Lychaon's Curse

A small cloud of dust trailed behind the carriage as it rolled and bumped its way down the lonely desert road. In the distance, the walls of Neopotamia loomed ever large, even after the frontier town clustered at its base had long disappeared from sight.

Outside the small window a desert scene passed by, enormous cacti dotting the landscape, the sun hanging low and angry in the sky. Natalie turned from the scene and re-read the letter half crumpled in her hands.

Brother, I write to congratulate you on the birth of your firstborn- tell me do you still plan to name the babe after me even though it's a girl? I feel Nathan is a rough name for a girl child. When do you plan to travel to the ranch? There is enough room for your family and I bet the girl will love the cattle...

She crushed the letter in her hands and looked back to the long, thorny shadows as they grew across the landscape.

It's so close now.

She thought to herself.

Natalie was pulled from her thoughts by the slot at the front of the carriage opening with a rattle. From the other side came the thin, reedy voice of the driver, "Miss? This is as far as I go." Before the slot snapped shut.

When the carriage rolled to a stop it Natalie peered out of the window curiously. There was no marker next to the road, nothing at all that would make it distinct from any other stretch of road. That is, except for the rancher and the two horses waiting for them. She noted that one of the horses was fit with a massive prosthetic, which had a small column of smoke trailing from it. Natalie stepped down from the carriage as the driver unloaded her bags into the road. Within moments the carriage was gone, leaving her and the rancher staring awkwardly at each other.

After a long moment, the man asked, "You Natalie?" His head was tilted back, the wide brim of his hat seeming to block out the sun, leaving his face in shadow. Natalie nodded back at him, wondering if she should feel some warmth for the man she had never met.

"Yes, that's me." He nodded back and tossed her the reins to the horse with the prosthetic.

"You look a lot like yer pa. Shame to hear what happened." He commented as she stroked the horse's nose it whickered softly at her, making her smile as she looked back up at her uncle.

"I'm sorry it took a decade to get the news out here," she replied. He waved the comment away.

"Nothin' to be done about it now. That's your horse from now on. He's a damned fool but dependable," his head tilted to the side as he watched her hike her skirts up and scramble onto the horse.

"He's lovely," she panted, "What's his name?"

"Nimrod. Have you ever ridden a horse before?" Natalie shifted in her seat, hoping she looked more confident than she felt.

"Once?" She mirrored his wince as he bobbed his head up and down.

" Right," he huffed as he turned his horse around. Calling over his shoulder he added, "Well let's hope you're a fast learner. C'mon, its still a ways to the ranch." Natalie counted herself lucky that Nimrod knew to follow because she was not a fast learner when it came to horses as she soon found out. The ride may have been relatively short but her legs and rear ached by the time the ranch came into sight.

It was a beautiful home, with a simple and open design. As Natalie stepped over the threshold she had to nod in approval at the construction. Brick and wood were both rare and expensive building materials. She had only ever seen them used in public buildings and when the train passed through the Gentried District. However, unlike the extravagant mansions, the ranch was sparse in decoration and design. Most of the beauty came from its raw materials and the lighting through large windows.

Nate's gruff bass pulled her from her reverie, "Your room is upstairs on the right, get unpacked and meet me in the barn." Natalie turned to respond but he was already down the porch steps and following a path that led around the corner of the house. With a shrug, she picked up her luggage and hauled it up the stairs and to her new room.

Unpacking her things made her feel almost childish with glee. Her room was as large as the room she had shared with 3 other girls back at the theater, she had an entire closet for her clothes- and spare room for new clothes. Her bed was the best part, however, large and soft when Natalie had slept on a pallet of knotted cloth for as long as she had cared to remember. Were she not covered in dust from the road she would have flopped into it and fallen asleep right then.

Instead, she left her new room and closed the door behind her with a soft click. The upper level of the ranch had only one other room and the small landing separating them. Before she went downstairs Natalie found herself peeking into the other room. Inside was a series of panels with various switches and labels that read things like "Perimeter fence Pulse" and "Barn Safety protocol" the room left her uneasy, so she quickly exited and made her way outside.

