The Dragon of the West

Chapter 2: The Fine Art of Cattle Rustling

Griff rode around the ranch and introduced himself to some of the ranch hands. The hands were all rather welcoming and the chief ranch hand was Hamish who shook Griff's hand heartily and said to him, "Nice ta meet ya, youngster!" Hamish smiled showing tow rows of slightly dirty teeth. "We wondering how long you were gonna be laid out cold," he then said.

"Well, I'm awake now," replied Griff. "What can I do to help? I feel I must repay you and Lady MacFarlane the kindness of taking me in," he said.

"How good are ya at riding and herding cattle?" Hamish asked.

"I can ride a horse well enough, but I'm afraid I haven't learnt how to herd cattle," Griff said regretfully.

"Ain't nuthin' to it," Hamish said easily as he mounted his horse. "Foller me and I'll teach ya how to herd cattle," he then said to Griff who mounted Dahlia and followed Hamish out to the pastures.

"Now, the trick is ta get behind the herd and slowly guide them to where ya wanna go," Hamish said to Griff. "Most cattle followed the ones in front of 'em, so it should be easy ta do," he added.

Griff and Hamish rode their horses behind the herd and the cattle then began in one direction. "Make sure none of the herd don't stray now," Hamish advised Griff. "Some of 'em like ta get ideas and move away from the herd and others will foller 'em," he explained and just as Hamish said, some of the cattle began to break off from the herd. "Move 'em back in ta the herd!" Hamish cried out and Griff quickly moved the cattle back into the herd.

"Nice work, youngster," Hamish praised Griff. "Might make a cattleman of ya yet," he said.

"It seems easy enough," Griff replied as they moved the herd along the pasture. Some of the other ranch hands came by to help them out. Soon the herd was moved to a fresh pasture and one of the hands stayed to watch over the herd. Off in the distance, something moved. Hamish noticed and he stiffened up; Griff saw the tense look on Hamish's face and he asked, "What is it?"

Hamish stared ahead in the distance before relaxing and saying, "Naw, it weren't nuthin', just being paranoid," he muttered.

"What's wrong? What did you see?" Griff asked.

"Well, don't tell Ms MacFarlane or her Pappy I told ya this, but lately we've been having troubles," Hamish admitted.

"What kinda of troubles?" Griff asked cautiously.

"Well, if ya don't already know, but there's some bigshot businessman named Bartholomew Bogue who's trying to buy up all the land and businesses he can," Hamish said. "There ain't no law against a man buyin' land or goin' inter business, but Bogue is different…" he added darkly.

"Different how?"

"Bogue ain't afraid to use more… 'persuasive' means to get what he wants. And people who say no to Bogue often end up dead or goin' missing."

"Can the lords of this land do anything?" Griff asked.

"Ha! You ain't from around 'ere, are ya? Ain't no lords or kings in these parts!" Hamish laughed. "Even if we did 'ave those sorta things, wouldn't do no good! Bogue's got the law bought and paid for, and he's got some bigwig friends in government," he said. "Hell, he's even got some outlaw gangs in his pockets!" he added.

"What kind of things would Bogue do to get what he wants?" Griff asked.

"Well, he typically gets outlaw gangs to pressure farmers and ranchers like Mr MacFarlane into selling their land, if they say no, that's when trouble starts," replied Hamish.

"What kind of trouble?"

"Cattle goin' missing, supply wagons being stolen, ranch hands getting beaten up or killed. You name it, Bogue will have his boys do it."

"Seven Hells! Why does no-one put a stop to such a man?" Griff exclaimed.

"Not many folks are willing ta stand up ta a man like Bogue!" Hamish said. "Bogue's also got a nickname; Blackheart," he added in a hushed voice.

"A fitting choice of name," Griff said dryly. "So, do you think something is going to happen to Mr MacFarlane's ranch?" he asked.

"No telling, I'm afraid," Hamish said. "I could just be paranoid, but I got a funny feeling," he added grimly.

"Well, I'll assist in any way I can," Griff then said. "You people were good enough to take me in, it's the least I can do to repay such kindness," he added.

"Well, that may come sooner than ya think," Hamish said. "Enough jawing! Time for some lunch! Hope ya got a healthy appetite!" he added as he urged his horse into a canter and Griff followed after him.

Half an hour later and eating a plateful of rich beef stew, Griff then helped Hamish and the ranch hands load bales of hay and fodder for the horses. Griff also helped clean out the horse stalls and brush the horses. It was tiring work, but it wasn't hard to do. It was nearing mid-afternoon when Hamish looked out the horizon and said, "Where's Pete? He shoulda come in by now," he muttered.

"Pete?" Griff repeated.

"He was the one to watch over the herd when we moved 'em out to the pasture this morning," Hamish informed him.

