Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

     Gil pulled up the old van outside of the Mullner’s house. Marlon stared straight ahead, arms crossed. He was cordial to George at festivals, as he had to be, but being dragged out of the guild on a regular day, forced to see the man against his will… Well, Gil better have good reason for it.

     He’d almost refused, but Gil assured him Evelyn would come along as well, which should prevent any particularly negative encounters. Soon enough, Evelyn and George came out of the house. Marlon stepped out to open the door and put out the ramp for George, greeting him with nothing more than a simple nod. Evelyn handed off a small box to Marlon with a smile.

“Cookies for the guild. Baked them just this morning,” she said, putting a hand on Marlon’s shoulder, “Y’all still down to three?”

“Got a couple kids from Grampleton who come by sometimes, they aren’t particularly invested. Lil’ shits only go down every two weeks or so.”

“No plans to retire, then?”

“’Fraid not.”

“Can we get a move on? I’m missing my program for this,” George interjected. Evelyn patted Marlon’s shoulder one more time and offered a wink before stepping into the van.

     They arrived outside the community center. Marlon can admit it didn’t look quite as bad as it had before, and it seemed someone had added a ramp to the outside, but to his knowledge it hadn’t been looked after in about 20 years now. He was unsure what they were doing there, but he kept his mouth shut. No need to cause unnecessary problems, that was George’s job. They went up the ramp, following Gil’s lead, and headed inside, and were greeted by the warmth of the fire, the smell of fresh paint barely masked by the firewood. Marlon’s eye trailed around the room at the new furniture, the new fish tank, before he settled on the fireplace and the mantle. Above it, brass letters were fixed onto the wall.

The Mona Jasper Community Center

“Who did all this?” George asked.

“It’s a community effort, so I’ve been told. Lotta people involved,” Gil said. The four of them split and wandered around the center a bit, looking at the different rooms. The community kitchen was stocked with some non-perishables, as well as some basics like milk and eggs. It wasn’t much, but it was something. Evelyn investigated the oven and stove and gave a nod to George when she decided they were in working order. Marlon checked on the bulletin board, which had been mostly cleared off, making room for new requests and notices.

Gil settled on the couch by the fire, waiting for the rest of the group to join him. He pulled a bottle of wine and some single use cups from his rugsack, as well as a bottle opener. The wine was well over 20 years old now, but he’d stashed it away after the old farmer died.

Marlon joined him on the couch first, his eye a bit watery, though he willed the tears not to fall, stubborn as he was. He looked up at the old photograph of Mona and leaned over to Gil.

“Nikki?” he asked, hushed. Gil pretended not to hear him, and Marlon glared. It was no use pushing if Gil set his mind to secrecy, so Marlon didn’t bother. Still, he couldn’t see anybody else in town asking Gil for favors.

After a while, George and Evelyn joined them by the fire, and Evelyn reached over to investigate the bottle. Upon seeing the old label, she looked up at Gil.

“Well, you’re just full of surprises today, aren’t you?” she said, turning the bottle towards the group. George reached and took the bottle from her and chuckled to himself.

“Who knew Ol’ Saint Nick still had a bottle out in the world?” George remarked.

“I thought we might stay for a drink with Mona,” Gil said, “This way Nicholas can be here too.”

“That bottle’s gotta be old as shit by now. Even any good still?” Marlon asked.

“Oh please, Marlon, it’s sealed and been in the dark since I got it. Kept it hidden after he died to give you and Mona for your 50^th… this seemed the next best thing,” Gil explained. He looked over at Marlon, a tear just barely making its way out, though there were daggers behind his eye.

“Bastard,” Marlon said, dabbing at his eye with his cape. George looked at Marlon and felt sympathy and held the bottle out towards him.

“Will you do the honors?”

…

     The four of them drank their wine in the center, reminiscing about the old days, when they were younger. The current discussion was the old farmers ex-wife, Marie.

“I wonder what she’s up to, haven’t heard from her since she moved, I think. Never was a fan of mine…” George said.

“Probably dead. That miserable woman must be old as shit now,” Marlon said.

“Younger than me!” Gil said, feigning offence.

“No one alive is older than you, Gil,” Evelyn said. Gil tsked at Evelyn but smiled. He always appreciated how the otherwise kind woman kept up with the group’s antics, slinging insults and laughing along. They had always burned a little worse coming from her. Silence swelled in the room for a moment.

“You know, they shoot horses,” Gil said. Laughter filled the old community center.

“Yoba, that’d be too merciful for you, old man,” Marlon said as he laughed.

“I’ll drink to that… only the good die young in these parts,” George added.

“What in Yoba’s name did I do wrong?” Evelyn asked him eyes narrow. He looked afraid for a moment and thought long and hard about his response. Gil and Marlon offered no help. Soon, he had it.

“Married me, didn’t ya?”

     They looked back on much of their life, particularly times they shared with Mona. They hadn’t gotten to share stories as a group like this since her death, as it was hard to get Marlon and George in a room together. Now they sat, and revitalized the old community center with laughter and stories of good times and bad, and even though he hadn’t wanted to come originally, Marlon couldn’t help but smile.

If only Mona could see us in this moment.

Chapter Text

     Mona Burke moved to Pelican Town about 42 years before Nikki Blake would take over their grandfather Nicholas’s farm. She had a small cabin off the beaten path, deep in Cindersnap Forest. She hadn’t known what she would do once she got there, but she had been in search of change in her life a long time. In the beginning, she landed a job bartending at The Junimo Pub, which would one day switch ownership and be renamed The Stardrop Saloon. Pierre’s was simply The General Store, owned by a particularly religious family, the Heron's, that Mona quickly learned to avoid, buying groceries in bulk to avoid multiple trips.

     Most other things were the same then as they are now. The Andrew’s Ranch was doing well, run by Elizabeth Andrew’s, and on a good day her husband Stephan as well. When he wasn’t having a good day, 21-year-old Marnie helped her mother. Marnie’s 19-year-old brother, Jackson, hadn’t taken to the ranch life so much, and would move to the city soon after Mona moved in. Clint’s grandfather worked as the blacksmith, though his son had recently moved to Grampleton to open his own blacksmithing shop and start a life for himself. Lewis’s father, Peter, was the mayor. No one ever cared to point it out, but their democratic system was a bit more like monarchy.

     The Adventurer’s Guild was booming at the time. George and Nicholas had been members for a good number of years, George for seven and Nicholas for ten. Gil was recently made the guild leader, even though he was a little younger than the farmer, but he had joined as soon as he turned 25, making him the longest standing member at 15 years. Their newest addition was Marlon Jasper, a 27-year-old kid from Grampleton, and he showed great promise as an adventurer, though he had a bit of an attitude problem.

     George and Evelyn were recently married, in their 30s, with a baby on the way. The two of them frequented the pub, often inviting Nicholas right along with them, as well as other guild members when they could. It was there that they met Mona, and she truly began her story.

“You’re new here, ain’t you?” the farmer said, leading the way with his usual group, “I’m Nicholas, this here is Georgie and Ev.”

“I’m Mona! What can I get started for y’all?” Once they ordered she got their drinks, and they walked off towards a pool table in the side room for a while. Mona kept working, introducing herself to the locals as she did. Working at the pub was certainly a good way to meet people. Eventually, the farmer came back around and sat at the bar, leaving his two friends behind.

“So, when dja move in, Ms. Mona?” he asked, swirling the whiskey in his glass.

“Just this week, got a lil cabin in the forest. How long you been around?”

“Lived here all my life, mostly. Spent some time in the city, Yoba what an unhappy place that is. Came back to take over my father’s farm a lil’ over 10 years ago.”

“This a happier place?”

“Yes ma’am.” Nicholas took the last sip of his drink.

“Good deal. Can I help you to another?”

“Please.” Mona took the glass and poured his second whiskey and set the glass down on the bar. This time the farmer did not walk back to rejoin his friends but stayed to chat a bit longer.

“Say, Ms. Mona, how old are ya?” he asked. George and Evelyn approached from behind.

“Too young for you, Nick,” George said, “Midlife crisis getting’ the best of ya?”

“It’s not polite to ask a lady her age you know,” Evelyn added on. The both of them smirked at the farmer, who rolled his eyes.

“I don’t mind at all, I’m 25,” Mona said, keeping her hands busy drying glasses.

“I see… we oughta introduce you to Gil. Too young for me but just old enough for him. We could use another member,” Nicholas said, leaving Mona a bit confused.

“Member of what?” she asked.

“Here we go,” George said, rolling his eyes and taking a seat. Evelyn followed suit.

“Give her the pitch, Nick,” she said. Nicholas cleared his throat.

“You look like an adventurous type, Ms. Mona. Just moved to a new place all on your own, and you’ve got that fire in your eyes. Would you call yourself adventurous?” he said, tone indicating that he’d clearly given this speech before. Mona narrowed her eyes at him and smirked, crossing her arms and placing her weight on one foot.

“Sure, I’ll bite,” she said.

“Well, do I have the place for you,” Nicholas said, clapping his hands together, “The adventurers guild here in Pelican Town is our oldest industry, and easily one of our most rewarding. Besides, of course, good old fashioned farm work.”

“Get to the point, old man,” George scoffed.

“At the guild you’d have opportunities to explore all kinds of adventuring,” he continued, pointedly ignoring George’s comment, “From mining and slaying monsters, to research and weapon making, even unearthing long lost artifacts of one of Ferngill’s oldest settlements. There’s a place for every kind of person at our old adventurer’s guild, and endless amounts of work to be done. What do ya say, Ms. Mona?”

     Mona thought for a moment, looking up to the ceiling and tapping her chin with her finger. She’d be lying if she said she wasn’t interested. She’d studied archaeology in university and had an interest in the occult. Nick’s mention of monster’s piqued her curiosity. Her interest had been generally frowned upon where she came from. She recalled her mother telling her a lady ought not to be interested in such things. She was glad these folks seemed more open minded.

“Yeah… I’d be interested,” she said. George and Evelyn perked up.

“Seriously?” George asked, “The only person I’ve seen that speech work on is… well, nobody.”

“Guess a broken clock is right twice a day, ain’t that right Ev?” Nick said. Evelyn laughed, abruptly stopping when she caught George’s eye.

“No comment.”

…

     A few days later, Mona was invited up to the mountains to be introduced to Gil. Nick had sent the invitation in the mail, but was busy with farm work, so George volunteered to bring her. He had to head to the mines that day anyway. They met in town, and he led the way up the mountain as they chatted together about guild work, Mona’s life before the move, and what exactly “monsters” entailed. Mona was particularly interested in the monsters.

     They arrived at the guild, and George’s face switched from a neutral-good expression to one of pure loathing. There were two men sitting in the guild, one who appeared a bit older than George, and one who looked around Mona’s age, sat in a chair writing in a notebook. Mona wondered who George’s face was directed at, but it didn’t take long to realize. The older man looked plenty happy to see George and her, but the younger? Not so much.

“George, this the new recruit?” the older man asked. George nodded.

“Yep, this is Mona. Mona this is Gil, our guild leader.” Mona went up to Gil and shook his hand.

“Nice to meet you, Sir,” she said. Gil’s eyebrows shot up.

“Sir? No, no. Gil’s just fine.”

“Sure, Gil then,” Mona said, before turning to face the younger man, “Who might you be?” The man’s gaze shot up at Mona, but he didn’t bother to turn his head.

“I’m not the friendly type,” he said, before looking back down to his notes.

“Well, I am. Name?” Mona said with a short tone. The man looked up from his book and narrowed his eyes at her.

“You call that friendly?”

“You call that a name?”

“I like her,” George said. Gil laughed.

“That’s Marlon. Pay him no mind, he’ll warm up to you eventually, if you’re lucky,” he said. Marlon tsked and went back to his notes again. Gil continued, “What are you interested in, Mona?”

“Oh- I uh… I have an archaeology degree and I’ve always been interested in the occult and other worldly things so… honestly, I’m here for the monsters.” Gil nodded and crouched down to grab something. He placed a sword and a pickaxe on the counter, before looking at Mona for a moment, and putting a small rugsack on there as well.
“Kill ten monsters and then get back to me,” Gil said.

