October 21, New Calendar 1453, afternoon.
Outskirts of Silvervein City, Craggy Hill.
This was a bandit camp constructed from rough boulders and blackwood.
The wind whipped across the jagged slopes, howling like a wolf and causing the tattered skull flag in the center of the camp to flap violently.
Inside the meeting hut at the deepest part of the stronghold, a large basin of charcoal crackled and popped.
“Boss, we really can’t stay in this place anymore.”
Pete, a one-eyed bandit, slammed his bowl of cheap ale onto the wooden table, his face filled with unconcealed anxiety and fear.
“The night before last, I took the boys out on a patrol to the east. I saw it with my own eyes—swarms of wolves and rats running like mad from the Chaos Wasteland toward us. Solitude is a godforsaken place; where else would you find animals except for monsters?
“What’s more, we followed the direction those animals came from and looked around. The ground was littered with all sorts of husks that had been drained dry of blood.”
Several core members of the bandits gathered around the fire pit shuddered in unison, quickly chiming in with their own stories.
“It’s not just wolves and rats! Two days ago at noon, a few of us were lying in wait on the trade route to Black Gallows, hoping to intercept a caravan for a little snack. I took a peek at the town entrance and saw smoke rising from the watchtower and figures walking in the streets, but the whole town was deathly silent! There wasn’t a single sound of smithing or shouting! It felt like... like the whole town was just an illusion created by magic!”
“And the nights lately seem much colder than they were a month ago.”
Buck, the bandit leader sitting at the head of the table, took a deep drag from his pipe.
He was a burly man with a thick beard and a hideous scar running down his right arm.
As he listened to his subordinates' reports, his brow furrowed into a knot. Smoke puffed from his thick lips, casting his face in shifting shadows.
“I’ve heard rumors about the wilderness as well,” Buck said in a low voice. “The royal family has been so overwhelmed by the mess in Silvervein City lately that they can’t spare a thought for the border. But things here have indeed been strange lately—far more sinister than when the patrol guards come for a sweep. I, Buck, have survived in the wilderness for twenty years, and I’ve lived this long entirely by relying on my intuition.”
He tapped his pipe against the corner of the table and sighed. “If this keeps up, we might run into some old monster we can’t afford to provoke. Listen to me: from today on, the stronghold will take it easy for a while. Stop raiding caravans and just stay on the mountain. We’ll live off our reserves and tend to those few acres of mountain fields. I have a feeling... something huge is about to happen.”
Something big is coming! Something big is coming! Something big is coming!
His spiritual intuition screamed this warning at him.
Before his voice could even fade—
BAM—!!
The heavy wooden door of the meeting hut, fashioned from thick planks, was violently kicked open.
The hinges let out an ear-piercing screech as the cold wind, laden with dust from the wilderness, rushed in, causing the warmth of the fire pit to flicker and dim.
“Boss! Boss! It’s bad! I have something important to report—!!”
A scrawny bandit lackey stumbled inside.
He was completely unharmed, but his eyes shone with a fanatical fervor and a state of extreme intoxication, as if he were about to ascend to the heavens.
This was Toby, Buck’s eldest son.
By all rights, he shouldn't have been allowed to step foot in this meeting.
Buck flew into a rage on the spot, slamming his palm onto the solid wood table and shattering the ale bowls. “You brat! Toby, what have I always told you? You aren't allowed in during important meetings! Is your brain stuck in a door or are you just deaf? Get out of here and take ten lashes!”
“No! Boss, you can’t hit me, you have to listen!”
Toby clutched his chest with both hands, drooling with a look of pure rapture. “I just met a heavenly maiden at the foot of the mountain! No, she was a goddess, a thousand times more radiant and beautiful than any heavenly maiden!”
“If you fancy a woman, just kidnap her and bring her back to the stronghold,” Buck growled. “Is there anything you have to say right this second?”
“There is, there is,” Toby said earnestly. “This must be said here. Because Father, and esteemed gentlemen, I would like to introduce you to our Heavenly Mother and Savior—”
All the bandits present looked at each other in stunned silence.
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