After getting celebrated a bit by the townsfolk, Adam and his friends slipped away and headed downstairs into the tanker to find The Speakeasy. It turned out to be one of the most overhauled locations Adam had seen up to this point. There was still no doubt he was on a boat, but unlike everywhere else where the fact you were on a boat was inescapable, here it felt more like a normal fancy bar. Which is what it was.
There were wooden veneers on the walls, fine marble countertops, plush leather barstools, and plenty of drinks on tap to choose from. The four of them all grabbed a drink and spent the rest of the night not worrying about what tomorrow may bring, just enjoying the evening itself. All in all Adam spent 123 caps on some good drink, but it was worth every cap.
The group then headed to grab a hotel room, which after some examination of the options, ended up being a luxury yacht converted into a bed and breakfast.
"How much to stay here for the night?" Adam asked with a polite smile as he walked up to an elderly woman who was sitting on the back of the yacht, watching the sunset. Honestly, had it not been for the sign that indicated this was a hotel of sorts, he would have assumed this was just her house. She looked quite comfortable sitting and watching the sunset as she was.
"Hm?" She said as she turned to look at Adam and his friends. "Oh, it's 125 caps a night." She smiled warmly. Adam began to reach into his pouch to pay for the room but was stopped as she scanned him once more and then spoke up. "Oh deary me, you are that Adam Baxter fellow are you not?" She asked.
"I am." Adam said with a nod.
"Well I can't be having someone who will go out of his way to help us pay for a room now can I? The room is free for you and your friends." She smiled warmly.
"N-no, ma'am…" Adam hesitated. "That's very kind of you, but this is your livelihood, I can't just be taking advantage of your kindness and-"
"My boy." The elderly woman said as she stood up, hand on her lower back from some back pain. "I have lived on these docks for my entire adult life. Me and my husband have seen 3 beautiful girls to adulthood and have spent the later part of our years ensuring that this home of ours stays as bright as we remember it." She paused. "We are too old to take part in this fight that is to come. As much as I may want to, my old bones simply don't move like I want them to." She sighed. "Though I may not be able to contribute in any meaningful way, the least I could do is give you youngsters a comfortable place to stay while you are here."
"Yeah but-"
"Allow an old woman her indulgence, won't you?" She said, her eyes wide. Adam sighed and just nodded, soundly outplayed.
The rooms on the yacht were exactly what you would expect of a millionaires luxury boat. The guest rooms were stately and well furnished. There was a bit of decay, showing its age, but it's clear despite her age, the woman in charge took great care to keep this place up and running. The best thing, however, was that each room had its own bathroom. No sharing needed for Adam here!
The next day rolled around and Adam was eager to get moving. He had to get his people together for the fight to come as well as make stops at a few more towns so he was itching to hit the road.
After having a light breakfast for 25 caps, which he insisted on paying for, he asked for the bridge to be extended and then set back out on the road, his companions all in tow.
Adam's next destination was actually one he had been not too long ago. He was planning on heading to the Dukedom, if it was called that again. He had been there when they had attacked the cult and watched as new people moved in, however he had not been back since. It had not been that long since he was there, but he was curious to see how much progress they had made. In addition, if the Duke was back in power he might be able to get some answers about how this situation even came about. Or why he let himself fall under Mr. Cantelli's thumb. Of course this was just his hope. For all he knew they could have abandoned the settlement again and he would arrive at an empty building.
However the reason he stayed at the Raft for a full day, aside from the fact that he ended up busy, was because he was not entirely convinced they would have anywhere for him to sleep if he even wanted to stay there. There was no telling how much work had been done in that time. So Adam decided to err on the side of caution.
The trip to the Dukedom took longer than Adam would have liked, but considering that The Raft was on the north eastern edge of Chicago and the Dukedom was on the southern edge, the roads between them caused quite a few troubles as he navigated all the way. Adam was relieved, however, that he did not need to walk this path again. The last two times he went there, back when it was the Church of Salvation, he had to park his APC over a day's walk away to avoid suspicion. Now, he had a much easier time getting there since he could just drive up to the gate.
Arriving there the first thing he noticed was the damage from the previous battle that had left its mark on the surrounding area. It was cleaned up, of course, but there were still holes in the surrounding buildings where bullets and rockets had hit. There were still chunks of the ground torn up and sloppily put back into place, and Adam could still feel the electricity in the air from when he was last here. Though that last one might have just been in his head.
As Adam drove closer he did notice people working in the fields out in front of the school building, though the fields now laid fallow. Still, they were working outside the wall like the cult used to do, the gate wide open. So perhaps this was how this settlement functioned. However there was a significant lack of people compared to when the cult was here. In addition there was no sense that there were guards walking around patrolling the area. Simply put, if someone was outside the wall when an attack occurred it would be on them to get inside quickly.
Driving up to the gate met him with two guards wearing a sort of custom military regalia uniform. The style was quite nice albeit a bit cumbersome for combat, focusing more on fashion than form. The front gate that was destroyed and the holes in the wall created from the battle had been seemingly patched. Scrap metal had been scavenged from the area to fix any defensive issues, however it was clear where damage had been taken during the fight. Still, the wall itself looked sturdy enough with these repairs that it was easy to pay it no mind. Purely a cosmetic issue.
As Adam slowed down the Guards did not even seem to raise their weapons. Hopefully that meant they knew Adam was friendly. But he wouldn't know until he popped out to speak with them.