nopony said:
Ask them about the Crown they were talking about.

Heeding their advice, you decide to let the knights escort your party to the nearest town, and begin to travel northward alongside them. On the way, you ask about the Crown that they mentioned earlier.

Gray knight: "The Crown of Midgard, King Empyrius, is the great ruler of this land."

Brown knight: "The High Throne of Elysia has been his since it was founded, over five centuries ago."

Apple Basket: "Five hundred years? D'you reckon he and Princess Celestia know each other?"

Gray knight: "For the Crown opposes sorcery, he and the Princess of Equestria may not be on the best of terms. Nevertheless, we are to treat our lawful visitors with due honour and integrity."

You follow the knights across a wooded valley with no beaten path in sight. Despite the rustling of the golden leaves in the wind above, you somehow feel as though the air around you stands still.

After about an hour of walking through the unusually quiet hinterlands, you reach a small fortified town surrounded by farmlands. The knights stop at the gate, then stand aside, and gesture for you to enter.

Gray knight: "Welcome to Astora. Keep your weapons stowed."

You thank the knights, and make your way inside. As you step through the gate, you suddenly feel a strange emptiness, as though a part of you was left behind.

Shaking off the feeling, you take a moment to look around. You find that the town encloses only a few dozens of houses, all built along the thick, circular stone wall. In the centre, a modest temple towers above the rest.

The road north leads to the temple, and the north gate.
The road east leads to the marketplace, the chemist, the laboratory, the toolsmith, and the farrier.
To the south is your sailboat.
The road west leads to the hostel.

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