Kheldrivver

## **The Refuge of Oghma**

On the eastern frontier of the Stonehearth Marquisate is the bustling town of Kheldrivver. This waypoint was a long suffering hamlet in the central Western Heartlands, mostly at the murderous hands of the trolls who infest the so-named Troll Hills.

Since the rise of the march, much less the Marquisate, the fortunes have turned in the town. The Foothills Gauntlet, the upper foothills road that runs the southern edge of the Troll Hills, also merges with North Pass, a minor highway from the Marquisate that bypasses the inland leg of the Trade Way through the Trollclaws. This North Pass highway has increased rich and well-defended travel through the area.

The last year in particular has seen a surge as travelers pass through between the Marquisate in the new Principality of Aetheril. While there is an operating gate between North Point and Shadowbane Keep, Stonehearth has surveyed the area to create a surface highway between the polities.

While some in the Marquisate see a long-range surface highway as superfluous, others see this as the beginnings of claiming territory between the two areas to eventually fill in and officially claim. For many, that would be a dream come true. For a few, that would be a nightmare.

### **Local Points of Interest**

* The House of the Binder: a monastery dedicated to Oghma, the God of Knowledge. This religious retreat and library had been ruined and for a time abandoned until local adventurer Kheldrivver fortifies the structure and stabilized the area. It is now the civil authority in the area, though most of the heavy lifiting is subcontracted to the private military contractors, of which there are now no shortage in the area.
* The Troll's Nose: Inn and tavern. This roadhouse caters to the average merchant traveler passing through via the inland Trade Way to or from Stonehearth. As such, the clientele is generally on the wealthy side, and often on the heavily magically armed side. It also hosts visitors to the monastery, as well as adventurers looking to base operations for the troll bounty from the area. The name alone evokes the theme and decor of the establishment.
* Ungairmer's Bootery: Now over a century old, this establishment is the local leatherworks. While they set their roots as cobbler, they've since expanded to all things in hides.
* The Stonehearth Embassy: a fortified manor at the edge of town serves as the local contact point for the Stonehearth Marquisate. The embassy itself runs a bustling business for local contractors by offering a bounty on trolls culled from the surrounding area.

### **Local Demographics**

As is true everywhere in the central Western Heartlands, humanity holds the numbers in Kheldrivver. There is also a strong dwarven population, with a smattering of others – and perhaps more of the others based on the proximity of Stonehearth and their rainbow spectrum of resident races.

With Stonehearth already an official presence in town, it's no secret that the Marquisate may officially annex the area at some point in the near future. It holds a strategic position on the eastern end of the Troll Hills and is within close striking distance of both the ongoing problems at the Dragonspire ruins and the expected future front with Najara.