A few inconspicuous clothes were bought in the shops on the street, although the mage was very wealthy, but for the sake of keeping a low profile, the change of clothes selected by several people, including Jack, were second-hand or defective items with obvious traces of repair. Seeing his companion happy with these clothes, Cheese was actually very upset, but when the mage offered to buy some new clothes that were not so conspicuous, he was rejected by the person concerned.

"Those clothes with bright colors look so scary. That's what Mona said to Cheese. For the rustic Northlanders, the role of clothing is basically to protect against the cold and provide little defense, they don't care about the style and appearance of clothes, as long as they are easy to move. In the wilderness near Longji Mountain, it is easy to expose yourself in the white snow if you wear too bright colors.

In this case, Cheese would not say anything, but perhaps to compensate them, as soon as the three of them became interested in the things on the roadside stalls, the mage would buy them after a symbolic bargain. So when the group walked to the front of the hotel, even the always steady female warrior Mona was holding all kinds of groceries and snacks in her hands. Pushing open the thick oak door, Cheese strode into the inn with a red hammer and a heavy black coat of arms, a sign that the shop was run by the Hammer family and was the safest of the entire Hammer Collar. Naturally, the price of a night in such a hotel is not cheap, and according to the price on the wooden board behind the receptionist that Cheese saw, the room here is at least one-third more expensive than the ordinary hotel he has seen before.

The waiter at the inn naturally also noticed the four cheeses, and at this time Mona and they had already completed their costume change, so from the appearance, the three people in this four-person team were all dressed as poor mercenaries, according to the waiter's years of experience, such people would not come here to spend the night. So if these people weren't Tu Baozi who had just entered the city and couldn't figure out the situation, then it must be the man in the gray robe who would pay. Sure enough, while the other three were still looking at the various weapons and beast specimens hanging in the lobby of the inn, Cheese had already walked to the counter. The mage silently took out a money bag from his robe and threw it on the counter.

"Four rooms, and four more horses for me. The simple trick made it difficult for the waiter to see the face in the shadow of the mage's hood, and the deliberately low voice made Cheese's voice sound older than his actual age.

"Yes, sir. Your room is at the end of the corridor on the second floor, and your horse will be waiting for you in the stable tomorrow morning. Do you need me to prepare dinner for you?" the waiter had now completely regarded Cheese as a former merchant or scholar, and the remaining three were treated as his hired guards. Although the security of the Hammer Collar has always been good, it is not surprising that a wealthy man acting alone hires a few mercenaries as bodyguards to prevent the occasional incursions of nomads or robbers disguised as nomads.

It's just that the cheese asked for four rooms as soon as he opened his mouth, and generally speaking, the owner of the mercenaries would not pay for the people he hired, and there was a sign of the Grand Duke of the Hammer, and he could have let the three mercenaries go to other parts of the city to spend the night and come here again tomorrow, but the subtext of the mage's generosity was that he was a generous employer. Such a gold owner naturally has to stammer, maybe a few copper coins will be better than standing here stupidly for a day.

Although the waiter's flattering smile makes the cheese a little uncomfortable, sometimes a proper display of financial resources can save a lot of unnecessary trouble. Cheese casually threw a few more copper coins on the counter and said.

"Didn't have to prepare dinner for us. It's rare to come to the Iron Keep, do you have any restaurants to recommend here?" The busy life in the battlefield had already made the mage dissatisfied with the food and drink for a long time. At this point, since you have decided to take a good rest in the Iron Castle, it is better to take this opportunity to have a big meal, and places like restaurants and taverns have always been the best choice for gathering intelligence.

"In the restaurant, I recommend you to try the Iron Castle's special barbecue, the owner is said to have learned the skills from the nomads, you know, those damn guys are not good at anything else, but they have their own way of cooking beef and mutton. The shop is not far away, in the second alley on the left-hand side of the door, but if you go now, you should come back quickly, the Iron Castle has recently imposed a curfew, and if you stay on the street after sunset, you will be put in a cell!" the waiter reminded him kindly.

"Curfew? Why? I don't see there are notices at the gates?" Although the city curfew is not a big deal, many towns and cities have implemented it. However, there is no need for a curfew in a city like Ironcastle, and the waiter's statement clearly mentions that the curfew has only been introduced "recently", does this mean that there is something wrong with the city?

"You don't know this, isn't this the plague in the county of Salon?The lord of the city burned to death a few refugees infected with the plague at the city gate a few days ago, and as a result, from that day on, there will be a lot of rats on the streets of the iron castle at night!"

"Now the city is saying that it is the souls of those refugees who have turned into these rats, ready to seek revenge on the people of the Iron Castle. The lord of the castle has only just begun to impose a curfew, and it is said that he is hiring an apothecary to get rid of the rats. But let me say that if those rats are really wronged spirits, it will not be enough to find a pharmacist. It's better to find a few church pastors. ”

Knowing the reason for the curfew, of course, Cheese didn't fully believe the rumors in the waiter's mouth, but it seems that the fact that there is a rat infestation here at night is indeed true. After whispering a thank you to the waiter, the mage graciously tossed a few more copper plates to him, and then turned to join his companion in the hall.

"What's wrong, why did you go for so long?" Although she had never been to such a big city, Elsa also ran a tavern and a part-time hotel in her hometown after all, and she was still relatively clear about the process of accommodation, so she wondered why Cheese had been gone for so long before coming back.

"Nothing, we'll talk while we're eating. He told the others their rooms and told them to put down their belongings, and then they left for the barbecue restaurant recommended by the waiter.

To the mage's surprise, although the front of this barbecue restaurant was well decorated and the interior was comfortable, there were fewer people dining in the restaurant than he expected. But since he sat down, Cheese had no intention of leaving, and casually read nearly half of the items on the menu, and the mage took out a silver glittering coin in the boss's suspicious eyes, and as the silver coin was thrown into the boss's hand, the suspicious look on the boss's face turned into ecstasy.

"Come on, come on, this is our own ale wine, please don't dislike it. In the past few days, due to the curfew, there are almost no guests in the evening, so I will go to prepare for it immediately. After the boss enthusiastically placed four oak glasses filled with golden ale on the table of the group, Cheese also got some idea of the situation in the shop.

"What curfew, what's going on?" asked Jack.

Cheese took a large sip of ale and relayed what he had just heard from the waiter to the rest of the group. For this kind of bizarre thing, if it were in normal times, they probably wouldn't believe it, but after all, a few people were still fighting with the rat man two days ago, and now they heard the rat again, and it was inevitable that the cordon in their hearts was raised again.

"Say, does this have anything to do with the nezumen?" Mona whispered.

The mage continued to gulp down the ale from his cup, then put the empty glass on the table and burped casually.

"It doesn't matter if it doesn't matter, let's rest for the night, replenish supplies tomorrow as planned, and then come back tomorrow night to take a good look. ”