Here starts the tale of Scott Mallory...
This dude!
Scott grabs the last items before he heads into town. His four goats are already in his wagon, the wool he shaved from the sheep last month is stowed under the driver’s seat and the chair he recently repaired for granny Sigh is in the back with the goats. Before he heads out he makes sure his camping equipment is all there, that he has all his tools with him and that his waterskin is full. All his stuff packed he feels his gold pouch, quite full since he sold his sheep to the miller’s son.
Market starts around 10, about an hour from now. Bertha makes her way to him as Scott whistles for her. He ties his donkey to the cart, checking that from the list in his book. Doors locked, last plants harvested, sheep sold. Everything on the list is done. He takes his place at the front of the wagon and calls for Bertha to start moving.
”Heyaa, let’s go.”
The wagon steers left as he enters onto the main road, to town. He rides for about half an hour, the people he rides past waving enthusiasticly when they see him. The cart makes its way onto the town square about half past 9, giving him time aplenty to deliver the chair and wool. He hefts it on his shoulder and just off of the square to knock on one of the doors, calling for granny Sigh that her chair is ready. Granny Sigh opens the door and smiles.
”Come in, please. Could you put the chair by the fireplace? You know where to put the wool.”
She says in her old creaky voice as she moves over to her kitchen.
”I have a little something for all the work you’ve done. Heard you were going away for a time, trying something new!”
A new pair of woollen gloves and few gold coins glint in her hands.
”Saved this up for a long time. Seeing I won’t be needing it and you always stand ready to help I thought you should have it. And could you do one more thing for me?”
She hands him a letter.
”Could you give this to my grandson in Uther?”
Scott smiles at her, putting the coins and letter in his pouch, and gives her a hug.
”Thank you, sure I will.”
He gives her a single kiss on the cheek and makes his way back to his cart, stuffing the gloves in one of his pockets. The day goes by slowly, he sells his goats to one of the city people and sells his excess foodstuffs for a few pennies to Luke, the smithy. As Luke moves back to his workshop he calls back with a smile on his face.
”You sure your tools are all right, you are gonna regret heading out without properly maintained tools!”
Scott waves him off.
”Just go back to your shop! You gave them a touchup last week!”
As everyone is leaving Scott says his last goodbye’s till he is alone in the square. He checks his chest with belongings one more time, gives Bertha an apple and makes his way to the paper mill. He pays up and get’s handed three big stacks of paper, nearly emptying his purse.
”Fine and all being one of the best paper towns in the region but this stuff costs me an arm and a leg! You sure this is going to turn me a profit?”
The owner smiles.
”We ain’t just name, this is some quality stuff, and you’re getting it for a steal! Make sure to keep it dry though… Oh and if you can get me some good quality chalk I’ll pay a good price. Uther should have some.”
Scott nods, stowing the paper in his chest, shoving it under the driver’s seat. The miller continues.
”I hope you do good for yourself son, everyone wishes you the best you know. I hope we’ll see you back.”
Scott turns back and smiles.
”Of course I’ll be back. I still have my home here. But this is a chance I don’t want to miss. This might be my only chance to get to see the world and earn me some money.”
He makes his goodbyes and get’s back on the drivers seat and pets Bertha.
”Let’s go girl, we’re in for a long ride. If we go now we can get a few miles before sundown.”
And with that he sets off.
"No, you're not!" sounds a loud, deep voice behind you.
As you turn around, you see a burly man with a dark bushy beard and bald head rush toward you. It's your friend Jeff.
"Godsdammit, I almost missed you!" Jeff says, or rather shouts, as he catches up to you. He's both panting and grinning heavily, and claps you on the shoulder. "Got your head in the clouds, ey? Some things never change!"
Completely ignoring the people who have turned their heads in reaction to the ruckus he's causing, Jeff continues in his usual loud and cheerful way: "Don't wanna hold you up, but let me know when you're back in town, 'kay? If you turn a profit with this new business of yours, drinks on you!"
Scott looks puzzled.
"Thought you were running the shop all day, too busy for teary farewells."
He grins, rummaging in his pouch and fishing out some small coin and tossing them over.
"To keep you busy in the meanwhile. Got a pretty penny for the goats."
