Dead By Sunday

>>1722308
>>Decline, wait for the saddle train in peace

>>1722308
>Decline, wait for the saddle train in peace

>>1722384
>>1722434

"I must decline," You say, quietly, almost lazily. "I am not a man for the intricacies of Three Cats. I could surely not compete with a player such as yourself,"
"Ahhh, Conde frontiersmen eh?" The Kadashi man says, grinning. "I recognize that accent. Proper men and women bringing their children east to start a new life, then boom! Condeleleeza Stretch eats them alive."
"I think me and my kin did just fine sir," You say say, taking another drink of your bottle. "Now I'm going to kindly ask you to keep moving, you're blocking my view of that window and I need to see when the saddle train rolls through."
"Oh you did just fine eh?" The man says. He looks to his two friends, who are also smiling. "What brings a proper Conde frontiersmen out to Junction," He says, eyeing you. "That ammo belt you wear looks standard issue, you serve?"
"Sir," You say, taking a long, greedy sip from the bottle. You set it on the table like a delicate vase. "You wouldn't be trying to antagonize me would you? Because jumping a man in a saloon in a frontiertown is awfully cliche,"
"Well you know what they say about cliches," the man says, his smile growing. "Like the one about the frontier women hanging themselves cause they couldn't cut it. What about your moma, she hang herself?"

>Jump this fucking sonuvbitch
>Stand, walk out of the saloon

>>1722449
>>Jump this fucking sonuvbitch

>>1722458

The man's still smiling as you vault across the table. You catch him with your fist in the gut, taking him down to the floor. You roll and instinctively kick out, catching one of the other Kadashis in the knee. You scramble to your feet as the third man lunges at you with a knife. You throw up your arm, the knife sinking into your flesh. You grit your teeth, bringing in your arm and the knife and the man holding it. You catch him in the jaw and he lets go of the knife, tumbling back. You turn as the other two are orienting themselves. You grab your bottle from the table and smash it over the head of the first Kadashi man, then tear the knife from your arm and stab the second in the gut. Both fall to the floor, yelling in pain.
The bartender has a shotgun trained on you. You throw up your hands and start walking for the door. The barman follows you with the bead of his shotgun. You pause, grabbing a napkin from the table and binding your arm. You finish and fish a coin from your pocket, flipping it towards the barman. He lets it hit the bar and roll off, staring at you with hard eyes. You shrug, then leave.
Outside the sun beats down with an unrelenting heat. You find your horse, Neb, doing his best to stay in the shade of the saloon awning. You untie him, then hear the sound of thundering hooves.
The Saddle Parade has arrived.
You watch them stream in, hundreds of men and horses cantering down the road. They kick up a mess of dust, and you throw up your bandanna and fix your googles. One of the men is keeping his horse at a slow trot, coming up the street alongside the parade like a general letting his army pass. The foreman.
As he's approaching you wave him down. He slows his horse as he comes up. "Looking for work son?" He says through his bandanna.
"Yessir," You say.
"You ever cattled before?" He says, resting his arms on the front of his saddle an leaning forward.
"Yessir, I'm a good cattle hand and a quick ride,"
The man stares at you. You can't see his eyes through his smudged googles, but you know you're being summed up. "You got quite a bit of ammo on that belt," He says. "You a man familiar with irons?"
"I am," You say.
"Any good with a wakasha?"
Wakasha 31's were standard issue rifles in the Rangers. You nod your head.
"I got plenty of cattle hands. What I need is men who can protect the herd. You familiar with the Western Red Run?"
"I have never traveled it myself," You say. "But I've been up and down Condeleeza and all of the southern plains, and know my way around a spot of trouble."
"Spot of trouble," The man says, lowering his kerchief and spitting. You catch a bushy mustache. He re-affixes his bandanna to his face. "You're in a for a whole shit ocean of trouble boy, so I'll give you a choice. You can be advance scout, or a herd sentry. What you say, interested?"

