“Got everything ya need boy?” Sheriff Teddy asked.

Will nodded and started listing everything out, ‘counting’ it out on his fingers.

“My rifle with scope, cavalry carbine, two revolvers, ammo for all four. Some clothes, food, extra canteens, and a sleeping bag for me. A horse flank for Void…” Will stopped, he still wasn’t convinced that the horse meat wouldn’t rot but he didn’t pause for long. For one Void would eat that as supper without issue and two, the horse leg he had in the ‘bottomless’ saddlebag was bigger than the bag. Some sort of spacial magic. So it might actually preserve it, what did he know... Will continued, “The map, truth coin, your letter to the Marshall, 92 dollars and 46 cents, and a list of tips on where to stay and go in Vicksby and Fairpoint from Skunk and Jakob. Plus their wish list.”

It seemed like a lot but Sheriff Teddy wasn’t taking any chances. Not only had the man armed William to the teeth, literally with Void’s teeth in mind, but he’d also gone as far as telling Will his actual name, which wasn’t a secret but he still hadn’t heard it before. It was to ensure the Marshall took him seriously and came with simple instructions. When he was at the Marshall’s office he needed to inform them that he had an important message from Sheriff Theodore Holland of Silverstead. And let them know that Lawmen had been fired on and might be fired on again. Then stick around and answer any questions and hope they send the cavalry to help in the investigation and reinforce Silverstead from the get go when it came to the dungeon.

He also had a hastily written list from the deputies telling him the best inns, brothels, bars, restaurants, and such. At least from their perspective, he’d have to wait and see. He also had a list of treats they’d accept as gifts if he was so inclined to get them anything… one of them just inherited one of the largest established pieces of land in Silverstead sans a house but Will figured there was no issue in buying a couple of chocolate bars and jars of honey. He’d expected worse but they apparently got plenty of debauchery and hedonism in Silverstead and opted for simple luxuries that weren’t available in a small town instead. Either that or they didn’t mind cheap liquor and knew he couldn’t carry a hooker in his saddlebag so had to lower their expectations.

“Got your scent marker for the bakarna?” The Sheriff asked.

“Ah… yeah. Got the piss,” Will double checked quickly. He had his old whiskey bottle full of urine ready to go. It wouldn’t be good if Void suddenly wondered if Will was one of his or not, forgetting that could have fatal consequences.

“Sounds like everything,” Teddy nodded and gestured to Void. It was time to go.

The sheriff had led them to a ford just upriver from Silverstead for Will to cross and head along the road. After he was gone they’d be heading into town to show off the outlaws they’d gunned down and make an announcement on the investigation. With some vague hinting that they weren’t sure if the Landry involved was there of his own free will. Not just to buy time but because there was still the possibility that he wasn’t. There was also a very real investigation of who the horse thief that shot his own people instead of letting them get captured was.

Will let Void smell him again before he climbed up onto his back, he had to grab the saddle and steady himself before he could stick a foot in the stirrup and hop to get enough height to pull himself up the rest of the way. At least void didn’t care about the added weight.

He turned to Sheriff Teddy again and gave him a wave.

“Good luck Sheriff,” It was all he could really say.

“Safe travels bounty hunter, see ya back here soon,” Teddy tipped his hat and turned his bakarna around. Leaving Will to start Void across the stream. Which he surprisingly handled well despite snapping at a fish that jumped out of the water. He nearly got it. Will wasn’t sure how they took to water but at least Void seemed to treat it as just another place to grab a snack. Plus it turned out to be a lot easier to control Void now that he had gotten laid and was fed. And after a crash course of holding on as he chased Mischief, Will almost felt comfortable in the bowlegged position on Void’s back.

