The Tired Mercenary Just Wants to Farm in Peace

The Silver Hands were one of the best mercenary companies in the kingdom. Now, only one remains. Kain Asheld buried the three people closest to him on a quiet ridge overlooking the valley where they promised to meet. He honors that memory with a deed to a farm, bought with his share of a final bounty and a desperate need for silence.

The dream of that new life requires more than just land. Locals call it Madder's Place. It is a disaster of rotting floorboards, collapsed roofs, and fields reclaimed by the wild.

The village needs him just as much as he needs the solitude. Support comes from unexpected places: a young collector named Oren, a sharp-tongued tavern owner named Sorrel, and a trust system that leaves payment in unlocked boxes by the road. As Kain clears the rot from his new home and tracks the wolves harassing the village, he discovers building a life takes its own kind of strength.

This is the story of starting over, and of moving on when you can't take the people you love with you.