Looking back at town he fishes out some more coins, nearly emptying his purse.
"These are for granny Sigh, take good care of her will you? Someone gotta look after her."
With a last smile he urges his donkey on its way again, waving till he passes the town gate.
"See you soon! Take care!"
Being on the road for nearly three hours it starts to turn to dusk. Scott keeps his eyes out for a place to camp, where maybe people have camped before. He soon finds a suitable spot a little bit off the road. Bertha trudges through the grass onto the small clearing and stops.
Scott unhitches her and binds her to a tree with a little rope to spare, to give her some space to graze. When he is sure his box is secured tightly he goes into the forest's edge to find some firewood for the night.
The small amount of dry wood he is able to find is only enough for an hour or two.
It's going to be a cold night... All the other stuff will smoke like crazy. Though I'm not too far away from River fork I'd rather not risk having to return so early or ending up in a ditch.
A small pile of wood is formed under the wagon, for the cold part of night, and Scott lays his bedroll next to it. He hopes that it is somewhat warmer under his wagon during the night. Before bedding down he eats some of his provisions, gives Bertha an apple and drinks some water.
We'll see what tomorrow brings.
It's mid-spring and the nights have become less cold as of late, yet the moon's high in the dark sky when you wake from a chilly breeze. Keeping your eyes shut does nothing to help you fall back asleep.
The moon provides enough light for you to clearly see the contours of everything around you. Bertha appears sound asleep, more used to sleeping outdoors than you.
Scott sits up, shivering. The night eerily silent. He slowly peers from under his cart to his surrounding, is he alone? Normally it isn't this quiet.
Seeing nothing of note he crawls from under his wagon and makes a small pile a little away from his wagon. Using his tinderbox he lights the wood on fire. He holds his hands close to it, trying to warm himself.
Not sure he is really alone he peers around himself again and grabs his staff from under the wagon, ready to knock any uninvited guest on the head. After a few minutes he drapes his bedroll over his body, trying to get back to sleep again.
Two hours later he wakes again, early sun showing in the skies. The fire has gone out again and his hands feel numb from the cold. He shoves them under his armpits as he scatters the ashes from his fire to the wind with his foot. After a minute or two his hands start to feel bearable again. He packs all his things and softly wakes Bertha. With an apple he leads her back to the wagon, hitching her when she is munching happily.
After making sure everything is packed they return to their journey, Scott walking besides the wagon for the first part to get some warmth back in his body. An hour or two later, when the sun is fully in the sky he eats a small breakfast after climbing back onto the bench in the wagon.
This wasn't the best start... Better get the camp up earlier tonight, easier to get firewood with some more light...
It's very early when you get back to the road, and you've covered a fair distance by the time your stomach declares you're approaching your usual dinner time. Looking ahead, you're able to see a wooden cabin behind some distant trees.
Once closer you see there's a total of four cabins. It's obvious the cabins form the lumber camp you've been told of, which lies about two-thirds down the road to Uther, as there are some lumberjacks walking about with their tools.
"Done! Food!" you hear one of the men yell as he slams the door of a small barn closed behind him and locks the door.
"Yeeaah!" sounds another's reply. He's headed toward the biggest cabin.
Scott motions for Bertha to move towards the huts and waves to the men.
"Hellloooo! You done for the day?"
He slows down as he's nearing the huts.
"Spare some food for a traveller? I'm going Uther way and then White rock, am able to trade something for a place at the dinner table. Maybe a letter for a loved one or I could some salt on the way back."
The wagon stops in the middle of the four huts and Scott jumps off.
"I'm Scott by the way."
He holds out his hand in greeting.
The man who's headed toward the biggest cabin stops at the door. He raises a hand to greet you and waves you over. "Hey! Come join us inside!"
The other man's already inside by the time you're at the door, but the man who greeted you has been waiting there. Handshakes and names are exchanged, and you learn the man's called Thomas.
You step into the cabin and immediately enter a large room with a long table in the middle. The table's lined with chairs and ten of those are filled with sweaty men wearing muddy boots. The wall near the door's decorated with coats of various sizes, colors, and states of wear.
Heads raise as you enter the cabin, and you're introduced by Thomas: "Scott here's headed for Uther, in case any of you want some letters delivered. Headed back this way later, so if any of you trust him with some coin..."