"Ah, right," Griff mumbled. "Should we go look for him?" he suggested.

"Yeah, we'd better," Hamish said as he took out a long object which seemed to be a long metal tube attached to a wooden body. "Know how ta use one of these?" Hamish asked Griff who shook his head.

"Well, yer about ta learn how!" Hamish then said to Griff as he handed the weapon to Griff who fumbled with it in his grip and held it out from his body awkwardly. Hamish sighed and said to him, "Here, I'll show ya how ta use a gun." After a brief lesson on how to aim and fire the gun, Griff was then given some ammunition for the gun and was shown how to load the gun when it would run empty. Slinging the gun, a carbine repeater as it was called, over his back, Griff then adjusted his sword within easy reach on his hip and slung his bow over his shoulder. Hamish raised an inquisitive eyebrow as he saw the sword and bow Griff possessed but shook his head and chose not to comment.

Mounting their horses, Griff, Hamish and two of the other ranch hands rode out to the pasture where they found the cow herd gone!

"What in tarnation?!" Hamish cursed. "Where's the herd? And where the hell is Pete!?" he yelled out loud.

Griff dismounted Dahlia and began to look around. He soon found some blood stains on the ground and he waved Hamish over. "Look! Blood, spilled a couple of hours ago," he pointed out.

Realisation dawned on Hamish's face, "Oh, Jesus… ya don't think…?" he tried to say.

"I don't know just yet," Griff said. "Mightn't be Pete's blood, we haven't found him yet," he added with a forced smile. "Let's look around, we might find some clue where Pete and the herd have gone," he suggested.

The group spread out to find some clues to where Pete and the missing herd had gone to. Griff followed the tail of blood and he found the cooling corpse of Pete with his throat cut to the bone and blood pooling around his corpse.

"I found Pete!" Griff called out. Hamish and the other ranch hands came running over and they all had looks of dismay and horror in their eyes.

"Oh, no!" one of the ranch hand groaned. "What happened to him?" he asked.

"He's dead, of course," Griff said softly. "Whomever it was must've snuck up behind him and cut his throat with a sharp blade," he surmised as he briefly examined the wound on Pete's corpse. "Killed him instantly, and then they took the herd," he added.

"Yeah, I found some tracks where the herd has gone off to," one of the ranch hands said.

"Where did they go?" Hamish asked him.

"I think they musta gone to Pike's Basin."

"Yeah, that'd be the place," Hamish muttered. "Must be Bogue's men doing this!" he cursed. "Bogue's being trying to run Mister MacFarlane off this place for a while now," he said darkly. "Rustling the cattle would be just the thing ta do!" he added.

"We're going to get the herd back!" Griff said determinedly. "Let's follow the trail! We might be able to get the herd back," he declared.

"Alright then," Hamish said looking heartened by Griff's word. He then looked at one of the ranch hands and said to him, "Billy, head back to the Ranch and tell Ms MacFarlane what's happened. If we don't come back by sundown, ride to Armadillo and tell the Marshal what happened!" he told the man who nodded his head and rode back to the ranch.

"Alright, Mister Griff, let's mount up and get the herd back!" Hamish then said as he whistled for his horse. Griff whistled for Dahlia who came trotting up; mounting the mare easily, Griff took out his bow and followed Hamish and the other ranch hand, both of whom had drawn their guns.

"Foller me, boys! I know how to get ta Pike's Basin!" Hamish said confidently as they urged their horses into a steady gallop. Riding over the slopes of the plains, the group soon came to the decline that lead into a large ravine. "We'll go on foot from here," Hamish said to Griff and they dismounted their horses and readied their weapons.

"Stay low! We don't know how many of the bastards there are!" Hamish whispered hoarsely and they crouched down and they slowly made their down the rocky path into the ravine. Griff peered the ledge and he saw an encampment of sorts where some rough looking men wearing the attire of dark grey coats with deep green scarves/bandannas around their necks. Some of the men were sitting around a campfire passing around food and drinks, while others stood on guard. And at the back of the camp in a large pen was the missing herd.

"I see the herd," Griff whispered to Hamish who looked down at the camp and nodded. "Yeah, I also see about fifteen to twenty men, all of them Blackheart's boys," the ranch hand muttered. "Too many of them for a straight with what numbers we've got," he pointed out.

"Can we take a few out silently?" the other ranch hand suggested.

"Yeah, I reckon Mister Griff could take a few out with his bow," Hamish replied and he looked at Griff expectantly; Griff nodded and said, "Aye, I can take a few of them out, thin their ranks a little," he whispered.

"Alright, let's see how many of 'em there and which of them they won't miss," Hamish said as he began surveying the area. After a moment, he pointed to a lookout and said to Griff, "That one, right there! Think you can do it?" he asked him.

