Nightstone

Nightstone was a fortified settlement located near the Ardeep Forest, in the hills between Waterdeep and Daggerford. It was connected to the High Road via a side trail.

Government

The beauty of Ardeep Forest and the mystique of its elven ruins have long attracted nobles from Waterdeep. The nobles of House Nandar had a hunting lodge in the forest two centuries ago, but elves forced them to abandon it. Ten years ago, members of House Nandar-Lord Drezlin Nandar and Lady Velrosa Nandar--decided it was time to return. They built a new motte-and-bailey settlement south of the Ardeep Forest and began making forays into the woods with friends to hunt and explore. Unknown to the Nandars, wood elves from Evermeet then settled in the forest, determined to protect the remnants of old elf empires from plunder and desecration. As in the past, the interests of the elves and Nandars were at cross purposes. A year ago, the conflict came to a head, and the elves attacked Nightstone. Drezlin was among the many slainshot and killed by elf arrows while standing on the roof of his keep. His widow, Lady Velrosa Nandar, made peace with the elves and promised to make no further incursions into the Ardeep Forest-a promise she kept for the rest of her life. Velrosa was mortally wounded when the cloud giants bombarded Nightstone, leaving the village without a lord or lady to govern it.

Defences

Bailey

A 15-foot-high wooden palisade encloses the village bailey. The palisade's logs rise to sharpened points, and the gaps between the logs are sealed with tar. The palisade and its stone watchtowers can't be climbed without the aid of climbing gear or magic, such as a spider climb spell.
All the buildings in the village except the watchtowers are made of wood and have steep, shingled rooftops. Muddy paths connect them.

Moat

Water from the river fills the moat to a depth of 15 feet. The moat is 30 feet wide, narrowing to a width of 20 feet under the drawbridge. The moat is home to schools of trout.

Motte

The keep overlooking the village stands atop a constructed, funnel-shaped hill called a motte. The rocky slopes of the motte are covered with loose shale.
Encircling the motte's keep is an 8-foot-high stone parapet with a 15-foot-high outer curtain wall made of thick wooden planks perforated with shuttered archer windows. The outer walls of the keep are made of smooth, tightly fitted stone bricks. The keep and the outer curtain wall can't be climbed without the aid of climbing gear or magic, such as a spider climb spell.

History

Over the years, the villagers of Nightstone had bad relationships with the wood elves who inhabited the Ardeep Forest. Sometime after the War of the Silver Marches, the village was bombarded by a cloud giant floating castle which killed many inhabitants and forced the survivors to escape into nearby caves outside the village.

Geography

Nightstone was located a few miles south of the Ardeep Forest. It was built on the Ardeep River and consisted of a fenced island connected to an artificial motte that held the village's keep. Its name derived from a mysterious obsidian obelisk in the center of the village that had strange glyphs carved into it and emanated a magic aura.

Type

Village

Location under

Sword Coast North