Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Not to be opened until you've finished reading New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Grim Bargain

You and "Padre" Charlie understand each other all too well.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Game version number.
Thanks for playing Zero Summer!

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Man in Black

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are self-empowerment and getting things done.

Hallowed Ground

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

Aiming For

Lizbeth called the shot for this.

Bullets in the Chamber

How many bullets are left in your gun.

Burning Burning Burning Burning

Fire reflecting in a watery mirror.

Avatar

Your avatar.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Lizbeth's Ailments

Physical damage.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

Lizbeth's Gunslinger

Physical Style.

Lizbeth's Doc

Mental Style.

Lizbeth's Cityslicker

Social Style.

The Ministry of Black Powder

You're helping "Padre" Charlie with his good works.

Reading Fifty Miles South of Lexington

You're reading Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Dragonslaying in Dixie

Progress on fighting the dragon south of Lexington.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

Far, Far From Home

You're in Amarillo -- but who exactly are you?


Opportunities

Draw cards from here to raise your Styles, meet your Allies, and risk your Antagonists.

Pinned

Pinned


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

1 x A Wrapped Package from Absolom the Tinker

Not to be opened until you've finished reading New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Grim Bargain

You and "Padre" Charlie understand each other all too well.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Game version number.
Thanks for playing Zero Summer!

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Man in Black

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are self-empowerment and getting things done.

Hallowed Ground

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

Aiming For

Lizbeth called the shot for this.

Bullets in the Chamber

How many bullets are left in your gun.

Burning Burning Burning Burning

Fire reflecting in a watery mirror.

Avatar

Your avatar.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Lizbeth's Ailments

Physical damage.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

Lizbeth's Gunslinger

Physical Style.

Lizbeth's Doc

Mental Style.

Lizbeth's Cityslicker

Social Style.

The Ministry of Black Powder

You're helping "Padre" Charlie with his good works.

Reading Fifty Miles South of Lexington

Reading Fifty Miles South of Lexington 4

You're reading Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Dragonslaying in Dixie

Progress on fighting the dragon south of Lexington.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

Far, Far From Home

You're in Amarillo -- but who exactly are you?


Reload!

In my pocket were spare rounds. But in the crawl out of the burning truck they'd come dislodged. Some, I thought, might be on the ground beneath me. But it would take precious seconds to look, and longer to wipe them off and chamber them in.

Opportunities

Draw cards from here to raise your Styles, meet your Allies, and risk your Antagonists.

"Buy Me Some Space!"

I ducked behind the barricade and started rooting for bullets while Robert laid down some cover.

This will completely refresh your Bullets in the Chamber!

Not Yet

The bullets could wait.


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


Casings

Down among the highway grit my hands found casings, their metal blood-warm from the dragonfire. Luckily none had misfired. I popped the chamber on my revolver and started slotting them in with that special callous on my thumb.

"Almost done?" Robert said. "Because there's this dragon --"

"This is the time for you to sass me?" I asked, and elbowed him in the knee -- not hard enough to throw off his aim, but hard enough to let him know I wasn't playing.

"Nope," Robert said, and squeezed off a shot. All the playfulness had run out of his voice. Did he feel genuinely bad? or was this still backtalk, only more complicated? Looking back, I never asked.

There are six bullets left in your gun!


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Not to be opened until you've finished reading New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Grim Bargain

You and "Padre" Charlie understand each other all too well.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Game version number.
Thanks for playing Zero Summer!

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Man in Black

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are self-empowerment and getting things done.

Hallowed Ground

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

Aiming For

Lizbeth called the shot for this.

Bullets in the Chamber

How many bullets are left in your gun.

Burning Burning Burning Burning

Fire reflecting in a watery mirror.

Avatar

Your avatar.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Lizbeth's Ailments

Physical damage.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

Lizbeth's Gunslinger

Physical Style.

Lizbeth's Doc

Mental Style.

Lizbeth's Cityslicker

Social Style.

The Ministry of Black Powder

You're helping "Padre" Charlie with his good works.

Reading Fifty Miles South of Lexington

You're reading Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Dragonslaying in Dixie

Progress on fighting the dragon south of Lexington.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

Far, Far From Home

You're in Amarillo -- but who exactly are you?


Opportunities

Draw cards from here to raise your Styles, meet your Allies, and risk your Antagonists.

Pinned

Pinned

Dragonfire

Unlocked with Reading Fifty Miles South of Lexington 4 - you have 4

The dragon's head reared back behind the sheet of rain...

Distractions from the Minutemen

Marcel and PJP had taken up positions on the interstate...


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


Distractions from the Minutemen

Marcel and PJP had taken up positions on the interstate. They were maybe fifty feet apart and thirty feet away from me and Robert. Each had their revolvers out. Every few moments one would take a shot at the dragon. Its head would swivel sharply toward whoever was shooting, which bought me and Robert a breather -- to rest, and to line up shots.

"Get It Off Us a Second!"

Robert popped his head over the barricade and yelled for Marcel and PJP to lay down some suppression fire.

"Lizbeth's hurt!" he shouted. "And I'm getting a little crispy! So any time with the distraction!"

This will reduce Lizbeth's Ailments!

            1
            You need Lizbeth's Ailments 1 (you have 4)

            1
            Unlocked with Lizbeth's Ailments 1 - you have 4

"Just Shoot the Damn Thing!"

Lizbeth's Cityslicker

Social Style.

A tough challenge

"Forget the pouch!" Robert yelled over the barricade. "Just aim for the face! Where it eyes are! Which it needs to see us!"

"Which we'd prefer it didn't?" Marcel called back.

"Just shoot the damn thing!" I shouted.

If this succeeds, your Dragonslaying in Dixie Quality will rise significantly!

            1
            You need Aiming For 1 and Aiming For no more than 1 (you have 1)

            2
            You need Bullets in the Chamber 2 (you have 6)

            1
            Unlocked with Aiming For 1 - you have 1

            2
            Unlocked with Bullets in the Chamber 2 - you have 6

Suppression Fire

The suppression fire from Marcel and PJP was doing exactly what it was supposed to. I saw no reason to give other orders.


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


That Horrible Shriek

"Just Shoot the Damn Thing!"

Lizbeth's Cityslicker

Social Style.

A tough challenge

            1
            You need Aiming For 1 and Aiming For no more than 1 (you have 1)

            2
            You need Bullets in the Chamber 2 (you have 4)

            1
            Unlocked with Aiming For 1 - you have 1

            2
            Unlocked with Bullets in the Chamber 2 - you have 4

Suddenly all of our revolvers were trained on the dragon. Chambers spun. Bullets cracked out through the rain and slammed into the dragon's head and neck and the joints between its shoulders and wings. And one seemed to cross its eyes. It reared back; a thick translucent film -- a second eyelid? -- closed over its left eye; and it screamed, an awful gut-melting shriek like from a dying rabbit but thicker and angrier.

"Can I get an amen!" PJP shouted.

"Hallelujah!" Marcel called back.

10 change points, 12 more needed to reach level 22.

Lizbeth's Cityslicker is increasing...

You succeeded in a Lizbeth's Cityslicker challenge! (Risky challenges mean you learn more.)

0 change points, 6 more needed to reach level 6.

Dragonslaying in Dixie has increased to 5!

There are four bullets left in your gun!


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Not to be opened until you've finished reading New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Grim Bargain

You and "Padre" Charlie understand each other all too well.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Game version number.
Thanks for playing Zero Summer!

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Man in Black

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are self-empowerment and getting things done.

Hallowed Ground

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

Aiming For

Lizbeth called the shot for this.

Bullets in the Chamber

How many bullets are left in your gun.

Burning Burning Burning Burning

Fire reflecting in a watery mirror.

Avatar

Your avatar.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Lizbeth's Ailments

Physical damage.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

Lizbeth's Gunslinger

Physical Style.

Lizbeth's Doc

Mental Style.

Lizbeth's Cityslicker

Social Style.

The Ministry of Black Powder

You're helping "Padre" Charlie with his good works.

