Rothchild reared up in terror at the sight of the giant wolf directly ahead. He bucked up and tried to retreat backwards, nearly yanking Sir Mikael's arm out of its socket in the process. As it was, the paladin lost his balance and fell over. Most of him managed to stay on the bridge, but one of his feet went over the edge and managed to get firmly stuck in the tar. The boot was made of extremely high quality leather, but even so he could feel the heat scalding his foot and he set to work furiously trying to wiggle it loose. After a moment his bare foot popped free. It was red and would probably break out in blisters, but was structurally undamaged. The boot, unfortunately, was done for.

The direwolf had been moving almost silently so Fabian wasn't even aware of its presence. He enjoyed a good uproarious laugh at the sight of Sir Mikael falling over and getting his foot stuck in the tar. "Now that's some quality entertainment."

It was actually Brandon who had the presence of mind to investigate what had caused the horse to get spooked. He looked over his shoulder and let out an involuntary squeak when he spotted the enormous creature that was continuing to approach them. "Um, sir?"

"Not now, Scrote. I'm deeply absorbed in watching this buffoon flail around." He let out another chuckle and then cupped his hands to his mouth and called out. "Way to keep your balance, you stupid paladin!"

"Sir, I really think you should look behind you. There's an extremely large wolf heading right for us."

"Eh?" Fabian said as he glanced over his shoulder. "Holy shit! Out of the way!" He hopped on the bridge and ran across to the other side as fast as he could, pushing aside Sir Mikael and a very frightened horse that was trying to back its way up.

Brandon pulled out his cutlass and held it limply in front of him, but before he could do anything, he saw Derek out of the corner of his eye walking purposefully towards the direwolf.

The wolf curled up its lips and bared its teeth as it snarled loudly. Long strings of drool dripped from its maw and splattered on to the ground, but Derek kept approaching, undeterred. When he got within a few feet of it he took his walking stick and whapped the direwolf on the nose. It let out a confused whimper and lifted up a front paw uncertainly. Derek whapped it on the nose again. It turned around and raced off back into the woods.

"That was impressive," Brandon said. "How did you know to do that?"

"You don't study the god of sheep as extensively as I have without picking up a few tips as to how to chase off wolves."

"I was about to do the same thing," Fabian said as he came back across the bridge and joined them. "I was just running to the other side to find a suitable stick. Luckily, Derek here already had one, but the important thing to note here is that I would have definitely saved the day."

Sir Mikael had managed to calm down Rothchild and led him the rest of the way across the bridge. "Well, that certainly provided some excitement, didn't it? By the way, I call dibs on any boots we happen to come across in our travels. I find myself suddenly in need."

"I'll flip you for any we find," Fabian said. "Poppa could always use a new pair of shoes. Now enough dawdling. We're losing sunlight and we've got a lot of ground to cover."

They passed by a small lake about an hour later that had been turned to tar, but luckily didn't encounter any more streams. Dusk was just beginning to fall when Fabian spotted an Inn by the side of the road. He proposed they stop and rest for the night.

"Do we have enough shillings to afford this place?" Sir Mikael asked. "Derek has taken a vow of poverty after all, and I haven't taken much gold with me as I wanted to travel light."

"Tell me about it," Fabian said. "I've searched your pockets extensively and there was, like, nothing there, you cheap bastard. I'm a little strapped for cash at the moment myself. Still, a bed would be awfully nice. They would probably give me a complimentary room, since I'm a famous hero and everything, but the rest of you guys might have to scrub some dishes to pay for your room and board. Or maybe they'll let you sleep in the stables."

"At the very least a hot meal that's been prepared by somebody else does sound appealing," Sir Mikael said. "Perhaps we should go in and at least inquire as to what sort of compensation they are seeking. And I would be willing to cover Derek's expenses. He has saved our skins a couple of times now, after all, and he also provided a most entertaining tale as we traveled on the road today."

"That sounds like a good arrangement. You can permanently pay for Derek. Now let's go in and take a load off our feet."

Fabian pushed the door open to reveal a small, dimly-lit common area. An overweight balding man in a leather tunic looked up from his ale and blinked his eyes blearily at the sound of the door opening. Otherwise the room was completely unoccupied. Fabian stopped and posed for a moment waiting for the smile of recognition that was surely about to come now that a legend such as himself had entered the establishment, but the fat man just turned his attention back to his ale and sat alone at his table.

"You there!" Fabian called to him. "Are you the proprietor of this Inn?"

The man took a drink from his mug and let out a loud belch. "Nah, this be my local watering hole. You be wanting to talk to Madge."

"Who's Madge?" Fabian asked.

