That note you get from Grandpa when you start out with him cosplaying a ping pong table? Not written in his handwriting. Rather it's forged from the blood ties of a generational string of shady deals gone bad, the details lost to the ravages of time, double-crossing, backstabbing and a legacy of lifespans not achieving their genetic potential. Lewis is merely the latest product of this cycle of revenge and deceit, and the latest terms of the deal were for Grandpa to sacrifice his favorite heir to Lewis' latest financial scheme of owning a bespoke village for the purpose of extracting taxes and profits. Grandpa's been playing this game longer than most so years before he found some ignorant fool street urchin and gaslit them into thinking he was their long lost ancestor, a benefactor with a conveniently free plot of land that just needs the right kind of simpleton hard working and industrious individual to take advantage of. Long ago Grandpa made the critical mistake of being older than his competitor so he was near death when these plans finally came to fruition and his family legacy could finally be free of their intertwined debts and fates. For his part, Lewis' anticipation knew no bounds, having already started collecting resources for his final project and upon hearing a particular bus ticket had been purchased, knew the money would finally start flowing in. Of course he left various clauses open to interpretation and others to ink that would fade away over the course of time, altering and indefinitely extending the contract. Sometimes his anticipatory glee became so unrestrained that Marnie would toss him in the river to cool off.
However.
That street urchin.
Upon taking on her burden in ignorance.
Has a secret weapon.
Buried deeply below her desire to make money and be successful and show the world she can make something of herself.
Writhing in and around the need to make "Grandpa" proud.
Worming its way through her essence.
Working its slow plodding undying mechanical gravitational inevitable magic from fingertips to footertips.
The unforseen circumstance which will break centuries of familial indentured servitude.
Our heroine saves everyone by:
being a lazy-ass.
Ain't nobody gonna be making any fortunes from this farmer snoozing her life away under a shady tree listening to the river burble by.
