Hammerfast Trade Ward

The Trade Ward is the economic heart of Hammerfast. Merchants gather here to buy and sell goods from across the Inner Reaches. Compared to the rowdy, chaotic Gate Ward, the Trade Ward is relatively quiet and sedate. By night, the streets are all but deserted as the traders head home, their goods safely locked away in warehouses. A number of shops and a few high-end inns dominate the neighborhood.

Indviduals

• Marsinda Goldspinner, Highmaster
• Norrinir Goldspinner, merchant
• Tharra Silverstone, dwarf gate sergeant
• Telg Anarson, dward gardener
• Frenis Tallgood, human clerk south warehouse
• Varda Goldspinner, Coach and Pony Inn
• Kavik Torlin, human coach driver
• Ranklo Goldspinner, Trade Bank
• Delda Hammergold, Owner of Hidden coin
• Flosi the Fat, Hammerfast Guard Captain
• Hammerskart Goldspinner, Head of the Trade Ward Guard

20. Trade Gate

Similar in construction to the West Gate in the Gate Ward, this gate is manned at all hours by eight guards. The elf Tharra Silverstone commands the guards here. Tharra is liable to be on duty at any time of the day or night.

21. Barracks

A second guard barracks stands here. Unlike the one at Location 8, this barracks is half empty, since it was built to accommodate the overflow of warriors from the first barracks as Hammerfast grew. The barracks is two stories tall, with the first floor featuring a kitchen, a mess hall, and quarters, and the second floor consisting of several large dormitories for rank-and-file soldiers and private residences for officers. The basement has an armory and storage chambers.

22. Trade Boulevard

A number of trees line the street here. When the orcs during the Bloodspear Orc Invasion attempted to fell them with their axes, their weapons rebounded from the trees and scored fatal injuries on the would-be defilers. According to legend, the trees along the trade boulevard will wither and die only on the eve of Hammerfast’s destruction. It is rumored that a dwarf Telg Anar, a ghost, tends to the trees. His son Telg Anarson is the current gardener and arborist.

23. South Warehouse

This massive warehouse was built upon the ruins of several tombs, and as such it is regarded as a place of ill omen. Rumors abound of caravans bearing goods stored here meeting with gruesome ends. A human named Frenis Tallgood, whose job it is to log goods that enter this warehouse.

24. North Warehouse

The personal storage space for high-ranking guild members and favored outsiders, the north warehouse resembles a small fortress. Built of stone and patrolled day and night.

25. Trade Spire

This majestic stone structure is the financial, social, and political heart of Hammerfast. The first floor of the Trade Spire features a large, open trade market. Guild members conduct business here with representatives of every other settlement, mercantile organization, and noble family in the Nentir Vale. Entire fortunes have been made and lost on its floor in the space of hours, as one trader finds a market hungry for goods and another finds one that wouldn’t take his offerings for free. The second and third floors hold offices for all the major guilds that operate under the greater umbrella of the Trade Guild. Here, traders negotiate prices for the town’s goods, meet with crafters to discuss terms of pending sales or to plan production for the coming year, and broker meetings between Hammerfast’s artisans and buyers from outside town. The more prestigious guilds have large suites of offices on the third floor, and the second floor is given over to the less glamorous trades. The fourth floor holds the guild’s private meeting halls and offices. Here, the guild’s elite members chart Hammerfast’s economic course. The fifth floor serves as the exclusive domain of Marsinda Goldspinner, her personal assistants, and her staff of handpicked advisers.

26. The Ice Tomb

This plain, stone tomb looks much like the rest of the stone structures on this block, except for the thin layer of ice that covers its outer surface all year long. The air around the Ice Tomb ranges from bitterly cold in the winter to pleasantly cool during the height of summer. The folk of the Trade Ward gather around it during the hottest days, and when the heat is at its worst the town guards take up posts to reduce the inevitable pushing and shoving.

27. The Iron Tomb

When the orcs stormed Hammerfast, they rushed over the tombs like locusts. Most of the tombs had a few traps that succeeded in killing a few orcs each. The Iron Tomb was different. One of the few tombs decorated with distinguishing marks, the Iron Tomb houses the remains of paladins of Moradin. The undead paladins of Moradin still rest undisturbed within the Iron Tomb, as they slaughtered the few orcs foolish enough to trouble their sleep. When the dwarves returned to Hammerfast, the twenty paladins buried here appeared before the settlers. Their leader, Lord Gathrak, swore that he and the other paladins would arise from their graves on two conditions: If their tomb was disturbed or if Hammerfast faced invasion, they would arise to wreak vengeance upon the enemies of the town. Since then, the town guard has maintained a constant watch over the entrance to this tomb. Rumors abound that a powerful artifact of Moradin is hidden within the tomb, but if anyone has entered the tomb to find it, they have not emerged to speak of it.

28. The Coach and Pony (Inn)

This small inn offers the finest accommodations in Hammerfast for visiting merchants and travelers, as well as adventurers who win the Goldspinner clan’s favor. Its owner, the dwarf Varda Goldspinner, is Marsinda’s youngest sister. She used her family’s wealth and connections to establish her business, but since then her naturally buoyant, engaging personality has helped ensure her success. The inn earned its name from Varda’s tradition of keeping two small, comfortable coaches and a team of ponies for each. Guests of the Coach and Pony need never walk anywhere in town, since Varda’s coaches and drivers are always available to ferry them around. Kavik Torlin, a half-orc, drives one of the coaches.

29. The Stores

This building is one of several in Hammerfast set aside to store supplies in the event of an attack, dangerous weather, or other emergency. It extends eight levels below the street and is crammed with grain, weapons, water, and other goods that can see the town through any emergency. Given Hammerfast’s sometimes precarious food supply—as a place of the dead, Hammerfast wasn’t located in an area with abundant farmland—the stores are heavily guarded at all times.

30. The Fish Market

To supplement the relatively limited diet available in Hammerfast, a number of folk have taken to fishing on the Rushing River. They climb the towers near here, descend by wooden ladders to outside the wall, and spend hours under the hot sun in hopes of snagging one of the many fish that fill the river. The Fish Market’s prices are triple the normal rates for fish in other towns.

31. Trade Bank

This imposing structure is a long, low stone edifice covered with bas relief carvings of dwarf warriors standing at attention. The doors are cast in iron, with several prominent locks running up and down them. The Trade Bank is perhaps the most secure building in town, and many merchants of importance stores his or her most precious goods, family heirlooms, and other valuables here. The bank’s owner is Ranklo Goldspinner, and the folk of Hammerfast are confident that their treasures are safe here.

32. The Hidden Coin

This gambling hall hosts some of the most important and wealthiest folk in Hammerfast. The sturdy dwarves who watch the front door expect a 50 gp entry fee, and visitors in turn receive 50 gp worth of gambling chips. The high buy-in required for entry keeps all but the most serious gamblers away. Due to an error in this place’s construction, the front entrance to the tomb was placed on the north wall, rather than facing south toward the street. Many folk of Hammerfast do not even know of the Hidden Coin, since they lack the funds to even consider a visit to the place. Tables for dice and card games, along with other games of chance, fill the place. A small bar provides liquid refreshment, and three private rooms in the back allow for invitation-only games of chance. Delda Hammergold owns and operates the Hidden Coin.