"Are they Doing This Nowadays?"

She pokes the big round wheels with a black-nailed finger.

"That's Not Good."

She gazes in through the windshield. 

"Certainly a Way of Going About It"

She flies up, lifting from the ground without any visible spellcasting(*) to look at it from the top, and then comes back to where Wren Cooper is. 

"Miss Wren Cooper, I think your Truck Construct should be More Badger Shaped."

(*) Editor's Note: This is a higher level Eriape, who goes around with [Overland Flight]

Flight is alarming! Luckily she made sure the hidden turret can aim upwards. 

"...Is that... Beneficial in some way...? I mean... Quadrupedalism would help with all-terrain navigation, and be really cool, but it is so so much harder, I'd need tons of fancy myomer and new structure and so much else."

...Aaaaah. Will flattering her help?

"I don't have magic like you do, so it might be hard to maintain whatever you do in, er, a properly Badgerly fashion?"

(She gives a hand sign to the trash urchins.)

"Well, it would Look Better! Oh well, It's Not Mandatory!"

What is it that Goes Wrong with People? This Completely unnecessary Desire for Utilitarian Fashion must be some kind of Mental Defect!

She shakes her head. "We need to Get Going Soon Anyway. Have you Seen a Sculpture of a Badger? It is an Artifact, Made of Gold and Jewels, and Covered in Black Enamel. I'm looking for It."

"Sounds really fancy. Not the kind of thing that gets thrown in the trash."

...She has an Idea. They're perfect for each other, really, and both will be out of her hair.

"There's a guy named Glenn Barlu who collects rare and unique things as art. He has a big nuclear-powered crawler swarming with goons. It has a huge symbol of a golden pig on it. You can't possibly miss it. He might know more."

Eriape frowns.

"Why a Pig?"

"I think he just has really terrible taste in decorations. He's probably..." Bastionwards and left, so... "That way somewhere."

"Okay! We'll Go There! Best of Luck with your Truck! Feed it the Good Snacks!" 

Eriape goes back to her badgers. 

"She Told us to Meet a Pig Man. What do You think?"

"We should Get the Flying Carpet, and go for a Ride!"

"We Should Dig a Hole, and Scry in Secret!"

"Hmm. I think I like the Flying Carpet Idea!"

She pulls it out of her purse(*) and spreads it out. 

"Everyone On Board!"

(*) Editor's note: Which is, among other things, a Handy Haversack. You can get a 10x10 flying carpet into a Handy Haversack if you fold it over once, and then roll it up

"Wheee!"

Thank the Wall she's leaving. 

She and Barlu probably deserve each other. There was a palpable aura of menace, as if the affable and badger-loving front could at any moment turn to brutal killing.

Oh well. Hopefully, Wren Cooper will never see Eriape and her badgers again.

The landscape of trash stretches out before Eripae. Here and there are scavengers. Off in the distance a bit there is a small industrial complex of some kind spewing smoke.

Eriape steers the carpet, so all Clarabella has to do is sit and enjoy the view. They do some swooping, and a low passes along the ground. Eriape really wants to figure out how to do a loop-de-loop, but so far hasn't. Eventually they approach the complex. 

It consists of a bunch of grubby men and women sorting trash and smelting metal ingots out of the metal bits. There are two guards with rifles and bayonets in black armor, talking into a walkie-talkie, reporting on her and asking for backup.

"Hello! Have you Seen a Black Enamel Sculpture of a Badger? About the Size of a Human Baby? It's a Magic Artifact, and Gold and Jewels on the Inside!"

"No. This is a private operation, go away."

"My Apologies! Would you Like a Gratuity for for the Bother?"

"No need for that."

"People don't want Gratuities! This is a Strange World and No Mistake! Bye Bye!"

She swoops away. 

As one flies towards the vast city it gets busier. More people, doing various things. There are factories and traders and a lot of big vehicles moving around, relatively few permanent constructions.

There is something flying around off in the distance. An enormous metal construct supported on pillars of fire, descending towards one of the groundbound groups.

A few people or vehicles are marked with a golden pig.

"That enormous Metal Construct looks Interesting. Let us Go and Have a Look"

"Weren't we Supposed to be Looking for a Pig?"

"A Pig Man!"