Darius stood outside of Delna and watched a lone figure slowly walk towards their village.

He was the only [Guard] available for lookout during the day at the moment. Rhona had been killed last week, and no one else wanted to try for a new [Class]. He missed her - not that Rhona and him had been close. They had rarely seen each other, as she had mainly worked during the night.

Before the recent goblin attacks, there hadn't much excitement in Delna, not since the war. Heck, not even then. It was a small town - or a large village, and Darius liked it that way.

Still... He'd rather be on patrol. That way he could make sure that the new [Mayor] and his flunkies weren't hassling anyone. Darius couldn't do much but watch if they did, but he'd found that a set of eyes was a decent deterrent. A lot of being a [Guard] was being seen.

Unfortunately, having someone at the entrance was important. If a sand-scorpion or the goblins attacked, he'd be able to close the gate and hold them off long enough for reinforcements to arrive. Heck, the [Thugs] might even bother to show up.

Ha!

As if!

The foreigners and the rest of the villagers might now, technically, all belong to the Empire of Sands, but there was still a clear divide. Delna, as a whole, despised their new [Mayor], [Tax Collectors], and [Thugs]. The infuriating part, at least in Darius' mind, was that he didn't think the hatred was returned.

It was worse. Like the [Mayor] didn't think of them as people at all. You had to acknowledge something to hate it, and Borert clearly didn't feel strongly about them in any sort of way. The [Mayor]'s hatred was reserved for people - or monsters - that threatened his profits.

Like the goblins. He hated the goblins.

Shit. That'd just made things worse. The goblins had only been nuisances until Borert had decided to 'wipe them out'. Not that Darius had anything good to say about the little green thieves. There had been fights in the past, with good people getting wounded - but there had rarely been any deaths.

Until last week.

Darius sighed, and watched the solitary figure continue to walk from the North. He could make them out a little better now. It looked like they had a sword in their hand. Not drawn, just held in their hand instead of on their belt.

That was odd.

The hat was odder.

Or, was it a helmet?

It was certainly big enough. It was conical, and came to a point at its top. The base of it, however, seemed to be as wide as the person was.

Was it something that was common to the Great Desert to the East?

Delna wasn't too far away from the Northern coast of Chandrar - a week of walking. That meant that they also weren't very close either. It was dry here, and they were on the wrong side of the mountains to get any rain from the West.

It still was a far cry from the desert that the 'Empire of Sands' had been named after.

Darius supposed a hat like that could keep the sun off of a person. If it was a hat. It still might be a helmet.

He thought that would be unlikely. What would the point of a thick helmet be without any other armor? He could tell by the way the man - yes, it looked like a man - by the way the man moved, that he was wearing clothes. Possibly leather armor, like Darius', but probably not.

"Ho there!" He greeted the man when he was a dozen feet away. "Welcome to Delna, traveler." The sound of his... wooden sandals? stopped.

"Greetings." The man nodded before pushing his hat up to reveal his eyes. They were oddly slanted, and his hat was made out of... reeds? Straw? He didn't recognize the plant. "Is there an inn you can direct me to?"

He was clearly a foreigner. Smooth skin, but not the beauty of silk. Cotton then. Oh, wait. While his dark gray robe-like outfit only revealed his hands, feet, face, and some of his chest - it was enough to help identify his race. He didn't have any stitches. Human then.

Delna didn't get many humans. There was that one that he'd heard of second hand. She'd supposedly also had worn odd looking clothes. Humans were the most populous race on Chandrar - according to the [Merchants], with Stringfolk coming in close behind.

That wasn't the case in Delna. Most everyone here was a Stringfolk.

Darius sized up the traveler. He wasn't the pale color of most non-Chandrarians, so he might've spent time within a desert somewhere else. Or on a boat. The one [Sailor] Darius had met had been tanned by the sun at sea. The traveler's long, black hair hung down in a lose ponytail along his back. Not braided... so probably not a [Merchant] or anyone else that cared overly much about their appearance.

"Hmmm..." Darius frowned. "No inn here. We don't get many visitors, aside from the occasional [Merchant]. They usually bunk with Toode. He runs the general store. If you want a place to sleep, you could probably arrange it with him."

"Really?" The man craned his neck to look at the village, and the sheer mountain walls it was nestled in. "Am I that far off the beaten path?"

"Beaten path?" Darius chuckled. "That's a nice phrase." He nodded at the road. "Our path remains because there's not enough rain or plants to overgrow it. And because the winds are blocked from blowing sand over it. Truth is, we don't get many of your kind in these parts."

