Pizzas and Dragons

Putting our words into action, we very quickly packed up our meager belongings and left the hotel, making sure to discuss in a not-so-low voice our route to the capital of Wiverton while passing in front of the innkeeper's desk. With a little luck, Brother Dearest's spies will bribe the innkeeper and learn of our itinerary. After that, even if they were to be suspicious, they would still have to check the route just in case we were laying down a double-blind. This might or might not help us gain an extra day, but in the worst case, the spies will split up and follow both major roads. While we will not be able to gain any additional time if that is the case, halving the number of spies will make things easier for us when we reach our destination. After all, it is easier to evade a couple of pairs of eyes than four or five! 

After picking up enough provisions to last us supposedly until we reach the capital in a hurry, we exit the town gates and rush on the road heading to Wiverton. Of course, we have no intention to follow this road to its destination, but it behooves us to show the easily bribed guards which direction we took. As soon as we are out of sight of the town's walls and the inquiring eyes of the guards, we cut across the woods until we intersect with our real target, the road to Padsdon!! From there on we gallop madly toward our destination, only stopping to let the horses take a breather.

Thinking back to my actions so far, everything seems to be smoothly and quickly planned and executed flawlessly, but in fact, I forgot to include my physical condition in the planning. Edgard, the lazy fuck, spent almost his whole day sitting on his ass reading. Now, I don't disparage him for it, as it gives me a very good general idea about this world, but the lazy bum never went horse riding ever since the baron stopped his obligatory riding lessons as, and I quote, "a useless waste of time and money, pretty much like yourself". Daddy's dearest opinion notwithstanding, the end result is that when we stop to rest the horses, I feel as if my ass has been split in half. Thankfully, thanks to Alfric's meager and ever-decreasing stock of healing potions, I managed to recover pretty quickly, though no potion in the world would aid in making me look forward to another mad ride. Still, between a bruised ass and death, the choice is pretty simple, so when the break is over, I laboriously climb atop the horse again so we can get moving... 

 The rest of the trip is uneventful even if ass-breaking, and the next day finds us at the gates of Padson. A small queue is formed in front of the gates, where the guards inspect the wagons wishing to enter. It is quite obvious even to my untrained eyes that the guards just go through the motions, more interested in getting the entrance fee and little "gifts" than in checking for contraband, as I saw a guard declare an open wagon full of boxes as "empty" while pocketing the coin pouch discreetly offered by the merchant. This however creates a small dilemma for me: should I offer a bribe or should I play innocent? When escaping from home, I made sure that our clothes resembled a moderately rich merchant's instead of a noble's and used saddles destined for our servants instead of the ornately decorated ones used by my family, but still, I would prefer not to do anything that would make these guys remember me if and when somebody decided to come asking. Hmm... let's do it this way!

Discreetly, while sitting on my horse and waiting in line, I fish from my bag an empty pouch and transfer from my own some coins, not too many, and not any big denomination either, just enough for the pouch to bulge a bit and jingle when shaken. This should suffice to give the guard free drinks for a few days, If I were to add more to it, the guard might think that I am trying to hide something, while if I gave away less, he might think I am a cheapskate and hassle me to convince me to gift more. in both cases, he will remember me, and this is something that I must avoid at all costs.

Gradually the line moves until it is our turn. As the guard scans me with his eyes to determine how much can he extort from me, he asks,

"What is the purpose of your visit?"

I deftly lob the small pouch to the guard, making it land squarely in his hand as I reply nonchalantly,

"Just resupplying."

The guard eyes me, obviously not buying my excuse, then weights the pouch in his hand, before smiling.

"Sure, go ahead."

He moves to the side to allow us passage and I release the breath I didn't realize I was holding, then nudge my horse to move forward slowly while Alfric follows behind me. After we pass through the gate, Alfric moves his horse to my side.

"That was good thinking, Mr. Paul. Now, where to?"

I sigh in relief,

"That was nerve-wracking. Let's find a tavern, one that merchants might usually choose. We need information, I am unwilling to move into the black market blindly, it might cost us our lives. Besides, I am hungry".

After asking around, we managed to locate a suitable tavern and reach it after ten minutes. The building's outside looks decent enough, and the tavern's sign, a white pony standing on his rear hoofs on a green background, looks freshly repainted. As soon as we stop, a boy of eleven or twelve rushes to meet us and takes the reins of our horses, ties two wooden tokens with strings on them, and hands us a pair of identical tokens, before bowing to us and leading the horses inside the tavern's stable. Pretty well organized, I would say. of course, nobody would stop them from swapping a guest's horse with an inferior animal, they would just need to switch the tokens, but merchants talk between them and share safe roads and places to avoid, so doing so would cost them their reputation and their sales would plummet.