A lanky young man is loading cargo back into a wagon, while an older man with a wrinkly face is talking to a guard that sounds agitated. The wrinkled man seeing me approach yammers, "You the lad Bil was talking about?"

   Must be pretty friendly with Trijen to refer to him so casually, "If it was about transportation, then yes."

   He looks me up an down, "You're a bulky one ain't yah? Well I'm Gilliam, the boy is Donner, and the impatient one is Sid."

   Sid taking offense intrudes, "I'm just trying to keep to the schedule, Master Zeena's holding a meeting tonight."

   Gilliam frowns, "Then yah shouldn't have taken the job."

   With bile on his tongue Sid counters, "Then you'd be without a guard."

   Donner calls out interrupting, "The wagons loaded and good to go."

   Gilliam looks back at me, "Keep near the wagon and we'll be in Lindwel in no time." Saying that, he gives Sid a stern look before getting up on the seat of the wagon, with Donner sitting shotgun. Holding the reigns he gives them a tug and the pair of cattle give a out some disgruntled snorts, starting their march out of the village. 

= = =

   A few hours have passed since leaving the village. After traveling north-west through the forest for a while the path has opened up revealing large fields of tall grass. With an unobstructed view, mountains have become visible to the west. While the fields extend covering hills to the east and north horizons. As it has become the later part of the day, the mountains are now casting shadows large enough to swallow cities whole.  It won't be to much longer before they consume us as well. 

   Getting bored by all the walking I move next to Sid and ask, "Say, what was this meeting you were talking about earlier?"

   He stops walking for a moment giving me a look of annoyance, "I don't believe that's really your business."

   fair enough I'm already entangled with a few other peoples problems. I should know when to leave good enough alone. However, he did say earlier that it was a meeting being held by Zeena. Meaning he must work for her, "Some people came to Jord not to long ago to complete a job. They came from Lindwel. They were a Artisie and Rolt. Would you happen to know them?"

   With a huff he acquiesces, "Yes, Rolt is Master Zeena's third in command. As for Artisie, I don't know much about her as she recently joined."

   That explains why he was the one performing the evaluation. I do wonder how she scored on it. More pertinent though is that the sun has finally been eclipsed by the mountains.

   To this Sid mumbles, "I also wanted to avoid the twilight hours."

   Twilight typically is when the sun disappears over the horizon, but sunlight still reflects off the sky.  Usually it only lasts for half an hour, however the sun hasn't set and is instead being obscured by some mountains. The term twilight hours may lend itself to be more accurate. Calculating the distance traveled having bee about sixteen kilometers of an around twenty kilometer journey, I conclude that we should reach Lindwel within the hour. 

  From somewhere a sound is made, "Creak."

  My eyes dart around looking for the source of the sound. The wagon's been creaking the whole time, but this was different.

   Again the noise happens, "Creak."

   While watching the wagon as the it happens I ascertain that sound isn't coming from it.

   From the tail grass it comes, "Cre-aak."

   Sid Raises his hand signalling to Gilliam, who pulls the reigns bringing the wagon to a stop. Sid takes takes out his weapons, a pair of hatchets.

   Activating my infrared vision, I fail to pick out anything hiding in the grass.

   It increases in repetition, "Crekeke."

   The noise is different this time, but the spot it's coming from is obvious. A patch of leafier weeds up ahead and to the right. Something is there, but I see nothing showing up in infrared.

   Sid tentatively approaches the weeds while being posed to strike. With his distance to the spot decreasing, something moves under the leaves, and a arm that looks to be but bone and withered skin shoots out at Sid. He swings his right axe down severing the arm and letting it clatter to the ground.

   The thing within the weeds fully emerges, charging at him.

   I see it's full visage. The appearance is like a skeleton that's been wrapped in disgusting leathery skin. Which has undergone severe aging from being weathered for years. It has no mass nor muscles. Naked and hairless, with whatever viewer offensive organ it once had having long since rotted away. Looking to its face, the mouth is a black hole surrounded by jutting teeth. The nose is flat emptied of all cartilage. One of the eye sockets is empty, but in the other deeply lies a yellowed eyeball. 

   It makes the noise again as it swings it's remaining arm wildly towards Sid, "Crekak"

   Sid holds his axes together and uses them to shoving the monster back, "Just what is a SkeleClops doing all the way out here?!"