"My kind?"

"Adventurers." Darius glanced back into the town. "Not like we have a guild for you or anything else. If you're looking for work, there might be some that will scrounge together a bounty for ya. The goblins have started raiding us this past week." He shook his head. "Hell, I'll even chip in if you think you can take out the tribe. Even some support at night would be appreciated since they started trying to get in then."

"I'm not an adventurer, but I might help out." The man's eyes slid towards the town. "Where is... Toode, was it?"

Darius pointed. "If you follow the main street, you'll come to the mine entrance. If you turn to the right just as it comes into sight, you'll find Toode's store in about, oh, say two hundred feet. He ain't got a sign or nothin', but it's a fair sight bigger than most other buildings there. You'll figure it out."

"Thanks." The man nodded and lowered his hat back over his eyes.

"Say, can I get your name stranger?" Darius spoke before he could move past him. "Oh! And... shoot." He'd left the town's truth stone back in the guardhouse. Eh, whatever. He didn't really care if the man gave him a fake name. He'd likely be gone come tomorrow. There was nothing of interest in Delna - except maybe some food and a roof to sleep under.

"Jubei."

Huh. That was an odd name. More so in the way he pronounced it than anything else.

Toode was laying on his bed when he heard a knock.

The [Merchant] scowled, and put down his book. The thing had cost him five silvers, and he was just getting to the good part!

"I'm closed!" He shouted at the door as he got up. "What do you need this late in the day?" He begrudgingly got up and shuffled towards the door. It might be some idiot who'd gotten their shovel broken, or it might be an emergency. The few healing potions he still had in stock might be needed if the goblins were raiding them again.

"Greetings." The man towered above him, but that was true of almost everyone. Toode wasn't blessed with much height - or with enough gold to buy longer legs. "I was told that I might be able to spend the night here."

"Oh?" Toode looked him over. Human. Tanned skin. Slanted eyes. From Drath no doubt. Especially with that odd robe/shirt thing and the straw hat. Didn't see reeds like that in Chandrar often. "You a [Merchant]?"

"No." The man shook his head. "Just a traveler."

"Hmph." Toode snorted. "An adventurer then."

"I might find adventure, but I don't seek it out. My name's Jubei." He held out his hand.

"Toode." He shook the hand and then shrugged. "I have a side room that you can stay in. Two silver for the night."

Jubei frowned. "I'm afraid I don't have any money on me." He reached into the folds of his garment and pulled out a small bag. "I have some rice, sake, and a few potions. Perhaps we could trade?"

[Size Up].

The bag was the most valuable thing he had, followed by his sword. Of course, Toode's [Skill] couldn't take the bag's contents into account - he wasn't a [Thief]. To be the most expensive item, the bag must be magical. It was enchanted with holding most likely.

It was worth far more than two silver.

"Let me see the sake." Toode decided. The rice he could mark up, but no one in Delna would buy the stuff. The potions would probably be the better option - but then he'd have to give some money back. Besides, he could use a good, stiff drink.

Jubei reached into the bag and pulled out a small jug. "Here you go, old man. Is this good enough for you?"

Toode pulled out the cork and took a sniff before sipping from the bottle. "Ahh..." He grinned. "That's a fine drink." He hefted the jug. "A bit much for the room." He thought for a moment. "Ah! How 'bout I drink what I like from it, and return the rest to you in the morning? That is, if you're only going to be staying the single night?"

Jubei stroked his chin before closing the bag that was resting in his clothing. "That works for me."

"Good. Good." Toode took another swig. The rice drink went down smooth. "Let me grab the key and then I'll show you to the room."

Jubei waited. They walked to the third outer door in Toode's building. There were four in total, but he hadn't needed his second storage room in a long time. It made more money from hosting the occasional traveling [Merchant] than it would've gotten from holding extra stock.

"Looks good." Jubei examined the room.

"It's not much, but it is a roof over your head and the mattress is softer than the ground, if only just." Oh, wait. "Right, you're a human. You might like a lamp. I can sell you one for three silver."

"That's fine." Jubei shook his head. "All I need is a place to sleep. I'll likely be on my way before you awaken."

"An early riser, eh?" Toode smiled. "I'll leave your sake by my door after I go to bed. No one will steal it during the night." Unless the goblins raided them again and broke through the gate. "You can just leave the key in its place, deal?"

"Deal."

Jubei was awake before the sun had risen. He didn't need much sleep.

