Cormyr 1479-1489

Year of the Ageless One 1479 DR
Hammer (January)
Word has spread from distant High Horn that a second mountainside has collapsed in the vicinity or Tyrluk, revealing the honeycombed interior of a (presumably) abandoned dwarven mine. That two mountain faces have fallen down within a six month period has left the commander of High Horn little choice but to dispatch men into the harsh winter weather to warn villages and hamlets that lay on or near mountain slopes of the potential danger. Several adventuring companies wintering in Tyrluk have departed with the intent to be the first to explore this new ruin, while another company made for nearby Sagekeep to learn which other mountains might house abandoned dwarven settlements.
A curious effect of the many chapbooks sold in Arabel has left residents of the Caravan city to wonder who or what is working magic on readables: about one in three of the simple written works sold at market stalls within the city that is read cover to cover emanates warmth for several hours after--a few hastily read chapbooks being enough to warm a room. Rumors claim such books continue to radiate heat upwards of four or five readings.
Arabel is experiencing heavier than usual snowfall. Already great mounds of snow are piled high near each of the city gates, and the residents of Arabel are being forced to move snow about with whatever tools are at hand. Crown mages are casting spells to clear the main roads and the Purple Dragons have formed work gangs to clear snow, but the snowfall continues unabated.


Alturiak (February)
Essard, longtime factor and representative of the reclusive Arabellan alchemist Mordgrandgur, has issued a wintertime call for chartered adventuring companies. Notices have been posted throughout Arabel. Interested parties are advised to purchase fresh horses or other magical means of transportation, as rumors are circulating that the alchemist is in dire need of rare moss and other specimens found only in the caverns beneath Plungepool, due east of far away Espar.
On the orders of the commander of High Horn and over the protestations of the local lord, purple dragons garrisoned for the winter in Tyrluk have departed to begin patrolling the nearby mountain valleys and trails for any sign of the imminent collapse of mountainsides.


Ches (March)
News has reached Eveningstar of a brewing conflict in Tyrluk: The purported theft of a dwarven-made hammer of pure gold from the rooms of an adventuring company staying at the Read Bear’s Delight (a hastily built inn and rooming house located in Tyrluk and established in the heart of winter last year) has set the residents of that establishment against their fellows living across the way at the just as hastily built Serpent Triumphant. “Only malcontents, thieves and two-faced scoundrels stay at the Serpent!” This according to Baerstus “Red Bear” Sulphander, owner and sole proprietor of the Read Bear’s Delight. These accusation show no sign of effecting Tamthrice, owner and sole proprietor of the Serpent, or his guests: “What need has anyone for a mere hammer of gold, when our capable guests already possess a matched set of golden gauntlets, a golden helm and boots?”


Tarsakh (April)
Suzail’s ports operate throughout the night thanks to the Crown-supported effort to illuminate all but the western part of the city, but according to dockhands and late night dockside revelers no illumination was needed to witness the nighttime arrival of The Risen Star, its sails and decks shining brightly thanks to the many lights hanging from the branches of two trees whose trunks rose up through a pair of hatches in the main deck. Word has spread that these trees (called Lantern Trees by the shiphands that spent a full night disassembling the main deck of the Star to unload her cumbersome cargo) bear fruit capable of absorbing minor spells and shedding illumination equivalent to lantern light for upwards of a day. The pair of trees were loaded onto massive platform wagons and carted off to a dockside warehouse. According to the warehouse master, viewings and bidding for the sale of each tree are to begin on the morrow.


Mirtul (May)
The Festival of Handras has opened to much fanfare and countless coins changing hands in Suzail. The annual celebration of merchant caravans arriving from the Sword Coast has spilled out of its regular confines due to the presence of half again as many wagons as expected. Inns and rooming houses report nary a vacancy, and the festival will run an additional three days to allow vendors to sell their wares and to accommodate interested buyers arriving from as far away as Griffon Hill.


Kythorn (June)
Broadsheets glued to the sides of inns and warehouses claim in bold letters: Mindflayers! Mindflayers seen throughout Suzail! "The Hunting Horn of the Forest Kingdom" soberly relates the events at the Bold Blazon (a club catering exclusively to jaded Cormyrean nobles and the socially ambitious): As Suzail slept, the late night revelers of the Bold Blazon were witness to a screaming serving maid running at top speed through the center of the well appointed and thoughtfully furnished common room for which the Blazon is accorded much respect by courtiers and knowledgeable decorators. The source of her fright made itself known in the form of a shirtless, purple skinned mindflayer. The creature made its entrance by the side passage through which the Blazon’s otherwise swift, silent and appropriately deferential servants come and go. It raised up its long tentacles and gave a terrible roar, flexed its surprisingly muscled arms (that were covered in a variety of dancing black tattoos, according to one eagle eyed noble) and, without concern for décor or expense, heaved up a fine chair of Amnian oak and hurled it into the midst of the many stylishly dressed patrons of the Blazon. Had someone instead yelled "Fire!" the Blazon could not have emptied itself of its courteous patrons at a faster speed. Their clothing and countenances unruffled by these events, the nobles assembled outside called for the watch while shouting encouragements to those still within: the staff of the Blazon locked themselves away in side rooms and kitchen cellars until the capable forms of Cormyr’s Wizards of War (backed up by the stern faces and sharp swords of the Purple Dragons) revealed themselves and made the staff feel safe. Though the creature escaped, Daerendygho Vrabrant, owner of the Bold Blazon and its chief buyer of furniture and draperies, thanked the nobles for their care and concern, then offered a reward of 1,000 golden lions to the first person to slay the savage mindflayer and deliver him its head on a fine silver platter.


Flamerule (July)
In the fields just south of Bospir, surveyors have discovered it has become impossible to measure chainsqares[2] of land. Something is snatching up the loose chains and whirling them about, creating havoc for those witness to the measurements taking place. The King’s lord of Bospir has allotted a princely sum of 50 gp to the first person or persons to unmask the cause of these disturbances.


Eleasias (August)
A happening of interest to merchants and Purple Dragon patrols riding out of Arabel has been reported by travelers making their way along the Moonsea Ride: about twenty miles south of Slingdyke, along a stretch of the Ride littered on either side with the half-century old remnants of a brief, bloody skirmish between Cormyrean forces and a rogue band of mercenaries riding under the banner of an ambitious Sembian merchant prince, dirt crusted old swords, daggers and axes with rotted leather grips, and a smattering of lances and other weather-beaten weapons are rising up out of the ground at the presence of horse drawn carts, wagons and other conveyances used by merchants traveling on the Ride, and flying alongside them a short distance away. Whitnesses claim no visible magic emanates from the floating weapons, nor have they reported any obvious sign of spectral forms or ghostly presences. After about two miles the weapons simply drop to the ground. When individuals headed in the other direction pass by the weapons, they rise back up into the air to “escort” these latest travelers back up the road. One intrepid merchant pulled her cart off the Ride and headed due east, reporting that even more weapons and a few shields dug themselves out of the earth to orbit around her cart. She did not travel too far away, preferring to keep the road in sight, but claims at least twenty weapons and four shields spun around her before she turned back for the road.[1]


Eleint (September)
A carter delivering foodstuffs to Suzail claims to have overheard two duty Dragons discussing the fate of the seneschal in charge of the Suzailian home of the Emmarask noble family: the servant was found hanged in a holding cell--presumably by his own hand--while in the custody of the Purple Dragons. What business the Dragons had in detaining the Emmarask seneschal is unknown. In the interim the gates to the Emmarask seat of power in Suzail have been barred from the inside and guards in Emmarask colors wander the grounds and keep watch from on high for trespassers.
The Old King’s Favorite lies deserted. A popular Suzailian lounge and eatery that caters to the nobility, important courtiers and those with coin enough to proclaim their importance, the Favorite is ringed with a double line of mounted Purple Dragons: the outer ring threatening away onlookers that get too close, while the inner ring faces the Favorite. War Wizards patrol on foot and in the air: flying mages were observed to hang squares of black wood over the Favorite’s many windows, while still more mages draped black cloaks over figures that appeared to be human by their shape, that stood unmoving in the entrance to the building. Cries of fear and shouts of anger from within the Favorite were overheard before the entrance was sealed off.
Word has spread throughout Cormyr: the Company of the Errant Gauntlet is being hunted by agents of the Crown, on the orders of his majesty King Foril. Riding the tail of this news are rumors that someone in Suzail placed two bounties on the heads of the Gauntlets: 10,000 gp for each member captured alive, or 10,000 gp for each head belonging to anyone found to have slain a member of the Company. The Errant Guauntlets were last seen in Suzail.


Marpenoth (October)
News of a killing leaked from beyond the heavily guarded walls of the Emmarask mansion: overnight a thief was caught and slain inside by members of the Emmarask family. Rumors high and low are in agreement that the “thief” was one of the fast-dwindling-in-numbers highknights of the realm, who its claimed was dismembered and burned in separate mansion fireplaces. This rumor is in fierce competition with more grim news emanating from the Emmarask home: the coffin of Muratha Emmarask was found disinterred from its place of rest. The family burial chambers have since been put under the protection of a score of Emmarask bullyblades and at least one hiremage, who collectively refuse entrance to anyone.
Suzail is awash in rumors that Lady Velyandra Illance and several of her sons have gone missing. The wife of Lord Daeclander Illance was last seen over a tenday ago as she departed by carriage in the company of her personal guard and entourage from the family castle in the noble quarter, and is believed to have made only one stop along the Promenade before her disappearance.


