Traveler's Night
If you are good at telling stories, you could actually live quite a decent life roaming the countryside. Just need to mark the places you've been already, or hope they don't remember you.A tradition as old as any, and perhaps the most popular one of all. When a traveler arrives to a village or town, the first person they meet is expected to offer them shelter and food for the night. That is traditionally done by asking what news the traveler brings and if they would share them over a dinner. While travelers can generally expect some bread and water and a night's sleep in the barn, it is expected that they would tell stories of their travels and what things they have seen along the way. In that case they are invited to the family house for dinner, providing some of the much-needed entertainment for the locals. Particularly in small or remote villages, the host's neighbours would often stop by and turn the evening into a community celebration.
Participants
While the tradition speaks of the host as a first person to meet the traveler, there is an untold convention that certain people do not fall under that category. Guards are not expected to offer hospitality to the traveler, and neither do any stall traders or innkeepers. Basically, the host is supposed to be a local who just happened to be at that place when the traveler was passing by - not someone who had to be there by trade.
Sometimes, the person first met chooses not to invoke the rite of hospitality and offer the Traveler's Night. While that is generally considered to be quite rude and might draw the ire of one's community, there are once again certain exceptions. Notably, if someone has already hosted a traveler very recently it is generally understandable of them to avoid the host's role for some time. The more well-off members of the community are expected to volunteer as hosts, and would sometimes even send members of their family to be the first to greet a traveler.
Right of Refusal
While it is expected that locals would offer all travelers hospitality, they are not necessarily obliged to accept it. Those of money would often refuse the offer to avoid inconveniencing the would-be host, or in case they do not wish to spend time with the host's family. There are two ways to do so: by saying that your "plans are elsewhere", or by saying that you have "no news to tell". If the Traveler's Night was refused in the first way, or not offered at all, the next person to meet the traveler is expected to offer it again. That can go on for quite a while, especially if the traveler is expected by a certain family in the area. However, if they chose to refuse the offer in the second way then it is implied that the traveler should not be bothered anymore, and no further offers of Traveler's Night are to be made that day.Remove these ads. Join the Worldbuilders Guild
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