Thay - Land of the Red Wizards

Thazalhar, the Future of Thay Thazalhar (“THAZ-all-har”) Population: 14,000 Leader: Yaelend Hulthroun (NE male human fighter/sorcerer) Official Military Presence: Thayan Knights Commerce: Caravan traffic, sporadic inns, subsistence farming Religious Influences: Malar, Osirant (Osiris), Ramathant (Anhur) The southernmost tharch of Thay, Thazalhar is essentially a border defense region. It is hilly countryside, patrolled by mounted soldiers as commanded by Yaelend Hulthroun, the tharchion. It has no cities and no named settlements on maps, and its population consists of a handful of roving shepherds and their flocks, a larger handful of innkeepers and horse- and oxen-traders located in individual steadings along the trade roads. There are secret forts in abundance (earthen rings with dugout barracks and stables, and adjacent lookout hills topped by signal beacons), scattered throughout the region. The land is verdant and with almost no local population to regularly forage it teems with game. The land is filled with berries of all types, and nearly all the flora is safely edible. Birds are plentiful and the children in the inns and hill-forts are sent out daily with baskets of stones to fling and bring down enough fowl for stewpots. Traplines around most inn properties, and fishing in local streams (of which there are many; the land is very well watered) can readily feed inhabitants, and even wayfarers can feed themselves easily. Due to its devastation in the Battle of Thazalhar when the demon Eltab was summoned, most of Thay believes this tharch is haunted; after the fighting was done, this tharch was described as “one vast graveyard.” Many Thayan tales tell of “armies of the restless dead” rising out of the soil to march by night, overwhelming isolated homes and even inns, and terrorizing the living who do manage to flee. Heroic travelers claim the truth is different: most see the occasional ghoul or skeleton or three, and not much more. To keep Mulhorand from invading, or any master among the many caravans carrying the exports of Thay south, or imports north, from getting the idea that invading Thay is merely a matter of butchering a few mounted troops with lances and crossbows, Red Wizards regularly send their apprentices unannounced to Thazalhar to spell-hunt monsters, with instructions to “impress everyone but soldiers of Thay, and spare no brigands or horse-thieves.” Which means that spells can be hurled without warning in this “empty” land, especially off the trade-roads. This has the added benefit of also keeping control of what many Thayans refer to as “the Monster Prowl,” an event that sees creatures from the mountains descend upon the lowlands in winter and spring in search of food when their regular prey grows scarce. There is a persistent rumor in Thay that Szass Tam intends to make the graveyard battlefield of this tharch “erupt” with masses of undead, someday soon, and invade Mulhorand with them, “sweeping the living before them, or slaughtering them all.” No evidence has been discovered to support this, so this rumor carries little weight. Yaelend Hulthroun A self-taught talent at the Art who was once just a soldier stationed in Thazalhar, he impressed Szass Tam by defeating a Mulhorandi strike force despite being vastly outnumbered. When Tam discovered Yaelend was a sorcerer, he named him to the vacant tharchionate on the spot. Just as Yaelend’s position as a ruling sorcerer (when so many of his erstwhile peers are wizards) is a deviation from the Thayan norm, so too is the pay that he receives from Szass Tam’s personal coffers: regular deliveries of easily portable and useful magic items. Hulthroun treasures these baubles and trinkets and keeps them hidden as much as possible. He is a diligent steward of the tharch which he firmly believes is “Thay’s tomorrow” and that it will one day grow to expand and annex Mulhorand. Hulthroun is a hardy man, a superb horseman, and has simple tastes. He’s dedicated to defending his corner of Thay and is keenly aware of wayfarers who enter the region, but he doesn’t look down on Mulhorandi or any other sort of outlander. In fact, he treats mighty Red Wizards and dirt-poor laborers alike: as equals. He is, however, desperately lonely, and dreams of someday finding a suitable mate who will ride at his side, the long-haired companion of his dreams. Heraldry: The badge of the tharch is the Novroth, or “Watchful Guardian,” and represents the war-ready border guardianship of Thay. Roleplaying Yaelend Hulthroun Bond: I was often mocked as a child for being strange. These memories fuel my desire to achieve. Flaw: As a young commander, I made a mistake and it cost several loyal soldiers’ lives. I will live that regret for the rest of my days. Ideal: Fidelity. Being true to your monarch is simply an extension of being true to one’s own self. Quote: “Staunch and true am I, and I serve only the High Regent, Thay’s bright tomorrow—as Thay shall be the bright tomorrow for all.” 50 Chapter 3: Points of Interest

Tyraturos, the Bounty of Thay Tyraturos (“Tie-Rah-Tor-Ohs”) Population: 2,770,000 Leader: Elveirhyadra Haundor (NE female human fighter) Official Military Presence: The Probity Corps, Thayan Knights Commerce: Exports including various cash crops, spirits, and finished goods; retail sales; destination travel; banking Religious Influences: Chauntea, Hatharia (Hathor), Isharia (Isis), Osirant (Osiris), Ramathant (Anhur), Shiallia To all Thayans who aren’t zulkirs, nobles, or powerful Red Wizards, this tharch is the heart, backbone, and “big belly” of Thay. Tyraturos annually produces many vegetable crops and copious amounts of fruit in its southern reaches, and is especially known for grain crops that are made into bread, ale, and stronger fiery drinks like bazaedur. Bazaedur is a sweet, jet-black syrupy vintage, beloved by many Thayans but is an acquired taste for most drinkers from other lands. Wagons creak and groan through this tharch day and night, and its toll booths—as its tax stations are known—are populated day and night. An empty wagon may pass for free, but a laden one must pay one silver piece, which they sometimes do with a practiced throw of that coin. Thanks to these regular tolls and the bountiful crops, Tyraturos is quite prosperous, and its current tharchioness makes sure that wealth reaches even the lowliest of residents. Tyraturans are generally contented citizens, who live in a peaceful, orderly, fairly-governed tharch where adventures and bad things happen elsewhere, the roads and even the back orchards are safe by night, and the surveillance of Red Wizards and less obvious spies is happily accepted as the price of such safety. This is the tharch where one can buy anything, or find skilled crafters who—for a price, and when they can finally get to your order among all their high-piled orders—will make something to your own custom design. Skilled glassblowers, masons, dyers, and weavers can be found in abundance, and their workshops are busy for as much of a day and night as they desire them to be. Thay’s economy is bustling and Tyraturos is its engine that makes things, all manner of things, as well as feeding the realm and preparing most of Thay’s exports. The city of Tyraturos was once notorious as a filthy, unpleasant place, but under its last three autarchs and the current tharchioness and her predecessor, sewers have been constructed, roads re-laid, and many buildings razed and replaced. Moreover, a highly trained and professional city watch has been founded and trained; they are paid well and most strive to become ever-better at their jobs and feel little urge to succumb to bribery and corruption as the rest of the world might know it. The city remains Thay’s third-largest and is no longer one of its most detested. The current tharchioness has worked hard to craft a “social round” of regular revels and street music performances and plays put on at newly-constructed theaters for the city. She and her team even work to organize trips from elsewhere in the tharch to stay at set-price inns and “take in a play and shop for a day,” to the great delight of those Thayans that find themselves gifted with the opportunity. The city of Tyraturos is the best place to seek moneylenders or investors in Thay. Coin is abundant and competition is fierce, and unlike so many other cities and tharches, commerce is not controlled by a few noble and wealthy merchant families who make covert behind-curtain deals to cut down on competition and raise fees and prices. Corruption is the foe of the current autarch, Laheirauna Mraedros (human female fighter and sorcerer; chaotic neutral; flamehaired, curious, and swift to laughter), and in this she is fully backed by her longtime friend and lover the tharchioness. Formerly, Tyraturos was a political battleground between feuding nobles, cabals of merchants backed by a Zulkir, an ambitious Red Wizard, or one of the old and wealthy local non-noble families like the Kaunturs, the Naravens, the Paladreths, or the Yavaunds, but Szass Tam not-so-subtly let it be known that the rebuilding city would no longer welcome such infighting, and they were to relocate their disputes to elsewhere in Thay and treat this city as neutral ground—or else. It only took about a dozen unpleasant public demises before his message was accepted, and the new social whirl captured the support of most of the local antagonists; those who couldn’t or wouldn’t bend withdrew from social life in the city, and everyone else tried to be nice to each other and soon—on the surface, at least—succeeded. Now, the “Peace of Tyraturos” is something most citizens, high and low, prize and fight to maintain. And as a result, trade and commerce has soared, fortunes are being made, taxes are being paid almost joyfully, and “all banners are rising.” Points of Interest The city holds many sites and citizens of interest, but the tharch around it is home to three sites of especial interest: The Hall of Masks in Ankhur, the Loom of Many in Delabear, and the Ring of Wizards on the road between Tyraturos and Solzepar. Chapter 3: Points of Interest 51

The Hall of Masks The Hall of Masks is a mansion transformed into a club; the interior is a dark labyrinth of interconnected grand rooms. A few unfortunate stabbings took place here, and now those who enter are searched for weapons and relieved of them, and hands are loosestrapped to waists to prevent stranglings. Clients may pay one gold piece per visit to don one of the enchanted masks that have been collected by the owner “from tombs all over Toril” and wander the rooms. All who put on a mask are guaranteed to have visions that “may entertain, guide, or enlighten as to where the heart’s true desire may be found.” Some of the visions are vividly unpleasant, many are puzzling, and one or two have even driven mask-wearers murderous or mad, but most leave pleased, and some depart inspired, to embark on expeditions or adventures in light of what they’ve just seen. The owner goes only by the name “The Seer,” and says the masks “bear old magics, from realms so long fallen that they’re forgotten” that the gods use “to whisper to us.” She always obscures her face beneath one of her many gold-inlaid porcelain masks, and speaks with a stilted, almost musical Shou accent. The Loom of Many The Loom of Many is a large weavery—a maker of patterned cloth—that can produce dozens of nigh-identical garments in short order thanks to its many mechanical advancements; it sells almost faster than it can produce, as shops everywhere in Thay—and increasingly, all over the Sea of Fallen Stars ports— hunger to get their hands on “multiple garments alike” to sell. The five women who jointly own the Loom have swiftly become very rich, and are using their wealth to become landlords, buying up seedy local properties and building taller, better housing new on the same sites. They’re certain many of their weavers depart to start weaveries elsewhere along the same lines, but they don’t care; they’re too busy and too wealthy to begrudge such doings. The Ring of Wizards The Ring of Wizards is a ring of very realistic stone statues of men in ankle-length robes and pointed hats that stands at the roadside about halfway between Tyraturos and Solzepar. The statues are far larger than even the tallest Thayan, but not so tall as to be giant, and no one knows who erected them. They were 52 Chapter 3: Points of Interest

buried and hidden inside a hill for an uncertain number of years until an attempt to straighten the road and do away with a popular local brigand ambush spot resulted in that soil being dug away and the statues exposed. Upon exposure to the light they spoke, and that property continues to make them a local wonder. Szass Tam has forbidden Red Wizards or anyone else to deface or attack them, attempt to move them, or cast spells upon them, for reasons known only to him. Only one statue speaks at a time, and likely only two or three of them each day; for years now, Red Wizards have been stationed in the Ring to note down everything that is said. At first, they sought to keep all non-wearers of the red robes at a distance, so only they could hear the utterances, but Szass Tam publicly decreed they were to “Let all who wish to hear, hear all they will.” So now, some folk journey to the site, stay for a day or two making notes, then travel back home and sell what they’ve heard. Others visit the Ring on pilgrimages to seek guidance for major life decisions. Some say that Szass Tam himself speaks through the statues, to cozen and mislead Thayans and outlanders alike to do his covert bidding. Others believe that demons are trapped within, while still others firmly believe that the statues do not speak at all and that this is all just a made-up occurrence. Some recent known utterances from the Ring include: • When the tower falls, your best road ahead shall be revealed. • When you see black wings against the sun, it will be time; hesitate not, then. • The third spell shall reveal all. • You’ve grown far too accustomed to smiling falsehoods; time to believe them not. • When the night erupts in hundreds of staring eyes, dream no longer; take up your sword and use it. • Watch for six matched gems, no more and no less. When you see them, slay without delay. • Trust only the silent mage. • In olden days, matched sets of swords were forged for good reasons. • As the realm provides no shortage of fools, always feel free to expend them. • The beasts of the ninth world shall reveal the way. • Six wizards fell, but the seventh, who tricked them all, hides among us yet. • Not in rings, but in wands it lurks. • Ten-and-six poisons shall fail, but one more shall transform but not slay. Elveirhyadra Haundor A petite, brown-haired, rather plain woman who possesses scowling brows and a black-irised gaze that can become dagger-sharp when she’s irked; a master diplomat and actor always in complete control of her face and voice, who reasons calmly even under intense pressure, and seeks to always do “the right thing,” meaning what will advance her causes and aims in the long run, not necessarily what will win the moment or be the most comfortable or least awkward right now. Szass Tam speaks to her often in guidance, and she is careful to obey him with diligent care. She sees that the High Regent is conducting an experiment in Tyraturos, and wants to aid him in carrying it out, as she genuinely wants life to be better for all Thayans, and believes it will be if this endeavor succeeds. Haundor wants more personal freedom and tolerance for all and hopes that zulkirs and Red Wizards will increasingly turn their attention and efforts to exploiting and dominating other lands across Toril, and employ “lighter hands” at home; Thay should benefit from their energy, not suffer under it, and should rely less and less on slaves (Tam’s undead can provide any grunt labor for dangerous and distasteful tasks). Building social lives and hobbies, and therefore happiness for Thayans is worthy work that can and should be done, and she’s eager to devote her life to it. Heraldry: The badge of the tharch is the Huraunmmul, or “Peerless Bounty,” and represents the food and wine produced by this tharch. Roleplaying Elveirhyadra Haundor Bond: No cause is greater to me than service to my lord, my country, and my tharch. Flaw: I consider outspoken and rabid adherents of the gods to be deluded simpletons at best, or dangerous fools at worst. Ideal: Aspiration. We are defined by our goals and the efforts we undertake to reach them. Quote: “Let us all see more roads ahead, and so find our own way to happiness. Judge others less harshly but obey the High Regent—for his is the guidance we need, not each of us seeking to lord over others.” Chapter 3: Points of Interest 53

Shelmazra’s Tour As it would mean the swift death of the infamous wayfarer Volo to show his face again in Thay, we had to turn to a local guide to get useful-for-visitors information about the cities of Thay. We were lucky enough to secure the services of one of the relatively few nonRed Wizards to travel often and extensively in Thay, who was willing to share way-lore with us—for a price. Our guide is the half-elven merchant Shelmazra Hornwyntur, Thayan born, and an influential, rising member of the Ang Harrad merchant cabal. Elminster assures us that while her words set down here may make her seem a terrible snob, she’s by no means as bad as most Thayans of her profession and standing. Here, then, is what Shelmazra passed on to us: Alaoran Not my favorite trading-stop in Thay, what with the choppy waters always encountered when trying to reach it and the everpresent fishstink down by the docks. Be aware that every outlander—and every Thayan mingling with outlanders—at Havandrar’s Haven on Raeldreth is spied on not just then, but thereafter for at least a tenday, wherever they go (and of course longer, if anything suspicious is observed). So prudent merchants who haven’t heaped loyal governing hands high enough with coin to buy a lack of attention to their dealings confine themselves to trading with local Thayans in need of, well, everything, as Alaoran provides its inhabitants with little more than rain, wind, rocks, and fish. So I stay at the only decent inn, the Amaharthond on Wuldragon Way—it’s the highest-elevation major street, winding along the very crest of the slope the city climbs—and meet with local shopkeepers and traders at its rental meeting-rooms or in the upper rooms of the eateries east along the Way, which grow progressively more wretched but also more affordable as one nears the edge of the city. My rule: if the reek of fish from the kitchens greets you at the entrance, turn on your heel and go elsewhere. The best of these dining-houses is Maeryel’s—it has a royal blue door, tall triangle in shape, the only such—and also acceptable are Sarruth’s Table and Balaor’s Blue Goat. Avoid the taverns; sailors are brawlers and loud, coarse drinkers. Pray in your rented room; there are shrines in the tawdry fringes of the city, but no decent temples to be found. Amruthar The Eastern Way is the broadest street through this city, and retains its name between the city walls. Wagons can readily turn on it, and it’s heavily patrolled to prevent anyone stopping a cart or setting up a stall to sell anything; dolts trying to can expect to be set upon with whips by the tharchion’s soldiers. And one can readily see why they do this; in daylight, it’s always crowded. Half a dozen good, though expensive, inns front along it, and the best eateries; I dine there but never seek to sleep, as the rumble of wagons goes on night-long. Threescore superior shops, but all overpriced as they’re the first establishments visitors see, and know it. They’re also the safest to shop at, given all the patrols. For a more restful night, seek the Raethruthond (expensive, but clean and trendy, though they seem to love mauve shimmerweave tapestries far more than I do) or the older and shabbier, but quieter Aunuth’s Rest, both north of the Way on the westernmost of Amruthar’s two main cross streets: Uolauphant’s Ride. Pass them and head out to the end of the Ride, and you’ll find the 54 Chapter 3: Points of Interest

