The town of Melville was a small town, housing around fifteen thousand people with its immediate surroundings. The architecture was very similar to the buildings made of stone walls with wooden framework and a ^ shaped rooftops Bones saw in the towns and cities of the Wezar Kingdom. The road was paved with cobblestone that allowed for heavy traffic all year long. There weren't many tall structures. The largest structure was a three-storey hotel where mostly adventurers and an occasional traveler with enough gold to spend, stayed the night.

It was around noon when Bones entered the town and took a walk down the central street that was bustling with activities. The street was filled with many shops selling all sorts of merchandise, from household appliances and building materials, to food and finally clothes. The central street led to the marketplace that, just like the street, was busy and crowded. Bones noted the most common goods sold, apart from used books, were gloves, hats, scarves and jackets made of leather and fur. No doubt, on display due to the change in climate.

I suppose it is a bit chilly. A few more months and it'll be a year since I…came? Woke up? Reborn? Hm…

As Bones deduced, the days of winter are coming again and the merchants were already trading goods in preparation for the cold days ahead. While Bones had no need for thicker clothing, he approached the nearest vendor and started asking questions on where he could find the local leathersmith. He was quickly pointed to the end of the square, where a two storey building was situated with fully clothed mannequins stationed up front and displaying goods on sale.

Bones maneuvered the crowd, his head looking down to the ground, avoiding the gazes of people around him as he walked until he stopped in front of the shop. He looked up above the entrance and read the name of the shop.

Handmade goods and leather designs

"This must be it!"

While Bones was standing in front, checking out the prices on the mannequins, the doors opened and two satisfied adventurers in full leather equipment exited the shop. He stepped aside, letting the two pass, then entered. The inside of the shop was spacious and covered in wooden walls, floors and furniture. Right next to the entrance was a lifelike specimen of a local beast mounted in a very threatening pose. Looking around, he spotted several of them in different places and in different poses, and horns of unknown animals mounted on the walls. The shop wasn't crowded, but the clientele seemed to be hunters and adventurers looking for quality equipment meant for hunting.

"Hello…" The clean shaved man with combed hair approached and started greeting Bones but stopped after Bones turned and locked eyes with him. The man, a clerk, was visibly taken aback by the darkness that surrounded the Bones's eye sockets, but quickly composed himself, cleared his throat and continued, "Apologies. Greetings sir. May I help you?"

A better reaction than I thought. Alright…

"Greetings, I'm actually in need of leathersmithing services."

The clerk nodded and said that the shop is on the ground floor and the workshop is on the floor above. He then led Bones through the shop and pointed at the staircase leading up at the far end.

"Take the stairs to the first floor and ask for Mark. He is the leathersmith and the person in charge of custom orders."

Bones nodded, thanked the man and headed upstairs where he met the young looking bored receptionist behind a desk. Bones once again explained he was looking for leathersmith services and was made to wait while the young man went to fetch the leathersmith. Bones didn't have to wait long for the slim figure with dark combed hair and exquisitely combed mustache, to approach and greet him.

"I'm Mark. You have a custom order to commission?" The man introduced himself and went straight to business.

"Yes and no. I'm in need of a monster skinning service and I'm looking to sell the body parts."

Before replying, Mark took a brief look at Bones, from head to toes, then nodded.

"The shop has a butcher in employment and we do offer the service of harvesting the body parts. We can skin the body for you and buy the parts but first, I have to confirm something with you. You are an undead, yes?"

At the mention of the undead, the young receptionist stiffened but was quickly ushered to go back to his station. Bones waited a few seconds for the young man to leave before turning back his focus on the leathersmith.

"I'm surprised you noticed right away. I didn't think I was that obvious." Bones said surprised. He thought his get-up wouldn't reveal much and he didn't think of himself as a normal kind of undead. He was a Revenant after all! While his eyes were still hollow, the undead shouldn't come to mind so easily.

"I didn't really notice right away. I meet with adventurers and local hunters on a daily basis so I'm used to the smell of death but the air around you is a little more intense. That and the fact that you're covering your whole body, inside the shop…It is colder outside, but not that cold yet. It is your gaze that made me doubt. It made my soul stir!"

"My apologies. I'll try to keep the "tenseness" down a notch. I promise I didn't come bringing trouble. Is that going to be a problem?" Bones apologized and asked, hoping he wouldn't be chased out. The man spoke rather casually but Bones could feel the man had tensed as well.

"Seeing as you came all the way over here without issues and without assaulting anyone, I believe you. As long as you abide by the law and keep out of trouble, you shouldn't have problems in the town. Though I'd advise you to keep your cover up if you plan to stay in town. Perhaps you should browse the goods sold in the marketplace? See if anything catches your eyes!"

*ahem* "Sorry about that." Mark added apologetically, realizing his blunder.

Bones nodded and was both surprised and relieved that his disposition wouldn't be a problem.

"Like I said, I mean no trouble. Just came for the service! You had business with the undead before?" Bones couldn't help but ask.

"I did, once, a few years ago. He was an odd one, couldn't remember his own name but didn't cause trouble. The common folk might be surprised to see you as most aren't familiar with the undead, so they won't give you much trouble. If anything, you'd spark their curiosity. It's the hunters and adventurers that you need to be wary of! Be aware and I can't stress this enough, do try to keep out of trouble! Now come with me. Let's see what you have for me."

