There was a miasma of fear to this town that XI wished he had noticed sooner. Frightened humans were quite typically the most dangerous creatures he faced in his life and he had not been given time or opportunity to calm down the residents of Fortitude who had taken offense to his presence. Superstition was rife, as had been murder, so the sight of a stranger who did not appear to feel the cold and had been spotted waving a glowing green stick was soon to meet with a distasteful mob.
With the help of the local constabulary he escaped with a few bruises and tears to his clothing, only to be held overnight for both ‘safety’ and ‘questioning’, the latter of which was to wait until morning. His sonic screwdriver had been confiscated as a suspicious item and he was fortunate not to have been caught with a plasma weapon.
It came as a surprise, then, that a strange figure in a balaclava and goggles would risk themselves to let him out of the cell. XI was naturally wary that this could be a further trap for the locals to avoid a more sensible form of justice, but for now he followed his rescuer in calculative quietude.
The voice when it came was young and male with a Scandic edge.
“Yes, thank you,” the Doctor answered. “This town’s had a lot of trouble, I take it?”
Though there had not been active snowfall within the last day or so the temperatures were easily low enough for a thick layer on the ground; it still surprised Vladek that this man seemed to take little to no notice of it as they walked. Beneath his goggles, he continued to steal brief sidelong glances of the newcomer. Curiosity continued to grow but he made no outward mention of it, nor did he give voice to the myriad questions now alive in his mind. Instead he opted for patience.
“Yes. Too much trouble for one town.” He left the question there for the moment, continuing to trudge through the dark on a route which would, with any luck, keep them out of the eye of the majority of locals. Though the shaman continued to lead with confidence, he was yet to decide exactly where their destination should be.
Regardless of whether or not this stranger noticed the cold, he was only going to attract further attention - and more trouble - by simply being left to wander Fortitude and couldn’t be left alone. The town itself was so small that it offered limited choice even for a willing tourist and taking him too far out could be dangerous. Of course there was always the option of taking him back to his own living space, but the thought was swiftly discarded it as an emergency option. Not only was it risky enough that he stayed in the barn, but it would be unfair on his host to add more pressure by keeping two men a secret. No, he was going to have to find a better workaround if this mysterious figure hadn’t already secured himself somewhere to stay. Perhaps hiding in plain sight was, for one night at least, the best choice.
“Do you have somewhere to stay? There is a hotel, not far, but it might be wiser if I booked your room.”
