"Oh?  Sorry, I can't read much."  The half-elf shrugged.  "You're not exactly looking for a woodcutting job, right?  I guess...well, there's always a bounty on orcs.  Never seen enough of 'em to hit the walls, but the greenskins like to pick on travelers outside.  They pay a whole two gold for a pair of orc ears!"  He paused, seemingly thinking.  "Actually, I heard someone came into town earlier today.  Looking for adventurers, you know.  That sort.  He's probably in the Greased Unicorn."  The young man motioned toward the tavern, which did indeed have a sign featuring a crudely-drawn unicorn.<br/><br/>---<br/><br/>The young gray elf called Ildefonse the Erudite had finally arrived at the human settlement of North Havenshire.  The wooden palisade loomed before him, along with a pair of surly-looking, halberd-wielding gate guards.<br/><br/>"Gate tax's a silver," one of them told him bluntly.  "Plus half a gold fer every weapon."  He nodded meaningfully at the elf's dagger.