“Ironbrow Forge sits where the busy trade road bends toward the river, its shop front a curtain of soot-darkened iron and stamped banners. The air is always warm and smells of coal, oil, and hot metal. Coiled racks of half-finished swords, tongs and bellows crowd the front workbench; a shallow trough of water for quenching sits by the door. Hedra Ironbrow, a squat mountain dwarf of a typical ironworker build, runs the place. Hedra is an artificer-trained smith who took up the family forge after years apprenticing with city armorsmiths. She is frank, blunt, and has a soft spot for travelers with interesting battle scars. Hedra hums old hammering songs while she works and keeps a ledger of custom commissions pinned under a horseshoe. She accepts barter for rare ores, broken magical bits, or services for the town militia. Customers who come in with a decent story get a free cup of spiced mead and a small discount, but anyone who tries to cheat on metal purity will find their order delayed until they cough up honest coin.”