Unapproachable East.pdf - The Forgotten Realms

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