In West Krowatia, far beyond the long shadows cast by the spires of great Lo’Thar at dawn, where nascent tributaries of the Acheron descend from the wild Canyonlands, lay the rough-and-rowdy frontier town of Shalako. In this fringe outpost, the sounds of bucking broncos and giggling saloon wenches echoed across the dusty intersection of the town’s two dirt roads. On roofed porches lining the streets, retiring cowboys reclined in rocking chairs to avoid the midday sun, harmonicas in hand. In this lawless settlement, justice found those who aimed to misbehave at the hands of bounty hunters and vigilantes. And it was here that the Wild Rovers arrived after a long journey, eager to resupply and find work.
At high noon they strolled into town, and, being mighty thirsty, their eyes were caught by Fatty O’Malley’s watering hole. Within the saloon, Desmond soon found a friend in Dutch Henry — a hulking goliath, twelve feet tall if the tales are true — when the genasi asked him if he was Fatty. Bystanders wagered against the stranger’s survival in the ensuing brawl as Urs cheered on his friend and the other Rovers guzzled grog. When it became clear Desmond didn’t stand a chance, Avery slipped out through the batwing doors to avoid paying up, and Urs asserted he won regardless. Dutch was good-natured and soon warmed to his green-skinned punching bag, and they all had another round of drinks.
Vara overheard two cattle ranchers discussing a problem, and she and Aengus joined the conversation. Barnabas, owner of the Firestorm ranch to the south, and Beeho, the eccentric dwarf owner of the Flying V ranch to the north, had both noticed their herds were mysteriously thinning in recent weeks. At the same time, the Lucky Y ranch — located west of town and owned by Shalako-newcomer Tyrel Sackett — only grew. They suspected Sackett of cattle rustling, and observed that his brand was similar enough to both of theirs that only small modifications were needed for stolen livestock to pass as his. What’s more, Beeho saw something sinister in the Lucky Y’s brand design, which featured a devilish tail. Aengus and Vara offered to investigate the matter, and for a bounty of 300 gold pieces they agreed to find evidence of the cattle rustling and deliver Sackett for justice.
After making it very clear that no, Bratak, the minotaur, could not just “ask the cows what was going on”, he and Aengus went shopping for lasso material.
Urs, dissatisfied with Aengus’s expert assessment that his weapon was undamaged from a recent battle with ogres, went with Vara to the local blacksmith for a second opinion. There Luke Shortarms provided Urs with a loaner weapon and a promise to make his weapon better than ever in two days time.
Desmond visited Kitty Korner on recommendation for some relaxation. As luck would have it, he was introduced to Tyrisha, the first genasi he’d ever seen other than his brother and himself. The pair had very different ideas of what constituted a relaxing hour. Overcome with curiosity, Desmond wanted to learn everything about their kind, so Tyrisha spun whatever stories she thought Desmond wanted to hear.
The Rovers regrouped at the corral on the edge of town to purchase some horses and a cart. They began their journey south toward Barnabas’s ranch where they expected to meet Burton, the foreman at Firestorm, who would give them more information about their job. After a few hours of traveling, it began to grow dark, so they made camp for the night. As the cool evening air set in, they shared stories around the campfire of the pirate queen, Heidi the Red; of the legendary honeydew of Xanadu, which granted immortality to those brave enough to walk the caves of ice to dine upon it; and of Kobosk the dreaded river kraken, which prowled the waters of the Acheron River at night. Filled with anticipation of the challenges ahead of them, they bedded down for a much needed night’s rest…