Lewis

Before reaching the crossroads we come across an outpost set on the highway. A watchtower set atop a converted semitruck trailer. On the other side of the highway is a small wooden house with an antenna sticking out surrounded by sandbags. A flock of eyebots floating around seem to be the primary patrol. A few of the guards notice us as we come closer.

"Mornin you folks traders?" one man starts speaking from atop the trailer.

"Yea me and my friend came from totem lakes a couple hours walk down the road" making sure i keep my hands away from any triggers don't want to cause a scene i step up closer to the outpost maybe they need to do a check maybe not.

"Never been down there hows it good place?" totem lakes really doesn't get that much traffic.

"Pretty decent place to stop by lot of people good farmland well defended too" i nod to his guns and the outpost at the end maybe implying that they also have good defenses would make them happier maybe not.

"Don't get too many people going that way or coming back well crossroads is just a bit down the road don't stray too far form the highway eyebots might start getting trigger happy" his glance to the house on the other side is enough of a hint that its bullshit and they just don't want people off exploring their perimeter.

"Of course we will stick the path we don't have too much to sale but we got caps and we are hoping the caravan passes through soon" i nod along to agree with his demands.

"Ah those people from the east should be soon" with that he turns away back to keeping watch. Going back to the cart i let carter know were good to go through.

Walking through the territory knowing its safe or at least as safe as you can truly get is definitely awkward. Especially because carter has decided nows the best time to start playing music.

I fell into a burnin' ring of fire

I went down, down, down

And the flames went higher

And it burns, burns, burns

The ring of fire, the ring of fire

"So is carter just the silent type?" indigo asking again

"He does not enjoy talking to those he does not know" and he doesn't know you. Neither do i but she hasn't really stopped talking the entire trip so i might as well know her entire life story. Lets see she is from skyhomish her mom decided she needed to see more of the world that isn't protected in the mountains. So she sent her into the "lowlands" joined up with the gold bend caravan for a couple years then saw a blacksmith working in his forge decided thats what she wants to do. From there she followed rumors for the best blacksmith in the lowlands. In her words.

"one of the mountain clans near me has a better blacksmith of course, but i cant go back until i have proven i have learned about the outside world" personally believe she has learned enough but im not her dad so.

Hearing about one man that has taught the best of the best hidden away in a long forgotten settlement south of crossroads well that led her to totem lake. Guess we saw that forge in the hall but it was hers and the main one is hidden from prying eyes.

"Why did you want to leave again?" that part of the story is still confusing.

"Well i finished learning all i needed and technically im not his apprentice and i was also technically about to be kicked out technically" ah of course thats the confusing part clearing up.

"So you lied earlier about that whole tragic long winded story" she spent 30 minutes straight talking about why she needed to leave. Its moments like these that i get jealous of carters ability to ignore it all.

"Well technically but thats not important soon we will be in crossroads i can show off my skills there and then follow the caravan until they go back home and i can take the rest of the trip by myself back home" well atleast i can trust shes honest about being homesick.

"So what are these connections you were talking about?" finally get to the reason we even brought her along.

"Well i made friends with the daughter of the caravaneer. Oh and one of his sons but hes not as fun. Oh and i know a few people in crossroads like the radio guys thats playing the songs carters listening to" with his name mentioned i can hear the whiplash from his head turning to us.

"You could get me into a conversation with a man that talks to people all across the wasteland?" i ask and now carter is paying attention.

"Well yeah its not too much trouble cant promise anything comes out of it though"

"I didn't expect anything carter might have a few ideas that he has to mention" he might be able to scan all of their radio equipment too.

"You know emerald city has the biggest radio station do they not allow visitors?" that is a very good question that neither of us know.

"They are much more protective since they are so popular" i explain hoping she believes it.

"That makes sense everyone knows about the city and that radio station is an important part of it" sure sure that works.

"The most protected building is the space needle no one except their council is allowed in." it was very disappointing both me and carter wanted to really explore while we were there but nope got people in power armor protecting it from anyone.

"Wonder what happens in there. Maybe its some weird experiment from before the bombs or are they making some weird plot to take over the northwestern commonwealth. Maybe they have some plan to make rainier go off again." those are definitely some ideas.

"Or it could just be the most secure meeting spot for their council"

"I like my ideas better" our conversation is interrupted as 3 eyebots and a mister gutsy float by.

"Where do they get all these robots?" not too many factions invest this heavily into reprogramming robots.

"Well there was a university thats now the center government building and robco had a few warehouses nearby that had all the robots. Atleast that what they told me. I don't really know if they were honest about where they got those robots. Did you know theres a robco campus in redmond? They talk about the raiders that have taken it over but i haven't met any form there so i wouldn't really know." she really talks a lot.

"The people at the robco campus are trustworthy enough to provide protection fees to those in the area but they will sell their robots to anyone who asks." hopefully supermutants don't get the idea to buy robots from them. Just thinking about some supermutant patrol filled with sentry robots now thats nightmare fuel.

