TEXT: Player material from the book thistle hold - Wrath of the Warden
  
  Järnringen:
  Martin Grip, Mattias Johnsson,  
  Mattias Lilja
  Writer/translation:
  Mattias Johnsson
  editor:
  Mattias Lilja
  graPhic design:
  Johan Nohr
  illustrations:
  Martin Grip
  maPs:
  Tobias Tranell
  Proofreading: 
  Paul Baldowski 
  John Marron
  The Hunter's Harbor
  THISTLE HOLD
  isbn:
  978-91-87915-26-0
  coPyright:
  Nya Järnringen AB 2016
  
  then there are all those who never consider far-
  ming or construction work, those whose adamant 
  intent is in contributing to the aim set forth by 
  the Queen – to make the treasures of Davokar the 
  property of the Ambrian realm. This despite the 
  fact that a majority of those trying to realize the 
  dream quickly find it transformed into a nightmare. 
  A considerable portion of the town’s treasure 
  hunters never find anything besides their own 
  deaths in some predators jaws or at the pointy end of 
  some competitors spear. Others return emptyhan-
  ded from a couple of expeditions and cannot afford 
  to launch a third. And some never get started; they 
  remain seated in some tavern, listening to stories 
  about hundreds of dig sites with a terrible anxiety 
  sloshing around amongst black brew and pieces of 
  kidney pie in their bellies.
  Regardless of all cautionary tales, the dream of 
  Thistle Hold is firmly rooted in the Ambrian soul. 
  No one believes they would make the same mistakes 
  as the unlucky fools who went before them. No, they 
  would succeed if given half a chance. Because no 
  matter how many fall victim to the dream, the few 
  success stories will always lure young and old, poor 
  and wealthy, learned and ignorant to the fortune 
  hunters’ harbor.
  This chapter is based on the sort of information 
  about Thistle Hold that one can gain by spending 
  more than a few days in town. If combined with 
  the description in the Core Rulebook, the text should 
  offer enough of an idea of how the town works for 
  you (and, more importantly, your player character) 
  to feel somewhat at home there, in the bittersweet 
  Thistle Hold.
  The Border 
  Town
  almost all ambrians  share the same dream. Of course, you 
  can craft a tolerable existence by farming the Ambrian soil, 
  alternately by partaking in the construction of Yndaros or some 
  other rapidly growing town. But also those who succeed in those 
  respects can hardly avoid fantasizing about the simultaneously 
  safe and exciting life rumored to be lived behind Thistle Hold’s 
  towering palisade.
  The statue on the Toad’s 
  Square inspires both 
  dreams and nightmares 
  – dreams of grandiose 
  finds, nightmares of en-
  counters with the toad’s
  descendants. 
  3
  
  First impressions
  most of those who enter one of Thistle Hold’s gates 
  for the first time do so with clear expectations. It is 
  supposed to be new, calm, organized and clean – at 
  least compared to cities like Yndaros or the equally 
  fast-growing Ravenia.
  Initially it may seem as if the expectations 
  correspond with reality. No building is more than 
  eight years old, the atmosphere is void of shouting 
  peddlers and noise from building sites, and the 
  main streets are so free from debris that one might 
  suspect someone wipes them clean every morning 
  (which they actually do). However, it does not take 
  more than a couple of days and nights before it beco-
  mes obvious this apparent idyll comes at a price.
  Each and every day you can witness grim 
  guards of the Town Watch escorting one or more 
  inhabitants, apathetic or furious, to the South Gate. 
  Everyone knows that if the person happened to 
  have some belongings the guards will confiscate 
  these on behalf of the Mayor, as compensation for 
  warranted payments or as punishment for crimes 
  committed. And as soon as the villain emerges onto 
  the Southern Highroad, he or she is forever banned 
  from even visiting the Hold.
  Other spots of soot and mildew soon appear on 
  the façade. While public displays of drunkenness 
  and aggression figure frequently upon the street 
  called Haloban’s Ring, other parts of town treat 
  such behavior with a stretch on the cold stone floor 
  of the Penitentiary. And even the most compliant 
  visitor can become the target of imprisonment or a 
  flogging, if he displeases the Town Watch or some 
  4
  1
  T H E  B O R D E R  T O W N
  
  prominent resident. Protesting hardly helps in a 
  town where repeated defiance is enough to become 
  banished.
  On the other hand … if one refuses to give in to 
  the strong arm of the law and stays a while in the 
  town, it will soon become apparent that there are 
  ways to avoid detection. As long as you steer clear 
  of talkative witnesses, place a bribe in the right 
  hand, and carefully consider whom your actions 
  might anger you can often get the job done.
  When you hear someone say that “Thistle Hold 
  lives in the shadows” this is what they mean – in cover 
  of darkness, in alleys and nooks, behind closed 
  doors and shutters thrives that which would never 
  be allowed under a clear blue sky. Contraband is 
  trafficked in and out of town, artifacts are bought 
  and sold without the Mayor getting his cut, people 
  are murdered or severely beaten, and both stores 
  and residences are burgled. There are even those 
  who, convincingly, claim that both members of 
  the Iron Pact and blight-marked cultists live inside 
  the palisade.
  Indeed, Thistle Hold is the safest harbor in a 
  storm ridden Ambria and it is indeed a town where 
  representatives of different cultures and factions 
  coexist in relative harmony. But the residents know 
  the truth. The fortune hunter’s harbor is a place 
  where dreams are dashed more often than they are 
  realized, a place where death sometimes appears 
  as a more alluring exit than the town gates, a place 
  where your life is never worth more than the sum 
  of your belongings.
  Maybe there is some truth to what the subse-
  quently death-sentenced rioter Volfald purpor-
  tedly shouted during his last night at the Salons 
  of Symbaroum: “Thistle Hold is a crab, a rock-hard 
  shell over flabby insides; I’ll mess around in here till 
  naught but the shell remains!”
  Memorable Events
  all Who live in Thistle Hold and who are not weig-
  hed down by grim reality are happy to share stories 
  about the town’s eventful past. Single story-tellers’ 
  vivid statements should of course be taken with 
  a pinch of salt. But when one has heard the same 
  event being described over and over, maybe one 
  dares to assume that there actually is some truth 
  to the story.
  The incidents described in this section speak 
  both of the history of the Hold and about what it 
  is like to live there. Even if many occurred at a 
  time when Thistle Hold was smaller and less well 
  protected, all of them could be repeated one way 
  or another, something which the residents tend to 
  underline. Because although the palisade stands 
  strong it can be breached, and once the hull has 
  been punctured an intruder can quickly cause 
  catastrophic damage.
  the Jezites’ doWnfall  (year 10)
  Everyone knows that Ambrian forces utterly 
  defeated the barbarian warlord Haloban and his 
  clan after a short siege in year 10. It is also com-
  monly known that the Ambrian force captured 
  Haloban alive and brought him back to Yndaros 
  where he hung by the neck until dead; and that the 
  Ambrian assault totally annihilated clan Jezora. 
  Aside from that, there are some discrepancies 
  in the stories.
  Most people believe that Queen Korinthia had 
  managed to persuade some members of the clan to 
  betray their master by sabotaging the gates of the 
  fortress, but other stories attribute the sabotage to 
  the heroic actions of a group of Queen’s Rangers. 
  And regarding the clan’s destruction, several 
  diverse stories are told. Some say that also women 
  and children died fighting, others that most Jezites 
  went up in flames with the hall where they were 
  hiding, and there are even those who maintain that 
  the clan members died in a mass suicide.
  No matter what one believes, the annihilation of 
  the Jezites meant the end of the barbarian presence 
  on the southern plains. Haloban’s fortress was 
  demolished so that no one would try to recapture 
  it, and after that the area surrounding the anci-
  ent bronze well lay desolate for over two years, 
  until Lasifor Nightpitch initiated his grandiose 
  construction project.
  the attack of eloan-eo  (year 13)
  During the late fall of year 13, while Thistle Hold 
  was still under construction, an attack was laun-
  ched from the forest. A force made up of at least a 
  hundred elves (some say five hundred) struck just 
  before dawn. Four rounds of fire arrows painted red 
  stripes across the night sky and were followed by 
  a fearless melee assault on the war veterans hired 
  to defend the construction site. 
  The leader of the elves, later identified as the 
  autumn elf Eloan-Eo, fell to the sword wielded by 
  Serex Attio – several witnesses claim that the elf 
  was beheaded from behind as he was running for 
  the newly built toad statue. The bloodbath ended 
  in Ambrian victory, but many humans were killed 
  and large parts of the town’s northern districts went 
  up in flames.
  ”The age-old cauld-
  ron hanging over the 
  fireplace at the Ruin 
  Inn is actually a helmet 
  belonging to the arch 
  troll Oxvog. The troll 
  still lives and would no 
  doubt reward whoever 
  returned the powerful 
  artifact to him."
  5
  
