The smell of rotting flesh overwhelmed our group hiding in wait. Our targets shambled past, groaning with every step.

"Remember, our client needs these things alive. So aim for the legs, try to pull punches, and most importantly, avoid their teeth." Berthold advised through our team's headset.

It had been weeks since our escape from the city of Dulcrois, and our group had fallen on hard times, to say the least.

The beginning was easy. We had plenty of cash after the robbery of the cess, but Dulcrois, now allied with the Temple of Aramaz, had put out substantial bounties on our group. This meant most of our money had to go towards bribes to ensure our anonymity.

Despite these payments, our time in each new city was short-lived. We had barely enough time to get settled before a new snake-emblazoned army ripped through the city, attempting to find us. Typically even a hundred of the basic Aramaz cultists wouldn't pose a threat to our group. Still, after forcing themselves into Dulcrois, the snake acquired a potent venom.

Seeking shelter in a formal organization, Berthold convinced our team to seek out a group. With our preferences being something that would have high protection with only the slightest responsibility, joining the Voyagers became our only real option.

The jobs varied by risk level, competency, and group size, but we were interested in something other than getting the highest-paying jobs. So instead, we focused on easy requests we could accomplish quickly to maintain our Voyaging League membership. This time, the closest and quickest request was capturing eight of the shambling undead for a researcher in town.

The capture took even shorter work than expected. First, Nev effortlessly bound the undead's legs to the ground using the root system of some nearby trees. While keeping a couple of feet of distance, I crafted bite guards, hoods, and arm bindings for the shamblers, then had Nev release the roots that were stopping their movement. Finally, all that was left was herding the former humans back into town and collecting our reward.

Reinmont was a bustling city marked as a hub for the Voyaging League and its members. Merchants and traders made stops through the city to hire and purchase goods from Voyagers. However, while its traffic was high, the diversity throughout the city was relatively low. Humanoid species of all types lived in the city, but the demographic was almost all men past the age of twenty-five.

Voyagers, for the most part, acted like a band of brothers. Helping other Voyagers when they can, even for little to no pay. However, being a brutal profession, the Voyagers attracted many aggressive individuals, sometimes with no respect for rules. These Voyagers would take goods, women, and sometimes even children. Making cities with Voyager League hubs an undesirable place to settle down with one's wife and kids.

"It's delivered on time, so pay up, old man." A gruff voice called out from the street ahead.

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The voice belonged to a fellow Voyager known as Puiz. He stood before a leather working shop, arguing with a stout man in the doorway. Based on his apron, I assumed the plump man was the owner.

"The glimmer deer pelt I requested was supposed to be intact. Not to mention it's seared along the slash marks. Half of this is completely unusable. Why would you expect me to buy this?" The shopkeep demanded back.

"Not my problem. Now pay up." Puiz demanded.

"I refuse!" The shopkeep replied, attempting to close the door on the burly Voyager.

Puiz's foot caught the door while he used one arm to pry the door back fully open. The leatherworker stumbled backward into their shop as Puiz slowly closed the distance between the two.

There were only a few rules inside the Voyagers, just three. First, you agreed to receive the pay you were promised. Second, you would have to intercede if another Voyager was in danger. And third, there was no fighting between members. Predictably, the third rule was broken quite frequently.

Puiz unsheathed the sword on his back and stood above the trembling leather worker. The worker tried to scoot back across the ground but was stopped by a display shelf.

"Should've taken the deal, little man," Puiz said while uplifting his blade. "I might be able to make my money back if I sell off your shop."

Coiled strings wrapped his arm as his blade swung down until it was locked mid-swing. Puiz looked at his arm in shock, following the threads back to the source, standing in the shop's doorway.

"You looking to die too?" Puiz asked.

"Not at all," I replied, flashing my Voyaging League token. "I just saw that glimmer deer pelt in the street and was wondering how much it would cost to take it off your hands?"

The strings around Puiz's arm relaxed as his blade dropped to his side. "The request was three hundred Oolecks for the pelt."

"Yeah, we saw that request. Good pay, but I know you had to travel a while to find it. Seeing how it's partially damaged, would you take two fifty?"

"Mercy, no!" Berthold called out behind me from the street. "That's almost everything we have left. Let's just turn in these-"

I shot Bert a look and threw my hand out to stop him.

Puiz paused momentarily and looked between the shopkeep and me, then shrugged.

"Excellent. Berthold, pay the man." I replied, moving out of the way of the massive Voyager.

Berthold reluctantly offered up the rest of our money as Puiz confidently walked off deeper into the city.

"Sorry about that," I said, offering my hand to the shopkeep.

I helped the leather worker off the floor, and as he regained his composure, I moved toward our group's recent purchase. I grabbed each half of the pelt and focused its desired form into my mind's eye. With one simple mental switch, the two halves reformed into one.

"I couldn't remove the charred bits, but I managed to move it to the edges. Since you should be able to salvage most of it, could you repurchase it for two fifty?"

The leatherworker stopped to consider and inspect for a moment. Then shuffled behind a counter, emerging with a sack filled with Oolecks.

"The full three hundred. You saved my shop, maybe even my life. Thank you."

I gratefully accepted payment and threw the sack toward Berthold with a sly smile. The rest of our group had pushed forward to drop off the undead with our client. We followed in their wake.

"So what do you have against helping people?" I asked Berthold, trying to get a rise out of him.

"Nothing, as long as it doesn't bankrupt us or get us killed," Bert replied.

"Puiz?" I asked. "You think we couldn't take down Puiz?"

"No, that clown wouldn't know what hit him. But we'd lose protection from the Voyagers, so maybe let's pick our battles more intelligently next time." Berthold paused, pretending to tie the boots on his feet. "Someone's been following us since we entered the city gates. They stopped when we stopped, which means they're following one of us."