"I be Madge," a croaky voice called out from the back room. "What's it to you?"

"My traveling companions and I are looking for a room and a hot meal. Maybe some ales and wenches if you've got any. Honestly, if you've only got one room I'll take it and they can all sleep in the stable. They're cool with it. You can feed them whatever you've got in the kitchen you were about to throw out if it'll save a few shillings. You don't even have to warm it up. They're remarkably laid back dudes. I'll take whatever the House Special is tonight, and you'll be wanting to make that complementary since a legendary hero is gracing you with his presence, after all."

"Sir, we're standing right here behind you," Brandon said. "We can hear everything you're saying."

"Shut up, Scrote. I'm negotiating here."

A strikingly familiar looking fat old woman with a beehive hairdo and layers of makeup caked on her face walked into the room. "How many of you are there?"

"Uh, four?" Fabian said. "That tree woman doesn't need a room or meal, right? Besides, does she really count as a member of this party? Say, you wouldn't happen to have a sister in Lannisburg who runs an inn by chance, would you? I must say you look like the spitting image of a woman by the name of Maude."

"Aye!" Madge spat on the ground. "That no good, cheating, husband stealing hussy be my sister. Did she send you here?"

"No, ma'am. In fact I never cared for that old bitch. She kicked me out of her Inn and never even gave me my stuff back. If you don't mind me saying so, fuck her."

"You seem like a good fellow to me," Madge said. "That slut used her womanly charms on my beloved Marrvain, gods rest his soul. I don't blame him for going to her. She always was the looker in the family."

"Really? You're much prettier than her. I must say there must be some excellent genes in your family, though. Because she's damn pretty. But nowhere near as pretty as you. Have you ever thought about competing in some sort of beauty pageant?"

"Oh, you've got the devil's own tongue, don't you sweetheart?"

"That I do," Fabian said. "Listen, seeing as how we're getting along so famously, why don't you hook us up with some cheap rooms and food. Or free would be even better. At least for me seeing as how I'm a legendary hero and adventurer and everything. Did I mention that I'm legendary? It seems like the kind of thing you might be interested in."

"Legendary, eh?" Madge asked. "What did you say your name was?"

"Why, Fabian, of course."

"Never heard of you. But since I like you I'll give you and your friends a discounted rate. Say, ten shillings for a room and I'll throw in a hot meal for each of you."

"What if Scrote here washes some dishes for you? Could we make it five shillings? And could I get my own private room? These other guys can share."

"If the young boy is good at scrubbing I believe I can knock it down to five shillings. I'm afraid I only have one room available though."

"Deal," Fabian said as he counted out the money. He turned towards his traveling companions. "Bad news, guys. It looks like the three of you are going to have to sleep out in the stables."

"Nonsense," Madge said. "It's me most spacious room with two big comfy beds. The lot of you will fit in there just fine."

"That's great news," Brandon said. "A bed sounds heavenly right now."

"Don't you have some dishes to wash, Scrote? Better get started on that."

"The lad can wait until after he's filled his belly to get to work," Madge said cheerfully. "Why don't you sit at a table and relax and the serving wench will be right out with the grub."

"Serving wench, you say," Fabian rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he took the seat nearest to the fireplace. "What sort of services might she be providing? It's been awhile since I've had feminine companionship. Not nearly as long as everyone else at this table, but still. I could use a little action."

"I pay Krystal to serve food. What she does on her own time is up to her."

"Tell her it's her lucky night and the famous Fabian has come to visit her."

"Fabian?" A skinny woman with leathery skin and stringy black hair poked her head into the room. "You mean 'The Fabian' the famous hero of legend?"

"You've heard of me? I mean, of course you have. Say, you look kind of familiar, too. Do you have a sister somewhere?"

"As a matter of fact I do. My sister Amber was visiting Braithvale recently and she said she had the most magnificent time with a man named Fabian and if I ever encountered him I just had to party with him."

"Ah, yes, it's coming back to me now. Amber. Disappeared the next morning. I think she might have given me a case of the clap, too. But that's neither here nor there. The important thing is, the three of you chumps are going to have to share that second bed because I'm going to have company tonight in mine."

"You're not as handsome as I thought you'd be though," Krystal said with a pout. "I'll share your bed, but it's going to cost you five shillings."

"Five shillings? That's highway robbery!" Fabian said. Then after a moment's thought he shrugged. "Eh, so be it. I'm sure these three gentlemen here will be happy to cover any expenses I incur. Plus, I can always recoup my losses after you fall asleep. Now be a dear, Krystal, and go fetch us our grub. This tummy's a-growling."