Maher
Farmer
Pam wasn't always a drunk, but she never had any boundaries worth a lick of salt. When she looked up from the letter she was reading and told them "dad's gone and he's not coming back," they didn't believe her. He'd stormed off in a huff so many times, that Nicky and Penny had become accustomed to the disappointment upon his return. They knew there would always be a renewal of the yelling, the hitting, the other stuff they were too young to see but saw anyway.
Pam saw the look on their faces. "It's for real this time, kiddos. This letter is from the sheriff in Zuzu City. Seems he went there to cheat on me with some woman who was cheating on her man. Her husband shot your father dead."
Penny knew that exaltation was not what she was supposed to feel upon hearing this news. But as she was trying to come up with something to say that was appropriately somber for the moment, Nicky pumped his fist in the air and shouted "Yes!" Pam couldn't fault him, she was feeling more relief than grief herself. Seeing this, Penny allowed herself a little smirk of schadenfreude. Had it been quick? Or had he gone out pleading for "three steps toward the door" like that guy would sing on the radio?
The relief was short-lived. Whatever else Harry might have been, he brought in a steady income from the mines. That was gone now and it really came down to Pam's bus driving gig to keep everyone in food and clothing, and that wasn't what it used to be. There was a time when she could count on her husband, George, and that quirky old guy on the farm as regular fares. They would go out there every Sunday and come home with a strange purplish glow about them. Mining Iridium for some fellow named Qi, who also ran a casino out there.
But George got into the hole with Qi, and a little "accident" was arranged for him to "balance the books." And he wasn't a passenger any more. And her husband got shot. And the old farmer guy, who never managed to make any friends besides the Wizard and Lewis, and never managed to find a mate among the townsfolk packed it in and headed out to Zuzu.
When Sandy took over The Oasis in Calico, that was Pam's last fare. When she got back to Pelican town, there was a clunk from the back of the bus and the clutch wouldn't engage anymore. She talked to Lewis about it, and he said the money wasn't there for the repairs. As she left his place she thought she caught the gleam of something gold behind his garden shed.
That was it for the bus then. Lewis collected taxes, but there was never enough for services. The Community Center wasn't entirely uninhabitable yet. The bridge to the quarry was sort of OK still, if you knew where not to step. And the service that gave her something of a livelihood was being let die. Still she had a little coming in. Every two weeks Qi sent for 500g with the words "survivor's benefit" on the envelope. It couldn't feed three people though.
She would often catch carp up at the lake, sunfish and bream at the river, and sardines or anchovies down at the docks, but turning those into palatable, nutritious meals she could feed her family took staples she could only afford about half the time. More and more often she came home to hear "Mom! I'm Hungry" as she looked over a collection letter from Pierre's. This wasn't working.
She stepped out of the trailer and got into another yelling match with Lewis over the bus. He told her that he couldn't worry about that with the Community Center now showing signs of a rat infestation. He would have to hire an exterminator, he said, yet somehow he never did. She left there, thinking she would go have a conversation with Pierre about her tab. It was Wednesday though, so the store was closed so he could go fishing.
As she approached, though, Rasmodius appeared, looking smug. Warping from place to place was a good way to cover your tracks, Pam supposed, but the Wizard lacked the discretion to follow through. "I was just, ahem, taking tea with Caroline, and she mentioned that you've been having some challenges keeping up with your tab."
"What business is that of yours? She's got a lot of nerve mentioning private customer business to you in the first place."
"Don't be coy, I've lived in big cities, Pelican Town is not the sort of place that can keep a secret."
"I know what you mean, 'taking tea,' yeah right."
"Ahem. Well, my wife and I might have a way of helping you to cut expenses, if you will hear me out."
"Oh?"
"As it turns out, a baba yaga has a sensitivity to certain needs that might spring up in country towns, where people must live cheek by jowl even when the regrettable has occurred between them, or sudden tragedy brings about certain shifts in fortune that require dismal remedies. But a baba yaga like Elsabet does not typically have the time or the means to acquire skills like artificing or summoning that can aid in the creation of tools to solve those problems.
"So she and I have been working together on a few appliances that can meet some of the more common, um, use cases, in a way that allows the customer to self-serve. Don't like your looks? 500g to a shrine in my basement. Want a career change? You can find a remedy in the sewers. The solutions to some thornier problems can be found in her hut.