Thomas turns back to you before he goes to join his fellow lumberjacks at the table. "Wouldn't head to White Rock now. Talk of bandits down there. Wait for the soldiers to clear the roads."
Scott greets everyone inside with a smile and a nod.
"Thanks for the advice. Was going to get some chalk there, but no kind of chalk is worth my hide."
He turns back to the group.
"Thanks for inviting me, really appreciate it. I'm from River fork."
As he goes over the faces he recognizes one of the men at the table.
"And I believe I'm not the only one!"
He greets the man at the table.
"How's your wife doing? Shall I bring a letter back once I return? Could also return some coin, you know where I live and I haven't sold my house so you know where to find me."
As the men make some space at the table he joins them and joins them in conversation. He tells them news from River fork and answers any questions the men have about the going ons outside of their camp.
"I'll have a letter when you head back this way," the man you recognize says. "Will give it to you then, if you make another stop here."
One of the other men speaks up: "Got one for my wife in Uther."
"You got any others?" shouts Thomas, and everyone laughs.
"Plenty, mate!" the reply sounds, after which the man turns back to you. "Will give it to you later."
A gruff, but less sweaty, man enters the room holding a stack of bowls, spoons, and a couple loafs of bread. He places them near you on the table, looks at you, and leaves again. A moment later he returns with a large pan another bowl and spoon atop the lid.
"Corey," he says as he places the pan near you on the table and removes the extra bowl and spoon. Judging by his look he wants to know who you are and why you're here, so introductions are made.
"Could use some things," Corey tells you as he fills a bowl with mushroom soup and shoves it toward you. "Quite a lot, if you're willing to take my whole shopping list. When will you be back here?"
Corey motions at the bread, one loaf already having been divided by some of the other men. "Help yourself."
Scott shakes Corey's hand.
"I'm Scott."
He explains what he's doing here and what he could do. When Corey asks when he will return he grabs his book and puts it next to the steaming bowl of soup. Flipping through some pages he soon finds an answer.
"Well, one more day of travel and I have to stay a day or two for market day and to get try and get some business at the docks. So that will be at least four days, if things don't go well up to seven. Heard from Thomas that the roads to the chalk mines aren't safe right now so I won't be going there."
Scott tears off a piece of bread to dip in the soup. After a long day on the road the soup is a blessing for his stomach, which quite clearly shows on his face.
"This is good..."
After a few more bites/spoons to still his hunger he turns back to Corey.
"I can write up your shopping list in my book and make an estimate of the costs, though you probably know better."
"I've got a list. A moment."
Corey returns a bit later and hands you his shopping list:
- garlic
- 4 gallons milk
- cheese wheel
- herbs
- 2 sacks flour
"On the market, look for a woman named Aubrey," Corey says. "Tell her I want the usual herbs. She knows. Also, if you buy the cheese from a bloke called Oskar, tell him you're paying half. He knows he's asking too much."
Corey gives you a purse with 25 silver coins in it. "Should be enough for the groceries. If you're short anything, I'll compensate you when you're back. How much do you want for the job?"
Scott remains silent for a moment, thinking to himself.
Half a days travel to Uther, another half to get back. That would be about 5 silver for food, if I can't forage anything. 5 silver for a very decent inn, could go a little cheaper on that. 8 silver at least covers this part of the journey.
"I think about 8 silver. Does that sound good to you?"
He says with a smile, not sure at all how these things normally go. Is he asking too much? Or too little? It doesn't show on his face however.
Corey's visibly pondering, but comes up with another suggestion: "What about this? You show me how good you're at haggling. You get five silver pieces from me when you return, and get to keep whatever change you've got left from the money I just gave you."
"If I end up having to compensate for you spending more money than I gave you, you'll get just the five silver."
Scott nods after he does some calculations in his head. With a few deals here and there he should be able to get that to work.
"Oke, I'll take you up on that."
He holds out his hand to seal the deal. With the deal done he finishes his food and enjoys the company for the evening.
Corey shakes your hand, and also starts eating.
After dinner the man who has a wife in Uther comes up to you and hands you his letter. "It's for my wife, Petra. Our house is the first one past the church, same side of the road."
