Since there were Hobgoblin scouting parties active in the area, the group decided to continue resting in the rock crevice, holding to the idea that "the most dangerous place is the safest place."

After relighting the oil lamp, the cave was once again filled with a warm glow.

The entrance was narrow and blocked by shrubs, so they didn’t have to worry about the light leaking out.

With nothing better to do, Colin decided to gather the scattered notes and the notebook from outside, intending to see what they were all about.

As he was looking them over, Orelia sat down beside him.

The young girl peeked cautiously with one eye, looking as if she wanted to see but felt she shouldn’t.

"What are you doing? Just look if you want to," Colin said.

"Well, it’s not right to pry into someone’s privacy... But this belongs to villains, so peeking a little might help us stop their evil schemes..." Orelia said earnestly. "So this should be fine. It shouldn’t count as *completely* prying."

"Whatever you say." Colin was at a bit of a loss for words.

After he finished reading the last page of the documents, Kase, who was lying in the corner, asked impatiently, "What’s it say?"

"You really should learn to read," Colin said. "This group is from the Viper Association. They’ve been abducting people to make offerings to their organization. It turns out the three squads that were dealing with the Scorpion-tailed Lion, including ours, caught their eye. But these guys thought we had the fewest members and would be the easiest to handle, so they followed us."

"The Viper Association? I remember the Church has a bounty out for them!" Kase chuckled. "Well, this trip wasn’t a total loss then. We can even collect some money when we get back."

"And it barely took any effort. It’s basically free money."

’Come to think of it, Finn had infiltrated that Dwarf’s caravan back then... Not that I’m holding a grudge, but that caravan might have had other members of the Viper Association. I’ll have to mention this to the people at the Church of Morninglord later.’

As he thought this, Colin flipped through the papers in his hand again.

The corner of one sheet was stamped with an insignia of a long, curling green tail.

Colin looked at the insignia and said, "Looks like they’re a ’Snake Tail’ squad."

Kase asked, "What’s a Snake Tail?"

"I’m talking about the Viper Association. Ugh, talking to you is exhausting." Colin explained, "Remember what I told you about titles? The Viper Association has them too. This squad was a ’Snake Tail,’ which is Tier Five—the same tier as us."

"But we’re ’Glory New Blood’! That’s a cut above them!"

Kase emphasized, then asked, "So what does this Viper Association do?"

"It’s a pretty famous underworld organization. Human trafficking, arms smuggling, cultivating addictive substances... these guys will do anything that makes money. But they’re most famous for selling intelligence. A lot of the trouble in this world can be traced back to them."

"Why would an underworld organization be ’pretty famous’? Shouldn’t they be as secretive as possible?"

"That’s what makes them so formidable. A well-known criminal organization that’s managed to survive for a long time."

Salin chimed in with a sigh, "To think we’d run into the Viper Association on this trip. I’m an Old Guy now, I can’t handle this much excitement. If I’d known you all were this unlucky, I would’ve charged you something."

"You can’t say that."

Colin took out the Furnace Stone the Halfling had given him. "This is a Lucky Stone we got from a Halfling. And our journey has been nothing but smooth sailing. In fact, the trouble only started after you joined us."

"That’s right," Kase chimed in, stifling a laugh. "I think it’s pretty obvious who the unlucky one is."

"Is that so?"

Salin stroked his beard, momentarily sinking into profound self-doubt.

A moment later, it seemed to dawn on Kase. "By the way, when did your Swordsmanship get so good, Colin?"

"Didn’t I tell you what happened in the hallucination? After I solved that problem, I learned Swordsmanship. I think that’s how I learned Magic before, too."

"Well that’s pretty good, then. The trip was worth it."

Kase nodded, not doubting his good friend’s explanation in the slightest.

As he passed the buck, Colin glanced at his quest Panel.

-----------------

[Quest: Escort the Half-Sheepman]

[Rating: 2 (Mortal)]

[Reward: 100 Skill Level]

-----------------

’Not bad. The reward is better than nothing, I guess.’

’After all, the Hobgoblins were the ones who took care of the Finn Squad,’ Colin thought. ’Kase and the others handled those wandering Skeletons, too. I didn’t even run into any particularly tough opponents on this quest.’

’Still, that fight against the big guy was probably the first time I’ve ever defeated an opponent relying purely on Swordsmanship.’

’Now, on top of Magic, Armor, and world knowledge, I have another thing I need to learn and master. Just thinking about it gives me a headache.’

’Of course, the prospect of becoming a master of Swordsmanship is still very appealing.’

The group took turns on watch and rested through the night.

The Hobgoblins didn’t reappear. Since the suspension bridge was half-broken, no other monsters could cross over either, so the night was quiet.

The next day, feeling refreshed, the group cut some Hemp Rope and did their best to repair the suspension bridge. It wasn’t as stable as before, but it was at least passable.

Because of yesterday’s incident, the party proceeded with extreme caution through the wilderness toward Salin’s destination.

Whether their luck had turned or for some other reason, they didn’t encounter any wandering Skeletons or other strange monsters today. Although they spotted the tracks of Warg Riders along the way, they never actually ran into them, which was a relief.

After walking for half a day, the group arrived at the edge of a ruined village built between two earthen hills.

The ruins looked long abandoned. Most of the houses had collapsed, and their walls were covered in moss and lichen.

"This is the place you wanted to come to?" Colin asked.

Salin nodded and silently led them to a small, dilapidated hut on the edge of the ruins.

"Give me a moment, everyone," Salin said. "We’re not far from Rommon from here. It’s just a bit of a detour from the way we came."

Colin nodded.

The Half-Sheepman walked to the front of the hut and took out the Shepherd’s Flute he had been fiddling with in the cave.

He gently placed the mouthpiece to his lips and began to play slowly.

A melodious tune drifted outwards, like a free-spirited breeze, and the blades of grass at their feet began to sway with the music.

The melody ended, followed immediately by a song from the Half-Sheepman’s aged voice.

"Eighty-one times I’ve trod on golden fallen leaves, yet the sound of my hooves no longer draws your gaze.

They say a Half-Sheepman never grows old, but my horns are already covered with autumn’s frost.

I remember our dance on that summer night, when you left this melody that bridges life and death.

When the hollies redden the hills once more, I will continue to visit with the morning dew.

Until the forest reclaims my body, until my flute’s song, too, returns to the soil.

And on that day, my Luna, please allow an old Half-Sheepman, in the eternal pastures, to finally catch up to your departing shadow—to dance one last dance for you, for all time..."

The song came to an end.

Salin, standing before the ruined house, took a long moment before turning back. He smiled and said, "Let’s go. Back to Rommon."