Sadie II.

The camp was looking livelier and most in the gang were finally starting to settle down and accept this new reality. Of course, there was still some persistent nagging from certain individuals, but all that complaining was pushed aside in order to focus on what truly mattered. Sadie was going to protect this group and ensure everyone's survival even if it costed her life. This was her new family now.

News of Arthur's ambush came to a shock to everybody. Many believed it was the Tullys, having gone back on their word, but both Dutch and Arthur had rationalized that another different family had set these hounds after them. "It has to be those damn Freys!" Arthur spoke in anger, his shoulder had been bandaged up by then, "After the bloody mess we caused in their castle I knew we were marked men."

"Don't the Tullys control this whole region m? Why are these fools attacking us when we have been pardoned?" Tilly asked.

"Looks like those iditos didn't get the news, or have ignored it." Sadie added.

"You just answered all our questions Mrs. Adler." Dutch stood up from his chair and faced them on even eye level, "They are fools, angry fools. Mr. Frey does not seem the type to let bygones be bygones, no matter what the Tully family decrees or the vouches of many reputable men we have acquainted ourselves with since. It seems that these lands contain the same type of ilk, but that is to be expected. The real question now is what are we to do about this new development? "

"I say we should remind them of their previous losses with even more graves for them to fill up." Micah added, a devilish grin present as he twirled his fingers around his holsters.

"Is violence all you know?" Sadie scoffed at his suggestion of retaliation. She had no problem killing these men if they dared to come at them, but right now they needed to be on the defensive. Their munitions were limited, and they could not afford to lose the only guns in the entire world and have them land on the hands of possible enemies that may eventually learn how to use them against them.

"Cheer up woman, thought you would be down venting out some of that anger inside of you." Micah chuckled at Sadie, "Now that the O"Driscolls are far from your reach you'll need another group to be mad about, so come on now, get mad woman!"

"Oh great." Arthur murmured.

Sadie did not take kindly to his words and reached for her knife; she was ready to carve him a permanent smile. Arthur grabbed her by the wrist, holding a grip on her and shook his head, dissuading her from acting out. Sadie relented but gave Micah a hateful glare, he returned a boastful smile, easy to get under anyone's skin. Sometimes she wonders why he didn't go down with the ship instead of Strauss, the fact that he was still alive confirmed her beliefs that God had it out against her, or that he simply did not exist. They focused back to Dutch who was giving out new orders, orders that involved her and Arthur to partake together. Good, she wanted to get out of camp and avoid busting Micah's teeth with the iron butt of her revolver.

"Arthur please take Mrs. Adler and take a trip to the local market. I believe we will require timber, nails and construction tools. Hosea said it best the other day, even with our superior firepower, we are too exposed from all angles. It's time to build up proper defenses." Dutch ordered and the two of them nodded.

Sadie was fine with the task. She needed, no, has been wanting to leave camp for some time. Another second more cooped up with antagonizing idiots like Micah and Bill and she would lose it and shoot them both in the faces.

XxXxX

It was decided to go to Fairmarket and purchase enough wood to build a properly physical perimeter. Seeing the small town first hand, it was no bigger than Valentine, but much less modernized. Instead of wooden buildings, street lamps, and the pitch-perfect imagery of the american frontier, she was greeted by buildings made out of rock and hay, and people stuck many centuries behind on the times. Still, it was a bustling economic center of business. Everywhere she looked, there were merchants conducting deals or transporting goods by carriage. This place has been serving them well, now to see if they would do it again.

Arthur had brought along Uncle much to the older man's displeasure-his so-called beauty sleep had been interrupted. Sadie found him tiresome, but entertaining at the same time, Arthur only ever displayed the former. Sadie and Uncle shared stories while Arthur every once in a while groaned or threw a quick and clever jab to amuse himself. They went to the stables and handed over their horses to be taken care of as they searched for an honest or preferable fool of a buyer.

"I would say to stick together, but I know you can handle yourself just fine among a sea of iditos, Sadie." she accepted the compliment with a smirk of her own. "Just don't kill anyone. Unless you have to."

