Rust Market

The Rust Market thrives on secrecy and discretion. It is not a fixed location but rather a mobile, constantly shifting network of vendors, traders, and buyers. The market manifests in different spots throughout Dark Syde, marked by faint graffiti symbols that only Rust Keepers understand. These symbols are painted on abandoned buildings, alleyways, or hidden entrances—sometimes even underfoot, in places only those who know where to look will ever spot. The market appears and disappears like a ghost, never staying in one place for too long, ensuring its protection from outside authorities and rivals.

Key Features of the Rust Market

The Hidden Paths

• The market is accessed through a series of narrow, often dangerous alleyways that veer off from main streets, avoiding surveillance and prying eyes.
• The Rust Keepers have built a network of secret passages and tunnels that are known only to those within their fold, ensuring that outsiders can't stumble upon the market by accident.
• The network is marked by subtle graffiti—lines, symbols, and other marks that only the initiated can interpret. These markings are often cryptic, indicating the time and place of the next market or the arrival of new goods.

Where the past fuels the future.

Leader

Ironclad Quinn

Ruling Organization

Rust Keepers

Leader Title

Forgemaster

Location

The Dark Syde

Related Species

• Human
• The Awakened
• The Others

Related Historical Events

• 77 SE
  Rust Market

Goods

Shady Deals and Bartering

• The Rust Market operates on a barter system. Money is scarce, and most deals are made through the exchange of goods or favors. Trust is paramount in the market—reputation matters, and a vendor or buyer with a bad reputation might find themselves without trade.
• Deals are often made in hushed whispers, with both parties scanning the area for eavesdroppers or unwanted attention. Transactions are conducted quickly, and goods are rarely displayed openly.

Barter Goods

Tools, food, tech components, and even labor can be traded in place of traditional currency. Those who frequent the market are adept at negotiating, with an eye for value hidden in old junk.

The Unseen Market

There are rumors of a deeper, more secretive level of the Rust Market. This "unseen" market is where the most coveted and dangerous items are exchanged—ancient relics, forbidden technology, and rare, powerful artifacts that could change the course of history. Only the most trusted members of the Rust Keepers are allowed to access this black-market subculture.

Vendors and Strangers

The Rust Market is populated by a variety of characters, from seasoned traders to one-off sellers. Some have rare technological knowledge. Others are of the Nightwalkers and come from Wasteland regions with valuable goods. Others are just trying to survive, using their ingenuity to carve out a place in this gritty world. There are those who live by the motto “buyer beware,” as deals in the Rust Market are known to be full of risks and twists.