  In the following years the elves made numerous 
  attempts to demolish the Hold, through outright 
  attacks or by sneaky acts of sabotage, most recently 
  during the winter of year 20 when two murderous 
  elves were caught in an attic near Nighthome. But 
  none of the later incidents have caused such great 
  losses in lives and property as the attack of Eloan-Eo.
  the birth of the beacon (year 15)
  The story of the construction of Thistle Hold’s 
  Beacon is a bloody tale that all newcomers soon 
  will hear. It started when Nightpitch asked three 
  contractors for suggestions on how the tower should 
  be built – one of these got his throat slit in a bar 
  brawl, another backed out after having survived 
  a serious blood infection. The one remaining was 
  Balon Daar, and since he could not be accused of 
  taking part in any wrongdoings the contract was 
  awarded to him.
  Then the construction claimed numerous lives. 
  The first design was nearly a hundred feet high when 
  it suddenly collapsed – sabotage said the contractor; 
  faulty calculations claimed others. Irrespective of 
  which, two ogres and five goblins died in the col-
  lapse, along with four young treasure hunters who 
  were crushed where they were sitting in a tavern, 
  drinking and boasting about their exploits.
  Before the work was done, another ogre and four 
  more goblins had died, and as everyone knows, the 
  tower continues to claim lives (since despondent 
  residents tend to use it as a gateway to the after-
  life). Yes, even if almost all explorers and treasure 
  hunters in town have had reason to thank Mayor 
  Nightpitch for the guiding flame of the Beacon, there 
  are many who claim that the structure is cursed. 
  And if one is to believe the really dark-minded 
  storytellers, the Beacon is an actual living being, 
  brought to life by the blood soaking the ground on 
  which it stands, and forever thirsting for more.
  the tiny gladiatress (year 15)
  Those who were present at the inauguration of the 
  gladiator arena The Abomitorium, a spring day in 
  year 15, will never forget what they saw. After a 
  few exciting fights between the town heroes and 
  beasts of the forest it was time for the Grand Finale 
  – twenty hardened war veterans against as many 
  goblins who had been captured during a raid on a 
  robber tribe close to Karvosti.
  With wooden spears and shields, the nine-
  teen goblins did their best to defend against the 
  Ambrians. The twentieth creature stood still. Those 
  present swear that this individual could not have 
  been a goblin, even if she had their size, posture 
  and disfigurements. Whatever the case may have 
  been, she watched the slaughter with a warm smile, 
  until the last of her fellow combatants fell dead at 
  her feet. Then she shook her head, smacked her 
  tongue in disapproval, and went to work.
  The dry dirt of the arena whirled up in a dan-
  cing, local sand storm covering the scene. Shortly 
  thereafter, the horrified spectators heard the death 
  roars rise from the throats of their celebrated war 
  heroes. And as the storm died out all of them were 
  dead, most of them impaled on their own weapons. 
  The creature dusted off her hands and wiped her 
  bloody face clean with the hem of her skirt. No one 
  tried to stop her as she calmly left the Abomitorium, 
  passed through the Western Gate and disappeared 
  into the woods.
  To this day, the reason why this apparently 
  powerful creature let herself be caught along with 
  the goblins is a topic for heated discussions among 
  the Davokar experts of Thistle Hold.
  the blood sPray disease (year 16)
  The fall of year 16 is remembered as one of the 
  most gruesome in the short but lively history of 
  the Hold. That the town is plagued by epidemics is 
  not uncommon and most often they can be blamed 
  on sniffling goblin trash or explorers returning 
  infected from forest expeditions. But thanks to 
  the novices of Ordo Magica and the priests of Prios 
  the infections are often discovered and isolated 
  before they spread beyond an unfortunate few. 
  This was not the case with the abominable Blood 
  Spray Disease.
  Thistle Hold
  One hour’s ride
  Glimmer,  
  4 hour’s ride
  Glimmervann, 
  one day’s ride
  Templewall, 2.5 day’s ride
  Kurun, 3 day’s ride
  Karabbadokk
  N
  S
  O
  V
  Nv
  So
  No
  sv
  d av o
  k
  a
  r
  Blackmoor
  6
  1
  T H E  B O R D E R  T O W N
  ”Queen Korinthia was 
  killed by the Dark Lords. 
  In fact, the Dark Lord 
  himself has taken her 
  place. Hence the mask 
  on her face, the comple-
  tely covering garments 
  and the disguised voice. 
  I’ve heard she speaks in 
  the voice of a child!”
  
  It started with a few cases – people heard com-
  plaining about chest pains and who later started 
  coughing up blood. As the number of infected 
  rapidly rose, the condition of the initial victims 
  grew dramatically worse. The cough became so 
  violent that victim’s ribs cracked from within and 
  the bleeding spread to all other mucosal membra-
  nes. Before they died, especially powerful coughing 
  attacks even made blood squirt out of their pores.
  It is said that between five hundred and a thou-
  sand persons lost their lives before the outbreak was 
  under control, all of them humans of Ambrian or 
  barbarian heritage. The origin of the disease was 
  never uncovered, but rumor has it that at least four 
  of the initial victims had been seen purchasing 
  medicures from the notorious Miracle Master some 
  days before getting ill. This is obviously one of the 
  reasons why said drug peddler nowadays keeps his 
  transactions to the shady parts of Ambria’s towns.
  the triumPh of iasogoi (year 16)
  The most successful expedition ever to return to 
  Thistle Hold was the one led by Iasogoi Brigo, then 
  an adept of Ordo Magica. On a summer’s day, year 
  16, the rumor spread like wild fire through town; 
  people flocked to the square by the East Gate and 
  when the sun was at its highest it appeared like a 
  mirage on the road from Kastor – a caravan of no 
  less than twenty nine horses and mules, burdened 
  by gold, relics and artifacts salvaged from the depth 
  of Davokar. At the front rode young Iasogoi himself, 
  with a triumphant smile that must have burnt holes 
  in the souls of everyone who had called him a fool 
  and his plans ridiculous.
  The trade in antiquities flourished for six 
  months thanks to Iasogoi’s bounty. And that is 
  unique. Sure, Lysindra Goldengrasp has contri-
  buted to filling the stocks of the antique dealers 
  and Gorakai the Younger returned from the 
  Fight Day in Thistle 
  Hold. The local favorites 
  Bruiser and Tulga take 
  on a pack of mare cats.
  7
  
  aqueducts of Clearwater laden with treasure. 
  But never again has the market been flooded with 
  items like it was when Iasogoi Brigo returned from 
  Akkona’s Catacombs, located under the ruined 
  city of Odaban.
  the merchants’ War (year 17)
  When the Hold was young, the trade in artifacts and 
  antique items was handled differently compared 
  to today. In the early days, it was common for the 
  treasure hunters themselves to place a table on 
  the Antique Plaza to peddle their finds, without 
  bothering with registrations and authenticity 
  certificates. This caused problems. For one thing, 
  deceitful merchants have tricked many buyers. 
  Other customers found themselves being the 
  owners of items oozing with corruption (there is, 
  for instance, a tale about a figurine that caused 
  a whole family – consisting of mother, father, 
  grandparents and seven children – to develop 
  blight-marks before the source of the “sickness” 
  was established). But worst of all for the earnest 
  treasure hunters of the Hold was that their hard 
  earned valuables and their whole occupation was 
  dragged in the dirt by charlatans.
  The popular notion is that a smaller group of 
  successful explorers initiated the purge; some even 
  say it was performed with the silent approval of 
  Mayor Nightpitch. In any case, within a month 
  more than twenty individuals disappeared, out 
  of which a handful were found murdered and the 
  rest seemed to have been swallowed by the earth. 
  It was in the wake of these killings that Faraldo 
  and Sefira established their businesses and started 
  issuing certificates of authenticity. There is probably 
  not a single soul who believes that the former Ordo 
  Magica magisters are totally without guilt in the 
  purge that paved their way.
  an abomination amongst us  (year 17)
  On a bleak winter’s night year 17, the residents of 
  the town’s western districts were awakened by a 
  heartbreaking cry. The Town Watch was quick to 
  the scene and formed a circle around the podium 
  of the hangman’s pole, but they could not stop 
  hundreds of curious bystanders getting a glimpse 
  of the source of the scream.
  Below the podium sat an abomination, on that 
  everyone agreed. But past that the depictions dif-
  fer. Most witnesses described it as a black furred, 
  human sized beast, but many emphatically clai-
  med that the body of a human woman was hidden 
  under the fur. Some even stress that the creature 
  cried. Then there were those who spoke of beastly 
  fangs, gold shimmering eyeballs and horn-like 
  outgrowths on shoulders and back, but whatever 
  the case it must have had long and sharp claws.
  The abomination slew a dozen persons before 
  it almost flew up the palisade and vanished into 
  Davokar. The speculations regarding the event 
  were and remain many. However, the most popular 
  theory has to do with an explorer named Tarleo 
  who had been executed for murdering a greedy 
  antique dealer that same day. Maybe the blight 
  beast was one of the assistants Tarelo lost during 
  his disastrous expedition to the sunken castle 
  Manon Melas?
  the death night (year 18)
  The hardened residents of Thistle Hold are not 
  easily spooked. But after the mid-winter night of 
  year 18, it is no understatement to claim that the 
  whole town was paralyzed with fear.
  From midnight up until the following afternoon, 
  no less than ninety nine humans were found dead 
  with self-inflicted wounds. Some were hung by 
  the neck, some had drained themselves of blood 
  with between one and two dozen cuts, some had 
  swallowed toxins or thrown themselves on their 
  own weapons.
  After a first inspection it was revealed that the 
  dead only shared one characteristic. Not race or sex, 
  not social standing or age. No, their only common 
  denominator was that they were all explorers, of 
  Davokar and the ruins of Symbaroum.
  It took a long while before the next expedition 
  left Thistle Hold, partly because of the cold winter 
  and partly because of the lingering fear. And there 
  are many questions still unanswered. What caused 
  the wave of suicides? Was it only a coincidence that 
  all victims had traveled through Davokar? And 
  even more vexing: why ninety nine? Why not an 
  even hundred? Or are the lost remains of the Death 
  Night’s hundredths victim out there somewhere 
  to be found?
  ”Beneath Ordo Magica’s 
  tower are dungeons 
  where the wizards keep 
  all sorts of horrors – an 
  enslaved goblin tribe, 
  a nest of etterherds 
  and a blight born Aboar 
  that has almost broken 
  free on a number of 
  occasions. And treasure. 
  Untold treasure!”
  Rumors
  In the margins of this book you will find a 
  collection of rumors, mirroring what can be 
  heard on the town’s streets and squares, of-
  ten spoken in a whispering voice. Most likely 
  more than half of them are pure fabrications 
  and the rest infected by mix-ups or exagge-
  rations. But who knows, maybe even those 
  rumors contain some grains of truth...
  8
  1
  T H E  B O R D E R  T O W N
  
  Establishments 
  & Authorities
  over the years, thistle hold  has become more and more densely built and 
  with the increasing population the need for taverns, amusements and shops has 
  increased. This chapter presents a collection of popular or for some other reason 
  notable establishments, together with a number of authoritative institutions 
  which are important for running the town.
  Taverns
  there surely are lots of butcheries, bakeries 
  and market stands for fresh vegetables in the Hold, 
  but a majority of the residents tend to eat their 
  meals outside of their homes. Every tavern, bar 
  and shabby shack serve food of varying quality, 
  at least as snacks to accompany the beer, wine 
  or spirits.
  In Thistle Hold the Ambrian food tradition 
  – mostly consisting of refined, spicy dishes in
  the form of sausages, jellies, pates and pies – has
  strong competition from the more rustic barbarian 
  cookery. Even if the most exotic specialties, like
  roasted sawflies and slow-boiled etterherd, cannot 
  be found on any standard menus, all respectable 
  tavern owners can offer their guests roasted wild 
  boar as well as butter seared back steaks and
  vegetarian stews.
  afadir’s triumPh tavern
  He who has plenty of thaler in the purse and who 
  longs for a culinary journey back to old Alberetor 
  should make a reservation at Afadir’s Triumph 
  Tavern. Neither the ingredients nor the spices 
  match the original recipes, but the owner and his 
  staff do their best to find worthy, local replace-
  ments. The salmons of Berendoria’s bay can be 
  swapped for the rainbow trout of Ambria’s rivers; 
  the southern Pepper Fruit has its equivalent in 
  Davokar’s Roka Berries; and honey may be used as 
  a substitute for the sugar of Alberetor.
  However, sometimes things go wrong. During 
  the summer of year 18, more than twenty people 
  got sick and four died because an ambitious kitchen 
  hand thought that he had found the perfect sur-
  rogate for the herb chervil – often used to flavor 
  buttered turnips. Unfortunately, the substitute 
  ”The Dump Tavern 
  teaches its patrons a 
  special phrase and if 
  you whisper it in the bar 
  keep’s ear he cuts all 
  prices in half. Just say: 
  ‘Your mother a troll, 
  father an elf, poor little 
  trelf’’.”
  9
  
