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Margarítē flies up to 10 click height, removes a very expensive makeup mirror from her handbag, and [Scries] Bastion itself.

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She sees a vast open hall, heavy machines churning away as they process enormous rolls, billets, and rods of steel. Weary workers attend the machines, watching them and moving metal from place to place. That one punches down with incredible force. That one bends the rod into corners over and over again very fast. That one heats it up. That one cools it down. Several of the workers have injuries, old and new.

It's incredibly, absurdly loud. The end products of this production line appears to be: Heavy iron chain, giant steel cauldrons, glass bottles, and thousands of identical kitchen knives.

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"Bottles, eh? Bottles are Boring. Let's get a Construct First. We should arrive at this Bastion in Style."

Does there seem to be any construct sellers? 

 

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There are lots of constructs, most of them a lot like that first girl's "truck", around in different sets of caravans and camps. It's not clear from above if any of them specialize in selling them.

-Wait, that one has a lot broken ones all lined up together. Maybe they repair them.

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Swoop! 

Margarítē and all the Badgers get off the Flying Carpet and start looking at the broken constructs. 

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The mechanic shop workers are kind of intimidated! They run away. They're not being paid enough for this shit.

That watchtower though. The men in there look very angry.

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Margarítē waves to the people in the watchtower. 

"Hello!"

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They're repositioning a big box on a tripod with a tube to point towards her.

"Why are you here, witch?"

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"I would like to Buy one of those Construct Things with the Wheels, with Room enough for Many Badgers. Are you a Shop?"

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"-Oh. For Vance's sake, don't just fly right into the middle of the compound! We thought you were attacking us. Flying over people is a pretty aggressive move! And yeah, we sell and fix vehicles! You want to talk to the boss?"

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"Yes, that would be Good!"

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She can talk to the boss.

What does she want her vehicle to be like other than 'big enough for her and... However many badgers'?

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"All these Badgers." She waves at the dozen badgers around her. "It should be fast, look nice, and be able to drive far. Well functioning. Friendly, if you have any intelligent ones."

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The ones that can drive far without constantly needing more burnable fuel are all really expensive. Bastion doesn't throw away radioactives nearly as often as it does stuff that can be turned into burnable liquids.

...But she's in luck**. He actually has a Martos Enrikan smart home here on consignment from someone who does not wish to be named publicly. It's... Probably around as smart as the badgers, which he can hear gossiping (fucking witches, he subvocalizes), but it's reasonably intelligent and there is a strong 'key' to whoever is considered the legitimate owner. It can definitely drive itself, and also aim the onboard gun turrets and tell her everything she needs to do to maintain it. It has a nuclear engine that should be good for around eight years without more fuel rods. It has a cutting-edge suspension to travel at high speed even over rough ground- Up to 120 kilometers an hour* on flat ground. It's lightly armored and about 15 by 40 by 15 on the inside. It's very sleek and shiny.

It's also really really expensive compared to everything else.

 

*600 feet per round.

**I rolled a 100 on a d100.

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"That sounds Just like what we Need. Maybe it counts as an an Ox-Object and we can Plane Shift it Home? We will need to take a Look."

Margarítē casts [Detect Thoughts] on the smart home. 

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It's in a different part of the compound with the other expensive vehicles, behind some subtle and some non subtle security. 

The smart home is thinking that it hasn't gotten to go fast in weeks. It doesn't have any food stored either, but at least it can still clean itself. Ugh, abominable dust. It's undignified. Oh. Another prospective buyer. She seems unusual. Talking animals? They're badgers. Hmm. Ah, magic. What does a magic user need that a normal one does not? It's not sure.

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"Splendid. How much?"

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After carefully measuring her gold pieces-

3500.

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"Sold!"

She gets out a Very Large Bag of Money out of her Handy Purse. "How do I Command it?"

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They'll take the gold and check it carefully and then come back and speak aloud a very long numerical password and also hand her a physical blue command stick. And now she can just talk to it.

"Welcome, Margarítē," it says, a door opening soundlessly. "How may I help you today?"

It's so nice to have an owner who is likely to GO PLACES again. It wants to DRIVE.

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Once she is inside she Reveals that Margarítē is merely an Alias, and that her real name is Eriape! Also she introduces all the Badgers.

And then she asks it to drive to Bastion!

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Yes yes yes let's GOOOO. To Bastion! They have some very interesting roads there, lots of verticality!

 

It starts driving immediately, a smooth acceleration out of the lot.

"May I ask what business you have there? I can do my best to make appropriate arrangements along the way if you wish."

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"I have Been Informed that people from Bastion do not Like me because of my Powerful and Interesting Magic and So we're Going there in Disguise! I am Going to Disguise the Badgers to Look like Dogs!"

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Disguises, disguises... Where does one get some cloth and prop supplies out here in the wasteland to help with disguises...

"I see. I do have some reference data about dogs seen in Bastion if that would be helpful."

Most of them didn't talk.

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"No Disguise them by Magic! I don't Expect you to Help with That Part! What we need to Know is Where to Go in Bastion, and Who to Talk to."

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