The man hands you four copper pieces. "Here, should be enough to get you an ale at the inn."
People eventually start heading to bed, and Thomas shows you where you can spend the night. "You can sleep here, in the bunk bed above me. That is, assuming you don't wet yourself at night."
The lumberjack laughs heartily, and one of the men who's already in bed tells him to shut up. Thomas laughs again, but softer, and leaves the room to not disturb the other man's sleep any further.
------
You wake up to the sound of someone else getting out of bed. The curtains are pulled open and you notice the sun's barely started to rise. No strange sight for you, as farmers are used to getting up early.
There's some more movement outside the room, and it doesn't take long before all of the lumberjacks are moving about. By the time you enter the large room where you had dinner, there's an assortment of fresh fruit, bread, scrambled eggs, and sausages on the table.
"Help yourself," Corey says when he sees you.
Scott rolls his eyes at Thomas's comment.
"Only when my height fears kick in, so you never know..."
He climbs in bed and before he knows it he's woken again from his warm and cozy sleep. Sliding along the bench he joins the breakfast, taking a plate of food for the journey ahead.
"You sure know how to prepare good food. Good too see I ain't buying it for nothing."
After breakfast, which he thanks Corey for again, he prepares his cart and waves everyone goodbye.
"See you in a bit!"
He says as he spurs his donkey on. After about half a days ride he rides into Uther.
First things first, let's get this letter to Petra and get some groceries..."
Decades ago the then reigning king ordered the construction of a bridge large and sturdy enough to allow his armies to cross the river Brae. The architect and business man Henry Uther was hired to oversee the construction, and the bridge was named after him. Uther liked the location at the edge of the Hamleche Woodland so much, he had a house built east of the bridge. Using his money to invest, Uther had more houses built. He rented those out to the fishermen and traders who wanted to profit from the trade route that came to be after the bridge's construction, and so the town of Uther came to be.
The house Henry Uther lived in does no longer exist, both house and owner perishing in a fire. Most of the people who live in Uther these days live on the other side of the bridge, near the bustling market square, and make their living either by trade or working for River Fork's Lumber Company. Only a few houses, now all owned by fishermen, stand east of the Uther Bridge.
You enter Uther from the east, emerging from the Hamleche Woods. From the east shore of the Brae you see the market on the other side of the bridge. You recall there's a daily market in Uther, as travelers are constantly passing through and this presents constant opportunities to sell wares. The townsfolk have their own stalls, and usually the best spots on the market. The constant variety of traders from out of town is allowed to hire or set up a stall for a day, by paying a modest amount of money at the town hall.
Scott parks his cart just beside the market square and grabs his book with notes.
Groceries, paper and chalk. Oh... Don't forget the letter.
He moves onto the square, keeping a close eye on his cart, and visits each stall. At each stall he asks the goods the person is trading and if they have anything of his list to buy (paper) or sell (groceries or chalk).
You first drop by the house of granny Sigh's grandson and the lumberjack's wife, to deliver the letters you carry. They thank you kindly and, after some small talk, you continue to the market.
Scott moves across the market, making some talk at each stall to buy some stuff and to gain some information.
"Hello, you are Aubrey I assume? I'm doing some shopping for Corey. He said to ask for the usual herbs and some garlic."
Scott says with a smile.
Moving along the market he makes some small talk with the milk trader, after some banter he turns to business.
"I'm looking to buy 4 gallons of milk."
He smiles his warmest smile and holds out 7 silver, instead of the 7 silver and 6 copper.
"Will this be enough?"
If he succeeds he thanks the trader for doing business, if not he gives the price asked saying it was a reasonable price to begin with.
Scott moves over to the cheese stall, looks at the price and grabs a wheel of cheese. He weighs it in his hand and frowns.
"I think... You are asking quite the price for this cheese..."
He feels another time, looking deep in thought.
"How about we bring the price to 7 silver, what you ask is way too much for this cheese."
He looks up, slightly agitated at the outrageous price.
The final stall he goes to is to get some flour, he greets the merchant with a very pleasant smile, feels the flour and nods. He seems very thoughtful for a moment and looks up.
"I would like two sacks of flour."
