Point of Documentation: Marshall, Phoenix 11

The two behind them seemed to not close the distance even when Marshall and Cadence ended up stuck waiting for a truck to roll past one of the alleyways that they had been attempting to cross. This confused Marshall, as he had seen Cadence take off at a light run the moment she had spotted these individuals. Yet they never came closer than a few dozen feet at best. Marshall risked a look over his shoulder at them to see both of them just glaring at him. It was… awkward.

Marshall turned back towards Cadence and cleared his throat. “So uh… about the people behind us. Who are they? And why exactly did we go from fleeing from them to them just being… there?”

Cadence gave a grunt, a very low thing that spoke that she didn’t want to talk about it. Well, that was helpful. Marshall waited for a full minute of them walking before he decided to speak again. “So when do we get to the merchant district? I figured it was next to the gate for ease of delivery and export, but we’re–”

He was cut off by Cadence speaking. “Oh, it is. Those people behind us are the reason we’re looping around. Also why we took Valentine’s territory over staying in Petrov’s. They’re… well, it’s a long story. All I can say is: when we get under the archway up ahead, we’ll be on the other side of the district. Stay behind me and ignore the big ogre of a man with a scar on his nose.”

Thoroughly confused; Marshall just nodded and followed after her. He had no clue what was going on at this point, but decided that it would be better to follow the crazy engineer than to wander off and possibly get mugged or stabbed in this backwater–

No, he had to stop thinking this way. If he kept thinking of these people as backwater or less advanced, they could get the drop on him. The Castle and its people had their strengths, but the people down here have proven through these places existing as they are that they are formidable too.

The two of them came under an archway into an alley. At the end of it was a stand with many colors on it that half-blocked the way out. As soon as they passed under the arch-way, the men behind began to pick up speed and gunned it for them. Cadence also broke into a run and hauled ass at the end of the alleyway. Marshall was doing his best to both keep up with Cadence and not be caught by the ones behind them. It went from a calm 0 to a full-tilt 100 on the panic-scale in seconds.

As they jumped over a small box that was lying in the alley, a searing pain arced from Marshall’s hip and a wet feeling doused his pants. He didn’t have time to look down, and just did his best to keep up. That chore was now damn-near impossible as movement suddenly began to feel that much harder. He reached down and, against what any medic he knew would have told him, ripped out the dagger that had buried itself into his thigh. The throwing dagger he then tossed haphazardly back at the men behind them. All it earned him was a few curses in a language he did not know.

Cadence made it out of the alley first and came to a stop on the other side. She yelled something to someone at the stall next to the alleyway. The men behind them were almost upon him, so Marshall just focused on the task at hand. With that mentality, he nearly missed the shout of “duck!” yelled at him by Cadence.

Marshall ducked down a split second before a large piece of wood swung through the space his head had been. He hadn’t even realized just how close the people behind him had come to catching him until the wooden plank shattered on the orc-like man’s face. It took that one out, but the shorter, bulkier woman dashed under the shattering wood and reached for Marshall’s… gun? Cadence’s boot came up quickly and caught the woman on the chin. This made her stumble back a couple steps. It did not, however, dissuade her from taking out a small pistol and aiming it at them.

A shadow fell over the woman as a large, imposing man stepped up behind her. The dwarf-like woman turned, a look of apprehension on her face as she turned to see who the person behind her was.

“Brutus does not like fighting near his stall.”

The words were like a falling rockslide more than simple words. They were heavy, threatening, and damn well effective at making this woman wish she wore her brown pants that day. Her complexion turned ashen and, in her panic to distance herself from this mountain of a man, fled back into the alleyway quicker than she came out of it.

Cadence gave the man, apparently named Brutus, a friendly slap on his shoulder and thanked him for stepping in. Though upon looking at Marshall and his thigh wound, that tone changed. “We’re here to see Valentine and get some wares sold. Petrov is causing issues again I see, so we might need help crossing the market. Can you help?”

Brutus gave a nod and slipped behind his stall. He stuffed some items into a locked box and sat a flowery sign on the front of the stall that claimed he’d gone to lunch. Wait– did this mountain of a man run a flower shop of all things??

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Cadence, now accompanied by Brutus, led the way forwards after that. Brutus asked to help Marshall multiple times so that he wouldn’t hurt, but Marshall didn’t want to arrive at a ware dealing being carried like some child and so kindly declined. The pain was more viable than pride-damage. Cadence seemed to dislike the idea of being slowed down, but didn’t say much past a sigh.

They arrived a couple minutes later at a small shop off to the side of the large, moderately filled market square. It claimed to be a scrap and salvage trade hub, but the door was closed and a sign claimed they were on vacation for the day. Cadence’s hand came up and gave a couple knocks on it. Marshall nearly opened his mouth to ask what they would do if the person wasn’t here before the oddest thing happened: the door blinked.