>Advance scout
>Herd sentry

>>1722575
>Herd sentry
scouts get killed

>>1722593

"Think I might fit right in with the sentries," You say. The foreman nods, then reaches into a large bag strapped to the side of the horse. He brings out a wakasha and tosses it to you. You catch the rifle, then inspect it.
"That gun's seen better days," The man says. "But you know they're dependable and a hell of a accurate rifle,"
"Yessir," You say, tucking the gun under your arm and getting up into your saddle. Neb snorts. The foreman starts trotting and you join him. You hear a new noise and turn in your saddle to look back. Behind you is the herd. The Banta beasts lumber back and forth, knocking into each other as they come up the single road. The foreman is speeding up, and you join him, having no wish to get near the herd.
"You haven't ever done the red run," The foreman says as you bring up Neb beside him. "So let me tell you what you're in for. The first thirty days are nothing but flat land as far as the eye can see."
The horses and riders leave the town as the herd follows. The foreman continues. "There's hostile tribes that come up on the wagon circle at night and try to take our heads and that of our charges. But that ain't the real danger. You ever traveled thirty days of flat country with nothing but the horizon and the sky above?"
"Nosir," You say. "Can't say I have,"
"Drives a man mad," The foreman says. He turn his saddle, motioning at all the riders. "All these men? These are the crazy ones. The sane ones all quit after their first run,"
"What comes next," You say, taking your thumb and adjusting your googles.
"The canyons," The foreman says. "But I won't tell you bout that till we reach them, don't want to scare you off,"
Once outside the town the riders spread out, as does the surrounding country. The herd charges along aimlessly, guided only by a loose circle of cattle hands. The majority of the riders stay ahead of the herd, in a tight riding formation. You join at the edge, behind the foreman. Neb does an admirable job of keeping pace with the other horses.
>--------
The sun begins to set. You've been riding for six hours, with breaks for the horses and banta. The foremen give the signals to slow the herd and set up for camp. You dismount from Neb, patting his side and loosing the saddle. You toss it to the side and take out your canteen. After a long drink you look around. The herd has been slowed, and is coming to a stop. The other riders are either sitting on their saddles or resting against them. It has been a hard ride.
One of the foremen finds you.
"You're on second round," He says, then moves on. Second round meant you had about six hours to do whatever you wanted before you had to be on guard duty.

>Find some other sentries sit a spell, maybe find some food or a bottle
>Get some sleep until your round starts
>Inspect and clean the wakasha, maybe your own pistol
>Walk the camp

gonna get some sleep, thanks for playing, quest resumes in ten hours or so

>>1722687
>Inspect and clean the wakasha, maybe your own pistol
>Get some sleep until your round starts

>>1722701

You settle against your saddle and lay the wakasha across your lap. You rustle around the saddle until you find your clean kit, unwrapping the hide and taking out picks and a kerchief. The wakasha has indeed seen better days, but after some adjustments and some sighting you feel it will do you just fine. You finish by cleaning the barrel, then take out your Pico Debera six-shooter. The pistol comes apart with practiced ease. You could do this in your sleep, having cleaned the Debera once every couple days for the past seven years.
After you finish and reassemble your pistol you lean back against your saddle and rest your eyes. Suddenly you're awake again. You look around. The foreman is beside you, having just nudged your leg with his foot.
"You're on son," He says, then moves on.
You clear the sleep from your eyes and get to your feet. Neb is nearby, snorting next to another horse. You tip your hat towards him, heft your Wakasha and join a trio of men who are also getting ready.
The four of you set out towards where the Banta herd stands idle. Two of the men start walking the circle. You and the other man, a young looking Kadashi, walk the opposite direction.
"Ke dessa mo balla?" The Kadashi man says.
"No pagua Ashi," You say.
"Ah, you are Condeleeza yes?" The man says, switching to broken east-tongue. The two of you continue to walk on the outskirts of the sleeping herd.
"Yessir," You say. "Born and raised,"
"Good land there," The man says. "My people tried to settle there many years away, yellow tribes make them leave,"
You nod. "Yellow tribes and all their third nation kin have killed many a good neighbor o' mine," You say.
"But not you," The Kadashi man says, flicking his hand in his people's sign of fleeting respect.
"Nosir," You say. "Not me,"
The two of you are now far away from where the other riders are camped. The herd and the open sky are the only thing around.
"Nice thing about Red Run," the Kadashi man says, gesturing at the open plains. "You can see trouble coming for miles,"
"Hmm," You say, nodding.
"My name is Fashid," He says. "It is pleasure to meet you,"
"Jeremiah,"
Your greetings are interrupted by the sound of a distressed Banta beast. You turn and spot the creature leaving the herd, braying and kicking at the ground.
"Shit on my face," The Kadashi man says, echoing a familiar east phrase.
"Ah hell," You say, watching the beast trot further from the herd.

