M42

Welcome to February, dear Patrons! Thank you to all of you that are new, and thank you to those of you who've stuck around for another month!

-Plum Parrot

More and more traffic started to pass Morgan and Olivia as they drew closer to Tarn’s Crossing. People were generally friendly, though a few Ardeni that they met refused to acknowledge them, hurrying by as quickly as they could. Not more than two hours of travel after meeting that first woman in the tall wagon, they crested a rise and saw the village, or, really, more of a bustling town, sprawled out before them. The road was smooth and gravel-covered here, and it sloped gently into a depression in the forest that had been cleared of all but the largest, tallest trees.

Tarn’s Crossing had a high, wooden palisade surrounding most of the village structures, though many farms and even a large inn and stable were outside the walls. Morgan and Olivia could see the Rill Catcher bisecting the town from their vantage, flowing through a gap in the walls and under a vast, arched wooden bridge. The village’s grounds, with the checkerboard of farms surrounding it, among the massive, towering trees, made Morgan think of a curated park.

“Gorgeous,” Olivia said from next to him.

“Yeah, it really is.” He started his mount moving again, and Olivia followed suit, riding next to him.

“Are you nervous?” she asked, a sly smile on her lips.

“Huh, about what?”

“Oh, don’t be coy; you’ve been gnashing at the bit to visit this ‘friend’ of yours since you got teleported to the colony. Now, you’ve crossed a hundred miles of wilderness, and you’re about to come face to face with her again.”

“Well, shit, when you put it like that, I guess maybe I should be nervous!” Morgan looked at Olivia and smiled wryly. “Nah, it’ll be fine. I have low expectations; as long as I get to see her again and see she’s doing well, I’ll be happy.”

“Mmhmm.” Olivia rolled her eyes. As they got closer to the east-facing gates of the town and the huge inn and stables situated outside the wall, they began to pass more and more people. They received a few sidelong glances, but people were generally friendly. Morgan was about to comment about how nice everyone had been, but then he remembered something, and a slight chill ran down his spine. He called up the menu for his titles and looked at a particular one:

***Ardeni Friend: Members of the Ardeni race will initially view you with less hostility, feeling a familiarity with you as they would a member of the Ardeni people.***

“Goddamn it,” he muttered.

“What?” Olivia looked at him, slightly alarmed by his change in tone.

“I had completely forgotten about a title I got in the Crucible. I’m afraid it explains why we had such an easy time making friends with all the Ardeni we’ve met.” Morgan explained his title to Olivia.

“Oh, wow. So you think this somehow has an effect on the temperament of the Ardeni we’ve met?”

“Well, it says it does. I hate thinking about how the System can fuck with people’s minds. It cheapens everything. I’d thought that Teric and his crew were just really nice guys and that we’d made a good impression on them. Now I have to wonder how much was real and how much was the System charming them for us.” Morgan sighed and scratched absently at Munch’s shoulder. He huffed and let out the low, grunting noise he made when he was happy.

“Well, there’s nothing to be done about it. We don’t know how big or how insignificant the effect might be. Those horsemen were nice, and they went out of their way to teach us things. I won’t take that away from them.”

“Yeah, alright,” Morgan said, then turned to wave at some Ardeni standing outside the large, two-story building that had a stylized sign hanging out over its deck. The sign read, “The Catcher’s Bed.” There was a large stable on the other side of the street where Ardeni youths were busy fetching, grooming, and leading away mounts. Morgan was surprised to see mounts other than roladii. One Ardeni girl led a creature into the stable that looked very much like a stag, the tips of its horns plated in shiny brass. Before he could remark about it, though, they were in front of the gates, and a guard called out, “Well met, traveler. What’s your business in Tarn’s?”

“Um,” Olivia started but then looked to Morgan.

“Right, well, we’re from a new community and would like to talk to your elders about establishing trade. Also, I have a friend that lives here that I’m hoping to see.” Morgan recalled, vaguely, Issa talking about her “elders,” so he hoped that was the right word.

“Oh, hmm, so here on business? Can you afford lodging? We can’t have vagrants in the streets.” He looked Morgan and Olivia up and down, an eyebrow arched.

“Ahem, yes, we can afford lodging! We’ve been traveling for more than a week and need to freshen up, but we aren’t destitute.” Olivia managed to sound both polite and deeply aggrieved by the man’s words. He turned a little red and then motioned for them to proceed into the town.

“The governor’s office is off the main market square near the bridge. On this side of the bridge, just follow this street to the square, then look left, and you’ll see Aleroot road; that’s where his office is,” he said as they passed through.

The streets were busy but not crowded, and Morgan and Olivia had no trouble making their way down the central thoroughfare. On this street, storefronts dominated the buildings, and they were all of a similar design - tall, narrow wooden buildings with peaked roofs. They passed several clothiers, a jeweler, a cobbler, a fletcher, a bakery, at least two restaurants, and, as they arrived at the square, a large storefront featuring various swords and other weapons in the window. “Busy commerce,” Morgan remarked.

“Yeah, I’m a little surprised - it seems like the System would take over a lot of these industries, but perhaps its goods or prices leave something to be desired.” Olivia’s eyes were fixed on the large Colony, or Town in this case, Stone that rose in the middle of the square, perfectly bisecting the view of the arched bridge on the far side. The Town Stone of Tarn’s Crossing was smaller than the stone in First Landing and shone with a deep cobalt blue luster. Looking around the square at the people walking from shop to shop, Morgan realized that he and Olivia weren’t the only foreigners in town. He saw several goat-like Cadwalli and some of the tall, willowy Ghelli, though only a few small groups or individuals; there wasn’t any question that this was an Ardeni town.

