The desert settlement was called Kharim.
It wasn't marked on most maps.
Because by the time a mapmaker returned...
The roads leading to it had usually disappeared beneath the shifting sands.
Still—
Life thrived.
Merchants shouted from beneath cloth canopies.
Children chased each other through narrow alleys.
Smiths hammered away at salvaged metal.
The smell of grilled meat drifted through the warm afternoon air.
It felt...
Alive.
Kai couldn't help but smile.
Compared to the silent ruins of Oheyo...
This place still had hope.
---
The Outlaws entered without resistance.
Nobody screamed.
Nobody ran.
Nobody reached for weapons.
Instead—
Several shopkeepers waved.
"Back already?"
"Found anything useful?"
"Oi, Munnu! Don't forget you still owe me money!"
The Outlaws laughed.
Kai blinked.
"...Wait."
"You guys aren't wanted here?"
One of the Outlaws looked confused.
"Why would we be?"
"You literally rob caravans."
"We rob rich caravans."
"...That's not helping your case."
Munnu chuckled.
"We also protect these people."
Kai frowned.
"What?"
Munnu pointed toward the settlement walls.
"Bandits."
"Slave traders."
"Desert beasts."
"Cultists."
"They all come through here."
"We make sure they leave."
Kai looked around again.
Now he noticed something.
The guards.
Their armor wasn't uniform.
Half of them carried weapons clearly made from scavenged Oheyo metal.