Hammerfast is a busy place, as merchants and travelers from the Nentir Vale and beyond congregate here. In the early spring after the snows melt and in the fall after the harvest, the streets are choked with caravan wagons, pack mules, and travelers. A band of a hundred mercenary warriors en route to a paymaster might clog the streets one day, and a winding caravan of priceless treasures from the unknown east could bring traffic to a halt the next.
History of Hammerfast[1][]
Hammerfast is divided into four wards. Three of the wards are home to the major guilds in town, and the fourth, the Gate Ward, serves as a gateway between Hammerfast and the rest of the world.
Although some of the tombs in Hammerfast were reduced to rubble by the attacking orcs, most were simply picked clean of their contents. The orcs smashed open coffins, pounded sarcophagi into rubble, and scattered remains across the necropolis.
The dwarves rebuilt Hammerfast, keeping as much of the necropolis intact as possible. Most homes and businesses use the same thick-walled, stone structures that once housed the dead. The interiors have been cleaned and reorganized. In some buildings, the original sarcophagi, murals, and other decorations remain.
In the summertime, some of the structures become unbearably hot. For this reason, structures in Hammerfast were built downward, not upward. Most families use the first floor of their homes as workshops or for storage, with the basement level set aside for sleeping. Most structures in Hammerfast house several families, each living within a subset of the chambers found in a typical tomb.
The tombs that remain intact are off limits. The town guard patrols the necropolis, and anyone caught looting existing tombs faces a death sentence. That doesn’t stop some thieves, and rumors abound of tombs that were looted by thieves despite the vigilance of the town guard.
Many folk suspect that even the tombs now used as homes and businesses still hide ancient treasure chambers, hidden passages, and other secrets. Although looting intact tombs is against the law, tombs that have already been opened are fair game. Thus, adventure might be as close as the secret door beneath one’s bed.
Notable Characters[]
- High Master Marsinda Goldspinner