Travel the rural Splinter Road

You follow the Victory Road until the abbey has receded into the distance. It is night when you arrive at the signpost for the Splinter Road, carved by wagons and mule teams traveling through the countryside. You rein Aegis onto the path and set off through the ancient farmlands.

Rain begins to fall as a mist that develops into a driving rain that saturates your gown and showers your hair. Your breath begins to steam in the cold and you tremble against the miserable conditions.

You are utterly chilled and saturated with rain by the time you see some lights burning in the distance. A tiny bit of relief warms you at the sight of human civilization. The road ahead is even cobbled as it passes into a small village you recall as Launsdorf. You have been here before to buy grain and meat at the summer market.

A potbellied night watchman with a rain tarp over his head walks out into the road. He holds up a swinging lantern and looks at you in surprise.

"Traveling alone at night, miss?" he shouts against the drum of the rain.

"The abbey at White Rock has been attacked," you reply. "I have to get word to Gerlangen."

"You are a long way from Gerlangen," he says and by his tone he does not want your problem to become his problem. "If you want to be drying off, there's an inn just down the road. Yard's Rest. Might be better to find a bed at the hostel if you're short on coin. Should be space enough for a lone traveler."

He points to a light a bit farther from the road. With a nod, he steps out of your way and back beneath the roof of his watch shack and the golden warmth of the fire pit within. He adjusts his belly and settles down on a bench beside the fire. He cuts off a slice of sausage and pops it into his mouth. Shelter, warmth and a bit of food are simple comforts that you find yourself envying terribly.

Either the inn or the hostel sounds a relief from the cold rain, but Aegis seems well enough, perhaps you should continue to ride through the night. You glance back at the watchman in his shelter. Maybe you could even find some other relief from the rain.