After a day of celebration, the leaders of Fang, Brayno and Ringorne told their companions that they must continue moving since the threat of hunters going after them still exists. Now with a child in tow, Fang must be more careful on who they encounter. Ringorne believes that the commanders should be stronger than they were.

However, the group must first find a location where they can camp. So, the group continued their journey. Fang continued their journey South to ensure safety for their growing numbers. As they reached the outskirts of the town of Halman, Fang decided to set up a camp near the said town.

“Let’s take a rest here.”, said Ringorne.

Fang then set up their camp in the outskirts of the town, setting up training facilities and the training dummies to help them. While they were busy in their construction, one of the leaders, Ulmar, told them that,

“Boss, our finances are running low. I think we need to do some mercenary work for a while.”

“Agreed. To sustain our group, we need to find a way to ensure that we can survive.”, said Ringorne.

“I’m going to town to find some people who would need our help.”, said Ulmar.

“Go but ensure that the people who will hire us are trustworthy individuals.”, said Ringorne.

“Of course, Boss.”, said Ulmar.

Ulmar then went on to Halman and looked for people who would help them. Meeting merchant after merchant, he stumbled across a group of people. One person intrigued him, a man carrying a large broadsword. But before he could approach the man, he simply disappeared.

Maybe it is a blessing that we didn’t meet eye to eye

Ulmar continued his way, until he met a large man. He saw the large man with a group of recruits. The man trained the group in an intense manner ensuring that they would be disciplined and respectful. Upon a closer look, Ulmar saw an old man monitoring them, with a stern look on his eyes. When Ulmar look at the eyes of the old man, he saw the legendary warrior, a man by the name of Lagish.

Better not run afoul of that group. Lagish is a living legend and with his reputation, who knows how good his students are

“I saw you were watching us.”, said the large man.

Upon hearing those words, Ulmar was shocked. He was so focused on the old man that he never realized that the large guy has managed to sneak behind him.

“Don’t worry I won’t harm you for no reason.”, said the large man.

“I’m just here travelling in search of jobs and other things that a mercenary is needed for.”, said Ulmar.

“Hmmmm. I really don’t know any jobs for mercenaries here. But you can always go to the bars in the area. People are always looking for bodyguards against bandits and other groups who might harass them.”, said the large man.

“Could you direct me to the bars?”, asked Ulmar.

“I’ll lead you to Cow’s Grave Tavern. That bar is always bursting with travellers.”, said the large man.

“Thank you…”

“Ulgar.”, said the large man.

“Nice to meet you. My name is Ulmar.”

“Likewise.”

The two then marched towards Cow’s Grave Tavern. There, Ulgar approached the bartender and reserved a table for one person. Before he left, he wished luck upon Ulmar and told him,

“I hope you find what are you looking for.”

Ulmar nodded and bid farewell to the large man. While waiting to see if there will be a group of people who would approach him, Ulmar ordered drinks at the bar.

There are plenty of travelers here. I need to look for someone who will need us.

Ulmar waited for a while, until a pair of travelers approached him. Appearing as merchants they asked him,

“Are you available?”

“It depends. What do you want?”, asked Ulmar.

“We need bodyguards who can aid us in our travels. We are journeying north and carry valuable items.”

“How much are you willing to pay?”

“100,000 GolCreds.”

“Deal. Me and my companions will meet up with you, later. And you are?”, asked Ulmar

“Jainz. I am the leader of my own merchant group.”

“Alright Jainz. We’ll meet up right outside this bar later.”, said Ulmar.

After securing the deal, Ulmar went back to the camp of the Fang. There, he talked with Ringorne. Upon telling his boss on what they would do and the amount of money that they would get paid for.

“Hmmm. I wonder who will we send? Ah. I know, Me, you and Brayno, and three more men will go.”

“Got it Boss.”

Ulmar went back to the camp and summoned Brayno and three volunteers to join them. The six armed themselves and went towards the town of Halman. There, they stayed at the Cow’s Grave Inn, waiting for Jainz and his group.

After a few minutes of waiting, Jainz and his group approached Ulmar. They told him that their group is outside the gates, ready to go on a journey to the north.