Reading Fifty Miles South of Lexington

You're reading Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Dragonslaying in Dixie

Progress on fighting the dragon south of Lexington.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

Far, Far From Home

You're in Amarillo -- but who exactly are you?


The Finishing Blow

The sound of my last shot echoed and faded. It had been a clear hit; I'd seen the sparks as it shattered on the thick base of the dragon's neck. The dragon hesitated. Its wings bowed a little, for purchase, and its pouch deflated. Its eyes searched about. It tottered.

Quick as lightning Robert was up and shouting, revolver extended in one hand, the other windmilling frantically at Marcel and PJP.

"Give it all you got!" he shouted. "Aim for the legs!"

Robert fired off three shots in quick succession -- pop pop pop, like fireworks -- then glanced at me. His face was blackened with soot and flakes of burned cement.

"Do it," he said, plain and simple as a fact.

Pinned

Pinned

Fusillade

In the wake of the others' gunshots there was a weird silence, as if everything -- the dragon, the asphalt, the air -- was holding its breath, waiting to see what would happen next.

I brought my revolver up. I braced myself. I bent my supporting elbow at exactly the angle recommended by the West Point firing manual and the slimmer Xeroxed pamphlet rushed out for the minutemen called "How to Shoot to Kill."

I breathed in. I breathed out. I drew the trigger toward myself.

            1
            You need Aiming For 1 and Aiming For no more than 1 (you have 1)

            1
            Unlocked with Aiming For 1 - you have 1


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


How to Shoot to Kill

The truck had just one upturned unpopped wheel left; it jerked and spasmed and spun in the hot air coming off the dragonfire still burning on the truck's frame.

The truth about pulling the trigger on a revolver is that it gets harder and harder as the firing pin reaches its contact point, harder to pull in a physical sense, more resistant, until suddenly -- click, you're home. There's a point of no return. All the torque and concentration you piled onto the trigger jerks it back against the warm metal of the finger-guard.

I emptied my chamber. It spun in sharp fitful jerks like the truck's last wheel. Bullets thudded into the dragon's fire pouch. It sprung leaks of some black awful goop like raw oil and hissed like a punctured oxygen tank.

The dragon stumbled back, clutching its neck, then righted itself and fixed its eyes on me. They were slitted, I saw, like a cobra's.

Without warning it swept its wings down and launched into the air. All of us were driven to the ground -- by the sudden movement, by the force of it. The dragon's shadow passed overhead. It was flying into the wooded stand behind us. It was running away.

You moved to a new setting: Reading the Past.

Fifty Miles South of Lexington is increasing!

0 change points, 1 more needed to reach level 1.

'Dragonslaying in Dixie' has been reset: a conclusion, or a new beginning?

Your 'Bullets in the Chamber' Quality has gone!


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Not to be opened until you've finished reading New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Grim Bargain

You and "Padre" Charlie understand each other all too well.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Game version number.
Thanks for playing Zero Summer!

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Man in Black

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are self-empowerment and getting things done.

Hallowed Ground

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

Aiming For

Lizbeth called the shot for this.

Burning Burning Burning Burning

Fire reflecting in a watery mirror.

Avatar

Your avatar.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Lizbeth's Ailments

Physical damage.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

Lizbeth's Gunslinger

Physical Style.

Lizbeth's Doc

Mental Style.

Lizbeth's Cityslicker

Social Style.

The Ministry of Black Powder

You're helping "Padre" Charlie with his good works.

Reading Fifty Miles South of Lexington

Reading Fifty Miles South of Lexington 5

You're reading Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

Far, Far From Home

You're in Amarillo -- but who exactly are you?


A Series of Impressions

Unlocked with Reading Fifty Miles South of Lexington 5 - you have 5

What I have left of those moments after the dragon left but before we chased it into the dark wet hills south of Lexington are a series of impressions...

Pinned

Pinned


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


A Series of Impressions

What I have left of those moments after the dragon left but before we chased it into the dark wet hills south of Lexington are a series of impressions.

Robert's hands on my shoulder, forcing me back down. "That's plenty," he said. "Have you seen how torched you look?"

Marcel and PJP looking skittish at the truck. PJP was standing near the cab. He was looking down and Marcel was looking at him. "Is he --?" said Marcel. PJP shook his head.

Rain was sliding down the barrel of my gun. My arm was too sore to move it.

Robert looked like he'd been in some kind of explosion: clothes burned and blasted literally into rags, into strips, barely hanging off his body, which itself looked like a steak just hitting the grill, all raw red muscle and peppered skin.

Looking down at myself and realizing I was hurt as bad as Robert or worse.

Marcel and PJP back beside us. Marcel saying, "She looks bad." PJP putting his hand over my eyes and brushing my eyelids shut.

Pinned

Pinned

I Slept

Later, no one could tell me how long I was out. Twenty minutes? An hour? Even more? They themselves were barely conscious. Horribly burned.


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


Aftermath

I dreamed we were at a cookout. I was lying on a vinyl lounge chair like you get at public pools. Robert and PJP were standing close to Marcel at the grill. Marcel was wearing a tall French chef's hat and an apron that said "Consume the Cook" and spatulaing hard under the grill's hood. The air was smoky and thick.

Has anybody ever told you, Marcel said, to nobody in particular, that you smell like frying bacon?

I woke up and sat up and filled up my lungs and emptied them out in a sharp whooshing gasp. My everything hurt. PJP was squatting beside me in the mud. They'd moved me off the road. The rain had mostly stopped. The truck wasn't burning so much any more.

"Status report," PJP said.

"..."

"Is what you're supposed to say," he added.

"You sound," I said. Then licked my lips. Then coughed. Something solid came out. PJP wiped it with his sleeve. "Like Robert."

"That was the idea," PJP said. "Here's the deal. The dragon flew off. It's half a mile up that slope in a clearing. A clearing that it made with whatever fire it's got left and also by landing hard on what you've got to think were some skinny, splinter-prone birch trees to begin with."

"Others?"

"Marcel's directing traffic. Robert's up the slope. Out of sight."

"Doing?"

"You mean the dragon?"

I nodded.

"Snoozing," PJP said. "Which means we've got a duty and an opportunity to put all kinds of bullets in its head."


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Not to be opened until you've finished reading New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Grim Bargain

You and "Padre" Charlie understand each other all too well.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Game version number.
Thanks for playing Zero Summer!

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Man in Black

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are self-empowerment and getting things done.

Hallowed Ground

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

Aiming For

Lizbeth called the shot for this.

Burning Burning Burning Burning

Fire reflecting in a watery mirror.

Avatar

Your avatar.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Lizbeth's Ailments

Physical damage.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

Lizbeth's Gunslinger

Physical Style.

Lizbeth's Doc

Mental Style.

Lizbeth's Cityslicker

Social Style.

The Ministry of Black Powder

You're helping "Padre" Charlie with his good works.

Reading Fifty Miles South of Lexington

Reading Fifty Miles South of Lexington 6

You're reading Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

Far, Far From Home

You're in Amarillo -- but who exactly are you?


The Road to the Clearing

Unlocked with Reading Fifty Miles South of Lexington 6 - you have 6

Pinned

Pinned


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


The Road to the Clearing

PJP helped me to my feet. We made our slow, torturous way up the slope toward the clearing. Every few moments a pair of dull yellow lights would flash across us as Marcel directed a car past the truck, which by then had gone dark. Gone dark were the words that caught in my mind. I thought about the driver, then tried not to think about the driver. There would be time to suffer and recriminate and regret. But later, later.

PJP stopped half-way up the slope. We were under the thin canopy by then, wading through deep shadows under the slow cold drip of water from the leaves above.

"In case you need to leave in a hurry," he explained, and spun his revolver like a cowboy. He was, I think, putting on a show for me.

I nodded. We said no goodbyes.

Pinned

Pinned

The Clearing

The clearing came into view. First the trees thinned. Then a patch of light grew in the near distance. And then I was upon it.


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


And the Dragon

The dragon was drowsing there at the center of the clearing. Its head was curled under its wings; I could see its fire pouch, now blackened and deflated, twitching fitfully with its labored breathing. Its eyes were lidded over. The tip of its tongue was trapped outside its mouth; a thin clear line of drool hung down from it into the flattened grass.

