up and began to look them over. When Callum heard too blasts and he turned to see Amos holding a smoking shotgun and a dead man and young boy however before he could ask why Amos had shot them a woman's scream came from the kitchen door and he turn to see a frightened woman but before he could explain they were not burglars and meant no harm the gun he was holding went off blasting the woman in the chest. The woman looks down at her chest and lets out a rattling breath that shake both men to their cores and causes them both to flee, taking the shotguns with them.

Once again on the trail Callum and Amos find they are holding cold, completely clean (have not been fired), unloaded shotguns. The two men are quite disoriented, and confused about what they had just experienced and other than recounting and to one other what they remember about what had just occurred they did nothing more and without thinking about it much more than that the pair shotguns became just another one of their possessions.

Marie Cheveau

Marie Cheveau is a New Orleans native who grew up on the Mississippi, honing her skills since the tender age of 8. She would sneak aboard and watch the games in progress, learning the rules and the skills necessary to become a card shark. She was 12 years old when a passing stranger taught her simple card tricks, and by the time she was 15, she was dealing regularly for several different riverboats. Life was good until she turned 19. That was the year that she met Jacque LeMarche. He was tall, dark, and handsome and she fell hard for him.

Unfortunately for Marie, he was also a thief and a con man and was too ready to take advantage of a young woman who was infatuated with him. He led her on and took her for everything that she had; money, goods, and worst of all, her reputation. LeMarche framed Marie for the murder of a local man of some prominence.

Wilson Burke

Wilson Burke was the son of a traveling preacher who lived in Jefferson City which was a small town in northeastern Texas. His father was often gone for long times, leaving him with his mother. However, his mother passed when he was 10, and he often fended for himself, whether earning money at odd jobs or more often just getting into trouble. With his father mostly absent, he was essentially raised by the keeper of the small chapel, uncle Joseph, who Wilson was not related to at all. Whenever his father came home, he took care of Wilson's learning, usually teaching him Bible stories, but also how to read/write, basic math, how to shoot a gun as well as other seemingly meaningless things. Wilson eventually felt he'd had enough and simply left town to seek his own fortune and fame. Eventually he found a new life in Louisiana and Arkansas as a small-time crook and con-man. He often gambled and from time to time found himself part of a small gang, where he would occasionally rustle cattle and other petty crimes, or he even helped to rob a train which he subsequently spent time in the pokey for.

Still the time he spent in jail was not enough to curb his diliquent behavior and after being released, he picked up once more at running cons and cheating at cards. However no matter how far he strayed, he never quite left all his teachings behind and as such he maintained a certain code of ethics. He bascially refused to kill unless someone was bent on doing him some serious harm, and he never stole from women or children.

Wilson Burke and Marie Cheveau

Wilson met Marie on a riverboat where she was a dealer being one of those he would not steal from he would simply sit at her table from time to time to play for real and got to like her as a person. So when she was framed for murder he decided to lend a hand, because even if the evidence stated otherwise the man she was charged with killing would demand revenge from beyond the grave and that meant a scape goat would be sacrificed and that just did not sit well with him and so he eventually, after much deliberation, decided to break her out and help her clear her name. Everything was going fine right up to when an unexpected guy stepped in as they were heading out. The guy drew a gun, and in flash the guy laid dead on the floor, or he at least had looked quite dead. Well there was no time to waste and the two cleared out of town and high-tailed it west partially because that was the direction Marie knew LeMarche had headed and partially because Wilson knew a safe place they could hold up for a day or two and get supplies before striking out once more.

When Burke and Marie arrived in Jefferson City, he quickly learned of his father's gruesome death. He went to the old chapel where he met up with uncle Joseph, who verified that his father had been burned alive in their old house. He was not sure what caused the building to burn, but he had seen his father from a distance walk into the house and then almost immediately house burst completely into flames. By the time he had gotten to the house it was so consumed in flames he could not get to his father and all he could do was stand there and listen to his hideous screams.

Joseph then let Wilson in on the true secret of the elder Preacher Burke as he mentioned that this most likely had something to do with the supernatural creatures he hunted. For while Preacher Burke taught and preached as he traveled, his main purpose was to hunt down the evil supernatural creatures that did not belong in this world. This made all that seemingly meaningless junk his father had told him about make more horrific sense. Further, Joseph stated that as the next in the Burke bloodline, that not only was it within his father's will but that it was Wilson's destiny to continue this work.