Will rode and soon passed Silverstead, the town looking like it always did. So he knew despite keeping it slow till he was well passed town, the Sheriff and Deputies hadn’t arrived yet. The plan was for him to sneak out towards Fairpoint without anyone noticing, so there was the possibility that the lawmen were just waiting outside of town to give him a head start. Knowing there was likely to be some sort of uproar, either against the Landrys, the Sheriff, or both… he picked up the pace slightly. But slowed as he made it further from town.

“What the hell is that? There’s another town out here?” Will asked… Void? There was no one around to answer him and his mount didn’t shock him by revealing he could speak but Will was surprised to see a second settlement just a few miles from Silverstead.

It looked like a small town, smaller than even Silverstead but he could clearly see a couple of dozen buildings clumped together in an orderly fashion with a few outbuildings like barns and sheds spread out from them and one large plantation style manor on top of a hill. From what he could see it had streets, a water tower, a bridge, maybe even a saloon… and it definitely wasn’t a ghost town.

He wondered for a moment if ghost towns with actual ghosts existed but shook it off in favor of watching nearly two dozen people mounting up on bakarnas on the far side of the river. It was plain as day that some of them were armed, making no attempt to hide the shotguns and rifles they were carrying. More worrisome were a few more grouping up on the far side of the bridge ahead of him. Once they got riding it would only take them a minute at most to cross the river.

Will had his suspicions on what he’d come across, something that they should have planned for but then again… Teddy probably knew and opted for not getting caught avoiding it. His suspicions were soon verified.

On his side of the bridge that led to the orderly little town dominated by the largest home he’d seen in his new world, there was a large western style archway. On top of it was a carving of a shattered human skull with a bullet hole between the eyes… an actual bullet hole, someone had shot the sign... And below it was a sign hanging down.

“Deathbane Ranch…” Will was surprised. He’d expected a place like that to be imposing by the name alone, throw in the reputation that he’d gathered about the family that lived there and his imagination had given him a far worse sight. He expected crooked buildings painted black and gray. A massive cemetery on site. Maybe a gallows or guillotine sitting in the yard. Bunch of hicks shooting everything in sight. The closest it came was the extremely well dressed hicks. They weren’t shooting yet at least.

But as he made it to the bridge he decided that it looked a lot nicer and a lot more comfortable than Silverstead. The main house looked downright luxurious while the others were well made and painted either white or light blue compared to Silverstead where the homes were either white or gray half-rotted wood. The outbuildings were painted the same or bright red. The fences looked maintained, the bridge looked sturdier than the one in Silverstead. Hell, they even had a bit of landscaping around the manor. It was nice.

There was still the issue of the occupants though, The group of Landry men and women started across the river and Will could tell out of the corner of his eye they weren’t as subtle as they kept their eyes on him. Thankfully, Will kept on riding and they didn’t give chase. Instead, they turned and headed toward Silverstead.

“Hope you’re ready Sheriff, they’re coming,” he said to himself and waited for a few more minutes till the riders, and the ranch, were out of sight before giving Void a kick… which he took to mean run like hell. “Fuck!”

Void bolted and immediately veered off the road and ran parallel to it along the ditch, opting for as much floral carnage as possible At least he was going to make good time. He might even be able to sleep in Vicksby instead of camping in the wilderness. Even if Void wasn’t going to snack on his leg and act like a one-ton guard dog, Will would still prefer a bed. He put the thought out of his mind, he’d figure it out when he got there and moved on to trying to get Void to at least dodge the tall cacti.

By late afternoon Will was over halfway to Vicksby, or at least by his measurement. He could be wrong considering the map wasn’t labeled with any key or legend telling him distances but he could at least compare it to the distance he traveled in the High Desert to get an idea. If he kept up the pace he’d have no issue getting there by nightfall. Even with Void tiring out and slowing down some. He’d moved from a gallop to a canter after about an hour and from a canter to a trot about an hour later, which was a godsend for Will’s ballsack and ass.

“Think any of the girls at the saloon know how to give a massage without the happy ending?” He asked Void, having decided to just go with it. The Greater Bakarna tossed his head and hissed in response.

