Wanted

#8 | Shocking Display of Skill

The morning after defeating the Duster Brothers, Curtis and the gang packed up their knapsacks and prepared to head into town. Proudkeep was only a few miles away, so it wouldn't take long for the party to arrive. Proudkeep was small, but not as small as Sunnyville. It consisted of one main road that ran north to south with buildings lining either side, but had an off-shoot which ran perpendicular to the west about half way down.

Stone structures were mixed in with the primarily wooden building that made up most of the town's construction; they were remnants of a war that happened long ago and in which Proudkeep was used as a military base. There was no longer any major military presence in town anymore, but reminders of the war were scattered all throughout the city, including at a history museum on the northern side. As the party approached, Mabel poked her head out from the hood. She had asked Sly for the bounties pamphlet and was reading over the names; her eyes lingered again on Lester Langely, but she didn't let herself think too hard about him.

"So, there are some Rangers with Spells, right?" she asked.

"Mhm," Curtis answered. "It's rare, but they exist."

"Hmph. How does someone get a Spell?"

"I think most people are just born with 'em,"

"You were born with yours?"

"Yeah, but I didn't know it 'til I met Midnight." Curtis stared forward toward Proudkeep. "Maybe we should finish this conversation later. Don't wanna draw attention to ourselves by talkin' 'bout supernatural forces an' all." He chuckled.

Upon entering the town on the southern end of the main road, Curtis felt that something was off. He knew Proudkeep to be a nice and calm place, but when he, Sly, and Mabel rode in in the morning, nobody was out on the streets. Silence filled the air as wind blew dust across the sandy roads. Curtis halted the carriage and held a hand out to signal Sly to wait. He couldn't help feel the similarities between now and when he rode into Sunnyville less than a week before. Mabel sat in the hooded wagon as they rode while Curtis sat on the bench in front to guide his horse, but Mabel poked her head out front to see why they had stopped.

Curtis faced Sly as the Ranger trotted up beside the carriage on Firefly. He gave Sly a look of worry and glanced at Mabel. He slowly gazed around the street for any signs of ambush, but saw nothing.

"Somethin's not right," Curtis said in a low voice to Sly. "Proudkeep ain't normally this quiet."

"You're right," Sly agreed. "Think someone's preparing to attack us?"

"Not sure. This feels all too familiar t'me right now. Let's try to make our way to the backroads behind the buildings until we can figure out what's up."

Curtis commanded his horse to move east and around the buildings lining the main streets and Sly followed on his steed. Just as they were almost past at the side of the road, however, a voice called out to them

"Wait!" a man shrieked.

Curtis exhaled and glanced toward the voice right before snapping the reins of his horse, but halted his hands when he saw only a single man—a civilian, not an officer or Ranger—running toward them, seemingly out of breath.

"Think it's a trap?" Sly asked quietly.

Curtis wasn't sure what to think. Then, the man yelped again.

"Please, help!"

Help? Curtis thought. He turned to Sly. "I'd hate to fall for the same trick two days in a row," he groaned. "But this feels different."