He could leave before dawn, but he was also curious about this small town and the people within it. It was one of the reasons he was wandering on this strange, new continent. He could afford to spend some time here before resuming his search for his targets.

He was pretty sure one of them was still here. He'd take a look around before deciding what to do next.

The air outside was cool and crisp. He was now far enough away from the coast, and the humidity had dropped dramatically. It made it nicer during the day - when it was still hot despite the season, but right now it made him wish his gi was thicker.

He shivered as a plume of steam exited his mouth. If this place had a proper inn, he'd see about getting some food, but...

He shrugged. No point in wishing for what he couldn't have.

Instead, he wandered the streets.

The main road cut straight through the village - from the gate to... huh, a mine.

Ah, so that's why there was a village here.

It must not be much of a mine. Jubei didn't know a thing about [Miners], but given the size of this place, there was no way it made much profit. He wondered what they pulled out of the ground? Iron? Copper? Silver?

A rock in one of the mine carts glinted under the waxing moonlight. Jubei got closer...

Gold?

No. Copper.

It was just a speck - the tiniest mote of metallic dust, but it told a story. A story of a mine that was valuable enough for a village to dedicate themselves to it in this desert, but not valuable enough for anything more to come of it than that.

That wasn't important, not compared to hunting down his target.

!

He heard a sound!

It was faint, but... yes, it had come from the mine. Someone working late? An animal that had wandered in for the warmth? It hadn't sounded like stones being struck, more like...

Gravel crunched behind him.

Jubei whirled around. His hands came together. His left one held his katana, and the right rested on its hilt.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here boys?"

Three men loomed over him. How had they gotten so close?

Jubei regarded them before speaking. "You all are awfully light on your feet considering your size. What can I-" Jubei's head snapped back as one of them punched him.

That had been too fast. It must've been a [Skill].

"[Not So Fast]." The lead one smirked at him as the other two grabbed his arms. "We don't like spies around here."

"What?"

The man punched him in his stomach. Jubei coughed and bent over, but the blow hadn't done any serious damage. Sure, the man had put his weight behind it, but his form was sloppy. It wasn't hard to tense his abdomen to absorb the strike. It would still leave a bruise.

The spit that landed on his cheek was another matter.

"The mayor will decide your fate." The lead man retorted as one of his lackeys pulled away his sword and the other twisted Jubei's arms behind his back.

"You're making a mistake here." Jubei coughed to sell the idea that he had been more injured by the unprovoked attack than he really was. "I'm just a traveler passing through. I'm no spy."

The man punched his face again.

"Shut up, you scum. It's humans like-"

A scream filled the night air, and all three of the thugs turned to look towards the far end of town.

"Shouldn't you investigate that instead of beating up visitors to your little town?" Jubei started winding his [Ninja Wire] around his ankle.

"Not our problem." The head thug sneered at him. "You just-"

Jubei pulled on his wire and yanked his katana out of its sheath. "[Sword Art: Scything Cut]!" The weapon skill activated as it touched his leg, and his blade twisted around him. Jubei raised his other foot up to avoid the attack, but the thugs weren't so lucky. The attack had cleaved clean through all of their ankles. He took a moment to smirk at them. "I love Stringfolk. You don't have to feel bad about dismembering them."

"Fu-"

The man's yell was cut off as Jubei brought the hilt of his sword down on the leader's head. He quickly knocked the other goons out as well before retrieving his sheath and spooling his [Ninja Wire] back around his wrist.

"I suppose I should just find me target and leave town, but I'm curious about that scream." Jubei muttered to himself as he walked down the road. Other sounds were coming from the direction of the town's gate.

A silhouette came running up the street. "Goblins!" It resolved itself into a man. "Goblins are attacking the gate! To arms!"

To the side, a door slammed open, and a burly looking Stringfolk stuck their head out. "Again? That's three nights in a row!" He stepped outside with a pickaxe in his hands.

"They have a hob this time!"

"What?"

"I told you! That's what killed Rhona last week!"

"If they have a hob, why wasn't it leading the attacks the last two nights?"

A good question. Jubei trailed behind the growing mob. A better question was: left or right? He'd come from the North, and he hadn't noticed any goblins along the road. Of course, he hadn't been looking either. Still, that swung the odds towards the monsters living to the South.

Since Delna was nestled against a mountain range to the West... to the right it was.

Jubei swerved in that direction. He didn't know... well, anything about this town - except for its layout. The mountain range to the West ran for hundreds of miles. Delna was in a crevasse, which blocked off the North and South. That left the stone wall to the East as the sole way in or out.

