The rest of our journey was rather uneventful. We encountered a bear on our way, but it wasn't as strong as the wolf from last night. Shelly even tried the shell smash attack on the bear, but it didn't bring too many results. A bear was much tougher than a boar, therefore I told Shelly to stay out of it. Late in the afternoon, I finally saw the outline of the village In the distance. From the size alone, it was big, bigger than Freemount Village I used to live in. I saw people arriving and leaving the village, while a few guards stood at the gate. They checked random people, but always let those wealthy looking ones pass without any checks. I didn't look wealthy at all, so that wouldn't work. "Alright Shelly, you have to stay here. I can't allow anyone to recognise me later. This is not a small village, where I can do whatever I want. They can't find me out, and you trailing behind me... Just stay in the forest". Shelly didn't like the idea, but I was adamant. I wouldn't budge, no matter what expression Shelly used. Travelling with me was one thing, going inside the village was completely different. Shelly reluctantly agreed to wait. I nodded, and said "I will be back in two or three days. We will see. As soon as I do what I have to do, I will come here. Make sure to stay out of sight. We don't need a commotion, nor people trying to hunt you". The turtle nodded, and watched me all the way, as I approached the village. I didn't enter straight away. With my ragged clothes and the lack of money, they probably wouldn't let me in anyway. I watched the entrance, and saw a few people being refused entry. Usually bums or poor people, that perhaps wanted to find a better life inside the large village. Although these people were turned down, workers were not. Farmers and miners from the local mine, were rarely checked. 'I can copy the mood of those farmers or miners' I thought. They only checked fresh and clean looking ones, the guards didn't bother with dirty and tired farmers or miners. That was my entry ticket. I didn't have a pickaxe, but not every miner passing through the gate had. I watched the miners, and learned their behaviour. When I got the general idea of how they walked and behaved, I used some soil to mimic the dirty work in the mines. I wasn't clean to begin with, but I added a few patches of dirt to my hands and face. I then slowly joined the main road, and walked just like the miners. My Mood Copy skill came in useful after all, while I slowly made it to the gate. The guards slowly let people pass, while checking others. As I walked over past the guard, he was about to stop me and say something. But he changed his mind, and said seemingly tired "Go along". The mood I was releasing was that of serious tiredness, as if I worked for two days straight without much sleep. Fortunately, it was already evening, and the guard didn't see my face well. 'Good, no one should recognise me. Now, I just have to rest and clean myself up' I thought. I headed to the first tavern I could find, but the room prices were staggering. '50 Coppers per night? Are they crazy?' I asked myself. I asked around, and people told me there were two more taverns inside the village. One further up north, and the other near the poorer area of the village. I didn't try the northern one, and went to the poor area located to the west. 'No wonder they guy said, he wouldn't go anywhere near it' I thought, when I saw the tavern. Drunk people sleeping on the street, prostitutes everywhere and loud noises coming out from the tavern. 'As long as it's cheap, has a bed and water, I don't care much' I thought, and entered. They had rooms, and they were cheap... At least cheaper than the other tavern. 10 Coppers a night was alright, so I paid and took my key. My room had a tub full of water. It didn't seem fresh, but it wasn't dirty either. I took a bath and washed my cloths too. There was no fireplace in the room, besides it was summer. I just hanged my clothes, and hoped they would dry by the next day. With the doors locked, I went to sleep. 'Rand and others will arrive tomorrow, or they already arrived. I hope Nick stalled them a bit, and they are not here yet' I thought, and fell asleep. Contrary to my belief, no one tried to rob me in that tavern. Although prostitutes and drunkards littered the street, it wasn't half bad. I headed outside first thing in the morning. I wanted to scout the village chief mansion, where the wedding party would take place. That was where I planned to serve them my poison. The Village Chief's mansion, wasn't hard to find. It was quite large, with walls surrounding it. Two guards stood at the gate, but I wouldn't use the gate of course. I walked around the wall, trying to find the best spot for entry. There were a few, but as I suspected, there were more guards patrolling inside too. 'I need to learn their patterns first. Then I can decide which way to go in, and how to proceed further' I thought. I also assumed that more guards would be present, when the party was in full swing. There were a few tress planted outside of the mansion. I chose one closer the wall and climbed it to watch the guards. There were two guards, who patrolled the whole mansion around. Two more stayed at the gates to the mansion. The patrolling guards, would walk one or two circles around the mansion, then stop at the gate, and talk with the other guards there. This could be exploited. When those four guards were at the gate, I had less people to worry about. Taking them out was out of the question. These guards had constant contact with the other two, if they went missing, this would already sound the alarm. I change my location, to check the other side of the mansion. I noticed one more guard standing there. He didn't move, but just stood there, and watched one of the side doors. There was another small building at the back of the mansion. I thought it was a shed of some sort, but it wasn't. This was a kitchen. One of the indications was the smoke coming out of the chimney, but that alone didn't tell me what it was. When I saw a few people walking out carrying trays of food, I knew it must've been the kitchen. Besides the kitchen at the back, a small orchard was there too. I could use it to hide myself, when I entered. 'I need to return here during the night, and sneak inside. This way, I will be able to properly explore that place' I thought. I had to be careful too. The Village Chief was a warrior, and I was sure he had some skilful people under him. Although he would be busy with the ceremony and all, I still had to be careful. I toured the village, and looked for any places I could hide in. I also planned my route of escape, in case something went wrong. Knowing the layout of the village, would help me escape for sure. I didn't have much money, so I opted for the street vendors. Their food was very good actually, and more importantly, it was cheap. When the sun disappeared behind the horizon, I returned to the mansion. I watched the guards first, and surely, their behaviour changed a bit. Different guards were on duty now, and they had different patterns. The two patrolling guys, would still stop to talk with the two guards at the gate. But they would also talk along their route, sometimes stopping and drinking something. My guess was alcohol. 'No matter. When they leave here, I can jump in and hide within the Orchard if need be' I thought. The two guys soon left, and headed towards the gate. I quickly jumped past the wall, and scouted the terrain inside. I had a few good minutes, before the guards made their circle. The windows were locked, but that wouldn't be a good idea. With loads of guest everywhere, I could be easily spotted. I checked for any entry points, and came to one conclusion. 'I need to change my clothes' I thought. The best and most unnoticeable method, was to impersonate a member of kitchen staff. Due to the multitude of guest, I knew they would be busy, and that was what I needed. 'The wedding is tomorrow afternoon. I need to return here during the evening, and borrow some clothes' I thought. That was the reason why I needed Axon Poison. With its use, I could "borrow" some clothes, and not worry about any commotion. With that outfit, I would be able to come and go as I pleased, and I would have access to the kitchen too. This was the best plan I could come up with. 'I might need to improvise tomorrow, but I should keep to this plan' I thought, and left the mansion.