Unapproachable East.pdf - The Forgotten Realms
Unapproachable East.pdf - The Forgotten Realms
Unapproachable East.pdf - The Forgotten Realms
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truly worthy sacrifice to Tiamat. Such an act would, of course,<br />
bring down upon the dragonkin tribe the full wrath of the<br />
copper wyrm and all his followers.<br />
<strong>The</strong>sk Mountains<br />
Bare and inhospitable, the <strong>The</strong>sk Mountains loom brown and<br />
sullen over the western stretch of the Golden Way. Little<br />
grows here, and the land is dry and infertile. <strong>The</strong> mountains<br />
are not terribly high—the tallest peak is only about 7,000 feet<br />
tall—but they are unusually steep and difficult, with few gaps<br />
penetrating the maze of ridges and canyons. <strong>The</strong> last patches<br />
of winter snow melt by late summer, but for most of the rest<br />
of the year, the higher elevations are blanketed in white.<br />
<strong>The</strong> biggest danger in the <strong>The</strong>sk Mountains is a landslide.<br />
Incautious adventurers who make their way into unexplored<br />
portions of the mountains run the risk of bringing literally<br />
tons of loose rocks and earth down on their heads. Trails that<br />
have been safely used for generations can suddenly drop off<br />
into space, victims of the latest rainfall or rockslide. This is<br />
no place for an unwary traveler.<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>The</strong>sk Mountains are infested with all sorts of creatures,<br />
but the most common these days are orcs. <strong>The</strong> Zhents<br />
left these former warriors behind when they, along with the<br />
other armies of the West, faced down the Tuigan Horde many<br />
years ago. Today, many orcs work small iron mines scattered<br />
throughout the mountains, coming down to the city of Phsant<br />
to blow off steam whenever they scrape together enough ore<br />
and the time to enjoy the profits from their labor.<br />
HILL TOWN<br />
This is a small community of about forty hill giants based in<br />
the northeastern foothills of the <strong>The</strong>sk Mountains. <strong>The</strong>y live<br />
here with an assortment of dire wolves, ogres, and orcs, an unstable<br />
arrangement that frequently devolves into brawls over<br />
who is in charge of the place.<br />
<strong>The</strong>se creatures do some hunting and gathering, but their favorite<br />
means of feeding themselves is raiding the Golden Way.<br />
<strong>The</strong>y’re careful not to take advantage of travelers on this road<br />
too often, though, as they’ve been punished by the Shadowmasters<br />
of Telflamm before for such indiscretions. <strong>The</strong>se days,<br />
the marauders more commonly harass people on the path from<br />
Phent to Nethentir. <strong>The</strong> giants never raid a caravan escorted<br />
by a Red Wizard or one bearing the mark of the Shadowmasters.<br />
<strong>The</strong>y are prepared to deal with just so much trouble.<br />
MOUNT NIRG<br />
<strong>The</strong> tallest of the <strong>The</strong>skian peaks, Mount Nirg is a rampart<br />
of barren rock and loose, gravelly slopes that winds almost ten<br />
miles through the eastern reaches of the range. Its lower<br />
reaches are littered with hundreds of ancient tombs and the<br />
remnants of old stone roads built by some folk lost to history,<br />
and the mountain itself has an even worse reputation than the<br />
rest of this bleak range.<br />
THESK<br />
175<br />
In a high, rocky tor near the summit lurks a drow outpost<br />
of the city of Phaundakulzan, which lies deep in the Underdark<br />
about halfway between the <strong>The</strong>sk Mountains and the<br />
Thaymount. <strong>The</strong> outpost is nearly impossible to reach without<br />
flying, but the drow use a series of seemingly endless staircases<br />
that spiral upward through the mountain. <strong>The</strong> occupants<br />
of the outpost monitor the movements of the Red Wizards up<br />
and down the path between Nethentir and Phent. <strong>The</strong> drow<br />
can scarcely believe the zulkirs have given up their warlike<br />
ways and keep a close eye on them at all times. Just why the<br />
drow care about Thayan movements is unclear, but one theory<br />
favored by those in Telflamm who know of the outpost is that<br />
they are waiting for Thay to launch an all-out attack against<br />
someone. When they do, the drow plan to sweep in and take<br />
the Plateau of Thay—or at least Thaymount—for themselves.<br />
People of <strong>The</strong>sk<br />
Although <strong>The</strong>sk is populated mostly by humans (a substantial<br />
majority), it is still the most racially diverse nation in the <strong>Unapproachable</strong><br />
<strong>East</strong>. Gold is the great equalizer here. No matter<br />
who a person is or what she may have done, her fortune speaks<br />
louder than all else. <strong>The</strong> people of <strong>The</strong>sk respect those of<br />
wealth, especially those lucky or talented souls who earned<br />
their wealth with their own hard work and ingenuity.<br />
Races and Cultures<br />
<strong>The</strong>sk is the melting pot of the <strong>East</strong>. Races who would be at<br />
war against one another in other parts of the world work side<br />
by side here. <strong>The</strong> influence of gold is certainly one factor, but<br />
many new peoples have also come to <strong>The</strong>sk over the past several<br />
years. Given the situation at the time—the war with the<br />
Tuigan Horde and the ever-present threat of Thay—the<br />
<strong>The</strong>skians were happy for the help, and their gratitude has<br />
waned little over time.<br />
DAMARANS<br />
Most of the humans of <strong>The</strong>sk are descended from the Damarans<br />
who settled this land 400 to 500 years ago. <strong>The</strong>se folk<br />
came from the cities of Impiltur to the north, and for some<br />
time the lords of Telflamm owed fealty to the rulers of that<br />
land, but <strong>The</strong>sk has been independent of Impiltur for well<br />
over 200 years. In <strong>The</strong>sk, folk of Damaran blood have long<br />
mingled with Rashemi and a handful of Nars and Mulan who<br />
have come to this land, so <strong>The</strong>skians show signs of both Damaran<br />
and Rashemi blood.<br />
SHOU<br />
<strong>The</strong>se people hail from the expansive Shou Empire in the distant<br />
lands of Kara-Tur, far beyond the Endless Wastes to the<br />
east. Many of the Shou currently living in <strong>The</strong>sk were either