The party wakes up to find that winter has found them on the prairie. Frozen puddles from the previous night’s storm and now fresh snow falling from the sky. As they gather themselves and make ready for the journey ahead, they are greeted by two travelers on a rickety open wagon drawn by two emaciated mares. John Henry Holliday and Horace Malek Grimm return their greeting with cordial if not short salutations. Seeing that the party is in need of medical attention and “Doc” Holliday being a medical professional, they decide to join the party on their way West.

As the party makes its way into the once flourishing city of Bismarck, they discover that it has also fallen into mostly ruin. Seemingly kept running by the ferry service to cross the great Missouri river, as well as the former U.S. Army company who protects it. They are halted before entering the now village by a small posse of soldiers, who question them about their business in Bismarck. When the party reveals that they are on their way west, and they tell the story of how they made it this far, the leader of the posse informs them that they will be brought before his commander to personally share these events.

The party is introduced to the deformed mutant Lieutenant Colonel James William Forsyth, a former U.S. army officer now turned local militia leader. He tells the party that he has taken the safety of the peoples of these lands into his own personal charge and that he must see the abilities of the party with his own eyes if he is to offer them any help. He tells the party to return the next day for a demonstration of their arcane abilities. The party agrees and finds lodging at a local flop house, meeting a deranged “innkeeper” along the way.