best wagon-rental and hire-stables in the city, side by side: Ralaunthral’s Wheel and Morlah’s Manes and Tails (tasteless cuteness in names is a regrettably widespread failing, these days). Next to the Rest is a bathhouse, Rhaena’s Manypetals, that scents its waters delightfully and welcomes non-humans rather than merely tolerating us as some places do. It provides the nose with some relief from the cattle-stink wafting from the extensive slaughterhouse paddocks north of the city proper. If you want to mix with the nobility, governing officials of real power, or the wealthy and ambitious when you pray, seek The House of Bane Triumphant on Harrath Street, the other main cross street, to the east of Uolauphant’s Ride. All black stone, looks like a castle built to impress with its menace. The eateries: Alkauth’s Flagon if you want to be seen by folk who locally matter; Ordruu’s Welcome for a raucous good time (getting a client drunk, for instance); and Thantil’s Quaff or Bezorlun’s Board for quieter, downscale just good food at a good price (Thantil’s is the more private, if you want to talk about sensitive matters). Amruthar has a good array of wares and plentiful moneylenders, if you take the time to hunt them down. All in all, one of the better minor cities in the land. Bezantur The City of a Thousand Temples remains the center of holiness in Thay for commoners and tourists, which is to say it’s not where upperpriests fight behind closed doors for supremacy and temple policy is decided (that would be Eltabbar), but it’s where one goes to buy prayers and statuettes and holy water and devotional jewelry in bulk; the mercantile heart of Thayan religion. Many of the largest, showiest temples stand along the High Holy Way, which is a long, broad, gently-curving (northwest to east and around to southwest again) street paved with whitestone cobbles. I’m no expert on cobbles, but they crack and crumble faster than the usual darker ones, so repair crews are almost always to be seen fussing with the paving somewhere along it. The other major streets in town, from north to south, are Tasharaka’s Way, Lorlurduin Lane, and Shavrath Street, all of which cross over the High Holy Way, all three bending from northwest-southeast to due east after they do so. Shavrath is where you’ll find all the small, interesting shops “everyone” flocks to, particularly east of the High Holy Way, and Lorlurduin’s eastern end hosts most of the noisiest, dirtiest foundries, smithies, and weaveries. Tasharaka’s is more residential, lined with the walled grand homes of wealthy local citizens—and where you’ll always find a few expensive mansions for rent. Bezantur is one of the few cities in Thay to welcome and cater to outlanders, rather than tolerating and ignoring them. This can be seen in the friendly attitudes of its shopkeepers and in a tangible way: arkuls. Arkuls are purple banners on poles that have oil lanterns perched atop them that illuminate the banners in dark times, usually located in streetmoots. The banners display a circle of holy symbols to many of the tolerated major gods, and have a local courtier standing under them, who’s there to provide bewildered visitors with directions. Almost all of these pleasant folk—and they are, I’ll give them that—supplement their poor pay by accepting inducements (bribes, but we Thayans hate that word; always call them “inducements”) to recommend specific inns, taverns, jewelers, stables, and local businesses. I’m not so easily bought, but the local shops that most impress me begin with Bethandor’s Rugs, Tapestries, and Blankets (on Shavrath, of course)—top quality and understated designs that please the eye, not shouting one’s gaze into submission, and Bethandor stocks some very large pieces, where other places must custom-order, so you wait. A place not to be missed is Taltyn’s, a gnome-run shop that carries small, metal household gadgets like coffers that hide daggers in their outer surfaces, and wheel-striker tinder boxes for lamplighting, and swivel-trios of hand magnifying glasses, and rooms of similar stuff. I always buy some of their tiny pliers with the chain-cutting blades built in at the joint, and a fold-down clip for holding a torch or wick or candle so one can see what one’s manipulating. I’m told Bezantur is home to some good pet shops that run to large serpents and even larger hunting cats (lions and tigers), but I’ve never been—pets are expensive, and I travel so much I’d almost be forced to neglect them. I always stay at the block-long, redstone Haelhontorh ond (old, haughty, and pricey but worth it), but other good inns include Sussavrel’s House, Yaraetowers, and Miklarra’s Moondoor (very popular with young ladies who like posing in the jaws of danger, being seen with other young ladies, and hiring entertainments of questionable taste—but it has two much quieter rear wings for everyone else, who just want decent service and privacy and a good suite of rooms in which to sleep). At the south end of the city are many small inns that are little better than oversized family homes, varying widely in quality depending on the family, but I’m told some of them are astonishingly affordable, and sometimes give discounts in return for service (a guest helping re-tile a roof, or reset a downspout or recaulk a rain-barrel). Some names I’ve heard are Thrammon’s, Belhrin’s, Kauntlann’s, and Thul Habbadar’s. (There are a lot of folk surnamed “Thul Habbadar” in Bezantur; it must be one of those Chapter 3: Points of Interest 55

endless-cousins families—and it’s always pronounced “THOOL Habbah-dar.”) As for eating in Bezantur, if you have coin to toss wildly, no more expensive a good meal can be found than at Arzarael’s Bower—slow service and everything is wildly showy, six or seven wait-staff for every dish that’s brought, but the sauces and side-dishes are to die for, and they roast whole beasts with care and six different marinades and oils. I find that Arzarael’s is for impressing naïve clients, once, and the rest of the time I’d rather eat with less fanfare and purse-gouging, at such establishments as Dazzakhar’s and Touzoon’s Table and even The River Eel, which has a dangerous past as the site of several fatal duels, and so fascinates the young who flock there—but if they have any sense or tastebuds, stay for the superb cooking. And if you want to be seen to kneel to Bane in the best company, the temple to do it in is The House of The Black Hand, newest and most tasteless of the blackstone temples along the High Holy Way (if you find judging tastelessness difficult, it’s on the west side of the street, at the north end). Eltabbar The first city of Thay spends far too much time shoutingly reminding you of its status, I find, in part with a lot of heavy-handed “don’t park thy wagon HERE” rules and in part by overpricing everything egregiously, but it does host some of the most impressive architecture in the land. It’s also a city where every hand-patch of ground is paved in cobbles; outside the walls of the compounds of the rich (a few of whom have gardens, but not many) there’s not a tree nor blade of grass to be seen. So the place bakes in the sun. Hence the lavish use of pumped, cascading water and unseencellar-mule-turned fans in the larger chambers of inns, high-class eateries, and a few civic buildings. Eltabbar is also a place swept by fads, as everyone seeks to ape the whims of the powerful, so last season everyone wore brass facemasks in public, the season before everyone waved ornate walking-sticks about as they walked, and this year it’s little bobbing beholder-sculptures dangling from elbow and wrist on fine chains. And every last one of these fads leaves a residue: each time, a few folk cling to them forever-after, so most gatherings of Eltabbrans look like eccentrics have been let out of a dungeon, and haven’t dispersed yet. Rich, well-dressed eccentrics, mind you. Eltabbar is a mix of a crossgrid of slightly-winding but generally north-south and east-west minor streets, cut through by wider radial streets, radiating out from central civic buildings (most of them hollow squares around courtyards), where of old Red Wizards lorded it over cringing minor bureaucrats (these days, Szass Tam thankfully keeps his wizards busy patrolling Thay’s countryside and on specific missions, not nitpicking the clerical functions of taxation and government record-keeping and overseeing granary-stock rotations). The most important east-west street is Harrival’s Ride, and it’s twice the width of most of them and stretches almost the entire width of the city. If you need to rent a palanquin or coach, the best establishments to do so (providing the cleanest and most stylish rides) are clustered at the west end of the Ride; in typically frustating “Elt” fashion, most of the horse-rental stables are clear across the city at the Ride’s east end. The major north-south street is in the east end, crossing all but the southern third of the city, a quarter of the way west from the eastern edge of Eltabbar. It, too, is unusually wide, and is known as Old Crypt Street because its northern end is a necropolis of Bezantur The Redheads. Let me hiss out my hate for a moment, while I find words diplomatic enough… Right. They’re our daily oppressors and exploiters, but our shield and backbone, too. Without them, Aglarond and Mulhorand and the witches of the north and all would sweep down on us and we’d be gone. So we’re stuck with them, for good or ill. Mostly ill. I’d much prefer a Thay in which wizards took orders from our autharchs, and our autharchs obeyed our tharchions, and our tharchions listened to the people. I think all that magic burns out the brains of any mage, leaving only rage and ambition and malice. —A Shopkeeper who refused to give his name, speaking while under the influence of strong drink, in a tavern on Thoalanth Street, Shezind’s Tart 56 Chapter 3: Points of Interest

stone mansions that house only the dead—Thayan nobles, fallen tharchions and tharchionesses, and Red Wizards and zulkirs, all in their own personal wagon-sized sarcophagi arranged tastefully around the ornate, silent, dusty mansion chambers. Of old, this district rang to the nightly-shrieks of would-be tomb robbers being torn or hacked apart by guards and monstrous guardians, but these days Eltabbar seems to be running out of reckless idiots. The radial streets are where the best inns, taverns, clubs, and eateries are all to be found, and there’s a glittering array of them, for those with coin to melt in their profligate haste. I’m not such a person, and so avoid most of them, though I have been inside Luth Murleph’s Pride, a gambling club known for its debauchery for hire, extensive wine cellar, and habit of draping everything in rich deep purple draperies and tapestries, with matching carpet everywhere underfoot. It stands on Miirathoyor’s Lane. Around the corner on Murbekh Street is the Kalvondrel, the club for utterly wanton revelry, but the jests about its patrons unexpectedly growing rare skin-molds wore thin many ailments ago, for we prudent folk. My favored inn is the old, dimly-lit, quiet and cozy Elvurturhond on Lyontul Street, but some swear by the haughtier and far more expensive Szeltothur’s Welcome, on Rendrel’s Ride. I dislike loud fountains of overly-scented water, and echoing chimes, and so avoid it and all of the folk who patronize it, who are of the gaily-laughing-at-all-hours-to-show-how-rich-andcarefree-they-are ilk I detest. Eltabbar has many local alehouses for commoners to wearily drink in, and even a few justly better known taverns like Paeral’s Flying Dolphyn on Tul Street and The Iron Tankard on Lazzeyelar’s Lane, but I find them all too noisy and crowded for talking trade, and so take my libations with platters of fine roast boar or cardrauth at the better eateries of the city. Again, there are haughty and overly priced establishments like Three Black Plumes on The Street of Seven Statues (where once seven zulkirs were sculpted in stone at twice life size, ere someone devised a spell that turned one of them into deadly shrapnel whenever they wanted to slaughter a hefty number of Eltabbrans , and the few remaining statues were hastily removed) and Ilkryn’s Tabard on The Street of Murlanth’s Sorrows, but like most working merchants, I don’t dine to be seen dining. I eat to avoid passing out, and to talk trade with folk I don’t mind eating with. So I prefer The Six Platters on Urtraunt Lane, Tranch’s Folly on The Street of the Riven Bell (superb wine cellar, and they serve black cake to bulge for, bristling with more cherries and roast nuts than I’ve ever seen elsewhere), and for real privacy but far more spartan—and lower-priced—fare, Szult’s Corner, on Tablakh Street. When it comes to shops, Eltabbar has some magnificent ones, and if you don’t mind fawning shop assistants and prices thrice what they should be, you can truly buy anything in the city. Just don’t expect bargains; just breathing seems to cost more in Thay’s capitol city. The local temple to be seen in is The Dark House of Tyranny, on The Way of Arduskan. It’s huge and hulking, you can’t miss it. Escalant Too often forgotten or even seen as “lesser” by other cities of Thay (following the lead of the Red Wizards, who disdain it along with the rest of the cities in the tharch of Lapendrar; in turn, all of these cities disdain Red Wizards whenever they can do so yet retain their skins), Escalant is one of my favorite port cities to visit and trade in, second only to Nethjet (as devices and innovations fascinate me and kindle my trading-lust). Escalantrans know how to party, and every third or fourth day, all the year round, seems to be a local festival for potters, or tavern-dancers, or those sport fisherfolk who land record-large fish, or temple-lantern-carvers, or tomb effigy figurine polishers, or someone. It’s all an occasion for piping music, dancing, drinking, and standing up on tavern-tables to declaim hilariously bad poetry. If you know a hopelessly-bad bard or minstrel, this is the city for them, they’ll fit right in. This is one of the few places in all Thay where folk don’t look over their shoulders and keep their voices down for fear of Red Wizards or the spies of the High Regent—because Tam seems to ignore it. Outlanders come and go freely, folk in little backstreet shops cast spells for fees or sell potions and scrolls that really work—folk who aren’t Red Wizards and fervently don’t want to be—and there’s a thriving black market in goods “liberated” from civic storage warehouses and granaries, and even Thayan military barracks. Not that I would have anything to do with such shady trade or goods; I like my skin as whole as it is, and so come here only to trade with respectable Chessentan and Sembian merchants who want Thayan barley and bulk vegetables at lower prices than they can grow them for back home, and in return can sell me metals and fine textiles for less than I can buy them for via my trading-contacts all over Thay. Many merchants are of like mind, so Escalant is something of a hot trading center, and one of the few places where outlander bodyguards and mercenaries for Chapter 3: Points of Interest 57

hire can slip into Thay almost unnoticed, so there’s a brisk hiring market for them, too—as most Thayans see such “foreign swords” as the only way to surprise homegrown rivals who keep a close eye on anyone Thayan for hire. So I come here more often than I should, and always stay at The Blue Stag on Thundle Street, and drink at The Five-Headed Newt on Pryath’s Lane for choice, though crowding sometimes forces me to my second choices: Hulfaer’s Doors inn on Dartrumpet Way, and to drink and dine at The Blood Blazon on Bottle Lane. Carousers head for such taverns as Helver’s Harpoon on Hyrdrar Street and the Beheaded Behir on Vulantern Lane. The Five-Bladed Bull used to be “the” wild tavern, but it burned to the ground after a wizard’s duel almost a decade ago, and has never been rebuilt for fear of the Red Wizards using it as a pretext for arriving in force to clamp down on local liberties— being as none of the mages involved in the duel was even Thayan, let alone red-robed. The haughty overpayers rest their heads at The Irbrandthond inn on Beldrard Street, and dine in shining and horribly overpriced splendor at Calanna’s Chance on The Way of The Wyverns (myself, I don’t see the appeal of scantily clad lads and lasses dancing atop the very table you’re eating from, but that’s the signature entertainment at the Chance). As for major streets: there aren’t any. Every street winds like a drunken snake, and is almost as important as any other street, and the maze they make up, all taken together, takes years to learn but thankfully locals are all cheerfully eager to give accurate directions to any outlander or visiting Thayan—unless they’re a Red Wizard, in which case the directions will almost always take the Red Wizard to a particularly smelly and rundown back-alley privy, where street urchins play pranks. To be seen at devotions by the wealthy and locally socially important and the top Escalantran authorities, kneel at The Doors of the Black Lord, on Sampranar Street. Murbant The city of a thousand purple domes is walled, claustrophobic, and easy to get lost in, as just about every street looks like every other street. 58 Chapter 3: Points of Interest

With two notable exceptions: the long, winding, wide street known as Tarthant’s Way, where the best and the brightest in Thay’s “City of Dirty Underhanded Smugglers” work, shop, and trade, and Setsethrar’s Ride, the wagon-way that links all of the important warehouses that ring the inner walls of the city, almost all the way around it (there’s a triangular break in the ring at the south end of the city, where an open market known as the Sakkandar persists as the best place for moneylending with blood bargains and no written trail in all of Thay—don’t break a bargain unless you want your throat slit, but otherwise taxes and official notice can readily be avoided). Not that I, not being any sort of smuggler, would know anything about that. No, as a respectable trader, I confine my activities to staying at Thisskim’s House inn or The Alaphthond inn, both on Tarthant’s Way, and dining and making trade deals in the rentable private dining rooms upstairs at The Emerald Cellar on Brazantur’s Way, or the noisier and less private, but with a matchless wine cellar and tasty small appetizer platters galore, Hardarmored Hippocampus Club on Uthscimitar Street. Now if I was a two-fisted drinker, I’d visit the Staring Eye tavern on Nethembril Lane, with its mock giant beholder’s eye overhanging street sign out front and a real, pickled eyestalk in a lit brine-tank behind the bar, and if I was a real shatter-tankard brawler, I’d go to The Mrahout’s Fist on Wulyrabur Street, but I’m thankfully neither. Nor am I likely to brave the low prices but hit-and-miss meals served at that enormously popular barn of an eatery The Old Rahanna, on Premble Street—where the poorer working half of Murbant fills their bellies twice daily because it’s cheap and fast. Any merchant with more than half their wits knows not to visit Murbant too often, as the authorities do keep watch, and assume merchants who fetch up amid the amethyst-hued domes too often are too cozy with smugglers. Which means searches and inspections and ledger checks and inducements to be paid in all directions. So I visit seldom, and go only to my favorite few places to trade with the same few relatively respectable local merchants, and make very certain I’m publicly seen calling on Bane’s favor at The House of The Hand, on Tarthant’s Way. Nethentir Another place where Red Wizards are hated and hampered by scrupulously polite but deceitful citizenry, who will direct them astray whenever they get the chance. Along with Thayan soldiers and civic officials of all sorts, if a Nethentan recognizes them. Unlike many other cities in Thay, Nethentans like their greenery; hanging plants festoon almost every window, and not all of them are handy-for-clipping herbs for the cook of the household. Nethentir has varied architecture, and a lively literary scene—there are even entire shops here not just of books old, and books new, but of chapbooks of poetry! And all Thay knows that Nethentir is the place to come to see a play—with no less than sixteen rival playhouses scattered all over the city, with the four oldest and best clustered close enough to glare at each other around the streetmoot known as The Fanfare, where the major, radial streets of Congaur’s Walk, Thylen’s Lane, Stornpost Street, Ulmur’s Ride, and The Salumandurlar all meet. In the angles between them are all inns or playhouses, with a tavern right beside each theater (its entrance being the first door down the street it fronts on). The Fanfare is apt to be noisy even in the darkest hours of the night, though live music and horn-calls to signal the imminent beginning of a performance were both outlawed decades ago, and street loudcryers have been recently muzzled by local decree, so I stay some distance away along Stornpost, at Belvadarnra’s Haven, a ladies-only inn that offers beauty baths and prohibits paid escorts, where things are luxuriously quieter. However, most visitors can’t wait to take in one of the bawdy plays, where catcalling and even throwing things (squishy missiles, not daggers or lit handbombs or darts from hand crossbows!) are acceptable or even encouraged. They’re usually staged at The Drunken Lion (the adjacent tavern being the notorious Floon’s Fireflagon; don’t pass by with impressionable innocents or children) or The Raging Raumathari (next door to Ulkur’s Bench tavern, the cheapest and oldest of the popular taverns). Nethentans themselves prefer satirical farces in which Thayan nobles or Red Wizards—or both—get ridiculed, and there are always a trio of these running at any one time, in the evenings, with earlier-in-the-day performances of older, classic comedies (like The Wizard Was Wandering) and tragedies (like Rothzauna’s Choice) at the same theaters. The cleanest and most uppercrust of the four oldest playhouses are Thaphonter’s (its adjacent tavern is Pulkoon’s Pleasure) and its fierce rival Dlaezur’s Doors (flanked by The Dancing Duthdragon tavern, infamous for the tasteless jesters it hires to wait on tables). Many visitors to the city do all their dining either in the expensive dining lounges of the high-priced inns they stay at (such as Brenlaur’s on Hazul Lane and Yulraph’s on Valmalurth Street), or at the taverns that flank the playhouses around The Fanfare, but I Chapter 3: Points of Interest 59