"We'll find out, won't we?" Griff replied as he took an arrow from his quiver and nocked to his bow. Pulling back on the bowstring until it was straining, Griff aimed at the lookout Hamish marked and after a moment, Griff released the arrow. The arrow soared through the air and speared the lookout in the neck killing him instantly and he crumpled to the ground silently. The others didn't notice.

"Nice shot! Now for the next one!" Hamish surveyed the area again and he pointed to another lookout who was smoking a cigarette. "Him!" he ordered. Griff nocked another arrow to his bow and pulled the bowstring back and aimed at the lookout. After a brief moment, Griff released and the arrow flew through the air and skewered the lookout in the heart.

"Good! Now for the next one!" Hamish whispered and he pointed out another lookout who was seated on a chair near a tent. Griff killed the man.

"Another one and there should be a few left for us all to take on," Hamish hissed and he pointed to another lookout. Griff aimed his bow at the patrolling lookout and fired.

To Griff's dismay, the arrow whizzed past the lookout's head, knocking the man's hat off. The lookout gave a startled movement before looking around wildly and he quickly noticed Griff and the group.

"Hey! We got trespassers!" yelled the lookout and the other cattle thieves all grabbed their guns and began to fire on Griff's group. The flashes of fire and cracks of thunder assailed Griff's ears and it was only lucky Hamish pulled him behind cover that he managed to avoid being hit.

"Ah, shit! Ain't nuthin' for it now!" Hamish cursed as he pulled out his gun and returned fire. Hamish managed to kill one of the thieves. "Mister Griff! You take Tollison and head down into the Basin! I'll cover ya from up here!" the man shouted.

"R-right!" Griff quickly said as he pulled out his sword and nodded at Tollison who pulled out his own gun. "Let's go!" Griff said to the man and they began to run down the path into the ravine, avoiding bullets that whizzed past them. Some of the cattle thieves began to run towards Griff and Tollison; Tollison reacted quickly as he fired his gun at the cattle thieves who ducked behind rocks. One of the cattle thieves was killed by Tollison and Griff ran on ahead. Once Tollison had to reload his gun, the cattle thieves emerged from cover, but by then Griff had closed the distance and swung his sword and slashed open one man's chest, the man gave a gurgle as he fell to the ground and died. The next cattle thief had his heart skewered on the end of Griff's sword and the last cattle thief had his head slashed off. Griff panted as he looked upon the dead bodies of the cattle thieves he killed; he hadn't ever killed before, he'd been trained how to, but until today, he hadn't put such skills into practice.

"Nice work, Mister Griff!" Tollison yelled as he ran past Griff. "C'mon! There's still a few of them left!" the ranch had shouted as he ran on ahead of Griff who quickly followed him.

Hamish had managed to kill most of the cattle thieves, but the smarter one hid behind cover and returned fire at Hamish who ducked down behind the ledge he was on to avoid being hit. Griff and Tollison reached the camp and began to attacked the thieves. Griff smashed his boot into one man's face before stabbing the man in the chest while Tollison killed one with a gunshot to the head. A bullet nearly winged Griff as he spun away from a cattle thief and killed another with a slash to the heart. Tollison killed another thief with a bullet to the chest before one of the cattle thieves managed to tackle him to the ground and began to punch him in the face repeatedly.

Griff saw the ranch hand in trouble and sprinted over to kicked the cattle thief off Tollison and slashed the man's stomach, causing his intestines to spill out. The thief screamed in agony as he tried to keep all his innards from spilling out, but it proved fruitless as he succumbed to the horrendous wound and died.

Seeing the young warrior kill so many of their comrades, the remaining cattle thieves all turned tail and fled.

"That's right, ya thieving varmints! You run! Ain't nobody steals from the MacFarlanes!" Hamish yelled after them and he took another couple of shots at them. By then the cattle thieves had fled down the ravine. Griff heaved a sigh of relief as the adrenaline from the battle wore off and he felt bone tired.

Hamish made his way down to the ravine and said to Griff who sat down on a nearby crate. "I ain't never thought I'd see someone take on a bunch of armed men with nothing but a sword before!" the ranch hand exclaimed. "You're pretty 'andy with that pigsticker!" he added.

"T-Thank you!" Griff replied gratefully as he panted. "It was… my first time killing someone," he then said.

"You okay?" Tollison asked him. Griff nodded and said, "I will be. Just give me a moment," he said tiredly before taking in a deep breathe and sighed and stood up. "Let's get the herd back," he ordered and they then let the stolen herd out of the pen and herded them up a path Hamish knew that would lead them back to the ranch.

Upon arriving at the ranch, Griff was greeted by Bella MacFarlane who looked relieved and worried.

