Merchant Road

Merchant Road was not always a trail of solitude, echoing with the whispers of the past. In days long gone, it thrummed with the pulse of commerce and ambition, a vital artery linking the proud city of Murun to the farthest reaches of New Tabor. To the north lay the bustling town of Hulneth, where the hunts were bountiful and the people's laughter carried on the wind. In the south, Argentorum shone like a beacon, its towers glinting with a golden light that seemed almost otherworldly.

Yet, as with all things, change came upon Merchant Road. It began with rumors, carried on the tongues of travelers: strange happenings in the depths of night, a creeping sense of unease that settled over the land like a shroud. The people of Hulneth and Argentorum grew fewer, their markets once vibrant now standing half-empty. Homes that had known the warmth of families for generations stood abruptly deserted, their doors ajar, their windows vacant. It was as if the very lifeblood of the towns had been drained away, leaving naught but husks in its wake.

Some say the people of Merchant Road did not fade, but rather, they were drawn to the call of Last End, the distant island that glimmered on the horizon like a siren's song. Perhaps they sought new fortunes, or merely a chance to escape the growing pall of unease that shrouded their homes. Whatever the reason, their exodus left Merchant Road to the mercy of time and the elements. The once-proud highway crumbled, reclaimed by the relentless march of nature. The scattered fishing villages that remain seem frozen in a moment, their nets still hung to dry, their boats half-drawn onto the deserted shores. It is a place where the past lingers, where the whispers of the departed hang heavy in the air, and where the bravest of adventurers might still find echoes of a long-forgotten glory.