The Road Less Traveled

I came across a lone wanderer the other day.  I first spotted him and his mule at a distance but decided to approach anyways.  As I closed it appeared that his animal was covered in quite a variety of things - I hoped that this stranger might be willing to trade as I found my meager supplies wearing thin.  With hands open, I walked up to him and expressed my peaceful intentions.

He eyed me warily.  I do not know if he was just being prudent dealing with a stranger in the middle of no where or the inability to see my face through the mirrored mask.  With a few calming words and the glint of gold coins, he soon came around.  Wolfgang I think he called himself.  He told me he was a trader and made rounds out on the frontier dealing with the scattered settlements before making his way back to civilization.

After trading my few coins and salvaged items for additional provisions, he was kind enough to offer to share his camp with me - strength in numbers and all that.  I got a fire started and he prepared meals for the both of us.  I contemplated removing the mask to eat, but decided that though he seemed friendly enough, I couldn't remember enough to trust him fully.  It took some doing but I managed to eat from behind the mask.

We swapped some stories - though mine were a bit more vague both from an inability to remember clearly and being unsure of how much could be shared safely.  I was able to get some directions from Wolfgang as he told me about his travels - of particular interest was a small village where trade caravans come by from time to time.  With it pressing late into the evening we bedded down for the night.

At dawn we had a simple breakfast and Wolfgang was good enough to point me to the village.  As we parted company, he asked for my name.  "Zoltan.  You can call me Zoltan the Reformed"...