DtBP: Firebrand’s Redoubt - GM Turn Post 1

After your time in Saringallow, you have recently arrived in the dwarven trading town of Davarn in the Five Kings Mountains. The town hosts its Spring Festival every year to celebrate the spring thaw that opens the mountain passes into Druma and Andoran. The highlight of every Spring Festival is the Spring Muddle, where dozens of teams composed of everyone from children to professional athletes compete in challenges of combat, skill, and speed. It all culminates in a final trial, affectionately called Spinebreaker Mountain.

You have arrived with the first outside trade caravan and your employer and the receiver of the transported goods, Lukher Stinnison, a young dwarven merchant, has sponsored your entry as a team in the Spring Muddle tournament as a bonus. He explains that the winning and the second place finishing teams of the competition's obstacle course each win a cash prize and some magic items. The purse is jointly sponsored by the town guards and the temple of Torag.

When the winter’s cold releases the Five Kings Mountains and the spring rains wash away the snows that blanket the area, the residents of Davarn celebrate the return of songbirds and trade caravans with their annual Spring Festival. The event occurs a full week after the spring equinox to celebrate Davarn’s official reopening along trade routes to Druma, Isger, and Andoran. While some caravans arrive earlier, the town sends out engineering teams before the event to clear and repair any road damage caused during the winter months. Colorful banners decorate the public square surrounding the city reservoir, and the surface doors are thrown wide to flush out the stagnant winter air and replace it with mountain breezes and the smell of freshly baked pies and roasted meats. Traveling performers set up their stages to entertain the young and old alike with puppet shows, music, and death-defying stunts. Davarn’s residents build temporary stalls to display their finest handicrafts, worked metals, and raw materials mined deeper in the cave systems beyond the town.

You are free to enjoy the festival and explore the town. The town has a normal population of just over 2,000 but this number swells during the Festival.

1. Bensik Estate: Davarn’s largest home belongs to the Bensik clan.
2. Choker’s Run: This tangled neighborhood houses Davarn’s poorest residents.
3. Davarn Reservoir: The abundant fresh water that pooled in this cave.
4. Davarn Town Hall: As one of the oldest buildings in Davarn, the town hall bears many of the practical touches of the Torag-influenced design.
5. Davarn Waterworks: The waterworks are a marvel of engineering that dominates the reservoir’s western shore.
6. Five Kings Customs House: Davarn’s customs house operates on behalf of both the city and neighboring Taggoret.
7. The Hall of Torag: serves as a holy gathering place to the town’s many faithful of the Father of Creation.
8. Kalistrade Library: This temple accommodates Davarn’s small but growing population of devotees to the Prophecies of Kalistrade.
9. Kardack’s Shaft: Arguably the oldest mine in Davarn.
10. The Lucky Imp: Davarn’s premier inn, tavern, and dance hall rests near the tunnel that joins upside and downside.
11. Redin’s Mine and Ironworks: Redin’s Mine is in a steady feud with Kardack’s Shaft over which is the oldest, most productive, and safest mine in Davarn.
12. Stinnison’s Emporium: Run by local gadfly Lukher, the emporium specializes in “affordable magical solutions,” primarily potions and alchemical goods within the reach of everyday citizens, alongside a few snake oils, folk remedies, and “lucky” baubles to cater to the superstitious.
13. The Stone of Elders: While most of Davarn’s faith belongs to Torag, the small town honors the remainder of the dwarven pantheon on their respective holy days or when their circumstances beg divine assistance. This large, round temple provides shrines for the nine additional members of the dwarven pantheon, and its circular shape theoretically means no one god is prioritized above the others.
14. The Tipsy Scales: The largest gambling hall in Davarn, which caters more to travelers than residents.