"Billy told us that you three went to get the herd back from cattle rustlers," Bella said to Griff. "We were worried that you three might not make it back," she added. "Glad to see I was wrong," she then said in relief.

"You shoulda seen Mister Griff, Ms MacFarlane!" Tollison exclaimed excitedly. "He probably killed six of the bastards with that there sword of his!" he said pointing to Griff's sword which was still coated in crimson blood.

"You took on Blackheart's men, all armed with guns, with nothing but a sword?" Bella said to Griff who shrugged his shoulders and replied, "Aye, but I feel I'll need to learn how to use a gun before doing something like that again," he admitted.

"You have to be the craziest or luckiest sumbitch to do something like that!" Bella said. "But thank you for getting the herd back," she added gratefully. "We've got enough problems without cattle rustlers to worry about," she then said.

"They weren't no ordinary cattle rustlers, Ms MacFarlane," Hamish said. "I saw their colours; they were Blackheart's boys!" he added grimly.

"That no-good bastard?!" Bella spat. "Shit! We don't need that robber baron breathing down our necks!" she cursed.

"Well, I don't think those thieves will be back for a while, milady," Griff said. "But might I suggest that we double the lookouts tonight? Make sure they don't come back," he advised.

"Will do, Mister Griff," Bella replied graciously. "Now how's about you three go get washed up and get yourselves summat to eat? You've earned it!" she added.

"Thank you, Ms MacFarlane!" Hamish said gratefully and Griff nodded his thanks and after asking where he could bathe, he was directed to a nearby building where a tub of hot water was waiting. Stripping himself of his clothes and smallclothes, Griff climbed into the tub and began to scrub at his body until the water turned a murky reddish-brown colour, a mixture of blood, sweat and grime from today's events.

After cleaning himself, Griff climbed out of the tub and dried himself off and put his clothes back and quickly cleaned his sword with the remaining bathwater.

Leaving the small building, Griff was greeted by the residents of the ranch who all gave a cheer. Griff bowed his head modestly, a little unused to the attention and he was jostled over to the nearby campfire where he was sat down on a bench and a plate of stew was thrust into his hand.

"You shoulda seen this kid!" Hamish said loudly to everyone, "I ain't never seen no-one fight a bunch of rustlers with a sword before, but this kid did just that!" he proclaimed.

"Well, I never!" cried out one of the residents and the rest all murmured their astonishment.

"Yeah! Mister Griff killed about four or five or six of those rustlers with his sword alone!" Tollison put in. "Say, can we take a look-see at yer sword again?" he asked Griff who sighed and pulled his sword free. Everyone murmured their awe and wonder as they gazed upon the dark and smoky steel of Griff's sword.

"Never seen metal like that before!" one ranch hand remarked. "What kinda sword is it?" the man asked Griff who replied, "it's a family heirloom, made of Valyrian steel," he said as he sheathed his sword.

"Has it got a name?" Hamish asked. "looks like it got a name," he added thoughtfully.

"Blackfyre," Griff replied.

"Black, fire, Blackfyre," Hamish said the name a few times until he was satisfied with it. "And what's Valyrian steel? I ain't heard of it before," he added.

"It's… a long story," Griff admitted reluctantly. Everyone then looked at Griff expectantly, urging him to tell what they thought would be a fantastical tall tale. With everyone urging him to tell, Griff then began to tell them all what Valyrian steel was and more importantly, who HE was and how he came here.

TO BE CONTINUED…

A/N: Phew! The second chapter of this done and the beginning of Griff's adventures in the RDR universe has begun. Hopefully this chapter was a little longer than the first one and was good enough to make the grade. And we've been alluded to a major villain of this story, Bartholomew 'Blackheart' Bogue, a robber baron/businessman and some of his hired thugs.

So, not much other than this chapter, but I am working on a new Game of Thrones crossover featuring Aegon VI/Young Griff, and it will be a crossover with Goblin Slayer as I recently read a Red Dead Redemption/Goblin Slayer crossover where our boah Arthur Morgan after succumbing to his TB ends up in the Goblin Slayer world and becomes the Gunslinger. M idea follows a similar thread where Aegon VI lands in the Goblin Slayer universe and becomes an adventurer named Hedge Knight. It might be a little while before I write and post the first chapter as I'm just starting to watch the Goblin Slayer anime so I can figure out how to blend Game of Thrones with it. As usual, I've set up a voting poll on my profile showing a list of lovely lasses for Aegon to be with, and a lot of them are OCs I've based on fictional characters or real life people. Feel free to vote on the poll if you wish.

Other than that, not much else to say, so leave a review if you like, or don't. But it would help if you all left a review on this chapter as it does encourage me to write more.

Be kind to one another,

Angry lil' elf.