prefer less boisterous and haughty and high-priced dining, that is also more private and suited to talking trade (as there’s a steady appetite all over Thay for the fine glass lamps and vessels and ornaments the glassblowers of Nethentir produce, not to mention the superb Nethentan chairs, tables, and wood panels for walls and stair-ends; the carvers Undred and Ilmhrad Sturlast, brothers, do especially fine work). So I dine at Ungalast’s Fine Cauldron on Dajent Street, or Balandur’s Bowl on Evendur Way. At all costs avoid The Three-Headed Ettin dining club at the southern end of Velkroon’s Street, where the food is wretched, the drinks blended and much stronger than they should be so wild drunkenness is frequent, and the brawls are often fatal. There’s no truth to the rumor that the most beautiful ladies can be swept off their feet at the Ettin; those beauties are all at home busily writing claws-out anonymous pieces for the more biting Nethentan broadsheets, like Toranadur’s Torch and The Happy Gallop. When you’re tired of all the drama, Nethentir’s haughtiest, to-be-seen-at temple to Bane is The Most Holy House of The Lord of Darkness, on Lorvyn’s Lane. Nethjet Where its rival Nethentir turns to books, poems, and plays, Nethjet—best-known to merchants like me for its inky-watered, mildew-reeking canals, that reach fingers everywhere in a labyrinth of busy docks and warehouses—looks to new ways of doing things (almost all of which Thay stubbornly pushes back against, detesting change like most large countries with centralized power) and especially new devices. “Gadgets,” I once heard Elminster of Shadowdale call them: small fabricated items that hold or manipulate or store things for you. Useful once you have them. Coinbelts that sort coins poured into them, and dispense them, quill boxes that eject a writing quill when you slide a button, sharpening the quill as it emerges. Self-lighting lanterns, at the flick of a wheel. That sort of thing. Even aging, conservative Red Wizards and civic officials who publicly sneer at these devices own some, and treasure them. When I’m travelling, I wear one that many merchants have adopted: a bracer on my left forearm that stores quills, parchment scraps, a trade-seal and stamp and spare wax, needles and thread, a vial of water, a dabbing-cloth, and a tinder-striker. Oh, and a tiny hidden dagger, for those defend-yourself moments. Too useful to be without, once you have one. Yet Nethjet has an even more useful side: it’s where bolts, and nails and spikes, and corner-braces that timbers can be slid into to quickly make a frame, and window-frames, are all made far faster and more cheaply than elsewhere, at a “standard” level of quality. This is done through Jetran innovation, through use of cutting jigs and drilling forms (collectively “fabrant” in local parlance), and assembly lines, so relatively unskilled workers can produce corner braces, hinges, lockplates, mending plates, and the like that all have holes of the right sizes and in the right locations to function as identical replacements. This has made better housing and workplaces possible for many, not just in Thay but around the Inner Sea and in places caravans travel on to from the Fallen Stars ports. This has made the makers of Nethjet quietly rich beyond what dukes and kings elsewhere can dream of—and it has made meddling authorities who seek to trammel such creativity, and tax too heavily, locally detested as the worst sort of vermin. As the Jetran saying puts it, “Lower than cockroaches. At least I can fry and eat cockroaches without fear of the head roach sending an army to take my life for it.” This underlying anger makes Nethjet a dangerous place for the tharchion’s spies or Red Wizards or tax collectors if they wander alone, and also for misfits who damage fabrant and steal wares and create unrest among workers; such individuals all too often just “disappear.” And when Jetran makers and powerful traders aren’t taking care of such nuisances, they’re feuding with each other—in long-running disputes that never really end, and are never really won. Competition with a deadly edge, one might call it. So when I come here, I watch my back. I stay at good inns in the best district (the Stride, atop the slightly-raised ridge that overlooks Lake Umber, home to the civic buildings and the temples), usually the Alameirthond on Dazarl Lane or Thelvurt’s House on Tultryaun Street, and dine at nearby merchant-friendly eateries like The Crab Platter on Chanzult Street and Duthengo’s Den on the Way of Taraghar, who rent out rooms for trading negotiations and can send wine and hotbites to the table-side if you order them. I avoid the taverns, where scores have a habit of being suddenly and viciously settled, but can tell you from hearsay that the most beloved are “family locals” like Havalar’s Talltankard on Tharbanner Street and Lhaerivro’s Lantern on Maskadder Lane, as well as Multraer’s Hearth right out at the east end of the city on the Wayserpent Ride—and the real dives where bodies pile up under the tables and not just outside the back alley doors include Barsykkur’s Boots on Maersakkhan Lane and the Gelded Unicorn on Lenduth Street. In Nethjet, a tavern always serves food, but the quality as well as the breadth of the menu may vary from “Here’s our rat stew—see the rats?” to “I’d actually order that again.” The best shopping district for visitors and outlanders is along The Street of Lanterns in the Stride, but 60 Chapter 3: Points of Interest

Jetrans go below it, to the water’s edge in the Umberside district, where in the muddy alleys and maze of hovels real bargains can be had. Including, I hear, poisons and caged, live snakes, scorpions, and small monsters, for those who know who to ask. The temple to be seen at in Nethjet is its recentlyrebuilt holy place of Bane, Talondoors House, on The Street of the Holy Ones. Pyarados Like most visitors to this city, my business is in the outer Grimshield, not the inner Bright Heart. Not with prospectors who’ve struck it rich and have fistfuls of raw gems to sell; such individuals exist, from time to time, but have long since sold out—or been murdered—before I get there. The Grimshield’s a dangerous place even at the height of day, so my first stop (as I always approach the city from the west, along the Eastern Way) is always just inside the gates, at the Harlhond inn. Where I rent a room I’ll never use, just to be able to call on their yard-guards to keep safe my wares and wagons while I go half a block down the Way to Nlathoud “the Eye” Draevyn to hire bodyguards (it doesn’t matter if you bring your own; you need locals, or your bodyguards will just become lesser targets, after you’re taken down). Folk see you have them, and they leave you alone and look for more overconfident or poorer folk to accost, instead. Having equipped myself for my stay, I depart the Eastern Way—which cuts right across the city, but is watched by all manner of local spies, seeking targets— along Orlserpent Street, to where I prefer to rent rooms: at Harhethur’s Haven, a walled and guarded stables and carriage-house and inn, with its own eatery (dreadful to adequate, depending on what part of the menu you sample). From there, it’s an easy walk to the much better eateries of Harl’s Hothearth on Mlendil Lane, or Beldur’s Boar House on Skuulmur Street. The Hothearth is suitable for trade negotiations, but the Boar House is too noisy, too crowded, and too full of spies looking to sell whatever they overhear—but the food is wonderful. The Grimshield isn’t the place to go looking for a wagon or closed coach or guide to hire; for the former, I go to Istyn Orlaudhvar of Istyn’s Conveyances on Irburl Lane, and for the latter, I always engage Orlaudros Hlyvvyn (who assigns trusted guides depending on who you are, and where you want to go). I’m not so lacking in sense as to seek out a Grimshield tavern—good drink can be had at any of the inns and eateries I use in Pyarados—but I hear the best ones are Skarth’s Platter on Thazmran Street and The Three-Headed Efreet on Lapramkullet Lane, and one of the wildest is Arkhuld’s Neck on Dragontail Way— which is a very long and winding street that worms its way two-thirds of the way around the Shield, and is home to all manner of strange shops, notably one that pickles monster carcasses and uses some preserved beholders as street-signs out front: Forthyn’s Fellmaw Remembrances. There’s also someone, somewhere in Pyarados, who breeds and feeds up snakes, because you can buy live ones by the well-ventilated cask—non-venomous edible varieties like the brown rocksnake and the Thazarim false viper—from several Shield traders (I always deal with Oddskull, the jovial half-orc at Oddskull’s Journey on Darprentar Street). If you want to be seen on your knees to Bane by folk who locally matter, the place to do it is in the Bright Heart: The House of the Tyrant, on The Mountainride. Sekelmur The Ang Harrad have interests in this crossroads city, so I visit more often than I otherwise might; it’s dominated by granaries and wagons, oxen and way-stables, and has little else of interest. The amenities are far rougher than most of the other cities I frequent (though Umratharos isn’t much better), so of the four inns—one at each gate—I usually stay at the Belathond nigh the south gate purely because it’s slightly quieter Chapter 3: Points of Interest 61

(less traffic to and from Belizir than elsewhere) and because their beds are a trifle newer and better. Yet you may find the Torathond to the north, Zelzora’s to the west, and Alavrandur’s to the east little different. All of them have their own tiresome but adequate dining-lounges, and forgettable taverns stand hard by each of them, but I prefer to dine upstairs at the back of the best eatery in the city: Avalae’s Prospect on Thazant Street. Try their Six Surprises Platter; the oysters are fiery, but worth it. There is one good tavern in the city that I know of, and other traders prefer alternatives to it, so you may find some. “My” good tavern is Alsrake’s Raised Goblet on Tethlizard Lane. They provide fresh sprigs of mint to chew, to clear the breath and mouth ere stumbling “home” afire from strong drink. If you need a guide in town, seek Lhyzlyn Luzkund at the Goblet; a sly, flirtatious dog, but he’ll not lead you wrong. If you need a remount, or fresh draft beasts, deal with Dyzcindra Mahlout of Fresh Hooves Await on Vonthurlen Lane, and if you need a new wagon or coach, or yours repaired, Svandyn Havandhar of Havandar’s Wheels Turning on the Way of the Wind is your man. And if you’d be seen by the locally high and mighty being devout before Bane, seek The Towers of the Tyrant, on Vauntreth Street. Follow your nose; it’s next to a slaughterhouse. Surthay I almost never visit this backwater, as there’s nothing to trade for here. Occasionally, however, it’s necessary to meet with some of the nobles in “True Surthay” to have agreements signed (or more often, to hear their self-serving excuses for their failure to perform their end of a deal), and on such occasions I stay at one of the few tolerable inns the city offers: the Aemathond on Gauros Way, just inside the city gate. Hard by it stands an acceptable eatery and a superb club (one must purchase a year’s membership but it’s well worth it for the amenities), and I seldom stray far from this tiny slice of Surthay except to depart again, as fast as I can. The eatery is The Plenty of Mulsantir, which despite its name serves thankfully few eel and fish dishes (I quite like the soft-shelled crabs, though it’s better never to think about what they may have dined on), and the club is Tshamaura’s (pronounced “Tuh-SHAHmore-ahs” and not “Tash-uh-more-uhs,” unless you want to be thought a truly uncultured outlander). They do delightful iced drinks in the hot season, and sugar confections I could get very used to, year-round. There’s also a tavern within sight, Duthdance’s Flagon on Dlool Street, but unless you want to see drunken nobles behaving badly, what’s the point? (Don’t think you can take advantage of their state to mistreat them; their bodyguards all sit there, bored and disapproving, waiting to drag their sodden employers safely home.) If you need a guide to anywhere in True Surthay, ask at the other tolerable inn nigh the gate, The Pride of Surthay, for Hlantur Ozurlur, and they’ll send for him. Pricey but a delightful companion, considerate, and knows everyone “of the True.” Should your whim or needs take you to Westsulkh, go well armed and in a large party, and either hire a closed coach from Bazhandur Omlarent (Omlarent Travels on the Foregate), or ask at the bar of the Flagon for Onstur Vorluth, and expect to pay him very well for disguises and guidance that your life may well depend upon, so treat him well and try to befriend. And should you want to be noticed by local nobles and civic officials of influence and power, your temple is The Black Lord’s Door, on The Way of the Wizard (a street used by Red Wizards, so one of them long ago cast a spell that shields it from driving rain, while the rest of the city gets drenched). Szul This is where the exalted of Thay choose to meet with lowly merchants when they’ve decided to ascend to Thaymount for vacations of idle luxury, and don’t want to invite unwashed traders into their compounds, nor yet descend too far back into the world of toil and stink and the lower classes. So it’s something of a way-stop, but at the same time offers more luxuries at even modest establishments then can be found for far higher prices at cities elsewhere in Thay. So you can’t go wrong at any of the three inns. I prefer Helra’s Harathond on Qulshrine Street, but you may like Taumalaer’s on Waybanners Way, or the Paerathond on Immul Street, better. All have their own dining lounges that serve perfectly good fare, but unless the weather is bad, why not go to one of the five splendid eateries that line Waybanners? All have large carved “full platter” jutting-out-into-the-street signs, so even dullards can spot them. If you want to talk trade privately, The Soaring Wyvern has the best back rooms and the best wine cellar, too, but if you want to be seen by the most people and don’t care if you dine in a happy din, The Rozaerl is your place. The Morkalyn is the most pricey and attracts patrons hunting for each other’s caresses more than the other places, The Hunting Horn is the cheapest and most comfortable family place, and that leaves Skorel’s Soond as not too much of anything, a balance of all. As I said, you can’t go wrong. 62 Chapter 3: Points of Interest

Where you can find disappointment is in the search for a good tavern, as it seems the High Regent tired of one too many brawls among drunken servants throwing off their cloaks of tension, and closed them all. You can get drinks at any of the places I’ve mentioned, but all of them expect you to order something to chew and park it like a wagon on the table between you. So do that. Should you need to rent or purchase a coach, or matching draft beasts to make a suitable impression, seek out Ulvur Gokont or any of his daughters at Gokont’s on Waybanners Way. If it’s a guide to Szul and Thaymount’s mansions you need, see Umur Glaskyn of Glaskyn’s Guiding Hand on Qulshrine Street. And if you need any wardrobe repairs or augmentations, or scents or face-paints, your man is the mincing, feather-bedecked Ostryn Phandror of Phandror’s Triumphs on Immul Street. He can even teach courtly dances, if you feel the need. It seems that away from public gaze, the lofty of Thay aren’t all that devout, or prefer to use their own private home chapels, for Szul offers no decent temples, but the best temple to be seen at by local civic authorities is Bane’s Dark Regard on Helyndrul Street. Thasselen Another city I seldom visit for reasons of paucity of trade, though the Ang Harrad are wondering if it might be a good place to establish a covert “back channel” for shipments in and out of Thay (myself, I think that a busier city provides more cover; Thasselen is sleepy enough for such activity to be red-robes-obvious). Yet this walled port city is pleasant enough, and feels almost in another world from haughty Eltabbar or squalid Surthay or all the places in Thay where the Red Wizards watch you disapprovingly. They have Red Wizards here, to be sure, but only a handful, and they seem so contented in their debauchery as to not much care what anyone else gets up to. Citizens here feel this isolation, and are mostly thankful for it, and have little interest in traveling to see more of Thay. And who can blame them? Thasselen is a place of wide streets that never seem crowded, and statues. Statues everywhere, lining the streets: humans thrice life sized and up on plinths, forgotten local officials staring heroically off into the sky as they proudly hold up tax-rolls or ledgers that presumably paid for the statues. Sculpting statues, and statuettes to be sold as table adornments elsewhere, is one of the big industries in Thasselen. Which at least beats goat-herding and making goat cheeses, their other big thing. I like the city, but fear I’d grow utterly bored very quickly if I was ever forced to live here and not just make brief, hastening visits. Though it is a busy port, offering the most traffic to and from the Alaor, it has surprisingly few inns, eateries—Thasselens seem to prefer to dine at home, or at the homes of close friends—or taverns. Yet those they do have are clean, spacious, seem new or newly refurbished, and superior to the Thayan norm. For places to stay, I recommend Hathkongh’s Haven on Maerence Street or the Zarundthond on Muranthur’s Ride (which has a tallhedge garden full of orange, lime, and pear trees for guests to relax in!). For eateries, try Belabront’s Haunch on Kalandavur Street (despite the name, the menu is almost all seafood) or Boy Riding Goat on Eltorlabbar Street (goat, goat, and more goat, but they do prepare it in some very succulent ways). As for taverns, I’ve only been to Borel’s Flagon on Deldusk Lane, but have heard good things about Ammanastra’s Smile on Maerence Street (don’t expect to see Ammanastra or her smile; it seems she died about a century ago). Chapter 3: Points of Interest 63

And as for clubs: there aren’t any. Or rather, there are private clubs where they presumably get up to all manner of wild revelry, but nothing that strangers and visitors can so much as find, let alone be welcomed at. If you need a guide to the city, ask at the Flagon for Ilkus Bhandras (moustache, catlike knowing smile, preens a lot) and he’ll appear soon enough. Debonair but kindly. If it’s mounts you need, or draft beasts, see Skultur Hrezzend of Hrezzend’s Fine Animals on Muranthur’s Ride. And if it’s a wagon or coach, or repairs to either, you want, seek out Azalyn Uldryth on Delnym Lane. To pray to Bane and be seen doing it by the locally prominent and important, go to Blackbanners House, on The March of the Dead (which, yes, leads out of town to a huge garden-like, carefully-maintained cemetery of winding paths and small stone crypt-houses; a surprising number of locals use it for open-air covert “walking meetings”). Tyraturos A noisy, always-bustling city, even in the usually dead time of deep night, where many workshops produce things, from chairs to looms to churns to pulleys. And of course, endless tapestries, rugs, and bolts of cloth from the many local weaveries. We ship wagons upon wagons of them. I come here often, but get in and get out as swiftly as I can. Everyone here seems always in a great hurry, to work, work, work themselves closer to their graves. I think I’d hate it here. Smoke often hangs in the air, there are bright moving lanterns and rumbling wagons at all times, and everything seems worn, hastily patched, and grimy. Which leaves me struggling to recommend anywhere, though I usually stay at Tlaroarah’s Thond on Askaddam Street, which at least has plenty of hot bathwater as well as cold, for soaking away the grime of a day. I’d not eat at the place, but if your taste runs to huge roast oxen and boar cooked to blackened and then drowned in fiery red sauces, you’ll be happy enough with its dining-lounge. Better eateries are The Happy Horned Dragon on Nlouvryn Lane (a noisy, bring-the-family barn of multiple levels and inner balconies; beware youths throwing food from on high), Mulsymm’s Bower on Haeltront Street (haughty and pricey but hushed and superb food), and The Bull And Blade on Surtarpryn Street (best for merchants, as it’s all alcoves and gently-harping strolling minstrels who never sing, so one can talk trade without nearby tables listening in). Taverns in this city are of two sorts: filling stations where exhausted workers and shopkeepers crowd at benches to get drunk as fast as possible before stumbling home to snore, and loud, raucous revel-houses where folk come to laugh, brawl, tryst, and make wagers. Your cautious, respectable merchant visits neither. If you must, I’m told that of the second, noisier sort of tavern, a place called The Stag Skull Laughs on Rendrel Street isn’t too bad. If you don’t mind being deafened, or having someone else’s drink hurled over you. Luckily for me, Tyraturos offers a club with a reasonable annual fee that members can rent private meeting-rooms at, with little fear of overcrowding— and a good wine cellar, to boot. It’s called The Dazed Dragon Down, and stands at the corner of Rezild Street and Taunthorl Lane. It’s also where you can easily hire, by asking at the front desk, a good guide to the city; just ask for Ezeld Turraunt. Who is an old, retired civic official and looks it, but is surprisingly kind, polite, and attentive. He’s not the man to guide you to the taverns and the wilder delights of Tyraturos, however; for that sort of guide, ask for Ozol Vulkym at The Bull And Blade. He seems a bit of an alley-dagger bullyblade, and sly. And should you need to buy a horse or team of draft beasts, or even a mule or a pony, go to Dazant Yard, the rather aromatic stockyards on Hurbrakh Street, and ask for Oblur Dazant. If your needs are for wagons or coaches, or repairs to same, seek out Vuldym Chazant of Chazant’s Coach Castle, on Dondravur Lane. In Tyraturos, the uppercrust “be seen to pray in” temple is The Hall of the Black Tyrant on Moondown Street. Its six-adult-humans-tall black double doors are adorned with welded-on pieces of black-painted armor from fallen priests of Bane. Umratharos Of old a mere crossroads way-stop along the Sur Road on the way to Delhumide, this city is a rising center of crafters making crockery, wagon axles, furniture and decorative wooden railings and panels, and sledges and runners for use in high mountain snows elsewhere, too. We make more deals here with every passing month, shipping raw materials in and finished goods out. And fortunately for me, I like the place. Fresh air— the breezes are cool, mind, and seldom die down—and less mud, filth, and crowding than in many older, larger Thayan cities. 64 Chapter 3: Points of Interest