“What?” she questioned, earning a chuckle from Marlon. She shot a look at him, but he was still locked into his notes. He was going to drive her crazy, she thought.

“Kill ten monsters, then come back here. If ya can’t do that, you’ve got no business in the guild, kid,” he said.

“There’s no… training? Guidance? Advice?” she asked, looking between George and Gil, who looked at each other and shrugged. This must be some kind of hazing ritual, which usually Mona would want no part of. Marlon’s smug chuckle was enough to push her to prove herself, though, which was probably incredibly stupid. Mona grabbed the rugsack and threw it over her shoulders, and took the sword and pickaxe, fastening the sword belt around her waist. With that she walked out.

“Wait a minute and follow behind her?” George asked Gil. Gil nodded, and George followed suit.

…

     Once Mona successfully joined the guild, she started going to the mines regularly when she had time off at the pub. She wasn’t particularly focused on the mining, though anytime she saw a gem node she couldn’t resist cracking it open. The interesting thing really was the monsters. She often tried to keep herself hidden, jotting down notes about the monster’s behavior. If she was noticed, she’d fight, though she preferred not to. She also would dig around in patches of loose dirt when she came across it, to see if she might happen across any artifacts. The best was when she’d come across untouched boxes and barrels, which she’d smash open, often finding weapons and such in them.

     George and Mona had gotten close in the first few months of her joining. He took to training her on the best approaches against certain monsters, and how to predict staircases.

“Why would they have made it so confusing? It’s essentially random,” Mona complained one day. She and George had made it down to the cold levels of the mines that day, due to George’s knack for getting down quick. He made good use of explosives to speed up his work when he could and had memorized other patterns to help him along. He seemed very knowledgeable.

“Think they wanted to confuse ‘em. The monsters, I mean. If it were just straight up and down, they could get up to the surface too easy.”

     Mona really appreciated George’s guidance, though he would sometimes get frustrated when things didn’t pan out as he expected. Mona quickly learned how to recenter him, cool him down. She also started spending some time in George and Evelyn’s home, learning more about the town from Evelyn. It wasn’t long before she saw them as parental figures, going to them for advice on just about anything, and joining them for dinners. They were always happy to see her.

     Mona also came to understand why George and Marlon butted heads so much, though she wouldn’t dare to say anything about it. George was a very talented adventurer, good in combat and knew his shit about the mines. He’d been doing this a long time; it was only natural that he would have gotten a solid grasp of it. Marlon, on the other hand, had a more natural, effortless talent when it came to adventuring and combat than anyone else in the guild. He moved fast, anticipating movements of his opponent with a fluidity that was, frankly, unbelievable. It made him a difficult person to work with, and a worse person to compare yourself to, and George’s pride was easily bruised. Marlon also didn’t take kindly to George’s advice, which only intensified the conflicts between them.

     Farmer Nick was always busy running around town, fulfilling townspeople’s requests and doing his farm work. He told Mona he mostly went down for the materials, which were both profitable, and could be used to build things for his farm. Particularly, his kegs, which filled a large shed by his small cabin. When he wasn’t working, she’d always see him at the pub, drinking and socializing with all the townsfolk. The two of them became attached at the hip at festivals, making rounds to just about everyone in the town. At the Feast of the Winterstar, she coined the nickname “Ol’ Saint Nick” for him, which seemed to stick more amongst the other guild members than the townspeople.

     In the first few months, Mona made very little progress in befriending Marlon. He had no interest in being particularly close with anybody, and it seemed he only had interest in having full conversations with Gil. Gil had originally advised that they pair together, as both of them had interest in monster research, but Mona found going down with him a bit stressful. Sure, he was extremely skilled in combat, but he was reckless at times, jumping into battle before assessing the situation. She didn’t think it was a method particularly well suited for research.

     Then, about 5 months into her guild membership, Mona came across a book, buried in the dirt in the mines. She brushed off the more caked on parts, and found it was titled “Dwarvish Translation Guide.” Naturally she rushed back up to the guild to show it off and rub it in Marlon’s face.

“Check it out, boys,” she said, dropping the book on the table. Everyone was in that day, including Marlon, who she’d never seen so excited.

“Holy fuck, where the hell did you find this?” he asked. His eyes were wide as he began leafing through the pages, scanning the headings as he did.

“Turns out if you take a moment to look around instead of just running from monster to monster, you can actually find useful things,” she replied with a smug smile. Marlon shot her a look, but didn’t bother talking back. He was beginning to learn to pick his battles with Mona, it seemed.

“That’s a damn good find, Lovely Mona,” Nick said. He had retired Ms. Mona at some point, but Mona could never quite pinpoint when.

“Mind sharin’ this one with the guild? Wouldn’t be a bad idea for everyone to get a good look at it,” Gil asked, and Mona nodded. As funny as it would be to prevent Marlon from getting to it, she wasn’t going to stop him. Luckily for him, she was the friendly type.

…

     Mona’s first flower dance came up quickly, and as soon as she heard about it, she knew it’d become her favorite. Evelyn’s primary job was working on decorations for festivals, but for this one she asked Mona for some help.
“I’m gonna pop any day now, I can’t do everything I usually do,” Evelyn said. Her due date was rapidly approaching, so she needed to take it easy. Mona was happy to help.

     Set up was easy enough for this festival, mostly stringing up flower garlands Evelyn had been working on and helping to set up the general store booth. That was the worst part of it, being forced to interact with the Heron’s. It was practically impossible to talk to them without being lectured about the book of Yoba. Still, Mona was as kind to them as she was to all the other townspeople.

Soon enough, the flower dance was underway, and everyone started rolling in. Mona was excited to see Gil had chosen to show up, despite typically opting out of town festivities. Beside him, Marlon walked along in a blue suit, looking as pissed off as always. George couldn’t help but laugh. Once Mona and Nick did their rounds together, Mona settled next to Marlon as Peter got up to speak.

“Got a dance partner, Marlon?” Mona asked.

“No,” he said, looking straight ahead.

“Well, you could always dance with me,” Mona said, sarcastically. Marlon turned a bit and looked at Mona, before looking ahead again.

“Fine,” he said simply. Mona looked at him suddenly, with a confused expression, but before she could say anything Peter started the dance and Marlon held out his hand. She looked down at it for a moment, before deciding to take it.

“Fine,” she repeated, as they walked over to the dance area. Hooting and hollering could be heard from the snack table, where the rest of the guild had crowded, and suddenly Mona was extremely nervous. What the hell was this guy’s problem?

     The dance began, and Marlon almost immediately stepped on Mona’s foot. The two of them were fighting to lead, whispering curses at each other every time they bumped into or stepped on one another. This seemed to only entertain the rest of the guild further. About a minute into the song, Marlon got a bit miffed.

“Damn it, Mona, will you fucking let me lead?” he quietly scolded. She looked up at Marlon and glared for a moment.

“Fine,” she spat, and stopped trying to take over. Soon, they fell into step with each other, and if Mona didn’t know any better, she almost would’ve had fun dancing with him. Almost.

     Once the dance was finished, they started making their way back towards the rest of the guild. As they walked, Marlon huffed, and Mona rolled her eyes.
“What?” she said, already annoyed. When she looked over at him, she noticed a slight pinkness to his cheeks.

“You look nice today,” Marlon said with a forced sarcastic tone. Mona’s eyes narrowed as she felt her own cheeks heat up, just a bit. More than she’d care to admit.

“You’re not so bad yourself,” she said, as angrily as she could force. Mona looked up at Evelyn and Nick, who seemed to be sharing a knowing look that Mona didn’t care for at all, but she decided mentioning it would only make things worse.

Despite herself, she had been right. The flower dance was easily her favorite festival.

…

     After George and Evelyn had their baby girl, who they named Clara, there was a lot more work to be done in the guild. Mona made plenty of money from her spoils in the mines, so she opted to quit her bartending job, dedicating herself fully to the guild, at least till George came back. She enjoyed the extra time with Gil, and hardly ever missed a dive in the mines with Nick. One day the three of them, plus one insolent little man, were sat in the guild, sharing a bottle Nick had brought from the farm. Despite most guild members preferring beer and liquor, Nick opted for a white wine after hearing it was Mona’s vice of choice.

“’bout time one of you old men had a kid. It’ll be nice not being the youngest around here,” Mona said, swirling the wine in her mug. Nick cocked his head to the side.

“I have a son,” he said, and Mona choked on her drink. She’d known this man for seven months, and he had a kid the whole time?

“Since when? Where do you hide him?” she asked.

“In the city, I’m afraid,” Nick said as he pulled out his wallet, “Seven years old, lives there with his mother. Name’s Patrick.” Nick took a small photo out of his wallet to show Mona. It was a photo of Nick and Patrick outside the playground in Pelican Town, with wide smiles on their faces.

“He’s comin’ ‘round for the summer again?” Gil asked, and Nick nodded.

“You should bring him up here! I’d love to meet him,” Mona said.

“Most likely won’t. You’ll see plenty of him around town, though,” Nick explained.

“Boo, why not have him here?”

“Marie would crucify him, I’d bet. Hell, might kill every one of us for even thinkin’ about it,” Marlon chimed in.

“Won’t be seein’ much of you, then?” Mona asked Nick.

“I’m afraid not, Lovely Mona. Guild will be down to three for the summer.”

…

     One rainy night in the summer, Marlon showed up outside of Mona’s door, demanding to be let in. Mona was thrown off by his presence outside her door, and forgot to be rude to him, letting him inside. He set down his things and pulled out the Dwarvish Translation Guide.

“Gil know you took that?” Mona asked, eyebrow raised. Marlon glared at her, but didn’t dignify it with a response. Of course he told Gil.

“I thought this might interest you, look,” Marlon said. He pulled out a polaroid picture of a gravestone, and pointed out the Dwarvish text in the book, “Same language. I’ve translated it, but I wanted a second opinion.”

“You wanted a second opinion, and you came to me? How sweet,” Mona teased, sitting down to look between the photo and the guide. Marlon showed his translation in his notebook,

“Stand between the pillars three

With gift as precious as the sky:

A rainbow forged from land, not sea

Then galaxies will heed your cry.”

     After a few minutes of leafing through the pages, and looking between everything, Mona nodded in agreement. Looked like he was right.

“Think you got it, but what the hell does this shit mean?” Mona asked.

“Well, that’s the next thing. There are some caverns out in the desert. I’ve never been, and the monsters there are said to be a bit more… extreme,” he explained. Mona smirked.
“Not like you to back down from a fight,” she said.

“There’s loads of iridium nodes down there,” he continued, ignoring her comment, “And there’s legends that you can get these multicolored stones from them, prismatic shards.”

“You think that’s the ticket?”

“Think so… Problem is you need a key to get into the caverns. Guild has one, but Gil is fucking uptight about it. Doesn’t like sending green adventurers there alone,” Marlon explained. Mona understood what he was getting at.

“But if we wanted to go together?”

“That was my thought. Tomorrow?”

“Sounds good.”

     The next morning, they stormed the guild, and Gil was immediately unsettled by the fact that the two of them appeared to be working together. It didn’t get much better once he knew what they were after.

“No way,” Gil said.

“You’re tellin’ me you didn’t take dives into the caverns at our age?” Marlon asked.

“Of course I did, but my first run I did with a veteran. Y’all should wait till George or Nick are back to work,” Gil explained.

“At what point exactly do I become a vet, bastard? I’ve been goin’ down practically every day for three years, and I have more kills than every other fucking member,” Marlon yelled. Mona took a backseat; she’d never seen the two of them properly disagree with each other, and honestly thought she’d only make things worse.

“You’ll stop bein’ green when you stop thinking you’re untouchable. The answer’s no. Now take a walk, both of you,” Gil yelled. Mona wanted to push back, ask what she did wrong, but Gils tone was firm, absolute.

     Mona and Marlon walked out of the guild together, and started storming off, but seemed to be heading in the same direction.

