The Skin-Man (Part 1), pages 35-53 Summary

Not long after Roland's mother dies by his hand, his father, Steven Deschain, summons him and insists that he nurses his old tutor out as a way to punish himself for his mother's death, and Steven insists that Gabrielle's death was not Roland's fault; he was tricked by the witch, Rhea of the Coos. Furthermore, Steven sends Roland and another gunslinger, Jamie DeCurry, to Debaria to complete a job that needs to be done. A skin-man, a shapeshifter, is at work and has killed over twenty people. Steven orders the gunslingers to report to Sheriff Hugh Peavy, one of the few good people in Debaria, but he warns Roland to avoid Serenity, the retreat for women where Gabrielle once stayed, because the women there hate men so. Two days later, Roland and Jamie set out...