Mornbryn’s Shield
This hamlet stands on the north bank of the confluence of the River Surbrin and the Laughingflow. Mornbryn’s Shield takes its name from the rocky, horseshoe-shaped ridge that forms a natural rampart along the west and south sides of the settlement. It is this ridge that shields the community from the violent spring flooding of the two rivers.
Mornbryn was a ranger of some fame in the North, over 400 winters ago. Legend says that his underground tomb is somewhere under these rocks. It’s said to be a complex of rooms crammed with the treasures offered by the many communities he had rescued from orcs and trolls. He would not accept these rewards in life, but they were laid to rest with him after his death.
Most folk believe that the treasure is still hidden. Others say that the tomb was found long ago, and that the community was built over it in order to prevent it from being plundered. Magic is said to lie among the coins, crowns, and gems, but the rocks of the Shield contain much durneth. This is known to the Dwarves as a very rare, hard, leaden stone that masks magical auras. This durneth prevents easy detection of any magical items.
The folk of Mornbryn’s Shield are a hardy lot. Day after day, they face the fury of the Evermoors, which either sends wind howling out of the northeast, or Cloaks them in damp,
clammy fog that usually conceals creeping trolls. Those ever-present menaces of the moors like to attack when fog masks their approach, dulls their sounds, and dampens fire, their deadliest foe.
The Shield is a community of shepherds, fisherfolk, and moss growers. The mosses of the Shield are prized far and wide across Faerun for their medicinal properties. They also form a secret ingredient in Waterdhavian hair dyes and perfumes made in Waterdeep and Amn. It is also fashionable to eat Shield mosses in some circles of nobility in Waterdeep and Calimshan, and, when times were less troubled, Tethyr. The mosses are deep-fried and coated in various sauces or in wine-and-peahen gravy. I find it brittle and not particularly tasty, but some folk swear by it. In the markets of Waterdeep, many folk will pay 4 gp per handful of moss. It remains a delicacy even when it's old enough to be quite dry, and has turned gray instead of its usually bright blue¬green. Some traveling merchants reach the Shield by barge up the Surbrin, and then buy whole boatloads of moss, typically for 50 to buyers.
The damp rocks of the moor also support other vegetables, and the nearby land is used to graze the long¬haired, hardy ponies that are bred here for local use.
The visitor will find that the Shield is a small, damp, stone-built commu¬nity, always alert to the changing weather and to troll activity. Only 30 or so houses crowd together in the angle formed by the meeting rivers. They stand inside the ridge, a good 30 feet above the flood line. The ridge itself rises 20 feet up from the ground on the land side, and it has been a rampart. The walkway is reached by precipitous flights of stone steps.
The northeastern edge of the com¬munity is guarded by a small stone keep, and a circular, walled garden planted with old, gnarled trees.
The keep is used by the community militia as an armory. It boasts fire¬hurling catapults, enough fire pot missiles to burn down most of the nearby Lurkwood, and no less than 250 suits of full plate armor. The keep is guarded at all times by a ring of mist. This is a ward that is linked to 14 helmed horrors.41 The horrors will attack anyone entering the keep, have these, and there is a rule against In general, Mornbryn's Shield is a carrying them outside the Shield. It is hoped that this will ensure that the tokens will never fall into the wrong hands.
4 See Appendix II for details of typical wards and their linked monsters. Mornbryn's Tomb has unusual wards, details of which are only known to certain worshippers of Mielikki, and so don't appear here.
The stone-walled garden is a very old shrine to Mielikki, where many weapons rust away on an altar formed by a living tree. These arms were wielded in her honor by now-dead rangers. Many northern rangers make pilgrimages here, in order to worship the Lady of the Forest in the presence of the relics of her greatest servants.
The only place considered more holy to Mielikki is the headwaters of the Unicorn Run, in the depths of the High Forest. Rangers who have been rewarded for their deeds often leave offerings here on the altar—and the offerings disappear soon after. The locals say that the tributes are taken away at night by the Sisters Who Serve. Just who or what these surprisingly nice place to stay. How¬ever, it is bleak in the midwinter, endangered by trolls at all times, and far too small to interest or engage a traveler for more than a day.
Travelers are warned to keep chil¬dren indoors, and hidden as much as possible. Also, try to conceal wounds or other weaknesses. There are per¬sistent rumors that at least one doppleganger is keeping watch on the Shield. It is rumored to enter the Shield regularly, in the shape of a vil¬lager or one of the roving peddlers who often stops at the local inn. It surveys the folk who have come to town, and then reports back to a nearby band of trolls. It also figures out who might be worth ambushing.
Places of Interest in MoRMbRVN’s Shield
Shop
Caldreth’s Cobbling
Caldreth Wyvernlyng makes and fixes shoes, boots, and weather-cloaks.
42Elminster snorted when he read this. “Such melo¬drama,” he snorted. “The sisters are two human sisters-quite nice folk, and skilled rangers them¬selves, too. They know how to keep their mouths shut. They take the offerings down into Mornbryn's Tomb, of course. And they hold the only tokens to pass its wards.” He shivered. “Scary stuff, those wards.” He then quickly changed topics and refused to discuss this any further.
leather boots that come up to the crotch of the wearer. He charges 9 gp for each pair of these.
Restaurant
The Maid of the Moors
The Maid of the Moors is a restaurant run by Beldora Thiiruin. The Maid is a sunny, cheery place with many hanging ferns and other plants, and large expansive windows. (Shutters can be fitted in case of a severe storm or a troll raid.) Beldora also lets her pet bats fly about, allegedly to hunt insects.
The Maid features a small but hearty menu. A fresh garden salad, priced at 1 cp, consists of lettuce leaves awash with whitecurds, olives, parsley, shavings of parsnip and strong cheese. A fryplate is priced at 2 cp. This consists of bacon and fried tomatoes covered with a mound of sliced almonds and fried mush¬rooms, and then slathered with but¬tered, scrambled eggs flavored with a pinch of pepper and a few drops of brandy.
Bustards are the decapitated, gut¬ted, and declawed carcasses of the large ground quail of the moors. These are rolled in clay and then the feathers with it. The singed birds are cooked slowly in covered pots, in a bubbling gravy made from quail eggs, beef drippings, flour, and the stock yielded from steaming cabbage and asparagus. The latter grows in profusion on the moors, and may be picked and eaten at will by the trav¬eler who isn't so unobservant as to crush it all under his boots. Beldo ra charges 6 sp for a platter with two bustards awash in gravy, accompa¬nied by circles of fried flatbread. I'd gladly pay more than thrice that for such a heavenly meal.
There is also less exciting, but ade¬quate fare, from turtle soup (3 sp for a bowl) or roast beef (9 sp for a platter; 3 gp for a whole roast), to spiced river fish (5 sp per platter if eels are included; 8 sp for a platter if they're not). Beldora also features strong spiced rice, served with buttered snails, sliced nuts, and dunroot, at a price of 4 sp per bowl. It's a real sur¬prise to find such a dish so far from the south.
Drinks include tea, various chilled and mixed fruit juices, and hot broth. Those wishing for something stronger are directed to the inn; Bel- dora says she hasn't enough time or hands to do more than one thing right, and she's always preferred eat¬ing to drinking.
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