195

You hear the thud of a heavy drawbar sliding back, and a burly man dressed in a leather jerkin appears at the tavern door. ‘Welcome to my humble inn, my lord. Pardon my suspicion, but this is a very dangerous area; one mistake can cost us our lives.’

You signal to your men to stable their horses, and you follow the innkeeper into his tavern. The bar looks more like an armoury than a drinking hall. Quivers of arrows stand beside each of the iron-studded window shutters, and racks of spears line the far wall. The place is deserted except for three young men who all bear a strong resemblance to the tavern-keeper. One of them has his head swathed in bandages.

You ask the tavern-keeper how much he will charge for your men to billet here tonight and are quite surprised to hear his reply. ‘Nothing,’ he says, moving tables aside so that your rangers can sleep upon the tavern floor. ‘Your presence here tonight will be worth more than gold to us. We’ve been attacked by bandits every night since the last full moon.’

As the last of your men return from the stables, the doors are closed and barred. It has started to rain and your men seem greatly relieved to be inside where it is warm and dry.

If you wish to question the tavern-keeper about the nature of the bandit raids, turn to 239.

If you wish to question him about any news that he may have heard about Ruanon in the last month, then turn to 266.

If you do not wish to question the man further, you can prepare for a night’s sleep and turn to 324.