Oakhurst: People and Places Part 1

Oakhurst:

A sleepy country town of quaint half-timbered cottages and simple folk, the settlement of Oakhurst is the centre of a small rural community of less than a thousand.  Most are farmers, shepherds and cattle-herders whose modest holdings stretch across a relatively little used trade trail and gradually cluster closer together around an old crossroads.  The populace is mostly human, but there are a goodly number of halflings, some dwarves and a smattering of the other common races as well.   

The Hucrele Manor:

Though smaller than the manor of the mayor, the ancestral home of House Hucrele is clearly the home of Oakhurst’s pre-eminent family with fine glass windows, tiled roof and walls of dwarf-cut stone decorated with verdant stone tracery.  A dark green polished door dominated by a great brass door-knocker bearing the Hucrele sigil leads to a finely if somewhat austerely furnished interior. 

Kerowyn Hucrele:

A tall, stern looking woman with eyes cold as flint and thin lips, Kerowyn Hucrele dresses in plain, sombre garb of exceptional quality and workmanship.  Her only ornamentation is a gold signet ring bearing her sigil: a stylised tree bearing six red fruit.

Kerowyn Hucrele is the matriarch of House Hucrele, a wealthy merchant dynasty with origins in Oakhurst but whose trading caravans and commercial interests are now spread throughout the Marches.  Two young scions of her House, Sharwyn and Talgen Hucrele, recently took part in an expedition to the ruins of the Sunless Citadel and have yet to return.

The King’s Rest Inn:

An old, rambling stone and half-timber structure with a thatched roof pierced by a great stone chimney.  Light and warmth from the great central stone fireplace invite local and traveller alike into the rustic furnishings of the cheery common-room, smelling of old oak, ale and hearty food.

Garon:

A stocky, barrel-chested man with a bushy auburn moustache and sideburns, Garon’s garb is much like his inn: simple home-spun clothing which has seen many years but is always clean and in good repair. 

Garon is the innkeeper of The King’s Rest, Oakhurst’s only inn, and as such one of the most knowledgeable of the goings on in and around the rural settlement and rumours from the lands beyond.