Interactive Story : The Wild West
Howdy Gunslingers !
So this story is finally starting ,it’s been a long time, i really hope it’ll be worth the wait 
My story is set in the fictional big county of “Columbia” , a county situated somewhere around the Utah ,Wyoming and colorado.
Columbia is a flourishing county and an exceptional region in terms of environment and wildlife.
Despite the gold mines being completely mined out and left abandoned in the western area of the state , the other areas are still flourishing due to the livestock, crops and trade.
Making the life prosperous for most .
The story is set in 1887, the state of columbia is now prone to chaos because of its wealth, it harbors the deadliest outlaws of the west seeking adventure and wealth.
The county is divided in 4 areas,southern area , northern area , western and eastern area. however most of the first act will be set in the county town of riff , meaning mostly (if not all) the southern area.
The Northern area is vastly covered by mountains , pines and snow half of the year.
It’s mostly an area for poachers, fishermen and woodcutters ,this is where Lake hamlet is situated, it’s the least dangerous area of Columbia county.
The Western area is made of desert , canyons, rocky hills, and abandoned mines and settlements. It’s a dry place , previously the most flourishing area of columbia because of its mines, it’s now completely abandoned and is only an area for outlaws, outcasts, and crazies to hide from civilization. It’s the most dangerous area of Columbia county , not only because of the people , but also because of the inhospitality of the area.
The Eastern area is the greenest area of the county , although greener , it is a dangerous area, because of the marshes in the most isolated places. it’s a mushy sinuous place that is mostly inhabited by farmers but minor outlaws still roam the area. Not the most nor the least dangerous area, Caution in this region is still advised.
The Southern area is made of hills, plains, and valleys , truest depiction of the west .
The area harbors of every type of people, mostly because of the county town : Riff,
it is the largest area of all.Honest people who want fair trade will find this place to be perfect , although caution is still advised, however reckless, hot tempered people, gunslingers and troublemakers will find this place to be the most dangerous place for them.
The southern area also is the place of many ranches. Which is the fundations of the region’s wealth.
You are welcome to submit as many characters as you want ,
from every line of work and from anywhere and from any age or wealth.
Here is the link to submit your characters :
https://goo.gl/forms/IKRDQOeT4VrvV6Mv1
Welcome To The Wild West !
https://youtube.com/watch?v=Gx47FE1Soww
Introduced Characters :
Southern area:
Riff: Lady Caterina Barbarossa
Northern area:
Lake Hamlet:
Western Area: Sergeant Van hooten , Corporal Tardy, Corporal Konrad, Lady Lincoln, Lawless Dan
Eastern Area:
Deceased characters:
Characters to be introduced: Madame Matilda Mahoney , Julie Meadows , Pastor George Woods , Anna Woods , Gloria Woods , Deputy James Woods , Sheriff Jack 'Pat' Patterson, Deputy Alexander Carter , Marshall Jeremiah Sullivan, John Wesley, Ruth "Rhubarb" Stark, Moronzo, Samuel Fox, Melinda Fox, Dakota Fox.
Comments
I was beginning to wonder if this story would ever come out. I got some ideas for characters that I will submit later.
PROLOGUE: Once upon a time in the west
Sergeant Rudy Van hooten
Somewhere in the desert of Columbia…
This was Sergeant Rudy Van Hooten's last mission. In fact, it was supposed to be his last mission ten years ago, but he could never stop. He felt like this time, it could work out…
Abruptly, Ms. Lincoln interrupted his thoughts and poked his shoulder with an intense jab. "Please, Sergeant Van Hooten," she asked, "can you ask the coachman when we will arrive?"
"Be at ease, Ms. Lincoln, everything is under control," Van Hooten said, hoping to ease her nerves. "We're all here to protect you. No one except the high administration and the three of us knows of your departure. Crossing the state of Columbia is the fastest way to reach Dallas. From there we'll be able to ride the train all the way to Washington without drawing attention."
"Can we make a halt to the nearest town? This heat makes me feel faint." Ms. Lincoln puffed her nose in the air. She looked very out of place in the arid desert landscape.
