Hammerfast: Lore Ward

History walks the streets of Hammerfast, so its study is vital to the town’s continued success. The Lore Guild’s first members were the sages who struck the covenant with the gods that allows the dwarves to live in Hammerfast. This history reminds residents of their debt to the guild and to the gods. The guild’s ongoing work produces the knowledge that allows the living residents of Hammerfast to coexist with its ghosts. Students from as far away as Bardic College and University of Atlan come to study as with the scholars of the guild, bringing both prestige and income to the town.

Individuals

• Farras Stonescript, dwarf historian
• Alzar Scrollkeeper, Head Librarian at Grand Library.
• Cherndon the Mad, Grand Library researcher
• Alvis the Allwise, High Priest of Moradin
• Grond Silverstar, Priest of Moradin
• Grolin Surespike, Priest of Moradin
• Morgath Gavesend, Black Cat owner
• Bodil Thunderear, High Preist of Hanseath at the Temple of Hanseath and Oakhall Theatre
• Girthar Goldtongue, High Priest of Vergadain
• Malvir Steelbeard, High Priest of Clangeddin Silverbeard.
• Idara, half-elf Druid
• Helka, human divination master at the House of Fortune
• Rundona Truesliver is the High Priestess of Berronar Truesilver.
• Kendred Brightmetal is the High Priest of Dugmaren Brightmantle
• Eberwin of Shorfeld, Katheroi human representative of Sentinel Fortress
• Almabister, Katheroi body guard to Eberwin
• The Company of the Furies: Eumenides

Company of the Furies

The Company of the Furies: Eumenides have purchased an old tomb and converted it into a home and safehouse, The Company of the Furies Hammerfast.

by Majestic Minatures

33. The House of Memory

Farras Stonescript dwells here. By day, this half-ruined tower is filled with dust and debris. By night, though, it glows with spectral energy. Reports of phantom tables and chairs, along with row after row of filled bookshelves, appear inside the tower. Farras's mother, Marras Stonescript died in the Bloodspear Orc Invasion, but rumors are that she lingers on, fulfilling her charge to keep records on where each dwarf who died during the siege was buried. Marras was an unmatched expert on the region’s history, and it is reported that much of Farras's knowledge comes from dwarf ghosts.

34. The Black Crypt

Of all the tombs that remain undisturbed, the Black Crypt is perhaps the most foreboding. A black, stone edifice without any obvious doorways or other entrances, the crypt has a reputation for ill fortune. Residents avoid the streets around it, leaving the crypt in a strangely empty section of town even at the busiest times of day. More than one first-time visitor to Hammerfast has had a panicked, superstitious dwarf grasp his sleeve and drag him back from the crypt.

35. The Grand Library

The Grand Library is largest collection of books in the Inner Reaches serves as a powerful magnet for sages, adventurers, University Student/Professor and anyone else interested in ancient lore. Rumors persist of tomes that remain untouched since Hammerfast’s fall, undiscovered among the library’s sprawling shelves. The library is a single story above ground, with two basement levels. Its top level contains a few chambers of books and many scriptoriums and small chambers in which experts conduct classes and visiting scholars copy or study works. The basement levels hold row after row of thick, dusty tomes. Open flames are forbidden in this place, and anyone entering here must bring a sunrod or a magical means of illumination. Head Librarian Alzar Scrollkeeper is a hot-tempered old dwarf with little patience for visitors. He must approve all visitors to the library’s lower levels, and at times refuses entrance to half-orcs, barbaric-looking folk, or anyone else that strikes him as suspicious. He bears a grudge against Cherndon the Mad, Grand Library Researcher.

36. Lore Spire

The Lore Spire is a great center of learning in town, a place where folk from across the Inner Reaches assemble to study history, philosophy, mathematics, and other subjects. Students are required to donate to the Lore Guild’s coffers in return for access to its libraries and tutors. The Lore Spire is a five-level tower dominated by a great library of ancient dwarven lore. The first and second floors are filled with classrooms, lecture halls, and common rooms for study and discussion. The third and fourth floors house the guild’s private library. Only guild members are allowed access to this library. Although the Grand Library is open to any citizen of Hammerfast and to outsiders who receive permission from the librarians, the Lore Spire’s collection is closely guarded.

37. The Black Cat

A tavern popular with members of the Lore Guild, the Black Cat has a reputation for attracting odd folk. Sages and researchers with a bent for the macabre gather here to argue over their pet theories about magic, the nature of the gods, and other hot topics. The Black Cat’s owner, Morgath Gravesend, has made no effort to disguise the Black Cat’s original purpose. Stone sarcophagi serve as tables, and the original decorations remain intact. The Black Cat is popular with adventurers who wish to steer clear of Hammerfast’s common folk. Halflings, elves, half-elves, and even humans and half-orcs, and other outcasts have made the Black Cat their chosen watering hole. Stepping into this place is like entering a menagerie of humanoids from across the planes. Morgath is the tavern’s pale-skinned, gaunt, human owner. His black, formal coat and pants give him the look of a mortician, and his mordant sense of humor suits the proprietor of a tavern that looks like a burial tomb.

38. Temple of Moradin

The The Temple of Moradin: Hammerfast is an elaborate, marble structure. Within it are many workshops dedicated to Moradin in which priests toil over elaborate projects in his honor.

39. Temple of Berronar Truesilver

The temple of Berronar Truesilver in Hammerfast is a large, roofless structure. She is the goddess of safety, home, and family in the also called the Revered Mother because she isthe matriarch of the dwarven pantheon, exemplifying the gentler aspects of dwarven character, such as mercy and generosity, while still demonstrating their iconic pragmatism and determination. Even in the depths of winter, Berronar Truesilver’s might keeps the temple’s interior pleasantly warm and bright. Within the temple grow gardens of flowers, mushrooms and fresh fruit, a sign of Berronar Truesilver’s abundant favor. The priests regard the garden’s progress as an omen of the coming year. A stunted garden means tough times; a verdant one is a sign of prosperity. Rundona Truesliver is the High Priestess of Berronar.

40. Temple of Dugmaren Brightmantle

It is fitting that Dugmaren Brightmantle the god of knowledge, skill, and prophecy maintains a temple in the Lore Ward. He is the patron of dwarven scholars and free thinkers. The domain of the Wandering Tinker is the gathering of knowledge regardless of its utility and the creation of novel inventions using the various findings. The Errant Explorer embodies the progressive side of the conservative Stout Folk, and the exploratory spirit that led to acts of creativity.
Given the number of scholars that travel here from across the Inner Reaches, there are many devotees of Dugmaren Brightmantle. The temple features a small library and a large meeting hall where the faithful meet to debate or to share academic discoveries. The high priest is named Kendred Brightmetal.
“The secrets of the world are waiting to be revealed.” — An except of Dugmarenite doctrine.

41. Oakhall Theater and Temple of Hanseath

The Oakhall Theater is a wooden building and the place of worship for the followers of Hanseath, the dwarven deity of carousing, brewery, and singing, representing the more festive side of the Stout Folk. The Bearded One was also a war god, beloved by berserkers and whose followers were always seemingly off on some kind of crusade.

42. Idara’s Tower

Idara is a druid by trade, she is a half-elf who has found a safe haven in the dwarven town.

43. Helka’s House of Fortune

The old human crone Helka lives here with her five sons, fishermen who spend most of their time at the Fish Market (Location 30 in Hammerfast Trade Ward). A withered, elderly human, Helka long ago lost her sight and speaks in the barest whisper. Despite her advanced age and being a human, she is very influential people in town. Folk from all ranks of society come to her for advice.