San Martino Market Square

The market square in San Martino is a compact, medieval plaza framed by stone buildings with shuttered windows and sagging fabric awnings. Crates of spices and bolts of coarse cloth pile up along the edges, their aromas mingling with the sharp tang of blood from the halved turquoise corpse left near the entrance. Cobblestones slope unevenly toward a central fountain whose water runs sluggishly, reflecting the overcast light that filters between the high walls. Behind a stall’s striped canvas, The Doctor presses his shoulder blades into the rough fabric, heart hammering as the patter of boots and the murmur of guards fill the square. The air tastes of dust and old rain, heavy with the proximity of death and the unseen cult’s watchful gaze.