“What the hell is wrong with you? Pissin’ him off like that, no wonder he doesn’t want to give up the key,” Mona said.

“What’s wrong with me? What the hell is wrong with you?! You were supposed to back me up in there. All you did was cower behind me like a lil’ brat,” he pushed back.

“Oh, as if I could’ve gotten a fucking word in!”

“I’ll be sure to pause for you to think next time.”

“Yoba help us if you ever become guild leader.”

“Bitch.”

“Asshole,” Mona spat as she turned to walk away, but Marlon grabbed her wrist, pulling her back. He grabbed the side of her face, and rushed into a kiss, which she reciprocated against better judgement. The kiss was passionate from the start, months of tension unwinding itself as they moved with each other. Then Marlon pulled away, searching Mona’s eyes.

“I’m sorry,” he said. Mona’s breathing was quick, gasping for air. Once she had a moment to register his apology, though she wasn’t sure which of the many things it was for, she rolled her eyes.

“Shut up,” she said, leaning in to kiss him again. As she did, a whistle came from the other side of the lake.

“Nice to see y’all workin’ it out! If ya don’t mind, can ya take it inside before ya get ahead of yourselves? My boy’s right here,” Nicholas shouted. He and Patrick were fishing together in the lake, and embarrassment rushed over Mona as she realized they’d probably been there that whole time. Mona pushed away from Marlon and stormed off, avoiding the old farmer’s gaze.

     That evening, Marlon showed up outside Mona’s door yet again. Mona felt butterflies in her stomach, but she pushed them down.

“What do you want?” she asked.

“I have a peace offering,” he said, holding up a bottle of Nick’s white wine. Mona accepted the bottle and let him inside, making quick work of getting the bottle open. The two of them took a seat at Mona’s kitchen table, twiddling their thumbs and waiting for the other to speak first. It was probably the longest they had ever gone without insulting each other. Soon enough, Mona couldn’t take the silence anymore

“What is your problem?” she asked. Marlon’s eyes widened and he cleared his throat.

“I don’t know,” he said.

“You’re an asshole to me for months, you yell at me and call me a bitch, and then you kiss me? And now here you are at my doorstep with a peace offering and you can’t even start the damn conversation?” Mona rambled.

“I said, I don’t know.” The two of them stared at each other for a moment, occasionally narrowing their eyes or opening their mouths as if they were about to speak, before abruptly shutting their mouths again. After a moment, the silence got to Mona once again, but this time she began laughing. This laugh started out as a light chuckle, but as it grew it became clear it wasn’t like others Marlon had heard from her. It was loud and cut through the air like thunder, the kind of laugh that made it hard to breathe. He tried to keep up a pissed off expression, but he couldn’t help it, and he started laughing right along with her, bringing tears to his eyes.

“Yoba, we’re like a couple of twelve-year-olds, huh?” Mona exclaimed as she laughed, “I mean… I’m 26 years old and I’m yelling at some guy? For being mean to me?” Marlon settled his laughter and watched Mona for a moment. Mona calmed herself as well, and waited, as it seemed Marlon had something to say.

“You… You are so damn nice to everybody. You have patience even for people who have honestly never fucking deserved it, and everyone in the town loves you. But with me, you just jumped on my ass so immediately. Why?” Marlon asked. Mona was a bit taken aback by his transparency. It seemed thought out, something he’d been wondering for a while.

“I don’t know… you just got on my nerves. Besides, every time I did try to have a normal conversation with you, you’d ignore me. Pretty sure insults are the only way to get your attention,” Mona explained.

“Well, if it’s my attention you wanted then congratulations. You got it.”

…

     Mona and Marlon’s relationship had a weird start. They tried to start being nice to each other, supportive like they believed partners were meant to be. It was extremely unsettling for the rest of the guild, Evelyn and George especially. About two months in, Mona went for dinner at the Mullner’s, seeking advice as she often did.

“Break up with him,” George said, as helpful as ever. He was rocking baby Clara in his arms, now nearly four months old. Time flies.

“You see, that would normally be the answer I go for, but for some reason I do not want to,” Mona said. George shrugged. He still thought she should dump him; she could do better.

“You know, sometimes being kind to your partner isn’t the same as being nice. Sometimes couples aren’t meant to be unconditionally supportive,” Evelyn offered.

“What do you mean?” Mona asked cocking her head to the side. Evelyn thought for a moment.

“I think you two liked each other because you challenged each other. You’ve got similar goals, and you’re both very willing to call each other out. You’re very different people… Love isn’t just being nice. Sometimes it’s challenging and pushing each other,” Evelyn explained.

     So, Mona stopped being overly nice to Marlon, and he followed her lead. Soon they found a rhythm, learning when to challenge, when to bicker, and most importantly when to listen and get in their own lane. Mona became a stronger fighter because of it, Marlon pushing her to take a few risks for greater reward. Marlon became less reckless, valuing information and his own life over his high kill count. They became strong partners in the mines, and even stronger outside of it.

It wasn’t long until Gil decided they were ready for the caverns and handed off the key to them.

…

     Marlon and Mona’s first trip into the caverns together started off strong. They had gotten a feel for each other’s movements, barely having to say a word to communicate how they’d operate on each floor. If there weren’t too many monsters to speak of, Mona would do a lap through the floor, looking for loot and artifacts, any large clusters of iridium, and Marlon would start going at nearby stones in search of staircases and shoots to progress down. They’d call out to each other if they found anything of note, but otherwise were able to work in silence, their partnership a well-oiled machine. If there were a lot of monsters, they’d come to an agreement to jump at anything immediately with in eyesight, and then explore the floor together quietly, taking notes on other monsters they spotted as they went, Marlon waiting for a nod from Mona before they jumped into the next battle.

     They’d gained a decent amount of iridium but hadn’t gotten a single prismatic shard. Mona was starting to believe what Marlon had heard was nothing more than a legend. Still, her notebook was full with notes on the strange flying serpents, bats, and purple slimes they had encountered. Eventually they got to a floor that looked a little different to the other ones they’d seen, the floor and walls much lighter. They hid behind a barrel to look at the monsters beyond the entrance, and Mona jotted a few notes down. She didn’t recognize these, and there were quite a lot of them on this floor.

->Humanoid, wrapped in cloth, glowing red eyes.

->Move slowly, arms held out in front

->No obvious communication between them

->Mummy?

     Mona tucked the notebook back in her rugsack and grasped her sword before giving Marlon the nod. The two of them jumped out and started slaying the mummies. Once Mona had taken care of the one’s in her vicinity, she turned to check on Marlon. Seeing he only had one more left to kill, she bent down to investigate the mummies remains, pulling out her notebook. Marlon fell the last one and then saw another he thought he had taken care of seemingly come back to life. Then another, and a third. He turned to look at Mona as it dawned on him, killing the mummies wasn’t as simple as other monsters had been. He called out her name and she turned to look at him just as the mummy rose back up. She turned to look up at it as it struck her in the face, cutting a long gash across her cheek and slamming her head against the wall. Mona fell unconscious immediately upon hitting her head, and Marlon saw red.

     The rest of the battle was a blur as Marlon slayed each mummy a second time, this time by himself. He tucked his sword back into his belt and rushed to pick up Mona and run with her, throwing a bomb behind him where the mummies’ remains were. He couldn’t risk them following him up.

     Once on the surface, Marlon did all the usual first aid checks and put a bandage over her face. She hadn’t woken up, but she was breathing, and her pulse was still there. Once that was taken care of, he rushed her back to the bus, and back to the clinic in Pelican Town.

…

     Mona awoke to a dark clinic room with a throbbing head. She jerked her hand to hold her head but instead found Marlon holding it asleep in a chair beside her with his head resting on the bed. She blinked a few times, trying to remember what had happened, how she had gotten there, but she couldn’t seem to remember. She remembered them getting to the caverns, but she wasn’t sure what had happened after. She gave Marlon’s hand a squeeze and he stirred, before slowly waking up.

“What happened?” Mona asked, voice dry and cracking, and Marlon sat straight up at the sound of her voice. His lip began to shake just a bit as he took a deep breath.

“I love you,” he said, the words rushing out of him as if he was worried he wouldn’t get another chance to say it. It overwhelmed Mona, in the moment. She felt the same, she had for a while, but she was confused and disoriented. She didn’t know what to say.

“Marlon, I-“

“Shh,” he said, lifting her hand and placing a gentle kiss on her knuckles. It wasn’t like Marlon to behave so softly, and Mona felt tears well in her eyes, and she barely held them back from falling, “You need to rest, dear. I’ll tell the doc you’re awake.”

     Mona had a concussion, and a nasty scar across her cheek, but she hadn’t sustained any other major injuries. She had been quite lucky.

     The following morning Marlon stormed into the guild, ignoring Gil’s greeting as he walked in. He walked over to the Monster Eradication Goals poster and scanned over the listings. Monsters from the local mines were listed at the top, then pepper rex, serpents, and magma sprites. No listing for mummies. He turned suddenly towards Gil.

“Mummies?” he asked simply.

“Did something happen?” Gil asked, a confused look on his face.

“No eradication goal for mummies? We’ve never talked about them. All the stories you’ve told about the caverns, and not once did they come up?”

“Those are just folklore, Marlon,” Gil said. Marlon’s eyebrows shot up, and Gil continued, though a bit hesitant, “’less you know somethin’ I don’t.” Marlon gave Gil the update, letting him know about Mona’s injury, and Gil wrote a few notes down, before retreating into the backroom to make a few calls to other nearby guilds. By the end of the day, mummies were added to the list, and Gil posted a notice about them on the bulletin board beside it. Apparently there had always been some reports of them, but they had been believed to be taken care of for the most part for so many years, hardly any guild kept up with them. Now, they were making somewhat of a resurgence in the skull caverns.

With that, Marlon took far more to crafting explosives than he had before, and he and George finally had something to talk about.

…

     Mona’s first year had passed, and her second went by even faster. She loved the guild to pieces and loved the town almost as much. It was just over a year into their relationship, and Mona and Marlon were very happy with each other, even with the bumps and bruises that came with working in a dangerous field with the person you love. It was winter, the start of Mona’s third year in the valley. Mona and Marlon sat by the fire in Mona’s home, going over notes from the past few trips to the caverns. Suddenly Marlon tossed his notebook on the coffee table and stared at Mona on the other side of the sofa.

“You gonna marry me or what?” he asked, straight faced.

“You gonna propose?” Mona asked without looking up from her notes, expecting a tsk from Marlon. Instead, a mermaid’s pendant was dangled in front of her face. She looked up, and her face softened as she registered what it was. She reached for it, but Marlon pulled it back.

“Are ya?” he asked again. Mona rolled her eyes, but her growing smile betrayed her, and she saw Marlon smile as well. How rare and beautiful was that smile?

“When?” Mona asked, tone soft and sweet. Marlon didn’t care to admit it often, but that tone made him melt. He didn’t have to tell her, she knew. Why else would she save it for rare occasions? Couldn’t let him get too used to it.

 Marlon scooched closer to Mona on the couch and put an arm around her. She leaned into it, laying her head on his chest, looking at the pendant, chain wrapped around his fingers.

“I was thinking the morning of the flower dance might be good.” Mona hummed, satisfied with his answer. She sat up a bit and looked up at Marlon for a moment, her soft face tinted pink.

“I love you,” she whispered.

“That a yes?” he asked. Mona raised her eyebrows, before settling into a smirk.

“Shut up and kiss me, asshole.”

…

     At the egg festival, Mona had started her own tradition of entering the egg hunt each year, just to walk around and nod the kids towards the eggs she spotted. She had no interest in the rewards Peter was offering, but she enjoyed seeing the kids smile when they noticed her helping them. After the festival had ended, and Evelyn started tearing things down, the mayor approached Mona.

“Lovely Mona! Great to see you here, helpin’ the little ones again,” Peter said.

“Oh-ho you know how I love that nickname,” Mona said, with just a hint of sarcasm in her tone. She hadn’t minded when Nick had first coined it, but it had slowly spread throughout the town, which she wasn’t a huge fan of. If the mayor noticed her tone, he didn’t mention it.

