“You’re a persistent one, I give you that! But your skills, while flashy, lack in power! I could see how Robert lost to you though.“ Jazmyne’s tone was flat, frivolous and without a hint of worry.

Bones and the bandit leader exchanged dozens of moves by now and initially, Jazmyne held him in high regard. Bones’ solo appearance, the practical way he used his skills and the threatening way he presented himself made her worry he would pose a great threat to her men. She quickly noticed however, that his spells, his puppets and his overall strength fell short of a second tier. Since then, brimming with confidence due to the level difference and combat experience, she overpowered all three while the rest of the bandits kept their distance and watched the show with glee.

Bones thought he’d welcome the challenge but as the fight progressed, he was reminded where he was lacking and Jazmyne was quick to point it out as well. He felt frustrated listening to her trash talk in this brief respite from battle.

“My strength was sufficient enough to subdue the other bandit leaders and… who is Robert?” He shouted.

“Robert is… was… a big muscle-brained idiot you’d know as Daryll. He had the strength but lacked finesse. But that’s all right. You killed him, I got myself a new Daryll, and now I kill you. The circle repeats itself, caster! Again and again…”

“You’re a bit crazy aren’t you? A bit too crazy for my taste so I’ll be taking my leave now. Oh, and I won’t be leaving quietly.“ Bones said and slowly started moving backwards. Jazmyne had a surprised look on her face, then burst into laughter as if she heard the funniest thing ever.

“Don’t let him leave!” She shouted, addressing her men, then turned back to Bones. “I stand corrected. You’re not just lacking power, but common sense as well!”

“Ha ha, well you see, I’m a lot more confident in my chances to escape than in my ability to overpower you. So, I’ll be going all out on my way out!”

Without giving Jazmyne any time to ponder on what his next move will be, Bones depleted his mana pool in one fell swoop and unleashed everything he had. The brunt of his attack landed on the bandits around him. Jazymne yelled and chased after him. Her whip was like a steel wire, severing the ground where she missed and in a fit of rage, her men were also at the end of that whip, which only enraged her even more. Bones paved his way towards the ramparts and over the wall. Jazmyne watched in disbelief as Bones, crushed, slashed and stabbed, with his puppets as she called them, and then disappeared from her sight.

“H-how can that be? Why is he still alive!“ She yelled at the top of her lungs. Giggling, Bones got further away from the camp with each passing second until he couldn’t hear her anymore. He stopped, let out a hearty laugh, then glanced at the golems behind him.

“The plan was an utter failure! Fun though, right?“

Murdok almost had dozens of deep cuts on his bones while Skully almost had his leg sawed off by Jazmyne’s thorny whip. Bones didn’t fare any better. A living being would die many times over from injuries he sustained. Well, any ordinary human being.

“We should consider ourselves lucky but… let’s not test our luck against her any time soon.”

I didn’t think the bandit leader would be this capable. Now when I think about it, I can’t really say the others weren’t capable either - just easier to handle. So what was it about Jazmyne…

Bones thought about it and once he properly analyzed the fight he came to the conclusion that she was simply better in every aspect than he was. She was flexible, quite strong and more importantly, skillful. The whip she used wasn’t some magical tool with a mind of its own. It was mana manipulation, Bones felt it, but to the degree he hadn’t witnessed before.

It would be useless to try and go at her again. She even set up a trap for me assuming I would come for the spider units. I give up on her! I still have two bounties left in the Triwen Kingdom. The odds the other two were on par with her, or even stronger are…hm, actually not that low!

Bones continued running without stopping for a good while until he found a secluded place next to a pond. There, he took his time mending the cuts and broken bones, and waited for the self-repairing enchantment on his clothes to do its thing. A day had passed since he failed the bounty and Bones hoped, with all his might, that he was in the Triwen Kingdom and not lost somewhere in the Remore Kingdom.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

The next day, Bones put a concealment ointment on and continued trekking until he reached the edge of the forest and plains, as far as the eye could see, spread before him. In the distance, he saw a settlement and after a fifteen minute walk, Bones stood in front of the entrance to a small village called Bleakwharf. The atmosphere in the village was rather gloomy and the villagers were mostly old folk that either ignored him or grumbled his way.

“What’s wrong with them?“ Bones voiced his thoughts.

“Wrong with us? What’s wrong with you, outsider?” An elderly man snapped at Bones. “We don’t take kindly to outsiders disturbing our peaceful village!“

“Disturbing? I just got here, my good man. Could you tell me if Bleakwharf is…”

“Huuuh, what?“ The old man cut him off.

“...in the Triwen Kingdom? I asked if Bleackwh-”

“I’ve heard you the first time! You don’t even know where you are?” The old man interrupted again and gave Bones a nasty look before turning to the side and spitting on the ground.

*hargh* *ptooey*

“First the bandits and now some weirdo who doesn't know where he is! What a strange day this turned out to be.”

