The hilltop Lysmere Mansion was built by a mage-family that once served the coastal lords; their experiments in weather and wards are the subject of many whispered tales. Locals blame the mansion for bad storms and missing livestock. The Red Bands emerged in the last decade, a loose confederation of disenfranchised soldiers turned brigands. Old sailors swear the Red Bands mark their camps with a strip of red cloth tied to a spear; finding one often means finding trouble, but also opportunities for gold and revenge. Borin's dwarven runes, stamped in tankards, are said to bear a minor protective charm he learned during his militia days — a practical superstition that, coincidentally, has saved more than one patron from pickpockets and petty hexes.