  The Treasury
  10
  2
  E S T A B L I S H M E N T S  &  A U T H O R I T I E S
  11
  41
  26
  40
  27
  25
  33
  32
  39
  36
  37
  38
  14
  34
  18
  9
  43
  2
  44
  29
  8
  1
  30
  31
  15
  28
  16
  22
  12
  10
  23
  20
  19
  13
  24
  4
  17
  6
  42
  35
  5
  3
  21
  0
  150 m
  Scale 1:6 000
  TAVERNS
  1. Afadir’s Triumph Tavern
  2. Brew
  3. The Dump
  4.  Odovakar
  5.
  Blackbrew
  6. The Salons of 
  Symbaroum
  7. The Slaughterhouse
  INNS
  8. The Court and Harp
  9. The Winged Ladle
  10. The Witch and Familiar
  11. Arkerio’s Guest House
  12. The Rose Garden
  13. The Ruin
  14. The Barracks
  15. The Seamstress’ Rest
  ENTERTAINMENT
  16. Spectacle
  17. Benego’s
  18. Legends
  19. The Hangman’s Pole
  20. The Abomitorium
  TRADE
  21. Marvalom’s
  22. The Rope and Axe
  23. Big-Basher’s Smithy
  24. The Thaler’s Drugstore
  25. The Treasury
  26. Faraldo’s Novelty 
  Store
    ÖVRIGT
  27. The Town Seat
  28. Nighthome
  29. The Sun Temple
  30. The Queen’s Legation
  31.  Ordo Magica
  32. The Mission House
  33. Mother Mehira’s
  34. The Town Watch
  35. The Beacon
  36. The Merchants’ House
  37. Monastery
  38. The High Chieftain’s 
  Envoy
  39. The Penitentiary
  SQUARES & PARKS
  40. The Antique Plaza
  41. The Queen’s Square
  42. The Toad’s Square
  43. The Eastern Square
  44. Park of the Elders
  Facts on Thistle Hold
  Founded: Year 13 after the Victory
  Mayor: Lasifor Nightpitch
  Law & Order: Town Watch (150 watchmen)
  Primary income source: Tolls and taxes
  Building technique: Wooden houses, 2–4 
  stories
  Number of residents: about 6 000
  Daily visitors: about 4 000
  Neighbors: Blackmoor, the goblin tribe 
  Karabbadokk and the villages Glimmer and 
  Glimmervann.
  Notable residents: Mayor Nightpitch, the 
  treasure hunter Iasogoi Brigo, the Queen’s 
  legate Suria Argona, the heretic Sarvola, the 
  theurg Father Elfeno and the trouble maker 
  Serex Attio.
  n
  s
  o
  v
  nv
  so
  no
  sv
  7
  
  proved to be toxic and the young boy himself 
  immune to its effects. Instead of a promotion, 
  he suffered ten days in the block before he was 
  executed by hanging. Afadir paid the large fines 
  and swore in the name of Prios never to let anyone 
  repeat such a mistake.
  Trout pudding with buttered turnips 
  15 shillings 
  Roka Sausage with mashed beats 
  12 shillings
  Tankard of Argona (fine stut)  
  2 shillings
  Tankard of Kurun’s Honor (triple fermented ale) 5 shillings 
  Honey roasted sorrel  
  3 shillings
  Salty-sweet needles 
  5 ortegs
  breW
  The beer salon Brew is run by an elderly couple, 
  Kaglio and Sunna, who claim to have been success-
  ful as brewers already before the move north of the 
  Titans. Their assortment spans from fermented 
  malt beverages, like the commonly available Stut, 
  to triple fermented and very strong specialties with 
  names like Urtal and Adersel. Since three years past 
  they also serve the beverage Veloum, stemming 
  from clan Vajvod’s proud brewing tradition. It is 
  not as strong as blackbrew but just as full-bodied 
  and much more palatable.
  Even though Brew is located outside Haloban’s 
  Ring, it can become rough in there at times. The 
  clientele primarily consists of successful fortune 
  hunters resting in-between expeditions, and their 
  boasting has an unfortunate tendency to translate 
  into brawls. That is when Brute is needed – the huge 
  and fearless ogre is hired to break brawlers apart 
  and to hurl them out on the Eastern Square, if needs 
  be. No one picks a fight with Brute, especially when 
  it is said that the old crone he calls Mi-Mum is an 
  aged and incredibly powerful barbarian witch.
  Hack Tray (cheese and meats) 
  3 shillings
  Tankard of The Duke’s Relief (simple stut) 
  1 shilling
  Tankard of Urtal (triple fermented red ale) 5 shillings
  Tankard of Adersel (triple fermented ale) 
  8 shillings
  Tankard of Veloum 
  2 shillings
  the slaughterhouse
  In two neighboring houses on a back street close to 
  the Toad’s Square lays The Slaughterhouse. One is 
  the actual slaughterhouse, the other a tavern that 
  can take about a hundred guests at the long tables. 
  The menu mainly consists of offal – heart, liver, 
  stuffed lung and various pasty stews. 
  It is cheap but not the least distasteful, and if you 
  are prepared to pay more there is newly butchered 
  fine meats to order, slow cooked or sautéed in 
  sun-yellow butter.
  Were it not for the vile rumors circulating, the 
  owner of the Slaughterhouse, Master Morlam, 
  would have even more guests at his tables. He 
  mutters that it is his competitors who claim that 
  some of the meat he is serving is waste from the 
  Abomitorium – not only mare cats, jakaars and 
  wild boars but also goblins, ogres and a few bar-
  barians. But as long as the proud Master Butcher 
  refuses to comment on such claims the rumor 
  mill will likely continue to grind, not least since 
  they are based on a fair question: what happens to 
  the remains of the creatures killed during fights 
  in the arena?
  Mixed Stew  
  5 ortegs 
  Hash Patties with turnips  
  2 shillings 
  Stuffed Lung with Black Mash 
  4 shillings
  Slow-cooked Prime Rib with stewed carrot  5 shillings 
  King’s Steak in gravy  
  8 shillings
  Tankard of stut (unspecified) 
  3 ortegs
  Glass of Blackbrew (unspecified) 
  1 orteg
  odovakar
  If you want to eat like a true barbarian you should 
  head to Odovakar, at least according to the loyal 
  guests at the tavern and the owners themselves, 
  the barbarian siblings Verama and Melkor. Here 
  you order tender slices of barbecued meat, steaming 
  bowls of stewed root vegetables or other dishes fla-
  vored with forest spices and truffles. A specialty is 
  the puff pastry covered, sweet-spicy mushroom 
  pies originating from the owners’ clan Odaiova. 
  These pies are preferably eaten according to the 
  clan custom: eat first, drink later – a challenge for 
  anyone who is not used to the burning hot dishes 
  of the Odavs.
  Just like all other barbarian-owned establish-
  ments, Odovakar is the target of everything from 
  scorn and derision to pure vandalism. The guilty 
  parties often belong to one of two groups: they are 
  either treasure hunters with scars after encounters 
  with barbarians, or the type of fanatical Prios-
  followers who regard anything barbarian as an 
  aspect of Davokar’s wildness and evil. Mayor 
  Nightpitch has made it clear: all who have been 
  allowed to live inside the palisade are first and 
  foremost to be regarded as residents of the Hold, 
  wherever they come from. On the other hand, such 
  statements are hardly any comfort to the relatives 
  and friends of all those who have been banned or 
  even incarcerated because of their, according to 
  the relatives, reasonable actions.
  11
  
  ”The fortune hunter 
  Mireda died some days 
  ago. She owned a house 
  at the intersection 
  Thistle Street and Pitch 
  Street which is full of 
  hidden valuables. If 
  you are quick, you can 
  get there and loot the 
  building before Mayor 
  Nightpitch has signed 
  the order to confiscate 
  the lot!”
  Sweet-Spicy Mushroom pie 
  4 shillings 
  Barbecued young-boar with beats  
  6 shillings
  Fiery Root Stew 
  4 shillings
  Tankard of Zarekean Blackbrew 
  1 shilling
  Can of Spring Water 
  3 ortegs
  Truffle buttered Biscuit 
  5 ortegs
  the grubbery
  Among the tents and wagons of Blackmoor there 
  is nothing that deserves being called a tavern; the 
  closest you get is the handful of tents referred to 
  as the Grubbery. The cook Alevia was once the first 
  head chef at the Salons of Symbaroum, and a very 
  appreciated one at that – until she was thrown out 
  through the Southern Gate, banned from reentering 
  Thistle Hold ever again.
  Even though many claim to know “what actually 
  happened”, the reason behind the ban remains a 
  much debated mystery. If Alevia really brutalized a 
  kitchen boy, if she embezzled valuable ingredients 
  or actually conspired to kill Mayor Nightpitch by 
  poisoning him nobody will ever truly know. But 
  what is evident to anyone visiting the Grubbery is 
  that if you with one hand place a shilling on her palm 
  you will get a bowl of excellent soup and a piece of 
  newly baked bread in the other. Any troublemaker 
  or freeloader will instead get a bash from Alevia’s 
  big wooden ladle, if not from her frying pan.
  Bread 
  1–5 ortegs 
  Soup  
  1–5 ortegs
  Cup of water  
  1 orteg
  Entertainment
  the craze for barbarian tales and songs which 
  typifies many establishments in Yndaros can hardly 
  be recognized in Thistle Hold. This can probably be 
  explained as an effect of such legends being part 
  of the residents work, and of most people in the 
  Hold wanting to keep anything related to Davokar 
  outside the palisade.
  In the town of Mayor Nightpitch entertainment 
  is seldom anything else than a distraction and 
  escape from an all too thrilling everyday existence. 
  Other than that, the heritage of the Ambrian people 
  seems to be appealing, expressed in dances, songs 
  and tales from times prior to The Great War.
  Finally one should not forget the gladiator area, 
  the Abomitorium, which can be seen as an excep-
  tion from what is stated above. But it is likely no 
  coincidence that most residents visit the bloody 
  battleground regularly. To people living with abo-
  minations and beasts just around the corner it must 
  feel reassuring to be reminded that the horrors of 
  Davokar can be fought and killed.
  sPectacle
  He who wants to test the postulate that wild party-
  ing makes it possible to raise the roof should dance 
  his way to Spectacle. In the great, open salon the 
  carousing goes on from nightfall until long after 
  daybreak. Aside from barrels filled with cheap stut 
  and even cheaper blackbrew, Spectacle’s foremost 
  attraction is the entertainers. They perform in the 
  midst of the guests – the barbarian fire artists, the 
  Ambrian jesters, the stilt dancers from Ravenia, the 
  snake-eater Kumuma and many others. 
  Most popular is the group of dwarven acrobats 
  that the owner, Golonas, has taken under his wing. 
  Visitors from Yndaros are amazed, as they have 
  learned to associate the dwarven race with pride, 
  restraint and pure brutality. You never see a glimpse 
  of such traits among Spectacle’s acrobats, whose far 
  from accomplished tricks and stunts make them 
  appear more like jesters. Especially loved is the one 
  called Dopey, who spends his evenings falling on 
  his bum, being slapped in the face and having his 
  clothes covered in everything from putrid fish to 
  tar and feathers – always with the same strained 
  look in his face and tears of anger trickling down 
  his cheeks.
  Tankard of Stut (unspecified) 
  5 ortegs
  Glass of Blackbrew (unspecified) 
  4 ortegs
  Roasted almonds 
  1 orteg
  benego’s
  Do you lack the funds needed to finance your next 
  expedition? Or are you interested in expanding the 
  meager travelling fund? Among the fortune hunters 
  in town it is said that the chance to become rich is 
  bigger at Benego´s than in Davokar, and that is pro-
  bably true even if your success in that case depends 
  on luck instead of on skill and good planning.
  At the tables on the ground floor the stakes are 
  quite modest, playing dice or Prios’ Sun – a strategy 
  game based on an ancient mechanic with bricks of 
  different values, which was developed and grew 
  popular during the war against the Dark Lords. 
  On the upper floor, and especially in the private 
  chambers, there is no limit to the bets placed. A tall 
  tale tells of a game that really went out of control, 
  which ended with the opponents betting their body 
  12
  2
  E S T A B L I S H M E N T S  &  A U T H O R I T I E S
  
