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.