Thor's Hollow

He is a exceedingly cruel man, known to test his invocations on living subjects whenever the chance arises. The rule in this city is very heavy handed, with Jarvis dealing personally with anything that disturbs his studies.

Behind the throne: Jarvis is the unquestioned ruler. His consort Marquess Nachta (Pl/female tiefling/T19/LE) leads the royal guards, known as the White Shields for their distinctive armor. She is also in charge of an outstanding information system, usually able to discover any details needed about visitors to the city.

Population: The population of Thor's Hollow is 11,300, based on current tax roles. The vast majority is tieflings, though there is a significant dwarven population. Roughly once a month one of the large armored caravans comes in adding another seven or eight hundred people to the population for the week it takes to load it.

Major Products:Hot stone is the major export product. It is the naturally warm rock of Gehenna. It may be used as both a heating source and as a lantern to those that have infravision.

Spell scrolls made by the apprentices form a strong second place to hot stone as an export product. Many invocations can be had for fairly reasonable prices. Since all are written on Gehenna they are more powerful than normal for their type.

A strong ale is made from the mushrooms that grow within the city's caves. It glows like the hot stones and has a bitter dusky flavor that is highly prized in many lower planar bars in Sigil and other places.

Militia:The White Shields number roughly 300 members. Of this number 225 are armsmen F3-5's who use short swords and spears, each is armed with an elemental javelin. Forty-five are sergeants of levels 6-8. Twenty-five are Masters at Arms, which are fighter's level 9-10 and act as officers. There are five watch commanders, all warriors of levels above 10. The normal patrol is five armsmen along with one sergeant.

The apprentices of Jarvis form another part of the armed forces. All are invokers of level 3-7. At any time there are between 100 and 130 apprentices in service. Fifteen will be on duty at any one time. They relish a chance to test out their spells on troublesome visitors.

The BurntStave Company is a mercenary group that was created by Jarvis to allow his apprentices a chance to test out their skills in the Blood War. They hire out in stars of 50 warriors with ranks proportional to that of the White Shields. Their recruits are city armsmen and minor offenders. A term of service is considered fitting punishment. Fifteen invokers will be in each Star in addition to the warriors.

Notable Mages:Thelass Brokenspear (Pl/male tiefling/W(I)19/LE) serves as the master of apprentices. He is a sadist that takes out his rage on the lesser mages that answer to him. He also enjoys an occasional foray out into the Blood War with a star of the BurnstStave Company. He is absolutely loyal to Jarvis and is fanatical in pursuing his master's agenda. He is the only mage of any power that is allowed to enter the city.

Notable Churches:The largest temple in the city is the House of the Magi devoted to Math Mathonwy. The Lord Dispenser of Magics is Coryllyn Mac Threador (Pl/male tiefling/P17/NE). He commands seven lesser priests and roughly a dozen lay followers. The blessings of Math are on Thor's Hollow because Jarvis makes it a point to give the temple a percentage of the new magic that is developed here. Math once took part in the defense of the city, giving it the nickname of "Second Seat of Math". The open aired structure contains a huge throne made of shimmering magical force. The priests live in the small chambers dug under it. The altar is a large stone table of an unusual bluish color. Any magical items placed on it instantly disappear.

The most popular temple in town is the Sword Home devoted to Ishtar. BladeMaster Al-Hammur (Pl/male human/P13,F15/LN) oversees the training of the city guard and offers instruction to any with the money to pay for his services. His three lesser priests and 29 lay followers are all excellent instructors in the arts of war. A festhall dedicated to the god graces the grounds and is constantly busy serving drinks and staging bouts for money.

Notable Rogues and Thieves Guilds:The Nighthunters are both a vast information system for the city and a guild of assassins for hire. They are very expensive but are willing to guarantee results. Their junior agents practice their subversive skills in town, setting up informant networks and slaying designated visitors. They have successfully kept out any rival guilds and independent operators of note.

Equipment Shops:Equipment shops in Thor's Hollow are good, though prices are 10 percent higher than normal. The shops for magical equipment used in magic item creation and invocation spells are second to none in the lower planes.

Adventurers Quarters:The Freesword Inn and Tavern, good with expensive service, favors passers through and is an excellent place to hire mercenaries. There are always those that hire for the Blood War here.

The Smoking Mountain, poor with moderate service, is for those more down on their luck. The music is often good, but the fights are legendary. The walls and furniture have been reinforced with walls of force to prevent major destruction.

Important Characters:Darion Bloodsong is a cambion that hires mercenaries for the tanar'ri forces in the Blood War. He uses his charm to try and get good prices and is a frequent visitor to the Freesword Inn.

The Shattered Sword is a small band of adventurers that base themselves here. They have achieved some fame and riches looting barghest strongholds.

Important Features in Town:Once a traveler has passed through the huge iron gates that protect the city, you enter a large cavern dug into the mountains of Khalas. Everything is drowned in the bloody red light that emanates from the rock, but a trick of wizardry keeps it cool enough for most creatures to function.

The buildings are all made of the hotstones the town is famed for save Jarvis's tower and the temple of Math Mathonwy. Jarvis's tower is a huge white marble affair that is roughly 800 paces around at the base and of that same height. It has no visible windows but those that have visited it say you can see out through the walls as though they were glass.

The Magist's Craft is the large magic store that Jarvis's apprentices run. It sells nonpermanent magical items and scrolls of invocation. Magical components of the most obscure types may be bought and sold here. They also run a thriving business in used magical items. These are normally traded instead of outright bought. It is the largest store specializing in the arcane in the lower planes.

All types of debauchery may be had in the quarry, which is the name for the violent part of town that borders the mines. It is popularly thought to begin at the Smoking Mountain Tavern. The White Shields only venture here in groups of 25 or more.

The Sprinting Turtle trade coster is based here. They are the largest trading band that operates among the Lower Planes. Their armored caravans are fearsome sights even in the midst of raging battles of the Blood War. They are constantly hiring adventurers as caravan guards.

Local Lore:Thor's Hollow was created some one hundred and thirty cycles ago when the Norse God of Thunder battled a band of renegade yugoloths that had captured one of his petitioners. The great hammer of the Power smashed into the ground and broke open the cavern that the city currently rests in. Jarvis is said to have taken part in that battle, though his capacity in it is unknown.