He grabs a silver from his pouch and holds it out, remaining silent and waiting for the man to accept his coin.
He knocks on the door of the town hall and tries the door. If open he steps inside and greets the nearest clerk.
"Hello, I'm Scott. I heard you might be interested in high quality paper. I carry three stacks of paper from the mill in River fork."
He moves into the church silently, offering a prayer at the altar. Once finished he looks for the priest, trying to be as silent as possible. Once he finds the priest he talks to him in a whisper.
"Hello, I'm Scott. I heard you might be interested in high quality paper. I carry three stacks of paper from the mill in River fork."
The woman gathers a bunch of herbs in a paper bag and adds some garlic. "Three coppers, please."
"1 gold 4 silver," the trader says, still asking more than you know the wheel is worth.
A few minutes pass before the clerk returns and aks "May I see the paper?"
"Could we conclude the deal in my office? Please bring some sheets. I'd like to ascertain the quality, if you don't mind."
Scott smiles and makes a tiny bow.
"Thank you, here's the three copper. I'm sure he'll be happy with the new supply."
He waves as he moves to the next stall.
Scott fishes two more copper out of his pouch and hands them over.
"Glad to be doing business, maybe I'll see you next time in town."
He waves the man goodbye as he hauls the supplies to the cart.
Scott starts tapping his foot, slightly agitated at the gall of this man to ask such outrageous prices.
"I know you're asking way too much Oskar... I can offer a gold, we both know it's not worth more than that."
He holds out a gold coin to seal the deal.
Scott nods and thanks him.
"Thank you, this'll go to the men in the woods. I'm sure they'll be happy."
Waiting a moment for the clerk to come back he takes a look around the place.
"Of course! I'll be right back."
He quickly grabs a few sheets of paper to return. He hands over about three sheets for them to inspect.
"How about this? Got a total of three stacks."
Scott nods, following the priest to his office, paper already in his hands.
"Sure, I have some on me. I'll follow you."
Once in the office he shows about three sheets of paper.
Scott finishes up his first real errant and moves back to River Fork, delivering the groceries on the way. Upon getting back he gets a deal with the paper miller’s owner. He can deliver the paper to the abbey in the north, for a fair price. After a few upgrades and some shopping he head out to meadows edge, selling a few books to the mayor and paper to the town hall and church. He moves on to the abbey, passing through Brunefyl and picking up another delivery for the abbey. The next day he delivers the paper and woollen items. On the way back he stays in Brunefyl a little longer, picking up some wares to sell in Uther and River Fork.
On the way to Uther he meets some soldiers, on the hunt for the bandits who have now moved into the woods. Feeling safe on the road he continues to Uther. On the market day he sells part of his wares for a nice price. A few days later he returns to River Fork and delivers the money to the miller who speaks of another delivery.
During the night he stayed at home, which he was away from for quite some time, two bandits tried to steal his cart. He cracked on of the bandit’s ribs and sent them running. The next morning he sets off for his deal with the miller, al his coin in his pockets. After hiring a mercenary for the job he sets off towards the chalk mines. The journey goes without a hitch till about half an hour outside or River Fork. He returns to a burnt out shell of his former home. He quickly finishes business and the next few days are a bit of a haze.
Scott sells his lands to his neighbour, in the deal he has the right to keep a wagon on the property. If home he can use it, the rest of the time his neighbours may use it. He makes a few orders for a new completely kitted out wagon, his new home, and sets out on another journey to deliver a letter. On his last journey he meets Theodore, a wizened old man schooled in history. He has a small adventure with the man and soon more to follow.
While on your way back to River Fork Theodore's delighted by your curiosity and the interest you show in the area's history. He suggests you visit the elven ruins in the Hamleche Woods together, and you eagerly accept.
It's late afternoon when you arrive in River Fork. Work's finished, for the day, and most people you see out on the streets are headed home. You head toward your friend Jeff's house, where you place Theodore's cart next to the house and tie Bertha to Jeff's fence.
Jeff opens his door and greets you jovially: "Oy! Back already?"
He looks at Theodore, who introduces himself, and the three of you move inside the house. There Theodore and you quickly recount your journey, and your plan to visit the elven ruins.
