As the party continued their journey, the rain and wind slowly faded away so that by the time they took a path away from the main road and further north, the weather was actually rather pleasant. Spring was around the corner and everywhere around them the flowers and trees had started the early stages of blossoming. Some of the trees lining the road were starting to show signs of green making the journey all the more pleasant. The stories of strange happenings on the roads to the north had quickly moved to the back of Cobal’s mind as he enjoyed the journey. He’d gotten accustomed to traveling the roads in the past year, and their short stint on the ocean had him longing to be back on the road. Eliana and Mana were in the back of the wagon. Mana had spent most of the past few days studying up on magic. Knowing they were headed into a much less busy area she wanted to have enough theory under her belt to start doing some actual tests. So far they’d only passed one other traveler, an older woman who was traveling alone. When Cobal talked to her briefly she mentioned that there had been sightings of bandits further down the road and that they’d best be careful. They seemed to be targeting those with trade wagons. Even with this in mind, the journey was mostly uneventful so far. Tonight they would reach the village of Tormir. Tormir was at the base of the Estreyan Mountains. The Rilodar Kingdom’s southern border was a much more political divide, with the land itself not having any natural borders. It mainly became the way it is due to wars and diplomacy. Rilodar’s northern border, on the other hand, was a much more natural one. The Estreyan mountains are said to go from the ocean, where they’re relatively low compared to some of the higher parts of the mountain range, all the way to the center of the Feral Wildlands. Rumor has it that the mountains were made by an ancient mage. Two mages fought at the center of the continent and one of them raised the earth up into the sky, throwing the other into the air and away from the continent. Cobal didn’t know if this was a true story or just a legend, but it sounded cool. North of the Estreyan mountain range lies the river kingdom of Naliasa. A mountain pass connected the two countries but most trade and diplomatic relations between Naliasa and Rilodar was done by sea. Cobal had been present at a meeting with the Queen of Naliasa once when he was still very long and he remembered her to be a beautiful older woman. She was very kind to the young prince and showed interest in him even though she could have probably ignored him. He remembered that she was kind to each of the king’s children. The steam from the springs that Tormir village was known for was already visible in the distance. The sun was going down soon but they were close enough to town that they would keep going. As Cobal was half dozing off in the drivers’ seat he spotted something in the treeline. At least he thought he did. Something was moving, but it wasn’t more than a shadow and before his eyes could focus on it, it seemed to have already retreated. Could this be one of those bandits that they heard about? “Eliana or Mana, can one of you come join me up front?” He stopped the wagon and both women hopped out of the back. “Something wrong?” Eliana asked.
“I thought I saw something move. I could just be getting a bit sleepy and unfocused, but with rumors of bandits and other strange happenings I’d feel better with two pairs of eyes.”
Mana and Eliana exchanged a look. “I’ll come sit with you,” Mana said. Eliana shrugged. “I’ll stay awake and keep an eye out on the road behind us then.” She hopped back in the wagon and Mana sat down next to him after putting her books away. Cobal pulled the reins and the horses continued down the dirt road.
Despite Cobal spotting something strange earlier, the rest of the road to Tormir was quiet and empty. It was early evening when the wagon drove into town. The buildings here had a rougher look than in the villages on the main road. A lot of villages there were built to be hospitable and expect regular travelers to come by. Up north, things were much more practical. Stone buildings with big chimneys chugging smoke into the air dotted the hillside that Tormir was built upon. Towards the north of the town the elevation started increasing and in some places the small cobblestone roads were so slanted that a wooden handrail was built on either side. The inn was at the bottom of one such handrail where it wasn’t too steep for a wagon to get to. Cobal drove the wagon into the stable to the side where he paid a young girl to take care of it for the duration of their stay. Eliana and Mana had gone ahead inside to procure rooms for the night. After making sure the horses were in the stable and the wagon was properly being guarded he quickly shuffled into the inn. The evening air was cold and a warm meal was just around the corner.
In the common room of the inn things were crowded, more so than Cobal had expected. Eliana and Mana were still at the bar, talking to the innkeeper. Cobal just caught the tail-end of the conversation.
“Things are busy here today, I can only give you one room.” The short innkeeper with the busy red beard said. “Normally I’d take your money with pleasure, but I just can’t make that happen today.” He sighed. “People are scared to travel the roads, with the strange disappearances and all that.”
“What strange disappearances?” Mana asked. “We heard some rumors down south, but we figured it was just travelers scared of wild animals, or maybe even bandits, like someone we met on the road told us.”
“If only things were that simple. There have been a series of disappearances and we can’t figure out who or what is responsible. There have also been sightings of a strange creature out in the forest that is probably responsible for it all. Some of the soldiers went out the other day, but they returned without any success. One of them also claimed to have seen the strange creature in the forest.”
Mana and Cobal exchanged a look. Cobal nodded and Mana continued to ask. “We also heard stories of bandits, do you think they have anything to do with it? I’ve heard strange cultists have been robbing people and even kidnapping some folk to the west.”
The innkeeper thought for a bit. “I haven’t heard anything about cultists around these parts, but that could very well be true. Strange folk are everywhere, after all.” He put down the glass he was cleaning. “Can I get you folks something to eat as well?”
