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When you first arrive at Tresdon, what immediately draws your attention is the tall spire of polished agate right in the middle of the city. Your gaze attracts the attention of a bystander, a young woman wearing fine raiment and jewelry who was talking to the merchants you just escorted into town.
"It is beautiful, isn't it? The spire. It is said to entomb a relic of Balbeh, Lady of Plants. No one knows for sure if it is true. The order of knights and warriors that governs this city does not allow anyone to deface the monument to check if there is really a relic inside. Stealing it would make too much noise as well."
"Order of knights?"
"Yes, yes. I can clearly tell you're new in town. They call themselves Silver Knights. They demand a tax in silver from everyone ever since the inception of the town. Protection money. There is a silver mine underneath the city, which has made them very rich. This financed the wall around the city. Makes the merchants and the miners feel safe. It <span class="mu-i">is</span> harder for monsters to attack a walled city, after all."
"Do monsters attack often?"
"There are some feral goblins who cause us trouble from time to time. The creatures are deceptively dangerous, and exterminating them has proved to be beyond the capabilities of the knights and warriors in charge of defending the city. The best they can do is keep the goblins away from the farmers by patrolling outside while the farmers are out in the fields. There weren't enough funds to extend the walls enough to encompass our farmland as well, so the warriors gotta do warrior work instead of relying on stone bricks to do it for them. There are more sinister forces as well, but these have mostly spare us lately."
"Sinister forces?"
"Travelling merchants have reported encounters with undead. You sure know how fast these plagues spread - one day it is one zombie in a village nowhere, next day there is a horde rampaging through the continent. I only hope it doesn't come down to that."
"Well, it was nice talking to you."
"Pleasure was mine. The name is Bali. I'm always around here if you want to talk."
"What do you do for a living?"
She laughs.
"I'm a noble, I don't need to work. I just talk to everyone to keep up to date. What about you? What's your name?"
"I'm...Birken... the name is Birken Elsweyr."
"Where do you come from, Birken?"
"I'm in a bit of a hurry, I'll talk to you later."
"Wait! You're an adventurer, right? Pass by my house later. It is the green on by the city center. I might have a mission for you."
"Alright, see you."
