The Soot Legacy: Abridged Edition

   Time passes through Appaloosa Plains, but Blithe and Kurtis stay. Kurtis is hard at work... ...Performing magical hits for his boss.  Right in front of the victim's wife and children, in this case. Blithe, meanwhile, continues slaving away backstage of the theatre, while playing her guitar and dreaming big in her freetime. At least the incidentally-acquired skills come in handy at home. Until...! The very best preparations are swiftly made, mostly from Kurtis' under-the-table paychecks.  Blithe tries to focus less on her partner's illicit deeds and instead on the positives, such as how much wicked cute stuff her baby is going to have. Bah. "Kurtis, my dearest sweetest hero, will you please consider finding more... appropriate work?  We have a kid on the way now, I'm earning raises at work, and our bank account is comfortable." "It's not just about the money, babe, it's about my needs."

 Hey, remember all those cool characters you were introduced to last chapter?  Yeah, prepare to never see them again.  They are gone forever. Instead, meet the founder of the Soot legacy: the skunk-haired Blithe Soot, who has all the personality of a hard-boiled pine cone. And her boyfriend/husband/???, Kurtis Oglesby.  He's a witch, obviously. Hm?  Irusi Bylseog who?  I have no idea what you're talking about. The couple have moved to Appaloosa Plains, for reasons unknown. Where wild horses are just another run-of-the-mill yard pest. They live in a small but tidy house at the end of a country road (take me hoooome).  They can't agree on how to decorate it--which surely bodes well for their relationship--so half of the house is in hues of green...  ...And the other half is unforgivingly black and white. It's very ugly. And it's got this unnecessary wall-sized window on one side of the house. But aww, they're so r