Someone touched my shoulder. I nearly jumped. It was Robert.


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Not to be opened until you've finished reading New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Grim Bargain

You and "Padre" Charlie understand each other all too well.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Game version number.
Thanks for playing Zero Summer!

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Man in Black

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are self-empowerment and getting things done.

Hallowed Ground

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

Aiming For

Lizbeth called the shot for this.

Burning Burning Burning Burning

Fire reflecting in a watery mirror.

Avatar

Your avatar.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Lizbeth's Ailments

Physical damage.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

Lizbeth's Gunslinger

Physical Style.

Lizbeth's Doc

Mental Style.

Lizbeth's Cityslicker

Social Style.

The Ministry of Black Powder

You're helping "Padre" Charlie with his good works.

Reading Fifty Miles South of Lexington

Reading Fifty Miles South of Lexington 7

You're reading Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

Far, Far From Home

You're in Amarillo -- but who exactly are you?


Skirting the Edge

Unlocked with Reading Fifty Miles South of Lexington 7 - you have 7

"I need to say something here," Robert said...

Pinned

Pinned


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


Skirting the Edge

"I need to say something here," Robert said.

"Keep quiet!" I brought my hands up to my face and made speak-no-evil motions.

"What? No -- he's out. You could drop a firecracker. Nothing."

"You tried this?"

"I'm saying right on his head. Maybe it's a lifecycle thing?"

"What are you --"

"Like trees. Like if you knock them around or transplant them, they droop. Close their flowers. Also bears."

"Bears."

"Hibernate. During the winter but also when hurt. Cannot be roused. Sleeping Beauty-grade unwakeable. I read that somewhere."

Pinned

Pinned

To Say

"What was it you said you had to say?" I asked.


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


Rainwater

Rainwater was running off a broad leaf overhead, one of those late fall clingers that stay green it seems until the snow flies.

"I think there's something more to it," Robert said.

"What?"

"I said I think there's something more to it."

"I meant --"

"To it," he said, gesturing at the dragon, "to all of it. Like when I was little and we went to Jamaica and I couldn't see the poverty -- that we were paying into! That our tourism depended on! There's more here than our eyes can see."

The rainwater was getting under Robert's collar. He ran his thumb along the inside of it, his collar, then flicked the rainwater off his hand. But the rainwater kept dripping off the leaves and his collar was just as wet after he'd thumbed it dry as before.

"You just can't shoot that dragon," he said.


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Not to be opened until you've finished reading New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Grim Bargain

You and "Padre" Charlie understand each other all too well.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Game version number.
Thanks for playing Zero Summer!

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Man in Black

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are self-empowerment and getting things done.

Hallowed Ground

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

Aiming For

Lizbeth called the shot for this.

Burning Burning Burning Burning

Fire reflecting in a watery mirror.

Avatar

Your avatar.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Lizbeth's Ailments

Physical damage.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

Lizbeth's Gunslinger

Physical Style.

Lizbeth's Doc

Mental Style.

Lizbeth's Cityslicker

Social Style.

The Ministry of Black Powder

You're helping "Padre" Charlie with his good works.

Reading Fifty Miles South of Lexington

Reading Fifty Miles South of Lexington 8

You're reading Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

Far, Far From Home

You're in Amarillo -- but who exactly are you?


Wet Dead Leaves

Unlocked with Reading Fifty Miles South of Lexington 8 - you have 8

Robert dug the toe of his boot into the wet dead leaves...

Pinned

Pinned


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


Wet Dead Leaves

Robert dug the toe of his boot into the wet dead leaves. We stood there looking at each other.

"What?" I said.

"Nothing," he said.

Pinned

Pinned

The Driver

"Think about the driver," I said.

"I'm thinking about the driver," Robert said.


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


A Slowly Turning Loop

"I never asked him his name," Robert said. "Did you?"

"I did," I said.

"What was it?"

"I don't remember."

Robert had a mess of dirt and rotting leaves up on his boot. He kicked it at a tree. He seemed very young right then.

"If you're gonna," he said, "do it quick."

"Where's this coming from?" I said.

But he wouldn't say, just stood there looking at me while I looked at him. It felt like we were on opposite ends of a slowly turning loop.


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Not to be opened until you've finished reading New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Grim Bargain

You and "Padre" Charlie understand each other all too well.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Game version number.
Thanks for playing Zero Summer!

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Man in Black

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are self-empowerment and getting things done.

Hallowed Ground

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

Aiming For

Lizbeth called the shot for this.

Burning Burning Burning Burning

Fire reflecting in a watery mirror.

Avatar

Your avatar.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Lizbeth's Ailments

Physical damage.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

Lizbeth's Gunslinger

Physical Style.

Lizbeth's Doc

Mental Style.

Lizbeth's Cityslicker

Social Style.

The Ministry of Black Powder

You're helping "Padre" Charlie with his good works.

Reading Fifty Miles South of Lexington

Reading Fifty Miles South of Lexington 9

You're reading Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

Far, Far From Home

You're in Amarillo -- but who exactly are you?


Agincourt

Unlocked with Reading Fifty Miles South of Lexington 9 - you have 9

The dragon didn't wake when I crunched through the wet leaves and shattered birch trunks and last autumn grass, didn't even stir, just went on breathing, labored, eyes shut firmly, a little pus drooling out from under them...

Pinned

Pinned


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


Agincourt

The dragon didn't wake when I crunched through the wet leaves and shattered birch trunks and last autumn grass, didn't even stir, just went on breathing, labored, eyes shut firmly, a little pus drooling out from under them. I caught myself wondering if dragons made their own Visine. Do dragons have chronic dry-eye? But the thought seemed too everyday, and I almost laughed, and I stopped myself from thinking it because it was too sad, only sad wasn't a big enough word for it.

Is there a difference between shooting back and shooting first? And if so, what?

I thought of Marcel talking about Agincourt, about how he read once that it was the first time in history that anybody thought to fight dirty on a massive scale. To stop pretending it was like a school Christmas pageant you did every year when the weather was warm enough. To kill the other guy, and the guy behind him, and to think of them as less than human. To do it from a hundred yards away with an English longbow. That was when modern warfare started, Marcel said. When you could shoot somebody you never met from far enough away that you never had to see their face.

Pinned

Pinned

I Pulled the Trigger

I eased back the hammer on my revolver. The dragon's head was on its side on the ground. Even so it came up to my knees. The dragon was snoring. It looked like maybe it was in pain. I held my gun out from my body and sighted along the barrel. I thought of the driver, and the small defenseless town, and the raw-bacon burns on Robert and PJP and Marcel.

I squeezed once, hard, on the trigger.

Come Thou Font

Standing there over the dragon with its head lolling in the grass, I thought of Robert and Marcel, and I thought of PJP and the driver, and I thought of Agincourt and Come Thou Font of Every Blessing.

Is there a heaven for monsters? I wondered. Is there one for killers?

And I couldn't shoot the dragon.


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


The Service

The shot was much louder than I expected.

Later we stood by the side of the truck and held a service for the driver. Marcel had called the county sheriff and they were on the way while Robert had checked to see if there were any other monsters around. There weren't.

We stood there while PJP read out of his little pocket Bible, and I think he was preaching on autopilot when he got to the thing about ashes to ashes because he flinched, and we flinched, and the clouds seemed to get a little bit darker.

Nobody said anything about how PJP had told us plenty of times that he never got certified to do weddings or funerals. Who else was going to do right by the driver? Whose name -- PJP had asked and remembered -- was Freddie.

***

That night when we were safe back in Lexington, Robert leaned over.

"This is maybe a little grisly," he said, "but I hope it helps you remember."

"Remember --?" I said.

"Us. Helps us remember."

Into my hand he pushed a long curved talon. It was like something you'd see at the Smithsonian. The black curved nail of a dinosaur.

"I found it," he said, "after."

And that was all the explanation I needed.

You have moved to a new area: Wall Market

You moved to a new setting: Amarillo.

You've finished reading Fifty Miles South of Lexington!

