In my last My Time at Sandrock post Lily the magnificent Builder had indulged in armed combat against the outlaw Logan himself, all in the name of rescuing the kidnapped Minister.
Logan fled halfway through getting his butt kicked, then one of his bandits -- a child! -- came into town pretending to be a bounty hunter so that he could learn the townspeoples' weaknesses. They had him now though, and with any luck that would be able to make the kid spill the beans on Logan's whereabouts so the outlaw could face some decisive justice.
Now they had caught the child bandit, they set to work on interrogating him.
He was a crafty devil, however, and nothing they could say or do could make him talk. It was only early days though, surely they could get something out of the pipsqueak soon enough.
Lily spent the next few days gathering resources, fishing, killing all the animals in the area for their precious eggs and manure.
A few days of questing had put a small dent in the reserves held in storage, so everything needed to be topped back up, including low-level things made of copper and bronze. Lily would be prepared for anything that must be built for her town!
This was why she won Builder of the Year, after all.
One day a letter showed up in the mailbox. There was going to be a town meeting in regards to accusations Logan had made when he'd kidnapped Matilda.
Lily remembered that she'd overheard him demanding to know where some missing water was... but what other accusations had there been that they'd didn't hear? Lily was curious, ever-so curious, and wanted to know. She could scarcely wait for the town meeting.
In town, after doing her daily builder commissions, Lily spotted a curious sight... a small man harassing one of the towns-children.
Checking out the situation, Lily soon discovered that the REAL Bronco the Kid had come to town, and he was a right pain in the arse. He accused everyone in town of standing in the way of justice, everyone was aiding and abetting Logan, everyone was in kahootz.
Finally, Lily had enough and took the opportunity to kick Bronco's butt in the combat ring.
Unfortunately, that didn't make him more pleasant a person, and they'd have to deal with this would-be bounty hunter for the near future.
Later that evening, everyone in town approached the town hall to participate in the town meeting. Everyone wanted to hear about Logan and his accusations that someone amongst the townspeople -- perhaps even the church! -- was keeping water from the others.
An indepth report was read out to the people, water notices were shared, invoicing and stock collection paperwork, it all seemed in order. It seemed the Logan's accusations were false, and Miguel, the pastor, was insulted that his book-keeping be called into question.
It seemed that that was that, for now.
I thought it was a good time to see where Lily was at with her town friendships. Most people in Sandrock consider Lily their good friend, and as such she gets a few perks including store discounts, more stamina, more attack power, etc.
There are a few people she hasn't quite befriended yet, including the local doctor. He's very hard to become friends with unless you focus on him. And he doesn't accept gifts! How can I make friends if you don't let me bribe you!? xD
The next day in-game was a Sunday, so naturally I took Lily for her weekly walk to the ranch to see if finally a black horse was available to buy.
There was. And it was 'blue' quality too! Which, I'm pretty sure, is the best purchasable quality, though with my love and friendship I can raise it to an epic 'purple.'
Lily quick threw the gold at the rancher, hopped upon her brand new horse and giddy-upp'd outta there.
A HORSE AT LAAAAAST!
Named him Xander. Partially because that's the name of another character in my latest story... moreso because I really like the name Xander and it's going to be the name of my future puppy too when we eventually have the room and home certainty available to own a dog in real life.
Anyway.
The days passed with no real concern.
There was much mining, farming, gathering of resources, and fulfilling building commissions to make money and level up.
Catori, the entertainment specialist of Sandrock, organised a sandracing event for the townspeople to take part in. On Day One, Lily annihilated the competition... on Day Two, it was as though they had watched Lily's performance and made sure they were harder to beat this time.
She made enough competition tokens to buy another piece of furniture for her house though. Not that there's currently any room to put anything new. It all goes to the storage!
After several days of peace, Bronco the Kid -- the real Bronco the Kid -- approached Lily and requested her help in tracking down Logan the Bandit Outlaw.
He had a device that could locate the bandit if only he spoke the magic words. He proceeded to speak gibberish, then react in astonishment as the 'device' informed him that the quarry he sought was longed after by all the ladies.
Lily nodded to herself. He was quite the looker, for an illegal outlaw bandit.
Bronco the Kid suddenly ran off into the distance, yelling something about how the device was telling him to go this way!
Lily rolled her eyes and followed....
,...
Only to be amazed as, in the distance, she witnessed Logan himself... speaking with the kid they'd picked up!
Lily watched as Logan patted the kid on the head, then jump upon his steed and race off into the desert. Bronco gasped in shock and hurried after him, his little stubby child-like legs wobbling in the sand as he gave chase.
As Bronco ran after Logan, Lily stayed with Andy, the kid they had taken in.
He looked dejected, sad, and heartbroken. Apparently Logan abandoned him. He kicked him out of the gang and told him to stay here in town with the Sandrock people.
Lily suggested that perhaps Logan was just looking out for the kid, but he wasn't so sure. He just felt abandoned. She tried to cheer him up, and together they went back to town, leaving Bronco the Kid to eat the dust of a man upon the back of a super fast beast.
Until next time! 🌵🌞
This game sure holds alot of communication which makes it equisitive to want to deep in more