“I have a proposition for you. Do you have a moment?” he asked.

“Sure,” she said, and the two of them walked off. The rest of the guild, as usual, were polishing off the snack table and watched as she walked off with the mayor with furrowed brows. Mona sneaked a shrug at them while the mayors back was turned and was back at attention by the time he turned around to speak with her.

“You see… I’ve noticed you’re awful good with the kids, and I’ve been told you’ve got a degree. Archaeology, right?” he asked.

“That’s right.”

“Well, we have an opening for the preschool teacher, and I thought you might be a good fit,” he explained. Mona started to decline the offer, but Peter continued, “I know, I know. You’ve got the guild. You wouldn’t need to give that up, but- listen. The guilds got more members than ever right now, as I’m sure you know. That new museum intern Gunther, and Gil’s kid brother both just joined. Plus, I hear y’all have been hitting your yearly eradication goals and more. It doesn’t have to be permanent, and you’d be free to do your guild work during your time off. Just think it over, alright?” Mona thought for a moment. He was right about some things. The guild was doing very well these days, though the extra members was a bit of a stretch. Gunther hardly ever had time to go down, and Gil’s brother, Willy, was really only interested in the fishing in the underground lakes. Still, she couldn’t say the job didn’t interest her.

“I’ll think about it,” she said, “Thank you, for the offer.”

…

     Of course, once Mona had thought it over, and had gotten asked about the job offer by just about every townsperson she came across, she couldn’t bring herself to say no. She was given a key to the community center, where the teacher typically would care for the children. Nick volunteered to come along with her the day she checked it out, knowing she might be a bit overwhelmed. When she opened the doors and saw the sorry state of the place, rage bubbled up inside of her.

“Holy fuck, it’s a fucking mess!” Mona exclaimed.

“Could’ve used one more fuck,” Nick teased.

“FUCK!” Mona stomped around the place, continuing to use every curse she could think of as she saw more things that needed doing. It really wasn’t too bad, mostly cobwebs and burnt-out light bulbs, but the carpet was stained and pulled up in places, and there was a leaking pipe in the kitchen ceiling. A lot of the furniture was in poor condition as well.

“They’ve been putting the kids in here?” Mona asked. Nick shrugged.

“I think they’ve been at the museum a lot more, but yeah.”  

“Unbelievable… Yoba, there’s fucking mold up there,” Mona said, pointing above the crafts room door.

“What can I do to help?” Nick said, rolling up his sleeves. Mona looked over at him, rage still burning behind her eyes.

“Oh, we’re going to the mayor.”

     Mona tore through the town, and Nick had to jog to keep up with her long strides. They arrived at the mayor’s manor, and Mona ripped open the door without so much as a courtesy knock. Peter and Lewis looked up from their lunch in shock.

“I think you might want to go for a walk, Lewis,” the mayor said, straightening his tie. Lewis nodded and placed his dish in the sink, making his way past Mona, who was standing firm and solid, and Nick, who was still trying to catch his breath.

“How can I help you, Mona?” he asked.

“I was just at the community center,” she said.

“I see.”

“Are you aware of the shape it’s in? The boys at the guild keep a cleaner space than that.”

“Yeah!” Nick chimed in. He wasn’t entirely clear on his role in this yet.

“Yes, the old teacher couldn’t keep up with it I’m afraid. If there’s anything I can do to help, I’d-“

“Money?” she interrupted. The mayor took a deep breath.

“Is that necessary? I was thinking a volunteer cleaning crew,” Peter asked.

“It needs fresh carpet, there’s mold in the walls so some of the drywall needs replaced, and practically every light is shot. Volunteer cleaning crew gonna spawn all that shit?”

“It’s just- the budget is awful tight these days, and-“

“Oh my Yoba, Peter, the budget is always tight,” Nick said.

“I’m sure you can move some things around… You know, Ol’ Saint Nick and I are very popular in this town,” Mona said. The mayor raised an eyebrow.

“What are you implying?” he asked.

“Find some room in the budget, and you won’t find out. Come on, Nick,” Mona said, and the two of them headed out. It was mostly an empty threat, but the mayor knew the implication. If either of them ran against him, he’d likely be out of a job come election season.

     The mayor did as he was told and got just enough money for the repairs to be made. Until everything was finished, Mona used the museum for the kids. She quickly fell in love with teaching and found another thing to glue her to Pelican Town.

…

     Marlon and Mona’s marriage ceremony was less of a wedding and more signing papers at the mayors house the morning of the flower dance. Mona knew if she had a proper wedding, every townsperson would want to be there. While she wouldn’t have minded much, Marlon was not as interested. Instead, they invited Nick, Gil, George, Evelyn, and now nearly 2-year-old Clara to witness the signing of paperwork before heading to the flower dance.

“I’m excited to see you two dance again, as a married couple now,” Evelyn said as the group walked.

“Oh, we won’t be dancing. That’s for the singles, right?” Marlon asked. Mona gave him a stern look.

“If you want to have balls in the morning we will,” Mona said, deadpan. The rest of the group chuckled while Marlon looked at Mona with a straight face, the slightest spark of fear in his eyes. Marlon then turned back to Evelyn and cleared his throat.

“I think we will be dancing, actually.”

     Marlon and Mona shared their first dance as a married couple in front of the whole town, mermaid’s pendants on display. It took them a long time to get home, with everyone stopping to congratulate them, and by the end of the night Marlon was exhausted from all the socializing beyond his usual group. Once they got back to Mona’s- now their- home, he crashed onto the bed.

“I’m fucking beat. You’ve got too many damn friends,” he said. Mona smiled walked over to join him, opting to sit on top of him rather than beside him. Marlon’s hands settled at her hips, as his gaze trailed up until they locked into eye contact.

“Getting married today was your idea, you know,” Mona said with her usual smirk. Marlon leaned his head back into the pillow.

“I’m locked into dancing at this damn festival for life, aren’t I?”

“Yup,” Mona said in that soft and sweet tone.

“You’re gonna be the death of me,” Marlon said, pulling Mona down for a kiss.

Guess he wasn’t so exhausted after all.

Chapter Text

     It wasn’t too long before Marlon and Mona published their first bit of research, an article on mummies in Combat Quarterly. They published together under the name M. Jasper, seeing as they now shared the initial and surname. The monster problem throughout the underground of Ferngill seemed to only get worse, but the guild in Pelican Town handled it well. They continued publishing regularly, and “the Mysterious M. Jasper” became decently well known in the adventuring world.

     About 30 years before Nikki would arrive, the guild had come up on quite a bit of money, partially from the town’s support, and from outside donors who wanted to support the work of M. Jasper. So, Gil held one of the guild’s rare full group meetings, to discuss what to do with it.

“Any ideas?” Gil asked. The guild had filled out quite a bit, with some adventurers joining in from neighboring towns, and a few more people from Pelican Town. Still, the core group were the people who went down most often, so there was a bit of seniority in the group.

“More materials for supplies and food would be good, benefits everybody,” George said.

“How many bombs do you need old man? Materials are covered,” Marlon replied, “I was thinking some more lab equipment. We’ve got the microscope and shit, but it’d be interesting to do more tests on the remains we pick up.”

“When was the last time you actually learned anything from looking at slime up close?” George asked.

“When was the last time you were in a decent fucking mood?” Marlon shot back. George laughed.
“Could say the same about you,” he said.

Their relationship hadn’t changed much at all in the past decade, despite Mona’s efforts. She’d drag Marlon to dinners with the Mullner’s almost weekly, and when she didn’t it was almost certainly because she had already invited them over. Marlon behaved as best he could to appease her, but George had made no such promises. He had a lot of fun pushing Marlon’s buttons, seeing how long it would take him to snap. Evelyn would reel him in before he went too far, but she honestly found the feud between them entertaining, and even more so enjoyed laughing with Mona about their respective husbands.

“We could see if we can get an elevator installed,” Mona suggested, and the guilds full attention turned to her, “I mean… this is a LOT of money. Those smaller things would be nice, but we’ve got an opportunity for something big. I’ve heard some other guilds have been getting them put in. Would help us get down faster to get better resources, use less resources bombing just for the sake of speed,” Mona turned towards Marlon, “Plus, the monsters we know the least about are on the lowest levels that we can’t get to fast enough to really spend time observing.”

“It’d be safer, too, I’d bet,” Nick chimed in, “wouldn’t have to climb all the way up if there’s an emergency.” There was some affirming side conversation and grunts from the group, so Gil clapped his hands together to get everyone’s attention.
“All in favor?” he asked, and resounding “aye’s” filled the guild. With that the meeting was adjourned, and Gil went to work to see how to get the elevators installed.

     Soon, the plans were made. There was a company in Castle Village that specialized in this particular kind of installation that another guild leader recommended to Gil, and they were willing to take the project. Gil and Nick took some of the company’s workers down, following a path that George paved, and Marlon cleared of monsters the morning of. Mona had wanted to help out, but her teaching job got in the way, as it often did.

     The company believed they could install stops about every 5 floors, all the way down to the deepest parts of the mines. The quote they gave was a bit high, so Gil negotiated them down by offering to have the guild clear up the space themselves. That, plus a little bit of buttering them up with Evelyn’s famous cookies, got them to a number they could manage easily with the money they had.

…

     Mona met with George and Evelyn in the park, while the now 11-year-old Clara played. They were chatting about how things in Pelican Town were changing, and the people who lived there. They had been talking about how the old pub was out of business, which Nick was really struggling with. Then, Evelyn remembered something suddenly.

“Did you hear about the Heron’s boy?” Evelyn asked Mona in a hushed tone.

“Ben? I don’t think I’ve heard anything lately. He’s still in high school, yeah? Don’t tell me he dropped out,” Mona said. She’d become awful worried about the kids schooling these days, even after she was no longer responsible for them. Evelyn shook her head.

“He got a girlfriend at Grampleton High. And… well-“

“She’s pregnant,” George finished for Evelyn.

“Oh shit- are they gonna…?”

“Seems so. Her folks are makin’ them get married. Got them that empty house on Willow Lane, and Ben’s lookin’ for a job,” Evelyn said, “It’s a shame… he always talks about wanting to take time to travel before college.”

“Tried to see if the guild would give ‘im work, but you know Gil’s rules. Gotta be at least 25. Now the Herons are tryna sell the store, get out of town,” George added. This gave Mona a bit of pause.

“What? They’re gonna leave their kid? He’s what… 16?” Mona asked furiously.

“I’m afraid so. Too ashamed of themselves to stick around. Yoba knows I’m at worship every Sunday, but they’ve always been extreme,” Evelyn said.

      After hearing all that, Mona left a letter for Ben and his soon-to-be wife at their new home, letting them know to call her about anything they needed. She wasn’t his teacher anymore, but she was still happy to lend a hand to him.

     Mona also was taking the absence of the pub a bit hard. There wasn’t a good meeting place for the townsfolk anymore, so she decided to start hosting community dinners on Friday nights at the community center. Nick donated his extra produce and dry goods to her efforts, and she and Evelyn handled most of the cooking. The events were fun, and the town was appreciative, but it left Mona with even less time for research and guild work. Still, she did everything that she could, filling her time to the brim. Not even Nick knew for sure how she did it all.

…

     It was summer, and Nicholas’s son, Patrick, was in town. He was nineteen now, and had just finished his first year of college. Nick brought the kid up to the guild for the first time that summer, to share some good news with the group. Everyone was up there, including Evelyn who had started helping with crafting and weapon maintenance, a job that was harder for them to manage with how large the guild had grown.

“Good, everybody’s here,” Nick said as they entered.

“Is that Lil’ Ricky I see?” Mona asked, a wide smile on her face.

“Yes ma’am! Damn kid’s taller than me now,” Nick said, “And he comes with good news. Tell ‘em Pat.” Patrick nodded at his father before turning towards the group.

“Well, I don’t know if you would remember my girlfriend Samantha, but-“

“Sure, real sweet girl that Samantha. Didn’t she come down a couple years ago?” George said, looking at Evelyn for confirmation. Pat nodded.