  parts during the final rounds. One of them cut off an 
  ear and added it to the already huge fortune laying 
  on the table; the other one called him on the ear and 
  raised him three fingers from the left hand. And 
  so it continued, with toes, eyes, tongues and lips 
  until one of them decided to live large and literally 
  placed his heart on the table. The loser left with his 
  life and the winner’s family could live like nobles 
  for the following six months, until the winnings 
  were spent.
  However, what angers bystanders most is what 
  goes on in the basement below the gambling house. 
  There anyone can bet their hard-earned thaler 
  on death fights taking place in an iron cage. The 
  combatants are roosters of the species Orv, accor-
  ding to the owner captured in the deeply corrupted 
  parts of Davokar – they are small but very real and 
  rampaging abominations! Ordo Magica as well as 
  the priests of Prios regard the activity with disgust 
  and have demanded to know exactly from where 
  the roosters are fetched. But Thistle Hold abides 
  to the laws of Mayor Nightpitch, and so far he has 
  done nothing to stop the popular prize fights run 
  by his former traveling companion, Benego. 
  legends
  As the name suggests, the tavern Legends is a 
  watering hole for all who are fascinated by the 
  past. Here come the most popular storytellers in 
  the realm, to mesmerize the audience with stories 
  of the feats of House Kohinoor, the suppression of 
  unrighteous rebellions and remarkable individu-
  als who rose from poverty to elevated positions 
  during the olden days of Alberetor. Other stories 
  are about The Great War, its victories but also about 
  the little man’s valiant struggle against both fear 
  and dreadful enemies. 
  Most of what is heard at Legends has been modi-
  fied and dramatized, just like the many returning 
  patrons want it. But now and again, sessions are 
  arranged with some of Ambria’s most prominent 
  historians; events that may be less exciting for those 
  listening but which provide something to enchant 
  the real enthusiasts. Seldonio, the Grand Master 
  of Ordo Magica, has been one such guest, so also 
  Queen Mother Abesina’s personal biographer and 
  one of High Chieftain Tharaban’s chroniclers. The 
  latter treated the audience to a real horror story 
  about the elves of Davokar and something he called 
  “The Halls of a Thousand Blood-Red Tears”. 
  During sessions like these the security is 
  heightened, not least because of the closeness to 
  Davokar and the fear that the Iron Pact or hostile 
  barbarians will move in on the dignitaries. But so 
  far only two attacks have been repelled. Lasifor 
  Nightpitch was the first intended victim and the 
  war hero Herakleo Attio the second, and on both 
  occasions the perpetrators were drunk, displeased 
  and misguided residents – in Herakleo’s case, his 
  own unruly brother, Serex.
  Cheese tray (simple/aged cheese) 
  2/8 shillings
  Carafe of Vearra Red (simple wine) 
  2 thaler
  Carafe of Southern Slopes (from Alberetor) 15 thaler
  the abomitorium
  The term Fight Day is for most of the Hold’s residents 
  associated with rising tensions, heated debates and 
  an almost consuming longing for the sun to set. Of 
  course, the excitement is especially intense to the 
  three hundred souls who have been able to afford a 
  presale ticket (3–10 thaler depending on the seat). 
  But others besides the lucky ones place bets on their 
  favorites and many more than the two hundred 
  allowed in are queuing on the Queen’s Square long 
  before the gates are opened. Those who are forced 
  to remain outside usually stay to listen to the roars 
  and commotion from the arena, and most of them 
  use what money they have left to place a final bet.
  Inside the Abomitorium the show usually starts 
  off with fights between human adversaries, one on 
  one or in groups – fights which are stopped once 
  one side admits defeat. Traveling gladiators and 
  those with their main base in other towns, battle 
  against Thistle Hold’s own favorites, as for instance 
  the Sun Maiden with her golden locks or the aged 
  but still powerful war veteran Madrago. The fight 
  when the Sun Maiden took on the master gladiator 
  Hadaro “Scalp Crusher” from Yndaros and where 
  both of them almost bled to death before the local 
  hero managed to land a decisive blow is legendary.
  The Fight Day always ends with something extra 
  spectacular, preferably related to Davokar. Fights 
  against, or sometimes between, wild beasts are 
  common occurrences but if the audience gets to 
  decide they would prefer other kinds of combatants. 
  Three shows that are still talked about at the taverns 
  in town are the ones that were announced as The 
  Goblin Rebellion, The Barbarian Uprising and Attack 
  from the Abyss. In the first case Ambrian gladiators 
  fought a ferocious goblin tribe, in the second they 
  pounded the members of a rebellious group from 
  clan Karohar who had been caught after a failed 
  assault on Kastor. And during the Attack from the 
  Abyss the audience got to see (likely for the last time) 
  fifteen gladiators take on a captured and gravely 
  blight-marked Aboar. Only four of them survived 
  and nearly twenty reckless spectators were added 
  to the list of dead and maimed.
  ”Did you hear that the 
  Beast Clan has attacked 
  a woodcutting camp 
  north of Karabbadokk? 
  They say it’s Karits 
  in disguise but that’s 
  goblin dung! My cousin 
  has met a survivor of 
  an alleged beast clan 
  attack and he swears 
  that the attackers were 
  elves – thoroughly 
  corrupt, blight-marked 
  elves …”
  13
  
  Table 1: The Cost for Lodging in Thistle Hold
  Quality 
  examPle 
  1 night 
  1 Week 
  1 month 
  oWnershiP
  Exclusive 
  The Court and Harp, The Winged Ladle
  1 thaler
  —
  — 
  —
  Fine
  The Seamstress’ Rest, The Ruin 
  2 shillings
  1 thaler
  4 thaler
  —
  Ordinary
  The Witch and Familiar, Arkerio’s
  1 shilling
  5 shillings
  2 thaler
  —
  Simple
  The Rose Garden, The Barrack
  5 orteg
  2 shillings
  1 thaler
  —
  Rent nice
  Three rooms at the Antique Plaza
  —
  2 thaler
  10 thaler
  —
  Rent ordinary
  Three rooms at the West Gate
  —
  1 thaler
  4 thaler
  —
  Rent simple
  One room east of the Toad’s Square
  —
  5 shillings
  2 thaler
  —
  Buy nice 
  Three rooms at the Antique Plaza
  —
  —
  —
  500 thaler
  Buy ordinary
  Three rooms at the West Gate 
  —
  —
  —
  300 thaler
  Buy simple 
  One room east of the Toad’s Square
  —
  —
  —
  100 thaler
  Inns
  in a toWn where a quarter of everyone staying 
  inside the palisade are more or less temporary 
  guests, the inns have a vital role to play. The large 
  number of visitors also explains why the guesthou-
  ses in town are so many and so varied. There are 
  beds for rent in almost all of the town’s districts, 
  some of them expensive and extravagant, others 
  so shoddy that you should be careful not to let your 
  body make contact with linens and chamber pots.
  Up until a couple of years ago it could be hard to 
  get a room at the popular inns, but that is not the 
  case anymore. With the growth of Blackmoor, the 
  demand for rooms in town has declined, meaning 
  that one would be unlucky not to find an unoccupied 
  room at a price one can afford. And should you be 
  that unlucky, it is far from unheard of that someone 
  already staying at one of the inns can agree to hand 
  over the key, in exchange for a handful of thaler 
  or as a result of resolute arm-twisting maneuvers.
  the court and harP
  Do you want to know how Queen Korinthia has 
  decorated her bedchamber? Or would you rather 
  sleep like Grand Master Seldonio? Maybe you are 
  keener on feeling like Grand Duchess Esmerelda? 
  Irrespective of which, the Court and Harp is the inn 
  for you – the inn that claims to have designed its 
  rooms based on credible reports from the bedrooms 
  of various celebrities.
  Of course, this requires that you can afford it, 
  and also that you are able to dress and behave like a 
  fairly decent person. The innkeeper Aragina, who 
  has taken over the business from her dead husband, 
  will never accept dirt or bad manners, and she has 
  no problem expressing her opinions publicly. She 
  has given up on getting the Town Watch to help her 
  with difficult guests; it is commonly known that 
  she resorts to other methods for getting rid of them. 
  She orders members of staff not to clean the guest’s 
  rooms, to bang at the door with irrelevant questions 
  in the middle of the night and to “happen” to serve 
  moldy bread and watered beverages at supper. In 
  recent days, there have also been rumors saying 
  that some of the more unkempt guests at the Court 
  and Harp have been brutally beaten and robbed. 
  Can it be that the widow has taken to paying less 
  scrupulous individuals to teach the louts a lesson 
  in manners?
  the Winged ladle
  While the Hold was being built, it was not a pleasant 
  place to live. The ground was trampled and muddy, 
  goblins and Ambrian construction workers were 
  making noise day and night, and without the pali-
  sade in place, the beasts of the forest could attack at 
  a whim. For these reasons, and to be able to oversee 
  the site, Lasifor Nightpitch had his house built in the 
  crown of a towering tree – in fact, the only tree not 
  chopped down in order to make room for buildings 
  and streets.
  When Nighthome was finished Lasifor left his 
  eagle’s nest, but the tree was left standing and 
  since then a second floor and two annexes has 
  been added to the crown house. Today the inn has 
  sixteen rooms, which often are booked in advance 
  by nobles and dignitaries planning to visit the 
  town. However, if you are lucky, a cancellation 
  has been made and left a few beds available for hire. 
  And surely it can be worth both the high cost and 
  the climb up the stair winding along the trunk, 
  ”The top tower room at 
  Arkerio’s Guest House 
  is haunted by a wraith. 
  Since the opening, only 
  one single person has 
  been able to stay there 
  for a whole night. Can’t 
  remember his name, 
  but now he is tremen-
  dously wealthy, because 
  he swallowed his fear 
  and was awarded with 
  the ghost’s secrets.”
  14
  2
  E S T A B L I S H M E N T S  &  A U T H O R I T I E S
  
