You've just started -- you need gold and time to practice your music (that noise coming out of your lute).  The life of a wandering minstrel will provide both, if you have the right audience.

The Escorted (you're the escort) are folks that want to travel to another town and will pay you ridiculous amounts of gold if you'll help -- 100 to 500 gold and a little fame.  Better yet, they don't mind your music, unlike the rest of the world, so you can play your lute the whole time.  Yes, you must walk a short ways out of town, but a bit of adventure is good for future bardic tales:  "Be ye known' the legend of the naked bearded lady mages?"

Basic steps:  The first escort buys music lessons.  Practice that music during future escorts.  Future escorts buy more skill training, more equipment and begin to fill that empty box you call the bank.

How Do I Find 'Em?
Look in any town.  The Escorted always face North and stand still -- those are your first clues.  They pursue a limited range of careers: Noble, Messenger, Merchant, Peasant, Mage, Healer and Seeker of Adventure -- An
all-names macro and a double-click finds candidates hiding indoors. They're unsociable -- They won't even talk to you until you say those magic words...

"What Is Your Destination?"
Put that on a macro key.  Listen to what they say and remember -- you're no fancy pants mage, you're walking.  Skip Nujel'm, Ocllo and Serpents Hold -- swimming has yet to be invented.  Buc's Den is another pass -- its walkable, if you know how, but an old bug prevents the Escorted from noticing they've arrived (could be someone fixed this, you're welcome to try)

If you're up for some adventure, you can try Cove (its a big walk from vesper's moongate), Minoc (crossing the server boundary from vesper confuses the escorted) or "any dungeon" (try covetous from vesper when escorting seekers of adventure).

The easy ones are Britain, Jhelom, Magincia, Moonglow, Skara Brae, Trinsic, Vesper and Yew -- all short walks if you know your moongates.  If you're new to the lands, and need some directions, consult the Stratics guide on moongates (left hand menu, under guides).  One thing about their radar maps -- those boxes are player houses and tents that probably won't be on your radar map.

If you can get where the customer is going, say the next magic words...

"I Will Take Thee"
Put that on another macro key.  You've got an escort!  Don't delay, he'll eventually get bored and pop.  Walk him to the local moongate and dive in -- he'll follow.  Don't worry if he shows up naked -- moongates eat his clothes like dryers eat your socks.  Sometimes the moongate just eats him whole, sometimes he gets bored and pops -- them's the breaks in this business.  Extra points if you find a legendary naked bearded lady mage!

Keep moongate hopping as required, then walk him into town.  In the big towns, Yew and Brit, you may need to walk a ways into the guard zone. He'll suddenly notice, give you some money/fame and then wander off.  If he showed up naked, ask him where he was keeping those 342 gold pieces: "That be yer purse in yer loincloth?  Or are ye just glad ta meet such a fine minstrel".

Yes, you can take on two escorts at a time and increase your odds -- but don't get greedy.  Take three and they behave like little children: "I bump'd inta Joe/a bush/a building/a cat/nothing so I'm gonna stop and sulk!"  Over and over and over and over.  If they stop, say something to get them walking again, like "I be needin' some sword practice..." If you've actually built some skill with that sword, and you're open to a little crime, try to kill and rob the especially annoying ones once you're out of town -- bad for karma, but no murder count.

Feel free to whack goats, provoke rabbit fights and pickpocket the Escorted along the way -- you've got time to build other skills.  But play that music -- that's what you're really out here for.  Slap on a Jester's suit. Add "tip toe through the tulips" to a macro key  for extra effect/annoyance.  Look at you! You're role-playing!

- Eric / Eruca Sativa