The overcast sky rumbled, threatening rain. Lightning scored the clouds, momentarily limning the grey with a shock of silver light. The buildings haphazardly leaned against one another, as if they were too weak to stand by themselves and as a result presented many a shadowed nook to take refuge within. Few windows possessed glass. Most of them were simply shuttered with wooden slats. The shingles beneath crouched fingertips mostly wood; only the more affluent were able to afford clay tiles.

As the young mutant peered across the nearby square she looked past several evening stragglers and was greeted by the sight of a shock of golden hair. It's colour brilliant against the dingy mud spattered town. A figure was in the middle of the square, a female silhouette hanging from a wooden scaffold. A rope was affixed to the overhead spar and it reached down, circling the figure's neck, holding her aloft, several feet from the cobblestone below. She was curiously attired. Pale slender limbs ensconced in fine sheer ebony harem style silk sleeves and leggings. Rope creaked as the woman swung softly, bare feet dangling, black painted toenails pointing towards the gutters. Laura could not see the woman's face, not with her head hanging down on her chest and the golden tresses serving as a funerary veil. Her leather mid-riff revealing bustier had failed to contain her bosom, one breast was openly displayed, having presumably been shaken free by the force of the short drop and sudden stop. More curiously, was what appeared to be a single piece of coin tucked in tight between the slope of breast and bustier.