Tellin' the Tale

A history of Post-Holocaust Deadlands.

The 'Poclypse

In the long ago a star fell from the heavens and the world burned.

The Four

This is the tellin' of things come long before. It is the Tellin' of the four and how they came to be. First came the Preacher out of Eden to wander the wastes as he read in the word. Then from Eden came Szander and Lena. Szander and Lena were still little ones under the care of Ethan and Rebekah. Parents and children cast out from Eden for reasons known only to Ethan and Rebekah.

Learnin' to survive in the surface world was difficult for the family of Edenites. Fortunately for them they crossed path with the Preacher, who recognized Ethan and Rebekah from times before. He helped them with the knowin' of Livin' on the surface and then returned to his wanderin'.

Then on a dark day the family crossed paths with The Black Diamond and his Rattlers. Ethan and Rebekah were killed and Szander was left for dead. Only Lena, hidden and overlooked, survived. Szander lay hurt and dyin', but he was able to tell Lena what they needed for Livin'. The Rattlers were still nearby and little Lena was able to sneak in to their camp many times to filch the things they needed for survivin'.

The Black Diamond was crafty and he knowed that somethin' was up when things kept goin' missin'. So he set some of the Rattlers to watchin', and after a bit one of 'em spotted Lena. They followed Lena right back to the hole where Szander was hidden'. Seein' that they were just two kids, they snatched 'em up and brought 'em back to The Black Diamond in chains. The Rattlers were runnin' low on gas, so The Black Diamond decided to sell Szander and Lena instead of Killin' 'em. The Rattlers headed for the city of Law where tradin' is the way of life. On the way they crossed paths with El Circo Asombroso del Desierto and sold Szander to them.

Things were certainly lookin' dark for little Lena, but when the Rattlers arrived in Law to trade her, the Preacher recognized her and brought her salvation. Rallyin' others around he started a ruckus over the sellin' of an innocent child. Humiliated and threatened by the righteous rabble raised by the preacher, The Black Diamond agreed to quietly trade the child into the Preachers custody. The Preacher was full of sad when he heard of what had happened to Lena and her family.

The Preacher heard tell of a gatherin' in the desert, a festival of music in a great natural amphitheater. Knowin' there would be crowds he reasoned that El Circo Asombroso del Desierto may be there and that they may be able to free Szander. Now Szander had been nursed back to health and put to work by El Circo Asombroso del Desierto, and as fate was feelin' kind, El Circo had come to the festival to entertain the crowds.

To the festival came Frankee, a wanderer from nowhere. When Frankee arrived at the festival he smelt somethin' funny. Some no good mischief makers had set fire to El Circo. In the fire a beam fell and Szander was trapped beneath it. Despite the fear he felt, Frankee knew he had to do somethin'. Without a second thought he rushed into the fire and freed Szander.

After makin' sure Szander would live, Frankee set out to perform. Now Frankee was always a touchy fella. When a Rattler started hecklin' his performance, Frankee called him out and challenged him to a six string duel. Frankee bet his six string and the Rattler bet his horse. Frankee won the duel, but the Rattlers were never good losers and never played fair. The Rattlers at the festival went off to sulk and drink and soon they got to talkin' about how Frankee didn't deserve that horse and how Frankee really deserved to be skinned alive and left for the buzzards to pick his bones.

Meanwhile the Preacher and Lena had arrived and heard how El Circo had burned. Things were still in chaos, so they weren't knowin' who had survived and who hadn't. The Preacher left Lena to watch the horses and listen to music while he investigated further. It was just by chance that the Preacher came across the Rattlers while they were plotting against Frankee. The Preachers ears burned to hear their evil plots. the Rattlers laid in wait and would of jumped Frankee, except the Preacher jumped the Rattlers first and warned Frankee of the ambush. Szander had been wanderin' the festival lookin' to thank the man who saved him, Seein' that man and the Preacher Fightin' rattlers, he waded in and helped run 'em off.

As they ran one of the rattlers turned and called down to the Preacher. He told the Preacher that The Black Diamond hadn't forgot him and that someday soon all the rattlers would come and kill him and his friends. Now Lena and Szander were reunited and the four were together. At this time, The Black Diamond and his Rattlers were the largest most fearsome gang in the wastes. The four knew they would not stand a chance against an army of that size. So they set out for Law.

