Back in the 1860s, there were little towns speckled across the North American deserts; remnants from the westward migration 100 or so years ago. Nestled in the center of this wilderness, there was a stretch of land called The Red Basin. It was home to a collection of small towns and developing cities. Working people making ends meet, living under the blazing sun and surrounded by sand. And they liked it that way.
Which is why these particular rumors spread so fast.
Stories have been making their way around the basin of an odd snowstorm making its rounds in the south. Temperatures cold enough to snuff out the strongest and hottest flame. For those unaccustomed to the cold, for those who lived in the desert all their lives, this beast of a storm is often deadly.
But stranger enough, this natural disaster was always preceded by a strange lone rider. People have given many names, but most of the basin calls him, The Northern Scourge.
Based on the stories of onlookers, he rides into town after town, seemingly taking the icy storm with him. After the first couple of appearances, the people know to hunker down whenever he pays a visit.
An outlaw like none had ever seen before, or would see again.
Hearing the rumors of a "mythic" ice bandit town hoping in the south, the woman thought that this had to be him. Seems enough like something he would do. So the dark skinned woman made her way over the horizon, at the entrance of the little mining town called Talon Summit to start her search. This should be as good as anywhere to start looking for him.
The tall woman made her way under the iron arch and into the center of town, the blazing sun high in the sky. She made her way down the wooden walkways, passing by general stores, post offices, family homes and sneering glares.
Her heels clicked on the wood as she held an ornate decorative fan over her mouth and nose.
Her hair black hair was up in a heap of curls cascading down her back. Her dress was off white in color, and detailed with ornate and expensive looking green lace at the hem. Signifying her of some kind of high level status, an outlier in the working town she found herself strolling through.
She knows how these people work. To get any classified information about criminals in the desert, the ones with all the know-how are always at the town saloon. Even considering the circumstances, the woman was a little excited to be out and about in a human town. Going to the saloon, even in the middle of the day, was going to be interesting. To see how they lived nowadays.
Once arrived at the establishment, she takes note of the horses tied up out front. She reaches into her matching green handbag and pulls out some seeds for them.
With the horses fed, she makes her way in.
The wooden swing doors gently open and close at her entrance, alerting the handful of patrons to another customer in their midst. Like outside, the dark woman gathered all kinds of nasty glares and comments she couldn't quite hear about her presence. She paid them no mind, and didn't even dignify them with any eye contact back their way.
She was here on business after all.
Once she was substantially inside, the low hum of chatter and glasses picked up once again. As expected, not many customers were in the establishment at high noon. She promptly made her way to the bar in the center of the building. She leaned over the countertop, but not bothering to take a seat.
The bartenders know all their customers well, he will certainly know who to point to here to help her search.
The bartender in question was a rotund man in small circle glasses. Dressed in his usual collared work attire. He was polishing a freshly cleaned glass when the tall fair lady at the bar caught his attention.
"What can I get for ya ma'am?", he asked in a solemn southern drawl.
"No drinks for me. I'm looking for someone who can help me," she answered in a low hum.
Keeping the fan close to her face, she realizes she's never actually talked to any humans face to face. But she can't get nervous now, hopefully she'll be out of town in no time.
"Well that depends on what kind of help you need," the bartender shot her a lingering, knowing look. Before picking up another cleaned glass to dry.
Of course. This is why she comes prepared.
The woman reaches into her bag again retrieving a smaller velvet pouch. Its weight ringing out in a thud on the counter top.
She pushes the pouch over to the bartender,
"I need someone who can tell me where to find a certain outlaw that's been making the rounds here lately".
The bartender sets down the glass and throws the towel over his shoulder. His round fingers inspect the pouch and its contents. Mostly gold and silver coins with cut gemstones of some kind here and there.
Perfect.
The man pockets the pouch with a grin and leans in closer over the bar top, "They call him Weston Mad Eye. I don't know which bandit you're looking for, but he's had a run with almost every one and lived to tell the tales. He's been here all morning, top floor in the east corner table".
The tender gestures with his head to the eastern most corner of the open loft floor above them. The woman nods in return as she steps away from the bar and makes her way to the back of the building. Climbing up the backstairs to the upper loft. Up on the top floor is less well lit than the bottom, with fewer windows. And even darker still in the aforementioned east corner with the only man there sitting at the table alone.
The elegant woman clicks her way over to the lone man, "Are you Weston Made Eye?"
