Wanted Man

For the next round I rolled 6 days at Oasis Springs (Mine), Income source: Wellness lessons and Event: Temporarily take in a starving family's child.

After leaving Chestnut Ridge, Daniel didn't stay in one place for long. There was one, who lived the same way, and who grew dear to Daniel, albeit not in the romantic way. Tina Chen was a traveling fortune teller, who peddled "the wisdom of the far east".
In Daniel, however, she confided that her ancestors had set foot on the continent with the first portuguese explorers and ever since no Chen had seen the "far east". Not Tina and neither her young son, Jin.

Tina had a solid grasp of focusing techniques and knew a smattering about the supernatural, lore that she initiated Daniel into in her wagon. 

Life was good, both enjoyed their freedom and seeing new sights every week, until one day Tina fell ill.

It didn't seem like such a big deal. They simply parked the wagon at a trading station and Daniel had acted as Jin's father figure for many months now.

They could have comfortable waited for Tina to recover, if not for the little detail that a number of clients had booked "far east wisdom" in advance and expected their yoga lessons. In Tina's absence Daniel had to take over.

Daniel not just wasn't skilled in yoga or meditation, he was thoroughly put off by the very concept. Introspection just wasn't his strong suit, or even something he was interested in.

He had to postpone the lessons for a full day to learn the basics at least.

Meanwhile Jin got supervised by Plum. He picked up riding, although it has to be said that the little guy was more of a bookworm than a cowboy.

There was little a teacher or Daniel could still have taught the boy. He had read - and memorized the contents of - every book his mother owned and was actively seeking out more books and learning opportunities at every station of their trip. But Jin was still a child, who often needed an adult to help him actually understand all the things his head was filled with, their implications, why sometimes things were done differently in practise and so on. Daniel helped to the best of his ability and those tutoring sessions left him in a focused state of mind.

Hopefully it would help with tomorrow's yoga lessons...

The next day Daniel spotted a familiar swagger in the crowd. At first he didn't recognize the face going along with it, for the man had changed in the years since they had talked last. He was still walking confidently as if he owned every place he found himself in, but his appearance had downgraded from a snazzty investigator to that of a thug.

Could that really be Gavin Reed, the marshall of Magnolia Blossom City?

Indeed. Only Reed wasn't marshall anymore on account of never having caught the vampire. In the end people had been convinced that Reed and O'Malley had made the vampire up. 

Daniel: "I met Dr, Straud in a place called Chestnut Ridge. Listen, Reed, I'm busy here for another week, but afterwards we can return there together and see if we can catch the cranky old bat!"

Gavin: "Maybe. We were thinking of traveling farther into the mountains. There are rumors of gold veins and if we are up there before the big rush... as one of the first..."

Daniel: "Who is "we" in this context?"

Gavin: "Oh, you wouldn't know that, of course. I'm married now. Caroline was the only person who believed me about the vampire having eaten her husband. We bonded over that, but maybe taking our relationship a step further was a mistake. We don't mesh well in pretty much every other regard."

Daniel: "Caroline... Phillips?!"

The marshall who had harassed him and his first employer's wife and daughter? Sometimes the world was a village!

Gavin: "The very same. Only it's Caroline Reed now, obviously." 

Daniel: "What about the general store?"

Gavin: "We sold it. That gave us the funds to start a proper mine with employees, not just a tent and a shovel."

I think Jin x Emma is a given for the next generation. For Daniel everything is in the cards, from a random red haired townie to Lilith Vatore the vampire princess. Next round he'll have to start working on an heir.

A week passed (ingame: the next day), and winter came into full swing for one last time. The most inappropriate time, seeing that Daniel had lost access to his bed chamber over the general store and was camping outside!

And someone else came, someone equally cold and unwelcome as the snow: Marshall Reed, the investigator tasked with the table silver robbery.

Reed: "I see you injured yourself, O'Malley. Or got injured? You better tell me the whole story!"

Daniel: "Not much of a story. The ground was shaking and I got hit by a tree branch."

Reed: "Hm. A tree branch, you say? That would leave the same marks as a blunt weapon. Remove the bandage, so that I can check!"