Uktar (November)
Black gemstones covered in sparkling, diamond-like points have turned up for sale in the markets of Suzail and Arabel.[3] These gems have the curious property of floating a few handwidths over any object infused with magic. After inspecting one such gem, the rotund war wizard and resident dragon expert at court Imdar was overheard to say such gems were a favorite of Draughthothnor, a great wyrm slain some three hundred and eighty years ago by the mysterious Five Wizards, though these gems were only the most common amongst a collection of rare gems of great power once held by the wyrm. Whether the gems are proof that the legendary hoard of Draughthothnor has been found, or that the long lost Redoubt of the Five has been discovered, none can say for sure.
The districts of Suzail are seeing more frequent and random patrols, both mounted and on foot. The increased Purple Dragon presence is the Crown's response to a spate of kidnappings throughout the city performed by black-cloaked bullyblades wielding swords dipped in poison. None of the abductees survived their encounters; all were left in hard-to-find places ere they bled out or the poison took hold, their bodies discovered in dockside warehouses, noble villas, shops along the Promenade, popular clubs and commoner's homes. The scales of opinion are balanced evenly between two possibilities: nobles are once again settling scores, ("The personal guard of the Illance Matriarch all carried poisoned blades as everyone knows, Crown law be damned.") and murder as a pretense to field more Dragons in the city so that "foes of the Crown" can be slain while the Dragons look the other way ("King Foril is not swift to anger, but he will never forget those who wronged him in the days before and after the Council of the Dragon. His is a slow vengeance worked on everyone who conspired against him. The corpse of Andranth the ironmonger will turn up soon, followed by Kormoroth of Westgate. No doubt the Lhendreths of Saerloon and other foes of the Crown are all dead by now.")[4]


Nightal (December)
Sagekeep is under siege by the bloated, zombified corpses of orcs and dwarves spilling out of old caves and cavern entrances in the mountains northeast of High Horn and northwest of Tyrluk. A sickly, pustule riddled blue dragon is said to be lumbering amongst the ranks of the dead, unleashing anguished roars and letting loose wild blasts of lightening from its drooling maw. The Castle Sworn priests of Helm that have long guarded Sagekeep are hard pressed to defeat their massed foes. Fire arrows shot from the high walls of the keep easily ignite the zombies, but this sends them into a frenzied rush towards wherever the source of the fire came from. Fire-engulfed zombies move at frightening speed and seem to swell even as they burn before exploding with stone shattering concussive force. The commander of High Horn has kept his troops well away from the conflict, as rumors carried by displaced villagers attest that the bite of the zombies carries an agonizing, slow killing plague, the victims of which sometimes rise up as new zombies.[5]


[1] When questioned by war wizards in Arabel, the merchant (the iron goods seller Tressa Manycoats) claimed she turned around not for fear of losing sight of the road, but because the ground all around her cart was undulating as a large something tried to free itself from the earth.
[2] See this useful link to the entry for buying land in Cormyr.
[3] The established sellers residing in shops along the Promenade in Suzail have taken to calling these gems "Nightskies," while the warehouse traders and market stall vendors of Arabel have dubbed them "Thumbstars", as their collection consists of thumb-sized gemstones.
[4] Both comments are attributed to Lord Braelbane, a windhorn of a noble (i.e. long-winded) that prides himself on being able to talk at length for hours at a time. Braelbane rents rooms by the tenday from the Willing Smile in Suzail and does not interact with the pleasure lasses in the usual manner, preferring to sit them down and give them a good lecture on whatever topic comes to mind.
[5] Imagine dealing with this at 3rd level! I unleashed this against just such a low level group of players (starting with the dragon as a solo encounter on day one of our campaign) and they not only survived, but had a lot of fun.
Year of Deep Water Drifting 1480 DR
Hammer (January)
In Battlerise, the veteran adventurer Rordrun Margar has announced the formation of a new adventuring company: the Battlegate Seven. No mention was made of the fates of Rordrun's adventuring companions from a prior enterprise, though it's believed all but Rordrun perished in Westgate. The Battlegate Seven have already made one successful foray into the catacombs beneath the castle from which they take their name and are planning a second foray.


Alturiak (February)
In Arabel, the anonymous wintertime publication of the tell-all chapbook "No Longer In Confidence: Courtly Utterances, Wisdoms and Opinions Overheard" has left that city astir in rumors and speculation about the Obarskyrs and their rule in Cormyr. Though the chapbook relates events purported to have occured a century ago, several prominent nobles dared proclaim the book is proof that Cormyr has seen better days under the Obarskyrs and that maybe, just perhaps, the time has come to cede more power to the nobility. The king’s lord of Arabel is said to be fuming over the chapbook’s publication, and is rumored to have said aloud that it will only stoke fires anew in the wake of last year’s disastrous Council of the Dragon at which so many nobles were slain—fires that winter and the passage of time were meant to put out. Further rumors claim agents of the crown have been dispatched into Arabel to purchase every last copy available, while agents of various nobles wintering in Arabel have been observed to purchase copies wherever they can find them.


Ches (March)
The siege of Sagekeep has entered its fourth month. The numbers of zombies surrounding the keep continue to swell, and the Purple Dragons keeping watch from a safe distance are having difficulty preventing adventurers from roaming the area, as it's believed that wherever the zombies are seen to emerge from the below ground must be near an abandoned dwarf mine or settlement. Correspondence between the sages and monks of Sagekeep and the outside world has resumed, thanks to unknown adventurers utilizing flying carpets to ferry missives and small packages to nearby Tyrluk, where agents of Sagekeep thus far unable to return home are busying themselves with carrying the messages into wider Cormyr, and carrying out out the directions of the priestly triumvirate that rules the keep.


Tarsakh (April)
Differences of personality and theological belief have led to the disbandment of the The Stormchasers, a band of adventurers long thought to be quarrelsome and at odds with one another. Their surprisingly peaceful dissolution took place at the Palace in Arabel. After, the various former members were seen to go their separate ways into the city.


Mirtul (May)
An array of strange lights have been spotted along the coast of the eastern arm of the Wyvernwater. Bargemen navigating the waters near Hultail bore witness to a roiling mass of lavender, red and blue lights about a quarter-mile inland on the southern shore, some twenty miles downwater. A few intrepid souls beached their craft to investigate, and upon their return announced there were no less than ten fully armed and armored drow wildly dancing in a circle, their heads, arms and weapons flailing about as they moved non stop on a small rise of land illuminated by shifting lights emanating from a source unseen. One bargeman moved to within a few paces of the dancing dark elves and was thrown back by a ring of lightening that erupted from the earth and sent stabbing bolts in all directions. His fellows carried his unconscious form back to Hultail, depositing him at the The Spawnkeeper Hanged, a popular inn and restaurant perched on the docks.


Kythorn (June)
Cart after cart loaded down with fish packed in salt have departed Smuggler's Stone for markets further inland in southeastern Cormyr--a sure sign of that small village's growth and revival. The success of the Stone is widely attributed to the unannounced arrival of gnome families displaced by conflict from Sembia and the Dales. Some of the carts also carry fine fish bone carvings and delicate necklaces made of an unknown metal that changes color when exposed to extremes of temperature.


Flamerule (July)
A raging eruption of ash and smoke is rising high into the sky from where it jets out of the face of an upland burial tomb north of Marsember. The smoke can be seen for miles as one travels on the Dragoneye Way and as far north as Bogbrook. Onlookers and the curious report that the stone doors of the tomb were blown off and that the heat around the entrance is intense. Shore breezes blowing inland from the Dragonmere have no effect on the towering column, which does not disperse until it ascends upwards of the highest clouds.


Eleasias (August)
The Race Across the Wyvernwater[1] went to neither side this year. Instead, the contest between two fishing boats that row out of Hultail’s docks before switching to sails for the voyage across the Wyvernwater to Yeoman Bridge saw one ship ram the other and both sank within sight of the bridge. Tradition holds that whenever the ships collide and sink all bets are to be held over to next year[2]. Most bettors are certain the Ship of Sembia will outrace the Ship of Cormyr, as the Cormyr’s captain was severely injured in the collision and a new captain will likely be appointed to replace her. Though the wrecks piling up near the Bridge are becoming a hazard, all agree that this year’s run was a smashing success.


Eleint (September)
Cormyrean nobility in Marsember are on watch: the Nightcloaks have arrived, bringing with them the cause of the Scourge of Corrupt Nobility. Led by the mysterious and seemingly impossible to kill Heldran “Nightcloak” Rallyhorn, the Nightcloaks cornered and slew Lord Adarl Summerstar in broad daylight, then disappeared into the city. Purple Dragon patrols have been doubled and are accompanied by no less than three war wizards, but this has proven cold comfort to the nobility, who've collectively shut themselves away in their homes or departed Marsember outright. The Summerstars have offered a substantial reward for the capture of Nightcloak Rallyhorn or one of his lieutenants.


Marpenoth (October)
The tree lined paths of Daunthers[3] have found the company of a ghost that hovers a handwidth above the ground as it moves along the rambling expanse of graves enclosed by a high stone wall made of blocks filled with the ashes of dead Purple Dragons. The occasional sighting of a ghost is nothing new, but sightings of the same ghost—in this case a ghost leading a mass of apparitions that appears to grow in number each night—have left the wary watchers (as the guards of Daunthers are known) uncertain how to proceed. The ghosts move at a pedestrian speed until they near a cenotaph that give access to crypts below. The ghost darts inside, disappearing for upwards of an hour before emerging with another apparition in tow. The commander of Daunthers has been given leave by the Lord High Marshal of the realm to hire experienced adventurers in good standing to address the issue and see the ghosts to a peaceful rest.


Uktar (November)
Arson nearly led to the destruction of stables belonging to the Illance noble family in Suzail. The fire was quenched, but not before a portion of the stables was destroyed and three prized mounts lost. Illance guards cloaked in red searched for the arsonist, who rumor claims is a member of the Illance family and was last seen headed to the Royal Court. Lord Meldrauvyn Illance, patriarch of his House, publicly declared such rumors are in error: the culprit is no Illance. Instead he is one Tarmel Drouth: arsonist and murderer.


Nightal (December)
On the orders of King Foril, the gates to the prison city of Wheloon have been thrown open and the prisoners within notified they will be given safe passage on boats out of Cormyr when spring returns. This edict has shocked many in Forest Kingdom, who suspect Wheloon to be full of dark cabals led by Sharan priests and prisoners corrupted from afar by the powerful mages of Shade. Those who choose to remain in Cormyr will be given a wagon, farm implements, two oxen to pull the wagon, a handful of coins and a choice: build homes in the lands due east of the Tilverton Scar, or in the vicinity of Azoun’s Hold, there to farm the land and live out their days, never to return inland unless ordered to do so by the king. The wisdom of the king’s choice is being hotly debated at court and in nearly every tavern, inn and gathering place in Cormyr.



[1] The Race Across the Wyvernwater reenacts the chase of a fishing boat commandeered by Sembians and their mercenaries by a gang of Hultail shipbuilders, dock workers and fisherman sailing their own commandeered fishing boat, in the years when Sembia and Cormyr were at war. The Sembians tried and failed to set fire to the Trindar shipyards in Hultail and nearly made landfall at far away Yeoman Bridge, but after being chased across the Wyvernwater they were caught and captured.
[2] Though the post-race revel takes place Yeoman's Rest, regardless. This celebration is quite crowded, as ships from Hultail and other ports on the Wyvernwater sail to Yeoman Bridge in the wake of the racing ships, their crews and occupants disembarking for the Rest and several days of revelry.
[3] A retirement home for disabled Purple Dragons, Daunthers is one part farm, one part fortress and one part graveyard; collectively it's huge.
Year of the Grinning Halfling 1481 DR
Hammer (January)
The corpse of the missing ironmonger and glasspane merchant Andranth Glavreth was discovered in the midst of a cellar full of weapons, crossbows and ammunition beneath a disused warehouse in Suzail. Andranth is thought to have partnered with Sembians to overthrow the Obarskyrs, but was never formally questioned as he disappeared approximately two years ago. More troubling is the rumor that on Andranth's head a rare Night Helm[1] sat, which may explain how he avoided detection for so long, even in death.


