Falcon's Hunting Lodge

Falcon’s Hunting Lodge is a sanctuary in the heart of Neverwinter Wood.

Falcon the Hunter maintains this hunting lodge to cater to nobles from Neverwinter. He offers his services as a guide to those nobles, most of whom wouldn’t last long in the forest without his protection and survival skills. Falcon abhors city life, preferring a rustic existence and simple pleasures. His lodge has all the creature comforts he requires, though he never turns down a good bottle of wine (or even a bad one) from a visitor.

Falcon has two retainers: an elderly, world-weary cook named Corwin, and a mute twelve-year-old stablehand named Pell. Both are noncombatants.

In addition to the main house, the hunting lodge grounds include a guest house for visitors, a conjoined stable house and smithy, an outhouse, and pens to hold Falcon’s livestock. Accustomed to long and lonely winters, Falcon keeps a season’s worth of provisions in his pantry at all times, supplementing those stores with fresh game. He has also begun hunting orcs and mounting their heads in his trophy hall. Corwin has advised Falcon not to do this for fear of retaliation, but Falcon has a long history of killing orcs and can’t abide them as neighbors.

Visitors are free to stay in the guest house and dine with Falcon at no charge.

Arrival
''A thin fog surrounds a fortified compound standing in a clearing on the east side of a narrow river. A ten-foot-high log palisade surrounds the compound, whose main building is a two-story stone-and-wood affair with a high-pitched roof, gables, window shutters, and a stone chimney. Attached to the main building is a blocky tower of gray stone, its high roof lined with battlements. Other structures include a two-story stable house and a gatehouse whose flat roof is enclosed by iron railings. A stone bridge spans the river, ending before an oaken door set into the gatehouse’s outer wall. Mounted next to the door is a bell with a short rope hanging from its clapper.''

If the characters announce their arrival by ringing the bell or yelling over the walls, Corwin makes his way over to assess them from the gatehouse, slides back the heavy wooden bar securing the outside door, and lets them in. If the characters have horses or pack animals, Corwin has Pell look after them while he shows the characters to the guest house (area F3) to store their gear. He then leads them to the dining and trophy hall (area F11) before fetching Falcon, who is usually in his quarters at area F13.

Falcon
Falcon the Hunter wears a fur-lined cloak over his studded leather armor. He stands 6 feet, 6 inches tall, and has black hair and broad shoulders. His eyes are as blue, cold, and sharp as ice, and he sports a neatly trimmed beard. Falcon moves with the casual confidence of one who fears nothing, and he greets every concern with nonplussed indifference. He loves good wine and treats other people as he would like to be treated — fairly and with patience.

Falcon’s real name is Gustaf Stellern, but he has long since abandoned it. His hunting skills have earned him the name he now bears. Given the chance, he shares the following useful information with the characters:


 * “I’ve seen more orcs in the woods of late. Ugly brutes.”
 * “The orcs appear to be in league with the evil half-orcs that dwell southeast of here. These half-orcs are often seen in the company of little stick creatures known to creep about these woods. All in all, a nasty lot.”
 * “The half-orcs dwell in a ruined stone manse overgrown with vines, roughly ten miles from here. Tales say that the manse was built by a scholar who studied the elven ruins scattered throughout these woods.”

Woodland Manse Quest
If the characters are eligible to undertake the Woodland Manse Quest, Falcon offers a pair of boots of elvenkind as a reward for completing it.

Falcon politely declines any offer to join the characters on a quest, stating that he must remain at the lodge in case nobles from Neverwinter come looking for his services.

Lodge Features
The map of Falcon’s Hunting Lodge shows the upper levels and main levels of the buildings, as well as the main level’s two courtyards — one to the north and one to the south.

Animal Pens. The pens extend east from the south yard and are divided by wooden fences. They hold two dozen chickens and a rooster, six pigs, and four goats. The animals are well treated and not dangerous.

Ceilings. Interior ceilings are 9 feet high and flat.

Doors. Doors are made of sturdy oak fitted with iron handles and hinges. Exterior doors are barred from the inside.

Light. At sundown, Corwin lights oil lanterns that hang from hooks on the walls in all interior locations.

Palisade. The log palisade is 10 feet high and designed to keep wild forest animals at bay, not hold off armies.

F1. Stone Bridge
The 5-foot-wide stone bridge that spans the river is sturdy and newly built.

F2. Gatehouse
A wooden ladder climbs to a trapdoor in the ceiling that grants access to the gatehouse’s 12-foot-high rooftop. A flagpole in the northeast corner of the roof sports a black banner with a silver falcon insignia.

F3. Guest House
The guest house has a barn-like quality. A carpet of straw covers the dirt floor. Arranged about the room are nine cots that come with soft pillows and thick wool blankets.

F4. Stables
Falcon’s riding horse, a reliable gray stallion named Baatorius, is usually lodged in the westernmost stall. The other stalls are empty.

F5. Storage
Riding gear is kept here, along with food for the animals.

F6. Smithy
The smithy is mostly used to forge horseshoes, but guests can also use it to repair weapons and armor.

F7. Pell’s Bedroom
The stablehand’s bedroom is plainly furnished.

F8. Corwin’s Bedroom
Corwin likes to keep a fire always burning in the fireplace of his modestly outfitted bedroom.

F9. Kitchen
Originally, Falcon’s lodge consisted entirely of this stone building and the outhouse north of it. When the lodge grew in size, this building became the kitchen.

F10. Pantry
Nonperishable foodstuffs and ale casks are stored here.

F11. Dining and Trophy Hall
A second-floor trophy gallery opens up above an oak dining table surrounded by tall-backed chairs on the main floor. Two iron chandeliers hang from the high rafters.

F12. Deluxe Guest Bedroom
For 10 gp a night, wealthy guests can enjoy the comforts of this luxurious bedchamber, including a washbasin, a box of pipeweed, and a down-stuffed mattress.

F13. Falcon’s Bedroom
Falcon’s bedroom is cozy and warm, but untidy.

F14. Tower Basement
This dirt-floored room is used for cold storage.

F15. Tower Guard Post
Arrow slits line the walls of this empty guard post.

F16. Tower Roof
This 30-foot-high roof offers an unobstructed view of the clearing around the lodge and the nearby woods.