Derik and Montag emerged from the alley and stepped foot back into the main plaza. A majority of the stone tiles had been stained a sickly green and the area seemed in an even greater state of disrepair than before. There was a line of bug corpses strung down the length of the plaza and surrounding roads. The once-proud commercial buildings in the area were all reduced to various fractions of their former height. They began to navigate through the rubble and surveyed the four main streets leading out of the plaza.

Derik surveyed the area, "This is quite the scene. Where shall we go for here?"

"Let's head North. We might find some other survivors on the way," Montag replied.

"Sure," Derik responded. "-and I think I can walk on my own now."

The direction opposite to the original attack still seemed like the most reasonable choice to Derik despite his earlier experience, after all, the monsters must have overrun the defense some time ago to have gotten to the plaza so quickly.

Montag released Derik's arm from his shoulders, and the two began to trek down the main road. They carefully navigated through the rubble from collapsed buildings. Derik was still unable to grasp the gravity of the situation, but reflecting on this experience would have to wait until they got out of the city.

The sound of gravel against leather was the only thing keeping silence at bay. They began to see more broken weapons and dried blood as they continued to walk down the northern road. Their silent march was interrupted when they heard a voice call out.

"I didn't know there was anyone still alive in this part of the city!"

A woman could be seen poking out from the window of one of the destroyed buildings. Her black hair poked out from behind her leather helm. Her piercing green eyes were all that was visible of her face as a cloth veil reached up to the ridge of her nose. She wore hardened leather and a metallic mesh. The armor was very form-fitting and did little to distort the shape of her silhouette.

"This is no place for wanderers," Montag called out. "-allow us to escort you out of the city."

"I'm just fine on my own, thanks," She replied. "-And quite frankly, it doesn't look like you haven't been doing that great of a job."

"Ok, what are you doing out here?" Derik then asked. "It looks like you came prepared."

"Killing monsters, I thought that was pretty self-evident." she gestured to the corpses around her.

"While I don't doubt your skills madam, only I could ever even hope to defeat so many monsters," Montag responded.

"It wasn't easy but I was able to kill them all without too much difficulty," she stated matter-of-factly.

"How?" Derik asked out of genuine curiosity. "Did you hole up in that building while it was still standing?"

"I managed, they were congregating on the other end of the street so there was more than enough distance between us for me to take them all down. My only real concern was if I had enough ammunition to kill them all," she responded.

"So…uh what are the names of you two?" she asked.

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"I am Montag, captain of the guard. And this is my compatriot Derik."

"Nice to meet you Montag, Derik, my name is Lina," she responded. "Why don't you two join me? My other companions are currently indisposed and I could use a few men with your experience."

"I'm not going to join your party," Derik said.

"Why not. We can explore the world together. It would be great fun. We can wreak terrible vengeance on the monsters that have upended your life and prevent anyone else from suffering the same fate." Lina spoke with conviction.

"Going exploring and putting my life on the line daily doesn't seem especially good for my lifespan. I am not going to hold a grudge against insects." Derik replied. "And, by my count, I have known you for a total of 17 seconds."

"Well, like what else are you even going to do? Unless you are going to tell me you already have a job lined up repairing the city," she questioned.

"I don't know. I've always wanted to be a baker."

"And where exactly you get the funds to do that," she threw a pouch of gold at Derik's feet, "I ensure you will be richly rewarded for joining. You could even say I am overcompensating you for the risk. It would only be for a year, you can leave after that if you want."

"When you put it that way..." Derik stuck out his hand. "I guess you have yourself a deal."

"I shall also join," Montag said, "No point in being a captain if you don't have anyone to command. Life on the road fighting monsters and rescuing fair maidens does have a certain appeal."

"Great! We head for Palatine territory. There is some work I have lined up there," Lina looked quite pleased with herself. "I'm glad we managed to reach an agreement."

"Alright, I just have to stop and do something quickly," Derik said as he turned back down the road.

Derik began to make his way back to the barracks.

"It looks like all the dangerous monsters have been cleared out, so I might as well head back and see if I can get my stuff," he thought.

He reached the barracks. It was mostly destroyed but luckily his section of the dormitories remained. He entered through the empty door frame and opened the chest he was given to store his belongings. He reached into it and took out his dress clothes as well as the small bag he used to carry his belongings. It wasn't all that important really, but he had to admit that the clothes held some sentimental value; it was all he had left to remind him of his home after all.

Derik ducked past the collapsed roof and returned to the northern gate to find Montag and Lina arguing.

"You are telling me all you carry in terms of supplies are some pieces of hardtack??" Montag was shouting furiously.

"What exactly is the problem here?" Derik asked.

"The problem is our new captain has no camping supplies whatsoever for the two-week trip to Palatine."

Lina glared at Montag, "I do... they just got lost in the fighting. We merely need to make a detour to pick up some supplies is all."

Derik gazed over at them and let out a breath of air. "Hand me the map," Derik said to Montag.

Montag gave the map he was holding to Derik. Sketched on the map were three large areas labeled Tango, Palatine, and Mesburg. Derik continued to look at the map and found New Baden; it looked like they were located near the edge of the area labeled Mesburg. Derik examined the other various labeled dots that marked the various cities and towns.

"Why don't we stop at the nearby town of Silesia and pick up some supplies there?" Derik suggested.

"Yes, let's do that!" Lina quickly agreed eager to get moving.

"It's settled then Silesia and then Palatine," Derik confirmed.

"One more thing before we head out," Montag mentioned, "It doesn't feel right to just leave."

He took some nearby rocks and debris started moving them into a pile. He then tore a piece of cloth draping from one of the destroyed buildings and neatly laid it over the pile, tucking it underneath.

"Not much but it will have to do," he mentioned.

He reached back behind himself and rummaged through one of the multitude of bags adorning his belt. He took out a small bundle of incense and laid it out beside his crude construction. The faint smoke of the incense was barely visible in the distance as they made their way past the bent northern gate.