The leathersmith led Bones through the workshop where they designed, sewed and crafted leather equipment, and into his office in the back. While Mark called it his office, the room was his private workstation with all kinds of basic instruments, leather tools and machines necessary for leather processing. On one side of the room was a desktop work surface surrounded by different crafting materials like threads, cutting tools, chisels, hammer and a neatly stacked tanned leather, ready to be worked on. And on the other side was a large table and, sitting in a small corner of the room, a small desk cram-full with papers and documents.

"Over here is fine." Mark said and gestured at the large table on the other side of the room. Bones looked away from the workstation and approached the table, then summoned the body of the Lizardman. Mark raised an eyebrow, then leaned closer for better inspection.

"The body is preserved in good condition. Elite Lizardman?" Mark asked and Bones nodded, surprised that the man recognized the Lizardman to be an elite.

"Dreaded Marshes or Hardwood Swamps?" Mark asked again.

"Hardwood Swamps. I'm surprised you recognised the elite and where it's from! You have worked on them before?"

"I did and my Identify skill is high enough to identify most creatures up to the second tier. We don't get many scale materials as hide and pelts are more common here. We do make a scale leather set though so these will come in handy and will fetch you a good price!" Mark explained.

"That's great to hear but I didn't actually come for a new armor. You said you have a butcher in your employment, yes? I'm in need of his services to strip the body tissue clean off its bones!"

"Oh? So you need…meat or bones?"

"Meat no. I'm willing to sell the meat. I need the bones, intact and in the best condition possible."

Mark kept observing the body, then turned to Bones. "We can make it work. I'm a second tier leathersmith and the butcher is also in the second tier. He does quality work so you can be rest assured, he will get the job done right!"

"I still have work to do for the day so I can start with your request tomorrow morning at the earliest. Will that work with you?"

"I don't mind. Take all the time you need. Rather, how long do you estimate it'll take?"

"I can strip the scales and skin the body by the end of tomorrow. Removing all the organs and muscle tissue will take time though, a bit more since you need the bones intact. I'd estimate you'll have the skeleton available to you by the end of the week."

"That's not very long. I was prepared to stay for an extended period of time. How much for the job? Do I need to pay an advance?"

"No advance necessary. After all, you're leaving valuable materials with us. I can't give you the exact numbers until after I finish with work and do a thorough analysis of the quality of the scales. If money is a problem, I can analyze a sample now and give you a rough estimate."

"No no, that's quite alright, money isn't an issue! I'll come back in three days. Oh, and before I leave, I wanted to ask something."

"Of course, you can ask me anything."

"Is there an Adventurers Guild office in town?"

"Oh? Are you by any chance an adventurer?" Bones nodded and Mark continued. "There is a branch office on the other side of town, west of here but if you're looking to get a contract, the Hunter's Guild is a better option."

"The Hunter's Guild? I'm not familiar with the guild."

"No? If you don't mind me asking, where are you from Mr…"

"Jones. Call me Jones. I came from Westbrook in The Wezar Kingdom, in the southeast." Bones replied, settling for using his old, soon-to-be new name once again.

"I know the place. Nasty business, that war. No wonder you aren't familiar with the Hunter's Guild. Adventurer's Guild issues all the hunting contracts there. It's a bit different in these parts. Wildlife here isn't as extensive so the Adventurer's Guild isn't as influential. There is plenty of game to hunt though. There is always a need to cull down the number of wolves in the area."

"Wolves? What about goblins or kobolds? What about dungeons? Any in the area?"

"No goblins, kobolds and no dungeons I'm afraid. You can find all manner of woodland creatures, large and small, but Direwolves are dominating the woods. Their Wind Blades are especially dangerous."

"I encountered Direwolves before, back in Westbrook." Bones said but Mark interjected immediately.

"No no no." Mark hurriedly said and chuckled. "The monster population and their level in the training grounds around Westbrook is heavily controlled by Adventurer's Guild. The Direwolves there are all low level and quite frankly, a fairly poor imitation to the real thing! I'd advise you to form a hunting party if you planned to hunt, but seeing as you're an undead…you might not need one."

"Hm, I might stop by and check the contract board then. Thanks, I'll stop by by the end of the week."

"Alright. Also, don't forget to leave your contact information at the reception on the ground floor on your way out." Mark added before saying goodbye and warning Bones for the third time, to keep out of trouble. After leaving the shop, Bones slowly headed east, in the direction of the Hunter's Guild. He had time to spare while waiting so he thought to go and see what the situation at the guild was.

An hour later, Bones sat in the small coffee shop across the Hunter's Guild, sipping on coffee. He had a thick leather jacket on, wore leather gloves and had a fur hat on his head. There were goggles with tint lenses on his face and a fluffy scarf around his neck. Everything he bought on his way here with purpose to fit in better.

The Hunter's Guild is a no go. They require an ID card. Adventurer's ID would be enough but I'm reluctant to show it around. We're still too close to the Wezar Kingdom. Perhaps it wouldn't make a difference? What is the chance that my location here would be disclosed to someone with the connection to Silva? Small…but not non-existent!

I don't really need to take on a contract to see what the Direwolves are like here. I'll head out to hunt tomorrow morning. First, I need a place to stay.

After he finished his coffee and paid the bill, Bones headed further east. There, he found a small inn just on the outskirts of town. After settling in his room, he waited until nightfall to slip outside and see what the nightlife in the small town had to offer.