Bones watched him turn to leave then abruptly stopped him and asked him what bandits. The old man said that a few nasty-looking bandits with even nastier-looking hounds came into the village early in the morning looking for someone. They pestered the village folk for a while then left an hour ago.

Bandits?Jazmyne's lot? A coincidence or they’re chasing after me? Jazmyne did seem like the vengeful type.

“Are they Jaz… aaaand he's gone.” The old man left while Bones was occupied with his thoughts. The rest of the villagers appeared interested in talking to him as much as the old man was, but Bones did find out eventually where he was, where he needed to go, and about the bandits before leaving. They were Jazmyne’s men, sent to chase after him. Once the bandit leader calculated her losses, she was overcome with rage and sent her lieutenant Liam, with four others and two hounds to bring him back, dead or alive.

Bones thought it a futile effort on her part, with him already escaping her clutches once. But having someone going after him again just didn’t sit well. He looked at the map of the area and navigated his way to his next target, a small-time bandit leader nicknamed A Toothless Menace.

Known for thievery, robbery and a good ol murder, small-time or not, he is still a bandit leader. He leads a small group and mostly operates in the south. His last known location was in the city of Hillecrest, a day's walk from here. I better hurry if I want to put some distance between my pursuers.

Bones walked the whole day and throughout the night. In the afternoon on the next day, he entered the city. The first order of business was to visit the branch office of the Adventurer’s Guild, where he updated his progress with the bounties and asked for recent information about his next target whereabouts. When he didn’t learn anything new, he turned to the city’s back alleys where Thief’s Guild operated.

The information came with the fee that was practically pocket change for Bones but also at a price, a different kind than the fee he paid. While Bones was making inquiry about his target, he failed to notice one of the other informants eavesdropping on them in secret. When Bones left, the informant also left in a hurry.

It didn’t cross Bones’ mind that exposing himself to the Thief’s Guild would allow the bandit lieutenant Liam and his party to easily track him down. Afterall, Bones wasn’t the only one employing the Guild’s information services. Two hours later, three parties got involved in a showdown on one of the streets of the run-down part of the city. One of the parties was Bones and his golems, opposite of him was Liam and his gang, and the third party in the middle was a confused Toothless Menace.

The bandit leader eyed the two sides carefully, trying to get a read on the situation. He recognized Liam but didn’t think of him as friendly. Afterall, the bandit leaders aren’t exactly on good terms with each other. Their world is a competitive one and relationships like Jazmyne’s and Daryll’s are a rarity. Though, one couldn’t call what they had a “relationship” - more like an abusive-submissive partnership.

“Liam buddy, what are yous doing here? And whos that?“ The bandit leader nervously asked. One look at the hounds by Liam’s feet made him sweat beads. The hounds growled, as if they could feel his fear until Liam hushed them down, then glanced at the man.

“Brody, I’m not here for you, but he is and I’m here for him!“ Liam said, staring daggers at Bones, then continued. “Where are your men? You’re not here alone, are you?“

The Toothless Menace, or Brody, took a step back, then another while replying: “I am! The others would draw too much attention so they are waiting outside the city. You know how it is.” The leader said with a sly grin.

“Hey, don’t you dare move from th-” Bones started but Brody turned and made a run for it.

-at spot…Damnit!” Bones finished, had Murdok block Liam for a second, and ran after him. Liam and the others followed closely from behind but Brody was fast, quick-thinking and light on his feet. He avoided Bones’ projectiles, used people as cover and was surprisingly resourceful. The man didn’t hesitate to use smoke bombs, caltrops, and any other small fiery gadgets that fit in his pockets in a crowd of people in order to escape his pursuers. A few times he almost did when he ran through nearby shops and out the back. His luck ran out when he ran into guards patrolling.

Bones didn’t dither, at first opportunity he had Skully assassinate the bandit leader. He didn’t know what it would be like fighting the man one on one but he didn’t care. After Jazmyne, he needed a win. Skully struck from behind with a thrust, piercing him through the back and making him slump to the ground face first and in the middle of a group of guards.

Startled and a second late to respond, the guards failed to stop Skully from confirming the kill by janking the spear out of the man’s back and in one swift motion, slicing the back of the neck and severing the cervical spine. By the time they drew their weapons, Skully slipped past them and out of sight, Bones and Murdok caught up to them but immediately went the other way. Lastly, Liam showed up with his men and hounds, and drew all the attention to himself. Bones changed directions at first turn and returned to the place where their showdown first started. There, he met with Skully and together they left the city.

Brody’s assasination in broad daylight drew the attention of many onlookers and at the center of it all was Liam. Among the guards there was someone that recognized who he was and the lieutenant found himself too busy fighting off the guards to think about Bones.

And the undead, with a new level up in class and a successful bounty on his hands, quickened his steps toward his next and last bounty before his final destination, the town of Draycott.