The man turns his head ever so slightly to look at her,
"That's what they keep calling me," His southern accent was also very pronounced amidst his gruff voice.
He half heartedly gestures for her to sit with him, and then goes back to cradling the almost empty stein of beer. When she does she can now clearly see his features. He's an older man with a full, almost gray beard. His features are wrinkled and weathered with time. He also has two very distinct scars on his face; one slash mark going across his left eye, and a discolored patch of skin on his nose. That one seemed freshly healed.
The dark woman then folded up her fan and set it down on the table, showing him her own face as a sign of good will. He took note of the woman seemingly looking like she's in her thirties, and her piercing green eyes.
"I need some help finding a certain outlaw that's been causing some trouble in the basin as of late," she explained.
Weston narrowed his eyes at the lady, "Which one darlin? There's plenty of bandits and criminals in the Basin."
She looks on as the man takes a long slow drag of the last of his drink, the glass coming down on the table with barely a noise.
"From what i've been hearing, they're calling him,"
she pauses for a moment, letting it sink in how ridiculous this whole situation is
"The Northern Scourge."
Westons eye twitched at the sound of the name. He pushed the glass further onto the table and folded his hands together in its place.
"Now, what's your business with The Scourge woman? Whatever you need from him, he wont give to ya. That man is….unnatural," the man's voice wavers ever so slightly on the last sentence describing the outlaw.
Like the bartender said, Weston has encountered almost every outlaw in the basin and came away alive as his prize. But there's something about The Northern Scourge that has their meeting on replay in his mind. Thank God he doesn't have to go down that road again.
"Trust me, I know how he can be," the well dressed woman breaks Westons train of thought.
"But if you can tell me where he is, I can make it worth your while"
She procures a large diamond cut ruby from her bag, and holds it out for Mad Eye to take. His eyes grow wide at the sheer size of the gem. He's running through the numbers in his head of how much this could possibly be worth.
He shoots the lady across from him with an unsure look. She responds with a raised eyebrow, looking for the answer she wants to hear. Something about her stern expression and bright eyes, undoes whatever resolve he had to not fulfill his end of this impromptu arrangement
"Alright. You have a deal, Miss…?" he leads as he sticks his free hand out for an official shake.
"Terra," she replies with a slight smile as she meets him halfway across the table, and seals the deal.
"Well then Ms. Terra, I'll tell you what I know.. The last time I saw him was at Gray Lake, a bigger town miles north from here. I was doing what I do, telling people what they wanted to hear, passing along the information. And that's when he came storming into town.
The sky was full of clouds, and the air got so cold you could have sworn it was nighttime. He came riding in on the strangest horse you ever saw, and that's when the snow started coming down,"
The man recalled. The dignified woman sat still in her seat, hanging onto his words as Weston continued.
"He walked into the bar like he owned the place. Insisted on having a couple beers, tried to make small talk and all that. Pretty soon he pissed off just about everybody there, and everyone ran him out of the place. Me included.
We chased him on foot all through the streets, still don't know how he managed to outrun us all. But eventually it got white outside, and me and the rest of the crowd realized we were out in the blistering cold for a little too long.
It was colder than anyone could imagine, then anyone thought it was real. And he stood out in the middle of the storm like it was nothing! Like he was having one hell of a time, watching us try and chase him down.
Eventually he did leave, and took the cold storm with him. Some got lucky with just a shiver, others….were not so lucky,"
Weston trailed off before he had to recall the ones who succumbed to frostbite and hypothermia.
After a long winded story like that, Terra sat in disbelief. Her features dropped into a grim expression. The absolute nerve! And no doubt he's doing this just for fun on top of it all.
She reached out and gently touched the folded hands of the man, "I'm so sorry," was all she could manage to say.
But that's all she needed to do. The weathered old man felt a strange sense of comfort and ease when the dark skinned woman smiled back at him. Like reassurance from someone he's always known. A far and fleeting feeling he thought he had long forgotten.
But he quickly feigned to cough and brushed her hand away as he tried to regain his tough outer persona,
"You ain't got nothing to apologize for Miss Terra. But after that carnival up north, i've been moving across the basin myself. I'm afraid that's the last I saw of him, back in Gray Lake. Sorry I couldn't help you more."
"Oh don't be silly, you were a great help Weston," Terra gave another smile his way before reaching for her fan again.