“That’s right. We uh… she and I just got engaged a few weeks ago.” Joy spread through the guild.

“That even legal?” Gil asked, teasing. It was hard to believe how many years had passed.

“We’re gettin’ too damn old, ain’t we Gil?” Nick asked with a laugh.

“Have y’all picked a date?” Evelyn asked.

“Yes, we have. It’ll be this winter, December 12^th. We wanted to extend an invite to all of you. It’ll be in the city, though.”

     And so, their little group took a trip up to Zuzu City that winter. The wedding was lovely and fun, their laugher louder than any other table there. They walked back to their hotel together after and went into their joint rooms. As if they hadn’t been drinking all night, Nick pulled out a bottle of his own wine once they got back.

“Oh dear, don’t you think we’ve had enough?” Evelyn asked, leaning hard against George. She never could hold her liquor quite as well as the rest of them.

“My boy just got married! Besides, how often do we all get free time away from the guild,” Nick said before taking a swig from the bottle.

“Too damn old to be drinking like a teenager,” Gil remarked before pausing to stand up, “Let me get some glasses.”

“Good man,” Nick said.

“He’s supposed to be the responsible one?” Marlon questioned.

“I’m off duty. Haven’t gone this long without goin’ down in over 25 years!”

“Yoba, we oughta put you down,” George chuckled.

“It’s a mercy killing, really,” Mona added.

“Aw, you don’t want that. Ol’ Saint Nick’s the next longest standin’ member. You all would be screwed!” Gil said, distributing the glasses amongst the group.

     The six of them drank on and the bantering continued late into the night. That is, until some hotel staff came up with a noise complaint and Marlon got fed up. They said their good nights before going off to bed, a successful trip to the city under their belts.

…

     It was about a year after the initial plans were made that the guild got to working on clearing up space for the new elevator, set to be installed the following week. It took a while for the contractors to form a plan they were happy with. Once it was time, the guild members went in teams of three and divided the mines into 4 quarters. Gunther took the lead on the highest 30 floors with some of the newer members, Nick’s team took the next thirty, and Gil’s the next. The last floors were the deepest and most dangerous, and would require flying through the early floors, paving the way for the groups that followed. So, Gil wanted to send a strong team together for that task. Naturally, he grouped Mona, Marlon, and George together, as their combined skills should make it quick work to get down, and they had the experience to handle the combat. The three of them spent the night at the guild to head down at the crack of dawn, with bombs and rations galore. It took a couple hours to get down, but it was relatively painless.

     They got to work clearing out the areas they needed for the elevators, before marking the area with torches. Marlon and Mona would go down to each floor first and take care of combat, defending George while he laid a bomb in each spot. It was a lot faster that way. The three of them were making good time, and the monsters seemed decently low in numbers today. Before the last 10 floors the three of them sat down to take a break, taking out some dried fruit and field snacks to share.

“I hate sayin’ it, but the three of us make a damn good team, huh?” George said. Successful deep dives always put him in a good mood.

“Thanks to you! Nobody drops floors faster,” Mona added, lightly elbowing George in the side.

“I’m gonna hurl,” Marlon said.

“Can’t even take a complement from me, shit beard?” George asked, narrowing his eyes at Marlon. Marlon considered this for a moment.

“Nope.”

“We’re making good progress, not even 3pm yet, and we only got ten more floors,” Mona said, checking her watch, before turning towards Marlon, “Buck up, ‘shit beard.’” Marlon blinked once at Mona, then turned to George.

“Even my own wife takes your side,” Marlon said.

“Mine usually takes yours, guess we’re even,” George replied.

     On the next floor they did the same plan they had on every other floor. Mona and Marlon dropped down first to take care of the monsters, then George dropped and found the spot. George placed his bomb and set it, before starting to run out of range. Then, things stopped going according to plan. George slipped on some slime that had been left in Mona and Marlon’s wake, falling to the floor. He shouted a curse, and rushed to get back up and keep running, but there wasn’t enough time. The bomb went off, and while the actual blast didn’t hit him, shrapnel and debris did. George fell and his vision clouded, ears rang, and for a moment there was pain, unbearable pain, then tingling.

     Mona and Marlon heard him curse just before the bomb went off, then a horrible scream. They were in the middle of fighting off some shadow brutes when they heard it, and Mona looked over at Marlon with fear in her eyes. He shared the same expression and nodded for her to go. She fell the brute she was currently dealing with, before running to get to George. When she saw his injuries, for a moment she didn’t even know where to start. He had passed out, from the pain most likely, by the time she got there, so she started by checking that he still was breathing, that he still had a pulse. She could feel tears running down her face, but she pushed through, adrenaline flowing through her.

She had to save him. It was George. Thoughts bubbled up of Evelyn, sitting at home, working on some festival project or baking cookies, before getting the call from Gil. She thought of Clara, just twelve years old, having to live without her father. She thought of Nick, losing his best friend of yoba only knows how many years, and how he’d probably see them on the way up. She had to save him.

Marlon got over there as Mona was still packing George’s wounds with anything she could find. They only brought so much cloth and gauze down with them. Marlon came to her side and removed his cloak, ripping it without a second thought to get more material. It was filthy, but what else could they do? Marlon’s face was like stone, deadly serious, but his eyes had just a twinge of fear, locked away where he always hoped no one could see.

“What do we do?” Mona asked, the panic thick in her voice. Sure, they could pack his wounds, but getting an unconscious man with such severe injuries up so many floors would be a dangerous game. Marlon must have understood Mona’s concerns, as he immediately stood and ran off, going up to find Gil. Mona continued trying desperately to pack the wounds, removing her shirt for more fabric to wrap around his body.

     Luckily, Gil’s team was wrapping up their final floor, so they were not too far above. He told Gil the situation, rushing his speech, and Gil’s eyes widened. Gil was a true veteran though, and didn’t hesitate before barking orders. He sent the faster of the two adventurers with him up to the surface to call the doctor and give quick status reports to the other teams. The stronger went all the way down with him and Marlon.

“Marlon, I know you two may not be in the headspace but… you and Mona have to keep going,” Gil said as they tore down the mines.

“Have you fucking lost it?” Marlon said. Honestly, he might be just fine, though he was extremely shaken. He was more worried about Mona.

“Y’all are near the end, and it’ll be difficult to make the trip to the bottom in one day without him,” he explained.

“He’s not dead.”

“Marlon, I’m not asking.” Marlon felt his jaw shake and clenched his teeth to stop it. He knew Gil was right, though he hadn’t wanted to hear it.

“Fine.”

     Once George was on his way to the surface, Marlon and Mona had to make a plan to continue down. He had suggested that he should drop first to take care of any monsters, and Mona could handle the bombs. Mona tensed at the suggestion, so he offered the reverse, but Mona shook her head.

“No, no we- I can’t lose you too,” she said, putting her head in her hands. This was what Marlon had been afraid of, why he wanted to retreat. He was conflicted for what to do next, there seemed to be no real solution; Mona was in no state to push on, and he was terrified of what could happen if she tried, but the guild needed this job done. He thought of Gil’s rules about the lower levels. No one, not even veterans should go deep alone. He knew the levels above were clear of monsters. It weighed on him, but he knew what he had to do.

“Let’s retreat, we can come back down another day, or scrap the last two elevator stops,” Marlon said, hoping he sounded convincing. Mona thought for a moment, eyes shut tight.

“Are you sure? Gil said-“

“I’m sure.” Mona breathed for a moment, calming herself down, before nodding. She picked up her things and headed for the ladder, and Marlon followed a few paces behind. He watched as she climbed up, and once she made it, he took the ladder off its hook, letting it fall to the ground. He started to head for the next floor, listening to Mona’s screams and curses as she realized what he was doing, and he prayed she wouldn’t try to jump down to stop him. His chest burned, he knew she’d see this as a betrayal of their trust, but if Marlon had to choose between the guild and Mona, he was stubborn enough to try for both.

…

     George was sent off to a larger hospital in Zuzu City, and his status was unstable. Evelyn joined him there, staying overnight until he was able to come home. Clara temporarily moved in with Marlon and Mona for the time being, and the two of them would bring her up to Zuzu to visit with them.

     Mona refused to speak to Marlon at all for the first week after. After that, there was about a month of her anger, chewing him out for being reckless, for lying to her. She was someone to avoid while angry, but Marlon took it, believing he deserved it. Marlon was sure for a while it would be the end of their marriage, that he’d fucked up too badly and she would never forgive him. One day he came home and found her sitting at the kitchen table with her head in her hands and braced himself. Surely this was it, she was done. He dropped his keys onto the table and took a seat. Mona rubbed her eyes and looked up at him.
“You know what I realized today?” she asked him. Marlon gulped.

“What?”

“I could’ve just gotten the ladder from the floor I was on and followed you,” she said. Mona’s tone was unsettlingly calm.

“I suppose you could’ve,” Marlon looked down at the table, thinking to himself Just do it already. Rip off the damn bandage. Then, he heard her start to chuckle to herself, which then grew into a laugh. The same loud, earth-shattering laugh he’d heard the day he kissed her for the first time. His eyes bolted up to look up at her, to watch. It felt like he hadn’t seen her laugh in such a long time. It surely meant she was going to murder him, but he could enjoy her laugh one last time, right?

“I must really not have been thinking straight,” she said, wiping tears from her eyes as her laughter started to settle.

“You weren’t,” he replied, eyes locked back on the table. Mona took a deep breath.

“That’s why you did it?”

“Yes.” She reached for Marlon’s hand.

“Look at me,” she said, and Marlon obeyed, “Next time you try to pull that shit, I’ll follow you.”

“Does that mean…?” he asked, hopeful.

“Yeah. But I get to use this against you to win three future arguments of my choosing,” she said. Marlon chuckled as the weight lifted from his shoulders.

“Good deal.”

     George’s recovery was a long process. He had a lot of open wounds for the doctors to handle, but the worst was the spinal cord injury he had sustained. It caused paraplegia, and he’d have to use a wheelchair for the rest of his life. He was able to be moved back to Pelican Town after four months but had regular appointments with the doctor. It meant the end of his career at the guild, but everyone was just happy he had survived the accident. Mona’s visits to the Mullner’s became much more frequent, trying to lift George’s spirits or helping Evelyn around the house.

     One night she sat outside with George, looking around the town, while Marlon and Evelyn cleaned up from dinner inside. George was in a better mood than usual, though his eyes were heavy and sad. Mona sat in silence with him, hoping he would open up a bit in the quiet night.
“Mona, I just… I know I should consider myself lucky to have survived but damn it. Sometimes I think it’d be better to have died,” he said. Mona felt her heart break at his confession, but she stayed quiet, listening.

“All of my freedom was ripped away from me in an instant. I can’t go down the mines ever again, and as much as I complained sometimes, I loved it down there,” he continued.

“I know you did, Georgie,” Mona said, resting her hand on top of George’s.

“Everyone in town looks at me with pity, tries to help me with bullshit I don’t even need. They’re being too damn nice,” he said, “I’ve never wanted nice. Not from anybody.”

“You like to be challenged,” Mona added. George nodded.

“It’s what made me fall in love with Evelyn, and the guild. Yoba knows Marlon challenges me.”

“Aww, you love Marlon?” Mona teased.

“Don’t push your luck, or I’ll run you over,” he replied sternly, “Just think he’s one of the few who don’t treat me any different now. Might feel bad for me, but he certainly has no qualms getting on my nerves.”

“I’ll take it,” Mona said with a light laugh. George stayed silent for a beat.

“Thank you,” he said. Mona looked at him confused.

“What for?”

“Gil told me you took care of me down there, so… Thank you for keepin’ me around, for Clara and Ev if nothing else.”

“And Nick.” Mona didn’t witness it, but Nick had a bit of breakdown when he found out about the accident. Most people were too shaken to take any dives after, but he was hitting the mines every day from sunrise till Gil’s 3am sweep until Gil banned him. He didn’t take kindly to that either.

“Yoba, remind me not to die before him. That old man might never come back to the surface.”

“Can’t have that,” Mona laughed.