Joseph then pulled out a chest and within this chest were some of his father's belongings. His father's bible, a clerical collar, a large leatherbound book filled with his father's writings and a pair of inverse identical twin Colt Peacemakers (each has a stylish engraving on the outside of the barrel in a language Wilson cannot read "non timebo mala") and on the outside of each grip is an engraving of a pentagram. Further the guns actually do not feel comfortable if held in the wrong hand (aka the palm covers the pentagram is how they should be held).

Wilson immediately recoiled from the whole situation, gathering his things to leave. Joseph kept him there with a single sentence: "I know you're on the run." Somehow, Joseph knew why Wilson was here in the first place, but how. Was it a guess, was he threatening to turn him in if he didn't comply with his father's wishes. However, after a just one night Wilson knew Joseph's words were true. The cold swet that he woke up in confirmed what he had experienced to be much more than just a dream. He knew he had a choice, but really did not have a choice. He either did the Makers work like his father did or his fate would be far worse than death.

Joseph also seemed to know other things, things that Marie found to be of great interest, something much more significant than mere card tricks. As these were not tricks, although they still involved cards. So the two spent a while in Jefferson City under uncle Joseph's tutelage each learning a slightly different craft. Further during this time they actually both went over some of the news clippings they found in the chest. Some very old describing something strange with some strange words written on it. Joseph stated that was how Samuel denoted it had been retired, either because he dealt with it or had confirmed it was nothing of note. However, the final series of clippings had no such denotations so these must have been either on his list to do or was what he was actually working on.

Soon the new Preacher Burke and his compatriot the card dealing huckster Marie set out to pursue the various unfinished business they both had. Burke's was doing the Lord's work by preaching and helping others (where he has to), while fighting the forces of evil. Marie's was helping Burke as she searches for leads that might lead them to LeMarche because they had found his name in Samuel's journal along with a description that fit her LeMarche to a T but the time frame of that recording would have made Jacque a very old man which he was not.

Of course while Wilson finds what he is doing to be somewhat enjoyable work more so than he had expected, he still pulls at his metaphorical leash rather often. He often gets angry at his God at his current lot in life, but fortunately for him, his deity seems to have a sense of humor with the situation (rather than the standardardized angry Old Testament God he remembers hearing about in the stories). For thus far, at any rate, Preacher Burke has not been smote for any of his statements to his God, even with Burke going so far as to swear at the sky. Of course, he has found that when he seemingly goes a bit to far his abilities do not work quite when he would like them to and he gets a bit more roughed up than he might have. So while his God does not smite him, He seems to have no trouble with beating him with whatever monster that Wilson happens to encounter.

Amos' gift comes from his grandfather on his mother's side. His grandfather, therefore his mother and now him have strong religious upbringings. Amos' mother saw how her father was exploited when his gift became known to others. She was extremely careful to keep Amos' gift a secret when it first manifested. To that end, Amos' has safeguarded his secret, only using it when absolutely necessary and then only when strangers weren't around.

After the event at the abandoned cabin, things might change...

Okay I will incorporate that into you back story as that is a rather important element

Wanted to say the backstories and your work linking them are great! It was really cool to see our stories slightly changed to meld with someone else's. Thanks for doing all that!

great that is 2 out of 4 still waiting to hear from the other 2 -- note please do not buy in unless you are comfortable with everything -- I am only making A suggestion -- there are numerous others that could be explored if any of what I put together does not sit well

And I still need to bring the 4 of you together in a more natural manner -- which I have ideas on -- but am also open to ideas on -- once I have what I have done so far approved by all

I'm good with it. It makes sense and provides a reason for us to be together.

I like what you've done with my story, honestly. Including Amos works really well in to it, so I'm good with what you wrote.

As for suggestions about coming together, perhaps Callum could take on a job to track Marie down, only to decide he'd rather travel with her than bring her in, and Amos and Burke have certain common grounds already, of course. Alternatively, Callum and Amos could have been hired as extra muscle when the other two were traveling through a particularly difficult area. Or we could go the opposite route, with Callum and Amos hiring up the other two. Callum and Amos want those shotguns looked at, so they think the Preacher man might be good for that, or maybe a get-rich-quick scheme (that doesn't pan out exactly) involves a gambler?

Callum and Amos have some powerful forces after them, and in Burke's original story, he has a criminal element after him, following a botched inside job. It could be that the 4 were merely sharing a table or a campfire when they discover someone after them or attacking them. All 4 would run, thinking they were the target's, and would likely stick together thinking they're better off in a group than in pairs.