0 change points, 1 more needed to reach level 1.

Your 'Lizbeth's Ailments' Quality has gone!

Your 'Lizbeth's Cityslicker' Quality has gone!

Your 'Lizbeth's Doc' Quality has gone!

Your 'Lizbeth's Gunslinger' Quality has gone!

You have read New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

You are now a Reader of New England and Lexington!

Your 'Aiming For' Quality has gone!


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Not to be opened until you've finished reading New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Grim Bargain

You and "Padre" Charlie understand each other all too well.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Reader of New England and Lexington

You have read New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Version

Game version number.

Game version number.
Thanks for playing Zero Summer!

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Man in Black

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are self-empowerment and getting things done.

Hallowed Ground

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

Burning Burning Burning Burning

Fire reflecting in a watery mirror.

Avatar

Your avatar.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

The Ministry of Black Powder

You're helping "Padre" Charlie with his good works.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

Far, Far From Home

You're in Amarillo -- but who exactly are you?


Opportunities

Draw cards from here to raise your Styles, meet your Allies, and risk your Antagonists.

Old Fashioned Research

Unlocked with The Harvestmen 2 - you have 2

Keeping an ear to the street about the Harvestmen is good as far as it goes, but there's only so far you can go on rumors alone...

Shankman's Outfitters

An assortment of trinkets and delicacies is Shankman's Outfitters!—

Travel Around Town

Amarillo was once a largeish city; even now it covers a lot of ground...

Absolom the Tinker

Eternally present -- an abstraction in a world of speculation...

The Bazaar

The Wall Market is the noisy sweaty sprawling heart of commerce in Amarillo...

The Amarillo Exchange Commission

A little joke: the Nimble-Fingered Assistant at Traeger's forge on Short Vine will trade anything that folds for anything that shines...

Pinned

Pinned


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


The Amarillo Exchange Commission

Wall Market

The gutted husk of a pre-Longest Day supermarket and its vast parking lot have become the sprawling Wall Market, a humming place of barter and commerce where daily bread and stranger things can be bought and sold.

A little joke: the Nimble-Fingered Assistant at Traeger's forge on Short Vine will trade anything that folds for anything that shines. The Amarillo Exchange Commission. Bullets for dollars? Nothing to it. The other way round? Easy as winking. H. Traeger turns a blind eye; his bottom line is unaffected and even illicit browsing leads to buying.

Pinned

Pinned

A Bullet for a Dollar

A thumb on the scale during a quiet moment and the deed is done.

This will trade 1 Dollar for 1 Revolver Bullet at a cost of 5 Reputation.

            1
            You need 1 x Dollars  (you have 0)

            5
            You need 5 x Reputation  (you have 4)

            1
            Unlocked with 1 x Dollars

            5
            Unlocked with 5 x Reputation  - you have 4

A Dollar for a Bullet

Strapped for cash? Rich on ammo but poor on valoota? The Nimble-Fingered Assistant is happy to oblige. Only place the bullet on the counter and he'll be with you in a moment.

This will trade 1 Revolver Bullet for 1 Dollar at a cost of 5 Reputation.

            1
            You need 1 x Revolver Bullet  (you have 0)

            5
            You need 5 x Reputation  (you have 4)

            1
            Unlocked with 1 x Revolver Bullet

            5
            Unlocked with 5 x Reputation  - you have 4

Ten Bullets for Ten Dollars

A big spender? A man wealthy in dollars but poor in ammunition? The Nimble-Fingered Assistant can assist! At this he giggles, surprisingly high and pleasant. It cuts straight through the grime on his throat. Even Traeger glances over, one sooty eyebrow cocked.

This will trade 10 Dollars for 10 Revolver Bullets at a cost of 25 Reputation.

            10
            You need 10 x Dollars  (you have 0)

            25
            You need 25 x Reputation  (you have 4)

            10
            Unlocked with 10 x Dollars

            25
            Unlocked with 25 x Reputation  - you have 4

Ten Dollars for Ten Bullets

A man with too much ammunition is a dangerous thing. The Nimble-Fingered Assistant with take your surplus of bullets and in exchange ensure your wallet is well-padded.

This will trade 10 Revolver Bullets for 10 Dollars at a cost of 25 Reputation.

            10
            You need 10 x Revolver Bullet  (you have 0)

            25
            You need 25 x Reputation  (you have 4)

            10
            Unlocked with 10 x Revolver Bullet

            25
            Unlocked with 25 x Reputation  - you have 4


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


Pinned

Pinned


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


Shankman's Outfitters

An assortment of trinkets and delicacies is Shankman's Outfitters! A curated display of precious things that blends the ephemeral with the practical. Proprietor the thin-eyed M. Shankman, whose hands are crisscrossed with scars. Rumors abound: that he ran a kibbutz until a stray rocket from the West Bank destroyed his family's dairy; that he served in the Pacific in WW2 and found the Fountain of Youth, or at least the Fountain of Youthfuller. M. Shankman himself is close-lipped. Buy something or move along.

Pinned

Pinned

Thorny Walking Stick

For carrying while walking softly.

+1 Gunslinger when equipped.

            30
            You need 30 x Dollars  (you have 0)

            30
            Unlocked with 30 x Dollars

Patented Leather Boots

Built with Doc Roslyn's Patented Insoles. A working man's fashion statement.

+1 Gunslinger when equipped.

A Barman's Best Friend

Kept behind the counter to resolve disputes.

+2 Gunslinger when equipped.

            90
            You need 90 x Dollars  (you have 0)

            90
            Unlocked with 90 x Dollars

Heavy Steel Wristwatch

Charming and imposing all at once.

+1 Gunslinger and +1 Cityslicker when equipped.

Long Hunting Knife

Carried by homesteaders and cowboys from Amarillo to the Wall.

+3 Gunslinger when equipped.

            270
            You need 270 x Dollars  (you have 0)

            270
            Unlocked with 270 x Dollars

Shiny-Spurred Boots

Steel-toed. Thick-soled. Surprisingly fashionable.

+2 Gunslinger and +1 Cityslicker when equipped.

Starched White Shirt

Smells of fresh laundry and respectability.

+1 Cityslicker when equipped.

            30
            You need 30 x Dollars  (you have 0)

            1
            You need Paladin 1 (you have 1)

            30
            Unlocked with 30 x Dollars

            1
            Unlocked with Paladin 1 - you have 1

Black Leather Duster

For gangsters, villains, and other rough types.

+1 Cityslicker when equipped.

            30
            You need 30 x Dollars  (you have 0)

            1
            You need Man in Black 1 (you have 1)

            30
            Unlocked with 30 x Dollars

            1
            Unlocked with Man in Black 1 - you have 1

Natural Linen Suit

A breathable fabric for a miserable climate.

+2 Cityslicker when equipped.

Tweedy Jacket

Yellow tweedy wool. Liable to overheat. Confers an air of knowledge.

+1 Cityslicker and +1 Doc when equipped.

Flowing Silk Longcoat

Shankman's Outfitters

Wall Market

The gutted husk of a pre-Longest Day supermarket and its vast parking lot have become the sprawling Wall Market, a humming place of barter and commerce where daily bread and stranger things can be bought and sold.

Imported from Japan. Black silk and white flowers. Also called a "kimono."

+3 Cityslicker when equipped.

Doctor's Overcoat

Crisp medical whites. An air of sophistication and wisdom.

+2 Cityslicker and +1 Doc when equipped.

Horn-Rimmed Spectacles

Perenially in fashion. Nevertheless a little bookish.

+1 Doc when equipped.

Jar of Black Ash

Devotees of Santo Guerrero apply it to their foreheads.

+1 Doc when equipped.

Stainless Steel Stethoscope

For all your doctoring needs.

+2 Doc when equipped.

Colorfully-Banded Stetson

Shankman's Outfitters

The stetson impresses and intimidates. The colorful band implies cleverness.

+1 Doc and +1 Cityslicker when equipped.

The Monkey's Paw

A clenched monkey's fist. Who knows where it came from? Caveat emptor.

+3 Doc when equipped.