"Sure thing, ma'am," said the sergeant, tipping the brim of his hat.
The truth was, Van Hooten didn't feel safe, far from it. The two others riding with him were rookies, and looking through the window of the carriage, the desert was propitious for an ambuscade. He had seen one too many of those in his life. Turning his whiskery face away from his escort, his gaze turned cold, and he gripped the rifle on his knees tighter, closer to his chest. Van Hooten knew this place—this state—and knew what lurked around… But he preferred to keep it to himself. The desert was prone to hopelessness.
"Coachman!" shouted one of his men—the youngest—while banging his gloved fist against the wooden wall of the coach. It was Corporal Davis Tardy; Van Hooten could tell by the primness of the knock. Even in his military attire, the man looked innocent and harmless.
Corporal Hugh Konrad, the other rookie, was a shade different. The man was square, kept a straight face and straight posture, and shaved away his chin clean every morning. He was in his late twenties, and Sergeant Van Hooten could see the promise of a great soldier in him, although a bit too stuck up.
"Sir?!" responded the old coachman, spitting into his grey stubble. He was dressed in humble clothes—after all, discretion was key. It was the best way to stay subtle was to avoid the rail transport and at least until Dallas.
"How much longer till Riff Town?" asked Davis.
"We still have to cross the desert, but I'd say two hours," replied the coachman.
"Can we make haste? I don't like this place."
"Me neither," added Ms. Lincoln. Van Hooten didn't know who the middle-aged lady was, but he had orders to protect her, and not ask any questions. There were rumors that she was to favor the entry of California into the Union; she was an ambassador of some sort.
"Sure thing, but we're already as fast as the horses will take us," spat the coachman. "But give it a minute and we'll be in town for rest. Now this place is reputed to have the finest saloon in the west. We'll soon have cosy beds and plenty of drinks to quench our thirst. Don't you worry now, I seen you three in your military garb guarding this fair lady. Now that gal looks real important. May I ask why?" He looked curiously through the wooden window, with his one good eye. He added, "Meanin' no disrespect, ma'am."
"None taken," replied Miss Lincoln, smoothing her dress.
"Unfortunately, we're not in the right to tell you who she is or why we're here," said Corporal Konrad. "I guess you'll have to be content with our pay." He leaned over to the sergeant and whispered, "this dude talks too much."
Van Hooten nodded the brim of his hat in approval.
"Any a' you ever been to Columbia?" shouted the coachman so they could hear him through all the horses' babble.
"No, we're just passing through! What can you tell us about it?" asked the sergeant. He didn't want his companions to know that he was from this shithole…
The coachman smiled with a mouth full of yellowed teeth. "Well, it's a beautiful place—diverse, it is. Up north there's pines, mountains… really reminds me of Montana if you been up there. Down south, there's the lowlands, and the ranches. Out west, there's the desert, and the mines and the east… The east is same as the south, though it's a bit greener and more sinuous, and it's got farms instead of ranches, so I reckon it isn't exactly the same as the south… No doubt about it, the Lord truly made this place a wonder of His creations."
"Amen," replied Sergeant Van Hooten. He noticed the rocky hills in the distance were no longer in the distance.
"Although, there's this scourge festering lately…"
"A disease?" inquired Ms. Lincoln, raising fingers to her lips.
"No, ma'am, at least not a disease you'd think of." The coachman spat into the dry dirt. "It's people—bad people roaming the area, brutalizing the good folk of Columbia. They steal, kill… but I won't speak no more of 'em, their tales aren't made for your delicate ears."
"No, please, can you go on?" asked Ms. Lincoln.
The coachman grinned. "I don't know much myself, I'm not from around here, but I can tell you it's the most notorious gang in the west. They call their leader the Lawless, and he's got a huge bounty on his head. If you want to hear the gruesome details, you'll have to ask the locals. I'm not in the mood to… What's this now?"