"The rulers of the crossroads are all really smart the smartest people get to rule in bothel so even if they get their robots from them it must be a smart idea." i shake my head at that.

"No matter how smart someone is they will always make mistakes its not my first time visiting a place ruled by intelligence i wonder how they deal with disagreements though?" they generally are known to have massive egos from knowing how things work compared to everyone else. Theres usually 2 ways that it goes. Either they suppress the intelligence of everyone else or they make their own intelligence very loud and imposing.

"Its a primarily trading spot for all the people before stopping in emerald city or coming from emerald city its a great meet up for tons of different mercenary groups and the NWFA has a hold of parts of the city"

"How big is this place anyways?" cant be too big most places like to keep things centralized.

"Its pretty big you'll see soon enough once we get past that bridge it opens up into the true settlement. You wont find a wall everything is heavily patrolled by the robots. Now go east for the traders and go west if you're important." she points at where the highway passes over a large river.

"Do you think they would buy microscopes and different research equipment?" wouldn't hurt to ask now.

"Oh yes definitely most of their older equipment is very used and abused i mean the stuff that works has been used for centuries now. Why do you have good stuff. Things that aren't too damaged from time?" she leans over looking at the different bags behind us.

"Possibly we were hoping to sell them to the caravan but tey might take it before the caravan arrives and im not too disappointed by that." gonna be staying here for atleast a 2 weeks during that time me and carter are probably going to find a place that is secure and private just pump out fusion cores and different items.

Up ahead another group of mister gutsy float by patrolling all along the bridge and checking the river.

"Do they have mr handys for all their farming?" they seem to have a lot of robots much more then i expected.

"Well some farms do have robots to assist but its mostly people they keep the mister handys for the university to do menial tasks." ah thats certainly one way to use a robot horde.

Getting on the bridge and looking down on the lazy river flowing down below us the supports being eroded away as time moves on.

"If you look to the left you can see some houses that still stand even after the river rose and pushed most of the houses out into the sea" the roofs of some trailer park houses still stand apart from the slow moving water flowing around the still standing buildings.

"Now if you look to your left you will see large fields of mostly razorgrain apparently it used to be a thick forrest from the highway to the university but it was chopped down and made into either homes or outposts i bet the outpost we past earlier was built using the wood that was harvested for making these farms isn't that interesting." she took a single breath between all that. What surprises me the most is that carter actually looks interested in that. I shake my head at that.

"Its definitely different philosophy for what to do in the apocalypse. Most don't consider chopping down trees to make farms." most should old growth forests are likely to be fertile land thats unused.

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Seeing all those people tending to fields bigger then totem lakes the distant buildings of the university looming over the ones with mr handys floating around tending to the different crops. The only thing more shocking is the fact that the buildings have glass. This is the second place in the entire commonwealth that i have seen with glass for buildings.

Where the post people are going in and out of is this cement parking garage that has been remade with wood planks covering all the openings. Wonder where the cars went. What all their own scrap has been turned into.

"This is amazing im glad we decided to come here instead of heavens gate" neither of us really like heavens gate i mean who enjoys being preached to at all times no is supposed to mean no. not let me try again in 20 minutes and see if you still feel that way.

"What was heavens gate like?" i look at indigo with haunting eyes.

"You wouldn't like it" carter speaks up for the first time. Indigo looks at him with a lot of shock considering she probably haven't heard him speak for hours.

"I guess ill take your word for it" she shrugs and i can understand. When carter is like this the few words he does say are worth a lot.

To the right various warehouses and office buildings have been remade and remolded into proper homes and shops different canvas and tarp coverings between the building provide shade while underneath theres strings and strings of different colored lights flowing between the buildings. People and robots moving about the different shops we could see form the highway.

In front of us i could spot a few trading groups moving on and off the highway, different carts transporting goods around. Following the different groups onto a road leading into the busiest section.

Cater leads betty down past what was once a robco warehouse. Gives some credibility to the rumors with the robots. There are people here from all over. Brotherhood of steel members walking round in full armor, fire watch in their own classic hoods and revolvers that they each carry, some obviously not NCR agents a reporter from emerald city seems to be taking pictures of the busy market place. Tons of mercenary groups are shopping at the couple gun shops.

Finding a spot for all our things looks to be difficult. "You know where we should go its a bit overwhelming?" maybe indigo can help.

"Oh yeah sure so you head north on the left is the main hotel but if you go more east theres another place its cheaper and they have this pool that isn't irradiated" now that sounds like fun.

Carter moves the cart following the road and flow of people before making a turn left over a small bridge and then its right there. Finding someone to help doesn't take long. Walking up to the clerk i find accommodations.

"How much for 2 rooms and space for the cart n brahmin?" the lanky teen seems to look over our group.

"Rooms gonna be 30 caps per night and space for the animal with the cart is gonna be another 20 caps you can pay at the front" with that he dismisses us and goes back to work. Judgy fucker.

Going around the building to find the front leaving the cart with carter. Indigo and i walk inside to pay.

