“Of course, that’s why undead are usually more of a problem than your typical monster. Necromancers using them for various ends cause all sorts of problems. Naturally, since necromancy is illegal in most places, regulating the practitioners is a real problem, so these things can sort of get out of hand.” Maelen continued. “No, Gizzor Del is something of a frontier town, so it does have its share of problems, but nothing too extraordinary though.”
“Do you know anything about Freehold?” Edwyrd asked.
“Freehold. Is that where you’re headed?” Edwyrd nodded, reluctantly. “What a coincidence. So am I.”
“Why?”
“Well, Freehold, for one thing, is a lot bigger. For the other, it’s the home of both the Council of Wizards, which is the closest thing to an independent regulating body for wizards on either continent, and the Council of Magistrates, the regulatory body for trading and dispute resolution among the local city states. Thus it is also a major trading center, and the most powerful city-state for about a thousand leagues in any direction. As such, the city has a lot more magic running rampant around it than Gizzor Del, on the other hand, it’s much more closely supervised than Gizzor Del.”
Maelen shrugged, “So you are more likely to find a lot of unusual beings there, including quite a few demons and maybe some carefully controlled undead, but you won’t find many that cause real trouble.”
“How big is Freehold?” Edwyrd asked.
“Well, again that’s hard to say, the flux of people is pretty high. I suppose I’d have to say there’s something over a hundred thousand people.” Maelen shrugged again, indicating his uncertainty. Edwyrd though, was rather impressed. While one to two hundred thousand wasn’t a lot compared to New York, it seemed pretty big for a medieval city with no subway system. No cars or freeways for that matter.
Jenn had stopped up ahead. The group puddled together in a small square. “Well, how are we going to get to Freehold? Rupert, I assume still doesn’t want to ride?” Rupert nodded shyly. At least Edwyrd understood why this time.
“I’m not so fond of that idea either.” Edwyrd added in.
“Why, am I not surprised?” Jenn asked throwing a hand up in the air. “Well, we’re too short on money, I think,” she glanced at the pouch Edwyrd had, “to buy horses anyway.” Edwyrd held up the pouch. He opened its drawstrings and poured out what was inside. The bag contained five gold coins. A refund plus three gold. “At least we’re better off than we planned to be.” She looked at Gastropé, then she noted that Maelen was standing there with them. She gave him an inquiring glance.
Maelen answered, “Well, Edwyrd says you’re going to Freehold. Coincidentally that’s where I’m going as well. If you don’t mind, I thought I might travel with you. I can promise not to be a burden. Plus, I also know how to get there.”
“Humph,” Gastropé’ said. “That’s more than we really know.” He looked from Edwyrd to Jenn.
“Fine,” was all Jenn said. Edwyrd gestured his acquiescence.
“So OK, then I guess you’re with us. The more the merrier. However, we need to get some food and supplies.” Gastropé started looking around for a likely place to buy such.
Edwyrd handed him the pouch with gold. “Why don’t you handle purchasing that? I’m not a particularly good negotiator at such things. Although I should get some new clothes, so I can give Maelen back his.” Edwyrd had been wearing an old robe of Maelen’s. He had given the money to Gastropé because he didn’t know anything about pricing, and didn’t want to end up like a tourist on the streets of New York. Further, since he didn’t eat, he figured it only fair to let those who did choose the food.
It took almost two hours to assemble the food, supplies and additional clothing they needed. For clothing, Edwyrd decided to choose a robe similar to the one he was wearing, along with pants, shirt and underwear. Astlanian underwear, he noted, was not quite up to Inspector 12’s standards, but it would have to do. With the money left from the priest and the extra gold from the ship captain, they had enough money for Edwyrd’s clothes, some basic cooking utensils, bedrolls and enough food to last the journey. Actually, more than enough since Edwyrd didn’t need to eat, nor did he suspect, did Rupert. Rupert, however, seemed to be in the habit of eating, so it was probably best to assume he would continue to do so. Maelen also chipped in money for his part of the supplies.
