Frey: In the Shadow of Mother’s Egg
Frey is a modest but vital town on the Aranthaes Highway, lying between the great merchant centers of Geldcrass and Lantear – and at the crossroads leading south to the port of Geldsan, through the treacherous and rocky Geldsan Pass. Though small, Frey’s fertile lands and its commanding position at this busy crossroads make it a place of both risk and reward.
Setting & First Impressions
Frey spreads across flat, fertile ground at the southern edge of the Lantear Plains. Its fields of barley, beans, and root crops stretch wide, broken only by hedgerows and irrigation channels fed from the upland streams. Behind the town rises a solitary rocky outcrop known as the Mother’s Egg, a weathered hill said by locals to be the shell of a great dragon’s egg. In the evenings, its shadow stretches across the highway, a landmark known to every traveler heading to and from Aranthaes.
The Highway Crossroads
The town thrives on the road. Passing merchants may pause for refreshments on their slow journey to the capital. Wagons from Geldsan’s port unload goods onto sturdier carts for the highway east or west. Inns and stables line the central square, their walls thick against the winds that whip down from the hills. Frey is also a meeting place for upland shepherds, plains farmers, who along with merchants and pilgrims alike, each with their own stories of storms, wolves, and broken wheels.
Trade & Survival
Frey’s markets are modest but busy. Grain, cheese, and cured meat from the plains meet dried fish and salt from Sandmar to the north. Locals pride themselves on hardy goats and sturdy ponies, animals well suited to the rocky paths of the local passes. Blacksmiths here are famed for their reinforced cart axles and iron-shod wheels, essential for merchants daring the southern route. Though less wealthy than its larger neighbors, Frey survives on resilience and the steady flow of travelers.
Notable Places
The Mother’s Egg: the rocky hill looming behind the town, a natural landmark steeped in folklore and often climbed by youths to prove their courage.
Passwatch Inn: the largest inn in Frey, catering to caravans preparing for, or having just survived the perilous Geldsan Pass.
The Old Tollhouse: a crumbling stone hall where tolls were once collected for goods bound to Aranthaes; now used as a grain store.
The Shrine of the Wayfarer: a small but beautiful roadside shrine where travelers leave offerings to Lady Bune before setting out on their journeys.
Rhythms & Customs
Frey’s people are practical and cautious. Each dawn, a watch is posted on the Mother’s Egg to look for smoke or signals from the pass. Market days end with the telling of cautionary tales about rockslides, bandits, and the dangers of overloading wagons. Children are given small carved stones from the Egg as protective charms, said to ward off misfortune on the road.
For the Storyteller
Frey is a town of tension and transition – a staging post where merchants prepare for, or recover from danger, pilgrims steel themselves, and smugglers slip onto the highways under night’s cover. Rumors swirl of hidden caves beneath the Mother’s Egg, and of lost caravans whose goods never reached Aranthaes…