Taelus

Taverns are just about always empty. It's not a hard thing to believe around the Crossing, either. Walking into Taelbert's, one would be lucky to find more than a solitary carrot in a bowl of water that he calls "Vegetable Soup". I'm not saying that all the taverns are bad, but the majority of those in the Crossing either lack palatable food or class. Not many people like to stand around in a tavern filled with thieves and mercenaries from every corner of the world.

It's not just by chance that I'm starting on the subject of cuisine. In fact, it's the reason I ended up in the Crossing to begin with. You see, my family had quite a knack for cooking. Finally, the family one day decided that we would sell some of the recipes that had for so long been kept within the family. With this in mind, I was sent off to the Crossing to find a suitable merchant to whom we could sell our recipes. Certainly, I didn't think it would be so hard to find someone to sell them to as it's been. Well, I was in for a shock when I arrived. Everyone from a small town is so nice, or so it seems. But the city, the Crossing as it's called, is huge, and its people varied. The merchants apparently had enough business to deal with themselves as they turned me away time after time. I figured the taverns would at least want our recipes. A tavern without variety is a dull tavern after all. Any one of our old recipes would have sold quickly, or so I thought.

Evidently, I was wrong. At one point, I even tried selling some recipes to Cormyn, but to no avail. A few days passed, then a few weeks, turning into months and finally years. Still I had not found a buyer. It seemed as though I couldn't even give the recipes away. Maybe my family didn't have a knack for cooking after all. Eventually, I gave up trying to sell the recipes. Dismayed, I sent word to the family of my failure, and they insisted that I remain in the Crossing until I could find a way to sell the now worthless recipes. That's why I'm still here today. And those recipes that I intend to sell are still with me to this day, and will probably remain a family heirloom for quite a while. I've been in the Crossing for a long time now, but I've made a good life for myself. Perhaps one day I will return home with news that those old recipes have been sold.

Last Revised: 06/16/03