The Witch and Familiar (Inn, Thistle Hold)

The Witch and Familiar In a town with so many guesthouses you have to stand out, especially if you are of an origin that otherwise would make potential customers go elsewhere. The huge, but also hugely kindhearted, Alomar stems from clan Zarek and was aware of this when he came to Thistle Hold to make a new life for himself and his mother, the witch Agdala. With the reluctant help of his mother, the Witch and Familiar has been turned into a barbarian camp site in three stories, framed by dark timber walls.

The rooms at the ground level as well as the whole of the second floor is dressed in lush emerald green vegetation, with moss covering the floors and climbing the walls. There is no furniture; the closest you get to any kind of furnishings are the beddings made up of pelts placed directly on the floor and stuffed hunting trophies of both well known and rare forest beasts. The food served is obviously inspired by the barbarian traditions – you often get porridge with fresh or dried berries for breakfast and slow-cooked or slow-roasted meat for the other meals.

The Witch and Familiar is especially popular among new arrivals to the borderland, who long for a first contact with the people and beasts of the forest. Alomar and his family have to endure hundreds of questions each day and it is common for the inn’s residents to be disturbed by newcomers who force themselves into their rooms for a chance to see the skin of a mare cat or the head of a hunger wolf. Even more problematic is that the inn is known for housing barbarians visiting the Hold for various reasons. Those of Thistle Hold’s inhabitants who claim to have reasons to really hate the forest people and who have fueled their anger with liquor often appear at Alomar’s threshold, ranting and looking for a target for their fury.