The path led around the house to the back. There she found a well, a garden with irrigation channels attached to a water reservoir, and the barn. The barn was another subtle display of wealth, with stone floors and a fully furnished tack room. One side was a large pen that had cattle milling about. One stuck its head over the pen's gate and mooed at her as she walked by. She rubbed an ear before turning to the other side of the barn, which was a long line of stalls, all empty but the last two; where she found Nate caring for his horse.

He told her to stand and watch before going back to his work. While he finished with his horse Natalie found herself looking at her own animal, who was calmly hanging from a harness attached to the ceiling; his hooves barely resting on the ground. He returned her stare with calm dark eyes. Then he started to rock in his harness; back and forth until he was swinging towards her, gaining a few inches every pass. Finally, he was close enough to snuffle her hair. Natalie leaned back with a laugh.

Just then Nate slipped past her and into the stall, slapping the horse lightly on its rear; earning a reproachful look from Nimrod. "Don't let him charm you- he wants to eat your hair. Thinks he's a damned goat. Shouldn't be swinging around in the harness either- he'll pull it from the ceiling." He was quiet a moment as he adjusted the harness- tugging straps here and there until he was satisfied. After a moment he continued, "Seems odd to start with the horse, but he's your link to civilization. Gotta learn to care for him though," as he grabbed a screwdriver from his tool belt. Natalie watched as he removed a panel and drained off a compartment of water, taking care to thoroughly wipe out any moisture with a cloth.

"The fool lost his leg a while back after he tried to stomp a snake. Lucky For him I had money for a steam leg," Nate reached over the horse's back to un-secure the straps holding the leg onto his body as Nimrod watched. Nate swung the prosthetic into his arms and pushed past Natalie again, walking towards the tack room where he secured the leg on a mount.

Resting a hand on it he turned to Natalie and said, "Be sure not to leave him standing for too long, he's got a travel harness with his tack, it can hook up to any ceiling. The inn in town has a permanent rig in their box stall as well. He's smart enough to realize the leg don't tire- but stupid enough to put all his weight on it no matter how many times he breaks it."

"Do you spend a lot of time at the inn?" Natalie asked. Nate shook his head.

" its just the only box stall in town. I can walk from store to store once I'm there," he replied. Nate then opened a chest and rummaged around until he produced a set of small clay pots. These in hand he walked back to Nimrod's stall.

As he undid another set of straps he continued his lesson, "Now you have to remember the padding," Nate pulled the large leather pad off of the horse's shoulder, revealing thick scarring, " the scar tissue is thick but the engine in his leg will still burn him. You also have to make sure he isn't chafing in the harness and getting sores. That's what the ointment is for," after this Nate showed Natalie each pot and its purpose, a cleaning lotion, a chafing balm, a healing ointment, and a topical pain killer, and how to properly apply them. After this, he gave her a basic rundown on brushing and feeding.

Later, sometime after the sun had set Natalie and Nathan sat down at a long wooden table, Nate having placed two plates heaped with food for them. As Natalie tore into the food Nate sat and watched her for a moment until she noticed he hadn't eaten yet. He went to run a hand over his bald head, remembered he had no hair, and stroked his beard instead.

"Ya know you're gonna have chores right?" He asked. Natalie nodded.

"Absolutely, anything else I should know?"

"Good, the Ranch comes first, including chores. My Ad was for a farmhand, not a niece- though I'm happy to take both. Take care of the horse, he's an investment. Room and board are in exchange for chores, so you don't have to worry about rent, but I can only keep you on as long as I can afford to, so keep that in mind if you find work elsewhere. Also, the desert is a dangerous place- if you are gonna go exploring let me know and make sure you bring protection everywhere. Animals have even attacked the herds and made off with cattle. Any questions?" Natalie shook her head.

"No, that all seems fair to me," she said. He nodded.

"Other than that you can go where you want. Do what you want. You ain't my daughter and this ain't the city. Just don't bring any trouble home." Nathan lapsed into silence as they finished their meal.