While three of the Fang commanders were doing bodyguard duties, Ringorne left the responsibility of taking care of their group to Angela and Lakish. The siblings then decided to simply hide somewhere in the forest, to which Ringorne agreed. The camp was then set up at the edge of the Amarino forest. Guards were dispatched at the exits of the camps to prevent some of their younger members to wander around the treacherous forest.

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Please stay safe, thought Angela.

The three commanders and their three companions continued their journey to the north, protecting the merchants. During the travel, the group of six encountered numerous bandits and other people who would try to raid them. Ringorne, Brayno and Ulmar easily dispatched the attackers using their skills and abilities.

Travelling towards the north, the group passed by three towns without much incident. It was not until they reached the city of Ghasto where they first encountered some sort of trouble. A lean man approached the group and simply gave warning to them.

“Don’t cross the wrong people”, said the young man.

“We’re just here to guard these merchants.”, said Ringorne.

“Just don’t mess with us.”, said the young man.

“Look here, we don’t want any violence. We’re merely passing by this town and be on our way.”, said Ringorne.

“Alright then. I’ll let you pass.”, said the young man.

When the group managed to pass through the town, the mercenaries breathed a sigh of relief.

“Why?”, asked a curious Ringorne.

“The man you encountered is named Slephenne. He leads a group of executioners who would do the will of their master.”, said Jainz.

“Master?”, asked Ringorne.

“They say he serves a noble, but we don’t know who exactly. Slephenne is a very powerful individual. I think mercenaries like you have no idea just how powerful the man is, but we merchants must deal with dukes and nobles almost all the time. Someone like Slephenne is very intimidating.”, said Jainz

“We should be wary of him and his group, then.”, said Ringorne

“You should. They managed to destroy guilds who confronted them.”, said Jainz

Due to caution, the group simply waited in an exchange building where the merchants traded their goods. After obtaining their items, the group went north to the final town, the town of Belland.

Upon arriving the group exchanged their new goods to their stopover, and thanked Fang for protecting them along the journey. The merchants handed over their cash to the members of Fang and went on their merry way. After receiving the money, Fang went on a return journey to the town of Halman.

Much like their trip to Belland, the group encountered different hostile groups. Just like their journey to Belland, the group managed to easily dispatch the groups who are attacking them. Heeding Jainz’s warning the group decided not to go to the city of Ghasto. Instead, they took a longer detour towards Halman.

Along the way, the group encountered a field filled with the bodies of guilds. It seems entire guilds were indeed wiped out by the group of Slephenne.

We need to make sure we don’t get his attention for now. That guy is way too powerful., thought Ringorne.

The group continued their way towards Halman, encountering beasts and other rogue elements. After about 5 days, the leaders of Fang managed to return to their camp at Halman.

Upon seeing Brayno unharmed and uninjured, Angela rushed towards him and gave him a tight embrace.

“I missed you.”, said Angela.

“Likewise. That journey is tough, but we managed to get ourselves some cash to help us.”, said Brayno.

“I know you would survive. With our leader and you, I believe that we will be safe and free from danger.”, said Angela.

“Actually, that is what Ringorne will discuss today. Since we have Binshil in our camp, we should not risk our group for any attack that may come towards us.”, said Brayno.

“Understood. But for now, let’s enjoy our times here, and train Binshil. The kid is getting more eager and wants to train everyday.”, said Angela.

“Good for him. If everything stays the same, Binshil might be a formidable warrior or fighter in his own right.”, said Brayno.

“The kid is amazing, even after everything he went thru.”, said Angela.

“He is a strong kid in his own right.”, said Brayno.

“Anyway, get some rest for a while. As strong as you can be, you still came from a long journey.”, said Angela.

“Alright. Can I stay with you for a while?”, said Brayno.

“Sure.”, said Angela.

Brayno and Angela went back to their tent, where the latter tended to the former. The two of them slept together, with Brayno lying down on Angela’s lap. With Brayno and Angela resting, Ringorn decided to approach Binshil, and handle his training.

“Binshil, let’s have a small spar.”, said Ringorne.

“Yes sir.”, said Binshil.

Ringorne took two wooden swords and handed both swords to Binshil. He directed the kid towards the circle, and simply told him,

“Attack as hard and as fast as you can. I won’t block any attack; I will only dodge your attacks.”