Alturiak (February)
Bright flashes followed by the echoing reports of explosions woke the sleeping residents of Hultail's docks. Onlookers claim the magical battle took place to the north, across the water on the snow-covered shores of the Wyvernflow. The nighttime conflict lasted at least a quarter hour, though none could speak to the fates of the battle's participants. Shortly after the cacophony ended a trio of charred and still burning beholders were spotted. A hastily assembled force watched the aberrations float low over the frozen waters and come to rest on the ice where their path was obstructed by the thick pillars of wood that support Hultail's docks.


Ches (March)
A new inn has opened for business off the Thunder Way, due east of Hultail. That a new inn has begun admitting customers is unremarkable, however Trollbreeder's Rest is noteworthy for the fact that mages of all types are warned to stay well away or risk experiencing the fate of the first mage to ignore the warning: madness.


Tarsakh (April)
Rumors of treasure in the heart of Marsark’s grove north of Wheloon has lured adventurers and treasure seekers into the stands of rosecork trees[2] that grow along the Wyvernflow and cloak parts of the Blister Trail in shadow. One band met its doom over the edge of a blind fall that marks the border of an old slate mine that was once the largest in Cormyr. The mine was—and apparently still is—monster haunted, and the creatures within are said to be intelligent and to use the thickly forested land to their advantage.


Mirtul (May)
Attendance at Dragonfall—the yearly commemoration by priests of Tempus of Azoun IV’s triumph over Nalavara the Devil Dragon—reached numbers not seen since the years following the king’s death and the ascension of the Steel Regent, thanks to the presence of at least three large mercenary companies[3] who collectively received the priest's blessings. The following day the assembled swords rode north for Arabel, and if rumor holds true they will stay long enough to acquire supplies and provisions before departing for the Stonelands. Under whose banner they ride is a mystery.


Kythorn (June)
A ride of forty mounted Purple Dragons crashed through a mass of zombies and skeletons lumbering westward over the Thunder Way and in the direction of Junirill. The dragons wielded swords and maces to hack and smash apart the dead. A pile of corpses was stacked up and burned, and traffic along the Way routed around the wreaking pyre. The all-female contingent of dragons returned to Junirill, but not before their commander (the charismatic and popular Swordcaptain Hanifae Rowanmantle) warned merchants and travelers to move with all speed, for a great many dead walk the fields to the east and all are moving inland. Whether the dead are emerging from the Golden Ruins, the Vast Swamp or some other ruin is unknown.


Flamerule (July)
Purple Dragons patrols riding on the Way of the Manticore are warning travelers of a heretofore unknown ruin near the Hermit’s Wood that catches spells right out of the air and hurls magic at unwary travelers that venture too close. Brigands are attacking from out the Wood and may be based near the ruin.


Eleasias (August)
The departure of prisoners from Wheloon continues. King Foril's decision remains a magnet for controversy, but the regular din of complaints was briefly eclipsed by the announcement of the sale of property within Wheloon to a group of unknown buyers. Speculation has settled on Jallask Downtlurk, a cold and calculating buyer and seller of properties throughout Cormyr, as his chief building inspector was thrice seen to enter and leave through the gates of Wheloon within the last tenday, his last trip in the company of unknown adventurers.


Eleint (September)
Arabel has suffered through consecutive nights of rain, wind and storm. Each night clouds block the light of the moon, winds snuff out torches and lashing rains force shutters closed. Storms are not unheard of over Arabel, but the appearance of black hulled ships floating through the air in the dead of night has left many to wonder if the weather was called up by powerful mages to cloak the ship's arrival. Lightening briefly revealed several of the ships at rest over warehouses and residences in the city, black ropes anchoring them to the buildings underneath. The ships rose high up into the sky as they departed and some claim they headed south, perhaps for the Wyvernwater.


Marpenoth (October)
A hydra is rampaging through the King’s Forest. Rangers and foresters report that from forelegs to the top of its many heads the beast stands as tall as a three story inn. The creature is uprooting small trees and burning down tall ones, swatting aside boulders and digging through knolls, almost as though it were blazing a path through the wood from where it emerged in a series of caves far to the north of Plungepool. If left unopposed it will reach Waymoot within a tenday.


Uktar (November)
Adventurers recovering in Sunset Hill after a foray into the Hullack Forest claim to have discovered a series of six ascending stone towers that spiral up into the air, their upper floors suspended by forces unseen and the lower portions collected in one great heap of broken stone below, in a clearing somewhere in the heart of the wood. A giant slumbers on the rubble, a huge axe with a haft as tall as a tree at its side. Each day as the sun sets the giant awakens and holds its massive hands up beneath one of the tower tops, from which a handful of gems, coins or other valuables appear and fall towards the ground. These treasures and more fill pouches on the giant’s belt, one of which the adventurers attempted to steal ere the giant awoke and wreaked havoc amongst them. According to the wounded survivors the giant rarely leaves the ruin, save to hunt and forage in the surrounding woods about once a tenday.


Nightal (December)
A quiet winter in Suzail was shattered by the publication of the first issue of "Fair Flower, Bold Stag"[4], the latest of a handful of new chapbooks to circulate in the city. This particular chapbook features tales of the intimate encounters and private doings of young and vigorous male and female nobles. The first issue features three tales of debauchery set in the Royal Quarter: a daring nighttime romp on the rooftops of the Royal Palace, a reenactment of the lusty encounters of King Azoun IV in the Royal Court, and a daring race on horseback in the nude through the Royal Gardens. The Fair Flower does not hesitate to name names, and promises next month to reveal which noble spent a fortune importing pleasure slaves from distant Calimshan.



[1] Helms capable of cloaking the wearer's mind, thus rendering it immune to magical eavesdropping and influence. One helm is known to exist, though more may have been created. See "Bury Elminster Deep" (hardcover) page 59.
[2] Sturdy wood that's nearly impossible to burn. See Volo’s Guide to Cormyr, page 105, first column.
[3] Selemchant’s Blazing Banners and two other mercenary companies.
[3] Not to be confused with the Flower and Stag, a friendly Suzailian eatery that opens early and closes late, and caters to servants, busy factors and persons of middling authority whose free time and livelihoods revolve around the daily schedules of powerful nobles and merchants.
Year of the Narthex Murders 1482 DR
Hammer (January)
Last month's revelation of the dalliance between the Lady Lathlace Alsevir and Lord Brustus Mountwyrm atop the roof of the Royal Palace has soured the Lady's betrothal to Lord Corlador Silversword, as well as the budding trade partnership between the Houses of Alsevir and Silversword. Lord Corlador is said to have locked himself away and is taking no visitors while he soothes a broken heart. Lady Lathlace and Lord Brustus are believed to have fled by boat for Westgate with boats belonging to both families in pursuit, but all eyes in Suzail are on the lookout for the next printing of "Fair Flower, Bold Stag".


Alturiak (February)
The woodlands around Dhedluk are crawling with nobles, most from families ennobled within the last few decades. What has drawn them into the woods is a mystery, but the relatively small Purple Dragon detachment in Dhedluk are said to keep a strict watch in and out of town, and are arresting and detaining nobles that fail to follow the law, no matter how slight the infraction. These Dragons are known by their company badge: a dagger with its point facing down, trailing three drops of blood off to the left.


Ches (March)
In Eveningstar, the discovery of a dust and web-covered strongchest marked "Alurlyath" half-buried under a collapsed rack of crates and barrels in the cellar of the Golden Unicorn Inn occasioned its removal and transport to the ground floor, where doorjacks employing iron bars failed to pry the chest lid open. Suspecting magic, the Unicorn's owner promised half the contents to a noble staying at the inn, if she would command her house mage to dispel whatever magic kept the lid shut. This the noble did and in short order the lid was opened, exposing everyone to a swarm of dismembered hands that spilled out of the strongchest, springing from floor to chair to table seeking throats to crush, ears to rip and eyes to gouge. The crawling claws are thought to lurk on the ground floor still, and do not pursue anyone who flees the Inn. Residents are still trapped on the upper floors and the owner is promising a reward of gold and gems to anyone that rids the place of the diminutive creatures.


Tarsakh (April)
The weekly auction of horses at Jester's Green was disrupted by horses breaking free of their confinement. Riders on horseback were thrown from their otherwise reliable mounts, which bolted and ran free. The cause of the disruption is something not seen in Cormyr in nearly a millenia: a herd of black unicorns running wild within sight of the Green. The path of the unicorns (and the horses that followed them) is obvious to all, for a great many flowers, plants and trees sprang up overnight from the ground on which the unicorns ran.


Mirtul (May)
Nobles of Cormyr have forever tried to outdo each other, but this habit of one-upmanship reached new heights (of ridiculousness, depending on which Cormyrean you ask) when the patriarch of the Silverswords invited a select group of nobles, courtiers, worthy merchants and other individuals to see firsthand the latest addition to the ancestral home of the Silverswords in Suzail: a four story tall glass enclosure sporting wreathes filled with carefully preserved leaves, flowers, branches, small birds, bits of armor, jewelry, gems, rings and other adornments, all rising up from a single point near the floor in a shape not unlike a pair of grand antlers, the entire assembly set against a backdrop of pure white, all of it connected by and woven through with the many hairs of countless deceased Silverswords dating back to the founding of Cormyr.


Kythorn (June)
In the woods near Stag Steads, hunters uncovered a tarnished metal platter stamped with the face of a majestic, many antlered stag's head. When touched, a magic mouth appeared over the platter and spoke thus: "Bhald Jhawn is dead. Tlumbel we chased into the woods ere he fell into the Starwater. No sign upriver or down. Our men are paired off with the other hunters; all will be slain. Find us at Oadal's Stand. The replacements are ready."


Flamerule (July)
One brightly bannered carriage after another has departed Suzail in the company of liveried riders armed to the teeth. These noble conveyances are the first of many that will arrive in Waymoot, there to answer the call of the Queen of Joy: the high priestess of Lliira has opened the Sounds of Joy temple to guests for the first time in a twenty years. If past events are any indication, the festival to follow will be capped by a nightlong revel filled with dancing and costumed guests. Temple messengers have been sent to Arabel and as far away as Marsember, and a grand gathering of the rich and monied of Cormyr is expected.


Eleasias (August)
Reports of gargoyles in the woods around Mouth O' Gargoyles have been met with an unusually swift response from the Crown: over one hundred Purple Dragons and a handful of veteran War Wizards have been dispatched to the village, both to protect the residents and to patrol the woodlands. A reward of 1,000 golden lions has been offered for the successful capture and delivery of a gargoyle to the Lionar in charge of the Purple Dragon contingent.


Eleint (September)
Ship captains sailing the Wyvernwater have left word of a colossal thunderhead that floats high in the sky over the Wyvernwater: it appears to move of its own accord, even against prevailing winds, and does not dissipate. The looming mass of dark, roiling cloud spits lightening and is surrounded by harsh winds, even when the sky is blue all around. Ships sailing close have observed that when the cloud stops, drops of water do not fall from the sky, but up from the Wyvernwater itself in a great torrent of rising rain. One brave captain guided his ship through the storm and narrowly avoided falling into a round, deep chasm in the water, glimpsing the dry depths beneath the water’s surface ere the ship turned hard and made for the nearest port.


