Heimdall's Anvil

Heimdall's Anvil is the largest city on Cottenhorn. It suffers from a lack of good anchorage due to treacherous reefs and high prevailing winds, which makes trade difficult despite a healthy agricultural production on the island that produces grain, wine, and meat. The city is divided by the Glimmerspring river, which runs from the central mountains to the sea. There is a single large bridge across the river, but a myriad of small boats are available for hire for those who need to cross elsewhere.

The namesake and patron deity of the city is Heimdall, as the crafting of goods is what provides the city its riches. Some of the best blacksmiths work here, as do the most skilled weavers and tailors.

Landmarks

The city is best known for the Anvilspan, the large living bridge across the Glimmerspring. Located in the middle of a large plain, lumber is expensive, as it has to be carted from the southern part of the island. Most houses have a rock foundation with half-timbered stories above.

The Anvilspan

The Anvilspan is a wide arch bridge with houses along its entire length and a busy street in the middle. The bridge is made from stone, and the houses are a mess of different half-timbered designs. Several houses jut out precariously over the river below, in order to maximize space. Most locals prefer to pay a few coppers to one of the many boatsmen who take people across the river, instead of traversing the narrow and noisy bridge.

The bridge is the only way for carts and heavy goods to cross the Glimmerspring, and is an eternal traffic jam from dawn until well after dusk. Since the bridge is not wide enough for two carts to meet in the middle, carts can only cross north in even hours of the day, and south during the odd hours. This back-and-forth gives the city an odd pulsating tempo.

Both ends of the bridge are fortified with gatehouses which are manned around the clock. Thick steel portcullises can be lowered to bar access across the bridge. The city taxes all goods that pass over the bridge, but individuals are not taxed. Due to a loophole in the local laws, taxes are only collected if goods actually cross the bridge. Thus, many artisans have their workshops here in order to receive goods from both sides of the river without paying extra taxes.

Maxwell Belloway

(human, TN): Journeyman alchemist who dislikes all customers who enters his shop, which is near the southern end of the Anvilspan. His shop has a weird scent with hints of sulphur, cloves, and soap.

Lanolata the Quick

(copper dragonborn, CN): Expert fletcher. Her shop is called The Archer's Paradox, and lies close to the middle of the Anvilspan. Due to the very limited space in her tiny workshop to try out the bows and crossbows that she makes and sells, Lanolata had a balcony put in overlooking the eastern side of the bridge and several buoys with mounted archery targets are floating on the water outside.

The Anvil

An oblong rock of black granite, known simply as the Anvil, lies in the middle of the river. The Anvilspan connects the Anvil to both sides of the Glimmerspring. Atop the Anvil itself is a small plaza where public functions of the city are held from a speaker's dais, and a notice board holds job offers and public decrees.

Anvilhome

Comfortable inn

A cramped but cozy inn just north of the Anvil, on the western side of the bridge. Its roof terrace has a spectacular view of the sunset. The rooms are on the smaller side for human-sized individuals, but perfect for halflings and dwarves.

Anvilhome is popular with the locals, and the rowdiness rarely stops until well after midnight. The signature drink is a rum cocktail with crushed citrus and mint leaves.

Valerie Saeveril

('Val', half-elf, CG, 33): Proprietor of the Anvilhome. The walls of her inn are full of trinkets and mementos from her many adventures and travels. She is a young half-elf with a petite build and several narrow braids in her long dark hair. Val always greets her customers with a smile, and she has a witty comeback for almost everything. Val grew up in Heimdall's Anvil and was able to buy Anvilhome after earning a chest of gold adventuring, but she will not elaborate on exactly what she did.

Weaver's Alley

The northernmost third of the Anvilspan is nicknamed Weaver's Alley. Whatever you can imagine wearing, someone here can make it. The narrow alley has been covered as to protect the wares from rain and weather. Clothing and fabric of every cut and color imaginable hang across the road.

