Unapproachable East.pdf - The Forgotten Realms

the only other settlements that might even be called towns.
For most people of the Great Dale, these towns are a necessary
evil, if only because their presence along the road keeps
strangers from wandering into the woods.
Bezentil (HAMLET)
Bezentil is the only real community
between the Great Road’s
western and eastern ends, and
the only town worthy of the
name for at least a hundred
miles in any direction. Here a
series of ten dwarf-high stones
are spaced along the road in
10-foot intervals. The site has
been used as a meeting place
for untold years, but the
settlement itself is relatively
new. As recently as
forty years ago, no buildings
stood here, and no one
lived within a dozen miles
of the spot.
The sole industry in
Bezentil is trading with
people passing through on
the Road. Caravans commonly
use the place as a
waymeet. The locals bring
out locally made or grown
goods such as fine wooden
items, rare herbs, produce,
pelts, and leather goods, bartering
for manufactured
items such as tools and
weapons. The people of the
Great Dale are wonderful foresters
and farmers, but they lack skill in
mining and working metals.
THE MARKERS
The stone markers along the Road radiate a lingering aura of
conjuration magic almost all year long. At the exact moment
of both the spring and autumn equinoxes, the powerful spells
with which they are imbued suddenly leap to life. Anyone who
moves along the road at this time and touches all ten markers
in sequence is instantly transported with his belongings to
an identical set of markers in far-off Kara-Tur.
The Great Road was once the main route for transport between
Faerûn and the lands to the east, but this was long ago,
back when elves were the only humanoids who lived in the
Great Dale. The only evidence that elves were ever here includes
a handful of ancient ruins scattered throughout the territory—and
these markers on the road.
THE GREAT DALE
The markers at Bezentil
124
The Circle of Leth guard this secret carefully. If word of the
markers’ true nature gets out, the Great Road would once again
become a main artery of traffic moving between Kara-Tur and
the rest of Faerûn. The druids cherish their solitude, and they
will go to great lengths to ensure that it is not broken by
twenty times the current number of merchant caravans.
Merchants, of course, would pay dearly for such information.
Such a mysterious but
useful portal would open up
new trade with the east, without
anyone having to brave
the hazards of the Endless
Wastes.
MAJOR
BUSINESSES
Only a handful of businesses
flourish in Bezentil. Their
proprietors are the friendliest
and most open-minded
people east of Uthmere.
The largest building is
Strick’s Trading Post, a
general store run by Abrihando
Strick (LE male
human Com6) and his
wife Gennia (LN female
human Com3). Travelers
can buy and sell most
mundane items worth 25
gp or less here, although
Strick’s prices are double
normal. He’s literally the
only shop for hundreds of
miles around, and he knows it.
Mimor Katan (NG male human
Com4) and his family run the Windblown
Goat, a small inn and tap house. Katan’s rooms
are charitably described as “rustic,” but he has a
half-dozen available at a reasonable rate, and on a winter
night, a dirt-floored room with a fire is much more comfortable
than a blanket on a frigid hillside. Katan’s kitchen
serves a hearty meal and excellent homemade ale, but the specialty
of the house is a precious liquor known as goldenleaf.
Last year, a livery stable opened up not far from the Windblown
Goat. Weary travelers can rest their mounts and have
them groomed and fed for a few silver pieces each. Cassilla
Fen (NG female human Exp7), the owner, is also a skilled
cartwright, capable of repairing all but the most damaged
wagons. She has been a godsend to the caravans passing this
way, the more so because her prices are reasonable.
cBezentil (Hamlet): Conventional; AL LN; 100 gp limit;
Assets 620 gp; Population 124; Isolated (human 96%, half-elf
3%, elf 1%).
Illustration by Matt Faulkner