Iron Wasteland

Chapter 14

The morning came with the rumbling of thunder. The duo rose and ate quickly, double timing it in the direction they had been pointed. Despite that, they were unable to reach it before the rain started. Providence put a hand up, creating a small barrier of heat to evaporate the rain before it hit her. Irons simply took it, quickly becoming soaked but looking no worse for wear.

"Are you sure that's fine?" The goddess asked, giving the sheriff a look. "Won't you get sick?"

"I'm still warm! When we get to the town, I'll–"

A leaf gave way above him, dropping a bucket's worth of water into his head. Irons took off and wrung out his hat, huffing in annoyance.

"Alright, nevermind."

His body began to visibly steam, smokey white wisps rolling off his body. He gave the goddess a look that seemed to ask 'Is this good?'. She merely shrugged, and gestured for him to continue. They trudged on for several more hours, the rain showing no sign of stopping. Finally, though, they could see the lights of a town. They hurried on, breaking from the treeline and sprinting towards the nearest overhang.

The town here was very different from Brunas. The buildings here were brick and mortar, with clear signs of recent construction. Some buildings were visibly in the middle of being repaired, ramshackle scaffolding set up around the taller ones. Smartly, no one else was out and about in this weather. A large clock tower could be seen from where they stood, but the clock itself was missing its hands. An open space above it revealed a large brass bell, occasionally ringing softly in the wind. Irons whistled at the sight.

"Man, this place is really well put together!" He said, wringing out his hat again.

"I'd assume smaller towns wouldn't have been affected much by the fallout." Providence mused, watching Irons shake water off himself like a dog. He was still steaming.

"That makes sense...now! We need to find a place to unload these goods. Keep an eye out for any shops that look like they might buy knick-knacks."

They began to walk through the town, darting from cover to cover as they went. As they walked, Providence could feel the eyes of people watching them from the windows. Every time she tried to look at one, they slipped back behind their curtains. She felt uneasy. Irons, if he noticed, made no comment on it. If anything, he seemed to radiate a sense of calmness that could rival a tranquil pond. She once again wondered just what made him so laid back.

They rounded a corner, finding a building with several random assorted items in the front window. The duo shared a look, and quickly ran over, slipping inside. A small bell jingled as they did. The inside consisted of several tables and shelves, filled with random objects. Providence spotted various colors and styles of plates, cups, books in varying degrees of falling apart, larger things like rakes and a bike...

A woman came from a side door, walking between the tables. She was wearing a slightly tattered apron over a brown dress, bright red hair bouncing in a ponytail behind her. She smiled at the two as she adjusted some items. "Welcome to Anne's assorted items! You two travelers?"

"Yeah, just passing through. Got unlucky with the rain, though. Sorry if we leave any puddles..." Irons said with a small chuckle.

"Oh, it's no trouble! I welcome you to the town of Richa! We've been getting a lot of rain recently, so I'm used to it. What can I help you with?"

Irons reached under his cover, pulling out some of the plates. "We happened to run into a cache out in the wastes, wanted to trade some of these items in."