Ten Gallon Hat

A tall stetson for a rough-and-tumble dude. Keeps your head cool for advanced thinking.

+2 Doc and +1 Gunslinger when equipped.


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

Far, Far From Home

You're in Amarillo -- but who exactly are you?


Opportunities

Draw cards from here to raise your Styles, meet your Allies, and risk your Antagonists.

Pinned

Pinned


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


The Bazaar

The Wall Market is the noisy sweaty sprawling heart of commerce in Amarillo. Nearly anything can be bought, sold or traded in the vast parking lot bazaar.

Pinned

Pinned


Pinned

Pinned


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


Old Fashioned Research

Keeping an ear to the street about the Harvestmen is good as far as it goes, but there's only so far you can go on rumors alone. The public library -- a squat one-story building just outside the Wall Market with squeaky-clean windows and a tidy lawn -- is the next natural stop. There might be something in back issues of the <i>Daily Star</i>. And there's this -- you've heard the librarian, Ms. Pettle, is eccentric in a way Jack Ishiguro called "exciting, really exciting in kind of a got-schooled-on-a-Saturday-morning kind of way."

Pinned

Pinned

To the Library

Outside the library are a pair of stone sculptues. At one point they might have been lions, but weather and time have made them smooth and toothless. One of their gaping mouths has a cigarette butt crushed inside; otherwise they look recently scrubbed. They're sad to look at, like a favorite blanket worn raggedy by too many washings. Best not to dwell.

            5
            You need Doc 5 (you have 3)

            5
            Unlocked with Doc 5 - you have 3


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


Pinned

Pinned


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


Absolom the Tinker

Eternally present -- an abstraction in a world of speculation. A perpetual possibility! Unredeemable is Absolom the Tinker; dignified, invisible, moving without pressure; hidden, birdlike, quick; undisturbing of the dead leaves that bury the path in front and the path behind. He cannot bear much reality and so is always moving. His everchanging pack contains many things. For a price he may share them with you.

Pinned

Pinned


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


Pinned

Pinned


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


The Amarillo Exchange Commission

A little joke: the Nimble-Fingered Assistant at Traeger's forge on Short Vine will trade anything that folds for anything that shines. The Amarillo Exchange Commission. Bullets for dollars? Nothing to it. The other way round? Easy as winking. H. Traeger turns a blind eye; his bottom line is unaffected and even illicit browsing leads to buying.

Pinned

Pinned

A Bullet for a Dollar

The Amarillo Exchange Commission

Wall Market

The gutted husk of a pre-Longest Day supermarket and its vast parking lot have become the sprawling Wall Market, a humming place of barter and commerce where daily bread and stranger things can be bought and sold.

A thumb on the scale during a quiet moment and the deed is done.

This will trade 1 Dollar for 1 Revolver Bullet at a cost of 5 Reputation.

A Dollar for a Bullet

Strapped for cash? Rich on ammo but poor on valoota? The Nimble-Fingered Assistant is happy to oblige. Only place the bullet on the counter and he'll be with you in a moment.

This will trade 1 Revolver Bullet for 1 Dollar at a cost of 5 Reputation.

Ten Bullets for Ten Dollars

A big spender? A man wealthy in dollars but poor in ammunition? The Nimble-Fingered Assistant can assist! At this he giggles, surprisingly high and pleasant. It cuts straight through the grime on his throat. Even Traeger glances over, one sooty eyebrow cocked.

This will trade 10 Dollars for 10 Revolver Bullets at a cost of 25 Reputation.

Ten Dollars for Ten Bullets

A man with too much ammunition is a dangerous thing. The Nimble-Fingered Assistant with take your surplus of bullets and in exchange ensure your wallet is well-padded.

This will trade 10 Revolver Bullets for 10 Dollars at a cost of 25 Reputation.


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


Pinned

Pinned


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


Travel Around Town

Amarillo was once a largeish city; even now it covers a lot of ground. It takes time to move from one place to another.

Pinned

Pinned

Move to Burrow and Briar

Both an intersection and the tumble-down hideout of the Jackrabbits, Burrow and Briar represents a significant chunk of suburban Amarillo.

Move to Platform #1

The last stop on the Rio Sur line, located right here in Amarillo. A bustling place! Hub of commerce and social interaction! Mind the gap.

Move to St. Francis's

This tiny church near the heart of Amarillo is nevertheless a social hub -- for the worshipful few, the devotees of Santo Guerrero, and the better sort of criminal, the latter flocking like peacocks to the public fountain just outside.

Move to The Highrise Hotel

The tallest building in Amarillo was once public housing. Now its lower floors serve as flophouses for the indigent. And its upper floors? Rumors abound; no one can say for sure.

Move to the Wall Market

Beating heart of Amarillo's commercial district! Once a supermarket, now a sprawling swap meet where dollars and goods are bought and sold and bartered by hands both filthy and clean.

Move to the Scrublands

Step lightly through the lonely grass and sweeping sands north of Amarillo, where homesteaders and farmers and more unnatural things compete for water and precious black soil.

Move to the Mission

All brick and broken statues of angels. Here live the homeless and hopeless of Amarillo. The smell of chickens and the sound of singing will let you know you've arrived.

Move to Little Japan

On the west side, a forbidding place of blacked-out windows, steel doors and standoffish Japanese-Americans. Very few people are seen going in and out.

Move to Downtown Amarillo

A latter-day suburban sprawl! Choked with dust and the bright energy of commerce! Even now the wheels turn in Amarillo's rusted heart.

Move to Amarillo Academy

The former local college has been converted into an ivory fortress. Few students are accepted; none seem to leave. The masthead over the iron gate reads "Amarillo Academy of Arts and Speculative Sciences." Security is said to shoot on sight. It seems more credible than not.

A colored flyer on the gate announces a lecture series starting Friday, May 22nd on the subject of "Actuating Transposition in a Biplanar Society." The presenter will be Prof. M. J. Freiburg. The flyer promises light snacks and a Q&A.

            1
            You need An Invitation to Amarillo Academy 1

            1
            Unlocked with An Invitation to Amarillo Academy 1

Move to the Pony Express

The heart of Amarillo: its living breathing center. Its distributor of mail. Its carrier of justice. Only open when a postal rider is in town.

            Unlocked when Date is:

May 22, 2026 - Morning

May 22, 2026 - Afternoon

May 22, 2026 - Evening

May 23, 2026


Once This Was a Place

Street musicians and bakers and the everpresent watercarriers brush shoulders and elbows with bankers and businessmen and the occasional functionary from the Hexagon, easily spotted by the earbug and black sunglasses and perpetual worried expression. Don't mind them darling -- this you often hear from a mother to her children. Keep your eyes on the architecture. See the charming old brickwork? Once this was a place that lived and grew.

You have moved to a new area: Downtown Amarillo


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Not to be opened until you've finished reading New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Grim Bargain

You and "Padre" Charlie understand each other all too well.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Reader of New England and Lexington

You have read New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Version

Game version number.

Game version number.
Thanks for playing Zero Summer!

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Man in Black

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are self-empowerment and getting things done.

Hallowed Ground

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

Burning Burning Burning Burning

Fire reflecting in a watery mirror.

Avatar

Your avatar.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

The Ministry of Black Powder

You're helping "Padre" Charlie with his good works.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

Far, Far From Home

You're in Amarillo -- but who exactly are you?


Opportunities

Draw cards from here to raise your Styles, meet your Allies, and risk your Antagonists.

The Ballad of Squiddy Sally

Unlocked with ; Unlocked when Truth in the Tanglewood is:

The Richmond-Weisz

Like spreading buttercream frosting on fudge or slurping Italian ice in the desert in June: sinfully decadent...

Pinned

Pinned


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


The Richmond-Weisz

Like spreading buttercream frosting on fudge or slurping Italian ice in the desert in June: sinfully decadent. Deliciously indulgent. And prohibitively expensive unless you know someone. Or <i>are</i> someone. It doesn't tower, does the Richmond-Weisz. Rather it holds its fine chin above the crowds in downtown Amarillo. A handful of rooms? O yes. Occupied? O yes. The finest of hotels? Doubt discredits the doubtor. Step briskly along.

