Chapter Text
Salim winced as his wounds were cleaned. The doctor had been especially quiet through most of it. To be fair, Salim was still getting to know the townsfolk. He’d only been there a few weeks. The doctor’s quiet nature seemed to partially come from shyness but also because it was just how he was. When Salim had first introduced himself, the young man had rambled for a bit before suddenly excusing himself and hurrying off. Salim wondered if he was easily embarrassed or if it again was just because Salim was the only new resident the town had seen in some time. Considering it looked like they were going to be here a while, Salim decided to try and make small talk.
“It’s Brad, right?”
“Hmm? Uh, yeah. Yes. It is.”
“I’m sorry for making you work so late.”
“A customer is a customer,” the young man said with an uncertain laugh. “How’s the um...farm coming along?”
“A lot more mining and fighting slimes than I ever envisioned.”
That managed to get a genuine laugh from Brad. His shoulders eased up a bit. “How are you liking Pelican Town?”
“Honestly? I’m still trying to remember everyone’s name. It’s quite a lot.”
Brad continued to smile. He truly looked at ease now. “It’s not that bad. Here, you can practice with me. Who’s the mayor?”
“Well that one’s easy. Anthony Clarke,” replied Salim.
“And the blacksmith?”
“M...Merwin?”
“You got it. Who runs the carpenter’s store?”
“Rachel. I do know that one. Her wife is the scientist, Clarice, and their two kids Ashley and Sam. Clarice is also the one who tutors all the kids since the town doesn’t have a school. The man who runs the Adventure’s Guild and lives in that tent behind them is called Jack Fiddler. Though I’ve heard most people around town call him the Stranger.”
“He’s basically a part of the community now, though he did just show up out of nowhere one day. I’ve never really talked to Jack. In all honesty, he kind of scares me.”
“I’ve gotten that feel from a lot of the townsfolks. I don’t think his scowl helps,” chuckled Salim.
“No, it definitely doesn’t. But I’m not surprised you got Rachel and Clarice down. You must walk by their house constantly with how often you’ve been going to the mines.”
“I have,” agreed Salim. He suddenly winced as Brad did something. “Here, keep testing me. It’s distracting from the pain.”
“Ok. Um...how about who runs the museum.”
“The Curator...I don’t think I’ve gotten a name yet.”
“That’s fine. We all just call him the Curator.”
The Curator had been the first one that had set off the thought that this town wasn’t quite normal. The presence of forest spirits and slimes had further supported that train of thought. Besides running the museum, the Curator also lived deeper into the woods than most and always requested the oddest materials from Salim when he was mining. He was also the one who had directed Salim’s attention towards the forest spirits. “Ok...who next?”
“Who runs the bait shop by the sea?”
“Fliss, right?”
“Yep. My brother, Alex, and his wife, Julia, also live on the beach near her. Their son, my nephew, Matt, is obviously still there too.”
“Wait, didn’t I hear your brother was coming home soon though? But I know I’ve seen Alex around.”
“That’s Nick. The middle child. Yeah, he’s supposed to be coming home during the fall season. Still a few weeks away but everyone’s pretty excited. Who runs the general store?”
“John and his wife Angela. They have a son, right?”
“Yep. Chris. They decided to adopt pretty late in life. And last but not least, who runs the animal farm just south of us?”
“Joe Kolchek. And he has a family too?”
Brad’s face grew a little sad for a split second before he quickly bounced back. “Yes, with his grandchildren Jason, Josh, and Beth. Josh and Beth are Jason’s nieces. Jason works at that horrid chain store on the east side of town.”
Out of everyone, it was honestly easy to remember Jason. Everyone else had been so cheerful and kind in welcoming Salim except him. It had stood out amongst the niceties and now Brad had made that face at the family. To be fair, it was an unusual mix. A grandfather and an adult grandchild and two grandchildren who couldn’t be older than ten. Salim wondered what had happened to their parents, or Jason’s, for that matter. But Salim wasn’t one to pry, especially behind the family’s back. It helped that Brad didn’t seem to want to sit in what was quickly becoming an awkward atmosphere as he quickly continued.
“Oh, and I forgot to ask you about the Saloon. Who runs that?”
“The twins, Daniel and Joey.”
“You got it. As for the rest of the town, Daniel is with Taylor—no relation to Clarice so don’t ask, they’ve both heard it all the time—and their kids, Mike and Jessica. Jessica was adopted, Mike is there’s. Joey lives with Eric and Conrad, Julia’s brother. I would say it saves on the bills but everyone knows Conrad just likes to party all the time. Oh, and then there’s the mayor’s son Andrew. Oh, and I forgot Clarice and Rachel adopted a third girl, Emily, recently. But yeah, that about sums up our little town.”
“I thought someone was named Carson though. Unless that’s a last name...”
“Leonard Carson. He runs the chain store. Very pushy and not exactly a nice man from what I’ve seen, but they do have the best prices, so there’s a reason that place is still in business. Now...there. That should do it. I’d normally bill you five hundred gold, but considering you’re new we can just settle on two-fifty.”
Even with the generous fifty percent cut, it was still hard to not wince at the number. Two weeks into spring and Salim hadn’t planted anything, a bit overwhelmed by the land his grandfather had left him and just how much work had to be put into everything. It didn’t help that his parents had given him a year to prove he could actually do something with it before his son could finally move in too. Which honestly was fair. The farmhouse was small just for Salim. It would have been ridiculously tiny if Zain was there at the moment, and there was no reason to uproot his son’s life if this dream were to fail.
But Salim was determined for it not to. Because his mother had moved away early on in her life, Salim had never had a chance to get to know his grandfather beyond meeting him on his death bed. He wouldn’t let the last thing his grandfather had given him go to waste.
That didn’t mean it was easy living on such little coin though. Assuming everything went as planned and the summer harvest actually had a harvest period, things would gradually get better. For the moment though, it did hurt passing the two-hundred and fifty gold coins over. He definitely wouldn’t get carried away in the mines again.
“Well, unless you need anything else, have a good night, Salim. I’d suggest taking tomorrow easy. Maybe just work on the farm?”
“I think I’ll take your advice,” Salim chuckled. “Goodnight doctor.”
“Please, just Brad.”
“Brad then. Thanks for helping me go through everyone’s name again.”
“Anytime,” Brad chuckled.
He showed Salim out. The moment the door was closed, the lights were turned off and only the illumination of the street lamps lit the dark night. Salim also felt bad for having kept Brad up so late. He really would try to do better next time he went down into the mines. To be fair, Jack had warned him. Salim just hadn’t listened to the old man. He turned and started to head back to where his farm was when he realized there was someone else still out at that hour too. He looked across the town square. He knew there was a little graveyard just there. His own grandfather hadn’t been buried there so Salim hadn’t visited it. He could have sworn he just saw a figure leaving it though. He wondered who it was. Considering he planned on going it a bit easier tomorrow, maybe he’d stop by it and see if he recognized any names if he was in town.
With that final thought, Salim focused on getting home. He unloaded the materials he’d gathered from the caves at random into the chests he’d recently made and set up in his home. He’d organize them later. For now, all he wanted was to sleep. His head hit the pillow, and he immediately drifted off.