Supply Yard

🧱 The Supply Yard of Ember Bastion

“You want steel? Pay in blood or coin—either way, you’ll feel it.”
—Quartermaster Halka

📍 Location & Layout

Tucked behind the western wall of Ember Bastion, just past the soot-smeared training yard and a shrine of cracked flameglass, lies the Supply Yard—a wind-battered enclosure cluttered with crates, carts, mules, and the ever-present smell of old rope and tallow.

The ground is hard-packed ash and gravel. Rain drains poorly here, so slicks of black mud collect between stacks of supplies and the bones of long-dead barricades. A makeshift awning of tarred canvas stretches from one ruined outbuilding, giving some cover to a central counter where Quartermaster Halka reigns supreme.

🛠️ Quartermaster Halka the Quartermaster

"Burnt-Wing Halka" to those who whisper it—gruff, scarred, and blunt as a boot to the gut. Halka is the Supply Yard’s iron-fisted soul, the last stop for those seeking gear before delving into Stonehell or riding the Vyrkasha marches.

She offers:

• All standard gear (at a 50% premium)

• Hard-to-find dungeon supplies

• Limited divine consumables (if the clergy agrees)

• Refitting services for worn arms and armor

Halka takes no credit, no IOUs, and no sob stories. But for those who bring back something useful—or lose a limb doing good—she may reach behind the “unlisted” crates.

📦 Public Stock vs. Lodge Cache

While most see crates of rope, crowbars, and torches, Pale Lodge agents know better.

Hidden behind a reinforced tool locker, beneath a false barrel of ruined flour, lies the Ash Mark Reserve—a covert Pale Lodge cache, rotated weekly through shadowed couriers and illusion-tagged manifests.

🔐 Access Code: A specific knock, followed by the phrase, “The trail forks but leads home.”
Halka will nod, grunt, and walk away. What’s in the crate, she never says aloud.

📜 Cache Mechanics:

• Once per week, Excisionists may roll (1d6) to see what is available. See the “Ash Mark Reserve” table in prior documentation.

💰 Pricing & Inventory

Most gear follows OSE prices, increased by +50% due to scarcity, risk, and isolation. See master list above. Holy water, silvered weapons, or exotic items (like sanctified oil or ghost mirrors) are subject to clergy approval or special request.

📎 Haggling is discouraged. Halka will only lower prices in exchange for:

• Rare curios

• Stonehell salvage

• Worn Lodge rings

• Unknown relics for appraisal

🧱 Environmental Details

• The Hammer Post: A weather-beaten plank where broken tools are left. Sometimes, Halka leaves wrapped bandages there for free. No one mentions it.

• Pale Lodge Markings: Faint chalk trails, boot sigils, and notch marks on crates—Lodge members may spot these with a successful Wisdom check.

• The Flamehook: A rusted polearm bolted above the yard entrance. Said to have killed a beast made of tongues. It watches over the yard still.

🔥 Rumors & Hooks

• “The Broken Mule”: A draft mule named Cricket limps in the corner, said to be bound to a dead Lodge scout. Sometimes she brays when relics are nearby.

• The Missing Manifest: A crate marked for delivery to Helmwatch Hall never arrived. Halka suspects sabotage or worse.

• Halka’s Oath: A Warden reports seeing Halka whisper into the firepit at night. Something answered in sparks. She denies it.

🎲 In Play

• Bastion PCs can treat the yard as a full outfitter (within reason).

• Pale Lodge Excisionists may gain unique intel, messages, or relics through the cache—sometimes leading to new quests or internal conflicts.

• Halka herself may request aid discreetly if the wrong people start asking about her past.

🕯️ Summary:

The Supply Yard is more than a gear post—it’s the beating, grumbling heart of Ember Bastion’s war on the dark. Beneath its crates and curses lies a thin lifeline to something greater: trust, loyalty, and the Trail that never forgets its own.

When the sun sets red on the Vyrkasha fog, and brave fools pack for the deep halls of Stonehell, it is Halka who fits them for their last stand.

“If you make it back, I’ll sharpen your blade for free.
If not, I’ll sell it to someone who will.”

—Created with 5E Game Masters Assistant.