Pinned

Pinned

A Room at the Richmond-Weisz

A room for the day? Non, monsieur -- the expense alone! And also they are booked. Overbooked! See the unmoored businessmen sulking by the fountain in the lobby?

But what is that on the gentleman's lapel? The star of the Pony Express? Well! What modesty and dignity not to speak of it!

No, we are assuredly overbooked for the day -- but for a few precious moments? Perhaps something could be arranged.

This will buy you a few precious moments at the Richmond-Weisz at a cost of 200 Reputation.

            200
            You need 200 x Reputation  (you have 4)

            Unlocked when Pony Express is:

Greenhorn

Messenger

Rider

Old Hand

Cowboy

            200
            Unlocked with 200 x Reputation  - you have 4

            Unlocked when Pony Express is:

Greenhorn

Messenger

Rider

Old Hand

Cowboy


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


Pinned

Pinned


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


The Ballad of Squiddy Sally

A whispered tale in dark corners! The bane of riverfishers and paddyfarmers: a terror swum up from the Gulf itself before crawling slowly to brackish land. A woman's body, either sleek as a seal and bare as your cousin or oldish with wrinkled dugs -- and the limbs of an octopus, all squiddy and chitinous. Seductive and wilesome is the creature. But cold-blooded and cunning. As the story goes, it stalks the waterways south of Amarillo, hunting the wet with its slurping limbs.

Pinned

Pinned

The Menace of the Minor Key

A Killer in the Flesh, the wanted poster reads. Wanted Dead: the Octopus-Woman of Brightside Springs, Squiddy Sally. Those who would help, inquire at the High Noon Saloon.

Asking around about this Squiddy Sally yields folk-tales and hearthwhispers. Strange tracks on the ground all around the springs. A goat, no a donkey ripped clean in half. Missing people, all presumed to be dead by her ripping beak. Zero hard info.

Playing this branch will start The Ballad of Squiddy Sally, a tale of everyday suffering in the time of monsters.

This branch costs 25 Reputation to play.

            25
            You need 25 x Reputation  (you have 4)

            25
            Unlocked with 25 x Reputation  - you have 4


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


Pinned

Pinned


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


The Richmond-Weisz

Pinned

Pinned


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


Pinned

Pinned


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Not to be opened until you've finished reading New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Grim Bargain

You and "Padre" Charlie understand each other all too well.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Reader of New England and Lexington

You have read New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Version

Game version number.

Game version number.
Thanks for playing Zero Summer!

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Man in Black

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are self-empowerment and getting things done.

Hallowed Ground

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

Burning Burning Burning Burning

Fire reflecting in a watery mirror.

Avatar

Your avatar.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

The Ministry of Black Powder

You're helping "Padre" Charlie with his good works.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

Far, Far From Home

You're in Amarillo -- but who exactly are you?


Small-Town Cityslicker

Compared to the big cities up norte, Amarillo is a smear in the desert. But over the Wall, Amarillo is the center of civilization. Nowhere rivals it in size or style. And being this close to Corpus Christi, Amarillo's social scene always carries an exciting hint of danger.

This is one of Zero Summer's "grind" cards. "Grind" cards can be replayed as often as you like. And most of their branches have a chance to produce a Rare Success, which will significantly increase one of your Styles and yield certain other benefits as well.

Opportunities

Draw cards from here to raise your Styles, meet your Allies, and risk your Antagonists.

High Noon Saloon

Cityslicker

Social Style.

A chancy challenge

One of the largest, best-known saloons in Amarillo is the High Noon. "Padre" Charlie explains it was built before the Longest Day as an old-timey theme restaurant. Now an actual frontier saloon, it boasts Hoffenstader on tap and salty/fried fingerfood and a dim cheerful gloom every hour of the day, plus a real actual pianist and full-time muscle to keep everybody civil.

There's nowhere better to make new friends -- this also from "Padre" Charlie, whose nose is red and veiny from a lifetime of dedicated social drinking. He slips a quarter into your breast pocket and pats your hand with fatherly affection. For a warm mug, he says. Can't get any other kind out here.

            3
            You need Cityslicker 3 (you have 3)

            3
            Unlocked with Cityslicker 3 - you have 3

What The Boys Said

Cityslicker

Social Style.

A straightforward challenge

The sand and crowds and sweat of Amarillo are new to you, but to the children born here after the Longest Day it's all they've ever known. And to the animals -- cats and dogs and rats and every conceivable urban creature, constantly barking and hissing and underfoot.

A romping yipping puppy streaks past you on the street with a throng of stick-thin boys close behind. If you collar one of the boys, you might be able to talk a little local flavor out of him.

            1
            You need Cityslicker 1 (you have 3)

            1
            Unlocked with Cityslicker 1 - you have 3


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


Yes It's Warm

High Noon Saloon

Cityslicker

Social Style.

A very modest challenge

            3
            You need Cityslicker 3 (you have 4)

            3
            Unlocked with Cityslicker 3 - you have 4

Is it warm today? Yes it's warm. Not warmer than last year. O yes it is. O yes the heat is sweltering. Even the cows lie down and pant. Like dogs with their tongues out, panting. With their fur can you imagine? Have you seen my arms? Yes I can imagine very well! Bet the wife likes it though. She does. And the chest as well. Though she's lately been after me for a shave. Not there but on the face. And I said to her but who would recognize me? You'll look chinless. Yes chinless. From beard to beardless that's how it ends. For a week nobody recognizing me. Yes it's hot. I'd be better-ventilated. In the face you would. Yes that would be swell.

...and so on for over your head and around you and even eventually with you included. The morning barflies and the farmhands and weavers and bootmakers and layabouts and all the other regulars make this a morning routine, this banter, and while you're not included you aren't excluded, either. One of them slaps you on the back on his way out, at least.

0 change points, 5 more needed to reach level 5.

Cityslicker has increased to 4!

You succeeded in a Cityslicker challenge! (Risky challenges mean you learn more.)

You've gained 1 x Reputation (new total 5).


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Not to be opened until you've finished reading New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Grim Bargain

You and "Padre" Charlie understand each other all too well.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Reader of New England and Lexington

You have read New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Version

Game version number.

Game version number.
Thanks for playing Zero Summer!

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Man in Black

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are self-empowerment and getting things done.

Hallowed Ground

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

Burning Burning Burning Burning

Fire reflecting in a watery mirror.

Avatar

Your avatar.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

The Ministry of Black Powder

You're helping "Padre" Charlie with his good works.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

Far, Far From Home

You're in Amarillo -- but who exactly are you?


Opportunities

Draw cards from here to raise your Styles, meet your Allies, and risk your Antagonists.

Pinned

Pinned

A Gunslinger in Amarillo

Unlocked with Gunslinger 1 - you have 3; Unlocked when Date is:

May 21, 2026 - Morning (you have this)

May 21, 2026 - Afternoon

May 21, 2026 - Evening

There are endless opportunities here for you to brush up on all the things a gunslinger needs to know...

A Country Doc

Unlocked with Doc 1 - you have 3; Unlocked when Date is:

May 21, 2026 - Morning (you have this)

May 21, 2026 - Afternoon

May 21, 2026 - Evening

Amarillo is bracketed by stone, sand and sky...


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


The Ballad of Squiddy Sally

A whispered tale in dark corners! The bane of riverfishers and paddyfarmers: a terror swum up from the Gulf itself before crawling slowly to brackish land. A woman's body, either sleek as a seal and bare as your cousin or oldish with wrinkled dugs -- and the limbs of an octopus, all squiddy and chitinous. Seductive and wilesome is the creature. But cold-blooded and cunning. As the story goes, it stalks the waterways south of Amarillo, hunting the wet with its slurping limbs.

Pinned

Pinned

The Menace of the Minor Key

A Killer in the Flesh, the wanted poster reads. Wanted Dead: the Octopus-Woman of Brightside Springs, Squiddy Sally. Those who would help, inquire at the High Noon Saloon.

