“What’s the fuss?” a man asked, stepping into the growing crowd.

  “It’s them damn Unbowed,” another responded without looking back. He cleared his throat and spat on the ground. The spittle hit the pants of the man in front of him, but luckily, the man didn’t notice.

  “I heard,” a woman said in a low voice, covering her mouth with her hand. “Heard they were skulking about last night. Trailed our lads, the ones went to gut the beast that took little Hannah! Bet they’re here for the coin, claiming the kill was theirs.”

  “Aye, my cousin in Newville said the Unbowed torched the Elder’s house. Old man couldn’t pay full price, the greedy bastards burned him out…”

  The crowd was soon trading stories that may or may not have happened. It became a competition of who had heard the most terrifying tale about the Unbowed. And no matter how unbelievable the story sounded, no one questioned it.

  In front of them, on a small platform, Lucas stood beside a woman who kept ringing the town alarm bell. Next to him, Edir and Otto stared at the gathering townspeople with piercing, angry gazes.

  The atmosphere was tense, getting more suffocating with each ring of the bell.

  “What is this bloody ruckus?” A man pushed through the crowd, wearing layers of fur. He was as large as the bell the woman was ringing. “I am Helm, Meister of Loridge, appointed by His Highness Charles himself! I demand you cease this noise and explain yourself, woman!”

  The crowd froze and the ringing stopped. The meister moved close to the platform, far from the whispering crowd. The woman also stepped down to meet him.

  “I’m Qalda, an Unbowed, leader of this group,” she said, ignoring the meister’s tone. Though her purple eyes stared right into Helm’s as if she was trying to look into his soul. “My friends rescued the soldiers who acted on the information you people gave them and stupidly awakened a creature they couldn’t handle.”

  “What business is that of ours?” The Meister smirked, his large red cheeks puffing out even more. “And more importantly, how does that justify ringing the damn bell?!”

  “It doesn’t,” Qalda shrugged, raising her caramel-skinned hands. She had identical tattoos on both of her arms, mostly covered by the short-sleeved jacket she wore; only a scaled tail was visible. “I’m happy to reimburse you for the disturbance. We, the Unbowed, are known for being fair, after all.”

  “That’s what…” the Meister began, but Qalda cut him off.

  “That said,” she continued, voice dangerously low. “First, you must pay us for the kill we made. ”

  “I never spoke with you lot,” Helm said, undeterred by Qalda’s threat. “You’ll see no coin from me. I hired no one, so I pay no one.”

  “We will take our money by force if you don’t,” Edir growled beside Lucas, though he kept his voice low enough that the meister wouldn't hear.

  “Unfortunately, you are right. I can’t force you to pay us because, as you said, you hadn't placed a bounty we could claim,” Qalda responded. “But you are wrong about one thing. You see, the soldiers you people lied to died. And the one responsible is you!”

  “Liar,” Helm shouted. Then he lowered his voice, a smirk spreading on his face. “I’ll not be held to account for the nonsense spouted by witless peasants! And besides, who would believe we deceived them? The region’s General has no time to waste on this backwater for the sake of a few dead grunts.”

  “One of those grunts was a noble,” Qalda said coldly, watching as the color drained from the Meister’s face. “He had to use a Guardian Stone to escape. When his family sends their knights…”

  “Liar!” the meister choked out. “There is no chance…”

  “We will see. I reckon it shouldn’t take more than a few days.” Qalda said coolly.

  “You!” Helm hissed, staring at her. Qalda stood unbothered by his gaze. Finally, the meister faltered, his eyes darting around nervously, then he asked in a whisper. “How much?

  “Two hundred silver. And a written testament that it's a payment for the specter we’ve slain in this shithole,” Qalda hissed, her anger finally showing.

  Two hundred silver… that’s two years’ pay for a soldier. Lucas realized just how much the Unbowed earned, or just how little the soldiers were paid.

  “Fine. I’ll give you the coin once…”

  “No, you will pay me right now. Or the deal is off. I’d rather watch the soldiers skin you alive than kill you myself after you try to outsmart me.” She cracked her knuckles as though skinning was about to start.

  The Meister folded under the pressure.

  “Emer!” he called. A lean man ran to him, rubbing his hands together. “Give the Unbowed 200 silver and draft a paper saying they’ve gutted a… sproter…”

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  “A specter,” Qalda corrected.

  “Eh? Aye, a specter. And be quick about it!”

  The lean man nodded earnestly and left with a quick stride. On Qalda’s order, Edir went with him. The man was visibly dissatisfied with her command but obeyed with a low growl.

  The Meister stared at his subordinate and the dwarf-like green man as they disappeared into a building a few dozen steps away.

  Helm scanned the crowd. The townspeople were watching him and Qalda, though they couldn’t hear the conversation. He saw the fear on their faces. Some even avoided his gaze.

  Then he turned back to Qalda.

  “We are finished here,” he sneered. “I want you and your mongrels gone from my town by sundown.”

  “We will,” Qalda responded, taking a step back toward the platform where Lucas and Otto stood. “Ah, nearly forgot to mention…”

  She slapped her forehead, turning back toward the Meister.

  “Some of those soldiers survived.”

