The rocking back and forth from riding in the cart, helps Solvi to relax a bit and the events of the days before finally start to sink in.

“What have you seen so far out here? I've heard it can be a dangerous place at night, but we’ve never come across anything unusual here.

“Just a few days ago I came across a bear that was trying to steal my dinner for the night and had to protect myself. Even though I fought it off, we both ended up pretty worse for wear. I got this scar on my arm, and he ended up with a blade in his eye.” She pulls up her sleeve to show them the scratches that have already started to heal into a scar. “Not really sure if he's still moving around anymore, that might have killed him if he scratched it out.” Solvi trails on about the bear attack, careful not to add in the part about the Viking.

“How did you fix the scratches on your arm? It must've been bleeding quite badly.” Jasmine, the other merchant, asked her, sounding concerned.

“It was, but I cauterized it after the bear ran off, and wrapped it up with some healing herbs mixed in.” Solvi pulls the sleeve back down and rests a hand on her arm, feeling the warmth seeping through her cloak.

“That's incredible, I wish I had that kind of knowledge to be able to know what kind of herbs to use. And the pain from cauterizing it by yourself must have been unbearable.”

“After I finished it I actually passed out until the next afternoon. But I was lucky and grew up with the knowledge of healing herbs being all around me. So I had the influence of it most of my childhood.”

“That's wonderful, where are you from?”

“Just a small little village on the coast, nothing special, but we had some elves that would pass through and they shared their knowledge about herbs with us when a sickness infected most of our people.” Solvi tries to make her story more believable, with only hints of truths in there. Knowing that if she tells them about being an elf from Alenhil, that it might not end well for her when they get to Miofel. The fae are known to be great merchants, but also willing to sell out others for a profit. And selling an elf to the Vikings would make some pretty good money. She had heard about Fae before, the Elders made a point to teach the young ones about the different races that exist in the world and how to work with them should they ever leave or encounter them.

The Fae are widely known as a people who can live almost forever, and are some of the best salesmen across the lands. With long faces, soft pointed ears, and large eyes, their beauty can put others in awe. Many Fae travel across the world in small groups as merchants, making enough to live on until they return home. It’s unknown where exactly they live, but many believe it to be in the Rainy Forest to the west across the sea.

The main rule of working with the Fae is to be careful what information you tell and not to believe all the information they give. They will always put themselves or their race first and do anything to get ahead.

The path is wide enough for the cart to be pulled by the horses with enough room on either side to walk and not hit the underbrush. Deep grooves have formed in the road making it difficult to travel on at times, but as long as the cart doesn’t fall into them, then there’s no problems, just a little bumpy

After traveling for several hours they come across an old wooden signpost with an arrow pointing toward Miofel to the left and another pointed straight ahead for Vyndal lake. On the back side hangs one for Alenhil going in the direction they just came from. At the bottom, there’s one more sign hanging on with a rusty nail, half-covered in ivy and brush, and caked in mud from carts splashing by. It reads, ‘Dark Mountain’ in crude handwriting. The writing doesn’t match the rest of the signs so it was likely put up after the post was already there.

“Looks like this is where we split, we need to stop by Vyndal lake before going into town. You be careful, and thank you for your help with the bandits. I hope they get what’s coming to them,” Anthel, the merchant says as Solvi climbs down from the cart.

“Thank you for the ride, it got me here faster than I expected. It was good meeting you Anthel and Jasmine, be safe.” Solvi watches as they continue along the path. Then turns to her own path into town.

Miofel is right on the coast and has a port that is large enough to dock 10 ships at once. Many traders come in through the port town to travel across the land and sell their goods. Roads wind their way through houses and little shops and squeezed between trees that litter the area. Surrounding the outside of town is the heavily wooded forest that covers the rest of the continent.

The view of the docks from the outside of town is blocked by some buildings but it's easy to see the masts rising high above the rooftops. Everything being so large and tall takes Solvi by surprise since the only town she has ever known is her home. She heard stories about this town from traders and merchants when they passed through, but they could never explain how much bigger it all is.

Solvi covers her ears with her hair and adjusts the hood further over her head. Walking into town, the sign of a tavern swings in the wind rolling off the coast and catches her eye. The warm glow and boisterous laughter from inside welcome her in through the heavy wooden door.

She gets some food and ale from the barkeeper and finds an empty table in the corner to rest.

‘Food and rest now, I can find the Viking in the morning.’ Solvi thinks to herself while taking a bite of food. She looks around, taking in the atmosphere, slightly worried about all the vikings on every side.

“Or not.” She says audibly as her eyes stop on the Viking walking in through the door followed by his crew.