     In the wake of the accident, guild numbers suddenly dropped. The newer members got scared off by a veteran getting such a severe injury. A few years later Gunther had to quit as well, as he had taken over the museum and didn’t have the free time. Recruitment was tough, as news about the incident circulated around the valley. Nick’s speeches continued to be no help, though he kept trying anyway. He even had tried to see if Patrick was interested once he was old enough, but he and his wife had no interest in leaving the city. In no time, the guild was down to four, despite M. Jasper’s successful research and the shiny new elevator.

…

     A few years passed quickly, and Nicholas invited everyone up to the park by the community center to meet his grandchild, who was two years old. Patrick and Samantha were visiting for the summer, continuing the tradition from his childhood, though they only came down for a few days rather than the full season. Mona was watching two kids that day, so she sent them off to the playground while the old people met up by the fountain.

“Hello Lovely Mona, this here is Nichole. Can you say hello, Nichole?” Nick asked. The kid looked up at Mona and waved, before burying their face in Nicks chest.

“Hello little one,” she said, before turning towards Patrick, “Not so creative with the names, huh Lil’ Ricky?”

“Hey, I’m 26 now. Don’t you think I’m a bit old for the nickname?” Patrick answered. Mona narrowed her eyes at him.

“No.”

“Nichole’s the little one now, ain’t that right dearie?” Evelyn said, gently nudging the child.
“Lil’ Nikki, then,” Marlon said. The child turned to look at him, eyes wide.
“Nikki!” the kid exclaimed.

“Think she likes it,” Gil said. Mona took a seat next to Nick and Nikki.
“You know, you look like the adventurous type Lil’ Nikki. Got that fire in your eyes. Would you agree Lil’ Nikki?” Mona asked, earning a few chuckles from the group. Nikki shook their head with their thumb in their mouth. Mona shrugged at the group and stood back up, “Worth a shot.”

“Say, can one of y’all take a picture of me and Lil’ Nikki?” Nick asked, holding out a digital camera. Marlon nodded and took it, taking a few steps back for the picture. He took one and looked down at it, before showing it to Mona.

“Your little brats are in the back,” he said. Mona gave a light laugh and turned towards the kids.

“Emily! Shane! Come over here!”

…

     Mona sat in the adventurer’s guild, surrounded by test tubes and beakers, papers littering the table. It was a late night for her, and the guild was empty and quiet. It was around 3:30am when Gil came in.

“What the hell are you doing in here at this hour?” he asked.

“I’m good Gil, how are you?” Gil sighed and pulled up a chair at the table.

“You should be home asleep, but I know you won’t listen, so I’ll skip the lecture. What are you workin’ on?” Mona looked around and her notes.
“I uh… I’ve noticed that when me and Marlon hit a lot of monsters on dives, they seem to notice us a lot faster as we go down. Doesn’t seem to happen when we just observe but don’t fight as much. So, I’ve been… experimenting?”

“Sure.”

“It started with going down and fightin’ and then coming up here and switching out my clothes real fast, then going back down. It seemed like they didn’t react to me as quick, so I… here-“ Mona picked up two test tubes “-this tube has some slime I collected in it, this has some bat remains. I figured one of these must be the ticket, since they’re the only things consistent across most of the floors. So, I’m mixing them together and I’m gonna do a dive tomorrow and see if I run into more monsters than usual.” Gil leaned back in his chair and thought for a moment.
“You’re gonna dab that nasty shit on or something?”

“Like perfume,” Mona said, nodding, “If it works, I think it could really help the guild.”

“Why would we want to run into more monsters?” Gil asked. Mona looked confused.

“Eradication goals? I mean, with so few of us it’s a lot harder to meet them. Seems like they’re repopulating a lot faster too.”

“Good idea… Well, I should get to sleep. You should head home, if you want to take a dive tomorrow. G’night, Mona.”

“Night Gil.”

     The next day, Marlon and Mona headed down. Mona wore the mixture, and Marlon didn’t. For each floor they would drop down and go to opposite ends of the floor, to see if the monsters were more likely to go for Mona or Marlon. They tore through about 10 floors in all three environments, and the results were clear. The monsters were far more interested in Mona. Naturally, Mona immediately wanted to go into the guild to show off their findings to Gil. Marlon followed behind, and Mona burst through door.
“Gil! It fucking works! There were-“ Mona paused, seeing Gil’s solemn expression, and noticing Nick was in there too, covering his eyes with one hand, “What’s wrong?” Nick looked up at her and Marlon and took a deep breath. His eyes were red and wet from tears.

“I’m afraid I’m retiring, Lovely Mona,” he said.

“What?” Marlon exclaimed.

“Is the farm work too much?” Mona asked. Nick shook his head and looked to the floor.
“I uh… I’ve been havin’ some pain, and I went to the doc,” he started, before looking back up to the two of them, “It’s cancer.”

…

     Mona and Marlon sat in their home one night a few days after Nicholas passed. It was the Feast of the Winterstar, but no one in the town had been in the mood for celebration. The two of them were huddled close together by the fire, a blanket draped around them, with mugs of spiked hot cocoa to keep them warm.

“It’s sad, isn’t it?” Mona said.

“What is?” Marlon asked.

“He couldn’t even pass on that farm, you know? I heard Elizabeth took in the animals, but…”

“Least there’s no crops in the ground. Someone will take over eventually. He told me he left the land to his grandkid.”

“Lil’ Nikki?” Mona asked.

“Think so.” Mona leaned harder into Marlon, nuzzling her head into the crook of his neck.

“Well, I hope she gets in here soon. Town’s awful quiet without a Blake running around.” Marlon hummed in agreement.

     Silence hung for a moment, and Mona sat upright and turned to look at Marlon. They watched each other, tracing every curve of the others face in their minds, committing every detail to memory. Marlon had gained wrinkles between his eyebrows and across his forehead, and Mona’s smile lines were deep. They were still young, but they felt the weight of time heavily. 22 years later and they were the youngest guild members, just as they had been when they met. Marlon reached out and brushed some hair behind Mona’s ear and held her face in his hand. When a tear fell from her eyes, he wiped it away with his thumb.

…

     Confronted with mortality, Mona threw herself into town affairs, even more so than she already had. In Nick’s absence, there wasn’t anyone regularly taking care of help wanted requests, so Mona took care of that too. In order to keep up with that, as well as the guild work, she had to quit her teaching job, which was taken over by Pam, who seemed to be too busy drinking to keep up with the old community center. When the kids got too old for her to get consistent work, she started driving some of the bus lines around the valley.

One day, while Mona was making her rounds through town, she noticed someone moving into the old pub, and headed in to say hello. A man was inside, cleaning up behind the bar.

“Oh- Welcome in! I haven’t opened yet, but… how can I help you?” the man asked.

“Hey, I’m Mona. Sorry for intruding, I just saw the moving truck and wanted to introduce myself. What’s your name?”

“Gus. It’s nice to meet you, Mona,” he said, offering a handshake, which Mona accepted.

“Excited to have you. Ol’ pub has been closed for nearly a decade. I used to work here when I first moved in.”

“Any advice?”

“We’ve got a great community here. Get involved, talk to people. You’ll love it,” she said with a soft smile, “And stock lots of white wine if you wanna keep me happy.”

     Gus took her advice and volunteered to prepare food for town festivals. It took some weight off Evelyn’s shoulders, which was necessary to keep up with George’s needs. When Mona would come in on Friday nights after the saloon officially opened, he would pour her a glass and hand it over without question. Mona appreciated his dedication to the town, and to keeping her happy. The two of them grew to have a strong friendship.

…

     Marlon walked up the mountain one day, heading up to the guild. Gil had called him asking to have a meeting, just the two of them. It left Marlon a bit worried, unsure of what he could need to talk to just Marlon about. He walked in and found Gil sat in the rocking chair by the fire and pulled a stool up beside him.

“What did you need to talk to me about?” Marlon asked. Gil thought for a moment, staring into the fire, but Marlon’s gaze was stuck on Gil.

“I’ve been thinking that I’m getting too damn old.”

“Well, I could have told you that,” Marlon said. Gil chuckled, but didn’t answer. “You want to retire, don’t you?”

“Been doin’ this shit too long. Think it’s over 35 years, now, that I’ve been in the guild. Can’t keep doing those late-night sweeps forever.”

“But, Gil-“

“Listen, Marlon. I just wanna step down. I’ll keep doin’ dives as long as I can. If I can’t, I’ll craft or push papers or somethin’. The guild needs a change in leadership. Our recruitment is shit, and I can’t seem to fix it,” Gil said.

“Not like I’ll be much better,” Marlon said.
“Maybe not,” Gil chuckled, “But this needs to happen, Marlon. You’ll be a great leader.”

     And so, Marlon and Mona moved into the guild building. Gil had cleared out a room for them, but stayed in his own, and the three of them lived together. Marlon asked Mona to take care of recruitment, and she was able to get a few people from neighboring villages to join, though they never were as committed as their old group. Still, they met their eradication goals each year, and Marlon and Mona were able to continue their research.

…

     Things continued changing around Pelican Town. Marnie had taken over the ranch in Cindersnap, and Lewis was elected mayor, taking over his father’s position. The old blacksmith died, which caused some issues for the guild until his grandson Clint finished his apprenticeship and took it over. Mona couldn’t stand the kid, but she was polite, nonetheless. The abandoned general store was eventually bought and renamed Pierre’s, and his wife Caroline soon got involved with festival preparations. George and Evelyn’s daughter moved to Ridgeside Village with her new husband, and two of them had a baby boy. The worst addition to town was the new Jojamart, generally considered to be a major eyesore when it first arrived with its artificial blue color and nauseating LED lights. For some, the cheap prices were too good to resist, and though Mona hated it, she understood. It was harder to get inexpensive produce without their local farmer.

     Mona’s good reputation in the town continued to grow. Just as she couldn’t recall when exactly “Ms. Mona” became “Lovely Mona” with Nick, she couldn’t pin town when “Lovely Mona” became “Beloved Mona” amongst the town. She complained about the nickname and the attention to Marlon often, but there was nothing to be done about it. The town loved her, and she loved the town more than anything.

Well, almost as much as she loved the guild.

Chapter Text

     Clara passed away a little less than 12 years before Nikki took over the farm. For a little while, her son Alex lived with his father, but Evelyn stepped in to take care of him when it became clear that set up wasn’t working. Alex moved into Clara’s old room and started attending Grampleton elementary. He was only 8 years old.

     Mona continued to go to dinners at the Mullner’s regularly, helping prepare and clean up the meal, as well as helping with Alex’s school lunches. Marlon had stopped coming with her a few years before, as his role as guild leader proved more and more time consuming. Being away from the mountains for long, especially at night, was a safety concern. Since he became guild leader, George had grown more bitter towards Marlon as well, and positive interactions between the two of them were few and far between. Marlon still was cordial at festivals, mostly to avoid getting on Mona’s bad side, and Evelyn would visit the guild on occasion bearing gifts of cookies and updates on the grandkid. Still, Marlon visiting George likely would have done more harm than good.

     When Mona couldn’t visit, Gil did. The Mullner’s were well taken care of for that first year of adjusting and mourning, though George found himself missing Nick more than ever.

…

     About 10 years before Nikki would move to Pelican Town, Gil, Marlon, and Mona were sitting in the guild together. Marlon was doing some heavy paperwork; a new recruit from Grampleton had gone too deep too soon alone, and didn’t make it out. The monster problem in Ferngill was continuously getting worse, and more adventurers were dying than ever. Gil was sitting in his rocking chair by the fire asleep- or pretending to be asleep, it was hard to tell. Mona was working on some weapon maintenance. The door to the guild creaked open, and Gil opened an eye to see who it was, but didn’t recognize them, and went back to pretending to be asleep. Marlon appeared to be too deep in his work to notice at all, but Mona stood to greet them.

“Hi there, I’m Mona, what brings you here?” Mona asked.

“The name’s Kent. Me and my family just moved in from Zuzu, and well… I’m lookin’ for work,” Kent said.