Major streets include the Sur Road, the Keluthar Road, the Way of Serpents (which curves in a great arc across the southern two-thirds of the city, from the banks of the River Thay to the Sur Road as it heads east, out of the city), Malambrar’s Ride (running south from the Daoloar [“DAY-oh-lore”], the triangular open space where all the major roads meet, midway between the Keluthar and the eastern leg of the Sur Road), and Huthcloak Lane, which winds like a drunkard through the city north and east of the Daoloar. The best places to stay, though one can’t escape the night-lanterns or bustle at all hours, all front side-byside on the Daoloar, three inns out of the dozen-some Umratharos offers (the others are along the Sur and Keluthar at edges of the city). These three are Irkhann’s Thond (edgy; young folk and rakes like to stay here), Dulkryn’s Thond (family; old, haughty, and priciest); and the Delathond (quietest and with the most rental rooms, so most popular with escorts and with merchants like me). All three offer superb dining-lounges, so I seldom go farther to dine, though Thaeltharra’s Delights on Shezluth Street offers lovely drinks and sugary confections I can’t resist. If you or your client is more the seared-boar and braised whole haunch of oxen sort, seek The Flaming Hoof on Yultora’s Ride. Taverns in the city seem to be good and very similar to each other, so slake your thirst in wherever’s closest. The one where old adventurers go to tell treasure tales and wave maps about and hire each other to hie off to beckoning dooms, however, is Halaunt’s Old Armor on Huzlepard Lane. I’ve only needed a guide in Urmratharos once, to find a particular goldsmith, and I hired the saturnine, dapper, might even be the noble he claims to be Orzil Thalont, of Thalont’s Fair Journeying on Thrultzar Street. He has a rival, I must reveal: the handsome but older and definitely common-born and cynical Toumurr Rhal, of Rhal’s Wise Guidance on Lorulaunt Lane. If it’s horses or oxen or mules you want, seek out Razh Ulmarrim at the west in-city end of Sur Road, or his rival Mnarlh Hazahr (of Hazahr’s Horses) at the east in-city end of the Sur. And if it’s coaches, wagons, or their repair you need, your lady is Izla Mahantir, of Mahantir’s House of Coaches on Malambrar’s Ride. And finally, the temple to be seen in, by the locally prominent and high-ranking, is The Black Flame of Bane on Onstran Street. Chapter 3: Points of Interest 65

CHAPTER 4 Heroes from Thay his chapter presents new player options for characters from Thay. While it is a land of magic, it is also a place of rampant loyalism and passion, and where the opulent mask often obscures the grotesque personality underneath. The Weavebound Paladin Thay is most certainly a magocracy, but that is not to say that divine power isn’t acknowledged. In fact, this couldn’t be further from the truth: Szass Tam has, as he always does, gleaned methods by which to pervert a resource that he don’t own so that he can bend it to his own nefarious ends. A weavebound paladin draws power from their god—almost always Mystra, but worshipers of Shar, Oghma, and other Faerûnian deities of magic exist as well—and binds that energy into their martial pursuits. They have been irrevocably changed by their far-reaching dreams of conquest and their loyalty to Red Wizards and the greater glory of Thay itself. The raw power of the Weave, the fundamental arcane fabric that powers all magic across the Forgotten Realms, courses through the paladin and provides the lens through which they perceive the world. The protection and promotion of magic is their sworn goal, and they will go to any length to achieve it. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, a weavebound paladin is bound not only to the glory of Thay but also directly to a single zulkir. The secret of creating a weavebound paladin was until recently known only to Szass Tam, but others around the realms—notably the Blackstaff in Waterdeep and Zulkir Dar’lon Ma of Mulmaster—have begun to craft their own versions of this path. Still, there are those wary few across the Sword Coast and beyond who believe that Szass Tam merely leaked a corrupt version of the ritual into the world so that he might have more eyes and ears where he needs them most: adjacent to the most powerful casters that he does not already control. Special Requirements. A weavebound paladin must meet the following requirements before they are able to gain levels in this class: • Must have an Intelligence score of 12 or higher. • Must have at least 2 levels in the wizard class. • Must have a powerful patron (minimum Challenge Rating of 20) such as a demon lord, a zulkir, or similar, and that patron must not be currently bonded to another weavebound paladin. Tenets of the Weavebound A weavebound paladin is terrifyingly powerful force of magic and faith in the nation of Thay. They channel their god into their own arcane works, and in turn use those combined energies to promote the glory of Thay above all else. To see arcanists of Thay succumb to doubt is treason; to learn that a wizard of Thay, Red Robed or otherwise, has fallen to an outlander is akin to hearing a declaration of war from that outlander’s home realm. The weavebound paladin is part of the Weave, and their god is a part of them. Their tenets are direct: Preserve the Art. The Weave is a powerful but delicate thing. Its existence is sacred, its power exquisite, and it must not be undone. Glory to the Weave. Your mission is to preserve the Weave at all costs. Even your own life is insignificant when compared to the need to keep the eternal pattern. Might is the Only Power. Only those that can bend the Weave to their will are truly capable of leading. Oath Spells You gain weavebound spells at the paladin levels listed. T Chapter 4: Heroes from Thay 66 Chapter 4: Heroes from Thay

Weavebound Spells Paladin Level Spells 3rd bane, heroism 5th augury, Nystul’s magic aura 9th enemies abound, glyph of warding 13th compulsion, Mordenkainen’s private sanctum 17th circle of power, legend lore Channel Divinity Options When you take this oath at 3rd level, you gain the following two Channel Divinity options: Arcane Armor. You can use your Channel Divinity as a reaction to provide yourself or your patron with a defensive boost. If you do, you may choose to increase your armor class, or that of your patron, by +6 versus a single magical spell, effect, or attack (including one made with a magical weapon). Woven from Faith. You can use your Channel Divinity to create a spell component worth up to 50 gp times your paladin level. This spell component lasts until consumed or until one minute has elapsed, whichever occurs first. Selling this item or using it in a duplicitous manner rather than consuming it as part of a spell you cast may draw the ire of your god and patron. Weaver’s Mantle Beginning at 7th level, you can manifest an aura of pure Weave energy. When you manifest this aura, choose a school of magic and a creature to receive your mantle; you must be able to perceive this creature, and this creature must be of size Medium or smaller. When a creature wearing your mantle is targeted by or would be affected by a spell from the chosen school, they must choose one of the following effects: Arcane Sustenance. If the creature is successful in making their saving throw (if any) against the spell or effect, they may then use their reaction to make an Intelligence (Arcana) check; the DC of this check is equal to the spell’s DC. If this is also successful, they immediately regain one expended spell slot of a level no higher than your Charisma modifier (minimum 1). Delayed Effect. The spell’s effect takes place at the beginning of the creature’s next turn. This only effects the creature with the mantle; any other creatures affected by the spell receive that effect normally. Increased Effect. The creature receives an extra 50% of the spell’s effect. Non-numerical effects aren’t increased. Increased Resistance. The creature has advantage on their saving throw against this effect. The mantle lasts for a number of rounds equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum 1). Once your mantle is active, you may sacrifice an unused spell slot as a bonus action; if you do, the mantle’s duration is extended by a number of rounds equal to the level of the spell slot sacrificed in this way. Once a mantle’s effect is used, it ceases to exist immediately. When you reach 18th level in this class, your mantle covers a number of allies within 30 feet of you equal to your Charisma bonus (minimum 1) and the following mantle options are also available: Limited Immunity. If the spell is of 3rd level or less, the creature is immune to it. Spell Turning. The creature may sacrifice an unused spell slot and make an Intelligence saving throw. If they are successful, the spell is turned back upon its caster and no longer has any effect upon the wearer of the mantle. Crafting the Pattern Starting at 15th level, you may enact a ritual that requires you to spend a full day fasting, meditating, and praying. Upon completion of this day, you may temporarily lose a number of paladin levels equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum 1) and in return gain that number of wizard levels. Until you reverse this ritual by spending a full day fasting, meditating, and praying on this matter again you gain no experience, you can’t attune to magical items that you didn’t own prior to enacting this ritual, and you can’t learn any new spells, nor can you regain spent spell slots. No magic, not even wish, can swap these class levels permanently. You may use this ritual once per month and doing so requires you to expend 5,000 gp worth of rare and exotic spell components such as a hair of the tail of a tarrasque, a sphinx’s riddle in a bottle, and the pinion feathers of an ancient pegasus. When the ritual is reversed, your paladin and wizard levels revert to their normal levels. Weavebound Paladins Outside of Thay Weavebound paladins are almost exclusively found in Thay and are bound to the zulkirs. But this isn’t to say that they can’t exist elsewhere in the world—in fact, it’s entirely possible (and somewhat likely) that they can be located elsewhere, especially where powerful arcanists might be found. However, it’s also possible that those weavebound paladins that grow their powers outside of Thay are doing so using a corrupt version of the ritual that Szass Tam created, and may actually be sleeper agents for that terrible lich… Chapter 4: Heroes from Thay 67

Avatar of the Arcane At 20th level, you may consult your own path through the Weave in order to realize your most potent form: that of an empowered golem, blending your mortal form with the raw power of the weave. You pull and tug strands of the Weave itself to create an arcane carapace that surrounds you and grants the following powers and abilities: • You gain all the mechanical abilities and traits of an iron golem, including its size unless you are already larger. Your stats replace those of the iron golem. • You are not constructed of iron, but of solidified, raw essence of magic. • While in this form, you don’t require air, food, drink, or sleep. • Instead of the iron golem’s Fire Absorption feature, you have the following feature: Force Absorption. Whenever you are subjected to force damage, you take no damage and instead regain a number of hit points equal to the force damage dealt. • Instead of the iron golem’s Poison Breath feature, you have the following feature: Force Breath. You exhale a mighty wind infused with the raw essence of magic in a 15-foot cone. Each creature in that area is knocked prone and must make a DC 19 Strength saving throw, taking 45 (10d8) force damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. This effect lasts for one minute, and once used it can’t be used again until you have completed an extended rest. New Magic Option: Circle Magic The practice of communal spellcasting isn’t original to Thay, nor is it exclusive to this region. Having origi - nated with ancient civilizations that predate Thay, the Witches of Rashemen, and even Netheril, circle magic provides a method by which a group of spellcasters may pool their resources in such a way that the even - tual effects are manifested at an incredible level, but also so that Mystra’s will and command of the usage of the Weave isn’t truly violated. Where one practitioner of the Art may be mighty, together a group of circle casting mages are nigh unstoppable. 68 Chapter 4: Heroes from Thay

Becoming a Circle Caster Circle casting is a powerful practice, and the secrets of its usage are jealously guarded by Szass Tam. A Red Wizard that possesses the Thayan circle caster feat may participate in the practice of circle casting. Even so, the blessing that Szass Tam bestows upon the wizard may be terminated at any time, which immediately rescinds this ability—and in fact, may outright destroy the wizard in a mighty pillar of magical power, if Szass Tam so desires it. The Practice of Circle Casting At its core, circle casting is an evolution of the practice of ritual casting. Modern rituals are performed by a single spellcaster, who spends at least 10 minutes reciting their spell and using their reagents as they perform the complex steps of the spell. Circle-cast spells take this base concept and ramp it up in a manner that is clearly Thayan: it is ostentatious, it is greedy, and it is powerful. Each practitioner of the Art that wishes to participate in the practice of circle casting must be an active circle caster. They gather in a manner that leaves them no more than 20 feet distant from all of the other Red Wizards that are participating in the ritual. The Red Wizard that is performing the circle casting ritual stands in the center of the gathering, while each of the other participants performs a 10-minute-long ritual, or longer if the central Red Wizard’s ritual would take more than 10 minutes, in which they channel their spell slots into the Red Wizard in the center. Upon completion of the ritual, the central Red Wizard decides what to do with the channeled spell slots and the desired effect from their own ritual manifests immediately. Starting a Circle Cast Ritual. You may initiate a circle cast ritual if you have both the Thayan circle caster feat and Szass Tam’s blessing. When you decide to start a circle cast ritual, you are serving as the focal point for the ritual. This does not necessarily change the spell’s effect, range, target, or other variables. You must have at least 2 other Red Wizards with the Thayan circle casting feat in order to start a circle cast ritual. As you perform your ritual, you: • Choose one spell that you have prepared to be your circle casting spell. This spell consumes your highest-level spell slot, which must be equal to or higher than the level of the spell. This spell does not need to be a ritual spell and does not become a ritual spell by virtue of using this ability. Circle Casting & the Forgotten Realms The nature of circle casting as it exists today isn’t identical to what it once was. Due to decades and centuries of tinkering and meddling with arcane formulae, it has become an inherently evil act: it drains power and vitae from those that not only participate, but also the land and the creatures near the center of the casting endeavor. Furthermore, this practice requires the personal blessing of Szass Tam; to say that this would be a challenge for heroic adventurers to achieve is a dramatic understatement, to say the least. 69

• Must perform your circle cast ritual for 10 minutes or the standard casting time for your chosen spell, whichever is longer. • Fully open yourself to telepathic communication with Szass Tam, even if you are on different planes of existence. • May not take any actions or movements. • At the beginning of each minute that you spend casting your ritual, you gain spell points from each Red Wizard participating. For example, if you gained three 5th-level spell slots, you would gain 15 spell points. These spell points are expended at the end of the ritual, and any unused points are lost. • Unlike the other participants, if you run out of spell slots you do not gain levels of exhaustion. Participating in a Circle Cast Ritual. You may participate in a circle cast ritual provided that you have both the Thayan circle caster feat and Szass Tam’s blessing. You may take no other actions or movements for the entire duration of the ritual. While performing in the ritual, you: • Must perform your circle cast ritual for 10 minutes or the standard casting time for your chosen spell, whichever is longer. • Fully open yourself to telepathic communication with Szass Tam, even if you are on different planes of existence. • May not take any actions or movements. • At the beginning of each minute that you spend within the ritual, your highest-level spell slot is delivered to the focal point. If you have no spell slots remaining, you instead gain one level of exhaustion. • If a Red Wizard is rendered unconscious or killed during their participation in a circle cast ritual, all other participants gain one level of exhaustion unless they succeed on a Constitution saving throw. The DC for this saving throw is: DC = 8 + level of spell being cast + focal point’s spellcasting modifier + focal point’s proficiency bonus The Vile Cost of Circle Casting As with anything that Szass Tam touches, the practice of circle casting has become inherently corrupt. Upon the completion of a spell cast in this manner, several effects manifest in addition to anything the spell creates: Blasted Hellscape. The land surrounding the focal point of the ritual is turned into a blasted, lifeless hellscape. The range of this effect is equal to the 70 Chapter 4: Heroes from Thay

combined level of all spell slots gathered in the ritual times the focal point’s wizard level in feet. Weaverend. Due to the extreme amount of energy that has been channeled in the ritual, each spellcaster that participated in any portion of the circle cast ritual has their Intelligence score reduced by 1d4 points and their Constitution score reduced by 1d4 unless they succeed on a Constitution saving throw. The participant dies if their Intelligence or Constitution is reduced to 0. Otherwise, the reduction lasts until the participant finishes a short or long rest. The DC for this saving throw is: DC = 8 + half of the total spell points gathered by the ritual The Effects of Circle Casting Once a circle cast ritual is complete, the focal point needs to determine what to do with the spell points that they have gathered. The focal point may purchase multiple effects, chosen from the following options: Enhanced Destruction. One of the spell’s damage dice is automatically set to its maximum value. This effect costs a number of spell points equal to half of the value of the die chosen (e.g.: a d6 costs 3 spell points). Extend Range. The spell’s range is increased by 50 percent. Grant Advantage. If your spell requires an attack roll, you may grant yourself advantage on a single attack roll by spending 10 spell points on this effect. This effect may be purchased multiple times. Impose Disadvantage. Anything included in the spell’s effect has disadvantage on their saving throw against the spell’s effect(s). This option may only be chosen if at least one 8th-level or higher spell slot was consumed in the casting of the ritual, and costs 10 spell points. Manifest Essence. For every 5 spell points that you use to purchase this effect, you manifest one magic missile that deals 1d4 + 1 points of force damage to a target of your choosing. Modify Duration. The spell’s duration is extended by an additional 50 percent. If you use 40 or more spell points to purchase this effect, the duration becomes 7 days. If you spend 100 spell points to purchase this effect, the duration becomes permanent. Raise DC. The spell’s DC is increased by 1/4 of the spell slots used to purchase this effect. Sculpt Spell. You may exclude a single target from your spell’s area of effect. This effect costs 30 spell points. Shape Spell. You may adjust the shape of your spell to a cube, cone, sphere, or spray. This effect costs 40 spell points. Shred the Weave. This dangerous effect costs 200 spell points. When purchased, the spell becomes a living spell and instantly kills each Red Wizard that participated in the circle cast ritual unless they succeed on a DC 24 Constitution saving throw as Mystra’s fury courses through them. New Feats The practice of Thayan circle magic has led to the creation of several new feats: Circle of Duplication Prerequisite: Thayan circle caster feat, ritual caster feat or ritual caster class feature When you serve as the focal point for a Thayan circle cast spell, you may attempt to manifest your spell’s effect twice when the ritual completes. If you do, the spell’s base DC is half of its normal value, determined after all adjustments from your ritual are compiled in. You choose new targets for the duplicated spell. Circle of Hunger Prerequisite: Thayan circle caster feat, ritual caster feat or ritual caster class feature When you serve as the focal point for a Thayan circle cast spell, you may attempt to siphon additional energy from each caster other than yourself participating in the ritual. This decision is made at the end of each minute that you spend casting your ritual, and once made each caster other than yourself automatically loses their highest-level unused spell slot unless they succeed on a Constitution saving throw. The DC for this saving throw is: DC = 8 + your spellcasting modifier + your proficiency bonus + the number of rounds in this ritual that you’ve used this ability A spellcaster that fails this saving throw and has no spell slots remaining falls unconscious and is no longer able to participate in the current circle casting effort. Any spell slots lost by the circle casting participants may be used by you in your ritual’s final effect, and the original caster regains spell slots lost in this manner when they complete a long rest. Thayan Circle Caster Prerequisite: Intelligence of 18 or higher, Red Wizard of Thay with 8 or more wizard levels, must have received a unique arcane blessing from Szass Tam, ritual caster feat or class feature You have been blessed by Szass Tam himself and have become a conduit for enhanced arcane power. You may participate in Thayan circle casting. Chapter 4: Heroes from Thay 71