"I don't see why you'd wanna visit some old broken-down buildings in the middle of the forest, but if it makes you happy..."
"On another note, one of the guards stopped by earlier. Told me the bandits that burned down your farm were captured. Asked if you could come to the town hall when back."
Looking outside, you see it's getting dark. Theodore takes his leave and tells you he'll be staying in the River Fork Inn. Jeff offers you to stay for the night.
The next morning you wake up early and eat breakfast with Jeff. Just before you're about to leave, there's a knock on the door.
"Good morning, lad!" says Theodore as Jeff opens the door.
The old man sees you're getting ready to leave. "I'm going to go ahead and ask one of the fishermen if he's willing to give us a ride downstream the Dun Brae. You go to the town hall to finish up that nasty bandit business. I'll be waiting for you at the docks."
Scott nods to Theodore.
"I'll meet you at the docks."
He says as he turns around towards the town hall. Once there he knocks on the door and enters.
"I was asked to come here for the bandits."
Scott says to the guards, the anger still not out of his voice when mentioning the people who burned down his house.
I hope the legal trial has already started, maybe even finished... These people can't get out of my life soon enough....
You're escorted to a small office, decorated sparsely and businesslike, and are offered a seat in front of a sturdy oak desk.
"I'm going to fetch the sheriff," the guard who escorted you says.
It doesn't take long for the sheriff to enter the office. He's in his fifties, with short gray hair and a clean shaven face. The sheriff walks up to you and offers a hand. "Sheriff McFloyd."
He sits down on the other side of the desk and starts: "I'm sorry about the loss of property, mister Mallory. However, I'm glad to inform you we have the criminals responsible in custody, courtesy of the king's soldiers."
The sheriff spreads his hands. "They even confessed the arson after some of our guards were able to identify them. This makes wrapping up this matter a lot easier than most cases of arson, which leaves us just the compensation you're due."
"The only downside in all this is that the criminals are unable to fully compensate you by monetary means, as they do not possess a sufficient amount of funds to make up for the loss you suffered. However, due to the severe nature of the crime, I am allowed to use the authority invested in me by the crown to offer you recompense by taking the bandits' possessions and bestowing them upon you."
"Now I've been told you've recently become a trader, not long before the arson. I can offer you six riding horses, several sets of armor, and multiple swords and crossbows. You may not be able to sell all the gear for its original sale value, given the state of some of the weapons and armor pieces, but the horses and their equipment should go a long way to compensate you for your loss of property."
"Thanks for the good work, I was growing increasingly nervous to go on the road."
Scott seems deep in thought for a moment after hearing the offer.
Seeing they don't have anything else on them...
"Oke, that sounds good to me. I was in need of two horses either way so that works out fine. I will be away on a trip for a few days though, is it possible to collect the items and horses after that?"
After a small pause he adds.
"And I'm curious, no that's not the right word... What will happen to the bandits? I'd rather not come across them again..."
The mayor's fine with you picking up everything later on and informs you the bandits will be taken to the capital's prison by the soldiers. He asks you if you could accompany him to the cells to identify the two men who tried to steal your cart, so they can be charged with attempted theft as well as arson.
You're able to identify one of the bandits as one of the thieves; the one with the broken rib. The other one's not present in the cells. The mayor informs you that, indeed, one bandit had fled before the soldiers raided the bandit camp. You're asked to describe the thief who's still out there, while a local artist uses your description to make a sketch of the thief's face. It takes a while, but the artist is able to draw the thief's face quite accurately. He makes several copies of the drawing, and the mayor informs you they will be spread across the nearby towns.
It's already halfway the afternoon when you arrive at the docks, where Theodore's been waiting for you. He's hired an impatient fisherman to drop you off some place down the Dun Brae. Once you've been dropped off you walk for an hour before you come to face a small cliff wall. You climb up and use your rope to pull Theodore up as well.
The 1000-year-old elven ruins Theodore spoke of spread out before your eyes, stretching out over a surface four times the size of River Fork. Most buildings have collapsed or have been taken over by nature, but some are almost entirely intact. The elves used a kind of smooth stone to construct their houses. It's hard to detect any seams in between the massive slabs, making it appear as if each building was sculpted out of a single piece of rock. A lot of buildings seem to have had domed roofs, and every opening has or had an arch. Though the years have turned the stone green and brown, Theodore's able to tell you the buildings were once white.
