It's a small, light purple taffy cube. Max stares at it with obvious confusion but she plucks it out of Casey's hand and pops it into her mouth. After a few moments of chewing on it, she's calmed down a lot all of a sudden. "Mmh."
"The hell did you give her?" Alexis glances at the now calm and not at all panicking Max.
"Lavender taffy! In trying times, it always cheers me up! Reminds me of home!" The saccharine smile on Casey's face could light up a damn billboard.
[GULLIBLE] "Wait, you stuck that flower into taffy? Isn't that dangerous? Last I checked, that stuff was poisonous..." Benjamin adjusts his glasses. "A-are you trying to kill us?"
[SHELTERED] "WAIT WHAT." Panic spreads across Max's face. "AIE AIE AIE-"
"Lavenders isn't fucking poisonous. Besides, it's probably just flavoring extract." Alexis sighs with obvious annoyance.
The two dorks calm down after Alexis tells them what should've been obvious.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5gSJUKaPdQ - ABGRUND
Now that you're further into the town, you take a moment to see what buildings are still standing in this small and barely operational town. The five of you stand in the middle of the center of town to get the best view of your surroundings.
There's four main buildings around the center of town.
-A small apartment complex that reminds you of a bloc building you faintly recall seeing in N-Company's district. With how compact and small it is, you doubt there's more than fifteen apartments in there. An old lady with a massive scar across her eye stands guard in front of it.
-A general store that's CAKED in more rust than you've seen in your whole life. The sheet metal and metal rods that make up the store are about to shatter any moment now. "MONSTEROUSLY LOW DISCOUNT AT DEVIN WOO'S MONSTEROUS EMPERIOUM" is scribbled on a sign planted in front of the store.
-The biggest building you see nearby is a massive saloon about triple the size of the other buildings. While the others are one story, MAYBE two stories for the apartment complex, this saloon is at least four stories high and is the most obviously well taken care part of the town. A few people, even some outsiders like you, consistently go in and out of the saloon.
-In stark contrast, the last building of note you see is a tiny building about the size of a mobile home. With the three roughly carved stone pillars attached to it, maybe it's the mayor's office?
The only other thing that catches your attention is something in the far distance, probably a solid mile walk away. A large, ramshackle wooden building built right above a gaping hole in the ground that's fenced off completely. Three armed guards stand by it and you can just BARELY make out "NO AUTHORIZED ENTRANCE. DANGEROUS CONDITIONS" written on a sign near the fence with some quick sightjacking.
That's probably the mines. You glance back at the crowd to see that the corpos and miners are about to disperse for now. Best to move before they see you.