Van Hooten creaked open the doors of the carriage and leaned out to see, clutching his rifle tight. There he saw them—pouring out of their hideouts and standing proudly in the scorching desert air in wait. A dozen men were armed to the teeth, and in the center, Van Hooten saw a familiar face: a tall man with broad shoulders, wearing a grey duster and a long-brimmed grey hat, with an imposing stature that made him stand out. Between his thin lips was a cigar, and the brim of his hat covered his eyes, but still the sergeant knew him. A chill ran through his bones.
"What did I do?!" cried the coachman in distress.
"Don't stop!" shouted Konrad. "Keep going! Don't let things go their way!"
"No!" Tardy protested. "Stop the damn thing! They'll shoot us if you charge them and we'll be at their mercy anyway."
"C-c-can't we just go back?" asked Ms. Lincoln. She was shivering with fright. This is no place for a lady like her, Van Hooten thought.
"The road is too narrow," said the coachman. "They'll shoot us to kingdom come if I try to move us back this close!"
The Sergeant pulled down the brim of his hand and smoothed his whiskers. He was the highest authority in the carriage, and they all knew it. The sergeant was a hard-headed man, he knew their chances weren't good, but still he had to try to beat the odds…
[Charge Forward] [Stop the carriage and surrender] [Try to go back]
[Stop the carriage and surrender]
I'm not sure about this, I might change the vote. However, this might be the only way to keep Miss Lincoln safe. They might just be trying to rob them.
[Stop the carriage and surrender]
Tales is right. As unsafe as it sounds, it could very well be the safest option.
[Charge Forward]
Alright, voting is closed.
They will [Stop the carriage and surrender]
.
)
The part will come in the next few days.
And there'll probably be a break after this one for multiple reasons,
one of them being that it's summer and people seem to be vacant right now.
This way i'll leave the prologue as an appetizer,
I also want to avoid having my generic boring characters replacing your ideas
This way i'll leave time for people to submit me plenty of characters (i sure hope so
I really miss of everything
In the short term , Here are some characters that'd need to be submitted:
_3 Marshalls ((only 3) not native from Columbia
Since those characters above will probably be the ones directly introduced after the prologue.
Next part won't have any choice. And will be the end of the prologue.
This choice was the most reasonable one,
but is it the case of the people blocking the road ? ,:)
Thanks for your votes, in addition here's a portrait of Sergeant Van hooten:
I just wanted to let you know, I sent you a pm.
I also sent another one.
PROLOGUE: Once upon a time in the west II
He reached through the window and grasped the coachman's shoulder. "Stop this goddam thing!" he shouted.
"They'll kill us!" protested the coachman.
"Do it." Sergeant Van Hooten had steel in his voice.
Looking from the door of the carriage, Rudy Van Hooten could see their leader smiling beneath the brim of his grey hat. A man standing beside him, with a white coat and black bandana, unsheathed a small kitchen knife… The coach began to slow and before it screeched to a halt, Van Hooten slammed the door closed in preparation. He cocked his rifle.
Van Hooten knew from the start he would likely never make it out of this, and he didn't fear death (he had been prepared for it all his life), but that wasn't the case with the people inside the carriage—the people he was sworn to protect.
The dozen men approached the coach and their leader nodded to the old done man and said, "Thanks for the cooperation, sir."
"Yo-you're welcome…" responded the coachman, sniveling behind his horses.
His men exchanged snorting laughs, but the leader made a hand gesture, and they quieted. "Now, would you kindly, good sir, get off this 'Caléche' and go your merry way?"
The old man followed his demands and hopped from the cart, and made to undo the latches on the door, but the leader stopped him. "No, no, please… Allow me."
What had seemed to be a jolly man quickly turned to one full of utter rage as he violently slammed his fist against the door and said, "Alright, you stupid, ugly motherfuckers, you better come out gently. I got a dozen guns aimed right at you, so no need to play the hero, Rudy." The corporals' eyes filled with shock as they realized he knew who this was. "That's right," continued the outlaw. "I know your name. Now get off that thing before I turn it to ash."
"We're stepping down! Don't shoot!" offered Ms. Lincoln.
Sergeant Van Hooten shot her a begrudging look, but obliged. When opening the door, he was stunned by the heat for a moment, but then he could see them—all smiling, but focused, guns aimed at his head. The coachman was already on his knees, hands behind his back and a gun on the base of his skull.
