They saw the city in the early afternoon. A speck on the horizon, it was a sign that their mission was about to begin in earnest. Arnel slowed the team down. They made camp and had a long lunch before going over the mission again. The other mutants thought this was Arnel’s way of getting to know each other and making sure everyone knew what they were supposed to do. The Guardsman turned mutant allowed the others their mistaken ideas.

It wasn’t till they ran out of things to go over did the team packed up and was on the move again. As they got closer to the city, they saw the plumes of smoke coming from the city and the wall of the city. Nearly the height of five men, the city walls of Yachium could clearly be seen in the distance. Arnel found himself unconsciously smiling at the sight of the stone wall. It was now late in the afternoon and the plumes smoke was a sign that households were beginning to cook dinner. They slowly made their way towards the city gates and only arrived at the Western Gates just before nightfall, just before the changing of the guards.

Arnel was sporting a young face and had timed their arrival perfectly. As the team waited in line to enter the city, he could see that the guardsmen at the gates were only doing the minimum checking before allowing travelers into the city. Some things don’t change. Most of the guardsmen had home-cooked dinner waiting for them and they just wanted to go off shift without problems. No one wanted trouble at this time. While waiting, Arnel took his time to look over the security. There were more guards and archers on the wall but that was all. Arnel was unsurprised but a little disappointed. He had hoped against hope that the leaders of Yachium would take his warning seriously.

When the time came for the inspection, the team passed through the gates without incident. The guardsmen made a point of looking like he was checking the cart but quickly lost interest when they saw just pelts and furs on it. If the items were a little more valuable, Arnel may have to pay some bribes to get through but such cheap items meant that the four travelers were poor and the guardsmen practically chased them into the city.

Once through the gates, Arnel directed Jeffery to a nearby tradehouse. The big mutant had a surprising deft hand at the reins of the cart and skillfully steered the two bulls pulling the cart to the tradehouse. Most traveling merchants have contacts within a city when they make delivery but for those who didn’t, tradehouses were essential. They acted as a marketplace for goods for traveling merchants when the main market was open. The tradehouse was relatively quiet when they arrived and the merchant was extremely happy to see them. Arnel made a show of bargaining with the merchant before settling on a fair price for the pelts and fur. As the rest of the team were unloading the goods, he made small talk with the merchant to get information. He has been away from the city for a while and wanted the latest news.

Trade was down due to the troublesome dark mage in the Keg Mountains, the Duke was once again having problems with the Three Councils, and several prominent members of the Councils were missing. The last piece of news was intriguing to Arnel. If some of the more powerful members of the Blade, Hunt and Mage Councils weren’t in the city; that would make the invasion easier. Arnel thanked the merchant for the news and after the exchange of gold, he directed the rest of the team to an inn he know.

A simple two-story wooden building, The Lazy Swan was a local watering hole that some locals used when they wanted a place to drink in peace and quiet. It was a distance from the Western Gates but there were specific reasons why Arnel had selected the inn. Travelling merchants always stand out and he wanted someplace quiet to lower their exposure. When they arrived at the inn, Jeffery offered to take care of the bulls and the team was more than happy to let him do the job. The three mutants entered the inn and despite the timing, there were only a few people within. A few men at the bar were starting their drinking early and three of the tables were taken up by groups having their dinner. Arnel, Ransford and Meadow took an empty table at a corner with a view of the door and ordered some stew and ale.

When the food came, Arnel enquired about rooms for the night and the serving wench immediately directed him to the innkeeper. Arnel just nodded at the wench and began his dinner. Jeffery came in soon after and joined them at the table. Meadow looked around while eating and asked Arnel about the inn. Ransford had warned him beforehand that Meadow was a village girl who had never left her home village before she was changed by the Red Creator so everything was a little overwhelming for her. So Arnel expected the questions and answered as best he can. The Lazy Swan was a pretty standard inn for Yachium with a ground floor tavern where the innkeeper served ale and food while upstairs had rooms weary travelers can rent for the night.

As he was explaining things, the innkeeper came over. As Arnel had expected, the wench must had informed him of Arnel’s enquiries and the man came over as soon as possible. A fat bald headed man, the innkeeper was visibly delighted when he heard that the group wanted to rent rooms for a few days but he still drove a hard bargain. Not wanting to bargain too much with the man, Arnel only put up a token resistance before settling for two rooms for five days.

After dinner, the other members of his team went upstairs to rest as Arnel went out of the inn. His destination was only a short walk away. He took the main street to the Southern Gates for a while before turning into an alley. Nighttime had arrived and the mutant used his power in the dark alley to change his face. When he left the alley, Arnel had another face on him. One that was rougher with a big scar across his lips. The first man he passed looked down immediately, not wanting to meet his eyes. Arnel almost smiled at that. He walked on towards the Southern District. The poorer section of the city, it was where the criminal elements of Yachium was located and the former Guardsman of Yachium was going to need their help.