"INDIGO is that you?" is screamed across the hall. Not a second behind is someone sprinting into indigo.

"Hiii selena i haven't seen you in forever!" i watch in astonishment at the emotional reunion.

"You said you would be back soon and its been years?!" selana yelling in indigos ears. Seems like the proper response.

"Well i got an apprenticeship and then no traders were coming by so i couldn't leave safely" shes talking a lot slower with that explantation surprisingly.

"I missed you! How was the apprenticeship?" going to interrupt here before they get too deep into the conversation.

"Indigo ill go ahead and reserve everything" she nods and goes back to talking to selena.

Now that everyone's attention is on me i go to the front desk and request 2 rooms and space in their stables for betty. Handing over the caps form one of the many satchels i am carrying. now holding a couple personalized wooden chips with a room number and a stable number each attached with a key i go back to carter.

"Got the rooms heres ours and heres the key to the stable the number is on the doors outside each pen" i hand over the items and go back to see if indigo is done yet.

Indigo and selena are both still talking catching up with one another. "Indigo here is your key we plan on going around finding a place to rent for a month thats more secure and private then a hotel" she takes the keys and seems to be hesitant on which person to talk to first.

"Ill talk to you later selena my friends here who picked me up from that place are here."

"Of course its great to see you and we will have to meet up later this week ok byeee" and with that selena is gone back to work.

"Lots of friends around here then?" should work out for me and carter get us into community much quicker.

"Yes oh and for rental houses you will have to go to the university the have an office for all the residents here to go to we just go to that and we can discuss things there figure out whats best for you and carter and me of course." does she think shes staying with us?

"We have caps and it shouldn't be too difficult to get more so thats not too much fo a concern." i go back outside looking for carter around the stables.

Soon we are making our way across the highway and the fields all expertly tended to either by humans or by robots. Soon we are walking past buildings with actual glass windows.

"Here we are!" indigo announced loudly to everyone. To our left is a single story building named husky hall. To our right is a group of housing that looks to be held by the more higher up leadership of the city. Walking through the front door always works and now im in discussion with a housing agent.

"We have a great lakeside residence just north of here inside our patrolled perimeter thats been kept up to date by our people here ready for the next person to come by and rent it" this oily man in front of me says with a smile already knowing my answer but first to get the most important question out of the way.

"And how much would this endeavor cost me and my associate here?" big words today seem like a big man from a big city.

"Now its not in good taste to mention the price right away but ill offer it to you folks just for a monthly price of 270 caps now do keep in mind you are paying for a well insulated house that is safe and secure without too many neighbors that will bug you" time to put in some pressure.

"I heard that this university is having some trouble obtaining some proper research equipment now mr flanks is this true?" now i can see him get concerned.

"We are always researching and expanding the insights of mankind it does take its toll on the ageing equipment now why do you bring this up?"

"Well i have half a cart full of untouched research equipment from a top performing lab that was in use just before the bombs dropped" now lets see an offer.

"Well now mister santangelo that is an interesting fantasy ill have to talk to a few people to really discuss this further" with that hes now sprinting out the room. It pays to know who you're talking to.

Indigo really pulled through with that now i just have to make this deal. Here he comes now with someone in a much much nicer uniform looking like he owns the place and the uniform mimics a labcoat wonder where they got the inspiration for that.

"Good afternoon mister santangelo im the lead supply officer for bothel and its university. This man tells me you have some supplies in pristine condition?" well now hes demanding things and hasnt even sat down.

"Yes me and my friend here discovered an untouched lab microscopes and whatever else you might need in a lab environment" i honestly just grabbed whatever looked like it was worth a lot.

"Well where can i find this mystical find?" getting testy there.

"Currently overrun by supermutants but we do have what we brought along in our cart we can discuss some price details tomorrow yes?" i can see in his eyes he doesn't believe a word i say and wont until hes holding the pieces in his hand.

"Well i guess we can get a discount on certain prices if this is true."

"I was hoping to sell these works to the gold bend caravan i have with me a good friend of theirs and i think they would give me a good deal unless…"

"Very well we will waive all the fees with the rental if you sell these pieces to us you will still have to pay the 20 cap residency fee if you stay longer then a week got it? Good have a great day" and with that he leaves me and the rental agent.

"So where do i sign?" i love having all the cards.

Soon we are back in the hotel indigo having passed out a few minutes ago in her own room and now its just me and carter.

"I find indigo very annoying but she has been helpful so far" i nod agreeing with that.

"Her information has been very handy so far and we haven't even been here for a day hopefully that "lake side residence" is as private as they say would love to explore taylor more" we could even stay here a bit longer but im not too excited with that idea the leaders of this place seem very assholish.

"I found out i could edit the schematics while on the way here i can even make a house i was thinking of doing a basement underneath the house we rent and just keep it a secret" of course carter wants a secret base.

"As long as you don't blast music it should stay a secret and ill be fine with it"

"Thanks well goodnight we got an early morning tomorrow"

"Goodnight"