Marpenoth (October)
Guards have been doubled at many of the warehouses in Arabel in response to the gruesome news that an entire building has been overrun by arachnids—some as large as a horse—and the occupants inside overwhelmed, cocooned, and hung from the ceiling, presumably for later consumption by the eight legged invaders. If not for the swift feet of a Crown tax assessor (who claims to have seen the webbed interior of the building before a trio of man-sized spiders chased him out), the condition of the warehouse may well have been overlooked for the winter. Members of the watch have the building surrounded, and the king’s lord is calling on chartered adventuring companies to exterminate the invaders and recover as many people as possible. The use of fire is prohibited, on pain of imprisonment and a stiff fine.


Uktar (November)
Dwarves have descended on the quiet sheep market town of Bospir, buying up every last vacancy available from its many rooming houses and most of the rooms at the Drover's Inn. To a woman (male dwarves have yet to arrive), the dwarves remain tight lipped over their reasons for traveling to Bospir. Locals have watched the dwarves eye the trio of wells around which the town is centered, and some residents have concluded that resources more valuable than water lie beneath the verdant ranchlands surrounding the town.


Nightal (December)
Smoke from a fire burning in the woods near the edge of the King’s Forest has drawn the attention of foresters from nearby Aunkspear. They waded through knee-high snow to investigate and brought back word of a mansion bordered on one side by a collapsed tower, from which black smoke (and a great amount of heat) rises still. The mansion is grown over with vines and obscured by trees, some rising up out of the earth not more than a few paces away. A wall of thick stone obstructs the entrance, and there is evidence of at least one group having visited prior to the arrival of the foresters. Whomever they were, all their tracks led to the tower.
Year of the Tasked Weasel 1483 DR
Hammer (January)
The start of the new year has brought with it a flurry of royal orders and decrees. Among them: shipments of wheat, barley and oats out of Gars have been postponed for the year by order of King Foril. The grain shipments that would normally make their way overland to Hultail for transport by barge to Immersea will instead be purchased by the Crown and stored at the new fortress barracks under construction north of the town.


Alturiak (February)
Priests of Chauntea have successfully kept at bay the winter weather long enough for the Temple of Verdant Fields to be completed atop Griffon Hill. Constructed in just under five years (thanks to the aid of Purple Dragons riding out of Castle Nacacia and Halfhap, who put down orc and goblin raids from the Stonelands and Desertsmouth Mountains) the fortified holy house boasts a permanent inn with many rooms, several tall towers, a library and a granary. Word passed down from travelers has it that the temple stands over an entrance into the rocky hill on which it is built, and that if one looks out from the tallest tower when the skies are clear, the Twin Peaks of Urlspur can be seen far to the east.


Ches (March)
Unusually warm weather has left ships free to sail on Wyvernwater's thawing ice. One of the first boats to leave the docks of Immersea returned earlier than expected with survivors from the Wild Wave, a famous pleasure barge that left the Immersea docks over three months ago and never returned. Among the gaunt remnants were both crewmen and guests, but the ship’s captain was missing. The survivors claim the Wave struck something beneath the water and became stuck, and that by night creatures emerged from the depths below to raid the ship.


Tarsakh (April)
Ownership of the Duskrose Inn has changed hands for the fifth time in as many years. The popular luxury inn and bathhouse has been overrun by feuding clans of halflings (the Blacknees, Buckoonwatches, Hotbreads, Whistletars, and certain halfling trading concerns based in Gray Oaks) who’ve fought in the midst of paying customers and driven guests half-naked out of the baths rather than let their foes earn another coin. The current owner of the inn is the king’s lord of Halfhap, who has decreed that henceforth all halflings are banned from the inn and that the Duskrose will remain a property of the Crown until the issue of its ownership is settled once and for all.


Mirtul (May)
The number of births in Eveningstar has increased to a rate greater than any in living memory. Most of the pregnant mothers are not native to the town, and all reported an overwhelming desire to travel to Eveningstar to give birth. The services of midwives and the local priesthoods are being taxed to their limits, and the local lord has dispatched riders to identify any woman with child traveling on the High Road and the Starwater Road, that the extent of this unusual event might be ascertained.


Kythorn (June)
Ships putting into port at Teziir are bringing with them strange tales of abandoned ships appearing in the dead of night on the Dragonmere. Most of the stories share one or more of the following descriptions: a magnificent, three-masted ship quietly sales to within a short distance, matching the speed and heading of another ship; sometime after the midnight hour a ship comes to rest alongside an occupied ship anchored for the night; from forecastle to quarterdeck the ship appears abandoned; gold coins are strewn about the captain's quarters, the floor of which is covered in fresh blood; anyone who spends the night in the crow's nest goes mad; belowdecks the ship is cold as freezing winter; in the bilge, mouldering corpses dressed in the formal attire of Blue Dragon officers lay shoulder to shoulder between the bilge strakes; sometime before the first light of dawn the ship disappears, dropping anyone aboard into the water; the ship begins to move of its own accord and anyone who does not flee is lost with it in darkness; Rumors of treasure, as well as the value of the ghost ship should it be captured, have drawn the attention of adventurers, as well as merchant ship captains (such as Forthin of the Lammath Drios).


Flamerule (July)
Quarelling pairs of mages have destroyed the crossing on Calantar's Way where it passes over the Sword River. Witnesses to the fight attest that the mages hurled spell after spell at each other from either end of the bridge without regard for those traveling on it, resulting in an arcane conflagration that's thought to have consumed at least one mage from each side and hurled wagons and carts into the water. Teams of builders dispatched out of Arabel are hard at work erecting a temporary crossing over the river, as well as barricades on either side of the road to keep onlookers away from the roiling, lightening-spitting remnants of the battle. A sizable contingent of War Wizards are assisting the Purple Dragons in removing the wreckage of merchant wagons and carriages from the river, and searching for survivors. Among the war wizards are a few noteworthy individuals: Authkant Melevor, Ulskan Hammantle and Savander Kiriag.


Eleasias (August)
Troll-drawn wagons and carts have become a frequent sight in Arabel. The green skinned creatures are by all accounts tame, even when faced with a disturbance. Some merchants who utilize trolls have extra wares to sell beyond their normal offerings, and are not afraid to announce these items once belonged to brigands who were torn apart and eaten by the cart-pulling creatures on the command of their masters. Such wagons are not hard to spot, as they are never without an escort of torch-carrying Purple Dragons on horseback.


Eleint (September)
Throughout Cormyr word is spreading of a curse that passes by touch from person to person, stripping the newly afflicted of their memory and teleporting them away to a random destination somewhere in the Forest Kingdom. Those who pass on the curse find their memory returned, but are at a loss to recall what took place from the moment they were whisked away until they regained their old memories. All are warned to avoid strangers who appear lost, and persons unable to recall their name or place of residence.


Marpenoth (October)
The Curse of Memories Missing has claimed its latest victim in the form of Lord Parespur Bloodbright. The noble was sent to only the gods know where at the touch of the half-starved knight Sir Andram Duskrose, who Bloodbright servants claim wandered onto the grounds at Bloodhollow (the Bloodbright summer house located halfway between Redspring and the Sword River) with no memory of who he was or where he came from. With the return of his memory, and after having been informed of his recent actions, Sir Duskrose promised to recover the missing Lord and left on a borrowed horse for Arabel.


Uktar (November)
Among the rotting husks of old crown ships run aground on the rocky shores of Margrath's Rest (located far to the west of Suzail), a small community of vagabonds and homeless have built shelters and tents out of old sail canvas and wood salvaged from the ships. Their leader is a charismatic man with a bright smile and no name, and shelters in a weather-beaten hut that may have belonged to the old sea captain after which the Rest was named.


Nightal (December)
Wine and spirit merchants from Marsember and Sembia are racing to Bogbrook before winter sets in and all roads in and out of Cormyr are snowed over. Bogbrook's local (and not terribly popular) utterdark vintage has been eclipsed by a new wine called nobledark, for which individual bottles purchased by merchants and adventurers at the start of the year have been sampled and found to be of such quality that unopened bottles are being resold for 100 gp or more. Interested parties are advised to seek Handrith of Bogbrook, who does all his business at the foot of a recently rebuilt wizard's tower. The surge in popularity from such an unlikely place has not gone unnoticed by established wine makers, who've made no secret of sending their own agents to Bogbrook.

Look for me and my content at EN World (user name: sanishiver). Edited by - Jeremy Grenemyer on 27 Dec 2014 08:32:48 Go to Top of Page Jeremy Grenemyer Great Reader
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Posted - 30 Aug 2014 : 07:34:32 Show Profile Send Jeremy Grenemyer a Private Message Reply with Quote Year of the Awakened Sleepers 1484 DR
Hammer (January)
Adventurers, hire mages, house mages and war wizards are all being warned to not enact any teleportation magic into or out of Arabel, as such magics leave the spellcaster and any participants bereft of all carried and worn possessions. Where the missing clothing and objects go is a mystery. Not all the mages of Arabel find the situation to be troubling. The "wagon wizard" Dratha Shelduzun was heard to remark that a pack of suddenly naked adventurers running cold through the streets of Arabel is a sight to warm even the blackest heart.


Alturiak (February)
Word has spread west from Thunderstone into the heart of Cormyr that adventurers are being sought to rid nearby quarries of a flying menace that has spelled the doom of at least one group of miners. The creature (or creatures) may be the same beast attacking Hultail-bound boats and barges on the Thunderflow. Interested parties are advised to seek the stone seller and carver Ondaver Sarlath.


Ches (March)
Dunshield's Arms and Armors of Arabel has mounted and displayed a rare collection of exotic beholder armor and weapons, including a set of gem-encrusted full plate armor appropriate for an eye tyrant the size of a large wagon, metallic eyestalk shields with pairs of gems at their center, and a crystalline lance with a boxlike base that fits in a beholder's mouth and it's claimed is used for jousting between two eye tyrants. The proprietor of Dunshield's will not reveal from who these latest additions to his collection were purchased, but promises more are on the way and all will be displayed as soon as possible.


Tarsakh (April)
The near-assassination of the King's Lord of Arabel has left that city on edge and set tongues to waggling over who ordered the lord's slaying. Likely culprits include agents of Sembian merchant cabals and the Shadovar, but those who claim intimate knowledge of the attack say the Fire Knives of far off Westgate were involved.