Asking around about this Squiddy Sally yields folk-tales and hearthwhispers. Strange tracks on the ground all around the springs. A goat, no a donkey ripped clean in half. Missing people, all presumed to be dead by her ripping beak. Zero hard info.

Playing this branch will start The Ballad of Squiddy Sally, a tale of everyday suffering in the time of monsters.

This branch costs 25 Reputation to play.

            25
            You need 25 x Reputation  (you have 5)

            25
            Unlocked with 25 x Reputation  - you have 5


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


Pinned

Pinned


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


A Country Doc

Amarillo is bracketed by stone, sand and sky. There are things to see and explore beyond the Roughriders' barricades. And unexpected dangers. Which nearly anyone will tell you can add spice to an otherwise humdrum life.

This is one of Zero Summer's "grind" cards. "Grind" cards can be replayed as often as you like. And most of their branches have a chance to produce a Rare Success, which will significantly increase one of your Styles and yield certain other benefits as well.

A Walled Garden

Doc

Mental Style.

A chancy challenge

Sometimes nature is best seen from a distance. On the east side of Amarillo is a quiet wealthy neighborhood full of two-story houses with front porches and sweeping views of the desert. The Heywoods' porch is a notorious hang-out/salon for retirees, mostly old men and the widow Heywood herself; they spend their days playing rubbers of bridge, smoking cigars and emptying bottle after bottle of Cornskunk's best.

Rumor has it that the widow Heywood is also a first-class birdwatcher and liberal with her binoculars. If you can talk your way onto her porch, you could get all the nature you want without risking an unfriendly few moments with a rattlesnake.

            3
            You need Doc 3 (you have 3)

            3
            Unlocked with Doc 3 - you have 3

A Walk in the Scrublands

Doc

Mental Style.

A straightforward challenge

Miz Nils turns out to be the Jackrabbits' resident naturalist. She recommends a walk through the Scrublands north of Amarillo to get a feel for what grows around here. It might look hot and dry and dead, she says, but keep an eye: the scrub is teeming, alive, and way better at surviving in the desert than any person.

            1
            You need Doc 1 (you have 3)

            1
            Unlocked with Doc 1 - you have 3


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


From This Remove

A Walled Garden

Doc

Mental Style.

A chancy challenge

It turns out the widow Heywood is more than happy to add a little fresh blood to the mix. She and her septuagenarian friends set you up in a comfortable chair with a cigar and binoculars and a sweet Cornskunk julep that goes down like motor oil. The widow Heywood lectures the assembled on how to make a good mint julep -- the trick apparently is to crush the mint against the glass with your thumb before you add ice -- while you take a long look across the desert. From this remove it looks empty but for the occasional scrubby tree and the long straight highway to Wichita. But already you know better.

3 change points, 1 more needed to reach level 4.

Doc is increasing...

You succeeded in a Doc challenge! (Risky challenges mean you learn more.)

You've gained 1 x Reputation (new total 6).


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Not to be opened until you've finished reading New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Grim Bargain

You and "Padre" Charlie understand each other all too well.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Reader of New England and Lexington

You have read New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Version

Game version number.

Game version number.
Thanks for playing Zero Summer!

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Man in Black

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are self-empowerment and getting things done.

Hallowed Ground

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

Burning Burning Burning Burning

Fire reflecting in a watery mirror.

Avatar

Your avatar.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

The Ministry of Black Powder

You're helping "Padre" Charlie with his good works.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

Far, Far From Home

You're in Amarillo -- but who exactly are you?


Opportunities

Draw cards from here to raise your Styles, meet your Allies, and risk your Antagonists.

Pinned

Pinned


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


The Richmond-Weisz

Like spreading buttercream frosting on fudge or slurping Italian ice in the desert in June: sinfully decadent. Deliciously indulgent. And prohibitively expensive unless you know someone. Or <i>are</i> someone. It doesn't tower, does the Richmond-Weisz. Rather it holds its fine chin above the crowds in downtown Amarillo. A handful of rooms? O yes. Occupied? O yes. The finest of hotels? Doubt discredits the doubtor. Step briskly along.

Pinned

Pinned

A Room at the Richmond-Weisz

A room for the day? Non, monsieur -- the expense alone! And also they are booked. Overbooked! See the unmoored businessmen sulking by the fountain in the lobby?

But what is that on the gentleman's lapel? The star of the Pony Express? Well! What modesty and dignity not to speak of it!

No, we are assuredly overbooked for the day -- but for a few precious moments? Perhaps something could be arranged.

This will buy you a few precious moments at the Richmond-Weisz at a cost of 200 Reputation.

            200
            You need 200 x Reputation  (you have 6)

            Unlocked when Pony Express is:

Greenhorn

Messenger

Rider

Old Hand

Cowboy

            200
            Unlocked with 200 x Reputation  - you have 6

            Unlocked when Pony Express is:

Greenhorn

Messenger

Rider

Old Hand

Cowboy


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


Pinned

Pinned


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


A Gunslinger in Amarillo

There are endless opportunities here for you to brush up on all the things a gunslinger needs to know.

This is one of Zero Summer's "grind" cards. "Grind" cards can be replayed as often as you like. And most of their branches have a chance to produce a Rare Success, which will significantly increase one of your Styles and yield certain other benefits as well.

Keeping the Peace

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

A chancy challenge

The beating heart of Amarillo's commercial district is the Wall Market, a sprawling parking lot bazaar and former supermarket where you can buy or barter anything you desire. Petty theft is obviously a problem.

A doughman for Butterloaf Bakery is looking for warm bodies to fill the morning security shift. A bad case of food poisoning from the salmon jerky stall has the regular crew doing the Texas two-step. The way the doughman tells it, they're having a graphic morning. Borderline tragic.

            3
            You need Gunslinger 3 (you have 3)

            3
            Unlocked with Gunslinger 3 - you have 3

Getting to Know the Roughriders

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

A straightforward challenge

The local police -- the Roughriders -- have exactly two jobs: keeping the Rule of One and handling the local unnatural fauna. The chief of police is fiercely-mustached Nicco Carfora. He's asked for a civilian volunteer to take one of the Roughriders' aging motorcycles out for a loop around the nearby farms and snoop for unnatural activity.

            1
            You need Gunslinger 1 (you have 3)

            1
            Unlocked with Gunslinger 1 - you have 3


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


A Certain Kind of Recognition

Keeping the Peace

Physical Style.

A very modest challenge

            3
            You need Gunslinger 3 (you have 4)

            3
            Unlocked with Gunslinger 3 - you have 4

Petty theft is an everyday irritation at the Wall Market but actual physical violence is rare. Everyone is surprised when a thief snatches a tray of baguettes off the stall counter, pushing over two customers in the process. You're on the thief in a flash, wrestling him to the ground, handing the baguettes back unharmed to the doughman, roping his arms behind his back with twine, waving off scattered applause.

Later the doughman hands you a note -- from Mrs. Chanticleer herself, he says. It reads:

Gratitude for services rendered. Do come see me some lazy afternoon. You'll find running a bakery builds strong arms. And hands.

You look to the doughman. He gives a little shrug. A wilting flower, Mrs. Chanticleer is not.

3 change points, 1 more needed to reach level 4.

Gunslinger is increasing...

You succeeded in a Gunslinger challenge! (Risky challenges mean you learn more.)

A handwritten note from the owner of Butterloaf Bakery. It reads: "Gratitude for services rendered. Do come see me some lazy afternoon. You'll find running a bakery builds strong arms. And hands."

You now have 1 x An Invitation from Ms. Chanticleer.

3 change points, 2 more needed to reach level 5.

Gunslinger has increased to 4!

You've gained 2 x Reputation (new total 8).

NorteAmericano dollars. Not the only currency in Amarillo, but certainly the preferred one.

You now have 1 x Dollars.


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Dollars

NorteAmericano dollars. Not the only currency in Amarillo, but certainly the preferred one.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Not to be opened until you've finished reading New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Grim Bargain

You and "Padre" Charlie understand each other all too well.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Reader of New England and Lexington

You have read New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Version

Game version number.

Game version number.
Thanks for playing Zero Summer!

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Man in Black

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are self-empowerment and getting things done.

