The road east of Dustfall stretched like a scar through the countryside, and Meriel walked it with the patience of a man who had already decided how this story would end.

His boots crunched against packed earth, his longsword a familiar weight against his spine, and in his chest, the cold fire of vengeance burned steady and untiring.

’Kai. The name rattles around my skull like a loose tooth. Every time I close my eyes, I see their faces. My mother. My father. My little sister.’

If anything, Meriel should thank Kai for killing Lilith.

But if he had just let them reach the capital, his family would’ve escaped from their demise.

After all, he already knew how they would arrive.

That was the mistake.

He was too reliant on his past knowledge to see there was another Anomaly.

A caravan appeared on the horizon, three wagons laden with spices and textiles, guarded by a handful of hired swords who looked soft and undertrained.

Meriel stepped into the middle of the road and waited.

The lead guard raised a hand.

"Move aside, traveler. We’ve got a schedule to keep."

"I’m looking for someone," Meriel said, his voice flat.

"A man named Kai. Travels with two women. They passed through here recently."

The guard’s eyes flickered, "Haven’t seen anyone like that. Now move."

Meriel walked forward, his hand reaching for his sword.

"What are you—"

The blade came free in a whisper of steel. The first guard’s head left his shoulders before he finished the question, his body standing for a confused second before collapsing in a fountain of red.

The second guard barely had time to scream before Meriel’s sword carved through his chest, ribs splintering like twigs, blood spraying across the wagon wheels.

The merchant screamed, scrambling back.

"Please, please don’t kill me, I’ll tell you anything!"

Meriel grabbed him by the collar and slammed him against the side of the wagon.

"Where is Kai?"

"Heading to Thornwatch! I heard him mention Thornwatch! That’s all I know, I swear!"

Meriel released him, letting him slump to the ground.

He cleaned his sword on the merchant’s coat, then continued walking east without looking back.

The bandit camp was a mistake.

Meriel spotted it from half a mile away, a cluster of tents and campfires nestled in a shallow valley, maybe twenty men in total.

They had set up an ambush point along the road, probably hoping to catch unwary travelers.

He could have gone around.

Instead, he walked straight into their trap.

The first bandit to rush him died with Meriel’s sword buried in his stomach, the blade twisting before pulling upward, spilling intestines across the dusty ground.

The second caught a backhanded swing that took his arm off at the elbow, and he collapsed screaming, blood pumping in rhythmic spurts.

Three more came at once.

Meriel ducked under a wild swing, drove his shoulder into the first one’s chest, and felt ribs cave inward.

He spun, his sword catching the second across the throat, a tearing sound, then a gurgle as the man clutched at his own neck.

The third tried to run, but Meriel’s blade caught him between the shoulder blades, punching through leather and flesh and spine.

Men shouted, weapons clattered, and somewhere a woman screamed.

Meriel moved through them like a scythe through wheat, each swing precise, each step calculated.

When it was over, twenty-three bodies lay scattered across the camp.

The only sounds were the crackling of fires and the wet breathing of a man who was still alive, his legs severed at the knees.

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

Meriel walked over to him, his foot squelching in the bloody earth.

"Please... please..." the man whimpered.

"Where is the nearest brothel?"

The man stared at him, uncomprehending.

Meriel repeated the question, slower this time.

"Three... three miles east. On the main road. The Reverend Rose."

Meriel nodded.

He turned and walked away, leaving the man to bleed out in the silence.

Twenty-three dead. Not bad for a morning’s work.

As he passed the edge of the camp, something caught his eye.

A small leather pouch, half-buried in the dirt. He bent down and picked it up, turning it over in his hands.

It was a woman’s purse, embroidered with a pattern of silver threads. Inside, he found a lock of red hair and a small carving of a hawk.

"Hmm..."

The Reverend Rose was a two-story building with peeling paint and a flickering sign that promised pleasures of the flesh.

Meriel pushed through the front door, and the madam behind the counter took one look at his blood-spattered clothes and opened her mouth to refuse him.

He placed a pouch of gold on the counter before she could speak.

"I need a room. And a woman. The bustiest one you’ve got."

The madam’s eyes fixed on the gold.

She nodded slowly and gestured toward the stairs.

The room was small but clean, with a bed that looked relatively fresh.

Meriel sat on the edge, waiting until the door opened and a woman walked in. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

She was in her late thirties, maybe early forties, with a body that had seen years of hard work and harder living. Her breasts were enormous, barely contained by a thin chemise, and her hips were wide and welcoming, her face was pretty in a worn way, and she had the tired eyes of someone who had learned to separate her body from her soul.

"Name’s Lily," she said, her voice husky.

"Madam said you paid well. What do you need?"

Meriel stood and walked toward her.

"Information first. Then I need to fuck you until I forget my own name."

He asked about Kai. Lily shook her head; she hadn’t seen anyone matching that description. But she’d heard rumors.

A wanderer with two women, heading to Thornwatch.

The same story, over and over.

’Consistent. Good. I’m on the right trail.’

"Now," Meriel said, grabbing her by the waist and spinning her around. "Bend over the bed."