Thayan Backgrounds Characters that hail from Thay aren’t necessarily evil. They, as with characters from any other land, are defined by their actions and their free will. However, certain backgrounds are only available to those that began their heroic journey in this evil place. Blank Slate The first thing that you can remember of your life is emerging from the ruined laboratory. You were in agony, mentally and physically, and to this day haven’t discovered anything about what caused you to be in Thay. You are both drawn to that mystery as well as repulsed by it, because once you discover what gave you your scars, you can never unlearn it. Skill Proficiencies: Survival, and choose one from: Arcana, Athletics, Intimidation, Persuasion, Stealth Languages: Deep Speech Tool Proficiencies: Disguise kit or thieves’ tools Equipment: A Thayan trinket, a locket that contains a small portrait of an old person that you don’t recognize, a small glass vial with what appear to be shed skins (snake, insect, or other similar creature), a fancy signet ring, shredded clothes (noble’s, sailor’s, or soldier’s), a shovel, and a small cedar box that contains 14 gp. The coins are at least 60 years old. How Did I Get These Scars? Upon emerging from the ruins you either saw your scars in your reflection or someone pointed them out to you. What are they? Where are they located? Do you really want to know? Location of Scars d6 Command 1 Across your face and cheeks 2 Covering your arms 3 All across your legs 4 Haphazardly across your back 5 Encompassing your chest 6 Marring your hands and wrists Type of Scars d6 Command 1 Dozens of small, perfect circles 2 A series of deep slashes that have rudely healed 3 The faint remains of medical stitches and staples 4 Deep purple tissue that is intensely itchy 5 Bright white, old scar tissue that is always warm 6 Gibberish arcane runes that occasionally weep green fluid Feature: Starbonded When you are presented with an aberrant creature’s natural form, you instantly recall some esoteric bit of lore about that creature. Usually, this information regards the creature’s favored diet or habitat, but on rare occasion you may know that creature’s name. When this effect is triggered, your scars grow slightly larger or more numerous. If this effect is triggered because you saw a starspawn creature, you feel both kinship and intense revulsion. Your DM might rule that this effect may only happen once per day, or that the information only comes to you when you next fall asleep. 72 Chapter 4: Heroes from Thay

Expatriate Mage You, and others, were being tutored by a zulkir’s trusted advisors. As a fledgling Red Wizard, you were destined for greatness should you survive your training. You experienced a great many things during your classes, though, and slowly you were the only person left in your training class. When you found out what happened to your classmates you were left with more questions than answers, and ultimately decided that the sacrifices that Thay requires just aren’t worth your time and effort. You abandoned your training, possibly forsaking the path of magic altogether, and swore that you would only return to mete out justice for all the wrongs you witnessed. Skill Proficiencies: Arcana plus one other (your choice) Languages: Choose any two Equipment: A Thayan trinket, a ruined spellbook that once belonged to one of your peers, a scroll tube that contains four preserved humanoid eyeballs, a necklace with a trio of tiny crystals that have been woven together with silver filigree, asset of traveler’s clothes, and 20 gp. The School of Sacrifice What did you give up in order to enter tutelage? What concessions did you make to stay there? Sacrifices and Concessions d6 Command 1 You had to give up your family; they were disappeared by the zulkir’s enforcers, but you entered into your education for free. 2 As you became close with your peers, they were removed from class. You never heard from them again, and the administrators didn’t recognize their names or descriptions when you inquired. 3 You had to give up part of your eternal soul. 4 You had to accept part of the zulkir’s soul into yourself. You have no control over or communication with this fragment, but its presence mars your existence. 5 You had to swear an oath to Thay upon pain of eternal torment, and you’re convinced that actions taken against Thay would result in excruciating retaliation. 6 You willingly accepted a curse that causes you to lose your memories if you act against Thay. You have no idea how much you’ve already forgotten. Feature: Student of Evil You are familiar with the Zulkir that you trained under, and know the information presented in their description elsewhere in this supplement. You may not have spent significant time with them directly as your training was primarily handled by their advisors, but your awareness may open (or inadvertently close!) doors when speaking with other people, especially adventurers, merchants, and nobles. Similarly, the Zulkir may have a bounty on your head for your safe (or otherwise) return. Chapter 4: Heroes from Thay 73

Thayan Deserter You were a soldier in the Thayan army, beholden to a Tharchion, Tharchioness, or Zulkir that sought to deploy you against the enemies of the magocracy. Over time you grew to question your orders, quietly at first and then more loudly. One way or another you deserted your post and abandoned your commission. The memories of the atrocities that you were party to, or that you committed, echo in your mind to this day. Skill Proficiencies: Choose two from among Athletics, Medicine, Perception, Survival Tool Proficiencies: Choose one type of gaming set and one vehicle Equipment: A Thayan trinket, Thayan citizenship papers, a memento from a member of your platoon or commander (Tharchion, Tharchioness, or Zulkir), a small booklet of Thayan propaganda, and a pouch containing 10 gp. A Step Too Far Before you decided that enough was enough and abandoned your post, you were commanded to perform one questionable activity after another. The memory of the final command haunts you to this day. The Final Command d6 Command 1 Your discovered your commander was magically charming other members of your platoon. When you voiced concern, you were awarded a promotion and removed from field duty. 2 After several weeks of raids that left caravans destroyed and their supplies completely raided, you found the raider’s lair. Upon discovering that the raiders weren’t quite adults, you were told to recruit them or to let the necromancers do it. 3 You had guarded the tollhouse for several mostly uneventful months near the distant border. One day while inspecting a wagon, you found it was full of children who were being smuggled out of Thay while their parents stayed behind, so the children might have a better life. Their plight resonated with you on a deep level. 4 War is terrible for many reasons, but you’ve been unable to reconcile your bloody actions against the reasoning that your commanders kept presenting. 5 Your unit was always assigned to clear the battlefield. The aftermath became too much to bear, and the dead seem to be getting younger and younger. 6 After being told for years that the outside world was filled with monstrous people, you were shown kindness after sustaining a life-threatening injury. Their openness has caused your perceptions to shift. Feature: Heart of Darkness Those who look into your eyes can see that you have faced unimaginable horror and that you are no stranger to darkness. Though they might fear you, commoners will extend you every courtesy and do their utmost to help you. Unless you have shown yourself to be a danger to them, they will even take up arms to fight alongside you, should you find yourself facing an enemy alone. (This feature originally appeared in Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft.) 74 Chapter 4: Heroes from Thay

Thayan Equipment Treasure acquired in Thay may hail from anywhere, but the pride of all Thayans may well dictate that the item was locally manufactured. As discussed elsewhere in this book, Thayan metalwork is highly sought after and features indicative qualities, but this is not the extent of their customized works. Potions All Thayan potions are thick like syrup. This is due to the vegetable oils that they use during the brewing process. The thickened nature helps to keep the potions from breaking down in the often extreme and prolonged hot weather. Skaerath Across Thay, Red Wizards make use of standard carry-kits of material components for commonly-used Red Wizard spells. Known as skaerath, these oval-cornered, rectangular leather cases are about as long as an adult human forearm, half that wide, and half as deep as wide, that fasten with many bone toggles through leather-thong loops. They have broad back-straps for fastening to belts, but are customarily worn with over-one-shoulder baldric straps to hang at hip, and are black, emblazoned with a circle of eight scarlet wisps of flame (representing the zulkirates). Any Red Wizard can commandeer a replacement skaerath, in the same fashion as they’d procure a replacement mount, from stores kept ready at any Thayan fortress, barracks, naval base, civic government building, and Red Wizard compound gatehouse. Spell Scrolls The scrolls often take the form of an elongated triable, so that they come to a point at the bottom when unrolled and resemble in shape the banners used in the Vilhon Reach and Lake of Steam regions. These scrolls are treated to resist fire, heat, and long-term desiccation; these treatments make them a deep golden-brown in hue and aren’t magical in origin. For easy readability, symbols and words written on them to convey spells are red-hued and bear elegant accent marks. Thayan spell scrolls are often written with inks that include the blood of the scribe mixed with flecks of Thayan-mined copper or silver. Port Nyanzaru I heard a priest of Kossuth praise them once, but outlanders have strange ideas. The traders hereabouts trust their scrolls and the daggers they sell that can be commanded to glow like a lantern, or go dark again; the one doesn’t rot, and the other doesn’t rust. Yet other traders who sail here revile them, and avoid them whenever they can, and speak of them as spies or worse. They’ve never been less than polite to me, but then, they want to buy the spices and the wines and the bars of purest smelted metal I sell. So I smile, and they smile, and we do business. But they are not among those I’d turn my back on. —Chonzra Uday, Harborsar Trading House, Old City Popular Thayan All-gender Given Names Ahlund Baezr Desz (“Dess”) Eluphond Javvath Laed Laetamm, Laetan Lavvak Ohjo Orbral Qeldyn Qes Rarm Rararru Sylru Taerith Tammadanth (“Tam”) Tarou Tazza Yand Popular Thayan Female Given Names Amma Apharra Baraed Faej Gazornra Gorra Haethe Imsrae/Imsra Indra Jessa Kaele Kalva Olone/Olorne Phondra Taela, Taelra Talgem Uoumra Vraeya Yalakra Zobeia Popular Thayan Male Given Names Adjalar Baerkoun Dulvur Evdyn Jarand Joront Koenar Kultuul Malkom Manthur Morrakaur Navrant Oskral/Oskrul Parlrend Qinndur Ruz Skoum Talat Vrayd Zuskar Most Popular Thayan Family Names Amru Azanth Gaddanth Hondur Hone Ilmram Ilvur Kalist Kadorn Lorkhuul Meilor Morgast Nurmarl Presqur Qilhurth Quaund Sulkoond Tartram Tjassim Ulgast Chapter 4: Heroes from Thay 75

Thayan Trinkets d20 Trinket 1 A brilliant red velvet pouch filled with bright blue sand 2 A gilded goblet with gaudy but fake gems 3 A wooden walking cane shaped like a stork 4 An ornate key for an unknown lock with the head fashioned into a leering skull 5 A 6-inch bronze statuette of a Loxodon bearing a spear 6 A small spool of very fine and flexible silver wire 7 A bottle of purple ink with a stamp in the shape of a rearing horse 8 A pendant fashioned in the shape of a scale with an equal number of coins on both sides 9 A black hairpin made out of some unknown but incredibly flexible material 10 A brass coin featuring the same embossed crown on either side 11 A large glass marble that works like a snow globe depicting a winter forest 12 A chipped but obviously very fine porcelain teacup with light blue floral etching 13 A belt buckle shaped like a lizard man 14 A deck of cards depicting famous Tharchions 15 A silver signet ring shaped as the head of an owlbear 16 A specimen tube containing a long and hollow tooth from some unknown creature 17 A brass circlet shaped like a fork of lightning 18 A chunk of amber encasing a small and toothy frog 19 A monocle when worn revealing heat signatures but leaves the wearer dizzy 20 A well-worn cockatrice plushie toy Weapons Superior Thayan swords, enchanted or not, almost always have grips made of polished stone, most commonly turquoise or jade, and are capped at their ends with brass fittings. They rarely bear wire- or hidewrapped handles. Common Thayan adornments are stylized snake heads with their jaws open and fangs bared, or ragged leaping flames with the tongues of those flames pointing at the tip of the blade to symbolize the power and favor of Kossuth. It is a common practice among Thayan smiths to cap the pommel of a weapon that is intended to be enchanted with a large gem, but only if they are certain that such a fine work will be retained by a Thayan national. Thay’s slavekeeping history led to the development of a supposedly non-lethal weapon now used by many Thayan gateguards and houseguards to drive off would-be intruders when they want such undesirables to stagger away bleeding rather than end up as (inconvenient to explain or dispose of) corpses: the goad. Goads are ten-foot-long (or shorter) whips tipped with a pointed-both-ends metal “finger” or a tiny grapnel with sharpened points. A goad does 1d6 slashing damage and has the finesse and reach properties, but unlike most whips, goads cannot coil around creatures or objects to entangle or grapple them, even if tipped with grapnels. The general attitude in Thay these days is that anyone who uses a goad on a slave is a wasteful fool, and that being attacked with one is an insult to the attacked. Most Thayans only see them used for crowd control. Candlekeep A handy source of useful magic, from glowing globes to alarm-shouting locks on doors and chests. If only one could trust the source more. The Watchful Order tests Thayan-sold items often for signs of spying side-enchantments and the like, and I’ve never heard that they’ve found anything, myself, yet they test anew every season—and that should tell you something in itself, shouldn’t it? —Almarra Tethtar, Almarra’s Scents and Finery, River Street, Trades Ward 76 Chapter 4: Heroes from Thay

CHAPTER 5 Creatures of the Plateau he Red Wizards of Thay are no strangers to dangerous creatures. Some of the creatures that live in Thay aren’t native to the region, as they have been created by the vile wizards using bits and pieces of other creatures. Other creatures that are commonly found across the Forgotten Realms are different here thanks to their influence. Fey Creatures The Feywild’s presence is rarely felt in Thay. Fey and fey-touched creatures have few reasons to linger in this area, often referring to the region surrounding the Thayan plateau as a blight upon the world. Even so, darklings and redcaps find themselves drawn here, likely out of spite for the world at large or because of the perceived slights of the Summer Queen in years gone by. Their skills as assassins and thieves make them ideal allies for the Red Wizards. Goblinoids Goblins, hobgoblins, and their ilk aren’t commonly found in Thay as they’ve been routinely hunted and driven out by the Red Wizards for centuries. Those that remain are either there in secret or because they’ve been forcibly recruited by the mages. In such cases, the creatures have advantage on a single skill—a clan of goblins living in secret in a cliff-side cave might have advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks, for example, while a pair of family bonded and vicious hobgoblins in service to a zulkir may have advantage on Charisma (Intimidation) checks. Monstrosities The Red Wizards have learned much from the remnants of the ancient Empire of Netheril. They have long worked to continue the research that those elder wizards began, especially around the creation of new creatures by merging two or more existing creatures together, so adventurers may find monstrosities like ankhegs, cockatrices, hippogriffs, and owlbears are more common here than elsewhere in the Forgotten Realms. In some cases, these creatures may have an additional appendage or other body part that reflects Thay’s ongoing efforts. When a monstrosity is encountered in Thay, roll a d20. On a result of 20, the creature has one extra feature chosen from the following: • Can speak and/or understand one language • Has one extra limb. This does not add any attacks or increase the creature’s CR. • As an action it can hover in place at a height of no more than 6 inches from the ground by flapping its wings. If it does not have wings in its normal form, it has frail, nearly vestigial wings. This does not grant the creature flight. • The creature is much larger or smaller than normal. This does not change a creature’s stats—but imagine seeing a bulette-sized cockatrice! Star Spawn As the years have marched on, the Red Wizards have expanded their efforts into the summoning and attempted control of creatures that defy traditional description. They’ve amassed a significant well of knowledge concerning aberrations such as aboleths, beholders, and the various hues of slaads, and in so doing have become aware of the presence of the star spawn. These creatures are reportedly the emissaries of powers not native to the Forgotten Realms, and the Thayans are irresponsibly eager to broker deals with those powers. Once brought to the Realms, star spawn creatures take on a variety of shapes and sizes and can be exceptionally hard to eradicate. Star spawn encountered within the borders of Thay often take on forms suited for stealth and subterfuge. T Chapter 5: Creatures of the Plateau Chapter 5: Creatures of the Plateau 77

While star spawn aren’t prevalent in the tharches, the tales that survivors tell almost always refer to worm-infused masses of unknowable flesh that undulate in impossible ways while consuming everything around them. Such vile creatures are generally found in pairs, nestled deep within subcellars or ruined battlefields, and seem ruinously drawn to magic items—or those with magical ability, especially clerics and paladins. Once a star spawn has devoured a creature, it can adopt that creature’s general form though it will retain much of its star spawn appearance, such as possessing bubbling, oily flesh, joints that hinge at inappropriate angles, extra or vestigial limbs and appendages, and so on. Kyuss The ongoing efforts of self-proclaimed Zulkir Dar’lon Ma have led to an increased number of star spawn being spotted in and around the Forgotten Realms, nearly all of which center on the legend of the longdead deity Kyuss. Also known as The Worm that Walks, Kyuss is an otherworldly being, an ancient evil that waits to be permitted back into the world at-large. It works through its agents across Faerun to build loyalty while tearing down those that would prevent its return. Undead While most of the world believes that the nation of Thay is teeming with undead, the reality is equally more mundane and more fantastic than that. Undead are common enough in and around Thay’s military encampments and, just like elsewhere in the world, a zombie or skeleton may be encountered by travelers, but whereas adventurers the world over might treat those creatures as vile monsters to be eradicated, the people of Thay know that randomly discovered undead are to be returned to the nearest Red Wizard enclave, fort, or encampment without harm. In some cases, these errant undead are intentionally placed by the Red Wizards. When a random encounter with undead takes place within the borders of Thay, roll a d20. On a result of 20, one or more of the creatures is sharing its senses with a nearby Red Wizard as if it were a familiar. 78