Calling upon Ulmar to watch and oversee the match, Ringorne prepared himself for an attack. Binshil then attacked Ringorne in a direct manner. The attacks from Binshil were predictable but powerful. Ringorne saw that the attacks have potential but were predictable. With the predictability of the attacks, Ringorne managed to dodge every attack from the kid.

With Ringorne simply evading the attacks from Binshil, it would not take long until the latter would get exhausted from trying to attack Ringorne. When Ringorne saw the kid get exhausted, he raised his hand and told Ulmar,

“I forfeit. You are impressive Binshil, but I was told you train endlessly. You need to know that rest is important.”, said Ringorne.

“But… I…. can…. Be…. Stronger…..”, said Binshil

“I know. But you are a kid. You should take a rest every now and then.”, said Ringorne.

“I….”, said Binshil

Before he could finish the sentence, Binshil collapsed, but he was caught by Ringorne. The latter carried him to Angela’s tent. Noticing that Brayno and Angela were sleeping together, Ringorne simply moved quietly and placed Binshil in the specialized bed made for him.

Those two. I wish them nothing but the best

Ringorne quietly moved out of the tent and continued with his personal training. Fearing the worst, he dedicated himself to train during the day, only stopping when the commanders would discuss the issue of strengthening their guild.

For Ringorne, the survival of the guild falls onto him, for if he fails, then the others would be done for. Failure is not an option for someone like Ringorne and he needs to be strong enough to face someone like Slephenne.

Around noontime, Ringorne convened with his commanders. There he told them about the threat of Slephenne and what would happen to them should they cross him.

“Our group primarily goes after corrupt nobles and take their monies. When we went north, we found out that some of the nobles employ elite guards who can wipe out entire guilds. For us to be strong enough to fight people, we need to be stronger as well. Although I told Binshil that rest is important, we are veteran fighters. We need to be stronger and be able to protect the helpless.”, said Ringorne

“Agreed. Some of us will have families, and to have a better future, we need to grow in strength.”, said Lakish.

“We do need to find a way to fund our operations. We can’t simply function as a guild outside the scope of the Alliance without any jobs or rewards.”, said Ulmar.

“Maybe we could continue be mercenaries for hire, so that we can buy land for our own.”, said Angela.

“That would take a long time, but maybe if each one of us takes a task, maybe we can make it work.”, said Brayno.

“Good idea. Maybe we should spread. For now, me and Lakish would camp here. Brayno, Angela and Ulmar, find some more jobs or mercenary work for our group.”, said Ringorne.

“Will do.”, said Brayno, Ulmar and Angela.

“Anyways, you don’t need to separate. You can take mercenary jobs together.”, said Ringorne.

“I’ll go back to Halman and see if people need other bodyguard missions.”, said Ringorne.

“The two of us can go to the rumored forest village to see if some people there need help.”, said Angela and Brayno.

“I wish the three of you the best of luck.”, said Ringorne.

As Ulmar went back to Halman to look for more mercenary work, Angela and Brayno went towards the town to see if there is someone who can help them find a way to the forest. On the town, they met an old man whose cart has broken down. Pitying him, the couple aided him and helped him transport his goods to his shop.

“Thank you for helping me kind strangers. If you want help, you can always ask old Krahul.”

“Well, while travelling south, we heard that there was a village in the forest, the two of us don’t know how to get there.”, said Brayno.

“Maybe, I can help. After all, I have sold food to them from time to time.”, said Krahul.

“Thank you, Krahul.”, said Brayno.

“Your welcome.”, said Krahul.

After selling all his goods, Krahul guided Brayno and Angela on the road to the rumored forest village. Even after encountering all the obstacles, the trio managed to safely enter the village. Looking at the sign, Brayno realized that the village is named Caltron. When they went to the village center, the two of them saw a young girl playing around.

An old lady approached them and told them,

“That young girl is Vivien. Her sister is currently out in the forest, helping the stranded.”

“My name is Brayno and this is Angela.”

“Stay with us for a while. The two of you look weary.”, said the old lady.

And so, Angela and Brayno stayed for the night at Caltron.