Mount&Blade/Towns

All towns share some common elements.

Town menu
Whenever you enter a town (other than Zendar) you will be presented with a menu of various options: from this menu you can trade directly with merchants as well as assess trade prices (see Trade) or jump to various locations in the town. You can also choose to go to these places on foot.

Merchants
Every town has two dealers located somewhere along its streets. One sells armor while the other sells weapons and shields. They are usually located close together. Unlike the merchant, they can be accessed at any time.

The merchant is inside his shop and deals in Goods and Horses. His shop is locked after dark and does not open again until the morning. His shop bears a sign depicting a money bag.

Tavern
The tavern is the place to recruit men and hear a few tales. The tavern keeper has nothing to say in this version, but the others do. The patrons are random, so you may find one or more of the following: Tavern patrons change almost every day, so check back every few days to see if anyone interesting has turned up.
 * A Watchman, Caravan Guard, Mercenary, or Hired Blade; talk to him to find how many comrades he has with him, and how much it costs to recruit them. If your party is too full or you do not have enough money you will have the option of only recruiting some of them. Hired Blades are the toughest neutral troops you can acquire and can withstand a good deal of damage, so invest in a few if you can afford their weekly wages.
 * A Traveler, who will update you on what has happened in Calradia, for a small fee of course.
 * A Minstrel, who currently informs you that he is "not implemented in this version".
 * A Slave Trader, who will buy prisoners for 20 denars a piece, no questions asked.
 * A Hero, who will gladly join you at no cost and can be equipped, trained, and completely customised in the same manner as your own character. There are many heroes to be found. See Companions for more information.
 * A Book Vendor, who sells Books with various effects.
 * A Farmer, who offers you the Defeat Mountain Bandits quest.

Arena
The arena is a safe way of making money and gaining combat experience, and it's a good place to start learning how combat works. See Arena for more.

Zendar-only features
Zendar is the first town you will encounter, and it has a couple of unique features. Unlike all other towns you leave when you hit Tab rather than getting a destination menu (which allows you to jump directly to the merchant/castle/etc.) and you also can't ride your horse in town.

Trainer
The trainer offers free fighting tips and practice. You'll have to listen to the combat basics before being able to train. The training is set up in tiers, with three fighters per tier. If you beat three fighters in a tier, you will go up a tier. Every time you go up a tier you'll get 100 EXP (when you talk to the trainer the next time), so it's good to run through this for some easy EXP even if you already know how to play. There are four tiers (12 fights total), two and then Veteran, then Champion; by beating the final tier (the champions) and then talking to the trainer you will receive 300 EXP.

After finishing the training you can return at any time to do more (but without the EXP bonuses), and all opponents will be Champion Fighters.

Constable Hareck
The constable will reward you for hunting down river pirates in the area around Zendar. If you accept he will give you a basic shield to help on your mission. You receive 20 gold for each group of pirates destroyed.

The Happy Boar (Tavern)
The arena fighters (Kradus, Xerina, and Dranton) loiter here and talk about their victories. Unlike the other taverns in Calradia, random patrons do not appear here.

There's also a chest that you can use to store extra items. Don't bother exploring the Happy Boar beyond the ground floor (the stairs behind the bar), it's three stories tall and there is nothing to interact with.

Slave Trader Ramun
Ramun buys captured prisoners for 20 gold each, regardless of their status.