Unapproachable East.pdf - The Forgotten Realms

Most travelers enter Thay through one of five major
routes. In the north, those following the Golden Way come
first to the port city of Surthay on the southern shore of Lake
Mulsantir. Traditionally, travelers ride or walk the Long
Portage from Surthay up to the top of the Plateau of Thay.
The River Thay is one of the great highways of the land, and
slave-pulled barges ferry goods and passengers from the First
Escarpment to Lake Thaylambar. Once on the lake, it’s an
easy voyage to Eltabbar, the capital city, located on the southwestern
shore.
In the southeast, travelers forge their way up the River
Thazarim to the First Escarpment. An old Mulhorandi road
leads through the gorge of the Thazarim and meets a track
bound for Pyarados. From there, one can either take the path
along the Sunrise Mountains to Lake Thaylambar, or go by
the well-maintained Eastern Way to Tyraturos, then north
along the High Road to Eltabbar. Few people enter Thay by
this route, as the tharch of Thazalhar is a desolate and forbidding
land, plagued by restless undead and hungry monsters
from the mountains.
Most people bound for Thay put in at the great port of
Bezantur, one of the largest cities along the Sea of Fallen
Stars. The High Road leads straight north through Tyraturos
to Eltabbar. The Thayans expect visitors to enter by this
route, so inns and taverns catering to foreigners are common
along the High Road—as are spies and agents of the Red Wizards,
who keep a close eye on folk of other lands.
In the past, armies seeking to invade Thay have come by
way of the River Lapendrar. The Lapendrar itself is not navigable
past the First Escarpment, as a waterfall tumbles over
the edge of the Plateau of Thay, preventing passage. However,
the gorge of the River of Sorrows is one of the broadest and
most gentle ascents of the First Escarpment, at least for travelers
on foot. When Halacar of Aglarond led his ill-advised expedition
into Thay a century ago, this was the route he chose.
Lastly, some prefer to sail up the River Umber to Nethjet,
located on the eastern side of Lake Umber. From here,
one can follow the Eastern Way until it meets up with the
High Road at Tyraturos, then head north to Eltabbar. Monsters
haunting the passage through the Dragonjaw Mountains
Thay is filled with these small fortresses. Each houses a garrison
of thirty to fifty gnoll or human warriors, ready to put
teeth into the implied threat each visitor faces when accosted
by the tax collectors.
Tax stations stand not only at the edges of Thay, but also
at the border of each tharch and at every other point along
which people are likely to pass. The revenues collected help
to fund the tharchs, one of the reasons for Thay’s excellent
public services. Taxes vary greatly from tharch to tharch,
not to mention from station to station. They are rarely
exorbitant, as the tharchions don’t wish to discourage traf-
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make this route somewhat dangerous, and the Nethjet end of
the Eastern Way is poorly maintained, a magnet for gnoll
brigands and similar undesirables. Folk from northerly lands
along the Inner Sea find this a faster but more dangerous
route than the long walk up the Golden Way to Mulsantir
and Surthay.
In addition to the natural defenses of Thay, a number of
small citadels sprinkle the slopes of both the First and Second
Escarpments. These well-built stone structures ostensibly keep
out enemies, but in truth, they are home to patrols of humans
and gnolls who spend more of their time keeping Thayan
slaves in. Most roads on the Plateau itself (especially the Eastern
Way and the High Road) are impeccably maintained.
Raised a few feet above the surrounding land, they are covered
with an alchemical tarmac for durability and ease of use.
Work crews constantly repair the roads, keeping them in nearperfect
shape. Small fortresses known as tax stations line the
roads and appear at all other points of entry into Thay.
The Alaor
Tax Stations
The Alaor comprises two islands off the southern coast of
Thay, where the Wizards’ Reach meets the Alamber Sea.
While this is the smallest of the eleven tharchs, its position
makes it one of the most vital. The bulk of the Thayan navy
is housed here, along with the primary Thayan shipyards.
The principal harbor of the Alaor is an expansive cove
guarded by a sea-arch. In the rock of the headlands lies a network
of sea caves large enough to hide an entire fleet. The
rugged islands have no other good landing spots or sheltered
bays, which is one reason no other country thought to use
them as a naval base.
Tharchion Thessaloni Canos (LE female human Ftr17)
commands the tharch; the evoker Mur Vhol (N male human
Evo7/Red5) assists her, supervising the various magelings assigned
to the tharchion’s fleet. Over 15,000 souls call this
tharch home, including sailors. The fleet consists of a dozen
slender, deadly dromonds, powerful galleys each crewed by
over one hundred well-armed warriors and twice that
number of slave rowers. Each warship carries a pair of
fic through their territories. The amount ranges from as
little as 2 cp to as much as 1 gp. Guards also check for
passes or traveling permits while they collect the coins, and
folk abroad without the proper documentation are usually
jailed on the spot.
The tax stations also keep the slave population under control.
Few slaves have any money, and those who try to pose
as Thayan citizens are sure to run into problems without
cash. The fees may not be that high, but they must be paid.
The station’s soldiers do their utmost to make tax evaders see
the error of their ways.