The Ecstasy of Gold

As America expanded Westward, there was rapid change. The new frontier brought with it new challenges, new hardships and new possibilities. Away from refined "polite" society, where anyone looking for a new start could try to make something of themselves, a thousand thousand stories were written. Most of these stories were lost amongst the chaos of the time.

Your name is Linda Hart, a.k.a. the Lonesome Kid. This is your story.

Born as the only daughter to Texas ranchers, you've been around men your whole life and, not one to take shit from anyone, you've learned to be stronger than most girls, not to mention more clever and quick than a stray cat. You've never been one to take to frilly dresses and other such feminine things, so your father had indulged you to wear the scandalous clothes of men. You learned how to shoot, how to rope, and how to ride, and if you couldn't teach yourself, you had a hand to help you learn it.

At 15, you left the ranch to seek your own fortune, one that didn't have your family name stamped on it. For a few months, you traveled, keeping your identity a secret and indulging in activities ranging from the questionable to criminal to scandalous and all points in between. In that time, you earned your monicker because no one ever saw you enter or leave a town with anyone ... though you'd been into many a room that was not your own. It is now several years later and although you've gained a few years, you still retain your youthful appearance.

In the bitter path of broken hearts and defeated rivals, you've come across a bit of knowledge. A trove of gold is said to be hidden somewhere in the area ... and the first step to finding it is here in this little town known as "Grayson's Crossing."

You climb off your horse and adjust your hat. You keep your blonde hair up in it when you can, the length being the one bit of feminine vanity you can't part with. Your long leather duster keeps your athletic body hidden enough that most passersby mistake you for a boy, so long as you keep slouched and your hat down. You take a look around this simple place and decide there's not a lot of choices.