Adam leaned back in his chair, always the most talkative of the group, "So, what brings you two to town? Been out adventuring?"

Derek, who had been silent up until this point, suddenly blurted, "We're taking over the world."

Marnie shot him a quick glare, "Quiet, Derek." Then, turning back to Adam with a forced smile, he added, "What my partner ‘meant‘ to say is that we’re doing pretty well for ourselves. We hunt slimes and sell their bodies."

Adam perked up, "Hey, T, we seen a lot of slimes lately?"

Tamara shrugged, "Not really. You guys must have a good hunting spot."

Marnie puffed up a little, thinking, ‘Yeah, we do have a great spot.‘ But what he said was, "It's tough, but we manage to get our slimes."

Then, he paused, his mind ticking away. ‘That Adam guy seems decent. He gave back all my coins when he could’ve pocketed a couple... Maybe these are the guys we need to help grow our business.‘ Marnie smiled, leaning in a little, "What about you guys? What have you been up to?"

Peter cut in with his usual bluntness, "Fuck, we were doing awesome. Hunting, collecting mana coins, looting bodies. Then out of nowhere, we got jumped by a bunch of crazies screaming about faith."

Tamara nodded, setting her beer down, "Speaking of which, we probably should finish up here and report it to the guards. There could be a reward."

"Oh, you’ll want to talk to Isabella, then," Marnie said quickly.

"Who’s Isabella?" Tamara asked.

Derek piped in, "Isabella’s that sucker who keeps buying our slimes for her restaurant, Bon Appétit."

Marnie’s eyes widened, "Derek, shut up!" He turned back to Tamara and Adam, embarrassed. "What my ‘partner‘ meant to say is Isabella is a very important customer. She owns Bon Appétit, but she’s also captain of the guard for the whole empire."

Tamara raised an eyebrow, impressed, "Wow, sounds like you know some real big shots. Think you could introduce us?"

"Sure," Marnie nodded. "Let’s go."

The group finished their beers, paid their tab, and headed toward Fort Bone Castle. Inside, Isabella was hard at work, going over plans with Olivia when she spotted Marnie and Derek. ‘These guys again? Didn't I just deal with them this morning?‘ she thought.

The guards ushered them in, and Marnie greeted her with a smile, "Hi, Isabella. We're not here about slimes this time. We met some new friends, and they were attacked in the wasteland. Thought you might want to know."

Isabella’s thoughts were a mixture of frustration and responsibility. ‘Bandits? That's usually Alexander’s job... but I guess it falls on me now. Damn you, Atlas. This is eating into my restaurant time.‘ Out loud, she maintained her composure, "Bandits, huh? Likely remnants of the Faith Settlement. We broke them up, but I guess some are still causing trouble. Don’t worry, we’ll take care of it. I’ll send out patrols to that area."

Marnie, Derek, and the adventurers gave her a quick rundown of the attack. Isabella nodded thoughtfully, "Alright. We’ll give you each five coins for the report if you’re willing to escort the patrols to the location. Maybe we can trace them back to their hideout."

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Adam chimed in quickly, "Works for me." Always eager to be helpful.

Tamara, on the other hand, wasn’t as thrilled. ‘Five coins? That’s it?‘ She hid her frustration and said, "That’s fine, happy to help. Anything for BoneTown and the Fort Bone Empire."

With that, Isabella sent them off with a squadron of twenty men, each equipped with flares and orders to find the bandits' hideout. The adventurers were already thinking about their next stop—more slimes, more coin, and maybe a little less ‘faith‘-related nonsense.

When they were about to leave town, Marnie said, "You guys go ahead. Derek and I have more slime hunting to do. Slimes don't kill themselves." And in his head, he thought, ‘He might as well, though. My slime farm is doing so well, but there's no way we can leave it alone for so long. I can't have them forming into a pod. And even though the cave is well hidden, I still never feel safe.‘ Oh, but when you guys get back, let them know at the Wasted Tavern that you're looking for us. Stick a note up on the bulletin board there. We could always use more help hunting slimes.

Tamara thought, ‘Hey, that might be a good idea. More income means a better life in the wasteland.‘ "Sure, sounds great. We'll leave a note, and we'll be staying in the inn beside the Wasted Tavern anyways when we return."

Marnie said, "Great. Hopefully, we'll see you back in a couple of days."

With this clear death flag spoken out loud, the adventurers all split up. Unknowingly tempting fate.

‘‘‘

POV : WASTELAND BANDITS

Nadir was leading his men back to their hideout, his face tight with worry. Every step felt heavier as the thought of Fort Bone's adventurers swarming after them gnawed at his mind.

"Keep your trails obscured," he yelled, his voice rough and urgent as he glanced back, eyes scanning the darkening horizon.

But what he didn’t know, what churned in the shadows beyond his fears, was that adventurers and the Fort Bone security teams wouldn’t be his biggest problem. His real trouble was about to arrive. The threat that should have consumed his every thought.

Skeletal hordes.

It wasn’t the main army. If it had been, there wouldn’t have been any hope at all. But even with this smaller force, survival was already slipping through his fingers, like water draining from a broken vessel.

The air grew thick with the sound of clanking metal as armored skeletons, hulking beast steel skeletons, and regular ones rushed toward them, cold and unrelenting. At first, his men fought back fiercely, blades flashing, managing to hold their ground. For a moment, there was a flicker of hope.

But as the fight dragged on, the tide turned. His men stumbled, fatigue creeping into their movements, and the skeletons pressed harder, more relentless than ever. Nadir felt a sinking pit in his stomach as they started to lose ground, the skeletons gaining the upper hand with every clash of steel.

Nadir slashed wildly, his sword cutting through the brittle bones of a skeleton, but there were too many. All around him, the clattering of bones filled the air as his men fought desperately. His breath was ragged, heart hammering against his ribs as he took stock of the battlefield. It was chaos. His men were falling, overwhelmed by the sheer number of attackers.

A beast steel skeleton, massive and armored, charged toward him, its glowing eyes fixed on him with eerie intent. Nadir braced himself, blocking its crushing blow with a resounding CLANG! The force of the impact rattled his bones, sending him stumbling backward. His men cried out in terror and agony as more skeletons tore into their ranks.

‘We’re not going to make it,‘ Nadir thought bitterly, his eyes wide with desperation. He could see the fear in his men's faces—men who had trusted him to lead them. Now, they were being slaughtered, picked off one by one by the relentless horde.

To his left, a hulking beast steel skeleton grabbed one of his men by the throat, lifting him effortlessly off the ground. The man’s scream was cut short as the skeleton slammed him into the dirt, his lifeless body crumpling at its feet. Nadir felt the bile rise in his throat, but there was no time to mourn. Another wave of skeletons crashed against their dwindling line, cutting them down with chilling precision.

“Hold the line!” Nadir shouted, his voice cracking, more out of desperation than command. But the line was already breaking, his men retreating, some turning to run, others collapsing from sheer exhaustion.

A bony hand shot out, grabbing one of his men, slashing through his armor with ease. The man fell with a dull thud, his blood soaking into the dirt as skeletal warriors stepped over him, their empty eyes fixed on the next victim.