Once they were done Nathan stood and cleared the dishes and took them to the sink. It struck Natalie that he was a man used to solitude. She spent the rest of the evening exploring her new home and, once she found the bathroom, scrubbing herself clean. Then, exhausted from the day of travel and excitement Natalie collapsed into her bed and fell fast asleep.

Over the next few weeks, one could say "Exhaustion" was the word to describe Natalie's frame of mind. While she had never had much of a chance for laziness- spending much of her youth working in a theater creating and maintaining props, costumes, and sometimes even the actors- farm work was backbreaking and utterly foreign to her.

Her mornings started by loading several ingredients into a large mortar and grinding them into a meal, which was then used to feed the animals. Nate usually had his own horse- a pale mare named Cecelia bridled and was leading the cattle out by the time she struggled through Nimrod's care and attaching the prosthetic, which gave her ample time to muck out the cattle pens and the equipment used to care for them while Nimrod wandered in his corral. After that, it was checking his harness for good condition and oiling the many leather straps.

Animal care done Natalie then turned to the gardens, pulling weeds and setting them aside. Then she had to fill the cistern used to water the plants with water from the well, add in a mix of minerals and nutrients meant to help the plants grow. After that, a lever was pulled to let the water flow into channels that connected to the gardens. She also checked each plant for signs of blight and infestation, keeping notes in a field journal. Finally, after her other chores were done she gathered all the waste from her other tasks and added them to the compost heap.

Day one the list took her all day, but within the month she had gotten skilled enough to be done by an hour or so past noon. During this time she and Nathan settled into a comfortable routine, and Natalie took up some of her old hobbies now that she had time- namely composing music with her violin and painting. Nathan, while being a mostly solitary housemate, gave her something she had never had- space and freedom.

However, after a while, she began to grow restless out on the edge of humanity and decided to explore the frontier town closest to them. When her chores were done she saddled nimrod and followed the road back towards civilization until the frontier came into view, already in darkness due to the shadow on the wall. Nathan had told her to stay at the inn if it was too late when she was done and she realized that would definitely be the case. Her first stop was the Inn, a large building made of city bricks- made from the waste sand and dust from the quarries- with a stable attached to it. Outside the stable was a youth cleaning a saddle. Nimrod headed straight for him, while Natalie peered around at the chaotic bustle of the small town. It was unlike the clockwork polish of the city in a way that seemed almost rebellious. Natalie didn't have more time to think about it however, because Nimrod had reached the stable hand and started pulling his hair. Luckily the boy seemed to recognize the horse, reaching up to pat his neck.

"Hey there pal, its been a minute," the youth glances up at Natalie before jumping to his feet, "You aren't Nathan," he said, his tone almost accusing. She grinned at his confusion as she swung down from Nimrod.

"Nope, he said I could keep Nimrod here though. But if I hitch him out front while I rent the stall he'll break his leg. Is there any way I can leave him with you while I ask?" He nodded and took the reins, still looking her over.

"Sure, Mama Ostler should be behind the counter, she'll set you up with whatever you need," he said after a moment. That settled Natalie left her horse at the stable and headed inside.

The inn was almost as chaotic as outside, with a collection of tables clustered around a low stage on one end, on which a man was telling tales and making jokes with multiple members from the audience. Across from that was a countertop bar, the cleanest thing in sight, behind which were a shelf of cutlery and a variety of alcohol each. Natalie sat on a stool at the bar and continued looking around, noticing a staircase upstairs and a door behind the bar, from which a variety of pleasant smells were coming from.

Just as Natalie was starting to wonder if she was supposed to call for the barkeep when a large and loud woman burst through the door, with several other young women and girls. As she passed Natalie's place at the bar she nodded, before she and her trail of assistants dispersed amongst the tables, depositing food and drink. Natalie noticed with some surprise that not one of the serving women and girls were accosted in any way, something that was almost expected. Natalie pondered this as the large woman she assumed was Mama Ostler made her way behind the bar. The woman looked her over before grabbing a serving girl on her way back to the kitchen.

