Elmar Barthen

General goods shopkeeper at Barthen's Provisions, Phandalin's primary supply store. Present since the party's first arrival in town and a consistent fixture of their resupply visits.

History with the Party

Barthen has been a background presence throughout Arc A — the reliable shopkeeper the party visits when they need gear, supplies, or to offload loot. He was aware of the Rockseeker brothers' disappearance as early as Session A01, and knew the party was involved in the region's affairs.

Session A14 — Haldak

In Session A14, Haldak Tencloak came to Barthen's Provisions for supplies and historical texts. Barthen recognised the old dialect Haldak used in conversation — an obscure form of speech connected to Netherese-adjacent culture — and spoke it back.

They conversed in the dialect. For Haldak, a halfling displaced centuries from the Netherese enclave of Rasilith, this was an unexpected and meaningful moment of contact with his past.

Barthen sourced historical books on Netheril for Haldak. He did not explain how he knew the dialect.

Threads

• How does Elmar Barthen know an obscure Netherese-adjacent dialect?
• Is this knowledge incidental — a scholar's curiosity, a family connection — or is there a deeper link to Netheril and its remnants?
• Does he have any connection to Rasilith or the people displaced from it?