The Good, The Bad and The AU: 2

[insertusername]

Old West AU

Welcome to Dry River. You're a long way from home partner. It’s the mid 1800s and this dusty little frontier town isn’t much of a landmark but the local color might make your stay interesting.

Cut some cards at the rowdy saloon. Stay at the inn and pay for a little company. Or take a job as a farmhand if you just need to make a quick buck and buy your ticket out of here.

Keep your nose clean though. Train robbers, card cheats and bandits have been known to pass through these parts. But you wouldn’t know nothin’ about that, would you?

It’s a Wild West AU. Establish yourself as a local or a stranger and rustle up some adventure or romance.

Top Level

with your western AU scene and see what kind of trouble darkens your door. Check out some old timey professions and their associated tropes if you need to.

Comment

with your western AU characters and make yourself less of a stranger ‘round these parts.

[Been to Dry River before? The Tribune updates every time with a new optional prompt for this setting.]

☙ DRY RIVER TRIBUNE

----- LOCAL WATER SUPPLY TAINTED -----

A rash of recent illness amongst the inhabitants of Dry River has been traced back to the town's water supply. Whether this was accidental or intentional remains to be seen. Authorities have yet to make a statement about the nature of the contaminant or how long they anticipate the water supply to be effected. Until then, the people of Dry River are urged to find water sources other than the Main Street well.

[Blank top levels will be deleted.]

Comments

Conleth Murray | OC | OTA

[aproudlegacy]

"We don't need no marshal around here, thank ya kindly." Conleth got a good look at the old cowboy staring at him as he hitched his horse and brushed dust and stray sandspurs from her thick winter coat. The tone and the suspicious squint that went along with the old man's words, as well as the stream of tobacco juice he spat to the dry earth at Conleth's feet, made clear how he felt about a possible lawman coming to town.

Not that Conleth was any kind of official. At least in the eyes of the United States government. He served a higher authority, one that was concerned about the rash of poisonings in Dry River and certain that no natural source was to blame. Was it something undead hiding out in the town well? Some kind of creature lurking in the dark? Or was it some outside force that cursed the town? Conleth didn't know. But he did know that these people were out of their league. They needed him. Whether they liked him or not. "A dozen people sick and two children dead. I wonder when you might need help?" Conleth's Irish accent was obvious. It made him the subject of stares. "I'm not the law, mister. Just someone a little better armed for dealin' with these kinds of problems than your typical farmer."

The cowboy didn't let up. "We can handle it. You just go on back where you came from." He stuck out his leg, as if to bar Conleth from walking into the saloon.

"With all due respect, sir." Conleth's tone and slight smirk hinting that all due respect might be none at all. "If your idea of dealin' with the situation is just to hang everyone who's the least bit suspicious from that gallows in the middle of town...You don't have the first clue what's goin' on here."

Conleth brushed past the cowboy and into the saloon, dropping down on a stool at the bar with a weary sigh. "Whiskey." He dropped a coin on the bar, enough for the cheap stuff. It was mostly a cover, anyway. He had work to do, and there was no place better to get the lay of the land than the local watering hole. Sooner or later, he was bound to come across something he could use in his hunt.

Kate Cordello - OC - OTA

[bossyboiler]

People should not have to pay for water and Kate wasn't charging most them for the water. However, time was money. Time not tending to her mercantile and taking time away from her family's ranch by borrowing two cowhands had to be made up somehow. So, instead of charging, Kate Cordello was bartering.

The schoolhouse was getting a barrel because none of the Cordellos were the kind of monsters who wanted to charge children for water. The church also got a barrel along with the Sherriff. The doctor was getting water in exchange for future medical treatment for the family for the workers at the ranch. There were little exchanges here and there through the dusty town. The saloon and inn was getting water for a fee, the cost of a barrel plus a little more to cover the hard work of getting the water and bringing it to town.

The water had come from a natural spring on the Cordello ranch and since it had been discovered that the local well had been poisoned, it was under armed guard. Kate had the idea of barreling it and bringing it to town using two wagons and three men. She lead the first wagon, gloves on and a shotgun next to her. She didn't want to have to use it but in this town it was a bad idea to not have it.

Her first stop was the Cordello Mercantile. She had mason jars and had a barrel stored in the back. Then it was off to the local saloon and despite delivering to the back, she ran into trouble.

"Whatcha got there?" Came a voice from her left.

Kate turned to look. It wasn't a local, she was certain as she had never seen him in the store. Something about him caused her to feel nervous. The bartender and cowhand were busy inside the saloon, moving the big barrel. It was just Kate outside.

"I'll thank you to mind your own business and move along," Kate said, her tone firm.

"Aww, come on now. I'm just being friendly. Aren't we friends?"

"I do not know you, sir."

The stranger shifted his posture and took a step towards her which caused Kate to get her shotgun and bring it around to her front. "That's not very friendly of you. Maybe I'll get my friends and we'll take that water from you? Teach you some manners?"

Kate didn't want to have to shoot at him. She would have much rather been left alone to conduct her business. However, Dry River did get a lot of travelers ambling in and out of town. Most were not harmless. The stranger took another step towards her. Kate was still by herself and the look on the strangers face would indicate that he did not take her as a threat at all.

"Mister, I will fire this at your head if you do not get out of here."

Moira | OC (DnD PC) | OTA

[barovian_slenderman]

The girl was pale enough that she glowed under the light of the full moon beating down over the deserted streets of the town. The glow was especially noticeable against the black of her simple clothing. She wore a pistol at her hip, but at every sound her fingers twitched instead towards the dagger against her thigh.

Moira was not the most excited to be in Dry River, but she had a job to do, and she was perhaps one of the best at it. Tracking outlaws was an interesting career choice for someone who had grown up an outcast on the fringes of society, but no one could deny that she was damn effective. No one ever saw her come, and no one ever saw her kill. Her handiwork was undeniable, though, as a mercenary wanted no others to take the credit for their hard work, and Moira was no different.

Coming into town in the middle of the night was perhaps not optimal for finding a room at the local inn, but Moira was familiar enough with towns of this ilk that she knew she could at least find someone in the saloon who would let her stay for a night. She was on good terms with many of the working girls in towns just like this one. For a good price, well above anything they'd make working the floors and the men, and the promise of non-judgmental, non-sexual, and, most importantly, safe female companionship, they were often willing to let her stay in their rooms for a night.

And so, in search of somewhere to rest for a few hours, Moira headed into the lit and bustling saloon, fingers dancing along the hilt of her dagger and eyes scanning the room as she sat at the bar and ordered herself a drink.