“Yeah, didn’t think so.”

Will twisted around in his saddle and stretched his back while checking his rear. But the fact they were still in the middle of nowhere and the rate that Void had been going meant he wasn’t expecting to see anyone. Maybe some of the local wildlife but in the valley, there didn’t seem to be anything that was willing to approach him.

All he’d seen were buzzards, an eagle, and a couple deer that ran for it. There were other, smaller animals that he wasn’t seeing but if any of them were close, he either moved passed them too quickly to notice or they were bedded down. Either that or Void ran them over, which was a possibility. He got a little joy out of the fact that there was a chance that Void had crushed a handful of fucking snakes. He loathed the damn things, it served them right.

With a little more downtime Will had the chance to really think about his new reality. His dad would have loved it. A mining boomtown that went belly up, a Sheriff and his pose running down outlaws, gunfights, and a wild west mafia headed by an angry old hag and a young Amarillo rose with hidden thorns. It would have been right up his alley. Will was pretty sure his dad had even brought him to a ‘Wild West Experience’ tourist trap as a kid. It was nothing like the real thing, or at least the tourist trap was nothing like Silverstead. It could have been on par with the American southwest at one point but he doubted it.

He also thought about his future in Cradus… on Cradus? He remembered the welcome message but truth be told he had no idea if it was a county, state, nation, or the planet itself. He couldn’t really ask that type of a question either, but he could see if he could find a store selling maps and figure it out that way… It was kind of a strange thought once he had it, it seemed like late 1800s America, a solid 700 years ago. But as far as he knew, the country he was in could have been something like the US at the time or it could be a kingdom, dictatorship, continent-spanning empire, a tiny little blip of civilization on a planet filled with monsters... Who knew?

“What do you think boy? We surrounded by orcs and dragons?”

Void turned his head to look back at Will but didn’t respond otherwise. He was no help but that was something Will would have to look into as well. What sort of dangerous shit was out there and how to kill it if it came after him. He’d check to see if there was a book on it.

Will’s bakarna suddenly stuck his nose in the air and started sniffing deeply. It wasn’t something that new, Void had been sniffing off and on the entire trip so far but Will became worried when the bakarna stopped and hissed.

“What’s wro-” Void decided it was time to run again while all the human on his back could do was hold on and try to look behind them. But when Will got himself steady from the sudden acceleration, he didn’t see anything concerning. Certainly nothing that could spook Void.

Of course, he didn’t see anything behind him, what had caught Void's attention was in front of him.

“Woah! Void! Stop!” Will yanked on the reigns but was nearly pulled onto Void’s neck when the big bakarna yanked his head back down. He did everything Skunk had taught him to control Void. When stopping didn’t work, Will tried to steer him to the side, which only partially worked. Void still sprinted up and came to a stop almost exactly where he intended… where he could exchange hisses with another bakarna mare. On her back, Kate Landry.

She stared at Void with her eyes quickly darting to Will but then back to the monster of an animal that had decided to join her on her ride. It was the first time that Will had seen her where she didn’t look confident, she looked more than a little startled in fact.

“Ha… Hi, Kate,” Will grunted out while trying to get Void to pull further into the brush beside the road. At least he hadn’t given up on offroading, it was probably the only thing that had kept him from charging up right next to the rider and mount.

“Oh… Hello, Mister Tempest,” Kate’s eyes were still glued to Void as he turned his head to hiss at her much more tame mare. It didn’t even acknowledge Void.

“Void! Dammit, leave them alone,” Will continued to fight Void. He pulled his boot from a stirrup and tried kicking him in the back of the leg which Void responded by jerking his head around and trying to bite said leg. So Will kicked him in the head too and yanked it back before Void could follow up with another attempt.

