The Town of Hyfalls
Connects to: 16.04, 16.16, 19.31.10, 26.20.06, 32.32, 38.26, 38.28, 51.17 and the City of Shuttered Windows.
Built on the ruins of old Hyadovere, once a colony of fallen Bergolast, the town of Hyfalls sits on the southern coast of the Keening Sea. It is here that the River Hyad changes from wide, lazy and hippopotamus-infested, full of hidden sandbars, to a rushing current that pours over the toppled ruins of the terraces of the old city. Most of Hyfalls is clustered tightly around the docks, for the ground stretches up steeply from the sea into the interior of the Burning Lands and the town’s city walls only enclose a small portion of the old city. Just like the rude buildings of Hyfalls, these walls are built from baked river clay but on top are set shards of tarrasque bone (38.26). The gnolls have a superstitious dread of being wounded by any relic of the great beast, so this (and regular tribute payments) helps keep them away from the town.
Hyfalls is a rude village and most travelers do not tarry here long and most only come because here is where ships from the City of Shuttered Windows come to pick up the goods of caravans that have crossed the Burning Lands. Aside from the shattered ruins, the only sight of interest is the great number of centaur statues that have been set up, seemingly at random throughout the village. The reason for their presence is that when the current Doge of the City of Shuttered Windows had recently been installed he held negotiations here with the centaur tribes and unleashed the medusa (26.20.06) against them. The Doge, being blind, was unharmed but the centaurs were not so lucky.
Being mostly a trade depot, there is little industry in Hyfalls except for mining. No, not minerals, there are few enough of them here but rather the depths of the ruins of Hyadovere and the even more ancient city it was built atop. This work is generally done by the inhabitants of Goblin Town, a small community of hobgoblins (16.04) that lives below Hyfall. Goblin Town was accidentally founded by the current Duke of Thring (16.16) before he married the Lady of Thring and gained his title, when he travelled the length and breadth of the Burning Lands seeking Tarrasque lore. At that time he had hired a band of hobgoblins as expert spelunkers but they broke their contract and remained behind below Hyfall. The hobgoblins stay away from the more dangerous sections of the subterranean ruins but will happily point treasure hunters in their direction in return for a cut of the loot. The hobgoblins claim that they deal fairly with all such, but the hobgoblins emerged from the ground to sell some fine loot suspiciously soon after the disappearance of the Company of the Silver Flame…
Subhexes:
- 40.20.01 (The Dust Men): a mystical brotherhood or just colorful thieves?
- 40.20.02 (The Two Alders): up for a friendly game of pot of death?
Connections:
- The caravans that come here from out of the Burning Lands are generally lead by a gnollish bard who knows the Song of Dust and Flame (32.32).
- A band of jackalweres lurks in the ruins beneath Hyfalls. Their diet of hobgoblin flesh mutates them in unusual ways (51.17).
- Some maps of the caves beneath the city can be bought in far-off Jahur (19.31.10). Hook:
- Why are the gnolls afraid of being injured by relics of the tarrasque?
- Why did the Doge betray the centaurs? Are there any communities of centaurs still about?
- Did the Duke of Thring learn any secrets about the tarrasque?
- Why did the Duke-to-be have a falling out with his hobgoblins hirelings?
- What sorts of things do the hobgoblins mine from the ruins and sell to the town above?
- Who was the Company of the Silver Flame? What happened to them?
The Dust Men
Hex 40.20.01
Connects to: 15.18, 25.31 and 50.11.
Much to the annoyance of the city fathers, Hyfalls is currently host to a large band of Dust Men. They have already covered the petrified centaurs in blasphemous images and forced several merchants to swallow the contents of their purses and it is feared that there is worse to come. However, it is proving hard to drive them out as they are able to step from shadow to shadow and are very popular with the rough sailors and caravan hands that gather in Hyfalls.
The Two Adders
Hex 40.20.02
Connects to: 03.13.01 and 29.14.28.
Hyfalls’ largest tavern, the Two Adders, is built from the hulls of two overturned ships. In their lives, they were proud war-barques of the August City (26.20). The peeling, faded black snakes painted on their gunwales mark them as ships of Blindsnake.
The Two Adders’ landlady is Jaustina, a scowling, iron-haired Shuttered woman who behaves like she is in the tavern against her will. Despite her attitude, her delicious alligator pies and nightly pot of death games keep her business brisk. Pot of death is a game unique to Hyfalls that involves shuffling around a number of long-necked clay pots. One or more pots contain a venomous centipede, while the rest are empty. Restless caravan guards and sailors place bets on whether or not the players will get bitten when they stick their hands in the pots.
Jaustina helps the hobgoblins beneath the city smuggle artifacts out of Hyfalls. For an uncomfortably long time, she has held a great talisman made of Tiamat-chewed bone shards. The talisman is shaped like a woman, and is almost too large to be worn by a human. It was supposed to be picked up by an agent of the Tiamatan Revival (29.14.28), but he died during a drunken pot of death game before he could retrieve it. The Tiamatan Revival, however, suspects that the Temple Invisible has interfered with the delivery and is biding their time.
The talisman is known as Tiamat’s Nurse. A woman who wears it during her pregnancy will give birth to a dragonblooded child (also mentioned in 15.18). First-generation dragonblooded children are magical prodigies, and are inclined towards evil. Tiamat’s Nurse, locked in its chest beneath the inn, sends intense dreams to the pregnant women of Hyfalls. Some of these women have been awakened while sleepwalking through the Two Adders with great urgency. The women all awaken violently, going as far to wield stray mugs or knives. Jaustina knows the talisman is behind the disturbances, but she fears casting it into the Keening Sea.
Hooks:
- What remains of the August City’s fleet?
- Are deaths common in pot of death? How do the authorities view the game?
- Who buys the smuggled artifacts?
- Tell me about the history of Tiamat’s Nurse. When was it created? Who has worn it in the past? How did it end up in Hyfalls?
