Settlements
Hurlstone Hill, since abandoned (08.12)
Jar Town (16.20)
The Bolgers
Cloud halflings
The Cavengows of Hurlstone Hill (08.12) followed The Bitter Coast north until they reached this cloudy stretch of mountains. Unlike humans, halflings are unaffected by the Ocean’s melancholy breezes, so the halflings here are as plucky and industrious as halflings anywhere. On the rare clear day, one may see their stone barns and huts dotting the high mountain slopes. They raise mountain goats and grow coca. The latter is a hot commodity at Bertie’s Trading Post (3.08) because it prevents altitude sickness, eases pain and hunger, and provides energy to travelers. The cloud halflings stuff huge wads of coca leaves in their cheeks and suck its juices as they work. Humans prefer to brew it in tea. Pirates at the Cross (02.11) can become hopeless addicts because, for some, it is the only thing that soothes a depressing life on the Ocean of Bitter Regrets.
Cloud halflings are taller than their lowland cousins, and mustaches and sideburns are not uncommon among men. Cloud halflings claim that the Cavengows intermarried with a human tribe that once dwelt here. Other halflings scoff at this, saying that their unusual traits are a result of generations of unchecked inbreeding. Indeed, a growing number of cloud halflings have extra toes and fingers, and their wizened oracle, Mama Occla, is harelipped. Mama Occla lives in a cave with a well to the Sunless Sea. From the echoes and utterings beneath the mountains, she draws omens and portents. She suspects impending doom for the Cross at the hands of an invader beneath the waves.
Besides coca and deformities, cloud halflings are infamous among outsiders for hosting Thunder Day, an annual drunken brawl intended to settle disputes between families. Days leading up to the festival include dances with endless music and strong wine. Those who wish to fight wear masks and challenge others in falsetto voices. On Thunder Day, combatants fight it out in a ring with fists and feet. This festival cannot end generations of strife, but it keeps murders in check.
Connections
- -Cloud halflings, having no qualms about sacrificing their extra digits, enjoy regular relations with the finger stew shepherds (2.04).
Hooks
- -Why are halflings unaffected by the Ocean of Bitter Regrets?
- -Do cloud halflings have a monopoly on coca? Or is it grown elsewhere?
- -How do more other races prefer to take their coca?
- -Why are cloud halflings physically distinct from lowland halflings?
- -What invader from under the sea will be the doom of the Cross? Or is Mama Occla just bluffing?
- -How do outsiders get entangled in Thunder Day shenanagins?