A Taldan describing himself as an archaeologist. Tall and handsome, with well-groomed blond hair and a broad mustache, Gerhard and his journals are both extremely popular among the Taldan nobility, the latter combining tales of exciting adventure alongside academic theories that tend to be void of factual merit. Gerhard’s latest target for exploration is the Mwangi Jungle, where he intends to have a grand adventure while publishing histories of the resident Mwangi people. While the Ekujae would have normally thrown Gerhard out of the forest by now, their focus on the Cinderclaws and Huntergate has allowed the explorer to slip through uncontested.

A respected diplomat and lorekeeper for one of the most prestigious Ekujae clans, Nketiah carries heavy burdens from both sides of her family: an unpayable debt to her mother, and an unyielding duty from her father.

An Ekujae scout and former freedom fighter.

Jahsi is a wiry Ekujae champion of the elven goddess of magic, Yuelral. He wears armor made from iron and wooden plates that have been wrapped in colorful swatches of cloth. The sides of his head are shaved, and the rest of his hair is woven into long, thin braids. He still bears some of the injuries from a recent Cinderclaw attack, most notably a heavily bandaged wound on his neck. 

Just a few days before the beginning of “Hellknight Hill,” Renali happened upon the Cinderclaw cult and their obsession with the nearby Huntergate. She stayed hidden from them and watched them manage to bumble through reactivating one side of Huntergate. When the cultists sent a band through the active portal, Renali followed—invisible and curious—only to find herself trapped in the dungeons below Hellknight Hill when the cultists tried to send a second force in and damaged the portal, causing it to shut down.

Realizing she was trapped, Renali panicked and ran. By shifting into her spider form, she clambered up into the Goblinblood Caves, managed to sneak by the greater barghest, and settled into a small cave near a large nest of spiders. While these wild spiders were dangerous to her, they were also familiar, and as long as she stayed quiet and hunted in her spider form, she stayed relatively safe. Over time, she has become increasingly eager to find a way back home. 

Proprietor of the Reliant Book Company, Voz Lirayne maintains a facade of mild courtesy, presenting herself as one of the most unassuming shopkeepers in Breachill—and that is by her own design, as she dabbles in both research and affiliations that would certainly run afoul of the town's laws. Voz is an expert at staying in the shadows and drawing as little attention as possible. In truth, she's a necromancer who practices that dark art in isolated locales—such as the crypts of Citadel Altaerein on Hellknight Hill. She is also a secret worshipper of Norgorber who hopes to finance the creation of a combination assassin's guild and necromancy school in that deity's honor. Voz realizes that if anyone knew her secret inclinations, her customers and fellow business owners would forsake her and jeopardize not only her livelihood, but her goals and ambitions.

But Voz lacked the funds to begin; the Reliant Book Company made just enough to stay afloat—not nearly enough to fund the foundation of a secret assassin's guild. And so Voz began reaching out, surreptitiously, to her esoteric contacts, hoping to find someone who would bankroll the guild.

She received an unexpected response from a group that called itself the Scarlet Triad, which claimed to share an interest in Alseta's Ring. If she could secure access to the Ring and report to the Scarlet Triad about its functionality, they promised to fund her guild. Wary about the group's true motives—she was unable to determine much more than that they were a merchant's guild in Katapesh—Voz agreed to their proposal and, in the days since, has focused on securing access to the ruins deep under Hellknight Hill.

The party killed Voz without much questioning. 

Alak is a recent recruit into the Hellknight Order of the Nail, an armiger who hasn’t yet earned the right to don the full plate armor of the mercenary law enforcers. His journey to Citadel Altaerein atop Hellknight Hill to recover lost heirlooms led him to encounter the party and join their quest. He has recently vanished in the citadel crypt.

Recently, Alak has left the party and disappeared into the crypt of the citadel.

