Klondike’s Price
Copyright© 2026 by Heel
Chapter 2: The Saloons of Dawson
The first thing Vanessa noticed about Dawson City was the noise. Even under the heavy blanket of snow, the place roared with life—boots thudding on wooden sidewalks, sled dogs howling, and pianos clanging out ragged tunes through swinging saloon doors. It was a city made of mud, smoke, and hope, and everyone in it seemed to be running from something.
Vanessa arrived with one small suitcase, a secondhand dress of fading green satin, and the conviction that she could make her way through charm and melody. It didn’t take long to find a place willing to hire her. The Golden Nugget Saloon was always short a piano player, and when she smiled and said she could play, the owner—a heavy man with a walrus mustache—shrugged.
“You got ten fingers and no debts in town? That’s good enough,” he said.
Her first night, the piano keys were sticky with spilled beer, and the air smelled of tobacco and sweat. Vanessa played waltzes she half-remembered and marches that stumbled out of rhythm. The crowd didn’t seem to care; they cheered for anything that made noise. Coins clinked onto the piano top—a few copper pennies, a silver dime, even a gold nugget no bigger than her thumbnail. It wasn’t much, but it was more than she’d ever made in a day back home.
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