Hallowed Ground

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

Burning Burning Burning Burning

Fire reflecting in a watery mirror.

Avatar

Your avatar.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

The Ministry of Black Powder

You're helping "Padre" Charlie with his good works.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.

An Invitation from Ms. Chanticleer

A handwritten note from the owner of Butterloaf Bakery. It reads: "Gratitude for services rendered. Do come see me some lazy afternoon. You'll find running a bakery builds strong arms. And hands."

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

Far, Far From Home

You're in Amarillo -- but who exactly are you?


Opportunities

Draw cards from here to raise your Styles, meet your Allies, and risk your Antagonists.

Pinned

Pinned


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


The Ballad of Squiddy Sally

A whispered tale in dark corners! The bane of riverfishers and paddyfarmers: a terror swum up from the Gulf itself before crawling slowly to brackish land. A woman's body, either sleek as a seal and bare as your cousin or oldish with wrinkled dugs -- and the limbs of an octopus, all squiddy and chitinous. Seductive and wilesome is the creature. But cold-blooded and cunning. As the story goes, it stalks the waterways south of Amarillo, hunting the wet with its slurping limbs.

Pinned

Pinned

The Menace of the Minor Key

A Killer in the Flesh, the wanted poster reads. Wanted Dead: the Octopus-Woman of Brightside Springs, Squiddy Sally. Those who would help, inquire at the High Noon Saloon.

Asking around about this Squiddy Sally yields folk-tales and hearthwhispers. Strange tracks on the ground all around the springs. A goat, no a donkey ripped clean in half. Missing people, all presumed to be dead by her ripping beak. Zero hard info.

Playing this branch will start The Ballad of Squiddy Sally, a tale of everyday suffering in the time of monsters.

This branch costs 25 Reputation to play.

            25
            You need 25 x Reputation  (you have 8)

            25
            Unlocked with 25 x Reputation  - you have 8


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


Pinned

Pinned


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


Old Fashioned Research

Keeping an ear to the street about the Harvestmen is good as far as it goes, but there's only so far you can go on rumors alone. The public library -- a squat one-story building just outside the Wall Market with squeaky-clean windows and a tidy lawn -- is the next natural stop. There might be something in back issues of the <i>Daily Star</i>. And there's this -- you've heard the librarian, Ms. Pettle, is eccentric in a way Jack Ishiguro called "exciting, really exciting in kind of a got-schooled-on-a-Saturday-morning kind of way."

Pinned

Pinned

To the Library

Outside the library are a pair of stone sculptues. At one point they might have been lions, but weather and time have made them smooth and toothless. One of their gaping mouths has a cigarette butt crushed inside; otherwise they look recently scrubbed. They're sad to look at, like a favorite blanket worn raggedy by too many washings. Best not to dwell.


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


Pinned

Pinned


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


Travel Around Town

Amarillo was once a largeish city; even now it covers a lot of ground. It takes time to move from one place to another.

Pinned

Pinned

Move to Burrow and Briar

Both an intersection and the tumble-down hideout of the Jackrabbits, Burrow and Briar represents a significant chunk of suburban Amarillo.

Move to Platform #1

The last stop on the Rio Sur line, located right here in Amarillo. A bustling place! Hub of commerce and social interaction! Mind the gap.

Move to St. Francis's

This tiny church near the heart of Amarillo is nevertheless a social hub -- for the worshipful few, the devotees of Santo Guerrero, and the better sort of criminal, the latter flocking like peacocks to the public fountain just outside.

Move to The Highrise Hotel

The tallest building in Amarillo was once public housing. Now its lower floors serve as flophouses for the indigent. And its upper floors? Rumors abound; no one can say for sure.

Move to the Wall Market

Beating heart of Amarillo's commercial district! Once a supermarket, now a sprawling swap meet where dollars and goods are bought and sold and bartered by hands both filthy and clean.

Move to the Scrublands

Step lightly through the lonely grass and sweeping sands north of Amarillo, where homesteaders and farmers and more unnatural things compete for water and precious black soil.

Move to the Mission

All brick and broken statues of angels. Here live the homeless and hopeless of Amarillo. The smell of chickens and the sound of singing will let you know you've arrived.

Move to Little Japan

On the west side, a forbidding place of blacked-out windows, steel doors and standoffish Japanese-Americans. Very few people are seen going in and out.

Move to Downtown Amarillo

A latter-day suburban sprawl! Choked with dust and the bright energy of commerce! Even now the wheels turn in Amarillo's rusted heart.

Move to Amarillo Academy

The former local college has been converted into an ivory fortress. Few students are accepted; none seem to leave. The masthead over the iron gate reads "Amarillo Academy of Arts and Speculative Sciences." Security is said to shoot on sight. It seems more credible than not.

A colored flyer on the gate announces a lecture series starting Friday, May 22nd on the subject of "Actuating Transposition in a Biplanar Society." The presenter will be Prof. M. J. Freiburg. The flyer promises light snacks and a Q&A.

Move to the Pony Express

The heart of Amarillo: its living breathing center. Its distributor of mail. Its carrier of justice. Only open when a postal rider is in town.


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

Far, Far From Home

You're in Amarillo -- but who exactly are you?


All Aboard!

You pick your way through town to Platform #1, where at all times of day many people and places and things to see can be found.

You have moved to a new area: Amarillo: Platform #1


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Dollars

NorteAmericano dollars. Not the only currency in Amarillo, but certainly the preferred one.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Not to be opened until you've finished reading New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Grim Bargain

You and "Padre" Charlie understand each other all too well.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Reader of New England and Lexington

You have read New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Version

Game version number.

Game version number.
Thanks for playing Zero Summer!

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Man in Black

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are self-empowerment and getting things done.

Hallowed Ground

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

Burning Burning Burning Burning

Fire reflecting in a watery mirror.

Avatar

Your avatar.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

The Ministry of Black Powder

You're helping "Padre" Charlie with his good works.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.

An Invitation from Ms. Chanticleer

A handwritten note from the owner of Butterloaf Bakery. It reads: "Gratitude for services rendered. Do come see me some lazy afternoon. You'll find running a bakery builds strong arms. And hands."

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

Far, Far From Home

You're in Amarillo -- but who exactly are you?


Opportunities

Draw cards from here to raise your Styles, meet your Allies, and risk your Antagonists.

Pinned

Pinned


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


Old Fashioned Research

Keeping an ear to the street about the Harvestmen is good as far as it goes, but there's only so far you can go on rumors alone. The public library -- a squat one-story building just outside the Wall Market with squeaky-clean windows and a tidy lawn -- is the next natural stop. There might be something in back issues of the <i>Daily Star</i>. And there's this -- you've heard the librarian, Ms. Pettle, is eccentric in a way Jack Ishiguro called "exciting, really exciting in kind of a got-schooled-on-a-Saturday-morning kind of way."

Pinned

Pinned

To the Library

Outside the library are a pair of stone sculptues. At one point they might have been lions, but weather and time have made them smooth and toothless. One of their gaping mouths has a cigarette butt crushed inside; otherwise they look recently scrubbed. They're sad to look at, like a favorite blanket worn raggedy by too many washings. Best not to dwell.


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


Pinned

Pinned


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Dollars

NorteAmericano dollars. Not the only currency in Amarillo, but certainly the preferred one.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Not to be opened until you've finished reading New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Grim Bargain

You and "Padre" Charlie understand each other all too well.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Reader of New England and Lexington

You have read New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Version

Game version number.

Game version number.
Thanks for playing Zero Summer!

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Man in Black

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are self-empowerment and getting things done.

Hallowed Ground

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

Burning Burning Burning Burning

Fire reflecting in a watery mirror.

Avatar

Your avatar.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

The Ministry of Black Powder

You're helping "Padre" Charlie with his good works.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.

An Invitation from Ms. Chanticleer

A handwritten note from the owner of Butterloaf Bakery. It reads: "Gratitude for services rendered. Do come see me some lazy afternoon. You'll find running a bakery builds strong arms. And hands."

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

Far, Far From Home

You're in Amarillo -- but who exactly are you?