Mount&Blade/Towns

All towns share some common elements.

Town menu
Whenever you enter a town 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. (Note that in newer versions there is a horse merchant.)

Tavern
The tavern is the place to recruit men and hear a few tales. 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 soldier from the mercenary faction; 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 Traveller, who will update you on what has happened in Calradia, for a small fee of course. He can also tell you where the companions are.
 * A Minstrel, who currently informs you that he is "not implemented in this version". He is not in Native games of version 1.00 (Retail version) to the latest patch (1.011).
 * A Ransom Broker, who will buy prisoners for 50 denars a piece, no questions asked.
 * Ramun, a slave trader who gives you some advice on capturing prisoners; he is functionally identical to the Ransom broker. He can only be found in the Nord Town of Tihr in all versions after 0.960 (This includes the retail/Steam versions, version 1.00 and later patches). He used to be found in the neutral town of Zendar, which has been removed from the game.
 * A companion, who will gladly join you for a small fee and can be equipped, trained, and completely customised in the same manner as your own character. See Companions for more information.
 * One of two Book Vendors, who sell Books with various effects.
 * A Farmer, who offers you the Save the Village of ______ from Marauding Bandits quest.
 * The tavern keeper. You can pay him 1000 denars to allow everyone to drink at your expense the entire evening, increasing your relation with the town by 1.

Arena
The arena is a safe way of gaining combat experience and a bit of cash, and it's a good place to start learning how combat works. If you're feeling more adventurous you can also participate in the tournaments that take place in random towns every few days. The Tournament Master will willingly inform you where there are tournaments.

Town ownership
You can rest in a town you own for free. Your men will draw food from the town during this time. Each town you own has a chest you can access for storing items (not horses).

Prosperity
Town prosperity relies on caravans. Ensure that caravans going to or from your town reach their destination safely.

Garrisoning
You can place or modify a garrison by choosing the "Station a garrison" option. You can also drop off or pick up prisoners. Companions can also be garrisoned. Garrisoned troops draw their food from the surrounding lands.

Men left in a town are paid only half wages as they are not on active duty, and their wages are automatically deducted (along with those of the men in your party) at the end of each week. If you place your entire party in a town's garrison and then wait until pay day you will end up giving all your men only half the wages they earn for active service.

Declaring independence
Under certain conditions, a town that has just changed hands may declare that it is independent. Despite this the town will be granted to a vassal within a few days. You can still interact with the town normally during this time.

Improvements
The "Manage this town" menu option lets you build several improvements to enhance your town's effectiveness. The cost and construction time will be decreased if you or your companions have points in Engineer.
 * Building a Messenger Post will let you be informed about enemy activity near your town even if you are far away. The Messenger Post has a base cost of 4000 denars and 43 days.
 * A Prisoner Tower significantly reduces the chance of imprisoned lords escaping. The escape chance is normally 30%, but a Prisoner Tower reduces it to 5%. The Prisoner Tower has a base cost of 7000 denars and 73 days.