"Let the lady be Arthur, you and I have a date of our own big boy. Lets go find us a fool to swindle, I may be old and the lumbago has depleted my strenght, but this silver tongue is still as fresh as the day I was born." Uncle chuckled.

"Wish I could say the same about your existence, and also the sole reason I even asked you to come. With Dutch managing the camp and Hosea away with John and Trelawney gone, you, much to my misfortune, are the only trickster available for this job." Arthur admitted.

"You two play nice. I'll check out the stores." The three split up, Arthur and Uncle headed to one end and Sadie to the other side of town.

Once separated, Sadie took in the new world around her, and it smelt like pigshit and sheep. Not so different from Valentine, Emerald Ranch, and all other cattle towns across America, but definitely different regarding the times. Even after a near month it was hard for her to accept what had happened to them, yet here she was standing in the middle of a medieval market like some sort of time traveler. Everywhere she looked she was greeted by questionable eyes from all directions looking back at her and her 'unique' choice of clothes. This was going to be an experience like no other, that she was certain of.

"Hey, what's the best shop around here." A old man pushing a cart gave her a questionable stare before nodding his head to the building across from them.

"What strange garments for a woman."

"So unladylike."

"Is she a sellsword?"

Those were the whispers or rather loud thoughts she picked up as she traversed the streets. Ignoring them, she entered the store to carry on her business. Inside, it was not much different from a general store back home, minus the cleanliness and lack of modern inventory for her to purchase or rob. A man watched her enter. He was writing something on a book. 'A quill and bottle of ink? Good lord. Maybe I should gift one to Arthur, he'll enjoy the joke.' she approached the man.

"Can I assist you in some way?" Sadie tossed a small bag of coins on the counter.

"I have a list. Everything written down to the last item, I want it." she produced a folded paper and handed it over to the man.

"That will not be a problem. Do you have someone to help carry all of these tools for you? Husband?" he asked.

Sadie's thoughts lingered to her beloved Jake, long dead and gone, buried in the cold mountains. His death was the catalyst of her newly discovered violent nature as she sought vengeance against those responsible. it was then that she was reminded of the harsh truth, her quest for vengeance against Colm O'driscoll, and the resod of his ilk was forever gone. His killers lived on while she remained trapped in this new world without any possibility of returning. An inner rage began to build up in her chest, and the urge to shoot someone, anyone in order to satisfy this inner fury, was tempting her sense of logic.

Sadie narrowed her eyes at the merchant who became uncomfortable with her intense stare, "I'll be outside." turning around she walked out the building, but not before slamming the door shut.

Leaning against the stonewall she scanned the people and they all looked worse for wear. 'Fucking hell, not even the beggers in Saint Denis looked this miserable. Is this what it was like back then, this is not even worth living.' It was utterly bizarre to see such bad conditions, and it was mostly the general populous that was living like this, this time period was fucked as far as she was concerned.

To her left, a large commotion had garnered attention - a group of mean looking thugs were harassing a street vendor. The lonesome man was no match against the four men, trapped in the middle and getting shoved from one to the other as they laughed at his begs for peace and mercy. Sadie was not in the mood to get involved, and even if she wanted to, she'd rather not cause unnecessary attention that would be traced back to the gang. She chose to begrudgingly walk past them and enter a tavern across the muddy street. A drink would suit her fine as she waited for Arthur and Uncle.

Many of the men present inside simply stared at her. Sadie could sense all their eyes analyzing her from head to toe as she made her way to the counter. The innkeeper was too part of that collective stare with a look of bewilderment towards a woman in what was fashionably accepted as men's clothing. Sadie planted her hands on the wooden counter and sized him up.

"Drink." a handful of silver coins were presented to the man, "A whole bottle."

"Fine." the man grunted and reached for a bottle and a small cup, offering them to Sadie.

Sadie took a seat next to the wall and poured herself a shot. Everyone present went back to their personal affairs with the tavern once again filled with laughter and noise. The environment gave her some familiarity, a strong reminder of all the saloons she and the boys had swept through with money, fists, and bullets. Scanning the large room full of drunkards, Sadie wondered if they would ever truly adapt to this new life.

