Halvard Greyskein
Halvard Greyskein
Halvard Greyskein is the proprietor of the Gilded Albatross, a cold-weather outfitter in Luskan that caters to sailors, explorers, and adventurers heading into the far north. A weathered and loquacious man of indeterminate age, Halvard has spent a lifetime outfitting expeditions into the Sea of Moving Ice and has accumulated a repertoire of northern legends to match.
Background
Halvard runs the Gilded Albatross from Luskan's dockside quarter, stocking the kind of gear that keeps people alive in the deep cold — rings of warmth, enchanted boots, cold-resistance potions, and the like. He has an eye for what adventurers actually need versus what they think they need, and a habit of throwing in a piece of northern folklore with every sale.
Whether he has traveled into the ice himself or merely gathered stories from those who have is unclear, but his knowledge of far-north legends is extensive and delivered with the confidence of a firsthand witness.
The Goosebear
When the party visited the Gilded Albatross in Session 47, Halvard told them the legend of the Goosebear — a chimeric beast \"born of ancient druidic hubris,\" half polar bear and half goose, whose magically charged honk drives listeners to flee for miles. The tale lodged in Shade's mind; she quietly raised the possibility that the legendary honk might not be a creature at all, but the Draakhorn itself.
In Session 51 — both while corrupted and after his cure — Halvard renewed the pitch in earnest: he has offered to fund an expedition to the Goosebear's treasure hoard in exchange for a cut. The offer stands.
The Red-Coin Corruption [1]
The 6,000 blood-red infernal coins the party spent at the Gilded Albatross in Session 47 spent two weeks quietly corrupting their recipient. When Deez Nuts returned in Session 51, they found the shop obsessively polished, prices doubled, and a fresh sign on the door: "Gold only, no gems, no trade, no credit — no exceptions." Halvard — manic, sleepless, counting his coins three times over — denied having any red coins while his eyes flicked to an iron-banded chest newly bolted under the counter, holding a hoard of 3,000 of them.
Baelgrum's Remove Curse freed him. Halvard surfaced from two lost weeks profoundly confused: "Who the heck would break in and clean everything?… I've never had a chest that was bolted down before." The party bought back his 3,000 red coins at face value with ordinary gold, and a grateful Halvard pressed three Greater Potions of Healing on them. He then sold them out his potion stock (one Supreme, two Superior, eight common healing potions — 6,400 gold) and three healer's kits, and bought back their ice-hunter outfits and spears.
Relationships
- Gilded Albatross — His shop; the name reflects both his trade and his affection for sailor's omens.
- Shade, Karma, Alexios, Zan, Gooch, Key — Outfitted the party for their voyage north in Session 47.
- Baelgrum — Cast the Remove Curse that freed him from the red coins.
- Deez Nuts — Unwittingly the source of his corruption; also its cure. He does not know either half of that story.
Current Status
Active in Luskan, running the Gilded Albatross, cured of the red-coin corruption (though missing two weeks of memory). Standing offer on the table: funding for a Goosebear hoard expedition, for a cut.
Appearances
- Session 47 - The Sea of Moving Ice — Outfitted the party and told them the legend of the Goosebear.
- Session 51 - The Red Gold Reckoning (2026-06-28) — Found corrupted by the red coins; cured by Baelgrum; potions and a renewed expedition offer.