Bogmaw The wetlands of Thay are rife with terrible monsters, some of which were transported into the area by the Red Wizards themselves to keep “intrepid heroes” at bay. One such terrible monster was the legendary Bogmaw, a hydra of near-unimaginable size that laid waste to numerous villages and farms before it was defeated. The Thayans, impressed with the creature’s savagery, sought to duplicate its powers and might; their efforts would soon escape their grasp, though, as the goats they were experimenting upon escaped into the wilderness. Reportedly, only one now remains and those that have witnessed the aftermath of its passage believe this to be Bogmaw returned—most people have no idea that the original hydra is long gone and only this tormented monstrosity remains. Bogmaw Gargantuan monstrosity, unaligned —Armor Class 17 (natural armor) Hit Points 181 (11d20 + 66) Speed — 40 ft., swim 40 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA —22 (+6) 10 (+0) 22 (+6) 2 (−4) 10 (+0) 7 (−2) Skills Perception +8 Damage Immunities acid Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 18 Languages — Challenge — 12 (8,400 XP) Proficiency Bonus +4 Hold Breath. Bogmaw can hold its breath for 1 hour. Multiple Heads. Bogmaw has five heads. While it has more than one head, Bogmaw has advantage on saving throws against being blinded, charmed, deafened, frightened, stunned, and knocked unconscious. Whenever Bogmaw takes 25 or more damage in a single turn, one of its heads dies. If all its heads die, Bogmaw dies. At the end of its turn, it grows two heads for each of its heads that died since its last turn, unless it has taken fire damage since its last turn. Bogmaw regains 10 hit points for each head regrown in this way. When a new head is grown, roll a d20; on a result of 18 or higher, the new head has horns. Reactive Heads. For each head the hydra has beyond one, it gets an extra reaction that can be used only for opportunity attacks. Wakeful. While Bogmaw sleeps, at least one of its heads is awake. Actions Multiattack. Bogmaw uses its bite or headbutt actions to make as many attacks as it has heads. Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (1d10 + 6) piercing damage. Headbutt (horned heads only). Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d6 + 6) bludgeoning damage and the target is knocked prone unless they succeed on a DC 18 Strength saving throw. Bonus Actions Clamp Down. If Bogmaw hits the same target with 2 or more bite attacks in a single turn, it can use its bonus action to grapple that target (escape DC 18). Until the grapple ends, the target is restrained and has disadvantage on Strength checks and Strength saving throws, and Bogmaw can’t use the same head on another target. Chapter 5: Creatures of the Plateau 79

Many-hued Goat Not all Thayan projects revolve around conquest or subjugation. The many-hued goat, for example, is the result of a merchant’s desire to have a range of vibrant fabric colors available for sale without having to use expensive dyes and rare pigments. The merchant invested heavily in arcane research that would grant her the ability to speak a command word at a goat which would cause that goat’s flesh and coat to immediately change to the desired color. Once the project was deemed a success, additional efforts were made to ensure that this bloodline of goats would possess this ability for the rest of their days. Many-hued Goat Medium beast, unaligned —Armor Class 11 (natural armor) Hit Points 19 (3d10 + 3) Speed 40 ft. —STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA —17 (+3) 11 (+0) 12 (+1) 3 (−4) 12 (+1) 6 (−2) Senses passive Perception 11 Languages — Challenge — 1/2 (100 XP) Proficiency Bonus +2 Actions Charge. If the goat moves at least 20 feet straight toward a target and then hits it with a ram attack on the same turn, the target takes an extra 5 (2d4) bludgeoning damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 13 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone. Sure-Footed. The goat has advantage on Strength and Dexterity saving throws made against effects that would knock it prone. Reactions Color Shift. If a creature speaks the name of a color in Common or a Thayan dialect and the many-hued goat is conscious and can hear that creature, the goat uses its reaction to cause its flesh and hair to immediately become that color. It can’t adopt more than one color at a time. Any hair that is removed from the goat retains its last color forever; such coloration is immune to effects like fading from sunlight, washing out from abrasive or chemicals, and staining from grass, foods, mud, blood, and so on. 80 Chapter 5: Creatures of the Plateau

Protodracolich While the Thayans aren’t allies of the Cult of the Dragon, they grant them a small measure of begrudging respect. The secrets of transforming a dragon into a dracolich have long been held tightly by the Cult, but now the Red Wizards are inching closer to success in their own research into the matter. The process used by the Thayans is especially dreadful and mutilates the test subject, magically marring them beyond repair. Draconic Nature. Despite their undead nature, a protodracolich retains many of qualities of their draconic heritage. Even so, they lose some of these qualities due to the horrific nature of their transformation. Undead Nature. A protodracolich is an abomination, even where undead creatures are concerned. The secrets held by the Cult haven’t been fully unraveled by the Red Wizards, so these undead creatures aren’t as powerful as their kin. Protodracolich Template The Red Wizards have yet to create a dracolich using anything older than a wyrmling, as all other efforts have failed. When a wyrmling becomes a protodracolich, it retains all its statistics except as noted below. Befouled Breath Weapon. A protodracolich’s breath weapon deals an extra 6 (2d6) points of necrotic damage. Dual Nature. A protodracolich is both a dragon and an undead creature. Languages. A protodracolich can’t speak, but it can still understand any languages that it knew in life. Lifespan. A protodracolich’s life span is approximately one year. After this time, the magic energy used in the transformation ritual unravels and the protodracolich dissolves into a disgusting puddle of putrid chunks. Only a wyrmling can be subjected to the protodracolich ritual. Senses. The protodracolich loses all ability to use its eyes. So long as it can hear, it is aware of the location of any creatures—even those that are hidden or invisible—within 30 feet of it. Vulnerabilities. A protodracolich is vulnerable to healing magic and effects. If a spell or effect would heal it, it instead suffers that amount of healing as if it were unpreventable damage. If a spell or effect would return it to life, it is instead immediately destroyed. The ritual that transforms a wyrmling into a protodracolich destroys its soul. Sample Protodracolich Below, the protodracolich template has been applied to a black dragon wyrmling. Black Wyrmling Protodracolich Medium dragon undead, chaotic evil —Armor Class 17 (natural armor) Hit Points 33 (6d8 + 6) Speed — 30 ft., fly 60 ft., swim 30 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA —15 (+2) 14 (+2) 13 (+1) 10 (+0) 11 (+0) 13 (+1) Saving Throws Dex +4, Con +3, Wis +2, Cha +3 Skills Perception +4, Stealth +4 Damage Immunities acid, poison Damage Vulnerabilities see below Condition Immunities poison Senses blindsense 30 ft., passive Perception 14 Languages understands but can’t speak Draconic Challenge — 2 (450 XP) Proficiency Bonus +2 Amphibious. The protodracolich can breathe air and water. Blindsense. The protodracolich can’t use its eyes but has developed an innate blindsense. So long as it can hear, it is aware of all creatures within 30 feet. Vulnerable. The protodracolich takes damage from healing magic, and effects that would return it to life instead destroy it immediately. Its soul has been destroyed. Dual Nature. A protodracolich is both a dragon and an undead creature. Actions Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d10 + 2) piercing damage plus 2 (1d4) acid damage. Acid Breath (Recharge 5–6). The dragon exhales acid in a 15-foot line that is 5 feet wide. Each creature in that line must make a DC 11 Dexterity saving throw, taking 6 (2d6) necrotic damage and 22 (5d8) acid damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. Chapter 5: Creatures of the Plateau 81

Poltergoat The Red Wizards have long sought to find ways by which to give their soldiers spell-like abilities without giving them actual spellcasting power. One such experiment led to the mages attempting to give creatures the ability to shift between the prime material plane and the astral plane at will. After the initial theorycrafting was complete and the runic work began, they turned their gaze upon the local goat herds for experimentation. Unfortunately, they only succeeded in making invisible goats. Today these goats are considered feral and there is an unknown (but assumedly large) number of them. The wizards attached to the project were slain by Szass Tam out of spite. Poltergoat Medium monstrosity, unaligned —Armor Class 12 Hit Points 22 (5d8) Speed — 0 ft., fly 50 ft. (hover) STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA —1 (−5) 14 (+2) 11 (+0) 10 (+0) 10 (+0) 11 (+0) Damage Resistances acid, cold, fire, lightning, thunder; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks Damage Immunities necrotic, poison Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, grappled, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, prone, restrained, unconscious Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 10 Languages understands all languages it knew in life but can’t speak Challenge — 2 (450 XP) Proficiency Bonus +2 Incorporeal Movement. The poltergoat can move through other creatures and objects as if they were difficult terrain. It takes 5 (1d10) force damage if it ends its turn inside an object. Invisibility. The poltergoat is invisible. Sunlight Sensitivity. While in sunlight, the poltergoat has disadvantage on attack rolls, as well as on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight. Actions Forceful Slam. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 10 (3d6) force damage. Telekinetic Thrust. The poltergoat targets a creature or unattended object within 30 feet of it. A creature must be Medium or smaller to be affected by this magic, and an object can weigh up to 150 pounds. If the target is a creature, the poltergoat makes a Charisma check contested by the target’s Strength check. If the poltergoat wins the contest, the poltergoat hurls the target up to 30 feet in any direction, including upward. If the target then comes into contact with a hard surface or heavy object, the target takes 1d6 damage per 10 feet moved. If the target is an object that isn’t being worn or carried, the poltergoat hurls it up to 30 feet in any direction. The poltergoat can use the object as a ranged weapon, attacking one creature along the object’s path (+4 to hit) and dealing 5 (2d4) bludgeoning damage on a hit. 82 Chapter 5: Creatures of the Plateau

PART II Intrigue in Eltabbar Part II: Intrigue in Eltabbar

hay. What an effective conversation killer. Even a casual mention of this nation while in polite company frequently brings talk to an abrupt halt. No other realm, with the mere naming of it, provokes such a visceral reaction. The bare utterance alone evokes images of terrible magics and hordes of terrifying undead. And that reputation is well earned. For decades the nation of Thay has schemed and meddled in the affairs of nations all across Faerûn. Its fierce and frightful reputation aside, in practical terms, Thay itself in many respects is much like any other nation in the Realms. It is filled with farmers, craftspeople, artisans, bureaucrats, men, women, children—ordinary people pursuing the daily and mundane tasks familiar to all. While Szass Tam and the Red Wizards certainly reign supreme, such matters have very little impact on day-to-day life in Thay. It is against this backdrop where this adventure begins. The characters can be native Thayans or foreign adventurers in Thay for any conceivable reason. Whatever reason brought them to Thay, the characters find themselves at The Stone Wizard, a popular and walled inn located in the Tharch of Eltabbar at the point on High Road where the Szul road branches off to the west. The characters are at The Stone Wizard for a meeting. They have learned either through an intermediary or a gleaned rumor that a local governmental official named Prim Handor is looking to retain the services of a group of capable adventurers. Adventure Summary There are very few loci in all of Faerûn that are as much of a hotbed of political intrigue as is the Capital City of Thay, Eltabbar. The characters, hired for an innocent enough job of delivering a packet to an individual in the capital city, quickly find themselves caught up in a conspiracy to assassinate the Tharchion of Eltabbar, Aumaund Halarkoun. The primary conspirators are Nurush Xamaroth, one of the Seneschals of Eltabbar, and Gafna Bilton, a prominent member of Eltabbar’s criminal underground. Ultimately, the fate of the assassination attempt ends up being in the hands of the characters. Level Progression This adventure is written for four 1st-level characters. Should the characters survive the giant hyena attack during their meeting with Gafna Bilton, they will advance to 2nd level. Finally, should the characters successfully complete Gafna’s three tasks, they will ascend to 3rd level and be ready for the final section of the adventure. The Stone Wizard Positioned on the west side of the well-maintained High Road in the Tharch of Eltabbar behind an aged 10-foot curtain wall sits the sprawling lodge known as The Stone Wizard. It is so named because of the weathered and hoary statue of a mage caught in mid spell cast located in front of the inn. Whether this effigy is merely a well-aged sculpture or the ancient remains of a mage turned to stone in a long-ago spell duel as is commonly rumored, it has become the centerpiece of a well cultivated garden and walk that lead up to the famous inn’s great door. The building itself is of uncertain age and has been added onto many times over its history. While the wall that surrounds the lodge is sound, the iron gates at the main entrance have not been closed in years. The Stone Wizard is a widely known and accepted neutral ground and welcomes all visitors who obey the rules. Those rules are simple and only twofold—1) no fighting; and 2) mind your own business. The rambling building itself is a warren of private dining rooms, secluded booths, and discreet tables. The Stone Wizard is currently owned by Jago Xander, a reserved, slender, and swarthy Thayan (use stats for conjurer from Volo’s Guide to Monsters) who oversees the entire operation. Adventure Start The characters start off with knowing only the name of the potential hiring agent, Prim Handor, and the location of the meeting, The Stone Wizard. Prim has been tasked by his employer, Nurush Xamaroth, to hire a group of adventurers to travel to Eltabbar (city) and deliver a packet to a minor bureaucrat in Eltabbar (city), Lavas Gurza. Lavas works for the Department of Sewer and Water in Eltabbar. What Prim does not know is that Lavas Gurza is in the employ of a woman named Gafna Bilton, a notorious figure in Eltabbar’s criminal underground. The packet then, in effect, is for Gafna Bilton, not Lavas Gurza. Lavas is simply the intermediary. The packet is magically keyed to Gafna via a variation of the arcane lock abjuration spell. Prim does not know the contents of the packet and should sternly and repeatedly warn against any attempts to open or otherwise investigate the packet’s contents. Through question-and-answer roleplaying, the characters can learn any of the following from Prim: • Prim is an administrative assistant to Nurush Xamaroth, one of several Seneschals in Eltabbar who serve at the pleasure of the Tharchion, Aumaund Halarkoun. • In the Tharch of Eltabbar, a Seneschal is a sort of regional governor responsible to taxing and other administrative functions. T 84 Part II: Intrigue in Eltabbar

• Prim has been instructed by his superior, Nurush, to hire a group of adventurers to deliver a packet of materials to Lavas Gurza, a bureaucrat employed by the Department of Sewer and Water in the city of Eltabbar. • Prim instructs that the characters are to seek out Lavas Gurza at the Pheldanther’s Gambling Club which is located just outside of the Daerath Market in Eltabbar (city). • Prim does not know why Pheldanther’s Gambling Club was the chosen meeting place. • Prim does not know the contents of the packet. • Prim does not know Lavas Gurza and cannot describe him. • Prim does know that the contents are none of his business nor that of the characters’. • The packet is magically sealed and his employer will know if the packet has been tampered with in anyway. • Prim will pay 10 gp to the party to deliver the packet. He has been instructed to pay the amount in full up front. • Prim gleefully informs that taking the Seneschal’s money and then not performing the agreed upon task is tantamount to suicide. • Finally, he stresses to the characters that discretion is a must and if the characters run into any trouble with the authorities, they should not expect rescue from Prim or his employer. In effect, Nurush Xamaroth, is sending a message to Gafna Bilton, a kingpin of sorts in the criminal underground of Eltabbar. Nurush already knows Gafna well as she is a longstanding associate of his. Lavas Gurza is a red herring intended to keep Prim from suspecting that Nurush and Gafna are confidants. This simple ruse is intended to keep Prim from suspecting a possible relationship between Nurush and Gafna Bilton. After delivering his instructions to the characters and after admonishing them a final time about opening the packet, Prim passes the packet to the characters. It is a paper packet that is roughly 8 × 11 inches and 2 inches thick. It is comprised of some sort of waxy brown paper and bears the seal of Eltabbar. Prim has nothing further to offer the characters by way of either information or supplies. Nurush has carefully kept his minion ignorant of any details that might compromise any of Nurush’s plotting. Should the characters ignore Prim’s repeated warnings and investigate the packet before delivering it, a successful DC 12 Intelligence (Arcana) check reveals that the packet was ensorcelled in some manner. Further, if detect magic is cast on the packet, it radiates faint abjuration magic. Finally, a successful Prim Handor A pale complexioned and paunchy man of middle years, Prim Handor always attempts to dress to impress. His intention is to communicate through his garb that he is a man of refinement, importance, and wealth. In reality, he is none of these things. Prim (use stats for commoner from the Monster Manual) is one of a number of undersecretaries to one of the Eltabbar’s seneschals, Nurush Xamaroth, who in turn serves the Tharchion of Eltabbar, Aumaund Halarkoun. While he has never even met Tharchion Halarkoun, Prim is endlessly puffed up with pride at his distant relationship to the man. Prim has all of the grasping ambition of a true Thayan bureaucrat, but none of the actual abilities of a successful one. As such, he makes for a perfect stooge. While inflated with notions of his own self-importance, in this tale he is a mere pawn for powers far beyond his reckoning. Part II: Intrigue in Eltabbar 85

DC 12 Intelligence (Investigation) check informs that once the packet has been opened, there is no way to disguise that fact to the ultimate recipient (Lavas Gurza/Gafna Bilton). All that aside, amidst the copious packaging, there is a simply folded piece of paper with the message in nondescript handwriting: “Move to the next phase. I hope the attached prove useful to you.” If the characters do open it, find and read the note, it might very well occur to them: “Why would someone with such arcane resources hire adventurers to deliver a simple note? Why indeed.” It is only 20 miles or so from The Stone Wizard to the city of Eltabbar. Probity Corps Check Point Check points are far from uncommon in Thay. Such is one of the realities of living under authoritarian rule. Of all the roadways accessing Eltabbar, the High Road to the capital city of Eltabbar sees the most traffic into and out of the city. Because of this fact, it is a frequent location for law enforcement check points. One such check point is in place as the character make their way towards the city. This check point is being run by Probity Corps operators. Present at this check point are two Probity Corps Inquisitors (use mage stats) and four Probity Corps Troopers (use guard stats). The characters should have plenty of warning that a check point is ahead. A successful DC 10 Wisdom (Perception) check notices that other travelers hundreds of yards ahead of the characters are being stopped and asked questions. Even if this check is failed, once the characters get to within 100 yards of the check point, they cannot fail to notice the traffic back up/queue being formed because of the check point. Of the array of options before the characters, if they attempt to bypass the check point and go around it, they can attempt a DC 14 group Dexterity (Stealth) check or strike out cross country to circumnavigate it, requiring a successful DC 12 Wisdom (Survival) check to keep from getting lost. Should they wait their turn and go through the check point, they will be asked some pointed questions by one of the Inquisitors including: • Where are you headed? • Where are you coming from? • What is your Tharch of origin? • What is your business in the capital city? If the characters are obviously outlanders, the Inquisitor will comment, but being an outlander in Thay is not necessarily a crime in and of itself. The Inquisitors are not looking for the characters. Any reasonable answers will get the characters past the check point. In the stead of plausible answers, a successful DC 10 Charisma (Persuasion) convinces the Inquisitors to let them pass. The point of this encounter is not to be a hurdle or a major challenge for the characters. It is to impart the extent to which Thay is a police state and the need for discretion while operating within its borders. Eltabbar City The journey to the capitol city of Eltabbar is short (approximately 20 miles) along the well-maintained High Road. As the characters approach the city proper the farmsteads and ranches give way to gated estates and elaborate country villas. After passing through the gates into the city proper, the sprawling city lies before the characters. It is a riot of winding streets, walled compounds, and opulent manor homes. Express signs and signals of wealth are everywhere in the form of elaborate fountains, fanciful statuary, and carefully terraced gardens. Beyond the obvious wealth of the city, law enforcement is also quite prominent in Eltabbar. This includes patrols of Thayan Knights, groups of private armed guards and militia, and small groups of cloaked individuals openly bearing Probity Corps insignia, a circumstance uncommon other than in the capital city and in the Thaymount itself. Finally, it is immediately clear to anyone visiting the city that foreigners and outlanders are few in number and not frequently seen here. In fact, if the characters do not make reasonable precautions against being recognized as such, a successful DC 10 Wisdom (Insight) check reveals that their presence is drawing the attention of law enforcement, most notably the Probity Corps. The characters can easily find their way to the Pheldanther’s Gambling Club in Daerath Market by Eltabbar, the Capitol City The city of Eltabbar is the current capitol of Thay. As such, it features the most conspicuous displays of wealth and power anywhere in Thay. The city’s recent history is one marked with ambitious expansion and building projects noted for their competing opulence. “Tabar,” as the city is called by most citizens, contains homes for most of Thay’s nobility regardless of their tharch of origin. Anyone of significant power or influence in Thay, or desires to attain a measure of the same, keeps quarters in Eltabbar. 86 Part II: Intrigue in Eltabbar

either asking just about anyone or by simple exploration. Unlike the rest of the city, Daerath is a warren of narrow and cramped alleys where the crowds are close and tight. Should the characters have attracted any unwanted attention from law enforcement, the Market is a great place to give them the slip. The notorious Pheldanther’s gambling club stands on the north side of the Daerath Market. Stationed just outside the entrance of this rambling structure are two well-armed and battle-scarred bouncer/ guards. After giving the characters a once over, they allow them to pass with a nod. Once inside, the characters are greeted by a cacophony of noise and a hive of activity. Players gather around tables playing various games of chance. No matter the time of day, there are dice games, card games, as well as games set up with battle-boards featuring what look like miniature armies actively in progress. Among the players hovering over and around these tables, servers expertly weave their way through the crowd dropping off ordered food and beverage to the assembled gamblers. These servers stream though a set of swinging double doors behind which is the kitchen. Adjacent to and in front of the kitchen, is a broad and crowded bar. Many of the seats at the bar are taken by patrons who have their backs to the bar so that they can watch the action in the gambling hall. Finally, on the far side of the hall, a host stands behind a podium, watching over a section of private dining rooms and booths. Asking either at the bar or at the host’s stand after Lavas Gurza results in the individual asked excusing themselves for a moment after instructing the characters to wait where they are. A few minutes later, the queried individual returns and beckons the characters to follow. While being led back through this section of Pheldanther’s the characters cannot help notice the sounds of fighting and raucous cheers emanating from somewhere deeper in the complex. A successful DC 13 Wisdom (Perception) check reveals there is more than one source of noise, suggesting that several fights/combats going on at the same time. 87

