The dust of the road had barely settled from the massacre of the bandit scouts when Arthur called a halt. He stood by the side of the path, the "Bandit's Map" unfurled in his hands.
It was a crude thing, drawn on cured sheep skin with charcoal and dried blood, but to Arthur's eyes, it was a blueprint of opportunity.
"The girls have a vote," Alfia said, her eyes fixed on a jagged mountain peak to the west where the map indicated a hidden gorge. "We don't leave filth behind us. If there are scouts here, there is a nest nearby. And where there is a nest, there is loot."
Meteria, Nana and Cecil nodded in unison. Their journey to Winston wasn't just a physical trek; it was an ascension. To grow, they needed the baptism of human combat and the resources that only the lawless could provide.
"Then we hunt," Arthur said, his voice dropping into a low, commanding register. "But we move with the silence of the moon. I want to see what they are protecting before we break them."
After an hour of trekking through dense thickets and limestone crags, the party reached a hidden valley. It was a natural fortress, the entrance obscured by a waterfall of hanging vines.
But it wasn't the natural beauty that caught Arthur's attention; it was the rhythmic clink-clink-clink of pickaxes and the acrid smell of coal smoke.
They crept to the edge of the ridge, looking down into the basin. It was a bustling hive of criminality. Over fifty low-level bandits (Level 10–20) were laboring like slaves, hauling baskets of heavy, dark ore from a yawning cave mouth.
At the center of the camp, a deal was being struck.
A man named Barca, dressed in the fine silks of a upper class but possessing the shifty eyes of a rat, stood before the Bandit Leader—a Level 55 brute with a scarred face.
Barca was flanked by two Level 45 Winston Outlaws, their hands resting on the pommels of heavy broadswords.
Between them sat a massive iron-bound chest. As Barca flipped the lid, the setting sun caught the glint of a mountain of gold.
"Ten thousand gold," Barca hissed, his voice carrying up the ridge. "As agreed. This is the third shipment this month. Master Valmont is pleased with the quality of the Black Iron. But remember—if a single piece of this ore finds its way to other merchants, your heads will decorate the gates of Winston."
The Bandit Leader laughed, a wet, rattling sound. "The Baron is a fool. He's too busy counting the bribes Valmont gives him. And besides since Mero company is here why would we go to other merchants with a risk of exposure. This vein is deep, Merchant. We'll be mining Black Iron long after the Baron has been replaced."
Arthur's eyes narrowed as he processed the information. In the original novel there wasn't any mention of a Winston Black Iron mine. Probably Valmont took this secret to his grave, a way to let Eral Steim being cheated even after death.
Arthur felt like he suddenly stumbled upon a Pandora's boy!
Satisfy was a world of complex politics. Baron Lowe was the official ruler of Winston, a greedy man who allowed the Mero Company—headed by Valmont—to monopolize the town in exchange for hefty bribes. Usually, any mining operation required a 10% crown tax.
But Valmont was playing a double game. On one hand, he bribed the Baron to look the other way; on the other, he was secretly buying untaxed Black Iron from bandits at a 50% discount.
"Valmont is a two-headed snake," Arthur whispered to his party. "He's starving the town's economy from both sides. If the Baron knew Valmont was stealing his tax revenue, they'd be at each other's throats."
Barca's voice rose again, desperate and arrogant. "I am the only one who knows the exact coordinates of this vein! Valmont trusts only me. If he knew where it was, he'd kill you all and me and then mine it himself. So keep your mouths shut and keep digging!"
Arthur stood up, his twin blades sliding from their sheaths with a whisper of steel. "He just gave us the green light. If Barca is the only link, then once he's dead, this mine belongs to us."
"Alfia, silence the camp," Arthur commanded.
The aspiring Great Magician raised her weirwood staff. A ripple of emerald energy expanded in a dome, muffle-masking all sound within the valley. "The 'Silence' spell is active, Arthur. They won't hear their own screams."
"Nana, Cecil—take the outlaws. Meteria, assist. I'll handle the Leader and Barca."
The attack was a masterclass in lethal efficiency.
Nana blurred from the ridgeline, her sword a streak of silver that decapitated the first Level 45 Outlaw before his brain could register the displacement of air.
Cecil followed like a falling star, her spear shattering the second Outlaw's shield and sternum in a single, thunderous thrust.
The Bandit Leader roared, reaching for his axe, but Arthur was already there. His movement was a golden phantom's dance. With a flick of his wrist, Arthur parried the heavy axe and drove his blade through the Leader's throat.
As the Leader collapsed, a unique item dropped from his body: a dark red, sweat-stained fabric known as the [Bandit's Bandana].
[Item: Bandit's Bandana]
* Grade: Unique
* Requirement: none
* Effect: Agility +200.
* Description: A symbol of a man who lived by his own laws. It grants the wearer the lithe movements of a mountain predator.
Arthur tied the bandana around his forehead, feeling a sudden, electric surge of speed through his limbs.
Barca, the merchant, fell to his knees, clutching the chest of 10,000 gold. "Wait! I have information! Master Valmont—"
"I already have your information," Arthur said coldly. "And now, I have your gold." With a swift stroke, the "the messenger of two-headed snake's" tongue was silenced forever.
The party didn't stop at the leaders. They moved into the cave, a "Black Iron mine cum hideout." It was a labyrinth of shadows and greed. The low-level bandits, seeing their leaders fall, tried to flee, but Nana and Cecil were relentless.
They ventured deep into the tunnels, clearing every room. In the bandit's central treasury, they found the true extent of the operation's success. It wasn't just the 10,000 gold from the deal—the bandits had been hoarding their own cut for months.
[Loot Summary: The Hidden Vein]
* Gold from Barca's Deal: 10,000
* Gold from Treasury/Bandits: 67,982
* Total Gold Acquired: 77,982
* Raw Black Iron Ore: 2,000kg (Loaded into carts)
Arthur looked at the pile of wealth. In the world of Satisfy, this was an astronomical sum for a Level 73 player. It was enough to buy a small fiefdom or, more importantly, to fund the restoration of a Legend's legacy. That aside he still has 3 million gold from Patrain and Reinhardt battlegear sell.
As the first light of dawn began to bleed over the horizon, a strange procession began its journey toward Winston.
Arthur had found a heavy-duty cart, reinforced with iron. They loaded it to the absolute limit with raw Black Iron pieces—the rarest and most durable ore in the region.
Arthur took the front, his new Agility boost allowing him to pull the massive weight with a steady, rhythmic gait. Cecil, the Berserker-Blacksmith, put her hands to the back, her immense strength providing the necessary torque to clear the muddy patches of the road.
Nana walked on the flank, her hand never leaving her sword, her eyes scanning the treeline for any survivors or Mero Company patrols.
Atop the cart, sitting on the ores were Alfia and Meteria. They had draped a heavy, mud-caked tarpaulin over the cargo, making it look like a simple shipment of coal or scrap metal to any prying eyes.
Alfia held her staff, ready to cast a "Misty Veil" if anyone approached too closely, while Meteria whispered to the birds, ensuring no scouts were watching from the sky.
They reached the outskirts of Winston just as the town's bells began to ring for the morning market. The town was under the shadow of the Mero Company, but in the back alleys, near a dilapidated forge that smelled of history and ash, a light was still burning.
The cart creaked to a halt in front of Khan's Smithy.
Arthur wiped the sweat from his brow, the Bandit's Bandana damp with effort. He looked at the closed door of the forge and then at his party.
"We have the gold. We have the ore. And we have the secret," Arthur said softly. "Today, Winston begins to change."
He reached out and knocked on the heavy oak door. "Khan! Open up. I'm back with someone company."