“Going somewhere?” Sheriff Anderson asked the next morning, as I was saddling my new horse. It wasn’t surprising that his toadies ran his way the instant I made a move, but the fact that they were this fast was a little disconcerting.

  “I was heading to your office actually,” I replied as I secured my rifle case to the back of Nightmare, “I wanted to check out the area, maybe find out what land was available.”

  “Really…” he drawled. When I finally had everything secure, and turned to face him, I noticed half a dozen of his men stalking around the perimeter, pistols on display. The tiny stable area behind the inn was heavily shadowed by the surrounding buildings, fenced in, and only had one good exit back to the road. It would be a terrible place to get trapped if things went south. “Most of the land close to town is owned by the company, or the other locals, you’d have to go pretty far out of town to find anything. It’d be pretty easy for you to get lost out there.”

  I knit my brow in mock concern. “Is that so? That’s unfortunate. Maybe you could lend me a map, or be able to direct me to a guide that knows the area? I wouldn’t want to step on any toes.”

  My acting was beyond terrible, but it was apparently good enough for the sheriff. Either that, or that little bit of bait I threw out was good enough that he was willing to overlook it. “Unfortunately, I just have one copy of the property map, but a lot of my boys know the area quite well. Billy! Todd! Get yer horses ready!” he yelled over his shoulder.

  Gingivitis, and a particularly large and intimidating man both nodded and ran off.

  “Do you have any requirements?” Sheriff Anderson asked, his tone slightly more accommodating.

  “Easy access to water, maybe a little bit isolated, and plenty of landmarks to help me get back to town,” I replied, counting off my fingers as I listed each requirement. After the last one, I leaned a little closer to the sheriff, whispering conspiratorially“I have a terrible sense of direction.”

  He nodded sagely. “You have plans for crops, or livestock?”

  “Maybe in the future, once I’m settled in. Hard to make plans when I haven’t seen the area yet,” I told him.

  The sound of hooves interrupted our brief conversation, which was good because I was sure if the conversation had lasted much longer the sheriff would have realized everything I was saying was complete bullshit.

  As soon as the pair of deputies, or whatever they were, rode into the small stable area behind the inn Anderson made a lasso motion with one arm, and the rest of his men dispersed.

  “My boys will show you a couple places, hopefully one will catch your eye. Have a pleasant trip,” the sheriff said, tipping his hat before turning towards the two other men. “Show her the south ridge,” he muttered so quietly I’m sure I wasn’t supposed to hear it. “If she’s on the up and up maybe we can use her to keep an eye on the Marcus’s”

  “You got it boss,” the gangly one practically yelled, tobacco juice leaking between his rotted teeth. “We’ll keep a keen eye on her, make sure nothing happens.”

  I rolled my eyes as I turned my back to the group and mounted my horse. The idiot must have either been a relative of someone in the company, or extremely reliable worker, because he sure as hell wasn’t great at keeping his mouth shut.

  “Which way are we headed first?” I asked as the sheriff stomped off.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  “South, cross the tracks and into the foothills,” the bigger man replied gruffly. Wheeling his horse he slowly trotted away.

  “Ignore Todd, he’s a decent fella, but not too talkative,” my friend from yesterday announced in his local drawl. Billy, if what the sheriff yelled earlier was to be believed.

  As I galloped past him, rushing to catch up to Todd, Billy casually wheeled his horse on the spot and fell into position beside me. The two of us caught up right at the edge of town, at the first railway crossing beyond the end of the train. Even though the terrain on the North side was completely flat, the South quickly broke out into rough rocky hills. Most of the area had been clearcut, probably to help develop the town, but there was quite a forest in the distance.

  “Anything I should know about before we head out? Bandits? Natives? Beasts? Supernatural Horrors?” I tried to act nervous at first, but by the time I got to the word horrors I was shaking for real.

  “Yah don’t have to worry about anything like that around here,” Billy announced. “Sheriff is proactive about dealing with troublemakers, and the company did extensive surveys, ensuring that Gravewater was well out of the way of any beasts.” The disgusting cowpoke reached into his pocket and pulled out some chewing tobacco, popping a massive gob in his mouth before continuing. “The tribes have been avoiding us, and the nearest one is a couple days south. The only thing you really gotta worry about is the heathens, and they almost never leave that commune of theirs.”