In Law the preacher went to talk to the Cassidys and McCalls. He convinced them that the Black Diamond and his Rattlers were a threat that needed to be hunted down. The Cassidys and McCalls agreed to help form a posse and send the Marshal along, but the Preacher would be obligated to help them in the future. So the four set out with the posse and the marshal. The battle was long and brutal. Many died on both sides. All of the four saw action that day. When the dust cleared, The Black Diamond was dead and the remaining rattlers had scattered. That's the tellin' of it like I heard from my Ma and she from hers and she from hers and so on all the way back to the long ago.

The Festival

The four decided to head to Law for the founding celebration. There would be food and drink, a display of The Marshals abilities, and sky flowers after dark. On the way to Law they were passed by a convoy of large trucks from Eden. It looked like fresh produce would also be available. As they watched the convoy heading away they noticed buzzards circling something in the distance. It was decided that Frankee would ride out and investigate while Father Preacher, Szander and Lena continued toward Law. Frankee found the remains of a few people and a campsite. The corpses were a few days old but it was still clear that they had been Massacred. Whoever killed them had used a very sharp blade and seemed to have a knowledge of human anatomy. Even more curious was the fact that all 3 were missing their heads. Frankee also wondered why buzzards and other scavengers had not been at the bodies earlier. Frankee scavenged a bit around the campsite and a ways off in the general direction of Law he found a few things that he believed had been discarded by the killer. Frankee caught up with the others and told them what he had seen. Father Preacher decided that the victims should have a proper funeral, so they all returned to the site. Father Preacher said a prayer for the deceased and then burned the bodies. The rest of the trip was uneventful.

They arrived in Law four days before the Festival. Frankee, Szander and Lena explored the Bazaar Known as Swaps which was located outside the city walls. Father Preacher went into the city to find Sheriff Cassidy and tell him what they found in the desert. The Sheriff told Father Preacher that there was a Law Dog in town who could probably be found at the Red Eye Saloon. Father Preacher headed over to the Red Eye. The Law Dog introduced himself as Robert Kinsman. After being told about the murder sight in the desert Robert left om his cycle to investigate. As Father Preacher headed back to Swaps to meet with the others he was approached by Sheriff Cassidy about a job helping to keep the peace in the days leading up to and during the festival. Father Preacher agreed to take the job and headed out to tell the others. Frankee and Szander agreed although Szander was worried about who would watch over Lena while he worked.

Frankee headed straight to the Saloon for some drinking and gambling. Skinny, the owner of the Red Eye agreed to let Frankee entertain the patrons in exchange for a room. While there Frankee also met an old drunk who was drinking from the swill barrel. The drunk asked Frankee to buy him a drink promising to pay him back when his friends from Go arrived. Frankee, having been in similar situations, took pity on the old guy and bought him a few drinks. Meanwhile, Father Preacher took Szander and Lena to talk to Sheriff Cassidy about finding someone to watch Lena during the day. Sheriff Cassidy told them that there was a lady who was starting a school and suggested that Lena be put under her care during the day. Father Preacher, Szander and Lena headed over to the school where they found the teacher and two young ones cleaning up for the day. The teacher introduced herself as Miss Donna and was more than happy to have another student. She introduced the two children as Joe and Martha. Miss Donna was very pleased to learn that Lena already knew how to read. Father Preacher looked over the large collection of books and finding a copy of Tao Teh Ching asked if he could borrow it. Miss Donna was not to be persuaded but told Father Preacher that he could come by the school any time and read.

Father Preacher, Szander and Lena headed up to the bunk house to get settled in. One glance and Father Preacher decided it was no place for Lena. They returned to Sheriff Cassidy to ask about lodgings for Lena. Sheriff Cassidy, told them that the blacksmith, Colleen McCall loved children and would be glad to have Lena stay with her. Coleen was more than happy to board Lena and immediately started stuffing her with sweets. Szander asked if he could stay with colleen as well so he could watch over his little sister and offered to help work in the smithy in exchange for the room and board. Colleen agreed to let Szander stay as well and told him they would be guests and that he would not have to work. Szander and Lena headed for the Red eye Saloon to watch Frankee perform and Father Preacher headed back to the Bunk House to get some rest. As they were headed inside Miss Donna passed by and scolded them for even thinking about taking a little girl into the place. Szander and Lena agreed not to go into the Saloon and instead sat outside on the boardwalk listening to Frankee play. After a bit Szander and Lena headed back to the blacksmiths house to go to bed. Frankee stayed up playing late into the night. When the Saloon closed, Frankee and skinny dumped the old drunk in his room, locked the door and slid the key under the door. Frankee commented on how the old drunk could afford a room but drank swill and mooched drinks. Skinny told Frankee that the old drunk had arrived a few days ago and payed for the room for a week and then proceeded to go on a bender spending the rest of his money on drinks for himself and others.