Berri had been very excited about the news of the goblins being caught and killed by spiders. The three of them had ventured through the small copse to where Ijah had found the remains. In the light of day they found a third, smaller goblin, that had also been captured. The young woman had babbled about the druidess, the spiders and Janderton in general. Ijah could clearly see that Osran was unable to follow the relentless volleys of Berri’s less than coherent discourse. After seeing the desiccated goblins Osran spent some time searching the trees around the general area and seemed disappointed when her search did not reveal any of the spiders.

Berri finished her story, “So you see, I’m really excited to see those crunchy little buggers here. It means the druidess was correct all along… I’m really hungry, let’s make breakfast.”

They ate, did some exercises and were soon on their way towards Madden Crossroads. Osran claimed that her ribs were no longer bothering her, though Ijah has seen while they had been stretching, that the half-blood had not recovered her full range of movement yet. Still, she had recovered much more quickly than Ijah had expected.

A few crows passed overhead, making a ruckus about something.

There were a few folks on the road, heading into town and a couple of others heading the other way on horseback. While Berri said hello and wished folks a good day, Ijah observed their reactions. For the most part there were some surprised expressions at the sight of Osran and to some extent Ijah as well. Only one fellow seemed worried and he had jogged off ahead of them. The two people on horseback seemed completely unconcerned with their appearance and had returned a pleasant greeting as they rode past.

The town of Madden Crossroads, like most other places in the region, had a wall. It was not overly high, especially when compared to the walls of Madden Bridge, Ijah estimated it was less than ten paces, the gatehouse they approached was a couple paces higher and the evenly spaced turrets along the wall were around fifteen. There were soldiers at the gate and a few walking the wall. The soldiers were in reinforced leathers, each wore a tabard with what was likely a unit symbol, a boldly stylized wolf’s head. The guards at the gate held spears and had maces on their belts, while those along the wall had crossbows. It was the first sign of a professional military Ijah had seen since leaving GreensBridge.

The guards were not overly concerned with the locals passing through the gates, but were very interested in Ijah and her two companions. By the time they had reached the gate, two more had stepped out from the gatehouse.

A young fellow, around Berri’s age, greeted them, “Good morning ladies. What brings you to Madden Crossroads?”

“Oh, you know, conquest and pillage.” Berri said flatly. Ijah was shocked, the guards scowled at her.

Osran asked, “We pillage now?”

Berri slapped her leg and laughed, “Oh shit, you guys should see your expressions. Seriously though, we’re just passing through. How’s your guys day going?”

The young guard blinked at her in confusion, an older man stepped forward looking displeased. Osran was also confused, “We not pillage?”

Ijah interjected, “No, we’re not here to pillage.” None too gently she slapped Berri on the back of the head, “Sorry gentlemen, my companion has an odd sense of humour.”

The older fellow looked to her, “That’s not the only odd thing about you lot. Alright, I’ll have to ask you folks to step to the side with the pack animal. We’ll have to search for contraband materials, I’ll also ask you to lay out your weapons to one side as well. We wouldn’t want any misunderstandings, would we?”

Ijah disliked bossy men, though she realized he was just doing his job and Berri’s flippant remark had led them to this point. Further attitude would only make the situation worse. She looked to Berri, “You heard the man. Unload the horse.”

Berri pouted at her, rubbed her head and said, “Come on Horse, you get to take a little break.”

Ijah placed her bedroll and sword by the wall and stepped back a pace. Though obviously confused, Osran followed Ijah’s lead. Neither of them helped Berri unload the horse. While they waited a few locals came and went, most took note of the troublesome trio but they made no comments. Two of the guards kept an eye on them during this process.

As soon as Berri had removed the last bundle the older guard gave a dismissive wave, “Everything looks fine here. You can pack it up now. There’s also a transient tax, one silver per person.” He looked to Ijah and held out a calloused hand.

Begrudgingly, Ijah dug out her coin pouch and fished out two silver and thirty copper weight. The man glanced at the coins but did not count them, “I’m not expecting any unruly behaviour from you ladies and I hope you’ve the smarts to move along once your business is done here. Keep your weapons, though they might serve you better today if they were packed on the horse.”

Ijah gave a nod, but refrained from saying anything, she was unsure she would be able to respond without sounding angry. She gave Berri a glare and pointedly looked at the unpacked gear. The girl huffed but started packing, it took a while before everything, including their weapons, were secured on the horse.