The gate was the most obvious way through the wall, but not the only one.

Jubei started running. Once he'd built up enough momentum, he [Leapt] on top of the roofs of the smaller houses that were away from the main street. [Silent Steps] helped muffle the sound that his geta would normally make as he sprinted towards the wall.

He quickly passed the group of [Miners] that were bustling towards the gate. His target was elsewhere...

There!

Jubei caught a glimpse of red: goblin eyes. A small band were sneaking over the top of the wall while the rest of their tribe made a distraction at the gate.

Jubei [Leapt] across the gap between the houses and the wall, and landed on the upper rocks that were used as a scaffolding for the structure. He didn't bother to use any [Skills] as he effortlessly made shallow cuts to the hands and arms of the small creatures that were climbing up.

They screamed as they fell down.

A shadowy figure moved towards him while a blade flashed in the moonlight.

"Argh." Jubei grunted as he jumped back. It hadn't been a deep cut, but that wouldn't matter if the blade was poisoned. Given the goblin's stealth, it might have other skills similar to a [Ninja].

The pair traded slashes and dodges until Jubei hopped back while sheathing his sword.

"[Sword Art: Iaijutsu Wave]!"

His katana flew out of its sheath. At the same time, a trail gouged the stone scaffolding in a line towards the goblin - and then up and through it.

The fight hadn't lasted more than a few seconds. Jubei looked over the wall, but the rest of the goblins were gone. They hadn't tried climbing back up.

He looked at the green-skinned monster. Why had it continued to attack him instead of running away? If the rest of its tribe weren't coming to its aid, it made little sense. Unless... it was just that bloodthirsty, or... it had been covering their retreat.

Still, his opponents had suffered far worse. He'd never encountered a goblin before. The thing looked more like a child than anything else. Thin. Starving. Its lifeless hands held a jagged rock that he'd mistaken for a real weapon in the darkness.

He bowed his head as a sign of respect, before turning away. If he was right, the attack at the gate was just a distraction, but he'd accepted the village's hospitality. The honorable thing was to aid in its defense.

Darius cradled his arm as the hobgoblin retreated.

It had been rough, but he'd held the gate until reinforcements had arrived. Delna might not have a lot of [Guards], but they had plenty of [Miners]. Swinging a pickaxe and hauling mine carts all day required muscles and gave several [Skills] that were useful in a brawl.

Heck, lots of the townsfolk could probably beat him in a fistfight.

"Are you okay, Darius?"

He looked up at Raemon - his old childhood friend. "Yeah, I'm okay Rae." He winced as he touched his arm. "The hob broke my arm though."

"Monsters." Raemon spit to the side. "Figures that they'd resort to using clubs instead of a good blade." It was true that Darius would've preferred to have his arm cut off rather than broken. Reattaching a limb was something any grownup could do. Healing a break required a [Tailor] or time - and Delna didn't have many decent [Tailors]. "How'd they get through the gate?"

"Dunno." Darius prodded the huge slab of wood with his foot. The gate had fallen and now laid inside of the walls. "I didn't see anything like a battering ram. The big hob just charged it with its shoulder."

Raemon squatted down. "Here's your problem." He pointed to the hinges. "They must've snuck in earlier and sabotaged the joints." His friend looked up. "Weren't you on watch this afternoon? Didn't you see them?"

"You know I was." Darius scowled at him. "We've been short staffed even before we lost Rhona. I can't see everything by myself! I need someone else to watch my back!"

"Whoa. Easy there." Raemon held up his hands. "I wasn't blaming you or anything. I know we all have to let off steam every now and then. Speaking of which..." He moved closer, but whatever he was about to say was cut off when the crowd let out a collective gasp.

The foreigner with the odd hat landed next to them. His wooden sandals made a knocking sound as they came into contact with the detached gate. His left hand held his scabbard and sword, while his right hand was crossed over his chest and hovered over the hilt. He glanced left and right before straightening up.

"Who are you?" Raemon took a step back, and brought up his pickaxe.

"That's a traveler that came into town this evening." Darius winced as he moved his good arm from supporting his bad one and placed his hand on Raemon's chest. "He's an adventurer. His name is Jupei."

"Jubei." The man corrected him. "There were goblins climbing up the wall to the south, but I drove them off."

Darius cursed. "Vered, go take a look to the south. Neas, go make sure they aren't trying the same thing to the north."

