Furzehill

Adventurers come to Furzehill on their way to Robilar's stronghold not just because of its proximity to the ruin. Many come to see Jornyra, the formidable village headwoman. Jornyra was once one of Robilar's followers but retired after marrying a local man. Robilar himself gave Jornyra a dweomered axe named Wightbane as a wedding gift, which she bears still.

Since Robilar's betrayal though, the axe and her connection to the traitor lord have been the bane of Jornyra's life. Many outsiders assumed that since she was once in Robilar's employ, Jornyra must still be in league with him. Others assume that she knows the secrets of the dungeons beneath the ruin (she claims not to). Still others come to wrest Wightbane from her, for gold or glory. Skill and the help of her neighbours have seen off all of these threats, but not without great cost. Jornyra's husband was killed nearly ten years ago by a Dyverese gloryseeker.

Unsurprisingly, Jornyra is suspicious of outsiders, especially those asking about Robilar's stronghold. Though slow to trust, she is good-hearted and generous. However, one should not mistake her kind nature for weakness. Though past her prime, she still wields Wightbane with lethal skill and reacts with the ferocity of a mother-bear if her two grown-up daughters or her six grandchildren are threatened.

Another inhabitant of Furzehill cuts a more enigmatic figure. Kelerenann lives in a small hut near the edge of the village, on a slope overlooking the trail towards Robilar's manor. He arrived in village about ten years ago and has lived there ever since. It is common knowledge in Furzehill that Kelerenann is a mage of some sort and he occasionally drops hints about powerful friends in the Free City and beyond. Occasionally, when in his cups, he waxes lyrical about his homeland of Nyrond. The conventional wisdom around the village is that he is a spy for some archmage or other — perhaps Tenser or the Circle of Eight. As a result, he is treated with a measure of awe and the locals are happy to provide him with such food and aid as he needs. Kelerenann laughs off the villagers' tales about him, but at the same time does nothing to dispel them.