Daniel: sputters

Reed: "You better do as I say. Mr. Phillips got kidnapped tonight, but he was able to slice the attacker with a kitchen knife before getting dragged away. If your injury were caused by a slashing weapon..."

Daniel: "It's not! And what's with the Phillips' streak of bad luck all of a sudden? First my argument with Mr. Phillips, then the silver and now this?"

Reed: "Makes one wonder, ey? Sounds like SOMEONE really has it in for them. Someone out for revenge. Someone like YOU, Mr. O'Malley!"

Long story short, Daniel had to present his head and then re-bandage it. Reed wasn't fully convinced, though, he promised (threatened...) to return.

(This is the result of the Quake Zone having triggered and my rolled event for today being "Spouse dies". Since Danny has no partner, I decided that his employer died instead.)

That night...

Daniel: "See, my campfire glitched and I have nothing to eat and..."

Vendor: "Your campfire did what, Mister?"

Daniel: "I have no idea! I can only ever grill one plate of sausages, afterwards they just don't heat up anymore."

Vendor: "That sounds mighty cursed to me. You should see a priest about that."

Daniel: "Yes, will do. First thing tomorrow. Meantime, can I get a discount, maybe?"

Daniel haggled the vendor down by 20%, alas, the cheapest meal was still 7 dollars, when he had only a single one to his name.

However, behind the food stall there was a table where the vendor had tossed the leftovers. Dignity apparently was a thing of the past for Daniel now...

To prevent a repeat of this situation, and because the snow had covered the praerie grass, forcing Daniel to buy horse food for 30 dollar, he had to end Maira's training early and return her to her owner to collect his wage. Well, I can't say that Plum was unhappy about that turn of events!

Speaking of Plum...

Keep your hands (and fangs!) off my horse, you... you... you cranky old bat!!!

Did I mention Danny is hot-headed? And also not a single fitness skillpoint so far, still he won. I'm proud of my boy!

The next morning Daniel called Marshall Reed over. He was sad, when he arrived - obviously from not having been able to collect enough evidence against Daniel.

Daniel: "So is that how detective work goes? You DECIDE on a culprit and don't stop until you can pile evidence on him? Instead of analyzing whether that one was guilty or not?"

Reed: "Mind your tongue!"

Daniel: "And you mind your neck, because there's a vampire on the loose in town! He tried to drain my horse tonight. I bet he also broke into the general store, took the silver and abducted Phillips. And he cursed my campfire!"

Reed: "So what now? You fancy yourself a detective? You gonna do my job now, SHOP CLERK? Think you're better than me? I'm warning you! Don't! Get! Into! My! Way!"

The next day Daniel got a letter from the courthouse, stating that he owed a fine of 335 dollar and was banished for life from Magnolia Blossom City. Apparently the ambitious marshall had pulled a few strings, because the latter was far to drastic a sentence for a brawl.

And so Round 1 ended with Daniel and Plum leaving Magnolia Blossom City by boat with a little over 600 dollar in the pocket.

Note: Marshall Reed is another of my favorite sims. He usually ends up married to Daniel, so even though that probably won't happen in this chronicle, we won't have seen the last of him. Will Reed mellow with age or grow even worse? Time will tell.

Time flies with only a single sim, another round complete already!

Spring was in the air, unfortunately that was the only place it was in at the moment. The ground was still covered in snow, especially up here in the north, in Chestnut Ridge, the town Daniel O'Malley and Plum had ended up in. 

They were camping at the edge of town, in an abandoned saloon. For a "ruin", the place looked rather safe and clean, but despite this Plum found her human taking a bath outside, shielded from view only by his tent.

What was the problem? Why didn't Daniel enter the house? And, come to think of it, what was this spooky feeling, that caused Plum to hesitate to enter herself?

Right. The fishlike creatures floating through the air. The gnarled vines grasping for trespassers' ankles. The mysterious symbols that were probably not saying "Smith family, pull bellstring twice". And the... rabbits?

Daniel kept his distance from all of this, but on the upside he now had a "permanent address" that allowed him to work a trade in town. A pity that the only service needed was clothes repair. It paid little, especially for one who wasn't trained in sewing and knitting. Daniel made mistakes, he worked slowl, but he didn't ruin any of the clothes brought to him even more, so that was something.
And, really, the man hated woodworking and everything related to handyness with a passion, having to do the "manly" work reliably tanked his mood. Knitting wasn't anything he particularly enjoyed, but at least he didn't die from having to do it.