  “Wha…” The Meister’s face fell. Blood rushed to his ears, his swollen cheeks trembling with rage. “I… No… You must silence them! I will pay you mo… No! Shut their mouths or I won't pay you a damn copper!”

  “But you’ve already paid us,” Qalda said coldly, nodding toward the building where Edir was walking out, holding a pouch and a parchment in the air as a signal.

  “Why did you…” Helm muttered, voice breaking.

  “I know what you did to that poor boy’s father,” Qalda hissed. “I know you were desperate to keep it a secret that your town had a specter. If the word got out, no caravan or mercenaries would visit this place. You bribed and threatened to frame the boy's father and pinned the blame on him instead.”

  The Meister stared at the ground, his eyes unfocused.

  “It was a stupid plan. Had you managed to keep this a secret, the specter would have awakened and destroyed this entire town.” Qalda turned around, tossing her final words over her shoulder. “You deserve death, and you will die.”

  <<<>>>

  “So the innkeeper will go unpunished?” Lucas asked, staring at the small bird leg Edir had roasted on the open fire. “But he is the one who framed the boy’s father…”

  “Yes,” Qalda replied, tearing off a large chunk of meat. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “Maybe the knights will punish him along with the meister. If that commander of yours truly cares about people, he might.”

  “Is there really nothing else we can do?” Lucas asked, frustration leaking into his voice.

  “I can lend you my blade if you wish to return and slaughter them,” Gio said. His tone was far too serious to be a joke.

  “We are the Unbowed,” Qalda said, shooting a cold look toward Gio. “We take orders from no one. And we don't get involved in matters that don't concern us. We helped with the meister. That was already more than we would have normally done.”

  “I understand.” Lucas sighed. He couldn’t take justice into his own hands, and asking the Unbowed to do it for him was not only unreasonable - it was dangerous.

  He looked at the meat in his hands and took a bite. The flavors exploded in his mouth - sweet, hot, and juicy. He hadn’t seen what kind of bird Edir had cooked, but it tasted like chicken. Properly cooked chicken.

  “Lucas, why did you join the military?” Gio asked. “I have noticed you possess a rather tender heart. Did you truly believe you would be helping them?”

  “I was forced,” Lucas responded, giving a thin smile. “I woke up without any memory of this world. Then I was captured. In the end, it was either the army or ten years of hard labor.”

  “Labor is how men ought to live!” Edir roared, unscrewing the dented cap of his flask. The sharp reek of alcohol filled the air before he took a long swig. He burped loudly. “Workin' with yer hands... life can’t get better than that! If ye ain't buildin', yer just decayin'.”

  “Yes, when you’re working for yourself, not when you’re forced to,” Qalda shot back.

  “He makes it sound grim, but life in the military isn’t that bad,” Otto said. He tried to join the conversation, but the cold looks he received reminded him he wasn’t welcome.

  “Qalda, how did you find out about the boy’s father?” Lucas asked, breaking the tension.

  “Promising a mother you’ll save her daughter usually loosens her tongue.”

  “But how did you know the townspeople were lying?” Lucas persisted.

  “I didn’t. She did,” Qalda shrugged, pointing at Evelyn. “Before entering the tunnel, she told me the innkeeper and his wife were lying. Since Edir and I would’ve been useless against a specter, we stayed behind to dig for the truth. And before you ask, her perception is terrifyingly sharp.”

  Evelyn pressed her lips into a thin line, clearly displeased to be the subject of discussion.

  “That’s enough talk,” Qalda grinned, noticing the mage’s reaction. “Let’s eat.”

  <<<>>>

  “See that tower?” Qalda pointed toward a stone structure located on the cliff edge. “That’s where Stonehill begins.”

  “Thank you for everything.” Otto bowed and walked away without hesitation.

  Lucas, however, lingered. He stood a few steps back from the Unbowed. Looking at them, he saw two paths diverging before him.

  One led to Stonehill, a supposed better place where he was promised training. But ultimately, it meant joining an army of thousands where no one would care if he lived or died.

  The second path was the Unbowed. They were a small group, but more powerful than anyone Lucas had ever met. They had a skilled mage and a blindingly fast warrior, and he didn’t doubt Edir and Qalda were just as formidable. But the Unbowed hunted creatures far more dangerous than men.

  In theory, he could learn more from them, and they could become reliable allies in his search for a way back to Earth. Being stuck in the army, fighting someone else’s war, wouldn't get him any closer to home.

  Will they even take me? What if they just use me as bait?

  Lucas didn’t trust the Unbowed. But then his eyes landed on Otto - the man who had cursed him when death seemed certain, then hid while the others fought.

  That wasn’t the man Lucas wanted to share a battlefield with. And so far, he had seen only those kinds of men in the military.

  “Qalda...” Lucas bowed deeply. “Thank you for everything.”

  Three of them smiled and waved, while Evelyn just stared with her dark, deep eyes.

  As they turned to leave, Lucas’s heart hammered against his ribs. He realized he was letting a unique opportunity slip away. Powerful monsters were dangerous, yes, but they also meant a better chance to increase his level. And these four seemed far more reliable than Otto and his kind could ever be.

  “Qalda! Please, let me join you!”

  The next chapter will be out Tomorrow.

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