Both parties stood up as the lady was about to make her leave.
"I'll tell you what though, I got friends in all kinds of places 'round these parts. I'll tell my boys to keep an eye out for that Scourge and I'll let you know if he ever comes back 'round here," Weston promises, as they both shake hands once again.
But before Terra could thank him again, a loud crash of the swinging doors echoed through the saloon.
"He's Here! He's coming this way!" a frantic almost shrill voice sounded from the bottom floor.
The bar was buzzing with confusion. Weston and Terra looked down off the overhang to witness the excitement. An adolescent stable boy, still dirty from his work, ran into the bar and started shouting,
"The Northern Scourge is on his way here!"
The bar patrons were now in a frenzy, most following the boy back outside with weapons in hand. The ones who stayed inside were almost in hysterics and started barricading the windows.
The pair on the top floor quickly made their way to the nearest window. Through it they could see the townspeople criss-crossing paths on the street in panic. People on horseback and carriage bound were also tearing their way through the dirt roads.
And then the snow started coming down.
Terra flew down the stairs and out of the doorway to the saloon, taking no heed from a concerned Mad Eye and other patrons warning her of stepping outside.
The air temperature has indeed dropped to an insidious degree. And only a few stragglers were left still getting their things together before taking shelter inside. Just as her friend described, the sky turned gray and windy snowfall had begun to take shape in a steady stream. Terra, still standing just outside the bar, craned her neck out onto the empty dirt road. The iron arch of the town entrance was barely recognizable in the fast developing white out conditions.
Her face twisted into a scowl, as she witnessed a lone silhouette emerging from the wall of snowy wind.
The unforgettable sound of the The Northern Scourge's voice echoed out to the empty town square as he road in,
"Attention! People of Talon Summit! The party has arrived!"
Jack Frost loudly made his way onto the barren scene. Riding in on a horse that resembled more of a moving ice sculpture than a living animal. No doubt something of his own creation.
Terra watched as he slowly meandered down the dirt road in front of her. In the middle of the whipping winds that she found all too familiar, she takes note of the man's fitting appearance.
Rather standard combination of the vest, bandana, chaps and an empty gun holster. It was all in brown and dark blue leathers, with frost dusting some of the extremities. And most notably what would be leather fringe on the vest and chaps, have now been replaced with full icicles.
That combined with the literal ice horse, Terra sighed and grimaced at the spirit. Definitely not the most subtle disguise for prancing around human settlements.
But somehow, lost in his own thoughts he didn't seem to notice the woman standing 20 feet away from him on the walkway. She was practically giving him the death glare from afar. Her rage boiled just under the surface as she continued to watch him stroll through town like he owned the place.
She was going to stay put and see how long it would take for him to notice her. But after another second or two she realized that it could very well be forever until he sees outside his own ego.
"Jack!" she shouted over the winds.
At the sound of his name he turns to the source of the voice. He nearly jumps out of his skin when he realizes it was in fact Mother Nature.
"Heyyyyyy….Terra. Whats-what's going on? When did you get here?" Jack stumbles on his words trying to feign any innocence he has in the situation.
He implements careful use of her more mortal sounding name for the situation; while he awkwardly fiddles with his arms as he tries to put his chin on his hand, but then realizes there's where to rest his elbow on a horse.
"Not that long ago actually. Do you mind?" she widely gestures to the snow that's still coming down around them as she approaches.
Defeatedly, the winter spirit sweeps his arm up to down. The snow then dissipated almost immediately, and the temperatures began to rise. The clouds opened up, and let in the dearly missed streams of warm light.
Mother Nature slowly saunters up to the mounted figure, "Do you care to explain yourself, Jack?"
"Well…I heard about some new up and coming settlements here in the desert. And I just thought I'd not only come and see whatever these humans are doing now, but to give my own little welcome to them. I pride myself on being hospitable," he explained a little too nonchalantly.
"Are you kidding me! Jack, you know you have designated areas to stay in. Your storms in the south are uprooting the environmental balance," Mother Nature reprimanded.
"Oh please! Everything is fine," he casually swatted his hand at the thought, "No harm is done with a few flurries here and there,"
Mother Nature grimaces as she comes as close as possible to the horse and its arrogant rider.
"You know this is more than a few flurries. You're killing people down here!"
"Oh but when people start to drop in the north it's all fine then!"