  15
  
  because even if the final statement is a poetic lie 
  there is some truth to the text painted on the sign 
  at the bottom of the stair: “Warmly welcome to the 
  Winged Ladle – the inn that offers heavenly dining, 
  divine drinks and beds as soft as clouds at down to 
  earth prices”.
  the Witch and familiar
  In a town with so many guesthouses you have to 
  stand out, especially if you are of an origin that 
  otherwise would make potential customers go 
  elsewhere. The huge, but also hugely kindhearted, 
  Alomar stems from clan Zarek and was aware 
  of this when he came to Thistle Hold to make a 
  new life for himself and his mother, the witch 
  Agdala. With the reluctant help of his mother, 
  the Witch and Familiar has been turned into a 
  barbarian camp site in three stories, framed by 
  dark timber walls. 
  The rooms at the ground level as well as the 
  whole of the second floor is dressed in lush emerald 
  green vegetation, with moss covering the floors 
  and climbing the walls. There is no furniture; the 
  closest you get to any kind of furnishings are the 
  beddings made up of pelts placed directly on the 
  floor and stuffed hunting trophies of both well-
  known and rare forest beasts. The food served is 
  obviously inspired by the barbarian traditions – you 
  often get porridge with fresh or dried berries for 
  breakfast and slow-cooked or slow-roasted meat 
  for the other meals.
  The Witch and Familiar is especially popular 
  among new arrivals to the borderland, who long 
  for a first contact with the people and beasts of 
  the forest. Alomar and his family have to endure 
  hundreds of questions each day and it is common 
  for the inn’s residents to be disturbed by newco-
  mers who force themselves into their rooms for a 
  chance to see the skin of a mare cat or the head of 
  a hunger wolf. Even more problematic is that the 
  inn is known for housing barbarians visiting the 
  Hold for various reasons. Those of Thistle Hold’s 
  inhabitants who claim to have reasons to really hate 
  the forest people and who have fueled their anger 
  with liquor often appear at Alomar’s threshold, 
  ranting and looking for a target for their fury.
  the rosegarden
  No other guesthouse in the realm has such a mis-
  representative name as the Rosegarden. The name 
  comes from the blooming park that was on the site 
  up until the fall of year 16, but which was rebuilt into 
  housing for a large number of impoverished resi-
  dents after a series of failed expeditions. Initially 
  the unfortunates were dealt with harshly – they 
  were escorted to the closest town’s gate and thrown 
  outside. But the problem escalated and it was finally 
  decided that the poverty instead should be hidden 
  away behind walls, in the hope that at least some 
  of the fortune hunters would recover and become 
  productive again.
  The Rosegarden is commonly called ”The Last 
  Chance” and is run by the hard-edged Delera on 
  behalf of the Mayor. The four dormitories have room 
  for about sixty guests, which, at the reasonable price 
  of 5 ortegs a night, offer access to a sleeping coffin, a 
  blanket and two servings of porridge or soup.
  The turnover of guests is considerable. Many 
  die from infections, others are victimized by more 
  or less justified violence, and some choose to kill 
  themselves as the last flicker of hope has faded. 
  Others find themselves banned from town, while 
  a few are lucky enough to become invited to join 
  some expedition or treasure hunt. In any case, the 
  sleeping coffins of those who leave are never empty 
  for long.
  rent a tent
  In the southeastern corner of Blackmoor is a collec-
  tion of tents with room for about fifty guests. The 
  drunken owner Gormdan, who spends his days 
  dreaming about his joyous childhood in Alberetor, 
  is usually described as being as stupid as he is 
  generous. He is not very concerned about being 
  paid, so long as one treats him to a drink and appear 
  to be happy listening to his dreamy blather. On the 
  other hand, nor is he very concerned with hygiene 
  and bookings – the plaids are literally stiff from dirt 
  and if unlucky you will end up in a pavilion where 
  fifteen people are supposed to cram together in a 
  space barely big enough for eight.
  Blackmoor is a dangerous place and Rent a Tent is 
  no exception from that rule. If you spend the night 
  there you must first and foremost be prepared to 
  contract one nasty infection or another. Adding to 
  that, there are threats in the form of unscrupulous 
  guests and boozed neighbors regarding all around 
  them as potential robber victims. And as if that 
  were not enough, it is far from uncommon that 
  the people of southeastern Blackmoor carry things 
  with them from Davokar; nasty luggage which can 
  be revealed when one least expects it. 
  Most recently, during a terrible night in year 
  21, something abominable clawed itself out of 
  a female explorer’s skin – a towering creature 
  with bare muscles, with fingers transformed into 
  knives of bone, and with outgrowths from the 
  cranium, as if it wore a pointy bone crown. The 
  abomination tore over a dozen people apart before 
  it was cut down.
  Many celebrities 
  have spent their 
  night in town at 
  the Winged Ladle 
  – Queen Korinthia
  among others, if 
  the rumors are 
  true. 
  16
  2
  E S T A B L I S H M E N T S  &  A U T H O R I T I E S
  
  Trade
  ambria has a proud tradition of skilled artisans 
  and, in most cases, they peddle their wares them-
  selves, like their parents before them. But after the 
  move across the Titans a new kind of establishment 
  has seen the light of day, and it first appeared in 
  Thistle Hold.
  When the town was young, only a few artisans 
  had established their business in the area and most 
  of them were occupied producing material for new 
  constructions. Hence, the commoner who wanted to 
  purchase explorer’s equipment, household utensils 
  or weapons could have to wait for months. But then 
  a witty man named Marvalom got an idea on how to 
  make some serious thaler from the situation. He sent 
  his oldest daughter to Yndaros, tasked to purchase 
  viable appliances in the capital and send them to be 
  marketed in the Hold. And so the Store was born, 
  a business form which thereafter has been seen to 
  take root all across the Ambrian realm.
  the roPe and axe
  The Rope and Axe is the result of a grim family feud. 
  The owner Melena is the daughter of the compe-
  titor Marvalom and helped her father starting up 
  his business. It is rumored that she spent many 
  years in the capital living at the edge of starvation, 
  convinced that the store had a hard time making a 
  profit. And all the while Marvalom bought himself 
  a spacious house and hired a cook and a handful of 
  goblin servants. When Melena discovered what was 
  going on, she moved back to Thistle Hold intent on 
  ruining her father.
  The business idea is a simple one: everything 
  needed for travels in Davokar can be found under 
  the same roof. Craftsmen can offer her low prices 
  thanks to the steady inflow of new orders and she 
  buys from all over the realm to get the best prices 
  available. It is also said that Melena buys equipment 
  from the families of deceased explorers and that 
  she is not afraid to fence stolen items, but this she 
  categorically denies as vile rumors spread by her 
  father. According to her, The Rope and Axe only 
  offers customers first-rate and pristine objects 
  crafted by Ambria’s best artisans!
  the Queen’s sQuare
  He who does not mind purchasing used equipment 
  or spending a while searching for the right items 
  does best to shop at the market on the Queen’s 
  Square. Every morning there is an awful racket as 
  the vendors start building their stands and stalls, 
  but before long the commerce can commence. It 
  is filled with quarreling over prices, fights over 
  specific items and sometimes spontaneous auc-
  tions are held when more than one customer want 
  to get a hold of the same item. At the northeastern 
  corner of the square the drug and herb peddlers 
  sell their dried and fresh components, along with 
  ready-brewed elixirs. Some produce elixirs on 
  demand, at times covering the whole square in 
  spicy mists.
  The downside with shopping at the market is 
  primarily that pick-pockets revel in the crowds. 
  Most feared is the gang called the Free League. 
  Not that anyone can claim to know that the League 
  truly exists; it could just as well be several diffe-
  rent gangs or some single, very capable individual. 
  But what is certain is that Thistle Hold in general 
  and the Queen’s Square in particular is plagued 
  by mugging sprees at irregular intervals, where 
  hundreds of persons are robbed during the course 
  of a day. The victims never notice anything of the 
  theft itself, but afterwards they all find a small 
  red stone medallion in the shape of a deformed, 
  screaming face in the pocket or the bag from which 
  the items have been taken. It is said that one of 
  the captains of the Town Watch, Tallios, has been 
  tasked to handle the situation, but that he himself 
  has been robbed of two purses while searching for 
  the elusive Free League.
  big-basher’s smithy
  The ogre Big-Basher came walking out of Davokar 
  before the palisade of Thistle Hold was finished. 
  Famished and unable to make himself understood, 
  he was perceived as an onrushing threat and had 
  it not been for the barbarian blacksmith Hurela he 
  would most likely have been killed that day. Instead 
  he was taken in by Hurela who immediately put 
  him to work, first for working the bellows, later as 
  an assistant at the anvil and finally as the maker of 
  weapons and armor parts. When the Master died 
  from acute respiratory failure a few years ago, 
  Basher inherited the smithy and no one doubts 
  that he also has succeeded his “mother” as the finest 
  blacksmith in the Hold. 
  Aside from the owner himself, two novices, 
  one adept and three goblins work in the shop – 
  the latter ones claimed to be the most privileged 
  Karabbadokks in town. The goblins handle the 
  bellows, shuffle coal and greet customers, always 
  with a welcoming, pointy-toothed grin. The adept 
  Vania crafts appliances of standard quality and 
  sometimes even the novices perform well enough 
  for their creations to be sold. But if you want wea-
  pons or armor of really high standard you have to 
  17
  