Mirtul (May)
This year's Open Feast was moved at the last moment from Dragontriumph Hall to the Hall of Victories. Guests were not informed as to why the location for the annual gathering in the Royal Palace where the monied and influential of Cormyr rub shoulders with the counterparts from other lands (and absent the presence of any Obarskyr) was changed. The move did nothing to quell the torrent of conversation for which the Open Feast is legendary. On the contrary it brought it to new heights: over the din the Sembian hiremage Oskrul Meddanthyr opined that the entire wing of the palace containing Dragontriumph Hall is unsafe, owing to the destabilizing presence of so many undead in the nearby Haunted Wing. The merchant Ostramagarus agreed, reminding everyone within earshot that it was "just a few years back" that a wing of the palace collapsed. The bard Amrathgus Taerl quipped, "Nay, friends. Tis simply that the courtiers and guards tire of searching high and low for guests that have lost there way. After all, an exit out of the palace is at the other end of this hall."
Hard on the heels of news of the murder of the King's Lord of Hultail comes word of the death of the King's Lord of Eveningstar. Whereas the former was found hanged on the docks, the later was run through by a quartet of flying swords while riding on horseback. Throughout Cormyr guard contingents have been doubled and King's Lords locked away behind closed doors until the threat to their lives is eliminated. Bold nobles desiring to gain favor with the crown, adventurers both chartered and unchartered, and the ambitious all seek to be the first to uncover the threat and strike back, while less loyal persons are said wait and watch as events unfold.



Kythorn (June)
Attacks on the King's Lords of Suzail, Arabel, Marsember, Hultail, Eveningstar and other locations have put Cormyr on a war footing. The exact number of lords attacked and slain is not yet known. Many believe interests in Westgate headed by the family members and agents of exiled Cormyrean nobility are to blame. In Arabel, the vagabond adventurer Gelliard “Gell” Salrikoat was honored for his part in preventing the death of the King's Lord of Arabel.


Flamerule (July)
A great many mounted Purple Dragons are riding out of the garrison keep of Stonewatch, almost all in the direction of Gyrlondposts--the country home of the minor noble House Gyrlond. Riders returning to Stonewatch were seen in the company of a trio of wagons, one of which overturned within sight of the keep as it cleared the rise near Heldul's Rest. Travelers intending to camp at the waystop were greeted by the sight of soldiers hastily tossing human bones back into the wagon from which they'd spilled onto the Way of the Manticore. The commander of Stonewatch (Ornrion Lhornan Drakehar) personally assured the overnighters that all was well, and left a detachment of Dragons to watch over the camp. These men departed at first light, but not for Stonewatch. Word soon reached the camp that outriders sent to alert nobles living within a day's ride of Stonewatch returned with news that Thawngard--seat of power of the reclusive House Thawnfaer--was bereft of occupants, forcing Drakehar to dispatch a third of his forces to search the nearby lands for any sign of the missing noble family.


Eleasias (August)
In Suzail, rumors claiming the widely renowned painter of portraits Jharakphred is alive and still creating new works have begun circulating now that the discovery of a cache of previously unknown portraits attributed to the missing master was made public. Reputable Promenade-based art dealers are bidding for the right to host the pieces.


Eleint (September)
Within days of arriving at Stonewatch, a force of war wizards led by Tanthil Oakfist discovered the whereabouts of the missing Thawnfaers: all yet reside at Thawngard, each comfortably going about their business while under the effects of a magic unique to Thawngard that gifts all who reside in its walls with the power of invisibility. The elderly Thawnfaer patriarch claimed no knowledge of last month's grim business at Gyrlondposts, and remarked that if he and his desired to spend their days invisible to the world it should be of no great concern to the Crown so long as the family remained indoors.


Marpenoth (October)
After a lengthy hiatus the mage-for-hire Larak Dardulkyn has returned to Cormyr. Known to be cold and impolite, the taciturn mage has elected to set up shop in Arabel in lieu of resuming business in Suzail. Many stories surround Larak, not the least of which is the tale of the utter destruction of his first home at the hands of an elderly mage whom the much younger Larak confronted for reasons unknown. In Arabel, hushed conversations focus on Dardulkyn's absence from Cormyr: some think he retreated to a hidden redoubt to rebuild the many helmed horrors he once commanded, while others claim he left not to rebuild, but to gather more horrors from a secret location he must have discovered before first setting foot in the Forest Kingdom. All agree the elderly spell-lion who so roundly trounced Larak is a subject best not to be brought up in the hiremage's presence. Larak can be found in a converted warehouse space that borders the city wall and stands east of High Horn Gate.


Uktar (November)
At the demand of creditors (and at the encouragement of the Crown) an auction of jewels, gowns, furniture and miscellaneous possessions was held at the foot of the Windstag manor house in Suzail, to the great embarrassment of the Windstag family. Among the nobles in attendance, much was overheard. Said the Lady Harvendur: "Oh this is only the latest in a long series of setbacks for the Windstags--the first being the birth of that fool Broryn." Said the Lady Dawningdown: "Not so. The first was their being noticed by Azoun. Not the best choice for the nobility, really." Harvendur: "See Lord Traevyn Illance off to the side there, smiling like a dragon about to add to its hoard? Never borrow from an Illance what you can fleece from the Crown." Dawningdown: (laughing) "Too true! Lord Illance must be as miserly as a dragon to not spend coins on a new outfit. Didn't half-cloaks and walking sticks fall out of fashion in Salember's time?" Harvendur: "Ear of the gods, he's looking right at us!" Dawningdown: "Let us away. Our factors know what to bid on. Come! The Promenade calls!"


Nightal (December)
Customers of Orbul's Fine Carving and Furniture in Arabel are being greeted by a floating, gem-capped scepter made of gold. According to Orbul, the scepter was discovered in the heart of a tree trunk purchased at the Bazaar and hauled back to his shop, there to be sawed into pieces destined to be carved and assembled into furniture of all types. Whatever magic animates the scepter awakened at the touch of the worker who discovered it, and now the scepter flies about the shop, sometimes orbiting outside the building and occasionally hovering close to Orbul or one of his workers when they leave to deliver a finished piece to a customer. The scepter has yet to unleash any magic and has not been inspected by a wizard of war. Customers that do not pass muster with the scepter are blocked by it from proceeding further into the shop.[1]



[1] Treat as an Immovable Rod, but with double the normal limit (16,000 lbs). The particulars for why the rod might stop a customer are left up to the DM. Note: the remainder of the tree trunk from which the scepter was freed was left to reside in the back of Orbul's shop with wood scraps and unused furniture pieces. Year of the Iron Dwarf's Vengeance 1485 DR
Hammer (January)
An army of tax scribes and understewards reporting to a variety of offices within the Royal Court descended on the Society of Stalwart Adventurers like an invading army, demanding ledgers, records and the rolls of membership. By all accounts the representatives of the elite club of adventurers and explorers are cooperating, despite no public announcement from the Crown explaining the cause for its actions. All fingers point to the Royal High Scribe of the Realm and his legendary persistence in letting no record go unchecked at least three times, with an emphasis on the rolls for chartered adventurers operating in Cormyr. The first casualty of the Crown’s attention was the cancellation of the latest in a series of popular lectures on monsters held on third day of the second tenday of the month in the Grand Room of the clubhouse. The Society encourages those wishing to hear the talk on Eye Tyrants of the Hullack to make their way to the Bold Archer and seek out the retired Purple Dragon called Dhargust, who promises an abbreviated version of his lecture and the opportunity to ask questions in exchange for the cost of an evening meal and a night’s worth of drink.


Alturiak (February)
Purple Dragons have begun carrying an additional weapon on their person: usually a longsword but never less than a dagger. The blades appear to be of one piece and are unadorned. All are made of black iron. First seen in Arabel, the practice has spread throughout Cormyr in a remarkably short time. Trade talk has focused on the lack of any orders placed with the many forges in Cormyr that supply the Crown with weapons, suggesting the blades were sourced from armories and that some of them may not have seen the light of day in over a century, when every Dragon wore a cold iron sword and the Devil Dragon threatened all of Cormyr.


Ches (March)
The taciturn and aloof collector of adventurer lore and relics Lord Haedro Sornstern has offered the pick of his collection of oddments and magic items in exchange for the safe return of his youngest son and only heir, who was last seen departing Cormyr in the vicinity of Tyrluk in the company of his sister and several other adventuring companions.[1] The young Lady Sornstern has long searched the lands east of the Well of Dragons for ancient treasures (the final resting place of the Merendil Gold chief among them) and is thought to have discovered the entrance to a dragon's lair in the western face of the great escarpment that stands between the High Moor and the Shaddan Hills.


Tarsakh (April)
News of the death of Lady Darlethra Greatgaunt was greeted with jubilation and much celebrating by commoners and the less affluent in Suzail. Over the protestations of her family, and with an escort of Purple Dragons, the first of several wagons departed the noble quarter for destinations in the south and west of the city, there contents destined as gifts for the less fortunate. The fate of Lady Darlethra's forty six sapphire-trimmed gowns remains a mystery; the escorts delivering her goods would only say that the Lady gave her gowns away long ago.


Mirtul (May)
Scornubrian creditors of the long deceased (and last of his line) Lord Helderstone have taken lodgings in Suzail and dispatched agents throughout the city to inform the occupants of various properties that new owners have arrived and will forthwith be collecting rents.


Kythorn (June)
The Magnificent Maidens are performing shows nightly at the House of the Lynx in Suzail. Hailing from far away Calimshan, the Maidens are all accomplished performers know for their acrobatic and dance skills, as well as the magical displays that are part of their performances.[3]
The prison castle Irlingstar[4] was the scene of a daring escape: a handful of prisoners--nobles all--were dragged aloft by ropes extended from a black-hulled ship flying overhead. The ship turned west and sailed into the Hullack as wand-wielding crewmen hurled fireballs into the castle to cover their retreat.


Flamerule (July)
Immerford was the scene of a revolt against the Local Lord. A band of brigands calling themselves the Free Swords of Orondstar--all disguised as Purple Dragons--set fire to the Lord's residence, emptied the treasury and nearly slew the trio of war wizards in residence, then proceeded to rob and menace the local population. The disposition of the garrison of Purple Dragons at Immerford is unknown, though all are presumed slain. The Free Swords proclaimed the lands between the Hullack and the Thunder Peaks free of the tyrannical control of the Obarskyrs, and promised death to any dragon bold enough to set foot in the "Free Reaches."


Eleasias (August)
Adventurers returned to Arabel from northern Cormyr are describing a frightening sight: in the heart of The Redwoods the forest floor is littered with fresh corpses belonging to one or more mercenary bands. Tall trees with long, drooping branches stand watch over the dead. Those branches bend and twist to grasp swords, shields and pieces of armor, and flail and thrash at any who approach too closely. The menace of the trees is enhanced by square blocks of stone that stand within reach of the trees that are hurled with deadly precision. The adventurers--and likely the mercenaries before them--sought a trio of mansions in the forest, each rumored to be filled with treasure and the deeds to properties in Sembia and Cormyr. The mansions were last occupied by a family of Sembian merchants that retired to the Redwoods to spend their final days in seclusion.
A ranger exiting the dark depths of the Hullack has brought with her a tale of white-masted ships with black hulls that sail in the skies over the forest. A pair of the free-floating ships are docked amongst the highest branches of a great tree standing at least three hundred feet tall, located deep in the eastern reaches of the wood.