“Oh, sure. How old are you, Kent?” Mona asked. He looked awfully young, but perhaps Mona was just getting ‘too damn old’.

“I’m 28,” he said.

“Great! Have you previously been a member of any accredited guilds?”

“No, ma’am.”

“Oh please, Mona’s just fine.” Mona walked behind the counter, pinching Marlon as she passed to get him to pay attention. He jolted a bit and cursed, and Mona ignored him as she grabbed the usual newbie treatment, “Here’s a sword, pickaxe, and a backpack. Marlon, any words of encouragement?” Marlon glared at her for a moment, before facing Kent.

“Kill 10 monsters, come back here. If you manage that, congrats. If not, oh well,” Marlon said, and Mona rolled her eyes. He really was not good at the recruitment thing. Kent walked over to the counter and picked up his new items.

“Thanks, see y’all later,” he said, and he walked out. Gil peaked his eye open when he heard the door click shut, and burst out laughing once he confirmed Kent was gone.

“What are you laughing at, old man?” Mona asked.

“I don’t think anybody’s ever reacted to the initiation like that. All my years, not a one,” Gil said as he continued laughing.

“We oughta put Gil in a home, huh Marlon?” Mona said.

“You fucking pinched me,” Marlon deadpanned, then pointed to the door, “Out with you.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m going.”

     Mona grabbed her sword and other dive necessities before heading over to the mines. When she got there, she checked the elevator just in case, though she knew you needed a guild card to unlock it on this floor. Still, anyone can take it after level 5, so it didn’t hurt to check. She descended the ladder quietly, in case Kent was still on the first floor. She found he wasn’t, and found the next ladder he must have used, and continued following behind him.

     It wasn’t until she’d descended 15 levels that she finally caught up to him, hiding behind a wall to not be seen. Kent seemed to be doing well. He clearly was descending quickly, he had good form with the pickaxe, and while his combat skills weren’t super clean yet, he was better than most first timers. At level 20 he took the elevator up. It was a short dive, time wise, but she couldn’t blame him. Level 19 was easily Mona’s least favorite.

     With that, Kent was welcomed to the guild same day, a rarity amongst new recruits these days. Marlon gave him the card but warned him not to jump down to the lowest levels without more experience.

“How’d he do?” Marlon asked Mona once Kent had left.

“It’s strange, but he kinda reminds me of George,” Mona said.

“How so?”

“Just how quick he was dropping floors. Feel like Georgie is the only person I’ve met who’s specifically good at that.” 

“Well, hopefully he can put it to good use, whatever his goals are.”

…

     There had been a real bad storm that summer. The wind had knocked down a few trees in the mountains, so Mona and Gil took the guild van down to Blake Farm to scope out the damage there. There wasn’t anything much they could do since it wasn’t their property, but they enjoyed walking around the old farm anyway, as it was slowly reclaimed by nature. Five years ago, a particularly bad snowstorm had caved in his winery shed, and a tree had fallen on the old greenhouse just a year ago. The trees and weeds were taking over the land, and the grass that once fed animals had become wildly overgrown. The two of them walked through in silence until they got to the old shrine, honoring the former Farmer Blake’s who’d passed on the farmland through the family. Nick had put a bench across from it years ago, which was now worn, but it would hold up a little while longer, so Gil and Mona sat.

“10 years already, huh?” Gil said.

“Hard to believe, honestly. Won’t be long till he’s been gone longer than I’d known him,” Mona said.

“Yoba help me if I live long enough to say that. Knew that bastard my whole life.”

“Have you heard anything? About his son and his family?” Mona asked. Gil thought for a moment.

“Ev said Pat and Samantha got a divorce not too long ago. ‘Parently got his taste in women from Nick, if you know what I mean.”

“Or ‘Lil Ricky’s got the Oedipus thing goin’ on.”

“Or that,” Gil chuckled, “Lil’ Nikki is 16 now. Lookin’ to study business in university.” Mona gagged.

“Not gonna take over the farm then, I assume,” she said. Gil shrugged.

“We’ll see. You know, Ol’ Saint Nick did that too, for a while. The corporate thing, but he hated it. Not enough action.”

“I can’t even imagine him in a suit. What a deeply unserious man he was.”

“I ever tell you the last thing he said to me before he went?” Gil said, barely hiding a smirk.

“I don’t think you did.”

“He said ‘Well Gil, next time you see me, I’ll be a ghost in the mines. Take care of me quick, or I’ll teach the others how to use the elevator,’” Gil said, mimicking Nick’s tone of voice, “Didn’t even say goodbye or anything after. Think he wanted those to be his last words to me. Kicked the bucket that night.”

“The last time I saw him he said he was gonna come back as a mummy at the caverns, but that he was gonna be immune to bombs. Told me to watch out,” Mona said.

“What an asshole.”

“Least he kept his sense of humor all the way to the end.” Gil hummed in agreement.

     The two of them sat together a while longer, occasionally telling one another stories, or rehashing old ones they both knew well. Once the sun started to set, they made their way to the van and headed home.

…

     That autumn, Mona approached Marlon with a new recruitment strategy.

“You want to do what?!” he asked. He was certain his ears had deceived him.

“Capture some monsters, bring em up, and show em off,” she said. The Spirit’s Eve festival was fast approaching, and it seemed like a good opportunity. It was something Evelyn had joked about doing at one point when she was short on festival décor ideas, and the idea had been rolling around in Mona’s head ever since.

“So, I did hear you right the first time. Follow up question, what in Yoba’s name are you talking about?”

“Nothing crazy! Just like… I don’t know, a couple skeletons? Any guild member could take care of those in their sleep, I don’t see the issue.” Marlon sighed and rubbed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Well, other than the obvious safety concerns, in what universe would showing people a monster make them more likely to take up adventuring?” he asked her.

“Woulda worked on me,” she replied with a shrug, “Besides, ya know people have this very fantastical idea of the mines. I think they think it’s worse than it is. Us capturing one would show how not-that-scary they are.”

“There will be children at the festival, Mona.”

“And they’ll love it! I remember Abby would always ask me to take her down to the mines to see the monsters when she was small.”

“Mona, no. Final answer. It’s too dangerous.” Mona crossed her arms and huffed. She thought for a while as Marlon busied himself with some paperwork, and then she suddenly gasped.

“I’m pulling the card!” she cheered.

“The card?”

“The ladder card! Fuck you for that, by the way. Tryna talk to me about dangerous ideas,” she said, mumbling towards the end.

“I hardly think that applies to guild matters,” he said.

“When have we ever had a disagreement that wasn’t a guild matter?” she asked.

“Never, that’s why you’ve never pulled the card,” Marlon licked his finger and flipped the papers he was working on, “and why I always win.”

“I will play all three of my cards for this, old man. Just think! You could live the rest of your life never worrying that I’ll pull this bullshit to win, for the low-low cost of trusting me this one time.” Marlon leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms, looking up at Mona.

“You really feel that strongly about this?”

“Yes.”

“And you have an actual plan that you think will work to capture them?”

“Yes.” Marlon groaned and thought for a moment.

“Tell me the plan, and I’ll consider it,” he said begrudgingly.

     Marlon did not like the plan very much, as it had some room for error, but it did sound like it might just work. If it really was just skeletons, it wouldn’t be hard to take care of if anything went wrong. His only stipulation was that if anything were to go wrong, they had to kill them and quit immediately. Mona accepted, and let Kent know to come up on Spirits Eve to help.

     The plan was simple: lead the skeletons close to the elevator and shove them in, then send them up. This part was the most dangerous bit, so Marlon volunteered himself. They’d have a cage set up just outside the mines entrance, waiting for them. Mona would wear some of her specialty monster musk, to lure the skeleton deep into the cage. Once they were in, Gil could use the van to pull it away from the entrance to give Kent enough room to shut and lock the cage. They planned to capture two skeletons. While it took a while for Marlon to get the skeletons to get into the elevator, the rest of the plan worked perfectly well, and no one was injured.

     It was difficult to say if it helped their recruitment efforts, but it did get them some stories in various adventuring magazines, which certainly helps. Most of the kids liked it as well, though it seemed some of the townspeople thought they were fake. Still, Mona would end up pushing Marlon to do it again year after year.

…

      Five years later, there were some new additions to the valley. Harvey came first, and Mona was quick to introduce herself. The other new addition wasn’t too new at all; Emily moved back in to watch her younger sister. Mona remembered hearing that Ben Heron and his wife had decided to go traveling and was floored that they were leaving Haley behind at 15, just the same as his parents had done to him, albeit in different circumstances. She dropped by one day to catch up with Emily and see if she needed anything.

“Oh Ms. Emily! I come bearing gifts,” she called as she came through the door. Emily rushed in from the kitchen, a wide smile on her face and a pot of tea in hand. She set the pot down on the coffee table, before going in to hug Mona.

“Ms. Mona, it’s so good to see you! Yoba, it’s been too long since I was home,” she said.

“It has, hasn’t it?” Mona gave Emily her gift, a beautiful piece of raw topaz from the mines, and the two of them sat down to catch up. Emily told her all about her college life, and her girlfriend Sandy. She said she had been working as a bartender in Calico Springs but wasn’t sure where all was hiring in Pelican Town.

“I’m sure Gus would hire you if you asked. You’ve met him, right? Surely it hasn’t been that long,” Mona asked.

“That’s a good idea, I’ll have to check with him tonight,” Emily responded. Mona took a sip from her teacup, then set it down on the table.

“Is there anything I can help you with? I’m sure all of this has been stressful,” she said. Emily gave a soft smile and looked away for a moment, before taking a deep breath.

“I’m adjusting… it’s strange, there aren’t a lot of people my age in town. I feel both too old and too young to be here. Taking care of Haley is fine, there’s a lot of work around the house but she’s real independent. I’m trying to plan her sweet 16 but I’m sort of at a loss. Need it to be special, ya know?”

“Sure, of course. Especially with everything going on… a good party would lift her spirits.”

“And mine,” Emily said with a bittersweet laugh. The move must have been hard on her. Mona reached into her rugsack and took out her notebook and a pen.

“Well, start shootin’ some ideas. We’ll make it happen.”

     The two of them ended up with a good list of ideas for Haley’s birthday. A beach party was right up Haley’s alley. Emily took care of the bulk of it, but Mona went ahead and got Lewis close off a part of the beach. It took some persuading, weirdly, but Lewis had a strange combination of fear and appreciation for Mona. She was dedicated to her town and was well set in getting her way.

…

     A few weeks later, Evelyn asked Mona to come by the house for a day to watch over George. He had a house call with the town doctor, and Evelyn had festival preparations to attend to and couldn’t be there herself. He needed supervision.

“When he comes to the door, tell him to fuck off. I don’t want to see him, and I’m sure he doesn’t want to see me,” George said. Mona rolled her eyes.

“You should just be glad he isn’t making you come to the clinic. He’s a good kid, Georgie.”

“I don’t care! He’s a doctor, I hate him. Not like all these damn appointments are gonna make me walk again.”

“I’m sure you’d change your mind quickly if you stopped getting your painkillers,” Mona said as a knock sounded at the door, “Now behave, old man.” George tsked as Mona walked to the door to greet Harvey.

“Oh, hello Mona… is Evelyn not in today?” Harvey asked.

“Nope, you’re stuck with me today I’m afraid. Come on in,” Mona said, making room for the doctor to come in.

     George’s appointment passed without any major problems. He was certainly pissed off the whole way through, but he didn’t act out too bad since Mona was there to keep him in line. Though as soon as it was over, he angrily dismissed both of them, so Mona offered to walk with Harvey back to the clinic.  

“So, how are you settling in, doc?” she asked.

“Good. Good, I think. Clinic’s good,” he replied, but Mona was unconvinced. She raised a brow.

“Sounds good. Made any friends? Connections? Anything?” she asked. Harvey sighed.

“I don’t want to get overly… involved with my patients. It’s unprofessional.” Mona laughed.

“You kidding? That’s ridiculous, no one here expects you to be some kind of medical robot,” she said.

“Well…”

“Last doctor married one of his patients and no one batted an eye. You’re a community member just the same as everyone else,” she said.