"For example, say you need monsters delivered to your door at night for easy access to their loot? A strange bun in the right place will open some doors for you. Got an ex-Spouse whose been insufferable since the fateful day? Enough cash in the center will grant that person a clearer head. And if you find yourself with too many little mouths to feed? Well a Prismatic Shard from your left hand and your troubles will fly away."
"A Prismatic Shard, eh? You don't drive the Calico Desert bus for half your life, rescuing miners, adventurers and doofuses from the depths of the Skull Caverns without learning how to score a few of those. There's just one problem."
"Oh?"
"The bus is broke. I can't get to the desert, Sherlock!"
"Rasmodius, not 'Sherlock.'"
"Well, anyway, Razzy, my point still stands."
"Oh, of course. Here, these are Elsabet's work. The tan will get you there, the red will get you home. Well, near Robin's home anyway, but still within walking distance."
And with that, Pam was off to the desert.
***
Penny knew she wasn't supposed to be doing this. She also knew all the places where not to step. She had to do something. She had heard of a Golden Scythe, and thought that if she could get it, and sell it, Mom could pay the bills, and maybe even pay to fix the bus. She was a kid. She didn't know better. She could no longer do nothing.
She clambered over the rocks and ores, not knowing too much about them. She reached the cave. Monsters were inside, kept there by a magi-seal of protection. She came armed. She'd seen her mom fight off her dad. She had the cast iron frying pan at the ready. She slipped into the mines, past the magical seal.
More rocks. And slimes everywhere. She whacked, cracked, smushed and flattened things. And then the flying skulls! Well what were frying pans for if not for cracking skulls? And she reached the scythe held by a skeletal figure. And then, for a brief moment, before she could grab it, a strong tug, like her soul was being wrenched from her body but was stopped by . . . something. Had the skeletal figure been responsible? She fled back the way she came, and over the bridge. She stepped on all the places not to step, in her fear, and the bridge fell into the chasm behind her. She ran home to the trailer, to her brother, but Nicky wasn't there. Just a dove who perched on her shoulder, cooed "our mother has forsaken us" into her ear before flying off to the mountains.
***
Penny was white hot with rage when Pam walked in the door. She pounded her mother's chest screaming "What did you do!? What did you do!?" until she collapsed from exhaustion. Pam said to her "you survived. I was kinda hopin' you would."
Then Pam walked out of the trailer and up to the saloon, and, for the first time in her life said to Gus "Gimme a pint of your strongest."
Pam saw the look on their faces. "It's for real this time, kiddos. This letter is from the sheriff in Zuzu City. Seems he went there to cheat on me with some woman who was cheating on her man. Her husband shot your father dead."
Penny knew that exaltation was not what she was supposed to feel upon hearing this news. But as she was trying to come up with something to say that was appropriately somber for the moment, Nicky pumped his fist in the air and shouted "Yes!" Pam couldn't fault him, she was feeling more relief than grief herself. Seeing this, Penny allowed herself a little smirk of schadenfreude. Had it been quick? Or had he gone out pleading for "three steps toward the door" like that guy would sing on the radio?
The relief was short-lived. Whatever else Harry might have been, he brought in a steady income from the mines. That was gone now and it really came down to Pam's bus driving gig to keep everyone in food and clothing, and that wasn't what it used to be. There was a time when she could count on her husband, George, and that quirky old guy on the farm as regular fares. They would go out there every Sunday and come home with a strange purplish glow about them. Mining Iridium for some fellow named Qi, who also ran a casino out there.
But George got into the hole with Qi, and a little "accident" was arranged for him to "balance the books." And he wasn't a passenger any more. And her husband got shot. And the old farmer guy, who never managed to make any friends besides the Wizard and Lewis, and never managed to find a mate among the townsfolk packed it in and headed out to Zuzu.
When Sandy took over The Oasis in Calico, that was Pam's last fare. When she got back to Pelican town, there was a clunk from the back of the bus and the clutch wouldn't engage anymore. She talked to Lewis about it, and he said the money wasn't there for the repairs. As she left his place she thought she caught the gleam of something gold behind his garden shed.
That was it for the bus then. Lewis collected taxes, but there was never enough for services. The Community Center wasn't entirely uninhabitable yet. The bridge to the quarry was sort of OK still, if you knew where not to step. And the service that gave her something of a livelihood was being let die. Still she had a little coming in. Every two weeks Qi sent for 500g with the words "survivor's benefit" on the envelope. It couldn't feed three people though.