The characters are led to a small private dining room wherein sits one individual sporting fine clothing and horn-rimmed glasses. Spread before this individual are stacks of papers and documents that he seems to be studying or organizing. Without looking up, he states, “I understand you were asking after me. Please come in and state your business.” Should the characters present the packet they were tasked to deliver, Lavas (use commoner stats) briefly inspects it without opening it. If asked about the noise, Lavas freely relates it is coming from the fighting pits, another featured attraction of Pheldanther’s. If asked further, he informs that the contests can be between wrestlers, armed combatants, and even between monsters and their challengers. Of course, bets can be placed on any of the contestants. After briefly inspecting the packet, he states something along the lines of, “Ah, this was not intended for me. I am merely the intermediary. If you will accompany me, I can take you to the true and intended recipient.” Lavas does not know Prim Handor or anything about him. He readily admits that he (Lavas) works for the Department of Sewer and Water in Eltabbar and finds it most “useful” to hold his offices here at Pheldanther’s. Finally, he is reluctant to reveal the name of the intended recipient of the packet, but a successful DC 15 Charisma (Persuasion) check convinces Lavas to reveal her name at least, Gafna Bilton. Beyond that, he will reveal nothing more beyond repeating his invitation to take you to her. Should the characters acquiesce, Lavas leads them deeper into the complex towards the roars and noise from the fighting pits. Opulent Barbarism After stepping out of the private dining section and joining what appears to be a main corridor that leads into the heart of the complex, the characters are led towards the fighting pits via a descending set of broad stairs. In a space that is roughly twice as large as the gambling hall above, visitors are greeted with a boisterous and intense scene. Inset in the floor are four separate fighting pits evenly spaced in this large hall. Each inset pit is surrounded with a railing over which spectators lean and shout encouragement or abuse onto the below combatants. The floors of each of the pits is roughly 15 feet below the floor of the hall itself and each pit is approximately 20 feet across in width. How the participants get into the pits is not immediately obvious. Paying the scene no mind at all, Lavas leads the characters through the crowd of spectators towards the very back of the hall and a smaller set of stairs that descend further. There are two bouts currently in progress: One featuring a hulking human wielding a massive club and little in the way of armor facing off against a much slenderer opponent bearing two slim swords. The other active pit contains what appears to be an ogre being circled by a trio of disparately armed fighters. Ignoring all of that, Lavas heads directly for the back stairs. The 15-foot staircase descends into a high-ceilinged chamber that is partially natural and partially worked/finished stone. The prominent features of this chamber include a finished hallway adjacent to the stairs that heads back the way the character came and towards the fighting pits. A glance down that hallway confirms the presence of four iron bound doors—the individual access points to the pits themselves. Further, on either sides of the chamber and pushed into naturally occurring recesses stand several large cages, some of them occupied. The most eye catching one is occupied by a pacing giant hyena that moves back and forth in its tight enclosure. A successful DC 12 Wisdom (Nature) check informs that the creature is agitated, presumably from a recent appearance in the pits. Other cages hold a pair of worgs, a lion, and a giant spider, all in different states of health. Near the tunnel sits a set of benches, a couple of low tables, and a weapons rack. A successful DC 10 Intelligence (History) check reveals that is where the Two Eltabbars Basic inequality in almost every possible respect is a fundamental reality of life in Thay. This disparity between rich and poor/powerful and weak is quite apparent in Thayan cities. Because Eltabbar is the current capital, the dissimilitude between classes is all the more obvious and spectacular. So, while a visitor cannot help but first notice the grandiose and express displays of wealth so prevalent in the city, the vast majority of the residents of Eltabbar live in very different circumstances that nowhere approximates this conspicuous luxury. It likely then should become quickly clear to a newcomer that there is the Eltabbar of the startlingly affluent and a second, “real” Eltabbar comprised of everyone else, from the desperately poor to the successful merchant class as well as the criminal to the middling bureaucrat. 88 Part II: Intrigue in Eltabbar

gladiators/combatants prepare before entering the pits themselves. Deeper into the chamber and away from the stairs/ pits sit a series of bins containing different powdered materials. The bins appear to hold three distinct powders of different colors: black, white, and yellow each in separate bins. Without careful inspection it is hard to discern what these substances are, but a successful DC 14 Wisdom (Perception) check alerts that the yellow material certainly smells like Sulphur. Finally, at the far end of the chamber, flanked by two armed guards (use guard stats), sits a dark-complexioned woman, a cast common to natives of Thay, dressed in dark colored and nondescript clothing. Without hesitation, Lavas heads in her direction obviously expecting the characters to follow. Without preamble, this woman speaks in a strong voice, “Ah Lavas, you have brought visitors. Who do we have here?” Lavas then turns addressing the characters, “This is Gafna Bilton, one of the owners of this establishment.” And without missing a beat continues, “Mistress Bilton, these individuals bear a package for you.” He then bows to Gafna, turns around, and heads back towards the stairs. The characters are left with Gafna looking expectantly at them. If the characters turn over the packet to her and they did not previously open it, she unceremoniously opens it, finds the note, and reads it nodding to herself. If the characters did open the packet before delivering it to Gafna, after inspecting it briefly, she says, “You opened it. Don’t worry about it. I would have done the same thing in your position.” and then proceeds with the packet as above. Gafna Bilton is looking to recruit some strangers, most preferably outlanders, to participate in an assassination of the Tharchion. She would like to use foreigners for this, because if things go wrong and the recruited outsiders are killed or captured, that minimizes the obvious connections to Gafna and her organization. Through a series of intermediaries, Nursh Xamaroth arranged this meeting because his coconspirator, Gafna, has needs of operators in Eltabbar that are otherwise unknown in the city. What better than a group of adventurers looking for some coin. But at this point, she will neither reveal the nature of her relationship with Xamorth, or even that there is a relationship in the first place, nor will she mention in any way the greater conspiracy to commit an assassination that she is participating in. Through question-and-answer roleplaying, the characters can learn any of the following from Gafna: • She is one of the owners of Pheldanther’s. • She is not at liberty to reveal the identity of the other owners. • She is involved in many enterprises in and around Eltabbar. • Many of these endeavors are of the illicit/ illegal sort. • Thay is an ordered and strictly governed society. • Gafna has need of assistance that is best handled by those not known in Eltabbar. • The bins of powdered materials are for a “side project” that it is best the characters don’t know about. • Gafna will pay 25 gp to each character for completion of each of her tasks (see below). • The monster combatants for the pits are collected/ captured typically from the Tharch of Gauros. Hyena Rampage At some point during the exchange between Gafna and the characters, the caged hyena, with a mighty growl, bursts through the improperly locked door of its cage and rushes in a rage towards the characters. Gafna’s guards pull her towards the back of the cavern where there is a passage that eventually leads to the sewers in the city. They will not fight the hyena unless absolutely necessary. Their job is to keep their boss safe and with the characters as a convenient buffer, they can slip away if it looks like the characters are losing the fight. The hyena is agitated and stressed by its circumstances so fights to the death. Should the characters quickly deal with the escaped hyena, Gafna is impressed. She is now further willing to provide the characters room upstairs (Pheldanther’s has a section of rooms set aside for high rollers) for as long as they are staying in Eltabbar and helping her with her tasks. The powdered compounds are sulphur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate (saltpeter). These ingredients combined create a simple explosive. Gafna plans to use this explosive in her attempt to assassinate the Tharchion. Should the characters find a way to inspect the powders, a successful DC 14 Intelligence (History) identifies the sulphur and the charcoal. The remaining substance seems to be salt. Unless any of the characters has an alchemy or chemistry background, they will not be able to identify the potassium nitrate for anything other than some form of salt. Part II: Intrigue in Eltabbar 89

Gafna Bilton’s Tasks The characters should be 2nd level at this point. Gafna Bilton has three tasks for the characters. They can be attempted in any order but all of them need to be completed before Gafna trusts the characters enough to bring them into her confidence regarding her involvement in the conspiracy to assassinate the Tharchion of Eltabbar, Aumaund Halarkoun. She and her organization have the resources necessary to handle these problems, but that is not the point. The purpose of these tasks is to measure the guile, resolve, and abilities of the characters before deciding to bring them in on the conspiracy. Gafna will continue the “adventurers for hire” pretext though in the meantime and offers to pay the characters each 25 gp for every completed task. Embassy Dinner Party As Eltabbar is the current capital of Thay, each Tharch maintains an embassy in the city. Aragos Toslav is the Chancellor from Pyarados and is throwing a party for the city’s elite tonight. It is a party to celebrate his impending nuptials two days hence. Gafna would like the characters to attend in order to discover a piece of information important to her plans. Should the characters accept the assignment, Gafna will provide them the formal invitation necessary to gain entrance to the event as well as have the characters seen by a tailor so that they each may be fitted with the finery necessary to blend in at such a function. Finally, she will hire a coach befitting a wealthy and influential guest to drive them to the fete itself. One guest certain to attend the gala is Ethra Taston. She, like Nurush Xamaroth, is another of several Seneschals in Eltabbar who serve at the pleasure of the Tharchion, Aumaund Halarkoun. Her specific duties for the Tharch are the administration and collection of customs, duties, and taxes for Eltabbar. It is well known that Ethra is one of Aumaund Halarkoun’s current favorites and as such, is likely privy to some information that Gafna Bilton wants— specifically, whether or not Tharchion Aumaund Halarkoun will be attending Aragos Toslav’s wedding, set to take place two days from now. The characters’ cover can of course be of their choosing, but the source of their invitations is their association with powerful merchant interests in the city. While political power, and most specifically that wielded by the Red Wizards and the Tharchions reigns supreme in Thay, mercantile interests are begrudgingly given a seat at the table as well. Gafna Bilton Of dusky complexion with dark hair, Gafna is an athletic looking woman who in terms of age appears to be somewhere in the young adult to early middle-aged range. She wears well-made but dark and nondescript clothing. Gafna (use stats for master thief from Volo’s Guide to Monsters) is one of the stakeholders/owners of Pheldanther’s and is involved in varying capacities in a number of other businesses in and around Eltabbar. Gafna is smart, capable, and to the point. While involved in a number of illicit ventures, she is nonetheless a very principled and honorable person. She loves her city but chafes under Tharchion rule longing for a more representative form of government for Eltabbar. 90 Part II: Intrigue in Eltabbar

Gafna shares the following with the characters about the party: • Aragos Toslav is a Chancellor from the Tharch of Pyarados. • He is the highest-ranking official from Pyarados making Eltabbar his permanent residence. • He is getting married two days from now. • Aragos is throwing a party for the city’s elite tonight. • Gafna Bilton wants to know whether or not the Tharchion Aumaund Halarkoun will be attending Aragos Toslav’s wedding. • One guest, Ethra Taston, will almost certainly attend tonight’s party. She is close to the Tharchion, Aumaund Halarkoun. • Ethra is one of the Tharchion’s favorites so will know whether or not the Tharchion plans to attend Aragos Toslav’s wedding. • Ethra Taston, like Nurush Xamaroth, is one of several Seneschals in Eltabbar who serve at the pleasure of the Tharchion. • Among the “who’s who” likely to attend will be Beld Thola, Ethra Taston’s consort. • Beld Thola may know the sought-after information as well. • Merchants and merchant interests are not held in high regard among the wealthy and powerful of Thay. • Gafna provides the needed credentials/inviatations to gain entry, suitable garb for everyone, as well as a coach to make an appropriate entrance to the event. • Finally, Gafna encourages the characters to come up with a credible cover story relating to their supposed merchant ties. If any of the characters wonder why Gafna desires such information, a successful DC 12 Wisdom (Insight) check reveals that Gafna is interested in the Tharchion’s future whereabouts for more than idle curiosity. As to what exactly those reasons might be though remain unclear. The estate maintained by the Tharch of Pyarados is in the eastern portion of the city. The walled compound features a circular drive around a massive fountain depicting a sea battle between a massive squid and a ship. The drive leads to the front of the magnificent complex itself. The opulent estate with its domes and spires borders on being considered a palace. On the night in question, the gates are opened and are flanked by liveried guards with the drive lit by multihued dancing lights spells. After disembarking their carriage and having their invitations checked and verified at the door, the characters are ushered into the party, a sea of swirling and sparkling clothing and a cacophony of noise from hundreds of voices competing with a string orchestra. Through it all wind dozens of servants butlering platters heaped with every sort of delicacy imaginable. Stationed at the estate and around the event itself are 30 Pyarados guards (use stats for knight). Their presence is an explicit show of force and security. This should be a fluid encounter fully dependent on the actions of the characters to drive events and ultimately the outcome. Gafna has installed a plant, Ryla Yamos, masquerading as a servant in order to keep an eye on the characters. Should things get out of hand, Ryla could intervene with a well-timed tray spill as a distraction to possibly lead the characters out of the party to safety. Good roleplay or a successful DC 10 Charisma (Persuasion) enables the characters to get a feel for who is at the event and which of the guests is Ethra Taston. Success should also net the characters the names and stations of several other notable guests. Further, Ivor (see the Roster of Notable Guests sidebar) can drunkenly bump into the characters immediately begging their pardon and desperately seeking companionship as he knows no one at the party and is very much out of his element. He happily identifies many of the partygoers for the characters seeking to ingratiate himself with them. Ethra Taston is not going to respond to a direct and out of the blue inquiry about the whereabouts of her superior, the Tharchion. At best, such a bald-faced Roster of Notable Guests The following guests use generic NPC stat blocks from appendix B of the Monster Manual. Ethra Taston: Seneschal of Eltabbar. Outgoing, dark complexion, athletic build. Use stats for noble. Jora Ultan: Thayan Knight, rank Ulthark, Commander of the Knights at Eltabbar. Gruff, over the top formal military garb complete with puffed out and medal draped chest. Use stats for champion. Beld Thola: Ethra Taston’s consort. Mild, early middle aged, grey suit. Use stats for noble. Cazna Ozno: High Inquisitor of the Eltabbar Probity Corps. Vigilant, with a deceivingly mild and pleasant expression, wearing non-descript, but fine clothes. Use stats for assassin. Kolex Senda: Headmaster, Arcane College of Eltabbar. Haughty, with garish wizard robes. Use stats for archmage. Envoy Liss Irun: Diplomat from Vaasa. Jovial, slight of build and pale of complexion. Use stats for noble. Ivor Nikos: Local silk merchant’s son. Young man in his early 20’s, over served. Use stats for commoner. Ryla Yamos: Plant by Gafna Bilton pretending to be a server going by the name “Desala.” Use stats for spy. Part II: Intrigue in Eltabbar 91

question from unknown and quite possibly outlanders would result Ethra’s looking for the guards. The characters will have to “work” the party and the guests to get the information that they are looking for: whether Tharchion Aumaund Halarkoun will be attending Aragos Toslav’s wedding. Some suggested skill checks are in the adjacent “Navigating the Gala” sidebar. To gain this information, at least one of the characters will have to form some sort of rapport with either Ethra or her consort Beld, while staying out of the watchful eye of either Jora Ultan, the Thayan Knight, or that of Cazna Ozno, the High Inquisitor. At some point, the host of the party, Aragos Toslav (older middle-aged man, graying, with bright, bordering on garish clothes) and his bride-to-be (Deliah Preen, much younger, small and dark of coloring) proceed through the party, greeting guests and accepting congratulations for their impending nuptuals. Should the characters engage in good roleplay and succeed in at least two social skill tests of some sort, they learn from either Ethra or Beld that, yes, Tharchion Aumaund Halarkoun will be attending Aragos Toslav’s wedding two days from now. Deep Canal Gafna explains to the characters that the main way that she and her associates can move around Eltabbar freely is through the sewers deep underneath the city. The authorities never venture down and into this network of old sewers called Deep Canal unless they absolutely have to. Gafna further relates that recently members of her organization have disappeared while traversing the sewers. While the occasional monster in Deep Canal is not heard of, it has not been outright hazardous until of late. She would like the characters to investigate, discover, and hopefully eliminate the source of the danger in the sewers. Finally, she believes that the missing persons were heading generally south from Pheldanther’s when they disappeared. The cause of the missing persons is a carrion crawler that has recently taken up residence in Deep Canal. Its lair is hundreds of yards to the south of the sewer entrance under Pheldanther’s. If the characters agree to take this on, Gafna points out the passageway leading down into the sewers. She does not have any further information about what could be causing these disappearances other than the fact that no signs of the missing people have been found anywhere. The sewer network that makes up Deep Canal is a winding maze of passageways that run the length and breadth of the city above. Other than heading generally south, the characters don’t have any other information. And, as they head away from Pheldanther’s, they are confronted with many intersecting and branching passageways. A successful DC 10 Wisdom (Survival) check locates the most heavily traveled option that heads generally south. A successful DC 14 Wisdom (Survival) check reveals the intermittent presence of odd clusters of round tracks. These tracks left by the carrion crawler are intermittent because it routinely climbs the walls and ceilings as it hunts, rather than sticking to the passageways themselves. Should the characters successfully track the monster to its ambush spot, this negates the below mentioned stealth advantage enjoyed by the carrion crawler. After searching for an hour, the carrion crawler finds them. At any location you choose, it has set up an ambush and once the characters get close, scuttles forward and attacks. Because of its ambush position, the crawler enjoys advantage on its stealth role against the highest passive perception among the characters. The carrion crawler fights to the death. If the characters survive, a successful DC 12 Wisdom (Survival) check allows them follow the creatures tracks back to its nearby nest. Beyond the horrid stench of the nest and amidst the scraps of clothing, buckles, bone shards, and other worthless detritus left from past victims, a successful DC 12 Intelligence (Investigation) check finds a +1 short sword, a cloth purse containing 17 pp, and a potion of invisibility buried among the copious amounts of refuse. Navigating the Gala The characters should be encouraged to describe their intentions before they attempt any social skill checks. This way, good roleplay and situational modifiers can be taken into account and rewarded. Ability checks have a suggested DC of 12. Some suggested checks include: Action Ability Check Compliments and flattery Charisma (Persuasion or Performance) An impressive dance routine or display Dexterity (Acrobatics) A well thought out discussion on the wonders of Thay Intelligence (History) Consoling a sad or intoxicated guest Wisdom (Insight) Some “tough talk” or a feat of strength Strength (Athletics) 92 Part II: Intrigue in Eltabbar