The longer Daniel stayed on the lot, the more a strange purple grime accumulated on his skin, that was near impossible to wash off. The drifter had expected this "rash" to make him an outcast, but he hadn't expected the townsfolk to actively antagonize him. How long had it been since his social relations had consisted of something other than arguing and brawling? Way too long!

Neighborhood Brawl day happened during this round, adding to the experience.

Play with us, human! - Uh, thanks, I'll pass. Not that desperate yet.

Okay, the green and blue "air fishes" weren't so bad. Sometimes they proved even helpful, especially after Daniel had bribed them with something handmade, be that leftovers or plain water poured into a glass at the abandoned bar.

But at times things got so bad that Daniel couldn't bring himself to clear away the spooky vines even while being engulfed in the light of one of the holy candles he had created.

One day a red haired woman entered the saloon. Daniel had always felt attracted to red hair, so he casually took a seat next to her. Well, to tell the truth it was not "day", but close to midnight, and the red hair was really only red because the woman was a ghost and her anger had colored her whole form red.

The ghost matching his turn on made Daniel careless. He tried to impress her, first by being nice, than by claiming he was a criminal mastermind. At first the ghost listened, watching Daniel like one watched a colorful beetle. But then...

Then someone grabbed Daniel and pulled him away!

Daniel: "Hey, what was that about? - Wait, is that you, Dr. Straud?"

Vlad: "This is Temperace and she's bad news."

Daniel: "But you are the vampire of Magnolia Blossom City!"

Vlad: "And I just rescued you from this woman. That should give you an idea how dangerous she is."

Daniel: "Why...?"

Vlad: "You caught me by surprise once and "defeated" me. We're even now."

He had spent so much time around the supernatural now, yet Daniel hadn't learned a thing about its lore. It wasn't that there weren't experts, who'd shared their knowledge, or seance tables for home training in the occult arts. But schooling and equipment cost money, something Daniel didn't have. Even if he could have sold the saloon legally, nobody would have wanted to buy it.

Daniel: "I think we should move, Plum. But I have no idea where. I know what to run from, now I need a destination to walk towards to. Being a cowboy would probably be nice, but I don't have the outfit for that."

Indeed his city dweller trousers and shoes made Daniel ill suited to the cowboy profession. He didn't know that his clothing problem would solve itself in an unexpected way soon...

Aaaand another post already (but with Lovestruck and my main save having some hopeful bachelors, this side save will go slower from now on).

For the next round I rolled "Moonwood", "Source of income: Horse competitions", Event: "Spend a night in prison and pay a fine", Duration: 4 days. Let's put this all together!

snore, snore

Not just Daniel's clothing-, also his roof-over-the-head problem was solved for the next four weeks. Plus: access to clean water and a guaranteed cooked meal on the table every day. Pleasant company, too! 

What was not to like about the situation?

Maybe the tiny little detail that Daniel's new home was a prison cell in Chestnut Ridge penitentiary? 

Mason: "What even happened?! I think I'm lacking part of memory..."

Seth: "Well, I played the piano in the saloon, when this [swearword] from the abandoned saloon came in. Glowing purple like a firefly and in a foul mood. He immediately started a brawl and we, erm, well, we were stupid enough to join in."

Rupert: "Lots of damage to the inventory. Some bruises on the patrons, too. Spilled drinks by the dozen. Luckily the saloon mirror and piano didn't receive so much as a scratch."

Daniel looked from one fellow inmate to the other.
Rupert Travis was a prospector, a loner and stranger in town like himself. He had no cash to buy himself free.
Mason Ortiz was a the town's carpenter. He had a good heart and considered paying the bail money cheating, so he stayed in jail. 
And finally Seth Stratford was the pianist and had as much of a hot-headed streak as Daniel. A lot of people were still angry at Seth after the brawl, so he was probably safer in here.
As for Daniel, he had been told his fine was 130 dollar, but he had only 93 to his name, so his only option was to bide his time.

