Bryn Shander

A walled town perched atop a cold, lonely, wind-lashed hill. Bright lanterns suspended over narrow streets twist in the wind and add flecks of color to the town’s otherwise drab surroundings.
Blackiron Blades: Smithy and outfitter
Inventory
This combination shop and smithy stands just north of the main square. Garn the Hammer manufactures the cheapest blades in Ten-Towns, while his sister Elza sells adventuring supplies—including rations, cold weather gear, ice picks, and snowshoes—to fortune-seekers. Most of the veteran sellswords in Ten-Towns disdain Garn’s smithcraft, due to the uninspiring quality of his work. Jokes told about hapless newcomers to Icewind Dale often end with the line “an’ ’e was carrying a Blackiron blade, to boot!”
House of the Morninglord: Shrine of Amaunator (god of the sun)
Located near Bryn Shander’s northeast market square, this modest converted house serves as a gathering place for worshipers of Amaunator, a god of the sun known to take both male and female forms. A retired human adventurer named Mishann runs the shrine and aspires to see the sun regain its rightful place in the sky over Icewind Dale. She calls Amaunator “the Morninglord,” a name that southerners use to describe Lathander, a god of the dawn and rebirth. Mishann views Lathander as a usurper of Amaunator’s light and doesn’t like it when people confuse the two deities.
Copper Knobberknocker. Mishann rents her attic to a pessimistic rock gnome tinkerer named Copper Knobberknocker, who begrudgingly helps with services and chores. The two argue incessantly. Copper walks around in a fuzzy suit and hood that he made himself; although it’s quite warm, it makes him look like a teddy bear.
If the characters talk to Copper, he tells them he’s worried about a friend named Macreadus, who is conducting research at an old cabin in the wilderness. He says that if the characters find themselves nearby, he would appreciate it if they looked in on Macreadus, who’s trying to build a device that could end the Frostmaiden’s eternal winter and return summer to Icewind Dale.
The Northlook: Inn and tavern
Room at the Inn A modest but secure room 6 sp
Meals for 1 day Filling, moderately delicious 4 sp

• Beehive Brew Honey Mead: A thick treacly mead perfect for washing down a fine meal (5 cp / pint)
• Fey's Favorite Wine: A light and sweet table wine (2 sp / glass)
• Golden Goodberry Wine: A strong wind that heals 1D4+1 HP (8 sp / glass)
• Golden Mash: A strong mas that grants 1 Inspiration until next short rest (1 gp / shot)
• Varik's Vintage: A strong wine that grants Advantage to Perception Checks for 10 minutes (8 sp / glass)

The Northlook is the establishment most frequented by mercenaries and adventurers, and as such it’s the rowdiest and most dangerous place to stay in Bryn Shander. At the same time, its taproom is the best spot in all of Ten-Towns to get leads on profitable ventures, along with the latest news and rumors.
The inn’s proprietor, a retired sellsword named Scramsax, knows full well the cycles of an adventurer’s life. He often cuts a break for customers who are between jobs, allowing them to stay here on credit and then presenting them with a bill inflated by interest charges to be reckoned with as soon as they make their next payday. Those who don’t settle their accounts discover that the old mercenary still knows how to handle a blade, and that he doesn’t take “later” for an answer.
Ol’ Bitey Stuffed and mounted on a plaque above the hearth in the common room is a battle-scarred knucklehead trout named Ol’ Bitey, who pulled many a fisher into the icy depths of Maer Dualdon before it was finally caught by a human rogue named Kintyre and her companion, a human druid who called himself the Maverick. They hauled Ol’ Bitey to the Northlook in the hope of having it cooked for them, but Scramsax bought it from them and had it stuffed instead. Years later, some prankster wizard cast a spell on the stuffed fish so that it turns and snaps at any creature that comes within 5 feet of it. Occasionally, seemingly at random, Ol’ Bitey sings the following verse instead:
There’s a place I like to go
Farther up the river’s flow;
Where it is, I do not know;
Must be under all that snow.

OL' BITEY

Population

1,200

Location under

Icewind Dale

Owner/Ruler

Duvessa Shane

Characters in Location

• Beldora
• Copper Knobberknocker
• Duvessa Shane
• Elza
• Garn the Hammer
• Hruna
• Markham Southwell
• Mishann
• Scramsax