Halgara's page

A couple of days after the celebration, the heroes are called to go and visit Halgara in her office, "Your service to Trunau is beyond what we could ever properly reward. I have been given permission from the council to release these from the town treasury. We wish we could do more, but the cost to rebuild has greatly depleted our reserves." Halgara hands Haskyll a pouch. Inside are 9 well cut Sapphires.

Each Sapphire is worth 1000 gpcs.

Halgara comes out and greets the party in front of the Longhouse.

When she hears that Grenseldek, her Hill Giants, and the Twisted Nail Orc Tribe has been destroyed, Halgara calls out, "Tomorrow, I declare, will be a day of celebration. Prepare a feast." She then calls out, "Today these... She points toward the party. "are not only Ruby's Champions, they are Trunau's Champions." The crowd erupts in a great cheer.

I just noticed in a previous post the Longhouse became the Langhorne. Auto-correct can be useful, but also annoying. What is a Langhorne?

"Agree. But whoever is on the other end of this locket will likewise know that this scum was not successful and is DEAD," Halgara has a flash of anger. "They need to know the folly of attacking Trunau. This town has survived and WILL survive. Afterwards we will return the locket to you."

"The locket should not interfere with the execution. It should, however, notify whoever is on the other end to this criminal's just demise." It is clear the High Defender is wanting to send a message.

High Defender Halgara seeks out the party around mid-morning, "The Half-Orc Skreed is to be executed for the murder of Rodrik Kurst this evening. He is to be hanged. He wore a heart-shaped locket. He has requested to wear it at his execution. It is linked to another. It may be a statement. It may be a mistake. We are inclined to let him wear it."

High Defender Halgara addresses the party, "It is good that you stopped that saboteur from obtaining the artifacts you now possess. However, we still have a giant of a problem. This Hill Giant Grenseldek must pay for the harm she has caused. You have proven yourself capable. We want you to infiltrate Grenseldek's lair, an abandoned outpost near the River Esk called Redlake Fort. Then deal with this threat, so that this Grenseldek will no longer cause harm to Trunau. Do you accept?

[b]"Sivermane says that there is a place known as the Vault of Thorns, a demi-plane created by the druid Council of Thorns. The entrance is located within the Ghostlight Marsh, a swamp to the northeast surrounding the confluence of the Kestrel and Esk rivers. The Vault contains a cache of items that may prove useful in your fight against the Twisted Hearts."

Grenseldek's combined Orc and Hill Giant tribes is called the Twisted Hearts.

Halgara continues, "Silvermane says, to find the Vault of Thorns, you should look for a marker in the form of a circle of thorns carved into a stone near the banks of the River Esk. This marker will put them on the right path through the swamp to find the Vault, but the entrance to the demiplane is hidden."

At this point, the elf produces an ancient, leaf-embossed brass lantern, "This is called a ghostlight lantern. If the husk of a dead will-o’ wisp is placed inside the lantern, the lamp will produce a beacon that points to the circle of standing stones that marks the Vault’s entrance. Once you reach the druidic circle, they need only wash the supernaturally fueled lantern’s light over the central standing stone to open the portal into the Vault of Thorns."

"I have already secured passage for you aboard a keelboat that regularly plies the rivers of southern Belkzen. The riverboat’s captain is a half-orc named Raag Bloodtusk. He has agreed to transport you to Ghostlight Marsh and then up the River Esk to a location near Redlake Fort. In exchange, you are to help sail the boat and defend it from any
dangerous river denizens. Overland would be way too treacherous. This is the best way." Halgara hands the party a letter of introduction.

Jubilation fills the evening air in the normally staid town of Trunau, for it is the twelfth birthday of the Chief Defender’s youngest daughter, Ruby, and the townsfolk have been preparing all day for the ceremony and festivities to follow. A throng of spectators has amassed at the town Commons; the buzz of the crowd subsides as the weathered town leader, Halgra of the Blackened Blades, takes the stage and begins
to speak, “Thank you all for joining us this night. I take immense pride in my responsibility as Chief Defender, especially when it comes to the honor of the hopeknife ceremony. It is always a great privilege to bequeath Trunauan youths their hopeknives as they come of age.”

Halgra stops speaking long enough to open an ornamental case and retrieve a slender, ornately decorated dagger hanging from a silver chain. “But tonight is a special occasion, for the recipient of this hopeknife is none other than my youngest daughter.”

Once again, Halgra pauses, but this time she turns to talk to the child beside her. “Ruby, by the traditions of our town, you have come of age. This hopeknife represents your responsibilities as an adult and defender of Trunau. You must be willing to use it on yourself, your fellow Trunauans, and your family—even me, should it come to that. It will be a far quicker death than that which the orcs will offer, and providing it is your duty. Do you swear to guard Trunau from all comers, and to use your hopeknife only for its intended purpose?”

Ruby—dusky skinned, black haired, and painfully shy—nods her head in response to her mother’s question.

“If the orcs come, and there is no other option, this is where you cut—here, here, and here.” Halgra demonstrates which arteries to sever while Ruby watches. When she is finished, Halgra sheathes the hopeknife and places the necklace around Ruby’s neck before turning back to address the crowd. “Tonight, Ruby becomes a full member of our community! Let us welcome her, and celebrate her passage into adulthood! Trunau forever!”

The crowd echoes Halgra’s last words in unison, signaling the end of the ceremony.