Warbal Bumblebrasher is Breachill’s esteemed ambassador from the Bumblebrasher tribe, which has lived for several generations near (and more recently within) Citadel Altaerein. By far the Bumblebrasher with the most wanderlust, Warbal sates her appetite for knowledge, refinement, and diversity of friends in her new home in Breachill. At the same time, she gives back to the tribe that birthed and raised her by acting as its representative, advocate, and friend in all town matters that might concern or benefit the goblins. Warbal knows that she is the single personal link that most Breachill residents have with the goblins of Isger’s wilds, many of whom have been outright hostile in the past—memories of the Goblinblood Wars still linger, even though that conflict ended many years ago. As such, Warbal sees it as her personal mission to put forward a good face for her people to everyone in town she meets, and to have deep discussions with them both to advocate for goblins as a whole and to gently show the townspeople that many goblins are not contributing to a violent legacy. Wide-eyed and highly intelligent from a young age, Warbal dreamed about acquiring knowledge of the outside world. Despite these yearnings, Warbal was too dedicated to her people to ever consider leaving the tribe and setting out on her own. 

The daughter of one of the most prominent families in Breachill, Greta Gardania traces her lineage to one of Breachill’s founders, Rennold Gardania. From a very young age Greta passionately aspired to public service, tirelessly studying the town’s civic history and diving into every text she could find about the philosophy and strategies of governance.

The son of silver miners from Kraggodan in Nirmathas, Jorsk was a smith’s apprentice in his hometown before he left for a life of adventure. He traveled all around the region completing various jobs with crews of mostly kind-hearted adventurers, and he garnered a very positive reputation in Breachill long before he settled there and began to dabble in public service. 

One of the most inscrutable members of Breachill’s town council, Quentino Posandi is nonetheless the owner of one of the most successful businesses in town, the Posandi Bros. masonry company. Quentino is the business’s fifth-generation owner and manages it himself, and despite the significance of handling those tasks alone, the business has never thrived more.

Out of all the council members, Quentino speaks the least, but when he does weigh in publicly on a decision, his shrewdness and problem-solving ability are remarkable.

The scion of a Chelish family who fled the nation after the Thrune Ascendancy, Melma Ann carries the pedigree of old nobility whose legacy ended with the political upheaval of the Chelish Civil War. Nonetheless, she carries herself with impressive self-assurance, and she understands diplomacy and statesmanship better than perhaps any other politician on the council.

A first-generation resident of Breachill, Trini Sprizzlegig immigrated as a baby from her parents’ hometown of Brastlewark in Cheliax. Trini is a deeply kind and empathetic woman, if a little manic, and her propensity for helping others led her to earn a spot on the council. Perhaps one of its flightiest members, Trini nonetheless is one of its staunchest voices for helping those in need—and for welcoming adventurers from far-off locales or unusual backgrounds.

A fast-talking halfling whose sales skills often see him selling outlandish items to customers who never knew how much they needed his wares. Crink is known for wearing a smart suit and a jaunty hat, and for having a mischievous twinkle in his eye, but beyond his cheesy charisma, he’s also known for importing some of the finest goods and employing several highly skilled smiths.

The proprietor, primary bartender, and head priestess of Cayden's Keg who loves little more than when adventurers tell rousing tales of their daring exploits and deeds, preferably in conjunction with frequent purchases of ale. The priestess particularly loves when a good story holds the entire tavern rapt, and she has been known to provide entire rounds on the house when that happens as an offering to her god. It’s also a good business practice, though, since a captivated and tipsy audience is usually willing to purchase more food and ale as the evening progresses

Currently boarding the warg puppy Roach for Neji.

Halfling ne'er-do-well who set fire to the council chambers and ran away to Hellknight Hill to try and find the location of something he called "Alseta's Ring". Worked for Voz Lirayne at The Reliant Book Company.

The Bumblebrasher goblins never bothered to keep count of their chieftains. Helba’s merely the latest to run the tribe, but by all accounts she’s been doing a great job—at least, up until the Cinderclaws invaded the tribe’s home below Citadel Altaerein atop Hellknight Hill. Many goblins perished before Helba led a retreat up to the castle battlements, only to become stranded there, besieged from below by cultists and confronted on the battlements by Calmont. 

Warbal's cousin.