"Same shit , different place, I suppose." Sadie downed another drink.

Sometime passed by, and Sadie was still wanting for the guys. She figured they must have gotten lost or something, Arthur probably ran into an odd individual that required his particular set of skills. He always seemed to attract those types and also had a habit of helping them out too. A couple of men had approached her, attempting their best to swoon her over for some alone time, it was absolutely laughable to her. She was no naive schoolgirl, she could cut their throats open before they had a chance to blink.

The front door busted open, and in came the same group of thugs from earlier, waltzing as if they owned the establishment. Their rowdy presence terminated the rather calm atmosphere that everyone, including herself, was enjoying. Sadie ignored them, but one of them decided to turn to her direction and caught sight of her.

"Oh fuck me." Sadie muttered as she took another shot of rum.

"Looks like you need some company there. Gotta name girl?" towering next to her, Sadie ignored him and poured herself another drink.

"Oh I see. I love these types of games myself too. Lets find a bed to fuck around in eh?" the second his hand grasped her shoulder, Sadie unsheathed her hunting knife and impaled it on his other hand resting on the table.

"How 'bouts you go and fuck yourself instead!" Sadie snarled as the man screamed in pain, she proceeded to smash the glass bottle over his head to further the point.

"Get that bitch!" his companions, all three of them, stood up and approached her. Sadie right hand reached for her holster, ready to gun them all down. 'Fucking hell, I really did not want to waste them on these idiots.'

One of them drew out his dagger and aimed it at Sadie. "Looks like we got us a wild one. Let's take turns breaking this whore, eh?"

Arthur appeared and grabbed the man by the wrist and yanked him towards his incoming fist. The punch dropped the man to the floor and loosened his gripnon the dagger, which rebounded on the wooden floor. The others shifted their eyes to Arthur who glared right back at them. "You dumbasses best get lost or there will be hell to pay." it was a warning.

"You and your whore are both dead!" they all rushed, but Sadie and Arthur were ready for them.

As Athur flipped a table over, blocking their advancement, Sadie hopped over another table, grabbing a patron's mug and bashing one of the thugs across the face with it. Still standing, Sadie cracked the mug over his head, splitting both at the same time. She reeled her leg back and kicked him square in his lower section. The man who's face was already showered in his own blood let out a painful yelp and collapsed on the floor clutching his balls. Two down, two to go.

"Is that all you got?" Arthur traded punches with both men, mocking them as he did. Sadie joined in by hopping over a stool and landing on the back of one.

"Get off!" Sadie wrapped her arm around his neck and squeezed with all her strength. The man stumbled around, doing everything he could to shake her off.

Arthur blocked a hit and punched the man in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him and finishing him off with a left hook followed by a right uppercut. Growing tired, Sadie reached for her revolver and whacked the man multiple times over the head until he finally fell unconscious. Dusting herself, Sadie got back to her feet and gave Arthur a nod. She did not take notice of the man she had previously downed with a kick, pulling out a hatchet and raising it at her.

"Duck!" Arthur commanded and with one arm threw a chair which flew above Sadie and hit the man behind her square in the face.

"Fucking seven hells!" groaned the man as his entire face was a bloody mess.

"How kind of you, Mr. Morgan." Sadie put away her revolver and examined the now messy tavern.

"Anytime, Mrs. Adler." Arthur chuckled, "Let's get out of here before the law shows up."

"You two ruined my chairs, tables and shed blood on my floor!" the barkeep approached the two, "You're not leaving until you pay for the damages!"

Arthur let out a groan and grabbed something from his satchel, "Here's some gold. Now shut your damn mouth.!" with that taken cared of, both outlaws exited the tavern to find Uncle waiting for them on a wagon filled with timber.

"Heard all that ruckus inside. You two sure love to make a statement on the local town folk hehe." Uncle mused, he had a bottle of liquor on hand and already sitted on the passenger side. "Anyhow, let's head on home, I needs my beauty sleep."

"You lazy bastard."

"Ain't nothing beautiful about you."