>Go after the beast on foot
>Go back and get your horse Neb

>>1723595
>Go back and get your horse Neb

"C'mon Fashid," You say, breaking into a run. "Let's go grab the horses!" The two of you sprint back to camp. You find Neb where you left him, chewing on faint wisps of grass. You grab your saddle and throw it over the horse. He snorts, and continues chewing.
"Yeah yeah," You say, tightening the straps and securing the saddle. You place a boot to the the stirrup and vault onto Neb. Next to you Fashid is doing the same to his horse. The two of you set back out towards the herd. After a steady canter you pass the herd into the wide open plains. You reign Neb to a halt, Fashid doing the same.
"Thought you said you can see for miles," You say, spitting.
"I did, you can," Fashid says, peering around. Not a single cloud is to be seen, and the stars pulse with a steady twinkle above.
"Dammit all," You say. "Then where the hell did that Banta get off to," You kick Neb forward. "C'mon, beast can't have gone far."
The two of you ride out into the open plains. "One night on job, already trouble," Fashad says, laughing.
"That foreman's gonna give us hell if we can't find it," You say, squinting into the dark distance.
"Baha," Fashid says. "Fuck foreman, not our fault, if he-"
Fashid suddenly stops talking. You turn in your saddle and look at him, and see he'd been gesturing back at the camp. He's no longer gesturing, his arm slowly falling down to his side. You furrow your brow and turn in your saddle to look back at the camp.
Standing above the camp is a great animal. It stretches up into the sky, glowing with a river of colors streaming all about it. It yawns a comically large mouth, then brings its mouth to the earth with a startling speed. A strange moaning sound is heard, then flashes of mist and smoke are sucked into the mouth.
"Holee shit," You say, cocking your hat back on your head. "What in the blue devil fuck is that,"
"P-p-plain god," Fashid says, his teeth chattering. "L-legend, j-just legend."
"Doesn't look like a legend," You say. The giant beast places one of its legs in the middle of the herd and moves from the camp to the herd. It whips its mouth back down, and sucks up more white mist from the herd. You hear the herd in distress, then suddenly things are silent. The beast fades away, as if it was never there.
"What just happened," You said.
"E-everyone," Fashid says. "Everyone is dead back there,"
"Better be a plain hallucination," You say, though you know it was not.

>Investigate the camp
>Ride back to Dead Man's Junction
>Finish Red Run with any live cattle you and Fashid can find
"Well," You say, leaning forward on your saddle. "That's a right darn hell of a mess

>>1723790
>Investigate the camp

>>1723790
How does this not have more players? This is some good writing right here.
>Investigate the camp

>>1723846

i agree
think it has to do with op only running for a couple of hours before he took a break yesterday

>>1723800
>>1723846

You and Fashid take your horses, somewhat cautiously, back in the direction of the camp. "You think it's still here?" You say, peering into the sky. "That plain god?"
"No," Fashid says. He seems to have gone from panic to reverent awe. "In stories they feed, then go back to their homes in the sky."
"Mighty polite of them not to stick round too long," You say. You pass the herd. The Banta beasts stand stock still, as if their knees are locked. "They don't look dead," You say, peering through the night at the statue-esque beasts.
"They are dead," Fashid says. "They have no," He motions at his heart. "How do you say?"
"Yeah yeah," You say. "I get what kind of monster this is,"
You pass the herd and enter the camp. The horse ares still standing, as are a couple men. Others lay across saddle bags or huddle around smoldering fires. You let out a sigh. You get it now, it was all a hallucination. You spot the foreman standing of a ways and staring at the distant night. You go over to him, clasping him on the shoulder.
"Sir," You say. The foreman falls over forward, landing in the dirt with a small puff of dust.
"See," Fashad says passing behind you. "Dead,"
You hear a bray and turn. The lost Banta beast is trotting over to you. It pauses before you and brays again. "You little," You say, glaring at the beast. You stop and relax yourself. "Nah I can't be mad at you," You dismount, pat the beast on the head and walk among the camp. You pluck up a few canteens and a good knife from the empty men, then wrap yourself up food you find in various saddles.
"It's not good to take from the dead," Fashid says, watching from his horse.
"With all due respect sir," You say. "I can't much head back east, south is too dangerous, and the north never ends. So I'm thinking I'll continue on this Red Run myself. I hear Biroqouth is a mighty fine city of brass and gold,"
"So you rob the dead?"
You finish collecting your supplies and start slipping them into Neb's saddle bags. "This your first run?" You say, eyeing Fashid.
"Yes,"
"Mine too," You say. "But this aint my first set-back, if you understand what I'm saying." Fashid cocks his head. "In other words," You say. "If what's about to happen, is anything like what has happened before," You finish securing the supplies and mount up on Neb. You look at Fashid. "Then Ima need everything I can get my hands on,"
Fashid looks at you, looks at the camp, then finally at the last live Banta beast eating grass nearby. "Let me come with you!" He blurts out. He ducks his head, then tries again. "Please, let me come with. This was supposed to be the job that helps me start my life. But as you see," Fashid motions at the frozen camp and herd. You stare at the young Kadashi man, evaluating him.