It wasn’t him acting tough, it was a reaction. Something was going towards his foot so he kicked it away... Void shook it off and turned to look at Will, making him briefly wonder if the double-action 0.3 revolver he’d gotten off a dead outlaw would be better with its higher rate of fire or go with the tried and true 0.5 hand cannon. Either way, it’d have to be headshots if Void decided that enough was enough.

Thankfully he just hissed at Will and turned forward, growling.

“Good boy, Void,” Will praised him and cautiously leaned forward to rub his neck. That’s what you did with animals to train them… right? Praise them when they do what you want? Right?

He didn’t know. Void did let him get a bit more control, which was a godsend. But he felt it was probably a good idea to dismount and walk backward when he got to Vicksby though. No reason to chance Void coming back later.

“Well, Mister Tempest… That’s a… Fine animal you’ve there. Spirited,” Kate said after his scuffle with Void was for sure over. The normal charm in her voice wasn’t present

“Spirited is understating it,” he tried to force a laugh but it just wasn’t there.

“I weren’t just speaking of… Void, was it? Can’t say I’ve ever seen someone use a technique like that on a bakarna… I will say it was effective. Perhaps I should recommend some of our boys try it, with a chain muzzle of course,” She returned to her normal self, or at least her public one, and smiles sweetly at Will before giving him a wink. “So what brings you out this way Mister Tempest?”

“You can just call me William,” Will said politely. He didn’t feel the strange feeling he’d gotten from her skill before. No strange sensation that something was happening that his mind was ignoring and no staring at her bouncing along on her mount with her chest out and shoulders back. He looked but didn’t stare. Point being, she was still trying her games and he figured he’d just answer back with his own.

It also served as a distraction from the recent memory of a forceful foot amputation that had almost happened.

“Well, I suppose we’re closer to peers than anything. Being the same age and all… In that case, you can call me Kate. I’ll forgive you for doin’ so before, I could see you had your hands full at the time,” She laughed and extended a hand to shake his but thought better of it.

“Thank you,” Will didn’t know how to respond to that and tipped his hat in place of shaking hands. Seemed about right.

“Are you destined for Fairport or Vicksby?” She asked.

“Fairpoint by way of Vicksby, You?” he answered. He had to go to both but why not make it sound like Vicksby was part of the plan.

“I’m the same. Perhaps we could ride together? I thought of taking a riverboat from Vicksby in the morning but the trail wouldn’t be too harsh with some company.”

“Riverboat? I might look into that as well… I didn’t know they had one.”

“’Fraid you can’t. They won’t let a bakarna the size of yours onto the boat. We can still ride together.”

“Huh, well. I wouldn’t want to hold you up.”

“Nonsense…. but if you’re sure…” She almost sounded disappointed and pouted slightly, ”Perhaps we can meet up in Fairpoint. I know a very lovely diner there. It’s not on the shore of course, with the smell of the docks but it’s on a hill with a nice view of the bay.”

“Ah… Sure, if I have time. Why not?” he said, filing away the fact Fairpoint was a coastal city. Also, he wasn’t sure… Did she just ask him on a date?

“Of course… you never did say why you’re travelin’. I myself have important business for my family to attend to. Matter of law... Nothin’ exciting,” she smiled and looked at him expectantly.

“Ah… I’ve got business of my own. For one, I’ve gotta get materials for my profession class,” He said and then internally kicked himself. Saying ‘for one’ implied there was a ‘for two’. It wasn’t that she was attractive. She was, but he had the experience of his other life under his belt and had seen his fair share of attractive women. No, he just wasn’t used to the mind games. He decided to switch tactics and quit trying to answer her schemes with his own. She was better.

“I wasn’t going to ask… But I did [Identify] you at the ranch, in one day you gained a new profession and an unheard of one for that matter. At least unheard of in Silverstead. You’re truly an interestin’ man, Mister- ahem, William,” She smiled and again looked expectantly for him to answer.

“Yeah, I had a tome that I hadn’t accepted yet.” there was no other way to explain it without lying.