His fellow [Guards] nodded before returning to their posts. They'd come to help him when the gate had fallen, but that had clearly been a distraction.

"Stitchless scavengers!" Raemon cursed to his side. "I guess there haven't been any [Merchants] on the road, so they're getting desperate. Borert needs to get off his ass and send his [Thugs] after them to finish the job he started!" He looked behind him towards the town. "Speak of the creler."

"What's going on here?!" Borert, the [Mayor] that had been assigned Delna was walking down the street. Two [Thugs] flanked him. "What's this I hear about goblins?"

Darius gave him a half-hearted salute. "They attacked the gate, and tried to slip over the walls."

Borert crossed his arms and sniffed. "That's what you get for letting a nest of those vermin exist so close to the city."

City? Darius thought. He didn't know what size or number of people living there or whatever metric made a 'city', but Delna definitely didn't qualify. Not with a population of a little more than two hundred.

"No." Raemon sneered back. "That's what we get for having an idiot who sends out [Thugs] to do a half-assed job of wiping them out. Goblins aren't THAT stupid. Vicious, yes, but they can think enough to retaliate against the people that attacked them."

"Bah!" Borert glared at him before turning his attention to Jubei. "So what you're saying is that we need an adventurer to wipe them out."

Darius looked back and forth between the [Mayor] and the foreign traveler. Jubei had to be at least level fifteen to wander the desert by himself. That was better than he, or any other [Guard] of Delna, was.

"I'm not an adventurer." Jubei stated.

"So, you're adventuring without a license, eh?" Borert smirked. "I'll add that to your assault and resisting arrest charges."

"Do whatever you want." Jubei pulled his hat down over his eyes. "I'm going to leave."

"Do that, and I'll put a bounty out on you!" Borert raised his voice. "There will be nowhere safe for you in the Empire of Sands. Or Chandrar for that matter! Roshal and Nerrhavia's Fallen take bounties seriously!"

"I'll take my chances." Jubei turned towards the gap in the wall.

"Fine." Borert snorted before reaching into his pocket. "I guess I'll just have to keep this then." He pulled out a small bag.

"What?" Jubei twisted his head around, and then reached inside of his shirt. His hand came out empty. "I hate pickpockets." He growled and bent his knees as his right hand slowly moved towards his sword's hilt.

Borert raised his eyebrows. "What? Are you going to attack me?" He let out a sharp laugh. "The [Emperor] will have your head for even attempting such a thing!"

Darius noted that Borert had backed up behind his two [Thugs] while speaking.

"Give me back my bag." Jubei muttered with clenched teeth.

"You mean the item you planned to smuggle gold with?" Borert smiled. "No. I don't think so. It's clear to me that you must've been part of the rebellion. Why else would you act like this?" The pair stared at one another before Borert continued. "Or, this might just be a misunderstanding. Personally, I'd be much more inclined to view you favorably if you helped Delna and killed the goblins that currently infest the mountain."

"..." Jubei's eyes flickered to his left and right before glaring at Borert. The crowd of villages watched as his posture straightened.

"Think it over." Borert turned and walked away with his [Thungs] flanking him. "You can either leave here with your bag or with a bounty. It's your choice."

The crowd glared at the retreating trio, but none of them moved or spoke up. Once they were out of sight, Raemon spit on the ground. "Those corrupt lackeys of the Empire!" He snarled before turning to Jubei. "C'mon, you should come to my house. I'll fill you in on some history." He looked over at Darius. "You too. Suget can take a look at your arm."

"I'm fine." Darius looked at the fallen gate. "I need to stay here."

"Paulk will understand." Raemon draped his arm across his friend's shoulders. "You're wounded and need to recover. Besides, they can get the gate fixed without you, and the goblins won't be back tonight. You know they're cowards."

Darius thought about arguing, but decided to relent. "Fine." He wouldn't be much help in either a fight or with repairing the gate right now.

"Suget got up to level two in [Tailor]. She might not be able to fix your bone, but she can at least set it enough that you can drink a healing potion." Raemon smiled.

"So, what's going on with the goblins. And why did your [Mayor] steal my stuff and call me a smuggler?" Jubei walked with them, and seemed a lot calmer than Darius would be in his place.

"Both of those have a long answer." Raemon frowned. "The short one is the same for both of them: Borert is a corrupt jackass who was given a position of power and is abusing it."

Jubei nodded. "That was clear, but how does that relate to goblins raiding you?"