XxXxX

The ride back to camp was mostly pleasant. Uncle had managed to use those swindling skills of his and gotten them a very good deal of timber, two large wagons with enough wood to build a sturdy defensive wall around camp. Sadie knew that it would take much more to secure their camp, but it was a start. Hopeful they would start earning income and build up the camp to an actual fortress of wood and stone instead of a corcle of tents with a hundred openings for an attack. She hoped that the Tullys were true to their words and paid them for their services for these upcoming tournaments of theirs.

Looking around, she observed the wilderness, seeing no difference from the ones back home. Nature never changes. People do.

"It was quite thoughtful of you to hold back. I'm impressed." Arthur held to the reigns, commanding the horses to continue on a steady pace, "I would have just shot them all back there."

"Who says I wasn't planning on doing just that?"

Sadie chewed on a loaf of bread, riding shotgun next to Arthur. Behind them followed Uncle, sitted in between the two men hired to help deliver the wagons and then take them back to town. She smiled, knowing that old goat was rattling on about the many misadventures he had supposedly gone through and all sorts of mundane talk that must be confusing those two hired hands. She didn't mind his talltales, unlike Arthur, but right now, she much preferred the company of logical and cautious partners when on the job.

"Have you discovered anything, Arthur? About getting back home? A way back?"

Sadie was at odds with herself. Yes, she had accepted that they had all been magically transported to another world, but still contained a lingering hope that the effects of this unintended journey could be reversed. There was nothing waiting for her back in America. She had chosen and decided to follow Arthur and the others across the sea. She could have easily rejected his offer and stayed behind like Trelawney did. Continue on her quest for vengeance and murder all of the O'Driscolls until it was just Colm left whimpering for a quick death. Only when they were already far into the sea and she laid in her bed at night, with the sounds of the waves thundering outside that vessel and the swooning of the ship itself, did she realize it had been a mistake.

Now, here she was, unable to keep her promise, forever trapped and her burning hatred for the men that took everything from her festering within. Thank the Lord she had these assorted bunch by her side, or she would have gone mad long ago and ended it all with a single shot to her skull.

"Not really. Everything Hosea and I have managed to learn has brought back the same results. This is an entirely new continent, a big one and there's apparently an even bigger one across a narrow sea. Mostly desert and low civilization like Australia or North Africa by descriptions. The more I learn the more bizarre this whole thing has become. We're talking dragons, magic, giants and sea beasts! What a crazy world we landed on." Arthur exasperated.

"Yeah..." Sadie stayed silent. Not what she was hoping to hear.

"Right now, we should focus on surviving. I dont know how long this deal of ours with the Tullys will last, I've been asking Dutch to prepare for the worst. We may have to flee down south if misfortune comes around, " Arthur said.

"What exactly is further south?" Sadie had yet to bother memorizing the map of the entire Seven Kingdoms.

"From what I recall, there's the Westerlands and the Reach, the latter is known for its farming soil so that may be a good spot to relocate whenever shit goes sideways." Sadie could not understand the names of these places, they were very basic and sometimes on the nose.

"What has Dutch said about our usual business, the one way we earn income in camp?" Sadie knew as much as Arthur that at the end of the day they were all criminals. They've been playing it safe due to the circumstances but after weeks of adjustment some of the boys and women were growing restless around camp. Micah was itching to cause some mayhem and rob people just for the fun of it.

"Lets wait for Hosea to get back and cook us a nice score."

"I dont think banks exist here."

"Well that sucks."

Both shared a laugh. As long as she had this group of fools with her, her mind would not dwell in that gruesome past. Arthur began to slow down the pace, up ahead was a lone rider blocking the road. Any other person would start to wonder, but they were in the profession for highway robbery and that was what this was shaping up to be. The man remained sitted on his horse, a cloak covering the upper part of his face. Just by experience Sadie knew he was not alone. They were clearly hiding in the bushes, waiting for the signal.

"Uncle better be ready." Arthur murmured.

"Knew it was too pleasant of a day." Sadie placed a hand on her gun, "Shit always finds a way to land on us."

Hi. This was supposed to be done a week ago, but hey, I'm a lazy trailer trash bastard. See ya for the next one.