Olivia Bromley

(human, LG): Master tailor, and able to work the fine silks produced around Roslake. Even most noble ladies can only dream of owning one of her evening gowns, which are spectacular pieces of haute couture art. She also makes robes for the most discerning archmages, enchanted to the wearers requests and fit to perfection.

Amos Pinereed

(halfling, NG): Hatter and owner of the Pinereed Haberdashery. Sells everything from felt top hats to fur-lined winter hoods to flower-adorned headbands.

Temple of Heimdall

Hewn out of sheer rock into the side of a hill, the temple features a great horn that is sounded each day in the morning and can be heard all over the city. Masterfully crafted tinted windows telling the legends of Heimdall adorn the outer wall. At midday on the equinox, the projection from the windows lines up perfectly, and a sacrificial ceremony is performed in Heimdall's honor. Several master craftsmen have workshops connected to the temple.

The Tradecliff

Wines and other foodstuffs are traded in stalls atop the highest hill in the city, a short walk south from the Anvilspan. There are rarely any actual goods here except for samples, as the hill is quite steep. The northern side, a sheer rock face, has a lift ran by great wheels and powered by oxen, but for most people a stiff walk is the only way up.

Aelor nan Cohornae

(wood elf, CG): Master sommelier and wine trader. His shop carries the best wines from Cottenhorn and beyond.

Estian Exchequer Office

A small outpost of the Estian Exchequer offers their services here. This is the preferred way for the traders to exchange large quantities of gold.

The Prancing Unicorn

Wealthy inn

The premier inn and bunkhouse in Heimdall's Anvil. Located at the foot of the Tradecliff, this is where most traveling merchants stay when they do business in the city.

Giles Silverleaf

(human NG): The proprietor of the Unicorn, a middle aged but well-kept man who can make everyone feel at home.

The Fighting Pit

While not as grand as the Greystone Arena, nor with the same capacity for hosting monster fights, the Fighting Pit is where disputes can be settled. This is also where executions take place. The Fighting Pit is dedicated to Thor, the patron saint of the Cottenhorn Games, and several events of the Games are held in this arena.

The Cottenhorn Conservatory

A facility of learning run by the Archivists, as much a school of music as of magic. Many bards have trained here, becoming experts in the lore of the world. The Conservatory's library holds vast amounts of poetry, music, stageplays, and historical writings. It also houses a large shrine to Balder, where recitations are often held, open to the public.

While not as well stocked as its Greystone counterpart, the Conservatory is probably the best place to go for magical goods and services in the city.

Cyril Blaise

(halfling, LG): A minor noble and remote relative of Baron Caspian, Cyril is the headmaster of the Conservatory, and a very good flutist. Some say he gained the position only due to his last name when the Archivists wanted better access to the Fluxsilk harvested in Roslake.

The Corner Scrollshop

On the Conservatory campus is a small shop which sells magical inks and spell scrolls. It is cramped with shelves reaching up to the ceiling, and usually quite busy with students looking for course materials. Has a large selection of feather quills, with varying amount of gaudiness. Their most expensive quill, a crimson feather from a Roc with a gilded tip, costs 1500gp and sits in a glass display case behind the counter.

Perina Whitegazer

(gnome, TN): Proprietor of the Scrollshop and expert scribe. She is an accomplished wizard, and is willing to rent out one of her spellbooks, which contain almost all Wizard spells of 5th level or lower, for 100gp an hour. Perina's familiar is a mischievous inkling, which she calls Rorschach.

The Rusty Nail

Poor inn

A seedy bar hewn into a mountainside, not far from the Fighting Pit. A known den of vice, gambling and drinking frequented by the city's less lawful inhabitants.

The Hot Pools

On the southern outskirts of the city lies the Hot Pools, where several geothermal springs form basins that are warm all year round. A staple meeting place for the inhabitants of Cottenhorn. Some claim that bathing here have medicinal benefits, but that is probably quackery and superstition.