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“Tickets are 8 Leos lady.”
Peg reached into the satchel slung over her shoulder, pulling out a small coin purse and passing the money to the ticket clipper. She smiled, walking past the man into the outside seating area to find a good spot for the show.
Nearly 3 weeks have passed since Josie and Peg were separated in the factory of Wool Works. Peg navigated the blimp the best she could with her limited knowledge of the area and she eventually found a way to land safely onto one of the leaflands above. After landing she met an older man in a nearby town who was selling various machines and vehicles out of his workshop. She showed him the blimp and even with it being worse for wear from the journey, he bought it for a pretty penny.
With a fair amount of funds Peg began her journey on foot traveling town to town to find any lead she could on ‘Sweet Street,” the name engraved on the broken mirror Peg found by Josie’s hat. While her focus was primarily on finding Josie, Peg couldn’t help but become enamored in the world around her. Every place she visited was overrun with plant life but everyone lived in harmony with the greenery.
Most of the people she saw were human, who spoke and looked like those on the roots but there were others as well. She had finally come up close and personal with ‘Beastlings.’ They were humans with animal features but unlike the chimeras at Wool Works, they did not seem to be the result of a failed science experiment.
Some had feathers and beaks like birds, others hand fur and snouts like dogs but they intermingled with the humans all the same. Some even had animal pets of their own which really threw Peg for a loop but she didn’t have the time to contemplate the interspecies hierarchy.
The world around her was truly fascinating, as she found herself taking breaks from her journey to examine the plant life around her. Flora of all shapes and sizes were a perfect distraction from Peg’s current frustration. The frustration being that no matter who she asked she could not find any information on ‘Sweet Street.’ She spoke to so many people who didn’t even recognize the name that she wondered if the place even existed.
Eventually Peg found herself in a town and her reserve of Leos dwindling down. She was nearing her wits end and decided now was a good time to rest and regroup. She found an inn but before dragging herself to her room she noticed a small flier for a traveling acting troupe that was visiting the town. The name of the troupe stopped her in her tracks as they went by ‘The Sweet Street Players.’ She immediately turned back to the innkeeper to ask about the show and rushed to the theater to hopefully get a good spot.
Peg made herself comfortable as the rest of the crowd shuffled in. Once the sun set, lanterns lit up around the stage as a man in a colorful suit entered.
“Welcome everyone and thank you for coming! We of the Sweet Street Players are honored to present to you one of the classics, The Climb of Leopold!”
The man exited as quickly as he entered as the applause from the audience ushered him offstage.Peg clapped along but the so called ‘classic’ was not one she was familiar with. It was clearly about the great King Leopold who scaled The Great Stalk centuries ago but she was at a loss beyond that. Peg did not grow up in a terribly religious household so many of the stories and teachings of The Great King were lost on her beyond what one would learn from just existing in the world.
Regardless, Peg sat upright and was attentive during the entirety of the two hour performance. She watched as the actors played out the story of how Leopold rose from below the clouds, ending the great war between the Humans and the Beastlings. Apparently the races had fought for years and it wasn’t until Leopold’s arrival that they learned to live in harmony. A small part of Peg was intrigued and wanted to know more but she was much more focused on hearing anything else about ‘Sweet Street.’
The show ended without any other hints or clues to Sweet Street and as the outside theater cleared, Peg overheard other audience members mention that the troupe would be going to one of the bars in town. Peg took this as her best opportunity to ask one of them about their name. Unfortunately for Peg by time she arrived the actors were swarmed by starstruck towns folk who showered them in praise. Peg couldn’t squeeze herself past any of them and after many attempts decided to step outside to get some air.
When she stood outside she noticed an older gentleman off to the side of the building. She watched the man as he leaned against the wall smoking a poorly rolled cigarette and tried to remember where she recognized him from. After a good look she realized he stood on stage introducing the show before it began. He just looked much different without the ‘show business’ smile and bright suit.
“So is that what really happened?” Peg asked as she approached the man. “King Leopold united the Beastlings and the Humans and led them into centuries of prosperity?”
He glanced over at Peg before returning his gaze to off in the distance.
“I don’t believe any of that crap,” he replied. “Backwoods dumps like these love stories about ‘The Days of the King’ so we gotta’ play what pays.”
Peg bit her cheek, feeling the wall she ran into with this conversation so she tried switching gears.
“So…Sweet Street Players, how’d you guys get a name like that?”
“It’s where I’m from, or rather where we’re from.” he said, pointing his thumb towards the pub. “We wanted something better so about 3 years ago we agreed to leave and take our talents on the road. We keep the name to make sure we never forget where we came from.”
“And where exactly is Sweet Street?”
The man turned to look at Peg, squinting judgingly.
“You don’t look like a Shard Jaw, what business do you have with Sweet Street?”