  “Enough idle chat,” Todd snapped as he spurred his horse forward. This time I was ready, and Nightmare appeared to be a better horse, so I was able to keep up.

  Once Nightmare had settled into a proper rhythm I glanced over at my escorts. “Where are we going then?”

  “Sheriff asked us to show you the ridge,” Billy shouted. Strangely, it was easier to understand him over the sound of the wind than when he was talking as usual. “Most locals are on the north side, flatter, better for livestock. There’s an overlook that’s fairly well sheltered from the bad weather that we use to occasionally check on the southern valley. Creek nearby, enough room for a small homestead, but not great if you plan on raising animals.”

  I bobbed my head. Sounded like a nice place, and if the situation wasn’t so fucked up, I probably would have thought it was an ideal location to settle down. But there was no way that was happening now.

  It only took a few minutes to reach the treeline, and once we did Todd slowed his horse down to a walk. Even though the tree cover wasn’t that thick, it was mostly pine and spruce in this area, the ground was uneven and there were quite a few massive boulders strewn about.

  As we slowly made our way forward, I glanced back towards the town. Even if there wasn’t a massive ridge between us and Gravewater, it was probably beyond the horizon. Far enough.

  “Nervous?” Billy cackled, tobacco juice running down his face.

  “Something like that,” I mumbled as I slowly lowered one hand towards my belt.

  “Don’t worry your pretty little head about it, the area’s safe and we’re…” I don’t think Billy even had time to register that I’d drawn my pistol before putting two rounds straight into his chest. My magic rolled over the black enamel, swallowing most of the noise from the shots. It was normally a dangerous thing for me to do, I’d accidentally adjusted the trajectory of the rounds doing this before, but at this distance, I couldn’t miss.

  “What the hell was that?” Todd snarled, as he spun around in his saddle, I could tell he was reaching for his pistol. He wasn’t a fast draw.

  He also took two rounds, one in the back and the other in the side of the head, and was dead before Billy’s body even finished sliding off his horse.

  “That went surprisingly well.” My words were barely louder than the sound of my pistol sliding back into my holster. The men’s horses had apparently been well trained, and even after hearing my admittedly muffled gunshots, they’d remained calm. Now they were just wandering around the area, aimless. “I wish I could still compel you two to stay away from town,” I grumbled, “But since I can’t, I’ll just have to hope you take your time.” One of the horses looked up and snorted, I could only hope that meant they were agreeing with me.

  Quickly gathering Nightmare’s reins, and directed the horse back towards the north. Even though my sense of direction was ALMOST as bad as I had told the sheriff, surely I could avoid the town and still find the railway tracks. Skirting the town was easy, the clearcut treeline provided a clear demarcation line. I wasn’t stupid enough to ride out into the open, I just stayed close enough to see the clearcut, but far enough in to remain hidden from prying eyes.

  Unfortunately the woods didn’t approach close enough to the train line for me to follow them all the way, so I just followed them west until I couldn’t see the town, before emerging and heading toward the rails.

  As they came into sight I noticed another shape, perched on a rock nearby. Kaylee gave me a feline smirk, and pawed the oversized carpetbag underneath her as soon as she noticed me. “Mow!”

  “Yes, you did an amazing job,” I acknowledged as I guided Nightmare up next to her. The cat casually hopped onto the back of the saddle. “I’m glad you’re safe,” I whispered back to my cat, before reaching over and hefting the carpet bag, grunting. “and that at least one of us can still use body enhancements.”

  “Merrr?” Kaylee asked.

  “Now? I want to get as far away from Gravewater as possible before the train leaves,” I told her as I urged Nightmare forward. “The last thing we need is to be interrupted by reinforcements from the town.”

  As we rode away a faint train whistle echoed through the area; Almost like it was challenging me. I glanced back towards the distant town and gritted my teeth, “That thing is going to be tough enough to crack as it is.”

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