Tower of Ascension

New Bramblebrook sits along a well-traveled road just beyond the immediate reach of Skyfall’s walls and coastal bustle. It is close enough to the city that farmers, peddlers, guards, and tavern workers can make the ride in and out within the same day, but far enough away to keep its village rhythm.

The town is built for both humans and halflings. Many homes have paired entrances: one tall door for humans and one smaller painted door for halflings. Shops often have split-height counters, and tavern benches are built in mixed sizes. Gardens, burrow-cellars, low stone walls, berry hedges, and little shrine niches are common features.

The town’s mood is friendly and practical. It is safer than most isolated villages, but its people are not naïve. The memory of infernal violence still lingers, and many households keep a spear, crossbow, or blessed iron charm near the door.

New Bramblebrook is approximately half human and half halfling, with the two communities deeply interwoven. Human families often handle larger field work, carpentry, cart repair, and trade hauling, while halfling families dominate baking, small gardens, innkeeping, accounting, brewing, and messenger work. These divisions are not strict, and many families have worked together for generations.

Local culture values:

• shared meals;
• practical courage;
• good manners with strangers;
• keeping children safe;
• watching the road;
• never wasting food;
• never ignoring strange lights in the night sky.

The town has a strong tradition of communal suppers. On warm evenings, long tables are sometimes set up beneath lantern lines and canvas awnings, especially when travelers bring news from Skyfall or The'Rune.

New Bramblebrook is remembered as the home settlement of the Darkshine Halfling Clan, a family that later rose to major prominence in the history of The'Rune.

The Darkshines were once known locally as a clever, stubborn, and unusually bold halfling family. Some were devout, some reckless, and some both. Older residents still tell stories of Darkshine children racing ponies through the lower lanes, sneaking into Skyfall markets, or arguing theology with traveling priests.

After members of the Darkshine Clan helped save The'Rune during its infernal crisis, New Bramblebrook began treating the family name with greater reverence. Several homes still display the Darkshine family colors or small crescent-moon tokens in windows and doorframes.

New Bramblebrook is administered by a modest town council made up of human and halfling household heads, trade representatives, and militia officers. Because of its proximity to Skyfall, the town generally cooperates with Skyfall’s authorities rather than maintaining a fully independent political identity.

The council focuses on:

• road safety;
• market taxes;
• militia watches;
• tavern licensing;
• irrigation disputes;
• fire response;
• emergency warnings to Skyfall.

Before the Fall of The'Rune into Avernus, New Bramblebrook suffered a violent attack from infernal forces. The exact cause remains disputed. Some believe the town was struck because of its connection to the Darkshine Clan. Others believe the attack was part of a broader infernal probing action meant to test the roads, watch posts, and smaller settlements around Skyfall.

The attack was brief but terrifying. Witnesses described burning hoofprints, sulfurous smoke, red lightning in clear skies, and armored devils moving through the edge of town before being driven off. Several homes and gardens were damaged, and a number of locals were wounded.

The event is now remembered as the Dark Night.

The Dark Night remains the darkest event in New Bramblebrook’s recent memory. Every year, villagers hang small lanterns along the road facing Skyfall and leave bowls of milk, bread, and salt at their thresholds. Children are told it is to remember the town’s dead, but older residents know it is also an old protective custom against devils, curses, and things that enter by invitation.

The local militia was strengthened after the attack. Most able-bodied adults now know where the alarm bells are, where to gather children, and which cellars have been reinforced.

The most famous tavern in New Bramblebrook is not a building at all, but a large, well-lit canvas tent known as The Big Lantern Tent. It stands near the road into town and serves as a tavern, supper hall, travelers’ stop, and informal meeting place.

The tent is reinforced with timber poles, heavy ropes, and painted canvas panels. At night, dozens of warm lanterns hang from the central ridgepole, making the place visible from the road long before travelers reach town.

The Big Lantern Tent is especially popular with:

• Skyfall riders;
• halfling merchants;
• farmhands;
• off-duty guards;
• caravan drovers;
• children looking for sweet cakes;
• travelers who prefer a cheerful room over a formal inn.

A blackened roadside marker stands near the edge of town where the infernal attackers were first seen. The post is wrapped in iron wire, prayer cords, and old warning bells. Locals touch the post before leaving town after dark.

Darkshine Row is a lane of halfling-sized homes, walled gardens, and low stone cellars associated with the Darkshine family’s early history. Some of the homes are still occupied by distant relatives, while others are maintained as guest houses or memorial properties.

The Split-Door Market is a small open-air market named for its mixture of human and halfling architecture. It sells garden produce, bread, pies, smoked fish from Skyfall, small tools, traveling cloaks, pony tack, and household charms.

Mara Appleburr is the owner and bartender of The Big Lantern Tent. She is a 35-year-old halfling woman and single mother who runs the tavern with a mix of charm, stubbornness, and practical discipline.

Mara is friendly to travelers, protective of children, and quick to notice when someone is armed, frightened, lying, or too interested in the road after dark. She keeps the tent bright, the food hot, and the mood cheerful, but she has no patience for drunken threats or men who think a halfling bartender is easy to bully.

Her child, Sam, is often seen asleep in a curtained cot behind the bar or helping stack clean cups during the afternoon.

New Bramblebrook is generally safe because of its proximity to Skyfall, but the attack from Avernus changed the town’s habits. A small militia now trains twice a month, and several rooftops have signal lanterns pointed toward the city road.

The town’s defenses include:

• reinforced cellars;
• road bells;
• militia spears and crossbows;
• blessed iron charms;
• signal lanterns visible from the Skyfall road;
• a muster point near The Big Lantern Tent.