Silently the three of them entered the town. The main streets were paved with bricks, some of the side streets had been finished with river stones a few of the narrower passages were packed earth, often with boards laid across areas that would regularly accumulate water. The buildings were mostly two and three story structures of stone and wood. The place was clean, the buildings well maintained, the residents seemed healthy and fairly friendly. There were plenty of folks out and about. Near the centre of town they came to a busy market.

Ijah suggested, “Berri, there’s a place to hitch the animal, keep an eye on the gear. We’re going to take a look around and see what we can find out about the road to Caffern.”

Osran was generally wide eyed about what she was seeing, all the people and the variety of goods on display were a new experience for her. Ijah had to explain that this was a place where people traded or sold the various wares and resources that the town produced.

“I not take?”

“No. Not unless you have the weight or other goods that someone would be interested in.”

“Weight?”

“Coins, like I gave the guard.”

Still confused, she asked, “What guard give you?”

Ijah sighed. Instead of trying to explain further she approached one of the vendors, an older woman selling bread and various baked goods. The vendor looked a bit uncomfortable as the two of them approached her tables, she waved away some flies and put on a smile, “Good day. Looking for bread? Honey rolls?”

Ijah pointed to a basket full of round loaves, “Three of those please.”

“Six weight, copper.”

Ijah was shocked by the price, “How about two copper weight?”

“Good flour’s hard to get right now, my daughters grind all day long. Five copper.”

“I’m sure I saw a mill to the north of the town. Surely you don’t have to make the flour yourself. How about three copper weight?”

The old woman looked at her critically, “The mill stone’s broke. Four copper, no less.”

Ijah laughed, mostly in disbelief, “Alright. Here.”

The woman took the coins then passed her three loaves. Ijah thanked her and then moved on. She passed one of the loaves to Osran, “Now do you understand?”

“Think so.” She sniffed at the bread, “What this?”

Ijah should not have been surprised, but she was, “Bread.” She took a bite and masticated as Osran watched her.

“Bread.” She gave another tentative sniff then took a huge bite from the loaf. After chewing it a couple of times she made a face and then spat out chunks of bread, “Yucky. Blah.” She spat a couple more times, “Bread not good.”

Ijah suppressed a laugh, took the loaf back from Osran and tore off another piece. She popped it in her mouth and smiled. Perhaps it was not to the blooded woman’s taste, Ijah however found the bread to be pretty tasty. Though, certainly not worth four copper weight.

They spent a considerable amount of the morning at the market. Ijah asked about the road to Caffern. The typical response she received from most folks was along the lines of, “That be a dangerous stretch. There’s been plenty of goblins in years past. Orc often enough and increasingly there’s been sightings of wyrms.”

She also made inquiries about buying supplies, namely food. However, the prices that people were asking were often double or more what Ijah expected. Sadly, those were the good responses. Some folks were obviously fearful of Osran and there had been a couple of vendors that just ignored her questions. One old man, selling ‘elvish’ artifacts, had pointedly said, “With the likes of her in your company, might be best if you two just made your way home.”

Rather than throttling the man Ijah had decided that a withdrawal was in order. She and Osran made their way back to where they had left Berri. Who, it turned out, was engaged in an animated discussion with a young, brightly dressed woman who carried a lute over one shoulder. When Berri noticed the two of them she beamed, “This is Odeena. She’s a minstrel from the Republic of Caffern. Odeena, these are my friends, Ijah and Osran.”

“Pleased to meet the two of you.” The woman smiled with an open expression, “Berri was telling me you are heading to The Republic. I too am heading that way. I’ve been gone for a couple of years, I was in Olds, studying under the master luthier, Gullimern Protter. Do you know of him?”

Ijah smiled at the woman, “No, sorry. I’m not from the area.”

“Of course, how silly of me. Anyway, Berri says I might be able to travel with you. I’ve been back and forth along the Old Trade Road a few times. My previous instructor was a travelling minstrel, we went a lot of places together. Though sadly, she died a few years back. But now I’m returning home and would certainly prefer to travel in company than by myself. If you’ll have me?”

“We’d be delighted to share the road with you Odeena. Would you like a loaf of bread?”

“Thank you, how generous.”

Ijah passed her a loaf and handed one to Berri with a smile.

—