Stories on the road

In the morning I was awakened by the loud bleating of Dar, who had used a water barrel to climb onto the lodge's roof. She was easily coaxed down with breakfast but to ensure she wouldn't climb back up I displaced the barrel. She seemed rather disappointed about the event.
After my usual morning routine of milking the goats, having breakfast and pruning my feathers, I took out the morning to teach the Lodge's chef and the doctor some tricks in cooking. Starting with how to efficiently cut your ingredients and making sure they understood the importance of caring about and loving your food as well as the people you make it for. Without this, you'd never be able to reach the heavenly tastes of an imperial chef's cooking.
 
In the afternoon the gentlemen and I took off towards the large harbour city, Zenorobe. They seem to want to head south so we may pass my home city if we travel by land. This choice was mainly made through the desire of wanting to gain information about strange occurrences. This morning there was a pillar of what seemed to be illusionary flames near the lodge and I've heard talk of a block of ice falling from the sky. Gimdalf seems especially interested in these strange phenomena.
Come evening we passed an inn next to which we decided to set up camp. Mister Gimdalf used a spell of his own creation to transform a small flower into a hideout high above the ground. Although I would love to sleep up high again, I'm reluctant to give up the soft comfort of my bed in exchange. Nevertheless, it was impressive and a good climbing exercise for Dar and Din.
During the evening I spend time with the inn's actual guests to get some new information. From what I gather these people had also encountered several strange phenomena similar to what I had encountered on the road. Illusionary fire, sudden drops in temperature and animals that shouldn't be able to fly flying. Luckily all of the described effects seemed largely harmless.
 
The next morning we continued our journey to Zenorobe and had to pass through an increasingly more watery swamp. We arrived early in the afternoon. The city itself is wrought with channels and small waters. It isn't strange to find that the main mode of transport here are boats, though most civilian boats are nowhere near large enough for my wagon.
The two gentlemen wished to visit the library and inns to learn more about these... occurrences. I myself am more interested in safe travelling routes. For efficiencies sake, we decided to split up and meet again at the Black door inn. Mace-nee entrusted me with selling some of his items. I'm flattered that he puts his trust in a stranger like me.
 
I took the paths and bridges to find my way to the district most visited by travelling merchants. These people always keep an eye out for trouble along their routes whether these are increased taxes or rebellions. I did not want to go out of my way to seek out talkative people and negotiate for useful information, so I used the most effective lure for these people I know. Pancakes. Delicious, fresh pancakes. Costs barely a thing and goes well with nearly any kind of topping.
It was nearly lunch time so several people were happy to grab a bite and have a conversation. What they told me is that a new ship route has opened up through the Mistsea. However, there are still many unknown dangers along this path so many are reluctant to try it out.
If we wish to go by sea, we could also use the traditional passages but this would likely be a long journey.
As for the land road, we'd have to pass through the opal empire. According to the merchants, there has been some trouble there lately though they aren't sure of the what's and why's. What they do know is that border control has been tightened. This might be a problem for the two gentlemen. I'm not sure what they did but it seems they've caused some trouble for this country. If we chose this path I think we should not take longer than needed.
 
Near the end of lunchtime, a couple of guards came by the smaller shops, including me, to ask for our permits to do business. Luckily I wasn't born yesterday and doing business on the road is nothing new. I naturally have all the necessary paperwork for the lands between here and my home. Others weren't as well prepared. When I asked it seemed this guard was the son of some high-ranking noble. He liked to use his position to make some extra coins. A noble's son who's high on the empty title that does not yet belong to him. For his sake, I hope he'll soon encounter something or someone that teaches him just how useless this false sense of accomplishment is.