Talonfall
Talonfall is the hunting cell of the Talons of Veylan given to Keyleth on her elevation to Scaled Bane. They watch the roads, walk people safely down them, and kill what needs killing.
The note below came tied to a hawk's leg. It is four inches of bark-paper and the handwriting is bad.
The note
Keyleth.
They tell me you want it in writing. Fine.
You have five. Nettle runs them and Nettle does not come indoors, so do not waste a season trying. The other four go where you point them. A fifth hand when your name carries further, a sixth after that, if any of you live that long.
Three things you may ask.
Watch. Put one somewhere and they will tell you what moves through it. Roads, passes, a valley you do not like the look of. You will know before it reaches you. That is most of what this work is and nobody thanks us for it.
Guide. They will walk your people through country that would otherwise cost you. Nothing jumps you on a road a Talon has already walked.
Cull. This is the one you will want and the one you should want least. Name a thing and they will go and end it. A young wyrm, a brood, a dragonkin nest that has got above itself. Nothing older or bigger than that — I have written this plainly so you cannot claim later that you misread it. Send them at something grown and you are not sending a hunt, you are sending a funeral, and they will go anyway, because that is what they are.
A cull is not a day's work. They track first and kill second, and that is weeks. While they are hunting they are not watching and not guiding. And they bring the carcass back, or as much of it as travels — you will find the rest of your company has opinions about that.
On moving them: hours across a town, three to five days across a region, ten days or more across the coast. On the road they see nothing and do nothing.
Last thing and then I am done writing.
Watching gets people old. Culling gets people killed. I have put twenty-one names on my stave in forty years and nineteen of them were culls. Ask for it when it is worth a name. Not before.
— Corwyth Skarn
The cell
Nettle — the anchor, and not counted among the four. Keeps to the treeline outside Nuts Deep and has never once been inside the walls. Offers no other name. Nobody has asked twice.
Four hunters stand under her, and the Talons add a fifth as Keyleth's name carries further, and a sixth beyond that.
Standing postings
| Hunter | Bears | Currently posted |
|---|---|---|
| Hessa Duncroft | Tracker. Ran caravans for the Cult of the Dragon before she left them, and knows how they move because she used to move that way. | The eastern road, ahead of the march on Boareskr Bridge |
| Brannoc Yew | Half-orc. Carves the name of every burned grove into his stave. There is not much stave left. | Travelling — the Grove Burnings sites |
| Immeril Stagwatch | Wood elf, ancient and slow-spoken. Has watched the same twelve miles for ninety years and can tell you what changed on a given Tuesday. | The Misty Forest approaches |
| Sildreth Yarrow | Falconer. Keeps a bird she refuses to name, on the grounds that naming things is how you lose them. | Nuts Deep — watching the northern sky |
See also
- Talons of Veylan — the wing; standings are tracked on the Renown Tracker
- Monster Harvesting — where a cull's carcass ends up
- The Nightingales · The Anvil — the other companies' cells
- Keyleth