CHAPTER 2
Wallace Vance looked down from the zephyr drift's
observation deck as it descended towards the mining town of Prosperity. He and
the other two Spirit Wranglers -- Joshua Mannix, their researcher, and Hennessy
Vance, Wallace's kid sister and the group's tech guru -- had answered a request
from a medium for a family in need. The Wranglers were between jobs at the
moment, so they had no problem packing up and heading to help right away. From
the sounds of it, they were needed posthaste.
"See any Rock Men?" Nessy asked, leaning over the
railing further than Wallace liked. He knew not to point that out, though,
because if he did, she'd be hanging off the observation deck with one hand
next.
"No," Joshua said. "They don't tend to come
from gold mines. It's not unheard of, but they seem to prefer iron and copper."
"I guess that proves their intelligence levels aren't
very high," Nessy said.
"Who are you kidding?" Wallace said. "You'd
choose the building materials any day."
"Nuh-uh. You need the shiny precious metals to fund the
good stuff. Get the gold first, and then you can horde the copper and
iron."
"In any event," Joshua said, "the monsters
eat the rocks, they don't spend them. That's one of the prevailing theories,
anyway. It's not like anyone knows much about them."
Wallace suppressed a grin at the disappointment lacing his
friend's voice. It was true, though; Rock Men were next to impossible to study.
They were one of the main dangers of living on the ground in Zephyria.
"There it is, boys," Nessy said, pointing past the
mine to Prosperity proper.
It looked like many small towns in Zephyria. One half was a long
main street, filled, no doubt, with inns (brothels), saloons, and mercantile,
while the other consisted of a residential area. Most of those homes were
shacks and lean-tos, but there were a few larger dwellings for the wealthier
residents, their clients, the Fergusons, being of that latter group.
"See the wall?" Joshua said, motioning to the
ten-foot high lumber barrier surrounding the town. "They must not see
many, if any, Rock Men since it's wood and not stone."
The zephyr drift hitched to the station, and as they stepped
onto the platform, Nessy let out an exaggerated sigh. "Nice to be back on
solid ground."
"I don't know," Wallace said. "I couldn't
tell Phoenix was floating so far up."
"I'd think you'd be enamored with our capital city,
Nes," Joshua said. "Those anti-gravity devices are just the things
that normally have you blabbing tech for weeks on end."
"Of course I'd love to see the anti-grav devices, but I
didn't notice either of you offering the chance to go take a look."
"They wouldn't let us down there, anyway," Wallace
said. "The only chance our group had to see the Phoenix underground is if
there was a spirit loose, and even that's not a given."
"Hmph. I'd find a way. Besides, my gripe isn't with the
city, but with the jobs we had. This one has to be easier than any of
those."
"Easier?" Joshua said, his eyebrows raised.
"We debunked every case with relative ease."
"I believe my dear sister had no problem with the cases
themselves, but rather with our hosts and employers."
"Those rich dandies have a way to belittle anyone and
everyone, especially those of us who dress sensibly for our jobs, not for
frivolity. Any spirit we encounter is preferable to that lot."
"The Fergusons are rich, too," Joshua pointed out.
"Not capital city rich," Nessy snipped back,
bringing out a laugh from Wallace and Joshua. She rolled her eyes at them.
At the bottom of the zephyr drift station, they found their
gear already loaded into a cart attached to a machine horse. A servant motioned
them on. Joshua hopped up, while Wallace followed after handing the boy a
quarter-piece copper. Nessy examined the horse, and then joined them on the
bench seat.
"Wonder if they have a machinist who builds them in
town," Nessy said, motioning towards the horse.
"I have to admit, I'm much happier with that thing leading
us," Joshua said. "Those driverless, horseless carriages in Phoenix
were a tad unnerving."
The short jaunt to the Fergusons' proved uneventful.
Strangers, especially those loaded with boxed-up gear, weren't an uncommon
sight in most mining towns, and Prosperity was no exception. As they went,
Joshua filled them in on the family again. Neither Wallace nor Nessy needed the
reminder, but a last-minute refresher was never a bad idea.
"The family owns Fergusons' General Goods Mercantile,
and mirroring the name of the town, it's been prosperous for them. Bart is the
head of the household, with his wife, Rachel. They have two children, Abel and
Molly, both of age but still at home and working the shop every day. No doubt
one or both are tapped to take over when the parents call it quits. As far as I
could determine, the family has never before had any big problems, supernatural
or not."
Wallace took over. "Since it was Madam Halifax that
contacted us instead of the family, I'm assuming it's a spirit we're dealing
with, not overactive imaginations. Be ready to debunk, but keep that in mind."
Once they arrived in front of the Fergusons' house -- a
mansion, really, even if it wasn't up to snuff with the richest households in
any of the major cities -- servants rushed out and unpacked the cart, bringing
the gear directly into the house. This was done at a pace to get the Wranglers
inside as quick as possible. Wallace could understand. While a supposed haunted
house in Phoenix was viewed as an extra status symbol, in most places it wasn't
something to advertise to neighbors.
"All human servants," Nessy said.
"Most of the machines are used in the mines,"
Joshua said. "Though I wouldn't be surprised if there were a few
inside."
Once the three stepped in with their equipment, the front
door closed. A tall man in a black top hat and suit that wouldn't be out of
place in the capitol stepped towards them. "Hello. I'm Bart Ferguson. You
are the Spirit Wranglers, I assume?"
"You assume correctly," Wallace said, shaking his
hand. "I'm Wallace Vance. This is Joshua Mannix, our researcher, and
Hennessy Vance, our tech guru."
"Sister or wife?" a female voice behind Bart
asked. "If you don't mind me asking, of course."
"This is my
wife, Rachel," Bart said.
"I apologize for my mother. The ghost has relieved her
of her manners." This came from the Ferguson son, Abel. He looked a
spitting image of his father, just a couple of decades of youth on him. Behind
Abel, offering the Wranglers a shy smile, was the daughter, Molly. She proved
an almost perfect match of her mother.
"Pish-posh," Rachel said. "It has nothing to
do with the ghost, and all to do with working in a town of gold miners."
Her husband and children groaned, while Wallace and Joshua
offered polite smiles. Nessy, on the other hand, burst out laughing.
"I can tell I'm going to like you. The big lug, by the
way, is my brother."
With the introductions out of the way, Bart Ferguson handed
Wallace a bank promise, made out to the amount they'd agreed on. "As we
discussed, I'll make out the second when you rid our house of this spirit,
malevolent or not."
"Assuming there really is a spirit," Abel added.
Wallace nodded. "I understand the skepticism, even with
what your family has experienced. We usually carry quite a bit of it into our
cases. This time, however, there is no doubt." He pointed to the far
corner of the room. "Your spirit is standing right there, watching over
us."