When it turns dark, Theodore and you find a reasonably intact building and decide to use it as shelter. During the night you have a strange vision. You walk amidst the elven city's buildings, but they're not ruins. You see the domed structures as they originally were, with elegant arcs and their color a pristine white. The buildings abruptly fade as your vision turns black, and the top half of a woman's face appears in front of you. Her skin is a soft pink, her hair an equally soft yellow, her ears are pointy, and her entire eyes are a bright green, lacking any sign of human irises and pupils.
You jump up, screaming as you wake up, and run outside. You can't find what you saw in your dream, but you do hear a yell from the direction you came from. Hurrying back to where you were sleeping, you find Theodore hunched over outside the building. He came running after you, but tripped and sprained his ankle. He's convinced it's broken, but you tell him his ankle's not broken and are able to eventually calm the old man down.
After heading back into the building you tell Theodore what you saw in your dream. His interest is piqued, because the woman you saw fits the description of an elf. He explains to you that some elves are rumored to possess magic, though the elves he's met during his life dismissed that rumor. He's heard of a society of elves with pink skin, and tells you they supposedly live on an island far to the east.
The next morning you explore the ruins again with Theodore, after making him a cane so he can walk. You discover that the layout of the streets is exactly the same as in your dream, even in the areas you didn't visit during your exploration yesterday. You're even able to point out where the library was, and where the roads were that once lead out of the elven city.
You eventually head back to River Fork, luckily spotting another fisherman moving up the river to River Fork. You pick up your brand new wagon at Johnson's Carts the next day, together with the riding horses and gear from the bandits. Theodore purchases Bertha from you, and together you travel to Brunefyl. There you sell your riding horses, purchase two draft horses that are better suited to pull your wagon, and purchase some woolen items.
After a night spent near Brunefyl you head to Churay Abbey, where you purchase a large amount of books from the monks. Theodore mentions he intends to return to his home in the capital, Lorysian. Figuring the capital will offer you much more opportunities for profitable trade than the area surrounding the Hamleche Woods, you ask him if he minds traveling there together. He lets you know he sure doesn't mind, and together you set out toward Lorysian.
Scott and Theodore continue on their journey towards the capital. He travels for a few more hours after leaving the abbey, leaving just enough time to find some firewood for his stove. When the pot is on the stove cooking away he makes some small talk with Theodore.
"So, what's ahead of us? Never been this far north. Heard there were silver mines up there somewhere but don't know what else to expect."
He says to Theodore, not sure on what else to talk about.
"What's the city like? How big is it?"
After a while he serves up the food in rough wooden bowls he cut himself.
Theodore nods, and gets into talk mode: "That's correct! Once we reach the edge of the Churay Woodland you'll see the Silver Hills, named for the large quantities of silver found there. They smelt the ore at the mines, to create bars, and transport those to Silver Stream. That's the nearest town, just past the hills."
"Most of the silver's loaded into boats and transferred directly to the capital, but I don't know if you've heard of William Sohne? Best silver smith in the whole country, lives right there in Silver Stream!"
He points at your shelves. "Just to avoid disappointment; he only takes orders. There's even a waiting list. Though you still may want to pay him a visit, to see his craftsmanship. I'd say it's well worth your time."
Scott nods.
"That sounds like it's worth a visit. Maybe I'll place an order, if I can afford it."
When talk slowly dies down he goes to sleep in the top bunk. The next day, after a quick breakfast, he continues on his journey towards the silver hills.
You spend most of the day on the road, Theodore and his creaking cart some distance in front of you.
"I really like this Bertha!" Theodore shouts over his shoulder. "I can't wait to see how my colleagues will react when I tell them my Bertha suddenly became younger, hahaha! Bwahahahaha! Bwahaha- *cough* *cough* *COUGH!*"
His coughing fit eventually subsiding, Theodore point in front of him. "There's the forest's edge!"
And sure enough, after a moment, you reach the Churay Woodland's northern edge. The road turns eastward, and you see large, green hills rise up in the distance.