The four men quickly became accustomed to each other (with some setbacks) and soon had their own inside jokes. Daniel improved his poker skills, but also didn't neglect his physical training.

From the next brawl he'd escape before the sheriff arrived!

The warden's name was Chris Miller, a newlywed with an infant. He was yet another hot-head (I have quite a lot of them in my cast, lol) and one of the few persons in town who treated Daniel like a person instead of like a dangerous beast. He never called him "warlock", "conjurer" or something along those lines. 

That's why Daniel felt safe to confide in Miller.

Daniel: "I think I was set up. See, the spring competitions begin this week: barrel racing, cross country and hurdle jumping. I had planned to participate. You know my Plum is a good horse. Someone was afraid I might place, so they provoked me and the result you can see."

Chris: "Looks like you couldn't have afforded the entry fee anyway?"

Daniel: "That's another problem, yes."

Chris: "How about a deal? I stable your horse for, say, the cost of the hay. And I ride her in the competitions, one per week. I get to keep the trophies, you get to keep the cash prize minus the entry fee. Does that sound fair?"

Daniel didn't need to consider this offer for long. Chris was only a marginally worse rider than himself (Chris 5, Daniel 6). If Plum accepted him as her rider, he might do well.

Plum! What did I just write about accepting Chris?

The technicalities: Cris and Plum live in a nice house in Chestnut Ridge. The four prisoners live in a two-room cell at the same lot. Access to the cell is locked to everyone but Chris, who does the cooking for the prisoners: cc gruel that actually makes the sims sad after having eaten it. 
I didn't built a proper jail, because Daniel won't get out of the cell anyway. Chris' wife and son are currently "visiting the grandparents" aka moved out.

The love life of Daniel O'Malley:

He feels apalled by smooth talkers in fancy suits (like that pesky detective), and attracted to funny/goofish people (like that pesky detective...). Daniel thinks he likes kind people, but subconsciously his own argumentative nature leads to him apprecciating the same trait in others. He is turned off by good kitchen workers, since that is his personal domain. 

As for romantic satisfaction, physical intimacy goes a long way. Gifts are nice, but one cannot buy love, so Danny is neutral towards them.

Daniel feels attracted to both men and women and he gets jealous at everything (what is rare for my sims, I took care to disable jealousy for mere flirting for almost everyone except the most possessive characters).

One day, while sweeping the cell, Daniel found his eyes wondering towards the fiery pianist, Seth Stratford. He really enjoyed spending time with Seth, and now for some reason he had become interested in how Seth looked... walked...

Daniel: "Yawn... I'm tired. What from, even? This is the low security tract for minor offenses, they don't make us grind rocks. Maybe that's why. There's nothing to do in here. I'm bored."

Daniel: "Nah, only joking. How could I be bored when you are around?"

Seth: "Admit it, you WERE bored and wanted me to hit you and start a brawl again."

Daniel: "Any excuse for touching you, I guess."

And so a prison romance started. It was safe, Daniel thought. What happened in the cell would stay in the cell and it wasn't as if they were in love. It was just how men in jail or on long treks dealt with the lack of women.

Meanwhile Chris Miller had won four races with Plum, barrel racing and westen riding, beginner and advanced each. The day of his release Daniel was rich: 1,463 dollar!

Before parting ways, they chatted a little...

Chris: "Can you imagine that a married woman hit on me? What was she thinking!"

Daniel: I kinda want YOUR romance problems. 

Daniel knew it was unwise, but that night he invited Seth to the abandoned saloon lot. Seeing the other in his regular clothes again after fours weeks of black stripes in white was unfamiliar. So the clothes had to go...

After this, Daniel knew he absolutely had to leave town. He cursed himself!

He could have had a friend, could have listened to Seth's piano playing every evening, but, no, he just HAD to go beyond common sense, CLAIM what he wanted and HOLD ON to it. And in doing so he had lost what could have been.

A week passed (ingame: the next day), and winter came into full swing for one last time. The most inappropriate time, seeing that Daniel had lost access to his bed chamber over the general store and was camping outside!

And someone else came, someone equally cold and unwelcome as the snow: Marshall Reed, the investigator tasked with the table silver robbery.

Reed: "I see you injured yourself, O'Malley. Or got injured? You better tell me the whole story!"