“That would be much appreciated, I’m starving,” Cobal said. He opened his coin pouch and took out a couple of coins. “Keep the change.”
“Much obliged. The name’s Nolan by the way.”
“Cobal,” Cobal replied out of habit. A look of worry appeared on Mana’s face, but they quickly realized that an innkeeper out in the countryside would have absolutely no clue who he was.
The room they went to was small. Smaller than they would have liked. But with the innkeeper telling them there were no other options, they just accepted the lack of space. Three beds were laid out, with minimal space in between them to walk. They didn’t have a ton of stuff, and some of the heavier stuff they left in the wagon, so they managed to fit everything in the room regardless.
After taking a nap of about an hour, Cobal got up and went back to the common room. Eliana and Mana both opted to stay in their room while Cobal sat down at the bar. The inn had gotten a little bit quieter now that it was well past time for dinner. Besides Cobal and the innkeeper there were maybe a dozen other people. One group of local farmers were talking and laughing at a table near the door and there were a few patrons drinking alone, two of which were at the bar with Cobal. After ordering some whiskey, Cobal sat in silence for a while. He listened in on the farmer’s conversation for a while, but none of it seemed particularly interesting. Eventually he turned his attention to the innkeeper, who was cleaning up behind the bar. “How much have you heard about the rumors around here?” Cobal asked, sliding over more coins than another drink would cost him. The innkeeper eyed the coins for a moment before sliding them into a pouch and grabbing the bottle to refill Cobal’s drink. “There’s been lots of rumors and everyone says something different. The only thing that seems consistent is that there’s some sort of bandits targeting the less guarded roads. Then at night, some strange creature comes out. Some people claim this creature works with the bandits, others claim they’re unrelated. I don’t know the specifics.”
“And do you have any more information on where this creature is mostly seen? That seems to be the stranger part of the story. Is it like a wild animal?”
The innkeeper shook his head. “From what I’ve heard the creature walks on its hind legs like a human would. Some have seen it near the road, but most have seen it in the Warieta Forest.”
“What’s that?” Cobal asked.
“The Warieta forest is north of the road if you travel further east from here. It starts not that far from the road itself, and goes all the way up the mountain range and around the nearby hot springs. Some people say that both the bandits and the creature operate from this forest, since there’s no real paths there, so they’re hard to track down.”
Cobal thought for a moment. “Have many people been sent to actually track what’s going on?”
The innkeeper shook his head. “There was a squadron of soldiers from the capital that looked into the bandits for a few days, but when they came up empty handed they returned to Rildar again. The mayor then hired some mercenaries to check out the forest, but they didn’t get anything conclusive either. It seems like whatever these bandits are, they know when they should be staying in the shadows.”
Cobal nodded. That must mean they were pretty well organized. Perhaps there was some sort of mage among them that was using a strange creature. Cobal wondered if it could be related to some of the strange magic creatures they encountered back in Milinia. After finishing his drink, he thanked the innkeeper for his information. “Oh, one last question, do you think there’s any messengers here in town that would be able to go all the way to Miranji?”
The man thought for a while. “I’m afraid I don’t know where that is, but there is a merchant hall on the south side of town. They might still have someone awake. That’s your best bet.
“Much obliged.” Cobal went for the door of the inn.
“Be sure to be back before midnight, I’m barring the front door and I’m a heavy sleeper. If the door’s closed you’re sleeping in the stables.
Cobal chuckled. “I’ll make sure to be back in a timely fashion.”
He left the inn behind and hurried through the cold streets of Tormir. As the innkeeper had guessed, the merchant hall was still open, although there were only two people still awake. One of them was sitting slumped over his desk, probably falling asleep, while a middle aged woman was sweeping the floor.
“Excuse me, I have a question if that’s alright.”
The woman looked at him. “Depends on what you want, we don’t really do big dealings this late.”
“I’m just curious, do you have any messengers available that go all the way to the Blueyerd Kingdom?”
The woman thought for a moment. “In these times, there’s not many who would do that, but I know of one.” She put the broom down and walked over to the nearby desk, tapping the man on the shoulder.
“What, I wasn’t sleeping.” he said, jumping up.
“Relax Bilzer, it’s just me.”
The man let out a sigh of relief. “Don’t scare me like that Derra, I thought it was the boss.” He looked up at Cobal. “Oh, a visitor, how can I help?”
“I need to send a message to Miranji in the Blueyerd Kingdom, is that possible?”
The man named Bilzer pondered for a moment. “I’ll be frank with you. I have a messenger who would be willing to do that, but he’s not cheap to hire.”
“What kind of price range are we talking about? It’s important for me to get this message there.”
“Raiol will probably do it for seventeen gold pieces.”
Seventeen gold pieces was highway robbery under normal circumstances, but traveling to Blueyerd under the looming threat of war made the offer seem less extreme.
“If you can promise a speedy and discreet delivery then I’ll pay seventeen gold for it.”
“Do you want me to wake up the boy immediately?”
Cobal shook his head. “I’ll be back in the morning.”
“Very well, pleasure doing business with you.”
Cobal shook the man’s hand and rushed back to the inn, hoping to be there before the doors were barred.
Opal Kaharis 