"Take them guns," said the leader with a laugh. "Get them on their knees. No need to tie them, it won't be long…" Then he turned. "Ah, Rudy! Long time no see! Put him aside of the others, I'll handle him later."
"How does he know your—" mumbled Corporal Tardy.
"Hey, fucker," the leader replied with a backhand slap across the cheek, "no word comes out of your shithole mouth until the boss says otherwise, do you get it? Or do I have to knock out some of your teeth first?"
"No, I get it, I get it…" said Corporal Tardy, sobbing. Damnit, thought the sergeant. Good soldiers don't cry…
"Donny, loosen them horses, take them back on the old ridge," said the leader. Another man nodded and went to obey.
"I really appreciate that you stopped them horses and not brought them to their imminent death. They look strong, sharp, and wild… Kinda like us men of the west." The man tipped up the brim of his grey hat, flashing his piercing eyes. "Why did you stop, Rudy? I don't understand. Good ol' Rudy don't have compassion for on one, much less for these noble animals. Why did you do it? The Rudy I know would sacrifice anything to stay alive. Whose idea was it to stop? I know it's not Mr. Van Hooten, here; this man is all meat for brains. I was like him once, you know? So I know for a fact this wasn't his idea. Who is the man who had this brilliant idea?
"Was it you?" the man turned to Davis Tardy, sobbing there on the ground. He pursed his lips. "Listen, you gotta stop crying. You're really starting to get on my nerves. Does it look like I'm scolding you? If a bee sits on your fucking hand and you start crying like a pansy, it's gonna fucking sting you. And I'm about to fucking sting you!"
"It was my fucking idea," interrupted Corporal Konrad, as tall and proud as he could be on his knees.
The leader smiled and wiped his nose. "Wow! Wow! Now, that, you see, is bravery. This man is just as afraid as you, and you see, he's—"
"I aint afraid of scum like you," spat Konrad. "I know who you are, Lawless. You might be free for some time, but we'll find you and you'll pay. They'll kill you."
The leader shook his head. "Now you disappoint me, kid. I thought you was brave, not like this… thing," he nodded toward Corporal Tardy, still weeping and looked to have pissed himself. The leader crouched on his knees in front of Konrad and said, "You kind of remind me of me when I was your age. But thing is, I actually had a brain. I knew what to do what not to do. I had a head on my shoulders, but you… You say you know who I am, but it sure seems like you don't, seeing how you talked to me. Bravery can be misinterpreted. Bravery is actions or protestations in dreadful situations, it's hope in hopeless places. Then there's brainless—recklessness combined with pride. I doubt it's the first one, it doesn't match with what you just did. That only gives us one option for your ass. You ain't brave, you're brainless."
The man drew his gun and shot Corporal Konrad in the forehead, all in the blink of an eye, bespattering his blood and brains across the wall of the carriage. Ms. Lincoln shrieked with ladylike terror.
Corporal Tardy broke into a run. The leader, seemingly unsurprised, nodded to the man wearing the white leather coat and said, "Ludwig, get this namby-pamby motherfucker." The man named Ludwig took off at a sprint, and easily caught up to the fleeing soldier. He positively threw himself into Tardy, and plunged his knife in and out of the boy's back. When he was done, he mumbled a few words in German, the corporal's blood on his smile. The others were laughing and cheering him on.
And just like that, both of the sergeant's rookies were dead.
The grey-hatted man laughed and addressed the woman. "Oh, I'm sorry, my lady…" He spat on her. "DID I STARTLE YOU? I CERTAINLY DIDN'T MEAN TO! Seriously, Rudy, where did you get these people?"
"I-I can… I c-can pay you!" said the lady with panicked eyes. "Y-you put a r-ransom. They'll pay… They'll pay…"
The man laughed. "I really thought you had some heavy lady nuts. You disappoint me, too. Besides, you're probably not important anyway." He looked at Van Hooten and put a bullet between her eyes.
"What did you do?!" shouted Van Hooten, rage spilling into his beard.
"What? I don't care about her, Rudy. You know I'm here for you, brother."
