THE HUSHWARDENS

For centuries the Hushwardens were a loose circle of watchers and household keepers. They marked Orun's breathing against the movement of spring water, learned to build mufflers for chimneys, and encouraged sliding joints on bridges so the terraces would not grind against one another with each rise of his chest. Their early success made Stillbreath safer and allowed it to grow to about 2,400 people. As quarrying expanded, the watchers began arguing that the town's prosperity depended on taking more risk than Orun could bear. Their caution hardened into rules against bells, heavy hammering, and loud work near the exposed head. Those rules reduced accidents but also narrowed the hours in which merchants, craftspeople, and workers could earn a living. Some wardens came to see any settlement on Orun as an unacceptable danger; others believed the town could stay if it measured its impact honestly. The watershed moment was the signing of the Quiet Accord after a dispute over how close extraction could approach Orun's living shell. The Accord established joint inspection crews, with half appointed by each side. Mara Venn alone keeps the master survey and assigns safe extraction windows according to measured breathing; each permit requires both factions' seals. No living stone may be cut, disputes go to Mara before retaliation, and both sides fund evacuation routes. The Hushwardens gained enforceable monitoring, while accepting that they could not simply halt all quarry work by decree. Today they remain a major local power, respected for practical safety work and resented for rules that press into daily life. Their records now show that Orun's breaths are shortening. Mara Venn is hiding the trend while she tries to secure an evacuation agreement, and the Hushwardens do not know the whole truth. A new tunnel has also revealed a door behind Orun's ear. It opens from inside, and someone on the other side knocks.

Faction

THE HUSHWARDENS

To supporters, the Hushwardens are careful neighbors who keep bridges, hearths, and work sites from endangering an extraordinary living being.

Type: Sleep-keeping wardens and…
Size: 76 members
Reach: Major local power
Base: Stillbreath

Overview

How it began

Stillbreath's first terrace families settled around Orun's exposed head, shoulders, and folded arms after discovering that his breathing warmed springs and drove primitive bellows. In the earliest years, miners struck wherever the stone looked useful. After a worker's tool bit into a tender seam and Orun's shoulder shifted, the town faced a night of falling masonry and terrified flight. The survivors appointed watchers to study his breathing and keep noise low around the exposed head. Over generations, those watchers became the Hushwardens. They were not founded on certain knowledge of Orun's wishes, but on the conviction that uncertainty demanded care.

How to know them

MottoMeasure first. Keep watch. Leave a way out.

EmblemA closed eye above three short descending lines, framed by two open hands. The eye means watchfulness, the lines mark measured breaths, and the open hands signify that the wardens guard rather than own Orun.

Colours

Ash white, Dull blue, Warm spring bronze

Signs

The closed eye above three measured breath-lines.
A strip of ash-white cloth tied around the wrist during observation duty.
Two open hands shown in the wardens' quiet greeting, meaning watch without claiming ownership.

DressMost wear ordinary work clothes in ash white, dull blue, or undyed fabric, with a narrow cloth wrist tie marking duty. Senior observers carry a waxed slate case and a simple hooded lamp. There is no armor uniform; wardens are expected to look like residents, not an occupying force.

Standing

AlignmentProtective and communal in purpose, authoritarian in practice. They value preservation over consent when they believe Orun or the town is in danger.

AgeThe Hushwardens have kept watch for roughly six centuries, though their present rules and offices took shape during the first generation of Stillbreath.

WealthModest. The Hushwardens own little property and rely on pooled dues, donated labor, and shared civic funds. Their most valuable resources are trained observers, reliable records, and residents' willingness to follow their signals.

What they say they want

Protect Orun and the people who have built their lives around him.

Keep extraction limited to the dead mineral crust shed from Orun's outer shell.

Prevent avoidable noise, vibration, and unsafe work near the exposed head and shoulders.

Preserve the Quiet Accord and support Mara Venn's evidence-based decisions.

Maintain routes that can get residents out if remaining becomes unsafe.

What they are doing now

Keep the Quiet Accord in force and prevent either side from cutting living stone.

Persuade Stillbreath's households to prepare for evacuation without causing a panic.

Document changes in Orun's breathing and movement using repeatable observations rather than claims about his will.

Stop the Cairnwright Compact from expanding extraction beyond the safe windows assigned by Mara Venn.