Eleint (September)
Once believed to have fled or been wiped out in the Year of the Ageless One, the return of Broadshield's Beasts to the Orandstars Mountains has imperiled barge traffic along the Thunderflow and further eroded the Crown's control of the lands east of the Hullack Forest. Adventurers crossing the Thunderflow have met stiff resistance from the Beasts in the form of ambushes, as have mounted patrols of Purple Dragons. The brigands have dared to ride within sight of Thunderstone.


Marpenoth (October)
The popularity of Sembian Soft Sharpnip has resulted in a bidding war. What started as competition between merchants for the last remaining wheels of cheese has escalated into offers to purchase outright the warehouse in Westgate where the cheese is stored. Attempts at theft have been foiled, and the rundown warehouse now sports enough armed guards to warrant the attention of agents of the Crown. Thanks to scarce availability in Suzail the price of many varieties of gourmet cheeses has increased, and led to hoarding in anticipation of a second bidding war. The price war has caught the attention of certain of the nobility, and it is expected that the price for a wedge of Sharpnip will soon eclipse the cost of a bottle of Charsalace.[5]


Uktar (November)
Per family tradition and in preparation for the Feast of the Moon, the House of Torchmore has invited accomplished painters from throughout Cormyr to attend the family at their winter retreat in Torchwood[6], there to paint individual and family portraits using only the finest gempaints, dies and exotic canvasses.[7] Select friends of the family, trade partners from Arabel and Highmoon, and many of the free mages whose residences border Torchwood have all been invited to attend.


Nightal (December)
High up in the Thunderpeaks, the persistent efforts of Cormyrean and Highdalesmen builders to overcome Sembian treachery and mishap have finally paid off: the High Castle has been rebuilt and improved, after a century of neglect.{8} Last occupied by the Zhentarim, the hill on which the castle stands and the surrounding fields have both seen new construction in the form of a barracks, a pair of trade warehouses and a mansion that houses a permanent Cormyrean envoy to the High Dale. The barracks houses no Purple Dragons, but stands ready to be occupied in time of need. The position of Cormyrean envoy, and of War Wizard assigned to the High Dale, are currently held by the same individual, until permanent replacements are appointed.[9]



[1] Haedro's oldest son Delasko stood against the Obarskyrs in the tumult surrounding the Council of the Dragon in the year 1479 DR, and paid the ultimate price for his treason. Haedro's relationship with his daughter is strained at best, despite her success as an adventurer, (she is "bold and independent like Alusair" according to the palace servant Elgorn Rhauligan--himself a quiet watcher of the doings of royals and the nobility within the palace walls) and Haedro regrets the influence he allowed her over his youngest son. Absent an heir ready to take his place, Haedro stands to lose his position of dominance within the family to a younger and far more conniving cousin. Haedro's collection of treasures is vast, as well as undervalued: it includes a handful of scepters of immense value (one a Scepter of Alertness; the other a Scepter of Rulership [use the game stats for rods of the same name]) and one kiira dating back to the time of Iliphar (and mistakenly assumed to be a simple bauble). The kiira has the power to cloak the power of magic items and even change their auras--a power it has used for centuries to guard the pair of scepters it keeps watch over.
[2] Once the bane of anyone she considered beneath her in station, Lady Darlethra made herself into a friend of non-nobles over the course of several years, winning the trust of those who once roundly denounced her and all those like her. This change culminated in a promise to gift her personal fortune and possessions to those living in the darkest quarters of Suzail after she passed away. Her about face in attitude can be traced to the actions of a family of commoners that gave persistent, all-hours-of-the-day care to the noblewoman while she recovered from a poisoning attempt--care that took place in hiding until those threatening her life were no more.
[3] The Magnificent Maidens share a common bloodline: each possesses an innate minor magical power that is always "on." For example, light emanates from the skin of at least one of the dancers; another can throw her voice in the manner of a Ghost Sound; a third can conjure up small objects and tokens. All seem to share the ability to trade powers with each other by touch (this last according to viewers of the Maiden's nightly performances). Curious PCs may learn that the Seven all come from the Marching Mountains (the Phelhelra, Alakhim, Maeretelim or the Purdrim Caves). Observant PCs may learn that the Maidens have a taste for gems (literally--each consumes at least one small gem a day), and that collectors, sellers and buyers of gems seek out the Maidens to do business with them. All such business is conducted through one of the several heavily armed handlers that always accompany each maiden.
[4] The prison castle of Irlingstar--home to imprisoned nobles of Cormyr--is featured extensively in the novel "Elminster Enraged".
[5] A fine wine; of the sort a guest would be served during gatherings in the Royal Palace.
[6] If one views the line of the Sword River and the length of the Moonsea ride as a V whose point converges on Arabel, then Torchwood is located twenty five miles north of that point, in an area of rolling hills and copses of trees that become more frequent as one approaches The Redwoods to the north.
[7] The art of using gem dust in paints has traveled north from Calimshan, as rich Amnians, Cormyreans and Sembians sought skilled artists whose work was capable of withstanding the passing of centuries. The use of trollskin canvas, however, is a recent fad.
{8} And not just the castle, if rumors hold true: nearby Helmturtle Peak has been the sight of frequent activity for almost forty years, and for almost as long word has spread that the peak is being hollowed out so that a reserve granary, armory and fortress could be built, in which all the Highdale's population can retreat to in time of war. Just what exists inside the mountain remains a mystery.
[9] Treaty demands Cormyr have at least one war wizard on watch over the High Dale at all times (see "Volo's Guide to the Dalelands", page 159). The current envoy/war wizard on duty is Calador Arcandle. Year of the Nether Mountain Scrolls 1486 DR
Hammer (January)
After a half-century, the freezing mass of fog engulfing the long abandoned fortress of Arrowpoint has evaporated. Adventurers have already made one foray past the tree and bush festooned earthen rampart that fronts the stronghold and returned with news of the discovery of a pair of tunnels dug into the hill on which a single tower stands (and from which fog the color of storm clouds erupted to cloak the place, if the stories still told in the Swordmith’s House Inn hold any truth).[1] The first of the tunnels yielded up brown gems cut to resemble arrowheads.[2]


Alturiak (February)
Free mages of Cormyr residing north of the Wyvernwater have announced the formation of cabals and coteries for their common defense and well being, citing the overwhelming might of the Netherese beyond Cormyr's borders. That the announcement was made openly by herald and broadsheet in Arabel, and not at the Council of Mages in Suzail, has left many to wonder openly if Cormyr's Wizards of War hold any power to quell sorcerous threats of any kind.


Ches (March)
Lady knights traveling from the Sword Coast and the Heartlands are arriving in ones and twos in western Cormyr, while lady knights from lands across the Sea of Fallen Stars are traveling by boat to Cormyr's southern ports, and settling in at dockside inns from Marsember to Suzail. All await word of the sighting of an old crone in armor, with hair and one eye the color of snow, somewhere in Cormyr.


Tarsakh (April)
Within the darkened rooms of the most exclusive of all the clubs along the Promenade in Suzail, the Memories of Queen Fee is awash in silence punctuated by infrequent moans of frustration and gasps of dismay. Not for lack of patrons is the Fee silent--nobles and outlanders rich enough to buy entrance sit wall to wall inside--but rather for the shared interest (the Fee's weary servants would say obsession) in a chapbook series that promises to reveal the secret and dark doings of noble families within the last decade in Cormyr, and more oft than not makes good on that promise. The tomes are said to be compilations of reports on noble activity in Cormyr composed by spies in the employ of Amnian interests, cobbled together under the title Letters to Selemchant. A single chapbook sells for as much as 5gp, and copycat tomes filled with gibberish and blatantly false stories are now a frequent sight in vendor's stalls in Suzail.


Mirtul (May)
At night in the High Dale windows are locked and barred, doors bolted closed and reinforced with furniture or whatever is at hand, and residents sleep with a hammer or other blunt instrument at the ready. Skeletons the color of night roam at will from one end of the dale to the other, sometimes murdering, sometimes thieving, and sometimes laying traps that catch the unwary in the daytime. Those few who’ve survived a skirmish with the undead claim they are as fleet of foot as any elf, they wield slaying magic and they give battle as a unit. Dale leaders have sent riders into Cormyr and Sembia to request the aid of priests and experienced destroyers of the undead, promising free room and board and 500 gp per skeleton felled.


Kythorn (June)
The quiet village of Minroe has seen a sharp drop in shipments of edible mushrooms and dried mushroom parts to Suzail. For two long tendays all fires lit in the village and surrounding environs have erupted into roiling conflagrations of purple-hued flame that quickly reduce all burnable fuel to dust (solids) and mist (liquids), and rob the immediate vicinity of all warmth.[3]


Flamerule (July)
Tales of adventurers roaming the forested expanse of the Reaching Woods beyond the Sunset Mountains have made their way to Cormyr. Among the more fantastic stories is the brief tale of the discovery of the three masted Pride of Parandur fetched up against a tree-covered earthen rise deep in the wood, its sails torn and deep gashes in its hull, but otherwise intact. No crew or cargo were found. [4]


Eleasias (August)
Prospectors digging for gemstones in and around the Way of the Dragon just south of where that road pierces the King’s Forest uncovered a massive, beak-nosed warhelm buried nose up between a pair of oval, upright stones—the bottoms of each festooned with garnets. The weathered old stones and their gems yet remain, thanks to a green skinned troll in shining armor trimmed in black that erupted up out of the earth, donned its helm and caught a fleeing man in two long strides. The beast did not slay the prospector, but took back the stone, returned it to the earth and then laid itself down in the place from which it came. Careful digging in the area has since revealed fifteen more trolls armored from head to foot, arranged in four lines of four and laying still as statues. The motley group of prospectors turned archeologists are camped a quarter mile away from their find, where a well pump fronts a sturdy, stone walled and slate roofed enclosure erected on the orders of Azoun V in years past, for the use of travelers.[5]


Eleint (September)
King Foril has quietly appointed a new King's Lord of Redpsring. The appointment has left certain loose-tongued courtiers to wonder aloud just who the Lord will rule over in the King's name.[6]


Marpenoth (October)
The Blisterfoot Inn was the scene of the formation of The Black Unicorns Far Afield, a new adventuring company comprised of Cormyreans and an assortment of outlanders. The leader of the Unicorns announced their intent to avoid the ever present doom of nearby Crownpost in favor of the Redwoods and the Hullack, both of which "will yield up treasures to make every one of us rich!"