"That woman was a pupil of the nation! An indispensable diplomat of the government—"
"Not anymore!" The man laughed.
"After this, the marshals won't stop for anything in the world to get you," said the sergeant, truthfully.
The man then knelt down next to him and said, very calmly, "I'm already their prime target, brother. You just didn't know it yet. Me and you, we're nothin' for them people. Why should I—should we give a shit about them? If they want a fight, I'll give them a fight. That's all I want!"
"YOU WILL DIE!" Rudy cried, pouring rage into every syllable.
"Oh, you would like that, wouldn't you? After what you did to me… I still have the scars, you know? I mean, you could have placed the knife in my heart or slit my throat, but no, you wanted me to suffer. So you plunged it in my stomach and left me to agonize. Then you stole my wife, after all I did for you. After all we've been through, you took her and ran away and left me to die."
"I loved her," Rudy spat. "And she loved me."
"But what about me? Am I not your brother? I loved you. I would have done everything for you, but you just couldn't bear seeing me happy. I know what happened to her… what happened to the—" The man was ruminating, looking at the floor, then suddenly stared once more into Rudy's eyes with iron determination. "I will have my vengeance."
"You're crazy…"
"Yes, I am!" he stood up and heaved a laugh into the sunny desert. "But at least I know I am! You don't even realize you're just as fucked up as me! We're in a crazy world. Not coming up insane wouldn't be sane, but you beat me on this one, and you can't even see it.
"What you did to me was inhuman. Mother used to tell me that when someone hits me, I should always hit back. So here's the tribute." The man drew a second gun from his belt, and placed both guns on Rudy's stomach. He shot all twelve rounds into him, one after the other, and only stopped when the guns clicked empty. The man sheathed his two guns and drew a large hunting knife. "Remember this?"
Rudy saw the knife, but he didn't see it. He was struggling to breathe, struggling to stay alive with the unimaginable pain in his gut. "Finish this…" he said. Blood began to pour from his mouth.
"It's already done," said Lawless, with a compassionate look and concerned voice.
The Lawless then hugged the man he'd shot and laid him down. He whispered in his ear, "I forgive you, brother." Then he brutally planted the knife in the sand next to his brother's face, startling him in his last moments, and threw the butt of his cigar down next to it. Then he got up and turned to the coachman, sniveling on the ground.
"Now, coachman. What's your name?"
"Billy… Billy Rell."
"Well, Billy Rell. You got a family? A wife or son?"
"No, I ain't got one. My wife died from fever a couple years back, and my son left without a word for me or his mother ten years ago."
"Why did he leave?"
"I don't know, sir."
"Were you a fair father?"
"Fair? I mean, I think I was. What do you mean by it?"
"Did you treat him good? Were you beating on him daily?" Lawless's smile grew grim.
"No… No, I mean his mother did spank him when he was a boy, when he done somethin' foolish, but then she stopped. I never beat him, not one bit, sir…" His eyes darted back and forth to the body of the sergeant. The sergeant had been good to him.
"You tellin' me the truth?"
"Of course, sir!"
"You're not lying to me?" Lawless clenched his fist and spat at Billy's feet.
"No, sir. I wouldn't dare."
"Why didn't you beat him?"
"My daddy used to beat me and it never did me any good, sir. I didn't want to do that to my child."
Lawless smiled and nodded. In a way, he could relate. "You have any idea why your son left?"
"He used to fool around with a couple of ranch boys, and they went missing around the same time my son left. Figured they must have gone bad…"
"What's your son's name?"
"Raymond, sir."
"Well, if I ever see Raymond, I'll tell him his daddy loves him."
"Thank you, sir." Billy felt a warmth in his heart, despite seeing all of his passengers murdered just a moment before. A drop of spittle began to fall from his lip.
"It's nothing." The Lawless smiled at him and went searching for something from inside his long grey coat. Billy thought it would be a gun, but he was surprised to see him pull out a bundle of greenbacks… Lawless took some from it.
"Here's three hundred dollars. That should be worth the trouble. Now, off you go." And he handed Billy the money.
