Haven

**Haven** was a hamlet in the barony of Hambor on the road between Ayles and the town of Hambor proper; it was ruled by an ealdorman appointed by House Averill. The village was founded in antiquity, before the Conquest by an unnamed, forgotten crusader and was incorporated into the rule of Hambor when Baron Murdoch Averill built his castle on the coast in 4E.1046.

An unassuming hamlet, it had a sole inn and tavern called the Swineherd, a general store, and a shrine to Sól. After the end of House Averill, Haven fell under the Iron Regency and soon after, the Cult of the Dark Prince. The Court of Locusts abandoned the Iron Regency after the Sunscourge Heresy, however, and the forces of House Thrussell took over the fallen barony before rejoining the Yellow Rose at the Fall of Agrawel. In the Deluge, Hambor sunk into the sea, and Haven became a barony ruled by a new House under the reign of King Elric V Thrussell.

## The Dawn's Herald

In 5E.1522, Matthew Averill retreated north from Hambor after its fall to the Fifth Crusade, ousting the ealdorman and declaring himself Lord of Hambor. The heir apparent to the deceased Baron Matthias Averill of Hambor established himself within the Swineherd Inn with the remains of his fortune and a group of four guards in his employ.

When the Dawn's Herald came through Haven seeking to gather information on the whereabouts of the missing Piri Niven and his Ambulatory Tower, they stayed at the Swineherd Inn and met with the townsfolk along with the Lord Matthew Averill, who offered them two thousand gold to visit the ruined village of Hambor and confirm its proximity safe. The Dawn's Herald assented, but upon arriving in Hambor, found that the village had in fact been sacked and massacred by Sir Nordagon of Deminster from the Fifth Crusade, and had additionally been raided by orcs. They found its fallen castle, Castle Averill, occupied by orcs, along with a strange wizard, Faolan the Gray, who simply bid them to leave his secretive chamber. They also found further evidence corroborating that Matthew Averill had in fact falsely informed on his father and his father's court wizard, Morfa, leading to a raid on the village that would see Matthew Averill ascending to rule.

The adventurers managed to take back the Ambulatory Tower, which had also been conquered by orcs, and piece together the true story: that Faolan the Gray had used the ruined village and the orcs to draw Piri Niven out and ensnare him. After defeating the wizard in the depths of Castle Averill, he fled and the adventurers learned more of the story, that Piri Niven had been framed for the theft of the Spear of Retribution, a theft actually undertaken by Faolan himself.

Ultimately, the adventurers returned to Haven after defeating Faolan and pacifying the orcs by returning the Spear of Retribution. Volkarr made plans to join the Three-Tusk Tribe; reuniting in Haven, they furiously confronted Baron Matthew Averill and refused to take the reward of 2000 gold coins he had offered in exchange for confirmation that Hambor was safe to resettle. The resulting conversation saw Matthew boasting of his immunity, at which point Lynette Rooke drew her sword and brought the baron to battle in the common room of the Swineherd Inn. Matthew and his guards attempted to defend themselves, but the Dawn's Herald slew Matthew Averill and escaped the inn after declaring that the guards and the people would split the reward themselves. After their departure, the guards quickly pacified the riotous crowd in the inn and took the reward money for themselves. The leader of the guards, Cillian Rowan, declared himself the regent lord of Hambor in lieu of the death of the Baron and the end of his line; he named his second, Quincy, the ealdorman of Haven. When the Court of Locusts made an alliance with the Iron Regent, a member of Countess Briallen Morvudd's coven called the Deaconess took over the shrine in Haven and began to preach the dark word of Graz'zt to the villagers, who had lost their faith in God since the arrival of the Rasping Pox, the Fifth Crusade, the rule and death of Baron Matthew Averill, and the rise of the Iron Regent.

The fall of Hambor and the events that occured thereafter were likely engineered by Ashtoreth, Lady Quirelle Moridhel, Sir Jae Florian, Becuriel, and Faolan the Gray. Faolan easily manipulated the Baron's son into believing he was fit to rule, causing the village's ruination and allowing him to thus manipulate Piri Niven and the Three-Tusk orcs both, while the Court of Locusts were able to use the rise of the Iron Regency to distract the lords of the Hinterlands, mar the image of the Fifth Crusade, and shatter the faith of the King. Ultimately, Hambor and the agents of the Iron Regency who did not side with the new rule of the Court of Locusts were destroyed utterly, while Haven became a prominent part of the new Empire of Izevel.