They followed the flow of traffic around the square and out the east end, looking for a building that might be some sort of town hall. True to the gate guard’s words, they found a stately building, still crafted from wood but a notch up on the architectural ladder: peaked gables, filigreed columns, stained soffits, and painted siding. A placard hung off a little post near the sidewalk that said, “Governor’s Offices.” Morgan and Olivia tied their mounts to the hitch near the walkway and approached the tall green door. A reversible wooden sign was posted on the door that said plainly, “The Governor is In.”

Morgan depressed the shiny brass handle and opened the door. He and Olivia stepped into a cozy foyer with plush couches upholstered in a muted minty green. The woodwork was polished to a sheen, and a desk, situated opposite the door, was occupied by a small Ardeni woman with violet eyes and mauve hair. The petite woman smiled at them and said, “Hello, may I help you?”

“Hello, My name is Morgan Hall, and this is Olivia Bennet. We’re here as a delegation from our, um, village to try to establish communications and trade. We were hoping to meet with the Governor.” Morgan stepped forward to the desk, offering his most friendly smile.

“Oh, how exciting! What is the name of your community? I’ll just go and let the Governor know!” She stood up and moved toward the paneled doorway to her right.

“Oh, it’s First Landing,” Olivia chimed in.

“Alright, just a moment, please.” The woman walked to the door, knocked gently, opened it, and stepped through. Morgan could hear muffled voices, and then the door opened, and the woman stepped back out, holding the door open. “He’ll see you now.” Morgan looked at Olivia with a raised eyebrow. Everything had gone so smoothly; his paranoia was starting to make him wonder when something terrible was going to happen.

The Governor’s office was decorated similarly to the foyer: polished wood, comfortable chairs, a big desk. But, in addition to all that, there were rows of bookcases filled with leather-bound volumes. A faded portrait of four Ardeni wearing armor and posing with weapons in various positions dominated the wall behind the Governor, hanging between two narrow windows. The Governor was the first portly Ardeni that Morgan had noticed. He wasn’t obese, but he was undoubtedly rotund. He had a neatly trimmed white beard, bushy white eyebrows, and a thick, wavy head of white hair. He smiled at them, the skin around his deep green eyes crinkling. “Welcome, travelers! Please sit down! Rest your weary bones. Lethia, please bring some tea and some of that wonderful squash bread you made.”

“Of course, Governor!” Lethia turned and closed the door behind her as she left. Morgan and Olivia sat in the proffered chairs, a sigh escaping Olivia’s lips as she sank into the plush upholstery.

“Thank you, Governor. My name is Morgan Hall, and this is Olivia Bennett. We’re representing our village, First Landing.” What followed was a long and, to Morgan, bizarre conversation about where First Landing was, where humans came from, what sorts of industries they were proficient at, what their hopes for trade were, and dozens of other topics. They spoke for nearly three hours. Morgan was acutely aware of his inability to answer most of the Governor’s questions and often had to sit quietly, gratefully watching while Olivia provided detailed answers.

Lethia brought them tea and a deliciously moist, sweet bread that reminded Morgan of banana bread. Over the course of their meeting, she refreshed their teapot twice. As the conversation began to wind down, Olivia finally brought up their main reason for coming here, the Urghat. The Governor, who had introduced himself as Holis Gatherton, frowned and tapped his fingers on his desk. “Urghat, you say? From the plains or mountains north of your settlement?” Morgan nodded. “Hmm, yes, I knew there were clans up north there; they could certainly be a problem for you.”

“We were hoping we might be able to rely on some aid from your people. At least until we have managed to establish ourselves and develop some stronger defenses,” Olivia pressed.

“Hmm, well, the Deep Down has been quiet these last few years. I do have a lot of hunters anxious to get some fighting in, if for no other reason than to accelerate their leveling. I’ll propose an open bounty at our next council meeting. That should get you a few hundred eager hunters up to your area to look for Urghat kills. I’m sure they’d be even more motivated if you offer to add them to your Contribution roster on your Settlement Stone.”

“Oh, we can do that?” Olivia asked.

“Certainly. People don’t always just live and operate out of the towns where they were born.” The Governor smiled and stood, dusting some crumbs off his lap. “Now, have you secured lodging?” When Morgan shook his head, he continued, “Here, I’m going to refer you to the Riverfront Inn. Meagan will give you an excellent rate, and her rooms are often raved about by visitors.” He pulled a scrap of paper from his desk and scribbled a note on it. He slipped the message in an envelope, impressed it with a heavy brass crimper, and passed it to Morgan. “I’m sorry, but I have another engagement, or I’d love to talk more. Perhaps you can stop by again tomorrow? In any case, our next council meeting is in two days, and I’ll bring up the Urghat problem then.”

As they were leaving the Governor’s office, shaking hands one more time, Morgan heard the front door jingle and turned to see who had come in. He saw a familiar face with bright yellow eyes framed by curly yellow hair. In a blur, Issa was grabbing him around the waist and squeezing. “Why didn’t you come to see me, first thing! I had to hear about you coming to town from a nosy guard!” She pulled away, slightly, a big smile belying her true feelings, and glanced at Olivia. “Who’s this?