Chapter Text
She can see the church from here.
The train slows. Mi-an rolls and unrolls the strap of her goggles, the last parting gift from her Grandpa, and goes back to rehearsing her lines in her head: Hi there, I’m the new Builder! I’m Mi-an, nice to meet you!
The butterflies in her stomach go wild. She wants to jump off the train already, to go run in the sand towards a new life, new adventures… and a new Mi-an! Old boring Mi-an is gone, welcome the exciting Mi-an!
She stands up, grabs her stuff under her seat, goes to stand in front of the train’s glass doors. Her knees are shaking so much she almost falls over when the wheels roll over a small obstacle. The train’s going excruciatingly slow.
Finally, finally, it comes to a halt. The doors open. Mi-an sets foot onto the platform.
Into her new life.
On the platform, an older woman wearing Church robes waves to her. Mi-an waves back, maybe a little too excitedly.
- “Hi there”, the older woman drawls. “You must be our new Builder!”
- “Uh, yeah, hi! I’m Mi-an, nice to meet you!”
Nailed it.
- “I’m Matilda, Minister of the Church of the Light here in Sandrock. We’re like a big family here, I’m sure you’ll fit right in! Let me show you your workshop and I’ll give you a quick tour of town, how’s that sound?”
- “Awesome! Sounds great!”
Matilda smiles and turns to leave the train station. Mi-an follows her.
- “On your left - “ - Matilda points to a large building - “ - is the Commerce Guild. Our commissioner, Yan, he… takes some gettin’ used to, but I’m sure you’ll have no issues with him. On your right, we got the Blue Moon Saloon. If you’re ever hungry, Owen’ll whip up a nice warm meal for ya.”
Matilda walks past the Blue Moon and turns right into an alley.
- “It’s right ahead”, she drawls. “Are you still following?”
Mi-an hums in confirmation.
Commerce Guild. Yan. Blue Moon. Owen. She’s going to have to write all of that down.
Matilda steps in front of a chunky wooden box of a building with a wide porch to the side.
- “Here we are, your very own workshop!”, she announces. “I’ll give you some time to settle in. Come find me at the Town Hall when you’re ready for your tour.”
- “Town Hall?” That’s odd. Didn’t she just say she was the Minister?
- “Oh, silly me!” Matilda chuckles. “Walk up these stairs to the left, then down the ones on your left and you’ll land right in front of the Town Hall.”
- “O-kay! See you then!”
And off she is. Questions will have to wait.
The inside of the workshop’s pretty sparingly furnished: a bed in one corner, a small kitchen in another. Mi-an sets her bags down next to the bed. She’s going to have to build herself more storage.
She goes on a small inspection tour of the porch. A workbench and a Recycler are the only things yet on there. Insufficient for a Builder. Oh well, she’ll worry about that later. Time to go to the Town Hall!
She follows Matilda’s directions and walks down three flights of stairs to come out in front of a huge building. She comes to a halt in front of its doors. Should she knock? Should she just walk in?
She opts to just walk in. Bold Mi-an, confident Mi-an.
- “Minister Matilda?”, she calls out inside.
- “One minute, my child”, Matilda answers.
Mi-an stays in the entryway, attempts to keep a relaxed smile on her face. What to do with her hands? Crossed? Joined at the front, in her back?
Finally, Matilda comes down from the upper floor into the entryway.
- “How did you find your workshop?”
- “Well, uh, it looks… comfortable, for sure.
Matilda chuckles. “Shall we go?”
Mi-an holds the door for her on the way out.
- “To our left, we have Construction Junction”, Matilda says. “If you want some construction work done in your workshop, our Heidi can do it for you. Over there, next to the Commerce Guild, we have Vivi’s Tailor Made. Right ahead of us, Arvio’s general store. Past that, the water tower and Water World, where our devotee Burgess can sell you water for all your building needs. Even further past that, the Civil Corps. Let’s hope you won’t need them all too much.”
Matilda turns right and begins walking up a slope.
- “Comin’ to the Town Hall, you must’ve passed the pottery shop.”
- “Um, yeah! I did, but I don’t think the owner was there.
- “You’ll meet her soon enough, don’t stress yourself out.”
- “I’m not stressed”, Mi-an claims unconvincingly.
Matilda chuckles.
- “And here we are, the Church of the Light! Service’s on Sunday at eight, but Pastor Miguel and I are always available to anyone who might need an attentive ear.”
Matilda turns back to face Mi-an with a warm, almost grandmotherly smile on her face.
- “At any hour of the day or night, if you got something on your heart, our doors and arms are open for you.”
Mi-an smiles and nods, a comforting warmth spreading in her chest. Matilda takes her down a slope next to her workshop.
- “Right behind your workshop’s the Research Center, led by Director Qi. Have you met him yet?”
- “No”, Mi-an answers.
- “Ah, I would’ve been more surprised if ya had. He’s a little… particular.”
Oh Peach.
- “Here, we have the cemetery and the home of Mort, the widower of Sandrock’s first mayor Martle. He may be isolated, but I assure you he always appreciates a visit. Further up north, we got the Moisture Farm, the source of most of our food here in Sandrock. And right there, the Clinic. If you’re ever injured or sick, Dr. Fang will take good care of you. Mind you, he’s… a little special.”
They keep walking a little bit.
- “To your left, the Golden Goose game center. To your right, the Museum. Both are owned by Catori.”
Matilda stops at an intersection.
- “If you go down this tunnel, you’ll find Hugo’s forge to your right, then Cooper’s ranch to your left, the train station and, on the other side of the tracks, Rocky’s Salvage Yard and ol’ Mason’s workshop. And this concludes our tour! Do you have any questions at the moment?”
Mi-an giggles uncomfortably. “That was… a lot of information.”
- “I understand”, Matilda replies. “Don’t worry, you won’t be alone for long. We have another Builder arriving in a couple of days. He will take Mason’s old workshop. I hope the two of you can support each other.”
- “I hope so too.”
- “If you have any questions, of course, I’ll still be here for you. Have yourself a nice rest of the day, my child, and may the Light be with you.”
- “Thanks, you too!”
With a couple hours to kill, Mi-an decides to head to the saloon. Wild Mi-an, interesting Mi-an.
She sits down at the bar. The owner, Owen if she recalls correctly, a huge muscular guy, comes to take her order. She looks him in the eyes with all the confidence she can muster and tells him:
- “Give me the strongest thing you got!”
He raises his eyebrows. “Aight, here it comes.”
Suddenly, his expression shifts and he hesitates. “Hey, aren’t you the new Builder? You sure you want a stiff one this late? I’m sure you got a long day ahead of you tomorrow.”
- “Ah…”
He’s right, of course. All her confidence evaporates.
- “Ahem, well… A Yakmel Milk, please…”
She sits at the bar sipping her drink, deep in thought.
Maybe… She’s just not cut out to be fun.