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The market district was easy to find, he just followed the sound of hammers. Every town built around a Tower had one: a quarter-mile of forges, armorers, enchanters, and weapon dealers, all feeding the endless appetite of the guilds, who, in turn, fed the endless appetite of the Tower.

Ulric Halfgrim spent thirty years as a tank in Thornwall. He walked away from all of it — the guild, the Tower, the life that broke him — and boarded a ship bound for Hiltcrest with nothing but a trunk of smithing tools.

Hiltcrest is a boomtown built in the shadow of a Tower, loud and hungry and full of young adventurers who haven't lost anyone yet. Ulric just wants a quiet forge on a side street and the simple work of shaping steel. No guild. No party. No attachments.

But a forge draws people the way a fire draws cold hands. A mender trying to forget her past. A baker who chose bread over rage. An archer who swore he'd never nock an arrow again. One by one, they find their way to Ulric's door. Not because he's recruiting, but because broken people recognize each other.

He didn't come to Hiltcrest to build anything. He certainly didn't come to care about anyone.

The Tower has other plans.

The Shield of Hiltcrest is a 131-page original novel by T.G. Sage, set in the world of Gargadusa's Tower. Delivered as a high-resolution PDF that reads beautifully on desktop, tablet, and Steam Deck. Once installed, it opens right from the game, where a Read the Book button appears in the header.

This is an optional companion for fans of the world. It adds no gameplay, items, or bonuses — it's a way to spend more time in Hiltcrest and to support continued development of the game.

How to read it: click Read the Book in-game, or right-click the game in your Steam Library → Manage → Browse local files → open the book folder.