Determine what lies behind the door revealed by the new tunnel near Orun's ear, without treating the knocking as proof of any particular intent.

Where it leads

A Stillbreath that can survive whether Orun remains asleep or wakes, with evacuation routes, shared records, and community decisions strong enough to outlast the Hushwardens themselves. Sile's vision is an orderly departure if the evidence demands it; some hardliners want the town gone regardless of evidence, while others hope continued monitoring will let Stillbreath endure.

How others see them

To supporters, the Hushwardens are careful neighbors who keep bridges, hearths, and work sites from endangering an extraordinary living being. To critics, they are scolds who make a town built on work live as if it were a sickroom. Most residents know a warden can be helpful in a crisis and frustrating on an ordinary day.

People

5 ranks

Stillkeeper

Brother Sile

Measured, compassionate, and stubbornly restrained. He listens before speaking, but can mistake calm procedure for a solution when people need a direct answer.

Brother Sile, Stillkeeper1 member
Leads the Hushwardens, chairs their councils, represents them in Quiet Accord disputes, and can call a temporary hush during an apparent emergency. His emergency orders can be challenged after the danger passes.
The Listening Table6 members
Senior wardens who review observations, training, discipline, and evacuation preparations. They advise Sile; major changes to the silence laws require a majority of the table and must still comply with the Quiet Accord.
Measure-Keepers12 members
Pair with Compact appointees on joint inspection crews, record visible movement and breathing, and submit evidence to Mara Venn. They do not assign extraction windows or hold the master survey.
Hushwardens38 members
Patrol terraces, maintain mufflers and sliding bridge joints, teach quiet signals, escort residents during inspections, and help maintain evacuation routes.
Quiet Hands19 members
Volunteers and apprentices who carry messages, assist with practical work, and learn observation. They have no authority to impose penalties.

Other key members

Tavi Senior Measure-Keeper and Sile's most trusted field observer
Nino Kvara Evacuation advocate and leading hardliner on the Listening Table
Brzhan Keeper of observation instruments and organizer of the forbidden vibration-listening rig
Laleh Coordinator of household safety visits and evacuation-route maintenance

How they are organised

How it is runCivic religious conservators organized around observation, quiet practice, and shared safety work

Who comes nextThe Listening Table nominates a Stillkeeper after a vacancy. Hushwardens and Quiet Hands may question the candidates at an open assembly, after which the table selects a leader by majority vote. The choice must be accepted by the new Stillkeeper and reported to Mara Venn because the leader represents the faction in the Quiet Accord. A candidate who promises to ignore the Accord cannot take the office.

How they recruitApplicants begin as Quiet Hands, learning signals, safety practices, and observation records under an experienced warden. After a season of service, the Listening Table reviews their conduct and asks them to describe a case where caution conflicted with a resident's needs. Commitment to the Hushwardens does not require religious belief, but members must accept that nobody can speak for Orun with certainty.

To join

Show care for residents as well as Orun; no applicant is accepted solely for zeal about silence.
Learn the town's quiet signals, basic household muffling, and evacuation procedures.
Accept that observations are evidence, not proof of Orun's intentions.
Agree not to punish or obstruct Compact workers over a disputed measurement before bringing it to Mara Venn.
New members serve as Quiet Hands before receiving patrol or inspection duties.

Operations

What they do

Monitoring Orun's breathing and visible movement.

Maintaining quiet infrastructure and advising residents on safe daily practices.

Inspecting work sites as half of the paired crews required by the Quiet Accord.

Supporting evacuation routes and rehearsing orderly departure.

Mediating neighborhood disputes caused by silence restrictions before they become faction disputes.

How they do it

Record Orun's breaths and visible movement using shared observation forms, then submit disputed readings for joint review.

Use hand signs, covered lamps, and low-traffic routes instead of bells or shouted warnings near the exposed head.

Maintain mufflers on hearth chimneys and check that bridges retain their sliding joints.

Request temporary pauses through Mara Venn when measured evidence suggests danger; the Hushwardens cannot issue extraction windows themselves.

Hold public quiet hours near the head while making practical exceptions for medical care, fire, rescue, and other immediate needs.

Privately prepare residents for evacuation without representing uncertain signs as certain warnings.