>Let Fashid come along
>You ride alone

We're in the same boat and we need the help. Of course we'd take him.

>>1723911
>Let Fashid come along
that runaway bantha saved us, we must keep it around forever

>>1723946
>>1723987

"C'mon then," You say. "Let's hit the trail early, neither of us are going to get any sleep here,"
The two of you take off. You hear a bay behind you and slow. You look back over your shoulder and see the banta beast trotting after you.
"Looks like we have a third," Fashid says, grinning.
"Hmrph," You say, urging Neb on.

The two of you ride for days. Every morning the sun rises, a fiery splotch on an endless sky. It crosses, heating the earth and baking the soil. There are adequate watering spots along the path, large, shallow lakes that would imply to a learned man the long ago presence of an ocean. You stop frequently, both to let the horses drink and to find shelter under the few ancient trees ringing the lakes. The banta beast has continued to follow as best it can, and drinks at the lakes with the horses when it catches up.
"We got to name that thing," Fashid says at one such watering hole.
"Aye," You say. "I reckon that'd be a right thing to do at this point,"

>Name the banta

The horses finish drinking and your party takes off again onto the red run. As the sun always does, on the twentieth day it set, growing larger and a fiercer orange in its descent. You and Fashid look along the worn path along the plains for a good place to bed down for the night. Finally you spot a trodden circle, the sign of a place used by wagon parties. Sure enough, in the center is a fire pit. You dismount Neb and loose the reigns and bit. "Good job Neb," You say, brushing his mane. "We're almost done,"
You set your saddle down and settle down with it. You fish out your Pico Debera six-shooter and begin cleaning it.
"That's a good gun," Fashid says, plopping down next to you. He takes out his canteen and takes several greedy sips.
"It is," You say.
"Kadashi guns," Fashid says. "Not so good,"
"S'why you lose all your wars, I reckon," You say. Fashid looks at you and you flash him a small grin. "Lighten up, I'm just messing,"
"I would say," Fashid says, almost indignant. "I am Mora Kadashi, and we are a tribe that has done well,"
"Mora huh?" You say, raising a brow. "Well I can't argue with you sir, if I'm not mistaken you guys were the fellas who up and looted that famous mountain city over in Padesha,"
"The eternal city of the gods," Fashid says, his voice low. "And we paid for it dearly,"
"Still," You say, setting your gun aside and unrwapping a jerky strip. "Ain't no other peoples on this earth can say they stole into heaven and took god's jewelry box," You take a bite out of the jerky and start chewing, staring at the empty fire pit. You'll need to start a fire soon. Fashid is quiet, staring away from you. Suddenly you hear a pop.
You and Fashid look up. Up the trail, set against the dark evening sky, a series of lights appear. You hear more popping, and the lights grow larger.
"What is that?" Fashid says, squinting.
"Can't say I know," You say.

>Takes the horses closer
>Steer clear

>>1724340
>Take the horses closer

If it's another plainsgod, I want to know in advance.

>>1724713

"Let's go," You say. You grab your saddle and heave it onto Neb. Fashid stands.
"You want to go closer?" He says.
"How do you know if a plains god is coming?" You say, gripping the saddle and getting on. "Any signs of its imminent arrival?"
Fashid grips his own saddle and mounts up. "The stories say all kinds of things. Singing mostly,"
"Well then we'll keep our ears peeled for singing I guess, and truth be told we're running low on jerky, and I have no desire to eat," You look at the banta beast. It is by the worn trail, kicking at a tuft of dirt. "Anyhow," You motion with your head at the distant lights and pops. "If that's any sort of sign of civilization, we need to investigate,"
The two of you get closer, and you start to make out smoke rising from whatever is emitting the light. There is also noise. Awful, grinding noise. Finally you figure it out. It seems to be a collection of iron and wood land ships. You spur your horse to the side and start passing the land ships. There are lanterns hanging from each one, and people on the decks. Some wave down at you. Fashid waves back as he rides behind you. You stare at each of the ships, grinding along on giant, iron wheels. You happen to glance out at the plains, then do a doubletake.
In the distance, all along the horizon, is a fuzzy black line. You turn back to Fashid and point it out. He leans in the saddle to get a good look, then straightens up.
"Damn Jeremiah," He says. "I bet those are Booloo Khy"
You nod. One of the hostile tribes.

>Try and get up on one of the land ships
>Take yourself and your companions and ride far away from the impending attack

Give them a wide berth, it's all we can afford right now. Don't leave any more trails that are in their path, in case they get interested in us.

>>1725320
seconding shis
name bantha "Godspeed"

>>1725320
Supporting

>>1725320
this