"We should spend the night here," Theodore comments as he steers Bertha to the side of the road. "It's late afternoon already. We don't want to be in the hills when it's dark. The roads there can be treacherous."
Scott drives his cart to the side of the road.
"Treacherous as in bandits or hard to navigate?"
After he makes sure everything is secure and the horses cared for he goes to collect some wood for his stove, and some for the journey ahead seeing it's still early.
After the evening ritual he goes to sleep after making sure his door is locked and his horses are secure. The next day he moves into the hills with Theodore and on to the mines and Silver stream.
"As in hard to navigate," Theodore responds, then continues with a chuckle: "Don't worry, I highly doubt we'll meet anyone who'll want to set fire to your wagon."
The next day you head into the hills, and you soon discover Theodore wasn't kidding. In some places the road you follow is very narrow, with a steep rock face on one side and an even steeper decline on the opposite side. Theodore has no problems getting Bertha and his wonky cart past these narrow parts, but the old man sometimes has to get off his cart to let you know how much you can steer toward either side of the road without hitting either a protruding rock or rolling off the hill.
It's not long after you've cleared a particularly difficult part of the road that you come to a stop. In front of you the road is filled with rubble from a small landslide, making it impossible for even Theodore and his small cart to move on.
Theodore, sitting atop his cart, looks back at you over his shoulder. "I can't lift rocks. My ankle's sprained."
Scott half smiles at Theodore's remark about setting fire to his wagon and soon forgets it as the road really gets treacherous.
It costs him a lot of concentration and good steermanship to get his wagon through the small mountain paths. Soon after the path is completely blocked. Scott raises an eyebrow at theodore and shakes his head. He peers around, not trusting Theodore's word that no one will try to attack them.
If he deems it safe he starts lifting the rocks and throwing them beside the path off of the hill. Otherwise he will grab his crossbow.
"This is going to take quite some time and we're stuck here... Do you have any ideas to get this out of the way faster?"
In the meanwhile he moves the smaller rocks by hand and he shifts the bigger rocks with his staff.
You don't see anyone besides Theodore, and so you start throwing rocks off the hill.
Theodore starts rummaging through the sacks on his cart and retrieves a small gardening shovel. He gives you an apologetic smile. "This is all I have. Not much use when moving boulders."
It takes some time, but you clear the road and are able to continue. The road continues to be difficult to traverse, but you arrive at the silver mines about an hour later.
There are a couple simple wooden cabins and barns in the valley where the entrance to the silver mines is located. They look weathered, as do the people who rush back and forth from the mines' entrance and what appears to be the main building.
"That doesn't look good," Theodore mumbles as you draw closer and the panicked expressions on the faces of the miners become visible.
Scott urges his horses on, trying to pick up the pace a bit.
"What's happening?"
He asks the nearest person whilst glancing towards the mines entrance.
"A cave-in?"
Scott rushes to aid the men trapped in the mines and with some hard work and convincing manages to get everyone out. Not long after he hears that one of men, the one trapped under the landslide, died. In general the rest of the day has a sad feel to it. He keeps to himself at his own wagon.
The next day Bart, the overseer, asks him to do the silver shipment for him, seeing they need the cart for the dead. He accepts the delivery and gets a silver bar in return.
After travelling onwards towards Silver stream and delivering the goods to the docks he meets William, the famous silver smith. He delivers the promised amount of gold, sells his own silver bar he earned for the delivery and buys some goods, a necklace with matching bracelet, a ring and a pair of cufflinks.
After concluding business he is ready to continue his journey to the big city.
Scott continues on his journey with Theodore towards the small town of Riverside. In Riverside he meets Theodore's colleague, Lennart. Lennart is a Elven expert and together they discover why Scott keeps having his visions, he is a wizard.
With Lennart and Theodore he sets out to meet up with the person giving him his visions, on the Elven island to the east. With Lennart's special horn they are able to get to the island where Scott's power is expanded.
On the island he discovers that fate has a greater purpose for him. Together with Eleana he goes to her great grandfather's tomb. In the tomb he gets a legendary artifact which makes him one of a kind, a human wizard and sorcerer.
After gaining his new power he discovers one more gift left behind by Eleana's great grandfather, an at at. In the process of discovering the big golemn they nearly destroy the city.