"Jack there is a time and a place for forces of nature to be enacted, and this is hardly your time or place."
"Hey, I'm the winter spirit over here! After thousands of years of doing this, I think I know what I'm doing."
The townspeople huddled in their homes and stores had a front row seat to this unusual encounter taking place in the middle of the road. For probably the first time, The Northern Scourge has been stopped in his tracks. They could hear vague words and rising voices from behind glass windows. The people watched their ensuing conversation from afar.
"This is ridiculous! Just wait until we get back and Father Time gets word of what you've been doing," the woman berates.
"Yeah, what have I been doing exactly? Oh! That's right! Nothing! A few people get frozen here and there, what is the big deal here?"
"The big deal is that you have been breaking the number one rule, Jack! You know not to interact with humans in the first place"
"How did you even know where I was? I'm fast traveling all over the Basin"
Mother Nature paused for a moment before answering.
"I've been…..asking around towns about you"
Jack is quick to throw up an accusatory finger, "HA! What happened to not talking to humans, huh?"
"I only did it to go looking for you! To stop all this trouble you're causing"
"Trouble indeed!" called out a third voice.
In the midst of their argument, they didn't take notice of the slow bleeding of the townspeople from out of their hiding places to get a better look at the commotion. Now taking in the number of people they've garnered, they both notice the stranger 50 feet ahead of them. No doubt the owner of the booming new voice. They lock eyes onto the stranger as he slowly takes a few steps forward.
"You've been a thorn in everyone's side for long enough, Scourge," he explained, "The whole basin is tired of your trouble. But we're gonna solve that little problem once and for all"
Behind the stranger rounding the corner was a dark horse drawn carriage. It came up right behind the man and came to a full stop. Out came at least 10 other men, armed with various guns pointed straight at the pair. The leading man also pulled out a revolver from his coat.
Mother Nature and Jack both gave each other a worried look before slowly putting their hands up. Shit. Now they're in it.
"Step aside woman. As long as you ain't in cahoots with this son of a bitch, we ain't got no qualms with ya," the coop leader barked at Terra.
She leaned as far over to Jack as possible to whisper over to him, "They're no match for fast travel. On my count we go"
"No. I got it covered," Jack mouthed back to her. One of his raised hands stretches forward ever so slightly, as he stares out onto the horizon.
Mother Nature follows his line of sight. Past the armed mob is a fast approaching winter blowout storm barreling toward them.
"On my count you get on the horse," he mumbled.
"Hey! Quit your yapping! If you got any last words say 'em so that everyone can hear."
The mob behind the coop leader took their aim at the pair, poised for the command to fire. The townspeople on the outskirts of the street waited with bated breath. Wondering if they're about to witness the end of the Scourge's rein of terror.
Jack and Mother Nature both shared another confirming look at each other before Jack addressed the crowd,
"Alright! Alright. You got me. Believe me when I say The Northern Scourge will be no more! But I do have one question. A dying man's last wish if you will," he pleaded in a rather chipper tone.
The mob leader raised an eyebrow for an answer.
Jack cocked his head around the angry mob, "Is that one of yours?"
Feeling a sudden strong wind on their backs, they all turn around and gape at the sight. They got 2 seconds to look at the white wall of death that was suddenly upon them.
"Now!" Jack shouted at Mother Nature.
With their backs turned, Jack dropped his hand down for her to take. Already rearing the horse back around, he hauled Mother Nature onto the saddle.
With a loud YAH and a crack of the reins they went flying down the road, opposite of the terrible storm.
The mob didn't even have to react before they were swallowed by the convenient snow storm. The edge of the storm nipping at their heels as they tore through the town in their escape. Mother Nature spared a glance back, once crossing the town's edge the storm also stopped. Barred from going any further than the constraints of the city.
Once beyond the reach of the storm, the weather was cleared instantly into the familiar hot and dry desert of the outside.
"Did you really have to do that?" Mother Nature yelled over the winds around them.
"Yes! We can't blow cover in the middle of town by turning into a pile of clouds and magic sparkle away! We gotta keep it in the cannon!"
"Oh Ho! So now we care about not blowing cover huh?"
"I work with what I got ok?"
"We are riding an Ice Horse Jack!"
"Yes! And it's a masterpiece of craftsmanship, I might add! It took my weeks to get the right formula for this thing, but she's a beauty!"