"We have a new face, go grab some food," she directed before turning to Natalie, "We don't see many new folks on the Frontier, I give everyone the first meal free. So who are you and where are you from?" She didn't stop to listen to Natalie's reply, instead getting a mug from the shelf and a skin of ale from the other. Natalie waited until she had returned before responding.

"My name is Natalie, I'm Nathan Minock's niece. I moved out from the city a month or so ago." Mama nodded to herself as she pushed the mug towards Natalie.

"Fancy, what did you do in the city?" She asked, looking Natalie over in a way that made her want to blush.

"I made a living as a theater rat for the most part. Painting and building sets, making and recycling costumes. I also played some in the orchestra, but not as often as I'd have liked." In short order, she had been asked about her life at the farm, her family, Nathan's health, and whether or not she needed a room for the night. At first, she wondered if she was being interrogated, but as the food was brought out Natalie was filled in on the background of several other people in the bar, and she realized Mama was actually just a well-meaning gossip.

As they talked Natalie found out that the Inn was almost entirely staffed by the Ostler family, save a few husbands and wives brought in. The family was known for twins and on the frontier the strict laws on childbearing were more lax, allowing for the family to grow to near unheard of proportions. Looking at the crew Natalie did see a similar look, red mops of hair and nut skin, bright blue and green eyes. By the end of the meal, she felt like she was an old friend and had welcome to use the stables and stop in anytime she wanted. It was at this point that Natalie asked about work in town.

"Not much in town at the moment, no one died recently and most people already have as many workers as they can afford," Mama replied. She thought for a moment before pointing to the stage, " Every 2 weeks we have a night where people can schedule performances, we pay a decent amount for the time block, and you keep the tips. If you can play we would be happy to give you a spot. Care for an audition?"

Natalie's hands shot up in front of her, "Oh I don't have my instrument or-" but her protests were cut off.

"I have a nephew who has a violin, you can just use that," she raised her voice to a boom that cut through the din of the common room, " Oi you! We've been sick of your jokes for half an hour; get off the damn stage! We have new meat! Malcolm- go get your violin!" And before Natalie could put up any resistance she had been herded onto the stage, Malcolm's violin in hand, with a crowd of expectant faces staring back up at her.

She took a moment to center herself and brought the instrument up to her shoulder and began playing. Using the previous noise of the common room as inspiration she played a lively melody that jumped around in its rhythm in such a way that gave the song a pleasant bounce. It was a rough improvisation but several people were nodding along and by the end of the song, Natalie had a fistful of coins from the crowd. She smiled at Mama as she stepped off the stage and made her way back over to the bar. Within moments she had reserved a spot in the biweekly talent night and another sum of cash pressed into her hands for the performance.

After Mama had made the deal she moved off, her curiosity satiated. Natalie made herself more comfortable at a table and had been watching the performers that followed her for a good while before she felt a tap on her shoulder. She looked up to see a well-dressed gentleman standing next to her.

"May I have a seat?" He asked. Natalie shrugged and gestured to a chair on the other side of the table. The man sat and flashed her a smile before continuing. "I'm Ramiro Lynarr and I wanted to compliment you on your skill," he pointed to a different table, where several other people were sitting and watching with curiosity, "And ask if you had ever performed at the Beata Delphinium?" Natalie was a bit taken back but not surprised. Her old home was a popular theater and the Lynarr clan was one of the wealthier families in Neopotamia. If anyone had money to burn on the arts it was them. Natalie realized he was still waiting for an answer and cleared her throat.

"Yes, I did actually, though not often. Did You frequent the establishment?" She replied.

"Not very often but one of my good friends over there owns the place and said she recognized you. I doubt that's hard though," he smiled again, " you seem very memorable."

Natalie shrugged and shifted in her seat. The theater was owned by the Minock Family, and the last thing she wanted was to be pulled into the type of political games the prime families played. As though he could tell what she was thinking he added, "How rude of me, I just realized I didn't ask your name...?" He let the statement trail into a question.

"Natalie"

"You don't have a last name?"