"Pft." Raemon snorted. "Those monsters? They're cowards and were content to live in the mountains and leave us alone. Then, about two weeks ago, we had a traveling [Merchant] arrive. Only, this guy? He had a bunch of [Guards] because he was afraid of goblins. He kept on telling us of this Goblin Lord in, uh, Izril. It has an army and is attacking cities while he marches across the place - going from the human part to the drake part. Or it might be the other way around."

"It is." Darius interjected. "He was in the South, that's the drake lands, and he marched North, that's the human lands."

"Yeah, well, anyways, Goblin Lords are bad news." Raemon continued. "We hunt them down before they can become a big deal here in Chandrar."

"We?" Darius looked over.

"We - as in Chandrar as a whole." Raemon replied. "WE don't let monsters like that live. Certainly not enough for them to form an army!" He took a breath. "Anyways, the goblins back in Izril sacked, like, a pretty big city and a bunch of small ones. Killed everyone and didn't even clean up the bodies. The Goblin Lord is a Necromancer, so he WANTS undead - as if being a goblin wasn't bad enough."

"So... the goblins here heard that, and what?" Jubei asked. "Got inspired?"

"What?" Raemon looked at him. "Don't be ridiculous. They're isolated and cowards. No, the other stupid coward heard about it."

"He means Borert." Darius explained.

"Yeah, him." Raemon's voice was flat. "He panicked and sent all of his [Thugs] to find the goblins and wipe them out." He gestured back towards the gate. "As you can see, they missed some. The goblins have been raiding us ever since."

"It also probably didn't help that we haven't had a [Merchant] since then." Darius added. "They usually rob them, and they might be desperate from lack of food or something."

"Yeah, right." Raemon snorted. "If starving goblins to death was that easy, they'd have been wiped out ages ago. Anyways!" He brightened up. "We're here. Jubei, was it? Welcome to my home!"

Darius had been to Raemon's house a lot. It had been more frequent when they'd been kids growing up, but he still visited on occasion.

"I guess everyone's awake?" He asked because the light of a small candle flickered from underneath the doorway. Delna wasn't exactly rich - Raemon's house shared all of its walls with its neighbors - as such, glowstones were a luxury that few were able to afford. An open flame, even one behind glass, was a danger. No one would leave their house with such a thing lit.

"No. Milne and Hoat are still asleep. Melne woke up with me when the alarm went out." Raemon pushed the door open and ushered them inside.

"Raemon, you're back. Was anything taken-" Melne greeted them as they entered. She was kneeling next to the blankets on the floor that contained two small bodies. Wasting wood on beds was also something that didn't happen in Delna. "Darius? Is that you?" Melne smiled and stood up. "I haven't seen you in a fortnight! What happened to your arm!?"

"It's fine, Melne." Darius winced as his arm brushed against the door's frame as he entered. "Just got wounded fighting off another goblin raid."

"So modest!" Raemon nudged him from the side. "Darius here single-handedly held off a Hobgoblin!"

"No, I didn't." Darius was about to tell them about the fight, when the small figures in the blankets stirred.

"Daddy?" A small voice spoke.

"That's right, daddy's back." Raemon rushed to the side of his children. "It's still night, so just go back to sleep."

"And who might you be?" Melne turned to Jubei.

"Jubei, ma'am." He nodded his head.

"Jubei here helped fight the goblins." Darius added. He supposed the foreigner might've lied about that, but why would he? "Borert is extorting him to try and hunt them down."

"Oh?" Melne's hand covered her mouth. "Are you an adventurer?"

"No." Jubei shook his head. "Just a traveler. I'm looking for someone, but they're far away. I'm also not a tracker, so I don't know how I can accomplish... Borert, was it? How I can do what he asked of me. I don't want to cause trouble, but I must get my possessions back."

"Doing what Borert asks won't help you with that." Raemon straightened up. "The man is as corrupt as they come. He doesn't have a single honest thread in his body."

Jubei frowned. "Then why is he in a position of authority?"

"That, my new friend, is a long story." Raemon gestured for him to sit. "Let me tell it to you."

Bios:

Jubei - OC. A [Ninja] who's looking for some targets, one of which he thinks might be in Delna.

Darius - OC. A [Guard] of Delna.

Borert - OC. The corrupt [Mayor] of Delna. Has hired a bunch of [Thugs] and [Rogues] for muscle. Part of the Empire of Sands.

Raemon - OC. [Miner], Darius' friend.

Melne - OC. Raemon's wife.

Milne - OC. Raemon's daughter.

Hoat - OC. Raemon's son.