"Oh, thank you sir! Thank you!" Billy Rell rose with eyes full of relief and sprinted off towards town.
Lawless Dan gestured to one of his men, who promptly threw him the sergeant's rifle from the carriage. And he aimed it directly at the old man's back. Some of his men then started laughing, and so did Sweet Ludwig, who was brandishing his bloody knife. Some stayed silent and hard-faced. Lawless didn't care.
After he took the shot, the old man collapsed immediately, struggling to rise up as he fell and groaned with pain. Billy Rell could hear the laughs of the men behind him, including their leader's bloody chuckles as he crawled through the sand.
Lawless Dan threw the rifle to one of his men, and then ordered them to keep quiet. They immediately obeyed. Staying silent and serious for a time, he cracked up in a heartfelt laugh. All his men followed suit and began to whoop and cheer. "We're gonna show them pansies who's the boss in town!"
End of prologue
Hey I'm signed on! I really like your prologue. I hope you like my characters. I submitted John Wesley Stark, his daughter Rhubarb, and the Fabulous Moronzo.
Those are some interesting names. Especially, the last two.
Thanks haha, I'm interested to see how they come up in the story.
Also, well fuck all those people are dead. I was really starting to like Sergeant Van Hooten, but I suppose he's the prologue character and prologue characters have to die lol. I was really interested to see who Ms. Lincoln was, and am even more interested to see what happens now that she's dead.
The Lawless is an interesting villain. He's savage with no remorse. I'm also curious to see who "Sweet Ludwig" is, since he seemed to be the craziest of anyone we met in this chapter.
I'm excited to see how the story shapes up in the coming chapters, and what the town of Riff is like. Keep it up!
Oh and also I submitted another character: Marshal Buckham Jones, since I noticed you wanted people to submit marshals.
By the way, was there a choice we could have picked that didn't result in all their deaths? Where they all going to die regardless of which choice we picked?
I imagine charging the cart forward might have saved some of them, if they managed to break free, they might have had a chance to outrun the bandits. As it stood, they basically gave themselves up.
Hey dude ! Really like your characters.I might have some question especially regarding Moronzo, but no haste. [Hella] glad you like my prologue,
"The Lawless is an interesting villain. He's savage with no remorse. I'm also curious to see who "Sweet Ludwig" is, since he seemed to be the craziest of anyone we met in this chapter."
Glad that you like my villain, if only Sweet ludwig was just crazy ,that dude is twisted in many ways. If you was on the old thread "I'm planning to write a western" he's the guy on the right , you can see straight from there that he's not a super benevolent guy.
"I'm excited to see how the story shapes up in the coming chapters, and what the town of Riff is like. Keep it up!"
Sure thing pal, i will do ! But it's summertime, and people are vacant, including myself,i will try to make few drawings of more submitted characters and shape my story for the submitted characters, in the mean time also leave some time for people in the forums to find the story, many people were interrested in the story when i made that thread long ago, i want to live them time , this way i can adapt my story to the submitted characters, so i can't tell you when my next part will be, but i will certainly keep up this story , "wild west" is my puppy.
"By the way, was there a choice we could have picked that didn't result in all their deaths? Where they all going to die regardless of which choice we picked?"
Most would die no matter,
Corporal Konrad and Lady Lincoln couldn't be saved and be granted more dialogues no matter what ...
Two other characters depending on choice could live through a short time but eventually would die shortly after prologue.
One character was supposed to die in two choices, but made it in one choice, it's the only character who could make it.
But probably will be a small character in the story. Although it's not sure yet.
One character could have been introduced in one of the choices that wasn't picked.
I'll maybe release a "different choice outcomes" in the end of an act or chapter , we'll see ;p
Oh and also I submitted another character: Marshal Buckham Jones, since I noticed you wanted people to submit marshals.
Oh thanks ! I do need marhsalls at the moment, but feel free to submit every type of character you want , humble ranchers families or townsmen who just go at the local saloon, bounty hunter, Gangs, or even a member of Lawless gang,
Everything that you would see fit the story friend
Oh, no you didn't lol
By the way, I sent you a PM yesterday. Did you get it?
Well know i did