The Tale of McBykar

was walking through the yellow paved streets of Trinsic late in the evening, as suddenly a strange young man addressed me with polite, but colloquial words. I greeted him and looked at him suspiciously. He could be just one of those thieves again, who were haunting in packs every major city of Britannia. With a weak and trembling voice he asked me for help. He didn't seem to have eaten for days. I stepped closer and offered him a loaf of bread. Greedily he devoured my gift and thanked me.

I sat down near the river beside him, because despite of his poverty the stranger seemed trustworthy, and talkedto him for a while. That's where he told me the story of his life:

Having neither parents nor a name, everybody just called him the Man from the River. He had been living with his parents in one of the guard towers on the main road to Britain, not far from Trinsic. His parents apparently perished during an Orc attack on the guard tower while he was still a little boy. Some traveler party found him there, saved him and brought him behind the safe walls of Trinsic. The innkeeper felt sorry about the little foundling, so he adopted the child. Thus, the boy was raised in the Rusty Anchor in Trinsic. When the boy was big enough, he helped out in the stables, taking care of the horses and other animals. He spent a lot of time by the bank of the small rivulet flowing through town and preferred the hay in the stable from the soft beds in the inn. The "Man from the River", as they called him, proved to be clever, compassionat and full of ideas, but he never had the chance to live up to his abilities.

I felt sorry for the young man. I remembered how difficult the first steps in Britannia had been to me, and I decided to offer this poor fellow an opportunity. "River Child," I said "I have seen and experienced a lot, and I need some rest. How wouldst thou feel if I'd offer you to equip and train thee, so thou canst resume mine journeys, return to Trinsic once and a while and give me a report of thine adventures? Thou'rt a clever boy, and I want to spend more time behind my inkpot instead of holding a sword. Thou couldst continue what I was unable to finish."

He stared at me wordlessly, his eyes wide opened. I obviously had just made his dreams come true. "Noble Lord," he shouted "ya want to sell me a dog as a bear? Or may this be tha luckiest day of ma life?"
"First I will give thee a real name. I will call thee from now on McBykar, Man from the River. Follow me, so I can give thee some clothing and equipment!"

04/98

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