The Compromised Agent Gafna relates to the characters that one of her associates, a young man named Jigor Raxia, was picked up by the Probity Corps yesterday. No one has seen or heard of him since. That is until this morning. Gafna further relates that she has learned that Jigor is being held at a Probity Corps black site located in the north end of the city. Gafna makes it clear that she needs to have Jigor either rescued or “neutralized” as he knows things about her organization and plans. The task simply is to somehow infiltrate the Probity Corps facility and either rescue or eliminate Jigor to keep him from confessing compromising information concerning Gafna’s operation and plans. Gafna shares the following with the characters about the mission: • Jigor Raxia is a trusted employee/associate of Gafna’s. • He was recently tasked with keeping discreet tabs on the Tharchion, Aumaund Halarkoun. • Word is that he was captured by Inquisitors of the Probity Corps early yesterday and that he is being held at one of their sites on the northside of the city. • The Inquisitors at the Probity Corps are legendary for their ability to pry information and confessions from unwilling subjects. • Jigor knows sensitive and compromising information regarding Gafna’s operation and her current plans. • At all costs, the knowledge that Jigor has of Gafna’s operation and plans cannot pass to Probity Corps hands. • The site is too well defended to be directly assaulted. • In the event of an obvious attack, the Probity Corps inquisitors would secure their prisoners first and spirit them away to a different location. Deep Canal General Conditions The deep canal has the following features: Light. The sewers are completely dark. Ceiling. Varies between 8 feet and 10 feet. Geography. Because the sewers have seen many additions and renovations over the centuries of their existence, there is a good deal of variety in their physical setup. The width of each sewer tunnel varies from 6 feet to 10 feet. The trough part of the sewer can either run down one side of the passage or the other or down the middle of the walkway, creating two narrower walkways on either side of the sewer trough. The walkway portions of each sewer tunnel vary from 3 feet to 5 feet wide. Finally, the sewer troughs themselves vary in depth from 3 feet to over 5 feet. Part II: Intrigue in Eltabbar 93

• Besides, such an obvious attack would bring down too much heat. • What Jigor knows must be kept from the authorities, by any means necessary. • Gafna can provide the location of the site, and should the characters need them, some passable credentials that should at least help gain entrance to the building (see below). • She also has some information about a possible way to sneak into the building (see below). • The Probity Corps building is a repurposed former inn that was called The Blushing Mage. • The building has not been run as an inn for at least two years. • Gafna believes that prisoners are held in the basement of the former inn, but is not certain about that. If any of the characters act with surprise or offense at Gafna’s apparent ruthlessness, she responds with something along the lines of—“We all knew the risks when we chose this life. Jigor knew them when he accepted this mission. He is one of our best and would rather die than betray us.” If any of the characters have not pointedly asked what exactly Gafna’s organization does, she will give a vague answer about “political resistance.” Gafna Bilton does not direct the characters on how to accomplish this task. After all, the point of this is to test their capabilities and resourcefulness. Assuming that the characters do not attempt an ill-advised solution such as a frontal assault or burning the building down, Gafna can provide some further information and help. Gafna will further encourage some effort at disguise—if not via a disguise self spell or a disguise kit (if either are available to the characters), then at least some effort to match the nondescript garb Probity Corps inquisitors favor. Gafna has significant resources so should be able to get whatever the characters require. The credentials should get the characters in the door. If reasonable efforts are undertaken, consider awarding advantage or some other circumstantial bonus on any Charisma checks attempted while in disguise. Finally, at any mention of poison or some similar suggestion, Gafna offers a supply of Thaymount scorpion distillate (see below) should the characters have any interest in attempting to handle matters that way. Leaving frontal assault aside, a likely fork in the road then is deciding how to gain entry to the building with the most likely two means being either by stealth or by bluff/disguise. 94

Stealth. All of the doors on the first floor besides the front are physically barred from the inside and can be forced open with a successful DC 25 Strength (Athletics) check. Additionally, the windows are magically sealed with the arcane lock spell. However, Gafna has learned that the southernmost window off the former common room, now general meeting room (area PC3), is unlocked. A successful DC 13 Wisdom (Perception) check reveals if the room is occupied before any attempt to open the window is undertaken. A successful DC 13 group Dexterity (Stealth) gets the characters through areas PC3 and the currently-empty offices in area PC2, and to the top of the stairs leading to the cellar. Bluff/Disguise. The Probity Corp operates in every Tharch and has innumerable inquisitors and agents spread across Thay. Gafna has two sets of Probity Corps credentials taken from slain inquisitors from Delhumide. The names on the credentials are Gextas Rolasi and Cora Yamo. The documents bear no images of their former owners but a detect magic spell reveals the faint radiation of abjuration magic from the Probity Corp insignia on the wax paper documents. Gafna explains that the rest of the characters can act as the inquisitors’ guards; inquisitors rarely travel without an armed escort. The only unlocked doors to the building are the main double doors on the south side of the building. The single door on the south side of the building accesses the former panty area is locked and barred on the inside (DC 25 Strength check to force). Finally, the double doors on the east side of the building are similarly locked and barred from the inside (DC 25 Strength check to force). Probity Corps Black Site Locations (Areas PC1–PC10) The following areas correspond to the labels on Probity Corps Black Site map. PC1: Reception The oaken double doors of the repurposed inn open to reveal the reception area of this Probity Corp installation. All that remains of the previous common room is the long bar against the east wall. In the middle of this space sits a desk facing the entrance behind which is seated a bespectacled woman (use apprentice wizard stats) of middling years with short cut brown hair who looks up with an expression of mild annoyance from whatever it was she was working on. There are two doors on the eastern wall. One is behind the bar and is accessible by a trap door in the bar top on the northern end of the bar. The other is located on the northern most part of the eastern wall and has been permanently sealed off, but it can be forced open with a successful DC 25 Strength (Athletics) check. There are four total Probity Corps Troopers (use guard stats) in this room, a pair of each at the base/ head of the two sets of stairs. One pair is stationed at the top of the stairs down to the lower level and the other pair guards the stairs going up. All look thoroughly bored and if the characters pass the bureaucracy challenge below, they merely nod as the characters pass. Any approach towards or even eye contact with the no nonsense receptionist results in the following detached and official sounding request: “Credentials?” while extending a hand towards the characters, an obvious invitation to place their credentials in her outstretched hand. After giving the credentials a cursory examination, the receptionist asks, “So, what brings you to #37?” Any plausible answer accompanied by a successful DC 12 Charisma (Persuasion) satisfies the bureaucrat. The check is made with advantage if the characters made any reasonable attempt at disguise. At this point, the receptionist, Ikar Nalek, digs around on her desk for a moment and, after finding what she is looking for, presents a document and a quill. Without ceremony, she places it in front of the characters and says, “Fill this out, please.” It is a confusing form containing a series of interrelated questions and boxes to check, all dealing with the purpose of their visit to this Probity Corps facility. The form, titled “Purpose of Visit Form,” is byzantine in its complexity and requires a successful DC 13 Intelligence check to fill out properly. The check is made with advantage if any of the characters have either a governmental or a guild background. Any fellow character can assist, giving advantage that way, as well. Thaymount Scorpion Distillate (Ingested) Rare and emerald-green in hue, this viscous poison is derived from boiling crushed scorpions found only in the central Thayan mountains; it retains its efficacy in sauces or food if not baked to charred condition, and in ale but not stronger spirits. A creature subjected to it must make a DC 17 Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, 24 (7d6) poison damage is suffered, and the victim gains the poisoned condition for 24 hours. On a successful save, the creature takes half damage and isn’t poisoned. If the victim is brought to zero hit points or less by their initial contact, roll 1d6; on any roll except a 1, they rebound, writhing in agony and blinded for 1 minute as they regain 2d6 points of poison damage. They will twitch and hiss from time to time, involuntarily, for the next 1d4+1 hours. Part II: Intrigue in Eltabbar 95

If the characters state that they are here to take custody of the prisoner, Jigor Raxia, they must also fill out a “Prisoner Release Form” which is even worse. This document requires a successful DC 15 Intelligence check to correctly execute. The same modifiers as above apply to this check. If the characters successfully negotiate the first form and say that they wish to visit the prisoner, the receptionist calls one of the two guards over and asks him/her to escort these Inquisitors to see the prisoner. Jigor is either in his cell (area PC6) or is actively being put to the question (area PC4). If the characters fail the first bureaucratic challenge, the receptionist looks confused for a moment and then tells the characters to “Please wait for a moment while I retrieve the station’s Inquisitor.” She then heads upstairs to summon the head Inquisitor, Serena Halig (use mage stats), and the two other Probity Corps Troopers (use guard stats). Serena Halig, a pale-complexioned young woman with medium-length blonde hair and a practiced neutral expression, immediately asks to see the characters’ credentials. She repeats the above question, “So, what brings you to #37?” A sensible answer accompanied by a successful DC 15 Charisma (Persuasion) mollifies the Inquisitor. She will then allow the characters to visit the prisoner, asking one of the guards to escort them to Jigor Raxia. PC2: Offices The former kitchen and pantry of the inn have since been repurposed into two separate work stations, each with a desk and a filing cabinet. Most of actual cooking equipment has been removed, but the hearth and the pantry shelves remain. This room is currently unoccupied. The most important feature is the set of stairs down leading into the cellar. Both desks are covered with scattered papers covering mundane Probity Corps business such as Trooper time sheets, receipts for provisions, and a collection of copies of invoices for repairs and maintenance to the building. PC3: Cafeteria This former dining room is now used as an informal mess and meeting room. It is not often used and it is unlikely to encounter any Probity Corps operatives here. PC4: Chamber of Answers This is one of two places where the characters can encounter Jigor Raxia (use scout stats, but with 3 hit points from his injuries, AC 12, and no weapons or armor). If so, he is currently being interrogated by two Probity Corps Inquisitors (use mage stats). Jigor is currently strapped down to a chair and, understandably, sweating profusely. The two Inquisitors look up as the characters enter. The nature of their reaction very much depends on the means of the characters’ entry. If accompanied by a Trooper from upstairs, the Inquisitors (one male and one female) look mildly annoyed but do not object to whatever instructions the Trooper delivers, as that is the nature of any well-oiled bureaucracy. If the characters snuck in and suddenly appeared, the Inquisitors are startled but quickly demand answers as to who the characters are and why they are here. Only a successful DC 17 Charisma (Persuasion) prevents the outbreak of violence. Beyond the oaken chair replete with a series of straps in the center of the room, there are various torture devices spread around this room including a table covered in cruel looking and sharp knives, hooks, and pliers. PC5: Cellar This landing was formally storage and the scullery of the inn. All of that equipment has been pushed to the walls and clearly has not seen use in quite some time. It is unlikely to encounter any Probity Corps operatives here. PC6: Cells This former storage space has been modified to form two separate cells. They are either both empty if Jigor Raxia is being put to the questions in area PC4. If not, Jigor Raxia is in the southern cell and looks up curiously as the approach of the characters. The bare cells contain nothing of interest. If the characters snuck in, a character using thieves’ tools along with a successful DC 16 Dexterity check unlocks Jigor Raxia’s cell door. PC7: Meeting Room If accompanied by a Trooper to either PC4 or PC6, the Trooper will take Jigor Raxia to this room for Day vs. Night Conditions and Roster The location descriptions are for general daylight hours. After sunset, two additional Troopers are on patrol on the outside of the building. The two usually sit and pass the time near the front door. Neither the receptionist, Ikar Nalek, nor the head Inquisitor, Serena Halig, are present after dark. However, additional Inquisitors inside may be working on the prisoner after dark. Finally, the front door is barred from the inside after sunset. A successful DC 25 Strength (Athletics) check can force the door open. 96 Part II: Intrigue in Eltabbar

Probity Corps Black Site Map Main Floor Second Floor Cellar PC1 PC2 PC3 PC7 PC8 PC10 PC9 PC4 PC6 PC5 Part II: Intrigue in Eltabbar 97

98 Jigor Raxia Jigor is a young man with dark hair and a thin build. Further, he is a lifelong resident of Eltabbar. Wherever the characters first encounter him, Jigor is bruised, battered and understandably despondent. If the characters make it clear that they were sent by Gafna either with good role play or via a successful DC 12 Charisma (Persuasion) check, he is quite forthcoming about what landed him in a Probity Corps black site. Otherwise, he will not offer anything up fearing that this is an elaborate Probity Corp ruse to trick him into talking. Gafna asked him to track and monitor the movement of the Tharchion, Aumaund Halarkoun. He was grabbed suddenly from behind while he was attempting to follow the Tharchion’s retinue as it made its way through town on an outing of unknown purpose. Everything then went black and Jigor found himself here, in a cell. He readily explains that his cover story was that he was hired by a Thayan merchant from another city, whose name he doesn’t remember (and who paid him up front), who wishes to begin doing business in Eltabbar. His further lied and said that he was hired by this merchant to follow the Tharchion and try to find out what his hobbies and interests are by where he shops and what he takes an interest in as he moves about the city, so the merchant can present the Tharchion with a suitable gift and not something the Tharchion wouldn’t care about or even find offensive. He further explains to the characters that he had not betrayed Gafna’s trust or revealed anything about her or her organization. Finally, he states that he is not sure if his interrogators believed his story or not. But in either event, he is quite sure that the real questioning (torture) was going to be starting soon so is ineffably grateful for the rescue. If the characters further gain his trust, he will share that Gafna heads an underground resistance that is plotting to overthrow the Tharchion with the aim of restoring freedom to the people of Eltabbar. The hope is that their rebellion will be a spark that ignites a broader rebellion across Thay.

the characters to interrogate him. After moving the prisoner into the room and manacling him to a chair (the Trooper will desist locking Jigor in place if the characters so request), the Trooper then departs, leaving the characters alone with Jigor Raxia. Otherwise, the Trooper and any other Probity Corps operatives simply depart if the characters respond that they want to interrogate the prisoner where they find him, either in his cell (PC6) or in the Chamber of Answers (PC4). PC8: Empty Common Room Most of the furniture has been removed from this former upstairs dining/common room. PC9: Trooper Bunks These two rooms are the same, each containing two beds and two footlockers each. Each footlocker contains a few trinkets, some spare clothing, and a purse containing between 5 and 10 silver pieces. At any time, there are at least two off duty Troopers (use guard stats) resting in one of these rooms. PC10: Inquisitor Serena Halig’s Office What purpose this room served when the building was an inn is not clear. All that remains is a broad hearth, now cold and unused. In the middle of the room there sits a desk with two chairs in front of the desk. There is a comfortable looking couch against the north wall of the room. This is Serena Halig’s office. If after sunset, Serena has left for the day. Her residence is elsewhere in the city. If during the day, Serena (use mage stats) can be encountered just about anywhere in the building with the most likely place being here, in her office. On the desk, there are folders of papers and documents. If the characters examine them, they find a prisoner roster with each name followed by a date, the date they were apprehended. The most recent name on this list is Jigor Raxia and is dated two days ago. Finally, the second drawer on the right side is locked. A character using thieves’ tools along with a successful DC 16 Dexterity check opens the lock. It can also be forced with a successful DC 18 Strength (Athletics) check. Inside is a wand of magic missiles and a purse containing 25 pp and four 50 gp agates. The Wedding The characters should be 3rd level at this point. If the characters complete Gafna’s three tasks to her satisfaction, she should then be willing to take the characters further into her confidence and reveal the full details of her conspiracy. She and her co-conspirators seek to assassinate the Tharchion of Eltabbar, Aumaund Halarkoun. Her primary co-conspirator is Nurush Xamaroth, one of the Eltabbar’s seneschals, who has ambitions of ascending to the position of Tharchion himself. He has made promises to Gafna and her cohorts to enact democratic reforms in the Tharch should he attain the position of Tharchion. Whether those promises are genuine is another matter. The Tharchion is expected to be a guest at the wedding of Aragos Toslav, the Chancellor from Pyarados serving here in Eltabbar. As this is one of the bigger social events of the year in Eltabbar, everyone who is anyone is expected to turn up for it. The wedding takes place tomorrow. The wedding itself will take place at the temple called “The Dark House of Tyranny,” which is the city’s biggest and most important temple of Bane. Its main front entrance opens onto the street known as The Way of Arduskan. The wedding is planned to begin at noon with all of the guests and dignitaries arriving in the minutes before. Gafna further explains that this cannot be a simple assassination. It has to be a grand and magnificent event that will hopefully capture the imaginations of all Thayans sparking a democratic revolution across Thay. So, a knife in the dark will not do. Gafna relates that she and her people have been working on assembling an explosive device. She details that those bins of powdered materials that the characters saw underneath Pheldanther’s are the prime ingredients. If things go according to plan, the device will explode with enough force to kill not only Aumaund Halarkoun, but also anyone within The City Watch Should open violence break out or the watch called for any reason, the alarm is most typically answered by a patrol of Thayan Knights. Typically, once the watch is called, the patrol arrives five rounds later. If the events leading to a call for the watch occur in the Daerath Market, the response time can be as much as twice as long. A typical patrol consists of six Thayan Knights (use knight stats). Part II: Intrigue in Eltabbar 99