Daniel: "Not much of a story. The ground was shaking and I got hit by a tree branch."

Reed: "Hm. A tree branch, you say? That would leave the same marks as a blunt weapon. Remove the bandage, so that I can check!"

Daniel: sputters

Reed: "You better do as I say. Mr. Phillips got kidnapped tonight, but he was able to slice the attacker with a kitchen knife before getting dragged away. If your injury were caused by a slashing weapon..."

Daniel: "It's not! And what's with the Phillips' streak of bad luck all of a sudden? First my argument with Mr. Phillips, then the silver and now this?"

Reed: "Makes one wonder, ey? Sounds like SOMEONE really has it in for them. Someone out for revenge. Someone like YOU, Mr. O'Malley!"

Long story short, Daniel had to present his head and then re-bandage it. Reed wasn't fully convinced, though, he promised (threatened...) to return.

(This is the result of the Quake Zone having triggered and my rolled event for today being "Spouse dies". Since Danny has no partner, I decided that his employer died instead.)

That night...

Daniel: "See, my campfire glitched and I have nothing to eat and..."

Vendor: "Your campfire did what, Mister?"

Daniel: "I have no idea! I can only ever grill one plate of sausages, afterwards they just don't heat up anymore."

Vendor: "That sounds mighty cursed to me. You should see a priest about that."

Daniel: "Yes, will do. First thing tomorrow. Meantime, can I get a discount, maybe?"

Daniel haggled the vendor down by 20%, alas, the cheapest meal was still 7 dollars, when he had only a single one to his name.

However, behind the food stall there was a table where the vendor had tossed the leftovers. Dignity apparently was a thing of the past for Daniel now...

To prevent a repeat of this situation, and because the snow had covered the praerie grass, forcing Daniel to buy horse food for 30 dollar, he had to end Maira's training early and return her to her owner to collect his wage. Well, I can't say that Plum was unhappy about that turn of events!

Speaking of Plum...

Keep your hands (and fangs!) off my horse, you... you... you cranky old bat!!!

Did I mention Danny is hot-headed? And also not a single fitness skillpoint so far, still he won. I'm proud of my boy!

The next morning Daniel called Marshall Reed over. He was sad, when he arrived - obviously from not having been able to collect enough evidence against Daniel.

Daniel: "So is that how detective work goes? You DECIDE on a culprit and don't stop until you can pile evidence on him? Instead of analyzing whether that one was guilty or not?"

Reed: "Mind your tongue!"

Daniel: "And you mind your neck, because there's a vampire on the loose in town! He tried to drain my horse tonight. I bet he also broke into the general store, took the silver and abducted Phillips. And he cursed my campfire!"

Reed: "So what now? You fancy yourself a detective? You gonna do my job now, SHOP CLERK? I'm warning you, don't! Get! Into! My! Way!"

The next day Daniel got a letter from the courthouse, stating that he owed a fine of 335 dollar and was banished for life from Magnolia Blossom City. Apparently the ambitious marshall had pulled a few strings, because the latter was far to drastic a sentence for a brawl.

And so Round 1 ended with Daniel and Plum leaving Magnolia Blossom City by boat with a little over 600 dollar in the pocket.

Note: Marshall Reed is another of my favorite sims. He usually ends up married to Daniel, so even though that probably won't happen in this chronicle, we won't have seen the last of him. Will Reed mellow with age or grow even worse? Time will tell.

This looks like an interesting challenge. Good luck to Daniel O'Malley. Loving that backstory. :)

A final test run for the yoga lessons, with Tina and the Reeds... Tina was feeling well enough to participate, but afterwards she had to go back to bed already (she is not part of the household).

And maybe she should have stayed in bed in the first place, because while going over his lesson plan with Tina, Daniel, too, caught the disease. In a lesser form, thankfully. He was still able to parent Jin, give the yoga lessons and at the end of their stay had close to 3,000 dollar in his pocket.

All through this round Daniel kept getting disease moodlets, usually buried beneath the positive ones. It was random, but so fitting!

Because of the rash, Daniel had to take things slower. Instead of the energetic lifestyle he usually enjoyed, he now was found cloudgazing with Reed a lot.