“Well, that’s out of the question,” Harvey said, adjusting his tie. Mona looked at the doctor for a moment, though she couldn’t piece together what he was thinking.

“Well, just think about it. Go to the saloon sometimes to just talk to people or something. And you’re always welcome up at the guild, even if my husband is an asshole and Gil pretends not to see you. They won’t kick out anyone I invite in if they know what’s good for ‘em,” she said. Harvey smiled.

“You’re too kind. I’ll think about it,” he said.

“Please do.”

…

     Dives with Kent were fast paced and quiet. As he took more dives it became clear that he was extremely talented in combat, so much so that Mona started to think Kent was less like a younger George and more like a younger Marlon, just without the attitude problem. He did open up more in the guild, cracking jokes with everyone and such, but in the mines, he was laser focused on finding resources. After he had his second son, he became even more focused on the resources, heading straight to the blacksmith to sell them when he was done.

     Mona and Kent went down together one day and stopped at one of the underground lakes to take a breather and have lunch. Mona made a few attempts at starting conversation, but Kent kept up his stoicism, giving nods and grunts of acknowledgement and not much else. It was honestly worse than usual.

“What’s on your mind, Kent?” Mona asked. He sighed and looked out at the water.

“I’ve been thinking about enlisting,” he said.

“In the military?!” Mona was a bit surprised, though she couldn’t say it wouldn’t suit him, “You got somethin’ against Gotoran’s?”

“No, no, it’s not that. Honestly, I find that aspect of it… more than unappealing,” he said.

     The war between Ferngill and the Gotoran Empire started a bit over three years ago. There had been tension for a long while, but things got really bad after some sorry excuse for an adventurer posted a study about the correlation between Gotoran immigrants and monsters in Ferngill. Some people started to believe they were bringing them over or doing something to make the monster problem worse. It was ridiculous. The Ferngillian government had been looking for an excuse to go to war for their resources and ran with the monster problem.

Mona didn’t talk about it often, but her father was Gotoran. She didn’t look the part, so she was able to avoid any particularly negative encounters surrounding it. That study had made her sick to her stomach when she read it. M. Jasper was quick to put up a publication disproving it, but much of the country had already picked their side.

“Why do you want to join the war effort, then?” she asked.

“They’re offering a good benefits package right now. Money’s tight with the four of us, and I don’t want Jodi to have to start workin’, ya know? If she doesn’t have to,” Kent explained. Mona nodded.

“I see. Definitely would get you a more consistent income than the mines could offer, honestly.”

“I haven’t decided yet.”

“Well, if you want my opinion… do what’s best for your family. I mean, you’re a great addition to the guild, and it’s been nice having a new, stable, consistent member. But you gotta do what you gotta do.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. And hey, when you get back home, I’m sure there will still be room for you. You’re a shoe in for guild leader whenever Marlon calls it quits.” Kent smiled.

“Thanks, Beloved Mona,” he teased. Mona glared.

“On second thought, I’ll let Marlon know you’re not welcome back.”

     Kent enlisted shortly after and was shipped off the following year, after he completed his training. He wasn’t sure when he’d be back, but as Mona expected, Marlon assured him there’d always be a spot for him at the guild when he returned. Mona hugged him and told him to give her a call as soon as he was back in town. He promised he would.

…

“I’m afraid I’m retiring, Beloved Mona,” Evelyn said.

“If you say you have cancer I’m leaving,” Mona replied.

     It was a little over two years before Nikki would move to Pelican Town. The guild had closed down the mines for the evening so that Marlon and Gil could come down for the Night Market. At the moment, Evelyn, Mona, Emily, and Caroline were hard at work setting up some of the lights and décor at the dock, just a short while before the night market would open. It was the easiest festival to set up for.

“I don’t have cancer, I’m just too damn old! I’ve been working as the resident artist for more than two thirds of my life,” Evelyn explained, “I just want to plant some flowers and spend time with my husband in my old age. Let someone without arthritis take care of the decorations.”

“I suppose…”

“Besides, you know, Mayor Lewis started asking me about social media and marketing the town events online. I mean, by Yoba, I have a landline! Who does he think I am?”

“He is prone to wishful thinking, I’m afraid.”

     Once the festival was set up, the two of them went back to Evelyn’s home to force George out of the house and met up with Marlon and Gil. The five of them walked back to the beach together and looked around all the different booths. Evelyn and Mona dropped into the mermaid show, as was tradition, refusing to let the men participate. They couldn’t decide what was funnier, depriving them of the show, or forcing Gil to sit with Marlon and George alone. Probably both.

     Once they had enough of cold, and their free coffees were drained, they’d head into the saloon for some drinks, so Mona and Evelyn could quietly gossip, and people watch. George always had commentary, and Marlon pretended to be wholly uninterested. The truth was he loved hearing the latest happenings from Mona, though he was happy to be uninvolved himself. Gil for the most part would just listen, but he occasionally would chime in with an added detail no one was sure how he came to know. Mona started to suspect that he made some of it up, but it was entertaining, nonetheless.

     It wasn’t long before George and Evelyn had to turn it in for the evening, as George had some medications to take before bed. Gil walked them home before taking the guild van back up the mountain, leaving Mona and Marlon alone in the saloon so she could make her rounds. They were chatting with Willy when Mona noticed something.

“Psst, earth to Marlon, earth to Willy,” she whispered. Willy and Marlon looked at her confused, and she stared back with wide eyes, before nodding her head towards the fireplace. They both started to turn at once, before Mona stopped them, “Woah now, not at the same time. Where’s Evelyn when you need her? Fucking amateurs.”

“I’m sorry, do I look 15 years old?” Marlon asked.

“Not a day over 80, old man,” she replied.

“I’m 67.”

“And a pain in my ass.” As the two of them bickered, Willy looked over his shoulder.

“I see. Didn’t know Jackson’s boy swung that way,” Willy whispered.

“Shane?” Marlon looked over towards the fireplace as well, showing his interest in town drama against better judgement. Shane and Elliot, the newest towns person, were sitting at the bar talking to each other with bright red faces. Marlon looked back towards Mona, “They’re probably just cold and drunk.”

“What?” Mona and Willy said in unison disbelief.

“Marlon, honey, asshole, light of my life, thorn in my side. They are holding hands,” Mona continued. Marlon glanced over again to confirm.

“Huh.”

…

     It was about 8 months later that Evelyn’s role was filled, and Leah moved into the valley. While Mona missed seeing Evelyn for festival preparations, she and Leah got along quite nicely. They seemed to have a similar temperament. At first, Leah tried to push away the help on set up and break down, but Mona had none of it and showed up with Emily and Caroline anyway. Leah came to appreciate the help, in time.

…

     It was the flower dance, one year before Nikki would arrive. It was also Marlon and Mona’s wedding anniversary. The townspeople offered their congratulations as always as the two of them made their rounds.

“Mrs. Mona! Mrs. Mona!” Jas cheered as she ran up to greet Mona. Mona bent down and picked up the young girl.

“Well hello Ms. Jasmine, how are you doing today?” she asked. Marnie and Shane approached together.

“I’m good. Do you like my dress Ms. Mona?”

“I do!”

“Auntie Emily made it for me!”

“That’s very nice, Ms. Jasmine.”

“Hola Mona! Thank you for catching Jas. She’s really taken with running off these days,” Marnie said.

“No problem at all. Good to see you both here. Will you be dancing with anyone, Shane?” she asked, hoping for a different answer than last year. She and Marlon had made a bet about how long the Shane Elliot development would take, and so far, she was losing.

“Emily’s making me dance with her,” he said, clearly irritated that he had to be there at all. With that, Mona lost her bet.

“That’ll be nice, won’t it?” Marlon said, directing a smug smile at Mona. Shane hummed something that was almost an agreement, but not quite.

“How long have you two been married now?” Marnie asked.

“39 years, if you can believe it,” Mona said.

“Can you put me down Ms. Mona? Vincent is here,” Jas asked. Mona raised her eyebrows, but happily obliged. Jas ran off to meet Vincent, and Marnie headed off to follow her, shouting an “Adios” over her shoulder. Shane dismissed himself as well, heading for the snack table.

     The dance was fun as it always was. Mona and Marlon danced together, holding each other close, and Mona now only occasionally put up a fight to lead. Every dance they shared made Mona incredibly happy, reminding her off all of the memories they shared.

“You look nice today,” Marlon said as they danced.

“You’re not so bad yourself,” she replied.

     At the end of the dance, they said hello to a few more people. They checked in with Jodi to see if she had heard from Kent, and Mona checked that she was doing well with the kids. They chatted with Robin and Demetrius, Mona and Robin getting sucked into a discussion about their suspicions surrounding Abigail and Sebastian, and Marlon and Demetrius discussing research approaches. They checked in with Pam, who was recently out of a job since the bus broke down, and Mona offered her support. Pam didn’t receive it well, but Mona tried nonetheless. They talked with Penny about how her new teaching job was treating her. Elliot asked them about their love story, seeing as it was their anniversary, to which they obviously responded that they loathed each other.

     Once their rounds were done, they headed on home to share a drink with Gil and head to bed.

…

     The funeral was in September. There hadn’t been an audience for a funeral this large in Pelican Town since Nicholas passed. Every member of the town was there. Marlon was overwhelmed with his grief, and his injuries certainly weren’t helping, so Evelyn offered to do the eulogy for him.

“Where to begin with Our Beloved Mona. Mona Jasper was an incredible woman. It seemed she could do it all. When she moved to Pelican Town, forty-two years ago, I had the privilege of being one of her first friends. I got to watch her immerse herself in the community, throughout her entire time living here.

It started at our old adventurer’s guild, throwing herself headfirst into a life of research and excellence. She spent much of her time there, from the very beginning, making an impact on the adventuring world at large, but even more so on those who were involved there: Willy, Gunther, Kent, Georgie and I, Old Saint Nick, Gil, and Marlon. Mona Jasper was a woman who was dead set on her goals. She never gave in to self-doubt. It made her an incredible adventurer, and an even better colleague.

She was a fantastic teacher. Some of you may have been taught by her, and she loved her students dearly. She fought for her students to have the resources they needed to be successful going into grade school, and continuously checked in on them, long after they were no longer her student.

Mona also threw herself into town affairs. When I was pregnant, I asked her to help set up the flower dance with me. I had never intended for her to lend a hand forever, but Mona was the kind of person who wanted to be involved, and she committed herself to festival preparations year after year, festival after festival.

When Nicholas passed away, Mona took on the responsibility of the help wanted board. It was something Nick had been passionate about, and in his absence, she knew someone needed to do it. So, when someone in town needed anything, whether it was a random errand or item, or a task, she was there. Her love for this town was unconditional.

For many of you, Mona was likely the first person you met in Pelican Town. She was far too quick with it, as if she got a message from Yoba himself anytime someone new was moving in. She aimed for this town to be welcoming towards all, and I’m sure we all agree that she was successful.

Mona Jasper was an incredible friend. She gave herself, all of herself, to every person she talked to. Mona Jasper is the kind of person who talks to you and truly listens. She offers support and advice to everyone she interacts with, and always made you feel that your life, your problems, your victories, were just as important to her as her own.

When me and George lost our daughter, Clara, and took in our lovely grandson, Alex, Mona was there without needing to be asked. She volunteered herself to help around the house when we needed it, prepared school lunches, gave Alex help on his homework. Her help at that time smoothed the transition, and I wish every day I could’ve repaid her for it.

Finally, Mona was an incredible spouse. I had the honor of watching Mona and Marlon’s love story unfold. If you think they bicker now, you should have seen them back then. It is rare to find a connection as deep as the one they shared. They truly completed each other and kept one another in line. Never had I imagined, when I first met Marlon when he was just 25 years old, that anyone would get him to open up. I certainly didn’t imagine anyone getting him to dance at the flower dance. Mona was exactly what he had needed.

Mona Jasper was more than just a member of our community, more than a friend to us all. Mona was a pillar that made Pelican Town what it is today. It was an honor to have known her.”