Lucky Leon's Fancy Wagon

In the southern plains of Etherea, an old, rickety man travels the roads in an old, rickety wagon pulled by an old, rickety horse. Neither man nor wagon nor horse is anything near fancy, but every time he comes across another soul he waves to his goods and says with a big smile, "Anything ya' fancy?"
No one's quite sure where Leon came from or how he gets his goods. Most refer to him as a "merchant of curiosities". Some are suspicious of where and how he gets his goods, but the local justicars let him be. When he arrives in a town or village, the local children swarm his wagon to see what strange things he's found since his last visit. He rarely has anything of true value, mostly trinkets, baubles, pieces of old jewelry, or dusty pottery. Sometimes he has herbs or materials of use that the adult citizens eagerly peruse. But both children and adults alike love looking through the selection of items from "far-off lands".
Along with his curiosities, Lucky Leon is also welcomed as a source of news that normal town criers and messengers don't pay attention to: rumors about which lords are fooling around on their ladies; trade talk about what goods are in short supply - and thus, can be sold for more money; the day-to-day goings on in the big towns; and, most importantly, what new threats exist on the roads. The justicars in particular value the things Leon can tell them. His casual observations have helped stop a lot of problems before they really started.

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by OpenClipart-Vectors on Pixabay

The Truth Behind the Wagon

Leon was once a simple shop owner in the town of Evendale, which sits at the edge of the Wood along the main road to Caer Thalion. He and his wife never had children of their own, but they loved treating the children of the town to stories about other lands and treasures. He was always buying funny little things from the Thali merchants who came through to inspire new stories. But when his wife died, Leon could no longer manage the shop alone. But he still loved to tell stories and share his 'treasures', so he took to the road with their old horse and wagon, and decided to share his gifts with other towns. He travels regularly from Evendale in the east to Ranadan in the south, stopping in each town along the way to pick up new items and stories.