Valthorn

Shop · kept by Calen Valthorn

Valthorn

Valthorn is a narrow storefront grown around a massive blue-barked trunk.

Stock

12 items · 274 gp

Other

8 items · 1 gp to 25 gp

Greenbark SalveCooling green salve that smells of mint, pine resin5 gp
Rootward Smoke BundleTwisted bundles of dried sage, cedar needles3 gp
Medicinal Seed PacketCarefully labeled packets of medicinal seeds, each marked…1 gp
Travel Herbalist's SatchelNone.5 gp
Healer's KitNone.5 gp
Bitterseed Vermin PowderA custom pest-repellent powder made from bitterseed, ashcap12 gp
Calen's Startle AmpouleA fragile emergency vial designed to interrupt an attack…25 gp
Moonwake PetalsDelicate silver-white flowers grown in shaded root…10 gp

Potions

4 items · 8 gp to 100 gp

Bastion Antiseptic TonicCan be used as an action to clean a wound or sterilize a tool.8 gp
Potion of HealingHeals 2d4 + 250 gp
AntitoxinNone.50 gp
Basic PoisonPrizedA black medicinal extract traditionally used in…100 gp

About

Valthorn is a narrow storefront grown around a massive blue-barked trunk. The walls curve naturally, with shelves grafted into the wood and drawers that open like overlapping petals. Bundles of herbs hang from the ceiling, filling the air with scents of pine, rain, crushed mint, and bitter roots. Every container is labeled in Calen's exact handwriting, including warnings about dosage, harvest season, and whether a plant is safe near the city's living foundations. A faint blue glow pulses beneath the floor whenever the shop's roots drink from the settlement's underground springs. Calen Valthorn is a middle-aged human apothecary with bark-brown hair threaded with gray, amber eyes, and stained fingertips. He wears a patched green apron over practical traveling clothes and carries pruning shears at his belt. Calen is patient with frightened patients, stern with careless adventurers, and immovable when anyone asks for a substance that might harm Heartwood Bastion's roots. He has refused triple-price offers from wealthy officials and keeps a private record of every such request. When no customers are present, he speaks softly to the blue-barked trunk as though it were an old colleague.

Stash

6 items to steal

The stash · GM only

Most of the shop's wealth is distributed rather than kept in one chest. Coins rest beneath the counter, restricted medicines are hidden behind living shelves, and Calen's records and rarest seeds are stored in the rear workroom beneath the blue-barked trunk. The shop's living roots act as an improvised alarm system and subtly shift when disturbed.

Security check: DC 15Dexterity (Thieves' Tools) or Wisdom (Perception) to notice the bell-vine and hidden compartments
If they fail: A failed theft attempt triggers a concealed bell-vine woven through the blue-barked trunk. Calen arrives within 2 rounds with a smoke bundle, calls for the Bastion's rootwardens, and seals the storefront with living wood. If the party used force or attempted to steal dangerous substances, Calen refuses future aid and reports the incident to the settlement authorities. A particularly poor failure, such as failing by 5 or more, also breaks a glass ampoule or seed jar, creating a distracting cloud of bitter smoke and imposing disadvantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks in the shop for 1 minute.
The whole haul: About 484 gp

Valthorn's Daily Receipts37 gp
Kept: False compartment beneath the counter register
The day's legitimate earnings, mostly silver and gold from soldiers, gardeners, and local families. The coins are wrapped in waxed cloth beneath the register's false bottom.
Value: 37 gp, 18 sp, and 42 cp
Mentor's Blue-Quartz Spectacles15 gp
Kept: Inside the locked desk drawer in the rear workroom
Calen's worn brass spectacles, fitted with tiny blue quartz lenses. They are valuable mainly because of their sentimental connection to his late mentor, though an optician would pay a modest sum for them.
Value: 15 gp to a collector, or priceless to Calen
The Refusal Ledger100 gp
Kept: Tucked beneath a loose floorboard beside the distillation bench
A coded ledger recording bribes offered by wealthy officials seeking restricted root-damaging substances, along with names, dates, and promised payments. The ledger is not proof of a crime by itself, but it could be used for leverage or investigation.
Value: 100 gp to an interested faction, or substantial political leverage
Rootwarden Emergency Stock250 gp
Kept: A concealed cabinet behind the hanging curtain of dried herbs
Three sealed vials of antitoxin and two potions of healing reserved for emergencies affecting the city's rootwardens. The labels are written in Calen's precise hand and the vials are packed in sawdust.
Value: 250 gp total
Blue-Bark Cutting75 gp
Kept: A damp ceramic planter behind the rear shelves
A living cutting from the rare blue-bark tree around which Valthorn grew. It could be cultivated into a valuable ornamental sapling, but removing it carelessly would injure the shop's living structure and likely alert Calen through the tree's root-sense.
Value: 75 gp to a wealthy collector, much more to a scholar
Calen's Ring of Keys5 gp
Kept: On Calen's belt or hanging from a hook beside his sleeping cot after closing
A small iron key ring holding the keys to the shop's cabinet, cellar hatch, and private seed vault. The keys are mundane but provide access to several other lootable stores.
Value: 5 gp as keys, far more if used to enter the vault