Services for hire

Quiet-house checkA small donation of supplies or a few hours of service
A practical inspection of hearth mufflers, bridge joints, and household evacuation access. The wardens advise but do not certify extraction sites.
Breath record reviewA written request and access to the relevant location
A copy or supervised review of public observation records, excluding private entries that the wardens consider too uncertain to circulate as warnings.
Route escortReciprocal help maintaining a route or carrying supplies
An escort along a maintained evacuation path and instruction in quiet hand signals. This is useful for visitors who need to move near the exposed head without causing unnecessary alarm.

What they can do

Can organize quiet movement and warning signals across several terraces without bells or shouted orders.

Can identify many changes in Orun's breathing and the structures built around it, though interpretation remains uncertain.

Can coordinate residents through practical drills and maintained evacuation routes.

Can request a suspension through Mara Venn when they have measured evidence, but cannot issue safe extraction windows or approve joint permits alone.

What they have

Experienced observers who can distinguish ordinary breath-driven movement from unusual shifts, while acknowledging that their interpretations can be wrong.

Records of breathing intervals, spring temperatures, bridge movement, and past disturbances.

Knowledge of muffled chimneys, sliding bridge joints, quiet signaling, and household safety practices.

A network of maintained evacuation routes, funded jointly with the Cairnwright Compact under the Quiet Accord.

Local trust among residents who rely on the wardens for practical help during structural scares.

Where they are weak

Their observations can be mistaken, and they have no infallible way to know Orun's intentions.

Silence restrictions impose real costs on workers and merchants, feeding resentment and making enforcement difficult.

The faction's hidden listening trial undermines its public claim to restraint.

They depend on Mara Venn's master survey and cannot independently authorize extraction windows.

A serious accusation from the Cairnwright Compact could fracture the Quiet Accord before an evacuation plan is ready.

Hardliners may turn a temporary safety measure into a permanent restriction, driving residents away from the Hushwardens.

Territory

Headquarters

Stillbreath

KindWatchhouse and observation rooms

A low, thick-walled watchhouse built into a terrace below Orun's exposed shoulder. Its rooms have padded doors, covered lamps, and a narrow observation gallery. The building is intentionally plain, with no bell or open hearth; its warmth comes from a muffled spring channel.

Lands they hold

The terraces near Orun's exposed head and shoulders, where quiet rules are most strictly observed.

Observation positions along routes with clear views of the giant's chest and folded arms.

Hushwarden workrooms and maintained evacuation paths throughout Stillbreath.

Outposts

HeadwatchThe terraces below Orun's exposed headA small rotating observation post for recording movement and coordinating quiet signals. The name began as shorthand for the watch at the head terrace.
The Warm MeasureThe warm-spring channels at the lower terracesA covered workroom where wardens compare spring temperature notes with breathing records. Locals shortened its original name until only this practical label remained.

Secrets

The big secret · GM only

A small inner circle has used an unauthorized vibration-listening rig against the area near Orun's ear, in violation of the Hushwardens' own restraint and without Mara Venn's approval. The rig may have contributed to the attention behind the newly revealed door, though there is no proof. If exposed, the Compact could accuse the wardens of causing the danger they claim to prevent, and the Quiet Accord could lose the trust needed to keep extraction controlled.

What they really want · GM only

Hidden plans · GM only

Brother Sile hopes to negotiate a phased evacuation before the town is forced to flee in a crisis. He has not told the full council how strongly he favors this course.

Hardliners want a permanent boundary around Orun's head and shoulders, even if enforcing it would displace families and end much of the town's work.

The inner circle behind the vibration-listening rig wants to learn whether the knocking behind Orun's ear can be answered. They believe a response might reveal whether the presence beyond the door is a danger or a possible means of waking Orun safely.

Smaller secrets · GM only

Several wardens quietly teach children a set of hand signs that can carry warnings across a crowded terrace without calling attention to the sender.

Sile has kept a personal record of every breath interval that appeared unusually short, but has not shown the whole record to the Listening Table because he fears the figures may be misleading.

The hardliners have marked households nearest the head for early evacuation. They have not told those residents, believing disclosure would alarm them.

What insiders say · GM only

Trouble inside · GM only

The Listening Table is split between Sile's measured preparation, which preserves the town's choices, and hardliners who believe any delay risks everyone. Some wardens want to respect the Accord even when it frustrates them; others argue that a rule designed for ordinary uncertainty cannot bind them during a genuine emergency. Younger members question whether enforced quiet protects Orun or merely makes the wardens feel in control. The secret vibration-listening trial has deepened the split: its supporters call it cautious inquiry, while its opponents see an unauthorized disturbance that could destroy the Compact's trust and Mara's ability to mediate.