Ok, it was more like an unseen design on the metal door shifted down and back up again, but it looked like the damn thing blinked! But after that, a small extension from the center of the door with an ending of a glass, false eye poked out a few inches and pivoted to each of them. It then slithered back into the door as it gave a popping noise and opened.

Cadence thanked Brutus for coming with them and promised him a drink when she came back around again. Brutus seemed to take this as fair trade and wished them both safer travels. Then Cadence stepped in and Marshall followed. Marshall’s brow rose in unimpressed and equally amazed at the sight before him. This shop looked like a hoarder’s paradise and filled to the brim with mountains of useless garbage. Except, that wasn’t all he saw. In small corners of the mess he spotted things that you’d only be able to get from high-end scrap wrecks: servos for mechs, biomechanical limbs, Marshall swore he even saw a Navy-Issue S&A-class rifle poking out of one of the mountains.

A hand waved from the back of the store, some counter that was half buried. A man with long ears and tanned skin sat behind the counter. He had dark hair that came down to his shoulders and a single monocle on one eye. But that was not the shocking part for Marshall. No; this man didn’t just have two eyes. He had three. And the monocle sat upon the third one just below his left eye, held up by a strap.

“Valentine!” came the call from Cadence as she approached the man. Her arm outstretched as if to give the man a handshake.

Valentine, for his part, brought out a bottle of liquid and misted her hand in it before shaking it. “Ah, Cadence. What a pleasure to see you back in town. Hopefully not on the scrap runs again, hmmm? Oh, and you brought a friend.” His eyes went to Marshall and he could feel something seem to wash over him. Even through the protection suits they wore and the mask that Marshall had, there was a tingle across his entire body that started where the man looked.

Cadence knocked on the counter with a heavy fist. “I told you not to use that mutation of yours for scanning people. Just ask them their name or something?” She seemed oddly irritated at the man’s action, even though Marshall had not a clue what had just gone on. Could the man scan people as if he was a high-end personal scanner or something?

Valentine seemed to relent, but not before looking over Marshall curiously. Marshall did not get a good feeling from that, and even felt it confirmed when Valentine spoke. “I see… Alright. Before names are exchanged, let me call in a healer. You seem quite wounded. Do you happen to have a mutation that allows you to heal?”

A shake of Marshall’s head made Valentine tsk in response. The man leaned in and said something quietly to Cadence. This caused her to look a little shocked as the man exited out a door in the back of the shop.

The two stood there in silence for a moment: Marshall not wanting to be too nosy, and Cadence seeming to have something on her mind. Soon it was broken by Cadence as she asked “I think stepping outside is better than being in this dusty shop, don’t you think?” Marshall didn’t really get it as it was just a little more compact than the inside of the Mule. He nodded, however, as it seemed Cadence was starting to fidget. Whatever was getting into her needed some fresh air.

A fresh breeze blew through the market as they stepped out into the light. It seemed a storm was making its way along the horizon towards them. Marshall and Cadence stood just outside the shop’s front and leaned against it. Something was on Cadence’s mind, just as she had seemed back when they were on the Mule. At this point, Marshall was starting to get worried that it was something to do with him. So like all absolutely aware and not at all awkward people would do: Marshall asked “So… what’s on your mind?”

A sigh escaped Cadence’s lips again as she turned and looked into the square. There were some people wandering around, but it seemed as if people weren’t looking to get caught in the storm that might be approaching soon. Marshall followed her gaze and saw that she was looking at the gate down the street.

Cadence turned back and spoke. “I told you I used to do scrapping. This was one of the towns that we used to sell at and trade with. That part was true enough. But… I lied about my brother. I was on the last trip we went out with him. That was also the trip… he died on.”

Marshall looked at Cadence. He looked with a searching gaze, trying to figure out where this might be going. Why had she been so pensive about talking about a dead family member when it seemed like death was so common in this world now?

Almost seeming to sense his question, Cadence continued. “His death was not normal. Do you know what lies out there in the wastes? It’s more than just monsters. It’s more than just people. It’s even more than simple mutants. A terrifying sight is those that have succumbed to the Void-borne illnesses and are taken by their other side. We call them doppelgangers. My brother… Well, he came back to us. But it wasn’t really him anymore. He attracted a doppelganger by how infected he was and hid it from all of us.” Her gaze pierced through him as she continued in rhythm. “Since people infected with it can call more to us than simple bad luck.”

Sweat ran down Marshall’s face from inside the protective suit as Cadence turned and entered back into the shop. She knew, she had to have. And yet… why did that warning sound more sad than angry?