  order them directly from the master smith himself 
  (see the rule Mastercraft, page 76). The items take 
  longer to make and cost more, but on the other hand 
  they can mean the difference between life and death 
  when facing the horrors of Davokar.
  the thaler’s drugstore
  The Thaler’s Drugstore is the alchemists’ equivalent 
  to Marvalom’s, a store where you can find most 
  anything. The store is run by the sisters Ofera and 
  Moria, but the elixirs are still crafted by their half-
  blind and lame father – the very private and equally 
  renowned miracle-worker Skanander, previously 
  employed as medicus at the court of Queen Mother 
  Abesina.
  The siblings offer fair prices for herbs and 
  extracts which then are resold or converted into 
  potent elixirs. For a short period during the autumn 
  of year 19 they were forbidden to sell harmful brews, 
  since a handful of murders had been committed 
  with toxins bought at the Thaler’s. But after mas-
  sive protests from the owners and their customers 
  the ban was lifted – a poison-coated axe or arrow 
  head can be exactly what is needed to lay down an 
  onrushing forest beast or a furiously fighting clan 
  warrior! Furthermore, the vile rumors claiming 
  that Skanander does not hesitate to strengthen his 
  decoctions by using blight-marked herbs and ber-
  ries cannot be anything other than pure nonsense.
  the treasury
  A former Master of Ordo Magica named Sefira runs 
  the auction house The Treasury with her family. 
  Thanks to their good reputation they can charge 
  more than others for certificates of authenticity 
  – about 25 thaler for artifacts and 5 thaler for curio-
  sities and art objects – and also claim a provision as 
  high as 25% on all sales. Despite the costs, people are 
  queuing to have their finds examined and valued. 
  Because even if a huge chunk of the profit goes to
  the aptly named Treasury, the actual revenue is in 
  the end larger than if the item had been sold in some 
  booth at the Antique Plaza. Many nobles gladly pay 
  extra just to be able to say that they own an object 
  with a certificate signed by Sefira.
  Since what is stated above also applies to 
  Faraldo’s Novelty Store it is not uncommon that 
  you can make astonishing discoveries in the market 
  places; peerless finds whose owners have yet to 
  realize the upside of engaging one of the auction 
  houses. The former fortune hunter Nilos has capi-
  talized on this and established a growing business 
  – his knowledgeable agents buy underpriced items 
  on the market or directly from newly returned
  expeditions, for resale at a more reasonable but
  still relatively low rate. The question is how long
  it will take before a new Merchants’ War flares up 
  in Thistle Hold, and what part the likes of Faraldo 
  and Sefira will play when that happens.
  kodomar’s huckery
  At the center of Blackmoor you can hear, day after 
  day, the barbarian Kodomar roar about diverse 
  objects that he has for sale, for prices that are asto-
  undingly low. The thundering giant of a man was 
  one of the first to establish a more or less permanent 
  shop in the tent camp, since he for unknown reasons 
  was stopped from entering the Hold. 
  The humble tent he started in has been repla-
  ced, first by a huge pavilion, then by a rickety shed 
  and finally by a well-built and sturdy wooden 
  house. The owner boasts about being able to sell 
  just about anything, but admits that he may need 
  some time if he is to accommodate to more exotic 
  requests. It is also claimed that Kodomar gladly 
  purchases gravely corrupt items, which can be 
  difficult to market in the neighboring town but 
  for which he has a large and moneyed group of 
  potential buyers.
  The reason why the lone barbarian was not gran-
  ted access to Thistle Hold is rumored to be linked to 
  why he was expelled from clan Baiaga. It has been 
  said that his former chieftain sent a rider with a 
  message to Mayor Nighpitch, warning him that 
  Kodomar was on his way south – all this to prevent a 
  diplomatic crisis arising between the Ambrians and 
  the clans of Davokar. There are numerous theories 
  regarding why this was deemed necessary, even if 
  many see the peddlers alleged tolerance for corrupt 
  items as a clear indication.
  Knowledge & Information
  for the fortune hunter who wishes to be suc-
  cessful, decisiveness and first grade equipment 
  is never enough. Equally important is access 
  to true and fair information about the site you 
  are headed for. Such knowledge may actually be 
  found in the woods. Cuneiform writings on ancient 
  ruins, legends told by barbarians and goblin tribes 
  living in the forest, even figurative mosaics and 
  carvings – all of them can hold secrets about new 
  treasure hunting grounds and prove to be worth 
  a fortune if you would rather sell the information 
  to someone else.
  Also, there are lots of ways to gain crucial infor-
  mation in Thistle Hold. It seldom comes for free and 
  ”I have a friend who’s an 
  explorer and his friend, 
  who also is an explorer, 
  was part of an expedi-
  tion that captured an 
  elf, alive and kicking. 
  They tortured the elf to 
  gain information about 
  the hideouts of its pe-
  ople but were answered: 
  ‘the road to the halls 
  of a thousand tears is 
  closed to all but the 
  invited’. Then the beast 
  bled out.”
  18
  2
  E S T A B L I S H M E N T S  &  A U T H O R I T I E S
  
  you have to be careful not to trust just anyone with 
  your secrets; treasure hunters are often utterly 
  deceived, prior to or after having returned from an 
  expedition into the depths of Davokar. Charlatans 
  claiming to know everything there is to know about 
  the targeted site may very well be full of lies, leading 
  to deficient preparations and thereby to a disastrous 
  outcome. And the explorer who reveals his valu-
  able knowledge to some lore master may be told 
  that it is useless, only to later learn that the same 
  information has been used to guide an expedition 
  that returned laden with treasure. Caution is a 
  virtue to the residents of the Promised Land, in 
  all conceivable ways.
  Rules on how to search for information in 
  archives, libraries and the like are found on page 
  75 of this book.
  ordo magica
  One of the more reliable but also most expensive 
  paths to knowledge is to visit the town chapter of 
  Ordo Magica. According to what is said, Grand 
  Master Seldonio has stated that the order shall 
  strive to be honest and trustworthy, for several 
  reasons. For one thing, he means that it is good 
  for business if people feel safe to trust the wizards 
  with their questions and finds. And if that is accom-
  plished, it also benefits the order in its ambition to 
  learn as much as possible about the new homeland 
  of the Ambrians. However, this overall aim does 
  not stop there from being individual members of 
  Ordo Magica who do not hesitate to mislead know-
  ledge seeking visitors in order to serve their own 
  purposes and personal gain.
  For a price varying from five shillings to five 
  thaler (depending on the time spent), the adepts 
  and magisters of the order chapter can help with 
  translations of cuneiform writings, analysis of arti-
  facts and the casting of rituals needed to shed light 
  on the obscure. Additionally, the archive on the 
  tower’s third floor is open to all paying customers 
  who wish to study the travel records and witness 
  statements it contains (at the fair price of one thaler 
  per session).
  Should that not suffice, it is also possible to 
  gain an audience with one of the Masters in town 
  – Cornelio, Eufrynda or Goncai. This may cost
  as much as ten thaler for those who do not have
  good contacts or who cannot offer very important 
  information in exchange.
  the legation
  The Queen’s Legation must also be mentioned 
  among the credible sources of information in 
  town, at least in some areas. Suria Argona has 
  two notaries employed, with the express task of 
  ”Cultists – you know 
  people who ally with 
  the Evils of Davokar 
  in exchange for dark 
  gifts – are everywhere. 
  I’ve been told, by those I 
  trust, that many nobles 
  are involved in secret 
  societies that worship 
  the darkness. You must 
  agree that Duke Gadra-
  mei in Kastor seems like 
  a shady figure  …”
  19
  
  recording everything that has to do with Queen 
  Korinthia’s grandiose endeavor. Hence, the shelves 
  of the cellar vault are jam-packed with books and 
  scrolls, describing huge as well as small events in the 
  history and development of the region. Searching 
  the archives for information costs one thaler per 
  hour, but an alternative is to trade for the time – that 
  is, you agree to tell the notaries of some more or 
  less significant event that they are interested in 
  preserving for posterity.
  The latter can also be a way to add to the travel 
  funds or save up for a couple of extra nights at 
  one of Thistle Hold’s guesthouses. Provided you 
  are deemed credible, a witness statement from 
  an expedition into Davokar or from some notable 
  incident inside the palisade can pay between one 
  and five thaler. But liars and showoffs should not 
  bother to try, since the notaries Karasto and Perela 
  are said to possess mystical means of revealing 
  untruths – something which may result in a ban 
  from the building. 
  the karabbadokks
  If you are after information on Davokar in general 
  and about its southern regions in particular, you 
  may very well find what you need in Karabbadokk, 
  the goblin village east of the Hold. It is far from safe, 
  since most members of the tribe have double-edged 
  feelings towards humans – they live off jobs in and 
  around Thistle Hold, but are also bitter or even 
  hateful since they justly perceive themselves to be 
  badly treated by their employers. But if you offer 
  them reasonable pay or can hire them to do some 
  kind of less degrading work, there is a chance that 
  the Karabbadokks will swallow their anger.
  A majority of the tribe members can communi-
  cate in Ambrian, but if you want to hold a proper 
  conversation you should head towards the village 
  center. There you will find the only real houses in 
  Karabbadokk, three longhouses made from rough 
  timber logs surrounding a courtyard open to the 
  west. In the middlemost house live the tribe’s three 
  leaders – the chief Idelfons, the shaman Njekka and 
  the eccentric Garm Wormwriggler. 
  Questions about Davokar and its beasts are 
  usually answered by the former hunter/gatherer 
  Idelfons, while Njekka has vast knowledge about 
  the barbarian clans and the mystic aspects of the 
  forest – abominations and the sources and effects 
  of corruption. Garm was raised in Yndaros at the 
  Convent School of the Last Light but chose to go 
  back to his roots at the age of ten. He has been a 
  wilderness guide for many years and knows most 
  there is to know about the ruins of Symbaroum 
  and the treasure hunters who roam the region, 
  especially those who have been at it for a while.
  A view of the Hold’s 
  southern gate, from way 
  back when the Beacon 
  was newly built.
  20
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  E S T A B L I S H M E N T S  &  A U T H O R I T I E S
  
