Mornbryn's Shield

Mornbryn's Shield was a village at the confluence of the River Surbrin and the Laughingflow in the Savage Frontier. The hamlet was named for the ranger Mornbryn and it sat on a natural rampart enclosing the west and south sides of the settlement.

Geography
Mornbryn's Shield was located in the wet and humid climate of the edge of the Evermoors, with the ridge that was one of the hamlet's namesakes protecting it from the spring floods of the rivers Surbrin and Laughingflow.

Apart from the lost treasures of gems, coins, and magic items, the rocks of the Mornbryn's Shield were rich with durneth, a very rare, weighty, and dense stone that was known among dwarves for its ability to conceal magical auras.

Description
The hamlet was a small settlement of about thirty buildings made of stone. The layout of the village was guided by the meeting rivers into a triangular shape. The namesake ridge, the Shield, protected the hamlet from the severe spring floods of the two rivers, and the houses stood behind the ridge and remained around above the flood level. The Shield ridge itself rose up above the ground on the opposite side from the rivers. That part of the ridge was chiseled away to make a walkway into the hamlet with a rampart guarding it.

A small stone keep with a garden of old and twisted trees within a circular wall was located on the north-east of the village. The garden was an old shrine to Mielikki. The keep was the center of the town's militia and its armory. The keep housed fire-loaded catapults, fire pot missiles, and up to 250 suits of full plate armor.

Defenses
The keep was magically protected by a shroud of mist with fourteen helmed horrors ready to attack anyone not carrying a ward token.

Inhabitants
Mornbryn's Shield was home to a hardy folk who endured the dangers and weather of the Evermoors on a daily basis. The dangers included bone-chilling humid winds and damp fogs with hungry trolls lurking hidden from view. The fog, humidity, and winds often dulled and extinguished the fires and torches that scared the trolls away.

Even with all the dangers, the inhabitants of the Mornbryn's Shield were no more than shepherds, fishers, and moss farmers, the main export for the village.

Trade
The main export of Mornbryn's Shield was the Shield moss that was cultivated and grown by the folk of the hamlet. The moss possessed medicinal properties, was used as a secret ingredient by perfume makers of Amn and Waterdeep, and was consumed as a fashionable dish among the nobility of Calimshan, Waterdeep, and Tethyr. Traders often arrived at Mornbryn's Shield on barges and boats, purchasing a hold-fulls of Shield moss.

The wet climate of the area also supported vegetable growth, providing the locals with food, and the mossy pastures were used to breed tough ponies for the locals to use in everyday tasks.

In the late 1400s DR, the fishermen of Mornbyrn's Shield caught giant clams and giant fish from the two rivers.

Significance
The shrine of Mielikki attracted many of the rangers of the North to travel on a pilgrimage to the damp hamlet of Mornbryn's Shield.

History
The famous ranger Mornbryn was active in the North circa 965 DR. According to local legend, after his death, he was buried in an underground tomb somewhere in the area of Mornbryn's Shield. His tomb was rumored to hold all of the rewards he refused to accept in life but which adoring people had left with his body to be taken to the afterlife.

A few weeks after Triboar was assaulted by fire giants and their minions in the late 1480s DR, four of their kind walked through town, causing a small amount of property damage. Zhentarim agents spun this happenstance as a grave assault on the village and its citizens. Their mercenary leader, Oboth Thornsteel, used the Troll in Flames as the headquarters for their operations. While they arrived as "peacekeepers" they proved to be quite intrusive and spent most of their time seeking out the fabled tomb of Mornbyrn.

In the late 1490s DR, there was an incident where a giant fish somehow swallowed a small tabaxi child. Fishermen caught it and hauled it ashore, and the paladin Xenk Yendar calmed the fish and withdrew the child, alive and well, and returned it to its mother. Afterward, the thieves Edgin Darvis, Holga Kilgore, Simon Aumar, and Doric met and spoke with him.

Notable Locations

 * Shops
 * Caldreth's Cobbling: Caldreth Wyvernlyng's store, where he crafted and sold boots, cloaks, and his pride, waterproof waxed river-waders.
 * Caldreth's Pickles, Nuts, and Foods: A store selling staple foodstuffs to snacks and concealing a sanctuary for the Harpers.


 * Taverns and Inns
 * Maid of the Moors: Beldora Thiiruin's restaurant, known for being a happy place. The restaurant served a small but hearty menu.
 * Troll in Flames: The closest thing to an inn a traveler could hope for in this tiny hamlet. The Troll had only four rooms they rented out to travelers and merchants. The inn did have a limited selection of brews and ales as well as a one-item meal menu.


 * Temples & Shrines
 * Mornbryn's Shield had a humble shrine dedicated to Mielikki, the Lady of Forests, which included a small altar to the Master of Tracking, Gwaeron Windstrom.

Rumors and Legends
Legends placed Mornbryn's tomb somewhere within the hamlet of Mornbryn's Shield or its surrounding rocky areas. The tomb was an underground complex of rooms filled with the treasures of the legendary hero. Even though some claimed the tomb was found long ago, with Mornbryn's Shield built around it to secure the tomb from plunderers, others said the treasures were still undiscovered.

Many ranger pilgrims left their tributes on the tree shrine of Mielikki but they mysteriously disappeared the following day. The locals whispered about "the Sisters Who Serve" who arrived in the night to take the tributes away. It was unknown who these "Sisters" were or where the tributes went. Elminster claimed that the legend was nothing more than melodrama, with the Sisters being human rangers and the gifts to Mielikki taken into Mornbryn's Tomb under the hamlet.

Circa 1366 DR, a rumor about at least one doppelganger keeping eye on the villagers and traders circulated among the locals. They claimed the doppelganger spied for the ever-persistent trolls looking to raid and ambush.