Vardalen

Vardalen is one of the busiest villages in Skógdalr. Its position along several well-traveled roads brings merchants, workers and travelers from across the region, and unfamiliar faces are part of everyday life. Trade has made the village prosperous, but it has also made news, rumors and stories from distant places arrive here faster than almost anywhere else.

Because so many journeys begin and end in Vardalen, local customs often concern travelers. It is considered good manners to offer water to someone arriving after a long journey, and turning away a traveler during dangerous weather is frowned upon. Before leaving on a long road, some people touch the nearest bridge or gatepost for luck. Villagers also warn newcomers never to follow someone who claims to know a shortcut unless they can name where the road leads.

One old piece of advice is particularly well known: if you arrive in Vardalen after dark, remember which road brought you in.

Local Mystery — The Unknown Travelers

Every so often, someone unfamiliar is seen walking through Vardalen.

There is usually nothing remarkable about them. They dress like ordinary travelers, carry bags or packs and may even stop to speak with villagers. Yet afterward, nobody can agree on exactly what they looked like, where they came from or what they said.

They never stay at the inn. No merchant remembers selling them supplies, and no stable receives their horse.

By evening, they are gone.

The strangest accounts come from travelers arriving in Vardalen shortly afterward.

Some claim they passed the same person miles away on the road—walking toward the village they had supposedly just left.