“A tome!” she exclaimed… oops. “Where did you find a profession tome!? …if you don’t mind me askin’?”

“I found it in a dungeon,” he said as a matter-of-factly as he could. He didn’t realize they were rare finds but it was the truth. He’d found it in a dungeon.

“Oh my…” She started fanning herself with her hat, “Handsome [Bounty Hunter] and [Gunslinger] with a unique profession AND a dungeon diver… You just might just be the most excitin’ thing to come through Silverstead in a long time. Do hope you’re not done with us before we get a chance to become acquainted.”

Will still didn’t feel the sensation of her trying to use a skill on him but still, she was very dramatic and he realized she was obviously flirting with him, whether it was genuine or not was the question.

“Ah, no. I’ll be back in Silverstead pretty soon,” He answered even though it wasn’t really a question.

“I hope not, It would be a real sha-” Kate stopped and stared at her mount then at Void. Will followed suit and realized both of them had perked their ears up and lowered their heads. He wasn’t sure what that meant.

“Gunshots,” Kate whispered and spurred her bakarna onward, Will didn’t even have to with Void once again.

Kate continued to gather speed with Void charging along behind her as the sound of a lot of gunshots reached him. He couldn’t really be sure of where it was thanks to an echo until they rounded a small hill and came in sight of what Will figured was Vicksby. It was around the size of Silverstead with the ruined buildings, so it was at least too large to be a ranch. Or he thought. In either case, it was the source of the firefight, more than one person was sprinting to cover at the edge of town.

“Follow me,” Kate didn’t stop and charged towards the town with Will having little chance to do anything else. They quickly made it to the edge of town where Kate dismounted, Will having to do the same when Void started prancing around her mare, trying to get her attention while failing horribly.

Although he had to make a quick exit, Will did get the chance to pull both his rifles out of the saddlebags before he jumped off and followed Kate to the corner of the building.

“What’s goin’ on?!” Kate yelled.

“I don’t kno- Oh.” It wasn’t directed at him, she was looking at a man and a woman taking shelter behind a water trough.

“Bandits, what you think? Shootin’ and robbin’ everything they can.”

“It’s the damn Wilhup brothers and their lot!”

Wilhup? That sounded familiar. Not just to Will. Kate quickly scooted away from the corner and took her hands away from her two revolvers. Putting them up slightly… like she was surrendering.

“Who?” Will asked after a moment and laid his long guns against the wall to take up the recently vacated position on the corner before chancing a peek out.

“Holy shit!”

Will yanked his head back in as a series of shots rang out that sounded like a fully automatic weapon firing. He knew it wasn’t though. He’d seen a man in a black vest with a shiny star on his chest get gunned down by a single man that was just walking down the main road in town 100 meters away. He drew both two revolvers faster than Will could blink and unloaded on the lawman. Will wasn’t sure if 10 shot revolvers were a thing but it sounded like a lot more than 10 or 12 rounds being expended. He turned to Kate behind him. She looked up at him with her eyes wide.

“[Quick Draw], [Fast Aim], and five volleys of [Triple Shot]-” She stopped as a series of explosions roared down the street. It created a wave of dust from the center of town. Kate took a moment to crawl forward and peak around Will's legs.

“[Amplify Detonation]. They just took out the bank I’d bet.”

“How do you know this?” He quickly placed his hand in his pocket and squeezed the iron truth coin.

She looked up at him and he saw a debate going through her head, “Got cousins with skills like that. They might not be the nicest but they ain’t gonna be runnin’ with Wilhups, you can trust me on that.”

It didn’t vibrate.

Even if it had, he’d have to worry about it later. Will peaked his head out again and immediately turned to tackle Kate to the ground as a stream of bullets started shredding the wood siding of the house they were standing next to. He wasn’t sure if it was the bandits but he couldn’t imagine there were many deputies left, if any. It didn’t matter, whoever they were, they had spotted them and decided to shoot first.