Okalnir

Okalnir was a beer-hall, a longhouse, and the smallest of the notable giant "settlements" in all of Jotunheim.
==Structure==
The hall measured roughly tall, twice the height of a frost giant, wide, and long. Its walls were stone, thick, and because of the influence of rune magic was a singular stone. Its roof was made of timber, covered in tiles, and had a flat apex that a giant could walk along. The front gate was massive, latched to the wall with iron hinges the size of a human, and there was a sidegate at the middle of each long side of the building.
Hung above the front gate was a sign, consisting of an axe sized for a giant that was made of pale wood and bright steel, and crossed with two sculpted shafts of bone. Together this arrangement gave the appearance of a snowflake, measuring across.
===Interior===
All furniture inside the hall was sized for giants and largely constructed from stone. Much of the furniture was crude in construction, consisting of a stone slab with wooden legs. There was a number of hearths to cook from and cooking pots that were earthenware. Between the hearths were stacked bunks to pull out for sleeping.
The rear width of the building was taken up by six personal rooms, one of which was reserved for his friend Habrok Icecaster. Brimir's own room farthest back from the front hall and the largest, measuring wide and in length. In front of the rooms was a hearth and a huge dining table. The hall also had chairs on hand for giant children to reach the table. The building also had a cellar where kegs of beer were kept. The building's proprietor was said to hibernate atop these kegs during the winter season.
==Defenses==
There was usually two giants stationed at the hall's front gate, one at each of the side gates, and one on the roof's flat apex. The guards rotated shifts every three hours.
The sign above the front door had a ward cast on it, similar to a glyph of warding, that covered the entire building and alerted Brimir whenever someone uninvited entered or left the building. Disabling the ward required dispelling the magic on the sign and then removing the axe.
==Atmosphere==
Okalnir maintained a raucous atmosphere during the active summer season, though was almost entirely deserted during winters. It attracted crowds of giants interested in wrestling, boasting, and drinking themselves senseless. These included whole families of men, women, and children who got along regardless of alignment. The clinetele didn't much care for visitors who couldn't keep up with their pace, eyeing elves with confusion and dwarves with nasty caution, but would not raise their hands against smallfolk that a giant had extended hospitality to. They could even be rather welcoming of those who proved themselves to be up to their giant standards.
Above all, the giant enclave valued personal freedom. It was acceptable to hang on to one's weapons, though it was considered rude to a hostile degree for guests to wear armor while inside the hall. It was expected of the guests that if an attack was made upon the hall, they would be called upon to help defend it.
==Services==
From dusk to an hour after midnight, a nightly feast was held in the hall at its grand diving table. The giantesses of the hall served large platters of thick, meaty stew in a trencher, typically alongside a tray made of a broad crusty bread loaf and with large flagons of either ale, beer, or mead. The alcohol served in the hall was of exceptional quality.
==Inhabitants==
The hall was operated by an old frost giant by the name of Brimir, who was a member of the planar faction known as the Ring-Givers and consequently a very generous man, as well as a famous brewer among the giants. Any visiting guess was free to stay the night in his hall, which usually occured after the nightly feast.
==History==
In the , a group of adventurers from the city of Ravens Bluff on the Prime Material world of Toril journeyed to Jotunheim in search of the legendary Well of Mimir so they could learn how to destroy a powerful githyanki artifact known only as the Great Machine. While on their journey they potentially encountered Okalnir, though sources differed on why this came about and how it went.
Some sources spoke of them coming as honored guests of Habrok Icecaster, having proven their worth to him and his friends by hunting a bulette. The adventurers joined the giants in their nightly feast, where the thighs bones of the bulette they had killed earlier that day were cracked open and roasted. Before the feast began proper, Brimir stood and formally welcomed the party, extending his hospitality and speaking of their courage in the face of battle against the creature, garnering cheer from the assembly of giants. When dinner began to wind down Habrok would tell everyone of how he met the party and of how the bulette hunt began, garnering further applause from the crowd. Brimir then invited the adventurers to tell the story of the hunt themselves, casting tongues on them so that all assembled would be able to understand.
Another version of events spoke of the giants gathered in Okalnir feeling indifferent towards the guests, inspiring Brimir to wager a contest of four tests for the adventurers before dinner - eating, drinking, running, and wrestling. He was even willing to wager three magic items if they would wager three comparably permanent or major charged items. The items he wagered included a Svartalfheim cloak, a horn of Valhalla, and a great war maul known as Grungir's hammer. He also offered a makeshift belt of giant strength, made from a strip of leather from his own belt and a bullete's tooth as the clasp.
In eating the adventurers faced off against the fire giant Logi and had to reach the middle of a trencher of stew. In drinking they faced no one, but had to drink alcohol from a massive horn as fast as they could. In running they face the young giant Hugi and had to make it to the far end of the hall. Finally, in wrestling they faced Brimir's old mother Elli, as the giants felt any other competitor would make things unfair.
Regardless of which of those versions of events occurred, the night in the hall ended with all retiring to bed. On the following day, Brimir treated the adventurers to a breakfast of porridge before sending them out in the direction of Mimir's Well.
A third version of events spoke of the adventurers sneaking into Brimir’s hall on behalf of Torheim, a proxy of Thor, to steal a deva feather that Brimir owned and kept within a clay jar. Torheim desired the feather so he could more easily track down the deva it came from, wanting to rescue them from their imprisonment in the massive city of Utgard.
==Appendix==
===Notes===
===Appearances===
===References===
Category:Halls
Category:Taverns
Category:Settlements
Category:Giant locations
Category:Locations in Jotunheim