Gavin: "Nothing like lying with your back on a swat-soaked exercise blanket..."

Daniel: "That better?"

Gavin: "A bear skin? Where'd you get...?"

Daniel: "I have money now. This is a trading outpost. You put the pieces together."

Gavin: "I know! You mauled a bear with your bare hands!"

They both laughed at the joke, but deep inside Gavin knew he'd actually believed Daniel, had he claimed to have fought a bear on his own. With a hotshot like him, one never knew.

They had just made themselves comfortable on the pelt, when from the corner of their eyes they spotted a visitor. Then they heard Emma shriek. The men raced over to the gate, but of the man that had stood there remained only a cloud of dark grey smoke.

Emma: "That was Dr. Straud! He follows... gasp..."

Daniel: "Yes, Emma. He follows ME for whatever reason."

If Dr. Straud was harboring an interest in the drifter, then he might be receptive to an invitation, Daniel thought.  Their relationship not being the best, it actually being severely strained, it took a few tries before Straud agreed to talk face to face. They met in the deep of night, but Daniel kept the conversation going until the sun was up.

Both Gavin and Straud were utterly bored. But Daniel kept aggressively chatting. There was a hypnotic quality to his words (something he had learned from Tina, maybe?), so even though the human was tired and the vampire's skin itching, they just didn't find it in them to break away from the conversation.

Daniel (whispering): "Trust me. I have a plan and that plan will make up for everything that happened in Magnolia Blossom City to both of us. We'll see this through together!"

Gavin: "Hrmpf."

Daniel: "There. Scratch one vampire. Let me sweep up the ashes, then you can return home."

Gavin: "While carrying the urn full of praerie sand and the remains of an unknown person I refused to bury in consecrated soil? Lots of good will that do my reputation."

Daniel's reputation, however, was on the rise. From this morning on he was no longer a vagrant with a horse, but an accomplished travelling hunter of the occult. A vampire slayer. Ghost whisperer. Teacher of the spiritual. Daniel knew he had arrived where he belonged. Not in a place, but in a position. He had found his calling.

Daniel: "Gav...?"

Gavin: "I can't return home. Ever. Whatever hope I have for a fulfilled life lies in front of me, not in my back."

The words cut Daniel like a sword strike, because in the exact moment they got spoken, he was standing in Gavin Reed's back.

Gavin: After all those years he's still doing my job better than I ever did... Why'd you have to do that to my face, Danny? We could have been friends, closer than friends, maybe. But you HAD to rub it in that you're BETTER. Well, I'm going to get RICHER than you.

Years pass. During his travels Daniel thwarts the plans of evil supernaturals, helps confused ones and learns from wise ones, all in balance. He is in his early thirties now, close to becoming a mature adult.

Except...

Daniel? Why are you riding along a beach in tattered clothes?

As you can see, Daniel has traveled as far as the Great Lakes in search of the Lake Erie monster. To call him a little obsessed during this time of his life is probably correct. He has grown a full beard, doesn't look after his attire and even his daily income comes from selling figurines of little sea serpents, as he is unable to take his mind off his "prey".

He needs the money not just to buy staples like salt, that he cannot forage for, but also to pay for the photography equipment. Daniel isn't narrow-minded enough to try to bring down the sea serpent, a picture will be proof enough.

It's the second time in his life that Daniel has to earn his keep with a skill that he hates. But there is only so much hatred that can fit into a single person and so Daniel is grateful for the distraction offered by a rancher's daughter, one North Mills.

(He got North pregnant first try. If it hadn't worked, the next choices would have been Amber Stein and Caterina Lynx. They'll get a turn in case I roll an event for another heir.)

North is as explosive as Daniel, an active person and big on romance. And that's why she knows immediately, when she sees Daniel's gaze focused on the lake, that he can never be "the one" for her. His heart simply isn't in staying in one place, doing always the same predictable things.

She walks away, cherishing what they had, but not pressing the matter any further. 

Soon after the encounter, Daniel spots "Emily". He then leaves the area, looking back at the time spent here with only fond memories.

Meanwhile North, now that her infatuation with the "witch hunter" has subsided, gets swept away by a traveling pianist, they get engaged and he settles down.