Asbravn

Asbravn was a small town found in the Western Heartlands.

Geography
Asbravn lay in a shallow valley in between the Dusk Road and the Uldoon Trail.

Description
Asbravn had lush farms, wood lots, well-kept barns, drainage ditches, ponds, and an air of tranquility.

A dilapidated temple to Ilmater faced the market, which was ringed by swap shops, a cooper and cratemaker, a wagonworks. The town also included shrines to Lliira, Lathander and Waukeen though the later was abandoned by priests and was used as a playground by children. The Tankard and Sheaf was a popular tavern and the Board Laid Bare was a local inn.

Activities
The town served as the market center of the southern Vale farmers. Here, they did their trading with each other and with traveling merchants from the cities, where others made a profit from their food. Buyers from Berdusk and Iriaebor came to the market each day. It was a common rumor that the market of Asbravn filled bellies all along the Chionthar.

Another not-quite-so troubling event was that a farmer was planning to breed long-horned horses. The only relic of its long past was an old, stout, cracked stone pillar, surmounted by crumbling horse heads. This pillar came from when the town was a city, Urdrath of the Horsemen. The Horsemen moved from Tunland long ago when they were nomads. Urdrath buried their dead in catacombs beneath the streets where unwary people now pass.

Defenses
The Riders in Red Cloaks, police and defenders, were well-known. A few experienced warriors, occasionally bolstered mages and priests, and local volunteers were sponsored by Iriaebor to safekeep the market and surrounding roads. They patrolled in mounted dozens and often had to battle bandits, trolls, orcs, bugbears and predatory monsters in the southern Sunset Mountains.

The Zhentarim gave the Cloaks a hard time with poisonings and well-paid mercenary ambushes. In almost every family, there was one who was chosen to be a Rider. Once, they offered a post to any warrior, with archers being particularly sought after. They got a pay rate of ten gold pieces per week. After a while, Abject Supplicant Asgar Tellendar started insisting on questioning applicants with the aid of the Harpers.