Peg had to think fast on her feet with this next answer. She didn’t know what a ‘Shard Jaw’ was but it didn’t sound like anything she’d want to be. Either way this was the most information she’s gotten from anyone about Sweet Street since she started and she couldn’t let it slip from her fingertips.
“Look, I don’t know anything about Sweet Street but a friend of mine, a close friend of mine I believe is there and I need to go find her.”
Peg’s desperation hung in the silence between the two of them but the man eventually sighed while putting out his cigarette on the wall behind him. He leaned back, crossing his arms while still looking out into the distance.
“Sweet Street is a neighborhood in Megashine City and there isn’t much great about it. Crime, homelessness, addiction…” He trailed off after the last word before snapping back into conversation. “It isn’t somewhere anyone wants to be and if you’re there you’ll have to fight like Hell to get out.”
“How do I get there?”
“It’s about a day’s walk north of here. It’s why I hate performing in this town, drudges up some brutal memories.”
Peg dug into her pocket, grabbing a few Leos and shoving them into the man’s hands. She thanked him profusely before running back to the inn. The man looked down at the coins and back as Peg swiftly made her way out of his line of sight.
🌱🌱🌱
After a restless night of sleeping Peg was up, starting her journey before the first sunbeam of dawn hit the ground. With each step she took she could only think about finding Josie. She formulated plans of how to go about looking for her. Maybe following a trail of restaurants eaten out of house and home was an idea that passed her mind. The hours passed and she found herself at the limits of Megashine City.
Once in the city limits the tall buildings fascinated Peg. They were no different than those found in cities where she came from but after weeks of being in small towns and villages, a proper city was a bit of a culture shock. Another shock was when she asked for directions to Sweet Street itself. Instead of being met with confusion the residents of Megashine responded with anger and disgust..
‘You look pretty clean for a lost junkie, who’d you steal that coat from?”
“I don’t have any Leos please leave me alone!”
“Degenerate!”
Were just a few of the insults slung in Peg’s direction. She decided it would be much more productive to look for it on her own and eventually she stumbled upon the fabled place itself. To call it filthy would be an understatement. The street was lined with garbage and store fronts with broken windows and long abandoned mannequins, but what disturbed Peg the most was the people. As she walked the streets she watched them shuffling around, sickly and speaking to themselves. What struck Peg weirdest of all was the fact that they all seemed to have very jagged teeth, as if they were chewing stones.
“HELP ME! PLEASE HELP ME!” A woman’s voice screeched nearby.
Peg’s head whipped around to the direction of the plea, her eyes focused on a woman being dragged into one of the alleys. She rushed over to help the woman but as soon as she stepped into the shadows Peg found herself surrounded by over half a dozen crazed eye men. Among them was the woman begging for help who seemed completely fine, outside of her pale skin and jagged teeth. The group began laughing, their pointed stained teeth bouncing in their mouths.
“She looks like she got real nice things, don’t she? Don’t she?” One of the men spoke, slobbering as he gazed at Peg’s satchel.
“Bet it’d go for plenty of Leo’s for pawn, ‘nuff for a couple rock pouches.” Another one chimed in.
“Alright,” The woman spoke, clearly the ringleader of the operation. “Snatch that coat and bag of hers. She tries anything funny, we snap her neck and gut her open.”
Peg gripped her bag tightly while slowly letting her other hand drift down to her pockets. Each of these muggers were inching closer and closer, ready to pounce but they didn’t know that Peg spent the last month observing the plant life and coming up with a few tricks of her own.
“COVER YOUR MOUTH PEG!” A woman’s voice yelled.
Peg didn’t know why she did it but she immediately held her breath, clasping both hands over her mouth and nose. Out of nowhere a thick green fog filled the alley causing the muggers to cough and fall to the ground in pain. Peg noticed a figure darting through the smoke that grabbed her arm, pulling her away from the alley. Peg did her best to keep up but they ran for a couple blocks before stopping at the back stoop of a building.
No longer in motion Peg was able to take in her surroundings. The doorway of the building they stopped at had a sign above that read ‘Blue Bird Clinic’ written in long faded blue paint. Off to the side was a woman with a black sweater that was long enough to be a dress with a cloth mask covering the bottom half of her face. Her hair was dark black and formed into a messy bun.
“Um, Hello?” Peg spoke.
“Don’t worry,” The woman replied. “Blight Vine Spray is pretty gnarly stuff when inhaled but you should be fine. Those ‘SJs’ will be off coughing in their own corner of Sweet Street for a couple days though.”
“Es-Jays?” Peg asked.
The woman finally stopped fiddling in her bag and turned to look Peg in the eye. Her mouth was covered but you could tell she was giving a smile beneath it.
“Sorry, I meant to introduce myself. My name is Ida, I’ve been waiting for you to get here.”
“Waiting? How did you even know I was coming?”
Ida walked past Peg and up the stairs to the door, jiggling the handle before it swung open.
“We can talk all about that inside. Faster we do that the faster you can get to saving Josie.”
To Be Continued