The town of dead men
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As heroes, our four friends left Selbingen last time and set off on new challenges. Specifically, their destination is Feth, a tiny little town on the Helenau trade route between Selbingen and the town of Port Kresto. Our heroes don’t even realise that they are on their way to a collection of a few houses, because they have never really left the North Marsh themselves and have only seen the place on Lukas Lukan Valerius’ large trade map.
They set off in the morning from their makeshift camp in the middle of the Selbing Lake District with corresponding motivation. They trudge the first few metres through thick clouds of mist and wet, tall grass until they reach the hard-packed earth of the trade route again. After a brief orientation, they set off in a south-westerly direction. After a few kilometres, the first rays of sunshine break through the mist and give their surroundings an idyllic glow. Kel, Theo, Aldric and Löwenzahn can’t really enjoy their surroundings though - the long walk from the previous day is still too much in their bones. But it doesn’t help, and so they bravely hike kilometre after kilometre towards their destination.
After several breaks to catch their breath, darkness falls over the horizon again. They have now left the lake district and can see the first features of the Kresto plateau slowly but surely approaching. The surrounding area becomes more densely wooded again, and suddenly small lights break through the darkness in the distance. Their pace quickens again, and half an hour later they step into a small market square. Surrounding them are a handful of houses, some of which are sparsely lit.
One of these houses immediately catches their attention, as a wonderful aroma wafts from there into their noses. Baked bread, roasted meat and savoury cheese lure them straight into the inn in front of them. As they approach, they also discover various horse troughs, an astonishing number of which are already full. The large number of visitors surprises our friends, but before they start to rack their brains over this, they prefer to march through the large oak door into the interior of the ‘Tired Horses’ Legs’ inn.
It is cosy and warm inside, and the delicious aroma that had already hit them outside now completely envelops them and makes their mouths water. They take a quick look around and are greeted by the owner, Gerda. She kindly offers them a hearty dinner and rooms for the night. Exhausted from their long journey, Kel, Theo, Aldric and Löwenzahn have only been waiting for such an offer and they accept without hesitation. Aldric has another enquiry, however: the inn almost looks as if it specialises in horses, and Aldric is interested to know exactly how it works here. Gerda explains to the four of them that she keeps some well-rested horses in her stables. Travellers who are in a hurry can leave their exhausted horse here and ride on with another, rested mount. The horse can then be picked up again later, for example on the way back. Our friends are of course particularly interested in horses, but Gerda makes it clear that she has no horses to give away at the moment. If anything, she could offer an old horse whose best years have already passed. Aldric is generally interested, but for now he too wants to eat and then sleep quickly.
After a few silver coins have finally changed hands, they enter the spacious taproom and are amazed at who they discover here: Bibiane is sitting in a corner of the room, nibbling intently on a corner of bread. Löwenzahn doesn’t hesitate for a second and joins her at the table, while Theo and Aldric turn their attention to the only other guest. Kel, on the other hand, prefers to sit at the bar - which certainly can’t be down to Nele, Gerda’s attractive daughter.
While Kel works his way through a spasmodic attempt at flirting, Löwenzahn’s conversation with Bibiane is more exciting. She explains to Löwenzahn that all her horses understandably ran away when her stable burned down and that she has spent the last few days collecting all her four-legged friends. She might have managed that now, but without a stable she can’t offer her horses a home and is practically dependent on being able to look after them here at Gerda’s for the time being. This problem makes sense to Löwenzahn, so he cheerfully offers to help her rebuild with his friends. Bibiane’s eyes immediately light up and she enthusiastically agrees to help the half-orc. Löwenzahn explains that he first has to discuss the next steps with the other three and says goodbye to Bibiane for now.
Meanwhile, Theo and Aldric talk to a certain Joakim, who is staying here overnight today and will be travelling on to Port Kresto tomorrow. He is a merchant and specialises in blacksmithing additives. In particular, he has colours on offer that can be worked into the metal during the forging process, giving the blade a coloured sheen. From a technical point of view, this is very interesting for the two of them, but when they hear the prices, their interest quickly evaporates and they say goodbye to Joakim.
The four of them meet up again at the bar. While Aldric, Theo and Kel now really only have the priority of ‘eating and then sleeping’, Löwenzahn buys three portions of green coloured salt from Joakim before going to bed.
Logically, the next day starts very late, as all four of them are delighted to be able to sleep in. After a cosy breakfast, however, they want to explore Feth a little, which shouldn’t really take very long given the few huts. But before that, Löwenzahn has a surprise for them and tells them about the offer he made Bibiane the night before. His friends look at him with moderate enthusiasm. They are not really keen on this task, but they can’t really retreat now. They decide to arrange with Bibiane that they will first have a quick look at Feth and then ride to Selbingen together with Bibiane and her various horses to rebuild the stables there. They ask Gerda to pass this message on to Bibiane as soon as she appears in the guest room and then say goodbye.
The first path in Feth now leads them to Carla-Theresia, the village wagon maker. She explains to our heroes that Feth is actually only visited by travellers, who are often also traders. And they sometimes have problems with their carts and are then dependent on Carla-Theresia’s help. It doesn’t bring in a lot of money, but it helps her to keep her head above water. She also offers our four friends a car of their own, but as they don’t even own a horse yet, such an investment would be rather pointless.
Their path also leads them to the merchant Fiona, the huntress Margret and the jarl’s wife Konstanze. What becomes increasingly clear to them over time: There are simply no local men. This really surprises our friends, so they decide to ask Konstanze about this. But you won’t find out what exciting story she has to tell until next time: Arkanthia Pen and Paper.