Crimes · GM only

Plot hooks

5 hooks

1
The Chime That Wasn't
Personal to localReward: A Hushwarden contact, practical safety training, and a favor from a household the characters helped protect
A player with family in Stillbreath is asked to carry an urgent hand-sign message across a noisy market after the wardens confiscate its warning chime. The message may be a genuine safety alert, a hardliner's attempt to force a shutdown, or an ordinary misunderstanding. The characters can earn trust by verifying it before anyone retaliates.
2
Two Measures
Local investigation and negotiationReward: A signed work permit, a temporary contract from either faction, or improved standing with Mara
A joint inspection crew finds a new crack near an extraction site, but the Hushwarden and Compact readings disagree. Mara Venn asks the party to escort both observers back to the site and preserve the evidence while the factions argue. Someone has altered one measurement slate, and the culprit may be trying to prevent an accident or provoke a breach of the Accord.
3
What the Rig Heard
Local to regional, depending on who learns the truthReward: A bargain with Sile, access to observation records, or leverage to renegotiate the Quiet Accord
The party discovers that Brzhan's vibration-listening rig was used near Orun's ear. Sile asks them to find out whether it caused harm before the Compact learns of it. The Compact may offer protection for the culprit in exchange for full disclosure, while the hardliners want the instrument destroyed.
4
The Knock Behind the Ear
Campaign-scale social and exploratory dilemmaReward: A place in the first authorized inspection, the confidence of one or both factions, or a chance to establish new terms for contact
The door behind Orun's ear opens from inside, and someone knocks. The Hushwardens ask the characters to help secure the area without silencing or threatening the presence beyond it. The Compact wants a safe inspection, residents want answers, and the wardens cannot tell whether a reply would calm the situation or disturb Orun.
5
The Missing Interval
Regional crisis and high-stakes negotiationReward: Influence over an evacuation plan, lasting trust from Stillbreath's residents, or authority to broker a revised Accord
A pattern of shortening breaths appears in several records, but Mara has concealed the trend while seeking an evacuation agreement. Sile suspects something is wrong and asks the party to get the full account without letting either faction turn uncertainty into a weapon. If the trend is real, Stillbreath has little time to prepare; if the evidence is flawed, a premature alarm could shatter the town's trust.

Work they offer

1Escort a paired inspection crew through a disputed work site without letting either side tamper with the readings.

2Repair a damaged muffler in a crowded terrace before a scheduled quiet hour.

3Locate a missing evacuation-route marker that may have been removed by a resident who fears forced relocation.

4Investigate the forbidden listening rig and decide whether its results can be trusted.

5Negotiate safe access to the door behind Orun's ear while respecting the Quiet Accord.

What gets in the way

Their quiet rules protect the sleeping giant but disrupt ordinary work, celebrations, commerce, and the livelihoods of people who depend on the Cairnwright Compact.

They monitor Orun's body, but they cannot know his thoughts or whether any movement is a warning, a dream, or ordinary breathing.

Their most cautious members see evacuation as the only responsible plan. Others fear that calling for it without proof would ruin the town and the Accord.

Brother Sile's authority rests on restraint, yet each new disturbance makes restraint look more like helplessness.

Rumours

1True: The Hushwardens keep evacuation routes maintained even when no public warning has been issued.

2True: Some wardens believe the town should leave Orun's body altogether, but the faction has no unified plan to force an evacuation.

3True: Their observation records contain signs of unusual breathing intervals that have not been fully shared.

4False: Brother Sile can hear Orun speak through the springs.

5False: The Hushwardens secretly control Mara Venn's survey and decide which sites the Compact may work.

6Unconfirmed: The knocking behind the newly found door began after a forbidden listening trial.

THE HUSHWARDENS

THE HUSHWARDENS

Overview

How it began

How to know them

Standing

What they say they want

What they are doing now

Where it leads

How others see them

People

Stillkeeper

Other key members

How they are organised

Relations

Operations

What they do

How they do it

Services for hire

What they can do

What they have

Where they are weak

Territory

Headquarters

Lands they hold

Outposts

Secrets

Plot hooks

Work they offer

What gets in the way

Rumours

Media

Turn THE HUSHWARDENS into a sheet