   Without a care for his question, the SkeleClops continues the assault.

   This time before counter-attacking Sid's body emits a hue that is only visible in the infrared spectrum. He moves with greater speed against the SkeleClops, Batting away its remaining arm with his left axe and decapitating it with his right. Causing a loud SNAP as the spine is split. The body crumples to the ground with whatever force moving it dissipating. Sid catches its head, walking back with it.

   Gilliam eyes him and the head, but says nothing and gives the reigns a tug. 

   This SkeleClops is a strange creature, it reminds me of the undead-esque monsters I've fought before. However, they where filled with black goo that leaked out of them. This thing didn't have a speck of goo coming out of it. The comparison between the two is like a grape and a raisin. With the SkeleClops looking to be completely dehydrated. The sentient goo is what gave those corpses the ability to move. How was this thing moving without the goo? Additionally, the goo shows up in the infrared spectrum. Almost everything that is warm blooded and alive shows up in infrared! On the same note of infrared there was also that hue around Sid before he showed increased speed. I'll make note of it.

   Leaving my train of thought, a log wall is growing in the distance. Pointing at it and looking to Gilliam I ask, "Is that Lindwel?"

   He looks to me then my hand and finally the wall, "That be the place."

   Moving forward, farmland is ahead on both sides of the path. They're cultivated with what looks to be a type of wheat and a few other unidentifiable crops. Getting past the fields, the path we're on leads to a large gate in the wall. Standing out front is a man leaning back. He's wearing a helmet with a red and blue tunic over some light armor. In one hand he holds a spear. 

   Slamming the hilt of spear into the ground he exclaims, "Halt!"

   The man approaches when Gilliam brings the wagon to a stop, "Oh, its you Gilliam, had you arrived too much later I would have already closed the gate."

  Gilliam tries waving him off, "Yes, yes, I'm sure yah would Jakob. Let me be about my business now that you know it's me."

  Jakob replies, "I would do that but-" He points at me, "who is he?"

   Gilliam glances at me gesturing to lower my hood, "Some Dryad that helped out the Jord village, so their Ol' village head gave me a good word to guide him here."

   With my hood down Jakob takes a look at me, "Yep I haven't seen one of your kind before, but your looks just scream dryad."

   Dryads sure are strange being of a rarity almost no one has seen, but everyone knows, "Then can I enter?"

   He chews his lip like he's thinking, "Alright, since you've got good standing with Gilliam and you're a dryad, so it should be fine."

   Seems like this place works on an honor system of sorts. Which doesn't sound reliable, but they don't have many other options judging from their technology.

   It doesn't take long before Jakob has finished a once over of the cargo and waves us through. 

   Passing through the gate reveals an actual town. Most buildings have white plaster-like walls with wood supports, and wooden shingles on the roofs, some are even two stories tall. There also is an open area closer to the center of town, which is functions similarly to a town-square. Travelling further in

   Gilliam pulls the wagon into a nearby stable. With it parked he gets down from the wagon and tells Donnor, "Get the Ogsrun into their stable, I'll be paying Sid and given him the verification of completing the job."

   Finishing with that he turns around and sees me,"What're you still doing? Oh, thats right yah probably don't know where the Inn is. Just continue down the street and take a left, it's the first two story building. Only three piece a night."

  "How much is this?" I say opening my pouch and showing him the two gold coins.

   He eyes them, "That's two piece, yah haven't yet learned how money works?"

   Not around here at least, "Can't trade coins with the trees."

   He tilts his head back looking to where Donnor took the Ogsrun, "I tell yah what, you can spend the night in the stable, but first yah need to register with the guild. Because that'll be the only way to quickly get some more money in the position yah are in. Also pieces are the smallest denomination of money, two of them equal a quartlet. Two quartlets makes a hav, and two havs are a whole. A large is ten wholes. Best remember all that."

   It's kinda like the imperial measurement system. On another note the guild, "Where is the guild?"

   Sid who's been holding his tongue interrupts, "Across the street from the Inn, I don't have time for this."

   Taking the hint I leave, heading down the street. There are several establishments on both sides. Walking past one with a sign that has a quill and paper on it, I step on something that Crinkles. Looking at it, reveals a newspaper. One that's been stepped on more than just by me. Examining the paper reveals a little more about the undead problem around these parts.