The group is now just outside the town of Montillo. Smoke can be seen rising from chimneys, and lights are starting to appear in windows. Dusk is settling, with half the sky dark blue. High above, the twin moons of Noverra are beginning to shine.

Markus is waiting anxiously for Aurora to pop out from the open shed shes in. After a little wait, she flies into view and gives a thumbs up. Markus quickly jumps over the wooden fence and rushes inside with Eclair following. A few bails of hay are stacked, along with some old farm tools hanging on the wall. In the corner, the object he was after is in plain view.

A large, empty burlap sack in laying on the ground. Markus walks over to pick it up, shaking it several times to clear the dirt. He had seen it from the road and an idea formed in his mind on how to use it.

“Okay. This is perfect. Stay on lookout for me.” Markus says to the fae. Eclair and Aurora nod together and fly up onto the shed roof.

Markus moves quickly as he unloads his backpack while putting the rifle and hammer against a wall. He gets the burlap sack opened as far as possible before cramming the entire backpack inside it. The gas mask bag is taken off his belt too, being placed on top.

The combat vest is unzipped and taken off, being placed neatly on a hay bail. Markus then unzips his green jacket and pulls it off too. The air is a bit chilly, especially with only a blue shirt on now. Working fast, Markus grabs the combat vest and puts it back on, followed by his green jacket over everything.

“Markus, the nearby farm just had the lights turn on. You almost done?” Eclair says as she leans over the roof and peers inside the shed.

“Ya, almost done.” Markus replies while adjusting the bulkiness of the jacket.

When satisfied, the hammer weapon is picked up by Markus. Moving his hunting knife over a little and pulling his belt out, he slips the handle between the belt and pants. The hammer slides down and is adjusted until the head sits comfortably on the waist.

The rifle is then grabbed by Markus. He undoes the blue cape covering the wire stock portion of the weapon. With a press of a button at the back, the wire stock is folded against the main body. It's quickly wrapped up again before placing it across his chest using the sling.

Markus pats himself down to make sure he didn't miss anything obvious. He looks at his shooting gloves, but decides they should blend in fine. Once he's sure of everything, the burlap sack is tied up, then swung over his shoulders.

“Okay, I'm done.” Markus says out loud. He walks out of the shed, where the girls fly down to meet him. “Are you sure my clothes will pass?”

“I'm sure. I've seen all sorts of jackets and pants in town. The weapons are alright too, just keep the knife secure and the hammer on your belt like it is. Nobody will care.” Aurora responds to Markus.

“Good.” Markus replies. He then turns to face Eclair and says to her “And you. I don't know if I should kiss you or pinch you. Why didn't you mention the letter from Jonathan earlier?”

“It's been a hectic day, I still told you both didn't I?” Eclair says back. She goes on to say “He told me it's a favor from a friend that owns an inn. We can probably stay for free for a while, but after that your both on your own.”

“Better than nothing.” Markus replies with a sigh. “We'll follow Aurora since she knows where the Mountain View Inn is.” He starts walking to the fence, and hops over it with ease. The fae follow close behind him as he continues toward town.

Nighttime has finally descended, but it's only a short walk to reach the edge of Montillo. Lights from buildings can be seen everywhere. The dirt road transitions into a cobble street. As the group walks into town, more lighting can be seen from rustic lamp posts filled with glowing stones.

“Unfucking believable.” Markues remarks to himself. “This looks like the historic areas of Eagle or Silverton, even Morgan too.”

As the group walks further into town, Markus is surprised by the things he sees. The buildings are built together out of stone, wood, or brick. They come is various shapes and heights, with shops having large windows for browsing. Across all the buildings, English can be seen mixed in with the native Latin words. English words and phrases such as 'barber' and 'eat here' and 'enter' and much more.

People are starting to become more frequent, which causes Markus to be on guard. He observes how they dress and act. Men are typically wearing work attire with jeans or overalls, sometimes old style suits. Women wear a variety of older style dresses and coats, but some wear pants too. Markus glimpses a young woman wearing tight denim jeans, a colorful shirt, and black jacket walking by him. Her clothes are more modern, but she would fit right in to any college campus.

Beast people can also be seen throughout the town. Amazingly, they show features of various animals such as cats, rabbits, or wolves. The bat-woman named Versa was clearly not the only of her kind. Markus takes note of how the beast features vary between each individual. He watches a young woman walking beside a werewolf-looking man, but their young son in front only has partial beast features like the tail and ears.

“Almost there.” Remarks Aurora, acting as a guide through the streets of Montillo.

Markus keeps absorbing all the sights and sounds while he can. Horses and carriages walk the roads or are parked beside buildings. All of a sudden, his world is shaken even more. Parked beside a building, a small crew are loading up a truck. It's not modern looking, more closely matching 1900's Stanley Steamers or Ford automobiles.

Distracted by the sight of the truck, Markus almost runs into the fae that have stopped in front of a corner building. Three stories high and made of brick, a large sign shows a bed with the English word 'Inn'.

“This is it.” Aurora says to the group. “Mountain View Inn. I've never been inside, so Eclair needs to do the talking.”

Markus breathes deeply before walking to the door and opening it. He gestures to the girls, who comply and fly inside. The building has a lobby with chairs and a fire place. A counter is to the right, with a burly man writing on some papers. Bald with a black mustache and beard, he gives off an intimidating presence.

“Hello.” He says, then continues “Name's Phil, welcome to Mountain View Inn.”

Eclair flies toward the man and lands on the counter. She pulls out the letter from a pouch pocket and says “We're from Little Creek. Jonathan sent us, and he gave me a letter addressed to you.”

Phil reaches to grab the letter. He brings it close to his eyes and squints as he reads the content. There isn't much reaction, but eventually he finishes reading and passes the letter back to Eclair.

Without a word, he reaches below the counter and grabs a set of door keys. “Kay. Jonathan has always helped me. Room is on third floor. I'll let you stay for three nights, but after that you'll be paying.”

“Sure, fair enough.” Markus says as he walks up to the counter and grabs the keys. Behind Phil, mounted on the wall, he spots a strange sight. A large rabbit head is stuffed and mounted, but it has large antlers on its head. It was a Jackalope. Markus points and asks “Is that real?”

Phil looks around and sees what Markus meant. Turning back, he says “Course it is, hunted the bugger myself.”

Markus can't help smiling. He really shouldn't have expected anything else. The group thanks Phil and head up the stairs. For now, some comfort could be found at last.