Uktar (November)
Travelers leaving Slingdyke are being warned not to attack or flee from the armed and armored giants wearing oversized Purple Dragon tabards that patrol the Moonsea Ride as far north as Halfhap. Travelers who’ve seen them claim they act in all ways like regular soldiers of Cormyr, save that they walk the road for lack of mounts to ride.[7]


Nightal (December)
Arabel was host to crowds primed to mob the Palace near the northern wall. Inside, grim war wizards and Highknights stood at the ready as charges were read aloud against a trio of free mages shackled in irons from head to foot. Not until the heads of the mages were set on pikes, one each made to stand outside Calantar's Gate, Eastgate and High Horn Gate did the crowd disperse, many joining revels and celebrations hosted on behalf of the mage's victims, at festhalls and taverns near the three gates.{8}


[1] “All of the adventurers died bizarre deaths within a day of their return; each engulfed in flames the color of slate, their bodies not so much burned as frozen black as though by frostbite. After much trouble and effort, the corpses and their possessions were buried well away from the village. Tellsongs set over the graves unraveled within a tenday. Each plot was found disinterred. I traced the remains as far the fortress, but could not pierce the wards that cloak Arrowpoint.”
--From a report prepared by the Crown mage Calador Arcandle, in residence at the village of Highcastle, the High Dale.
[2] Like unto the briolette cut favored by Sembian and Cormyrean noblewomen.
[3] Once the sole province of Suzail-based nobles and the upper crust of the merchant class, the edible mushroom delicacies of Minroe have attracted buyers from as far away as Marsember who're willing to pay top coin for fresh produce. Such is possible thanks to preservative spells mastered by mages in the employ of shipping concerns based in Suzail. These concerns have long sought a shorter route to Minroe between the hills along the southeastern flank of the Stormhorns and the southern edge of the King's Forest, but natural obstacles, interference from the Royal Court (through bribery of courtiers by merchant and noble rivals) and not a little treachery have kept them from succeeding. The trading concerns remain undaunted, and have taken to paying the charters for armed adventuring bands willing to make the trek to Minroe and slay whatever dangers lay in their way. The concerns have also sent at least one group of representatives (adventurers and a pair of factors) by the regular route to Minroe to address the issue of the flame-quench magic afflicting the village.
[4] The Pride of Parandur was just that: the foremost trading ship in a fleet owned by the late Lord Parandur Delcastle. The current Lord Delcastle (one Arclath) is not thought to have any interest in the ship, even after hearing tales of adventurers turning it into a base of operations.
[5] The enclosure replaced a dilapidated cowshed that stood for decades, but proved barely adequate when a young Azoun, alone and on the run from hired slayers, sought a place to make a stand against his foes. The appointments and furnishings of the enclosure in its current form, if any, are left to the DM.
[6] Most Cormyreans don't know Redspring is literally a ghost town. The once bustling settlement is still alive with activity--even if "alive" is not quite the right word to use--as the streets and buildings are filled with the ghosts of the dead who spend their days and nights moving, talking and interacting as though they still drew breath. The cause of Redspring's swift fall is a secret known to a handful of Royals, the Mage Royal Ganrahast, and a growing number of living persons who claim to have grown up with and been raised by the ghosts (including the Crown mage Alorae Ruldragon and the wandering bard Naranralee).
[7] The ten or so Purple Dragons were captured by a mage of power and transformed into ogres of immense size, but the transformation left them resistant to magic meant to bind their minds to their captor's will. Thus far the Wizards of War have been unable to return the soldiers to their normal state. Likewise have they yet to discover the whereabouts of the mage after he fled the abandoned keep in the hills west of the Tower of Ruin where he conducted experiments.
{8} The trio of mages were captured not by agents of the Crown, but by dwarves tunneling in the earth beneath a long arm of the Helmlands that separates the northern edge of the Redwoods from the vast wall of the Stormhorns. The dwarves worked to free lone villagers and travelers turned captives (who'd been walled off--literally--by permanent walls of force cast by the mages for the purposes of entertainment; the mages spending their idle time over a period of five years scrying their victims, observing them as they discovered their imprisonment and tried to live off the land and overcome whatever obstacles the mages threw at them) before luring the mages into carefully prepared glyph traps built underground.
Note to DMs: check out the novel "The Wall" by Marlen Haushofer, or catch the movie, for an idea of what being trapped out in the open by invisible walls is like. Hell of a movie.
Year of the Rune Lords Triumphant 1487 DR
Hammer (January)
A portion of land within sight of Arabel's walls has been set aside for wyvern wranglers. Anyone willing to travel through the snow a short distance to the north of the Caravan city may now partake of not inexpensive rides on wyvernback, and enjoy a bird's-eye view of the snow covered expanse of Cormyr near the city (though the Crown has decreed overflights of Arabel are forbidden).[1] Despite the cold the venture has drawn crowds and long lines (as well as vendors selling warm drinkables and edibles), and has yet to suffer from injury or fatality.[2]


Alturiak (February)
Adventurers and mercenaries are being hired to guard miners working coal out of bell pits north of Arabel. Mining is rare in the cold months, but the city has seen a late influx of refugees and merchants from Sembia and the Dales (where war and strife rule), causing the population to swell well past the wintertime average and depleting stores of coal and other necessities.


Ches (March)
Elhazir's House of the Exotic and Hard to Find Rarities of Arabel has taken delivery of a pair of black dragon skulls from adventurers.[3] The House of Misrim has already purchased one skull, and bone carvers are hard at work hollowing out the brain case and fashioning it into a suitable bath for Lord Misrim.


Tarsakh (April)
In Arabel, Dwarven runesmiths are hard at work equipping wagons with runebars along their flanks, that ward off arrows, bolts and stones. The long, rectangular bars of rune-engraved steel have been seen on wagons departing Arabel's gates for strife-torn Sembia and the Dales.[4]


Mirtul (May)
From one end of Cormyr to the other, tales of a hooded ghost wreathed in fire and trailing ethereal smoke have traveled from inn to tavern to festhall, carried along Cormyr's roads and trails by merchants, traders, nobles and the nigh-endless sword wielding guards such individuals require. The intermingling of similar stories oft serve to occlude fact, but similarities nevertheless stand out: the ghost appears by night, and only to those in the process of reading a chapbook or other cheap readable (but never anything less than a few decades old).[5] The phantasm clutches a decanter in both hands and it endeavors to hurl spectral water onto any nearby fire, then it flies right through the reader it interrupted, leaving the unfortunate victim chilled to the bone as the ghost fails to scoop up the reader's tomes into the urn, then it fades away into nothingness.


Kythorn (June)
The remains of Rordrun Margar and the Battlegate Seven were discovered by adventurers plumbing the depths below the ruin of Battlegate castle, with wide round holes in the backs of their skulls and their brains missing. According to the adventurers the corpses all hung in the air by means of magic, each fronting an archway leading into the depths below the circular room in the castle cellars where the bodies were found. The grim tale has only emboldened the curious, explorers and the aforementioned adventurers, who've taken to camping near the castle ruins and are busy exploring the place from top to bottom, all looking for the gems and trade bars that Rordrun absconded with from Westgate, if the tales of his exploits hold any truth.


Flamerule (July)
Adventurers recently arrived in Battlerise have returned in bloody wounded tatters from a foray to the nearby ruin of Battlegate castle, and report the crumbling hilltop keep is occupied and being actively defended by other adventurers, who resort to arrows and battle spells to hurl back anyone approaching closer than arrow shot distance. (DM's note: the height of both the hill and castle extend the range of a bow fired by anyone from atop the crumbling castle battlement.) Purple Dragons riding out of nearby Azoun's Hold have heard the stories of the castle's occupation, but promise no aid to cleanse the place is coming. A detachment of Dragons in the company of a lone Crown mage remained behind, but have done naught to dissuade anyone from approaching the castle ruin.


Eleasias (August)
The Bounty of Blustich Inn is overrun with travelers and the curious, who've come to view the trio of sleeping maidens ensconced in acorn-like half shells, each as big as a raft, propped up against one interior wall of the establishment. From the core of each shell a shimmering field of magic emanates, cocooning each woman in an undulating, translucent field the hue of gold. The women appear identical from head to foot, are dressed in woolens and leathers that appear worn with use (or perhaps age), and are armed with a longsword at the hip and a pair of daggers (one in each boot), and pouches on belt loops--one showing bulging with grooves resembling coins. Locals claim the massive acorns fell from high up among the branches of a gargantuan shadowtop (that lurks like a giant over the smaller hickory trees that comprise the southeastern expanse of Hermit's Wood) during the last windraising dance, and cracked open when they hit the ground.[6] Magic is not permitted in the Bounty on pain of expulsion, though the curious and the obstinate--all appearing in ever greater numbers as word spreads--have discovered the shimmering shields thwart probing spells and deliver nerve numbing, consciousness stealing shocks to anyone daring to touch them.


Eleint (September)
The appearance of round depressions of pure copper in the cliff known as Dreamer's Rock has left the handful of villagers that raise sheep and subsist on small plots of vegetables in its shadow at a loss for how and by what means these latest additions came to be. Most are set at ground level along the cliff's flanks, and well away from the many caves that pockmark its southern face. Already rumors are spreading as fast as merchant wagons can travel up and down the Way of the Manticore: if you stand before an east-facing depression and view the reflection of the rising sun over your left shoulder in the smooth face of copper, your shadow will be replaced for an instant with the reflection of one seeking to do you great harm; if over your right shoulder you will see an image of your true love.


Marpenoth (October)
The backwater of Gorthin[7] was the scene of a sight most unusual: the arrival of King Foril, his Attendants Royal, numerous grim faced knights in shining armor and Crown mages dressed in formal robes and wielding wands in both hands. The occasion for the visit was recorded by the roaming bard Naranralee, who claims Foril gave thanks to the families of druids residing in Gorthin for their part in stemming the tide of undead rising out of the Vast Swamp, that have plagued the nearby lands for too long, and the loss of friends and family as a result of their successful effort. Gifts of gems and coin were given and Royal proclamations read, among them the promise of the construction of a small foursquare keep within the year, at which a representative of the Crown would be stationed to hear and see to the needs of the people of Gorthin, and pass word to the King if ever a menace like the undead of the Vast Swamp should rise up again.{8}


Uktar (November)
Work has been completed on a series of reservoirs connected by wide canals, that form a half-moon arc around the village of Kallamarn. The project was aided by dwarves, who did the initial work of excavating a water path that allows barges to bypass the nearby rapids (previously, barges were towed past the rapids via ropes connected to wooden tripods). The dwarves are not yet done, their work now focused on tunneling beneath the rocky earth and linking the canals to a water tunnel that accesses the Upperdark. One new warehouse has already been built in anticipation of trade with the dwarves. It sits next to the decades old produce sheds that stand between the reservoirs and the rapids.