  agdala
  The witch Agdala is not the most amenable person 
  in town. She appears to loathe Thistle Hold and if 
  one was to judge from how it occasionally sounds in 
  her presence she hates her son Alomar even more 
  – for being good for nothing, for forcing her to live 
  among the Ambrians, for not having given her any 
  grandchildren. The one thing that seems to put her 
  in a good mood is when she has the opportunity
  to gossip about the members and doings of other
  clans – which she claims to know everything about.
  And, if in good spirits, she can be helpful in 
  other ways too. First of all, she is still a powerful 
  witch and can be persuaded to help as long as she 
  perceives the end as justified and good – rumor has 
  it that she, given appropriate payment, has spoken 
  to the dead and delivered predictions with great 
  precision. Adding to that, there is probably no one 
  in the Hold who is so versed in barbarian legends 
  as Agdala, both when it comes to telling them and 
  interpreting their true meanings.
  People who have sought out the old witch tend 
  to describe the meeting with a trembling voice and 
  eyes flickering from anxiety. Apparently, she pre-
  fers favors to thaler as payment, and she threatens 
  everyone that curses will plague he who passes 
  on the information she has provided. With that in 
  mind, it is not so strange that the people of Thistle 
  Hold would rather frighten their children with 
  the hag Agdala than with the Huldra of Karvosti.
  dodramos
  He calls himself Dodramos, the soothsayer who for 
  the last four years has lived in a tent in the wes-
  tern part of Blackmoor. Judging by his sweeping 
  mannerisms, toothless doomsday predictions and 
  love for sweets he is nothing more than a swindler. 
  Nevertheless, presently there have been sightings 
  suggesting the opposite: Dodramos has been visi-
  ted or picked up by particularly well built, if not 
  extravagant, wagons. It is rumored that several 
  noble houses have started seeking his advice, also 
  that celebrities like Chapter Master Cornelio and 
  Mayor Nightpitch have paid for his services.
  Other rumors say that Dodramos was a prac-
  ticing theurg at the monastery of the Twilight 
  Friars before he turned up in Blackmoor (after 
  having lost or recovered his senses, depending 
  on the story). This is strongly denied by the Sun 
  Church, and, since Drodramos himself seems to 
  enjoy the mystery surrounding his person, the 
  commoners are left to speculate.
  The residents of Blackmoor say that Dodramos 
  is an oracle for hire, but that he would just as soon 
  be paid in food or hugs as in shillings. Most of them 
  do not put much faith in the predictions, which 
  remarkably often foretell a bright and prosperous 
  future for any and all. Sure, such prophesies can 
  be enough to provide the poor and broken inhabi-
  tants of the tent camp with a glimmer of hope, but 
  it hardly affects his credibility in a positive way.
  Authorities
  already When thistle Hold was being built, 
  several of Ambria’s most powerful factions were 
  there, as avid supporters or actual contributing 
  parties. Today all major factions are represented 
  in town, officially or working from the shadows. 
  Far from all are happy that Nightpitch has such 
  vast influence in the region, but not much can be 
  done about that. The Sun Church has initiated 
  a partnership with Duke Gadramei in Seragon, 
  hoping to transform Kastor to a stepping stone into 
  Davokar, but that will take many years and until 
  then theurgs and Black Cloaks are forced to use the 
  Hold as their most advanced base of operations.
  It is said that there are very few conflicts between 
  organizations like Ordo Magica, the Sun Church 
  and the noble houses in Thistle Hold, much fewer 
  than in the other cities of the realm. Of course, the 
  reason for this is that Lasifor Nightpitch has little 
  to no patience with cock fights and that Korinthia 
  allows him to decide who gets to live and function 
  within the palisade. But then there are some know-
  it-alls who claim that the factions in town indeed 
  are fighting with each other, only that they, chiefly 
  and thus far, do so behind the scenes. And surely 
  there may be some truth to such claims, because 
  no matter how powerful Mayor Nightpitch may be 
  he would hardly stand a chance if the likes of First 
  Father Jeseebegai or Grand Master Seldonio were 
  provoked into action.
  the sun temPle
  By the Park of the Elders lays the town’s sun temple 
  with its shining copper dome on the roof. Its First 
  Theurg is named Elfeno, a priest mage who despite 
  his relative youth is said to be one of the Sun God’s 
  most powerful servants. At times when the leader 
  of the temple steps in instead of the liturgs who 
  normally handles the Sun Set Mass, the audience 
  gets to experience something unforgettable. Those 
  equipped to make the comparison claim that not 
  even the First Father speaks with such passion, 
  of his love for Prios and humankind’s appointed 
  task – to tirelessly and humbly cultivate nature, 
  thereby cleansing it from the rampant forces of evil.
  ”You haven’t heard 
  it from me, but the 
  theurgs of the temple 
  are insane. They plan to 
  murder the Queen and 
  all her vassals, and turn 
  Ambria into the realm 
  of Prios. Father Elfeno 
  is one of the conspi-
  racy’s leaders and I’ll 
  bet there’s proof of his 
  involvement at the Sun 
  Temple!”
  21
  
  To the temple anyone can go for spiritual gui-
  dance, treatment for diseases and ailments, and not 
  least to have the priests scatter the darkness of a 
  clouded mind. There are also those who turn to the 
  temple after having been exposed to the corruption 
  of Davokar, but for those the priests cannot do much 
  more than pray for the mercy of Prios. What more 
  is, according to gossip, the blight-stricken should 
  really keep away from the temple. If things go 
  badly they can find themselves imprisoned in the 
  catacombs, said to be located beneath the temple, 
  containing people and creatures suffering from 
  corruption sickness. The representatives of the 
  temple have not publicly admitted that this is true, 
  but the black carriages are proof enough for most – 
  carriages manned by grim Black Cloaks that, now 
  and again, stop in front of the temple to be loaded 
  with stone coffins big enough to hold fully grown 
  humans and which always leave town through the 
  South Gate. It is not farfetched to guess that they 
  are heading for the monastery of the Twilight Friars 
  in the Titans.
  the fortune hunters’ district
  A long list of famous and successful fortune hunters 
  live in the district east of Thistle Street, south of 
  Lasifor’s Road, in peace and quiet between expe-
  ditions. Many have also retired and devote them-
  selves to helping younger talents, for a substantial 
  provision of course. He who is offered a place under 
  Iasogoi Brigo’s or Lysindra Goldengrasp’s wings also 
  gets access to all their contacts and, in some cases, 
  part of their fortunes. And even if all help comes at 
  the expense of required return in the form of future 
  shares, this can be exactly what a group of newly 
  baked explorers need to fulfill their dreams. On the 
  other hand, the district also inspires nightmares.
  Some of its residents – among others Elmea 
  Rabbit’s Foot and the terrifying elder who was 
  called Erok the Dark at his prime – never leave their 
  estates. It is talked about blight-marks and even 
  worse; that many of the district’s success stories 
  have a soot black and corruption corroded flipside. 
  If so, that could possibly explain the cries of torment 
  that sometimes echo through the southeastern 
  parts of town, maybe also the beastly howls that 
  the residents of the district usually blame on their 
  tame jakaars.
  the merchants’ house
  In the building called The Merchants’ House, the 
  artisans and store owners of Thistle Hold convene 
  periodically. Together they make up a growing crowd 
  and maybe also a growing faction of power and 
  influence in town. Indeed, the antique dealers have 
  long been strong, but lately also other subgroups 
  have taken steps towards becoming more organized. 
  Many of the artisans’ guilds that were established in 
  Yndaros a few years back, have founded branches in 
  places like Kurun, Ravenia, Kastor and Mergile – now 
  also in the town of Mayor Nightpitch.
  At the Merchants’ House the members meet to 
  speak of common interests and to devise plans on 
  how to influence the Mayor in important decisions. 
  It is said that the merchants wish for a more open 
  town, where more entrepreneurs are allowed to 
  establish stores and workshops inside the palisade 
  and where the fees for passing through the gate 
  houses are abolished. That way, the dawning trade 
  in Blackmoor would be truncated and eventually 
  the revenues for the town would increase.
  Other rumors describe the Merchants’ House 
  as a place for forming conspiracies and cartels. Far 
  from all artisans and craftsmen in town are invited 
  to become members and those on the outside are 
  much more often hit by sabotage, robberies and other 
  disasters. Maybe this is because they cannot afford to 
  pay as much for security, but among the dives inside 
  Haloban’s Ring you can sometimes hear fortune 
  hunters boast about having performed tasks for the 
  Merchants’ House – missions whose character they 
  gladly hint at but never talk openly about.
  the monastery
  The Twilight Friars have a substantial posting in the 
  Hold, even if not as large-scale as the convent school 
  in Yndaros or the monastery in the Titans. In the 
  windowless stone building Prior Emundi and seven 
  Black Cloaks live their ascetic lives. They are active 
  from sunup to sundown and are said to spend most of 
  the time meditating and praying, and a smaller part 
  of each day engaged in activities meant to ennoble 
  the physical shape that the Sun God has endowed 
  them with. On the few occasions when the monks are 
  seen leaving the monastery they are always going to 
  or from the sun temple, presumably tasked to care 
  for its blight-stricken prisoners.
  Aside from the permanent residents, the second 
  floor of the building sometimes houses pilgrims 
  headed for the sun temple on Karvosti. Then there 
  is the third floor, accessible only to The Whip of 
  Prios – the section within the order dedicated to 
  tracking down and handling heretics. Other than 
  that, Prior Emundi does not receive any visitors, 
  except under extraordinary circumstances. He 
  who knocks on the door is greeted by the young 
  postulant Adso, who is yet to be consecrated and 
  who has to put up with running errands and being 
  the order’s public face. He can talk to the Prior and, 
  if the situation appears serious enough, arrange 
  ”They say that the 
  Blood-Daughter is 
  reborn, the beastly God-
  dess of Saar-Kahn. This 
  is of course ludicrous 
  but if the Saars them-
  selves are convinced, 
  it may mean they are 
  about to become even 
  more aggressive – bad 
  news for us and the 
  other clans …”
  22
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  E S T A B L I S H M E N T S  &  A U T H O R I T I E S
  
  ”I swear, the Iron Pact 
  has lots of agents in the 
  Hold! There are even 
  humans in the service 
  of the elves, genuine 
  traitors! It wouldn’t 
  surprise me if Faraldo, 
  the antique dealer, is 
  one of them – his store 
  is always full of Symba-
  rian artifacts!”
  an audience inside the monastery. However, he 
  who has reason to suspect himself to be even the 
  slightest bit blight-touched is advised to avoid such 
  a meeting.
  the toWn seat
  By the Antique Plaza stands the building where 
  the staff of Lasifor Nightpitch holds court. The one 
  who handles the daily business is Ader Gorinder, 
  the last survivor of a small noble house that other-
  wise perished during The Great War. There are 
  also the relentless Tax Commissioner Dario, the 
  Law Commissioner Asmerda and the Construction 
  Commissioner Kalio Galeia – all of them recruited 
  by the Mayor when the town was being built, and 
  faithful to him ever since. 
  The most popular character in the staff is 
  Sanitary Commissioner Agramai Kalfas, not 
  because he keeps the streets tidy but primarily 
  because he often can be seen partying, dancing 
  and carousing with the populace at the establish-
  ments by the Toad’s Square. If master Agramai is 
  among the guests you can be pretty sure that the 
  evening and night will be a success – at least if you 
  are interested in an all-nighter!
  The administration building also houses the 
  Hall of Knights, a meeting and resting place for 
  nobles visiting the Hold. Officially Suria Argona, 
  the Queen’s Legate, is in charge of the activities in 
  the Knight’s Hall, but it is commonly known that 
  her father has taken over that role. Count Alkantor 
  is a close friend of Lasifor Nightpitch and when 
  parties are held in the Hall you can often see the 
  roofed carriage of the Mayor parked outside the 
  Town’s Seat.
  There are, however, persistent rumors saying 
  that some specific nobles rarely accompany Lasifor 
  to such events. If it is because they do not feel wel-
  come or if it has to do with them wanting to distance 
  themselves from the smaller houses is debated, but 
  the representatives of House Kohinoor are said to 
  never make more than occasional courtesy visits to 
  the Hall. One should not make too much of such a 
  trifle, but of course it contributes to the speculations 
  regarding schisms among the nobles of Ambria.
  the high chieftain’s envoy
  Vicona of clan Godinja is High Chieftain Tharaban’s 
  official envoy in Ambria and she is seated in the 
  Hold. With her is the witch Yoramon, who was part 
  of the former Huldra Oryela’s inner circle, and six 
  guardian warriors led by Yoramon’s son. 
  All of barbarian heritage are welcome to the 
  modest residence of the envoy, where they can 
  get help with anything from a monetary handout 
  to contacts with suitable trade partners in the 
  Ambrian realm. It has also been known to hap-
  pen, that barbarians who commit crimes in the 
  Hold are handed over to Vicona, for immediate 
  punishment or for being deported back to their 
  clan territory.
  Suspicious Ambrians tend to claim that the 
  envoy engages in espionage on account of the High 
  Chieftain, or that she pays Ambrians in the Town’s 
  Seat, the Merchants’ House and Ordo Magica for 
  information and to spread false rumors about the 
  dealings of the clans. Even more serious allega-
  tions identify her as the extended arm of the High 
  Chieftain when it comes to hunting down exiled 
  clan members who are trying to hide in Thistle 
  Hold after having violated taboos or committed 
  serious acts of violence. But the few who actually 
  have talked to the mild and kind-hearted envoy 
  assure that the woman behind the mask never 
  would be capable of such heinous acts.
  However, not many would put it past the 
  dark-gazed Yoramon to lead those kinds of ope-
  rations. In any case, the whole town knows about 
  the bodies that now and again are found in the 
  northern district of town – the remains of nameless 
  barbarians that no one seems to recognize.
  the Penitentiary
  There is no great need for prison cells in Thistle 
  Hold, since most criminals are either condemned 
  into exile or directly to death. But none the less, 
  there is a small and closely guarded building 
  at the Garrison which is commonly called the 
  Penitentiary. There the most serious offenders 
  in town are held captive pending Law Enforcer 
  Asmerda’s verdict, and it is there troublemakers 
  and drunkards from the dives around the Toad’s 
  Square are dragged to sleep it off.
  Visiting the Penitentiary is far from pleasant, 
  especially during the winter when the icy cold 
  creeps along the floors of the unheated building. 
  There are no bunks, the food consists of water and 
  bark bread, and you are seldom told for how long 
  you will have to stay. However, the biggest fear 
  comes from somewhere else. The warden is the 
  weasel-like Pergalo, the son of the master torturer 
  Katia who managed to make a captured Dark Lord 
  reveal where Queen Korinthia was held prisoner, 
  near the end of The Great War. 
  The stories told of what Pergalo does to knock-
  ed-out drunkards during the nights are enough to 
  deter most people from drinking too much. And woe 
  to the suspected conspirator, spy or dark-minded 
  cultist who ends up in the murky cellar vaults of 
  the Penitentiary!
  23
  
