"Hey Beer!" you say and run off to the ramshackle stand to grab yourself a beer. The woman just shakes her head and closes the door behind you. You walk up to the vendor, who happens to be Pops from before."
"Hey, there, boy. How you fellin'?" he says.
"Beer, please." you say.
"That good, huh?" he says and pours you a cold one. You grab the cheap plastic cup and take a couple of good gulps.
"How is it?" Pops asks.
"Mediocre. Isn't there anything better?" you ask.
"Oh there's much better, kiddo, but you don't want it. The bad stuff is safe, the mediocre stuff is safe, the stuff that's better then mediocre but still not what you'd call good is safe. But the good stuff...that's cursed." he says wiping the counter with the same towel he uses to swat at flies.
"They curse beer?" you ask. Before you heard that you didn't truly think this place was evil.
"They curse everything, boy. And cursed food or drink is gonna be the tastiest damn thing you ever had." he says.
"So what...black magic tastes good or something?" you ask. Pops just rolls his eyes.
"You don't think about a lot of stuff do ya, boy? I mean what would be the point of a fella puttin' a curse on something tasted like garbage. No one would eat the damn thing. You'd have a curse fruitcake sitting in the back of someone's fridge for six months to a year and then just get tossed out. Waste of a curse. Right, Sofi?" he says, looking behind you.
"Yep." she says "That's why no one curses anchovies. Your welcome by the way." she says to you.
"For what?" you say.
"For pullin' me away for Jeopardy to tempt you away from that..." Pops pauses, choosing his words carefully "...boss of mine's trailer."
"Well ya weren't listening to me so I had to get ya outta there somehow." She said. "What my mom would've done to you...." with that she whistles and rolls her eyes.
"Right, so stealing her books wasn't a great idea." you say.
"Now, it was a good idea." She corrects you. "You just did it all wrong."
"Stealth, boy, subterfuge. That woman's got the best library of magic for miles around, bein' the boss's wife and all, but she also holds a grudge. You can't just waltz up there like the Amway guy and ask for it." Pops says.
"After all, you DID curse me." Sofi says.
"I also un-cursed you, your dad seemed to be happy about that, why not her?" you ask.
"Hey, he saw it his way, she sees it hers. Besides, she liked the cursed merry-go-round. So what next?"
Good question...