Nightal (December)
A curious effect of the nets produced by the families of netweavers that live and work in Moonever has been discovered by merchants as they fought to keep warm while traveling along the Bluemist Trail: when portions of the nets are burned, those near the fire are treated to a brief view of somewhere else in Faerun--the view appearing in the air over the flame and consisting of both sight and sound.[9]


[1] The reason being the large number of pack beasts and horses that are almost as numerous as the human residents in Arabel, the former ready to stampede and cause great damage if one or more wyverns continually swooped by overhead.
[2] Thanks to patrons being given rings of feather fall to wear on their flights, and the careful watch of hiremages in the employ of the Wyvernspur family, who are backing the venture.
[3] Excavated out of the muck at much expense somewhere in the Farsea Swamp, according to one Elhazir representative, who if asked will insist the adventurers are no dragon slayers, just fortunate explorers who have no idea where the lairs of the beasts whose skulls they transported to Arabel are located. All other inquiries may be made directly with the adventurers at the Dancing Dragon tavern by day or the Elfskull Inn by night.
[4] A pair of runebars can take upwards of a tenday to forge, enspell and mount on a wagon. Prices have steadily increased with demand (DM: feel free to name whatever price you feel appropriate). One of the handful of Arabellan dwarves who make runebars have begun to offer an additional rune, at double the going rate, that he promises will hurl any missile or thrown weapon back at its source. All of the dwarves guard the secret of their forge magic with their lives, and all intend to return to their quiet halls in the Stormhorns once peace reigns in the nearby lands.
[5] Diligent player characters listening to the ghost story in more than one location may well piece together the following: two titles oft repeated by tail tellers are "The Nymph Says No" and "The Moonlight Morningstar Murders"--dross popular over a century ago in the northern Realms. As well that the first sightings of the ghost were in Arabel.
[6] The Rogue Cloak Says: What the locals won't tell you is this: mothers, midwives and cranky old dodderers have been warning away one generation after the next from that big shadowtop, and nobody in Blustich remembers why. The songleaders are all in a tizzy too, because something stole their wind magic and sent it right at that tree. You can bet your golden lions that while every farmer and his son is trying to peer down the blouses of those three nappers in a nutshell, the real power in Blustich is trying to figure out just who or what bent their magic, and some of the wind shappers are probably lurking in the upper balcony of the Bounty too, ready to hurl spells at whoever tries to claim the sleepers. My advice? Avoid any woman in Blustich who appears cranky or stares at you overlong.
[7] So backwaterish as not to be found on my favorite map of Cormyr. It's located south of the Way of the Manticore, where that road crosses between the Vast Swamp and Kirinwood.
{8} Wise listeners of Naranralee's tale having already concluded the keep will serve as much to allow the Crown to keep a better watch over the burgeoning power of the druids as to serve as an earpiece for their concerns and troubles.
[9] Pieces of net burned in the large hearth at the Bounty of Blustich revealed a view of a ship on the docks in Marsember, the shipcaptain roundly cursing the gods, the nobility and Cormyrean law, and barking orders at the few crewmen within earshot. For more info on the magical threads woven into (some, not all of) the nets of Moonever, see the Eye on the Realms article "Gergul and Mithgryn, Body Snatchers Extraordinaire" in Dungeon #186.
Year of Dwarvenkind Reborn 1488 DR
Hammer (January)
At the annual Midwinter gathering of mages within the slender towers comprising the home of the wizard Harhansen of Nesmyth, hollow glass sculptures procured from respected Cormyrean glassblowers (Galandor's Glassworks and The Crystal Wyvern chief among them) were revealed to the assembled guests. Water drawn from the eel-filled canals and reservoirs of Nesmyth were poured into the cavities in the glass, causing the sculptures to illuminate from within. Harhansen made gifts out of several of the sculptures to his guests, and promised to sell the rest to better fund the arcane studies of both Harhansen and his many apprentices. Visitors to the towers may view the remaining sculptures, which are on display until sold.[1]


Alturiak (February)
The once a day changing scene in the face of the peculiar painting that stretches as wide and long as a serving table, and covers one wall in a waiting room at The Willing Smile in Suzail, has been identified: according to a traveling mage, the view is of the River Reddan, at the crossing between Smuggler's Bank and Reddansyr, along the Trader's Road. The mage's claim was roundly dismissed, but within a tenday the mage's promise to leave a flag of blue at the south end of the crossing was apparently realized, as the assembled guests in the Smile could see it in the painting.


Ches (March)
A merchant based in Marsember is using a self-propelled wagon to haul goods between that city and Suzail. The clockwork mechanism that moves the wagon along is located beneath the wagon bed, the wagon itself riding along on four taller than average wheels covered in a substance the merchant would only say "comes from a tunnel-dwelling beast of some sort," that absorbs the worst of the jarring bumps in the road. The wagon can be had for a princely sum. The sale includes the transfer of employment of an assistant, who must turn a hand crank every hour and steer the wagon.[2]


Tarsakh (April)
A caged hill giant broke free from its wagon imprisonment outside of Suzail's gates, and was brought down in a flurry of gore thanks to the magic of a wandering priest of Tempus--that magic in the form of a swarm of longswords that chased the giant down, hacking and stabbing until the creature was laid low. The blades did not appear out of thin air, but flew in from all directions; most from over Suzail's walls. At least a hundred and fifty blades were left in and around the giant, not a few of exquisite make. The priest disappeared after the giant was felled, as did certain of the edged weapons before Purple Dragons wearing empty scabbards, nobles and their liveried guards, and others arrived to squabble over the remainder and question onlookers. Already word is spreading of offers of reward for the return of lost swords, and a Crown warrant issued for the wandering priest.


Mirtul (May)
A pair of bloated corpses washed into the waterwheel of the centuries old grist mill that provides flour to the people of Ongul's Water. The revelation that the dead were members of the long sought-after Company of the Errant Gauntlet has drawn the attention of bounty hunters and agents of the Crown to the tiny community--all seeking the best dragomen to assist in negotiating the trails through Hermit's Wood.[3]


Kythorn (June)
The Royal Court and Palace were the scene of much confusion and drawn swords. If rumor is to be believed, every last Crown mage, and not a few courtiers, awoke to find their face and voice to be a perfect duplicate of Mage Royal Ganrahast. The effect lasted no more than a day and it's unknown if any of the royals were afflicted, but all business in the Court and Palace was put on hold, trapping some individuals inside and keeping a great many out.


Flamerule (July)
Two dozen dwarflings were delivered to Skull Crag by merchants and travelers making their way along the winding trail between the Crag and Minroe. What menace or event drove the dwarf children out of their mountain homes is unknown; all the children remain silent. The trail has provided some clues: burnt wagons, dead horses, dried blood (but no sign of occupants or riders) and the perpetual haze of smoke coming from somewhere in the mountains.


Eleasias (August)
Road weary travelers and merchants arriving in Greatgaunt discovered every last occupant of the walled town, from castle Greatgaurd in the south end all the way up to Greatgates manor, to be fast asleep. Watch Dragons manning the gate to the city were the first to be awakened (the gate itself apparently not having been closed) and within the hour most of the townspeople were roused. By all accounts the town slumbered for three days and nights, with nary an explanation as to why.


Eleint (September)
A quiet feud between competing temples of Tymora in Cormyr has spilled into public view on Suzail’s Docks, after a priest and her entourage dispatched from the Towers of Good Fortune in Suzail were accosted by hireswords in the command of a priest sent from the Lady’s House in Arabel. At issue were the contents of a pair of waterproof, sewn-shut parcels sent from a Tymoran temple outside of the Forest Kingdom, that both Cormyrean temples claim ownership of and now reside in the hands of the Purple Dragons--the later questioning the captain of the ship from which the parcels were delivered, as they arrived without the traveling priest responsible for their safe delivery.


Marpenoth (October)
A change in ownership of The Swordcaptain's Club in Arabel has brought with it a remodel of the sprawling edifice and the transfer of book collections from the homes of the last of the retired officers who opened Swordcaptain's some twenty winters ago; the collections now filling up the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves installed in the club's newly renovated ground floor. Broadcriers in Arabel have announced the rank and file as well as officers are welcome to join the club, for a one-time fee paid at the door: anything written by someone who is or was a Purple Dragon (chapbooks, riders, readers, recipe collections, tomes on craftwork or farming, personal correspondence, accounts of campaigns and battles, memoirs, etc.). The club promises warm hearths, food and drink, a place to share stories, and quiet rooms in which to read and write.[4]


Uktar (November)
In the three great cities of Suzail, a chapbook has run afoul of Crown law regarding the publication of tomes discussing things magical. Though "A Taste of Magic for Hearth and Home" purports to detail the kitchen arrangements and culinary tastes of eight living wizards residing in Cormyr, the chapbook wanders out of the kitchen by giving the reader a general idea of the layout of each mage's home, and reveals the means and customs of entry for each abode, including pass phrases, magical defenses, magical guardians and how to avoid them. The chapbook is signed, "In the spirit of Volo, we write."


Nightal (December)
At the end of the second tenday of Nightal, an eruption of magical energy poured out onto the fields of The Sward and up into the sky above. The release of energy continued unabated for a full tenday, leaving the region from Jester's Green all the way to Northbank awash in magical illumination. Purple Dragons and Crown mages alike patrol the borders of the effect and warn away onlookers, citing reports of magic gone awry the nearer one gets to the source of the eruption. In Suzail, intrepid adventurers report magic items are recharged in the area of the light, and claim spells cast there are not lost from one's mind. Several noble families have put together contingents to patrol and explore the area, and are ignoring the orders of soldiers and war wizards alike to leave off, claiming it is their responsibility to guard the security of the Forest Kingdom against all threats.[5]




[1] The odd behavior of Nesmyth's canal water in glass objects is mentioned briefly in the Nesmyth entry of Volo's Guide to Cormyr, page 79-80. To this day Harhansen gathers new apprentices and turns out fledgling wizards on a yearly basis, every Midsummer. One chair at table is always set aside at each midwinter gathering, for Harhansen's lost apprentice.
[2] One Suzailian buyer has already made an offer through an intermediary.
[3] The identification of the dead made by the wandering bard Naranralee of Manyghosts. According to the owner of the mill, Naranralee sang to the corpses until the spectral forms of two dead men appeared. The owner left after the bard asked for privacy, but heard her say, "Voruld. Randelio. How long has it been?" ere he departed the mill. By the time anyone of import arrives in Onguls' Water, the corpses will have been removed and buried. However the ghosts yet remain, and will only depart “when they are ready" according to Naranralee. In the interim the pair of phantoms tell each other jokes and stories when they materialize (usually at night), and boast of their manly prowess to any maidens in or near the mill.
[4] Current and former Purple Dragons in good standing (retirees and those who left on good terms) are welcome. Works offered at the door that the club already possesses count as half the required fee for membership, the other half coming in the form of a one-time payment of ten golden lions. Simple food and drink are free inside, but more hearty food and beverages must be paid for. Rooms are free to those in the process of creating new written works, otherwise they cost 5 sp a night. All rooms come equipped with a small hearth, basic writing supplies, bell pulls to summon servants and a bed. Bedmates are provided for a fee--all are staff members of the club as club rules prohibit members from bringing non-Dragons inside. Membership must be renewed on a yearly basis (20 golden lions, a tome and coin, or a new tome). Some Dragons with coins to spare have taken to hiring out to others the task of finding and purchasing Dragon-written material, but most club members have taken up the practice of writing to pay their way each year. Personal memoirs are prized above all other works at the club, and makeup the majority of entry fees.
[5] For some first-rate advice on how to run an event like this, see this LINK and scroll down about fifteen posts, or use your browser's Find feature to search for the word "overripe".