She would often catch carp up at the lake, sunfish and bream at the river, and sardines or anchovies down at the docks, but turning those into palatable, nutritious meals she could feed her family took staples she could only afford about half the time. More and more often she came home to hear "Mom! I'm Hungry" as she looked over a collection letter from Pierre's. This wasn't working.
She stepped out of the trailer and got into another yelling match with Lewis over the bus. He told her that he couldn't worry about that with the Community Center now showing signs of a rat infestation. He would have to hire an exterminator, he said, yet somehow he never did. She left there, thinking she would go have a conversation with Pierre about her tab. It was Wednesday though, so the store was closed so he could go fishing.
As she approached, though, Rasmodius appeared, looking smug. Warping from place to place was a good way to cover your tracks, Pam supposed, but the Wizard lacked the discretion to follow through. "I was just, ahem, taking tea with Caroline, and she mentioned that you've been having some challenges keeping up with your tab."
"What business is that of yours? She's got a lot of nerve mentioning private customer business to you in the first place."
"Don't be coy, I've lived in big cities, Pelican Town is not the sort of place that can keep a secret."
"I know what you mean, 'taking tea,' yeah right."
"Ahem. Well, my wife and I might have a way of helping you to cut expenses, if you will hear me out."
"Oh?"
"As it turns out, a baba yaga has a sensitivity to certain needs that might spring up in country towns, where people must live cheek by jowl even when the regrettable has occurred between them, or sudden tragedy brings about certain shifts in fortune that require dismal remedies. But a baba yaga like Elsabet does not typically have the time or the means to acquire skills like artificing or summoning that can aid in the creation of tools to solve those problems.
"So she and I have been working together on a few appliances that can meet some of the more common, um, use cases, in a way that allows the customer to self-serve. Don't like your looks? 500g to a shrine in my basement. Want a career change? You can find a remedy in the sewers. The solutions to some thornier problems can be found in her hut.
"For example, say you need monsters delivered to your door at night for easy access to their loot? A strange bun in the right place will open some doors for you. Got an ex-Spouse whose been insufferable since the fateful day? Enough cash in the center will grant that person a clearer head. And if you find yourself with too many little mouths to feed? Well a Prismatic Shard from your left hand and your troubles will fly away."
"A Prismatic Shard, eh? You don't drive the Calico Desert bus for half your life, rescuing miners, adventurers and doofuses from the depths of the Skull Caverns without learning how to score a few of those. There's just one problem."
"Oh?"
"The bus is broke. I can't get to the desert, Sherlock!"
"Rasmodius, not 'Sherlock.'"
"Well, anyway, Razzy, my point still stands."
"Oh, of course. Here, these are Elsabet's work. The tan will get you there, the red will get you home. Well, near Robin's home anyway, but still within walking distance."
And with that, Pam was off to the desert.
***
Penny knew she wasn't supposed to be doing this. She also knew all the places where not to step. She had to do something. She had heard of a Golden Scythe, and thought that if she could get it, and sell it, Mom could pay the bills, and maybe even pay to fix the bus. She was a kid. She didn't know better. She could no longer do nothing.
She clambered over the rocks and ores, not knowing too much about them. She reached the cave. Monsters were inside, kept there by a magi-seal of protection. She came armed. She'd seen her mom fight off her dad. She had the cast iron frying pan at the ready. She slipped into the mines, past the magical seal.
More rocks. And slimes everywhere. She whacked, cracked, smushed and flattened things. And then the flying skulls! Well what were frying pans for if not for cracking skulls? And she reached the scythe held by a skeletal figure. And then, for a brief moment, before she could grab it, a strong tug, like her soul was being wrenched from her body but was stopped by . . . something. Had the skeletal figure been responsible? She fled back the way she came, and over the bridge. She stepped on all the places not to step, in her fear, and the bridge fell into the chasm behind her. She ran home to the trailer, to her brother, but Nicky wasn't there. Just a dove who perched on her shoulder, cooed "our mother has forsaken us" into her ear before flying off to the mountains.
***
Penny was white hot with rage when Pam walked in the door. She pounded her mother's chest screaming "What did you do!? What did you do!?" until she collapsed from exhaustion. Pam said to her "you survived. I was kinda hopin' you would."
Then Pam walked out of the trailer and up to the saloon, and, for the first time in her life said to Gus "Gimme a pint of your strongest."