"Jack, now is not the time"
Jack rolls his eyes at the remark, "Well it don't think it matters now anyway cause I think we're far enough away where we can-"
A loud BANG interrupted him as his hat came flying off his head out of the blue. The two legends turn around to find the same black carriage as before trying to catch up with them. Now significantly snow covered and frosted.
The leader from before was at the helm controlling the horses while another colleague was next to him aiming his weapon. Two other affiliates were sticking their heads out of the carriage windows with revolvers as the chase began.
"Shit!" Jack exclaimed, "How the fuck did they do that!?"
Wildly gesturing with one hand, Mother Nature managed to manipulate the desert winds to bring back the hat to her hand. Instead of returning it to Jack she puts the hat on herself.
More gunshots ring out from the assailants as Jack cracks the reins again in an attempt to outrun them. But the carriage keeps pace and starts closing in on the pair.
"Damn it! They are riding my ass!"
The gunshots rang out in quick succession, as the carriage came in even closer. Bullets just barely missed them, as Jack's hat received another hole in it. The pounding of the horses' hooves on the dirt was kicking up sand around them. The dry and dusty wind covers their chase as they venture further and further into the middle of the desert.
But amidst the chaos, Jack finally gets an idea.
"Hang on!" He yells as he tightens the reins.
He steers the horse and the following crusade sharply to the left, switching their trajectory. All he has to do is out run and out last these guys until they get to the edge. On the way he starts zig zagging the ride in an attempt to evade getting hit.
"Mother Nature! When I give the word, I need you to make us a temporary bridge, and keep them on the edge!"
"What? What are you planning to do here?"
"We're gonna go over the cliff!" he exclaimed with a smile.
"What!?"
"There it is!" Jack pointed to the edge of the horizon where Hawks Ravine made its home. Jack remembered from stories in other towns about this famous chasm. It's notorious for its edge blending into the horizon, almost seeming invisible until you're already in it. This is a site for a lot of past riding accidents.
"Almost," he warned.
Nearing the edge of the cliff, he just has to wait one more second.
"Jack!" Mother Nature was getting antsy. The barrage of bullets had not let up and they couldn't zig zag forever.
Once he could tell they were close enough, and the pursuer's were far enough he gave the signal,
"Now!"
Mother Nature held onto Jack tighter as she concentrated on her magic.
The horse began its jump into the empty chasm, when Mother Nature threw her open hand straight out. Her palm was aglow with green magic, as the various rocks and boulders from underneath them came flying upward to catch the horses feet.
A small wall of more stone made itself out of the ground just before the edge, forcing the carriage full of angry townspeople to come to a screeching halt. They had to sharply turn the carriage in order for the horses to not get tripped up at the new wall that made itself known. Almost tipping the whole thing in the process.
The mob of people watched in utter disbelief as a cloud of dust drifted over the abyss, covering the pair as they made their escape. The unusual strangers darted their way across the top of an empty ravine.
And just like that, the unwelcome visitors to Talon Summit disappeared without a trace.
Mother Nature continued to keep her glowing hand outstretched as they traversed the rest of the open canyon. Jack carefully maneuvering the horse on top of the rocky platforms appearing and disappearing before him. Until they finally reached the other end.
They both sat still on the horse for a solid minute or so catching their breaths they didn't know they needed until this point. They both dismounted and placed themselves on solid ground again. Jack then magically melted the horse as its particles dissipated into the air.
Mother Nature's human disguise also disintegrated in a flurry of green sparkles. Revealing her more ethereal and much taller original form.
With both hands on her hips, she stares down the ice spirit in front of her. With an exacerbated expression, her eyes were burning holes into him.
….
"...Sooooo. On a scale of 1 to 10 how would you rate your riding experience?" Jack asked. Somewhat enthusiastic to try in vain and keep things light.
Mother Nature utters a low growl as a response, and instead snaps her fingers and points upwards to the stratosphere. The signal that it's time to go and they would talk about it when they get back. At this point Jack is very used to this whole song and dance of reaping what he sows.
The woman's form lights up in green sparkle and light, and then evaporates into a mass of colorful clouds and wind. She stays right in place until he does the same.
Jack lets out a loud and dramatic sigh in opposition, but ultimately complies. His own body diffuses into an accumulation of snowy winds, twisting and turning in place.
The two forces of nature then made their way to the skies, back to a nearby teleporter where Jack would be getting a few words about bringing snow storms into the desert.