The Skeleton Soldier Failed to Defend the Dungeon

The merchant giant upon the sea, Consul of Freedom Nexmond, straightened his bent back. The merchant guild usually worked as a web of equals, each branch independent yet connected. Yet some groups, entrusted with the guild’s most vital tasks, took on a faint semblance of rank. It wasn’t authority, but merely a symbol: the mark of a member ready to sacrifice themself for whatever the cause demanded.

Nexmond stood tall. The target was set, the operation prepared, and the betrayal was already in play. Yet, even with the knives at his throat, surrender was not an option.

If I must die… then I will die standing.

"Captain, what is this? Refusing a search in plain sight?"

"Not at all. This way."

Nexmond led the soldiers past the deck and cabin, down to the deepest hold.

"This is where we keep provisions and ordinary cargo," Nexmond explained.

The border patrol...