  Blackmoor
  it started off as a small camp for impoverished Ambrians, arrived to the region 
  hoping to earn their livelihood in Thistle Hold. Soon they were accompanied by 
  fortune hunters who could not or would not pay for the shelter of the palisade, 
  and later by barbarians that did not want to pay tolls for wares they intended to 
  peddle in the region. And before anyone really had time to react, the population of 
  Blackmoor was the size of the Hold’s, only more diverse and with an even higher 
  turnover of individuals.
  24
  3
  B L A C K M O O R
  
  the ones Who describe the tent camp as Thistle 
  Holds darker twin definitely have a point. To the 
  walled town only a select few are welcomed, to 
  live their lives in relative peace and harmony; 
  Blackmoor has no walls and the atmosphere is 
  characterized by an almost complete lack of laws 
  and regulations – they are like light and darkness, 
  day and night. Most who have lived in Blackmoor 
  would also claim that the arrival of the mercenary 
  outfit called the Blood Robes only made matters 
  worse. Sure, they protect the establishments located 
  at the center of the camp, but all other residents 
  have only gotten one more oppressor to fear.
  One can indeed wonder why anyone wil-
  lingly would live or even spend a single night in 
  Blackmoor, but that question is misguided. First, 
  there is still some safety in the crowd, not least 
  when the beasts of the forest come creeping out of 
  the woods in search of easy prey. Secondly, there 
  are lots of people who for one reason or another 
  are not allowed to enter Thistle Hold. And thirdly, 
  the Blood Robes and the patrols of Baron Erebus 
  make sure to evict anyone who tries to set up camp 
  somewhere on the surrounding farmlands. No, for 
  those who wish to dwell in the vicinity of the Hold 
  there is but one viable choice.
  the black sQuare
  At the center of the tent camp is an irregular, 
  open area called The Black Square, surrounded 
  by a small newly built stone keep and a number 
  of wooden houses. In the keep resides the bailiff 
  of Blackmoor, Keroldo Erebus, Baron Grafoldo’s 
  eldest son. He is said to be a true lounger who spends 
  his days counting coin, gulping intoxicants and 
  rubbing both shoulders and other parts with the 
  court of young ladies he has “rescued” from life 
  in the camp. His only real task is to collects taxes 
  from the businesses run in the buildings around 
  the square, and it seems like he is able to do that 
  without any major mishaps.
  The wooden buildings accommodate, for 
  instance, Kodomar’s Huckery which stands wall 
  to wall with the newly opened guesthouse The 
  Haymow. The leather worker Anselg has his shop 
  a stone toss away, next to the smithy of the war 
  crippled blacksmith Herdol Partly, so called because 
  he has lost one leg, an eye and most of his left ear. 
  Adding to these are an assembly of smaller sheds – 
  for example one where used exploration equipment 
  is traded, one where the farmers in the area sell 
  wares which are not good enough for the Hold’s 
  residents and one where the crone Nodla peddles 
  25
  1
  8
  2
  9
  3
  11
  13
  10
  5
  12
  4
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  6
  7
  BLACKMOOR
  1.
  Anselg
  2. The Blood Robes’ HQ
  3. Dodramos
  4. The Keep
  5. Rent a Tent
  6. Herdol Partly
  7. Kodomar’s Huckery
  8. The Grubbery
  9. The Lindworm’s Nest
  10. The Missionaries
  11. Nodla
  12. Redeye’s tent
  13. The Haymow
  14. The Black Square
  0
  15 m
  n
  s
  e
  W
  nW
  se
  ne
  sW
  Scale 1:600
  
  her pies; pies that are difficult to chew since the 
  dough is mixed with bark, and that seldom taste 
  of what you have ordered.
  Finally, it should be mentioned that the Blood 
  Robes always have six men posted by the Black 
  Square and that these often are seen throwing both 
  taunts and spoiled foodstuffs at the missionary sun 
  priests who move among the houses – the latter 
  of course being disciples of Sarvola, branded as 
  heretics by the First Father and all true believers 
  in Prios.
  the Western moor
  The ground west of the Southern Highroad is full 
  of tents belonging to more or less desperate fortune 
  hunters. Most of them are looking for a larger group 
  to join up with and many of them are yet to set 
  foot under the crowns of Davokar. Others have 
  made one or more expeditions, but without finding 
  anything to hoist them out of the mud. Common to 
  all of them is that they seldom stay for long. They 
  are all going somewhere else, either to a place full of 
  delights and contentment, or to a pit in the ground 
  where they can enjoy the thoughtless tranquility 
  of the afterlife.
  Most notable in the area are the headquarters of 
  the Blood Robes, made up of three roofed and red-pa-
  inted wagons, and the soup kitchen near the Keep 
  called the Grubbery. And, of course, the collection of 
  colorful pavilions run by Mistress Belina that goes by 
  the name The Lindworm’s Nest – an establishment 
  where wretched women and men of Ambrian heritage 
  capitalize on the only asset they possess: namely their 
  youthful physique. Of course, aside from Blood Robes 
  and people passing through there are few customers 
  among Blackmoor’s tents. But since the services of the 
  Lindworm’s Nest are not offered in any organized form 
  behind the palisade, the establishment also attracts 
  customers from the Hold.
  The town’s people speak about the Lindworm’s 
  Nest in euphemisms, as a “house of joy” or a “pleasure 
  nest”, but everyone knows what kind of services 
  it provides. In fact, most people do not mind the 
  establishment; even the priests of Prios can respect 
  people for choosing to do the most with what the 
  Sun God has bestowed upon them. But since the 
  place is associated with the spreading of diseases 
  and since the preaching’s of Father Sarvola has 
  made some people question the morality in paying 
  for carnal relations, all respectable residents are 
  careful to keep their dealings with Mistress Belina a 
  secret – whether by arriving to the Lindworm’s Nest 
  disguised and in covered carriages, or by sending a 
  wagon to fetch Belina’s employees to the privacy of 
  their own homes.
  thistle scold
  The northeastern part of Blackmoor is usually 
  called Thistle Scold and is the most orderly area 
  in the camp. Here lives a large part of the humans 
  who work in Thistle Hold during the days or nights 
  but whose employers are not willing to pay for 
  having them live in town. The district’s residents 
  are left in peace by both Blood Robes and the camps 
  criminal elements, primarily in fear of reprisals 
  from the employers. They do not have permission 
  to build wooden houses, but thanks to hard work 
  and what little remains of their salary, many have 
  managed to create reasonably tolerable homes 
  for themselves.
  Some brewing discontent, like the one found 
  among the Karabbadokks, cannot be seen. Sure, 
  it happens that someone is fetched by the Hold’s 
  Town Watch, accused of having sold information 
  about his benefactor to competitors or criminal 
  elements. But most seem content with their lot in 
  life – a lot that in all respects is more generously 
  sized than that of the goblins or the Ambrian 
  refugees in Yndaros.
  the garbage heaP
  Life in the southeastern part of Blackmoor matches 
  the image of the worst misery imaginable. In the 
  area referred to as the Garbage Heap dwell all who 
  have lost their faith, who never had any faith and a 
  diverse crowd of sickly people waiting to be released 
  from mortal life. They may be of Ambrian heritage, 
  originate from some barbarian clan or have been 
  exiled from their goblin tribe – they all have in 
  common that they are viewed as garbage, in most 
  cases by themselves as well as by others.
  Father Sarvola’s missionary station and the soup 
  kitchen run by his disciples is one of few lights in 
  the dark. Another is the strong sense of solidarity 
  found among the wretched. With time something 
  like a spiritual movement has emerged in the 
  district, organized around the cripple Galamar – 
  commonly known as Red Eye due to a congenital 
  disorder. All who take part in the community have 
  sworn not to let their misfortune affect others, 
  so even if the Sun Church regards the group as 
  a heretical cult, the authorities in the region are 
  yet to intervene.
  Regarding the job situation, it has been said that 
  the number of residents who are offered a day’s work 
  each day are as many as those who die – that is, one 
  to three persons. The not so lucky ones have to turn 
  to the soup kitchen or starve. It is an unfathomable 
  mystery that the more than a thousand residents 
  of the Garbage Heap do not resort to violence and 
  attack their more prosperous neighbors.
  ”They say there are no 
  templars in Thistle Hold 
  but that’s a lie, I have 
  seen them! During the 
  days they walk around 
  in normal clothing, but 
  sometimes at night they 
  dress in their armors 
  and march the streets, 
  ready to slay some su-
  spected cultist or some 
  poor blight-marked 
  fortune hunter.”
  26
  3
  B L A C K M O O R
  
  27
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Symbaroum [multi]/Symbaroum/Adventures/The Throne of Thorns/Symbaroum - The Hunters Harbor.pdf