[u][b]Mary Hawthorne - Her Home[/b][/u]

"That sounds good...", rich said with a nod, he then gestured out towards the living room. "Do you mind if I take a look at those Mr. Handy's for you? I know a thing or two about robots"

"Be my guest", Mary said, "We didn't have anything like that when I was young...well, where I grew up." 

Rick walked back to the living room and busied himself while Mary prepared lunch for them both. She could hear the clattering of parts moving around, and odd whirring, but she left him to it as, raised in a simpler age, she had no idea how the things worked. Once lunch was ready, she called for Rick to come to the table. 

"Be right there", he replied, "need to charge em up!"

After a moment he came into the kitchen and took his seat. 

"So tell me, Rick", Mary said in a friendly manner, "What brings you to Salem?"

Rick looked up at her, "Oh well im doing some travelling and I was just curious about the north. You know away from the minutemen, and battle for Boston. Figured I'd visit the old town of Salem and see some witches. Bunch of nonsense if you ask me, if someone doesn understand something they call it magic."

"Quite true", Mary replied. 

"Take a look at those robots. For someone not versed in robotics or science, they'd consider that magic. For me child's play... sorry I've had so many debates on this issues back home at..."

He then immediately changed the subject....clearly he had caught himself just before saying something he felt he shouldn't.   

"Sorry...two of the robots are charging right now.", he said. "It'll be a basic charge, maybe last a few day. I see town has no electricity, so if you have a generator, I'd recommend you hook them up over night every few days. the third one just needs some parts and i could get it to work"

"Really?", she said with genuine surprise, "you fixed two of them already? I'm not sure what to say...that was very kind of you." She then added, "I don't have a generator, but I do have a supply of fission batteries to power the appliances and my purifier...would one of those get them charged up for a while?" 

Rick cut up some of the meat before him, and atarted to eat, slowly at first, as if he'd never eaten venison before, then faster as he seemed to like the taste of it.

"I wonder what those raiders were shouting when they charged at us:, he said absentmindedly, "Sounded like latin, but im not so familiar with dead languages..." he stopped himself again.

"That wasn't Latin, Rick", Mary replied amusedly. She searched for a current day example, but could think of only one....those annoying Papists from the 'Abbey of the Road' that liked to snoop around Point Lookout, like Marcella. Obediah had wanted to kill that woman, convincing that pigheaded man killing her would only make things worse had taken all her powers of persuasion. But it only figured that if only one organization would survive the War that it would have be the Papists. "I've heard missionaries from the "Abbey of the Road" saying their prayers in Latin, and that sounded nothing like those two." she then added, "They are probably Tribals speaking some made up language." 

They weren't Tribals, Mary knew that much. What Rick had told her, and her altercation with the Cultists, alarmed her greatly. She had some research to do, and tonight she would do some investigating on her own. The time she had spent learning alchemy...and other things from Orne and Hutchinson would come in quite handy. 

"Are you just visiting Salem", Mary asked, "or are you planning to stay? If you like, you can stay here for a few days...it's the least I can do for helping me with those robots."