Unapproachable East.pdf - The Forgotten Realms

his prodigious fortune and business savvy into making that
dream a reality. The Royal Company of Shou-Lung, Balindre’s
company, pioneered the endless miles of the Golden Way and
established a chain of outposts along its length. Balindre declared
himself Merchant Prince, a title of respect he hoped
would impress his business partners in Kara-Tur.
When Balindre died, he passed his royal charter and his assumed
title on to his son. Each heir to the house of Balindre has
taken on this mantle ever since. Today, Prince Wendren Balindre
(LE male human Rog4/Ari4) rules over the city from his
family’s castle, a fortified building right on the waterfront that
has been so important to Telflamm’s fortunes over the years.
While the prince may rule the city in name, in practice he has
long been the puppet of the Shadowmasters. The thieves have
a habit of killing troublesome princes, so Wendren Balindre does
nothing to clean up the corruption of his city watch or his merchant
council. Instead, he demands a suitable “consideration”
from the Shadowmasters to continue their activities, and has his
minions stop the occasional crime of note so the cityfolk won’t
see the ineffectiveness and graft of their overlord.
Most of Telflamm’s citizens know the city watch is for sale
but believe that the prince is earnestly working to get rid of
the most corrupt officers. Should the depth of Prince Balindre’s
complicity ever be revealed, Telflamm would likely
revolt against the prince’s rule.
THE MERCHANTS’ FORTRESS
The power in Telflamm rests in the hands of the Merchants’
Council, the wealthiest and most influential people in Telflamm
and—by extension—the whole of Thesk. The number
of people in this august group varies from year to year as elder
members die and promising new entrepreneurs are brought on.
The Council is a legislative and regulative body, intended to
balance the power of the city’s ruling prince and moderate the
city’s commerce. To house their operations, the members of
the Merchants’ Council pitched in to build the Merchants’
Fortress, a sprawling stone complex perched atop the tallest
hill in the center of the city. The polished, white stone walls
of this edifice can be seen throughout Telflamm.
The prince controls the city watch and the militia, but every
councilor has a private force. At least half of these are headquartered
in the Merchants’ Fortress, while most of the rest
are traveling along the Golden Way, escorting caravans safely
to their destinations.
THE HOUSE OF THE MASTER’S SHADOW
This is the hidden temple of Mask as well as the headquarters
of the local thieves’ guild—the infamous Shadowmasters of
Telflamm. People who are new to town may have a hard time
finding it, but anyone who has lived and worked here for any
time knows all about the Shadowmasters and the secret citadel
from which they operate.
The Shadowmasters have their fingers in just about every
pie in the city. Through racketeering, prostitution, drugs,
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extortion, murder, and other, even fouler practices, they are
by far the most successful “business” in Telflamm. Directly
or indirectly, just about everyone in the city works for the
Shadowmasters—whether they like it or not.
The House of the Master’s Shadow looks like any other
temple in town. The only difference is that this building has
absolutely no locks. The Shadowmasters know such safeguards
are useless against most of their members, and everyone else
in town knows better than to even dream of taking something
from them.
NOTABLE BUSINESSES
The business of Telflamm is business, as they say, and the
town’s streets are crowded with merchant emporiums, trading
costers, and shipping agents. Telflamm produces little for
export itself but instead is a gateway to the rest of Faerûn for
the exotic goods of the east—mostly silk, spices, smokepowder,
and small handcrafted works of art.
Telflamm is home to one of the older Thayan enclaves, a
small, cluttered district conceded to Thay more than twenty years
ago. The enclave is set up on a hill to the north of the city, a fortified
structure enclosing several other buildings within a 20-foottall
stone wall. The Thayans sell all manner of imported items,
but discounted magic items are their most popular merchandise.
The prices on these are consistently 10% less than those listed in
Chapter 8: Magic Items in the DUNGEON MASTER’s Guide. For
more details on Thayan enclaves, including a full description of
a sample enclave, see the Lords of Darkness accessory.
MAJOR TEMPLES
Besides the House of the Master’s Shadow, Telflamm has temples
to Shaundakul, Waukeen, and Tymora. Cyric’s faith is
common in the city, although the clerics of the Black Sun
must worship their sinister deity in secret. In recent months,
the Hall of the Avenging Hammer, a small temple of Tyr, has
grown more prominent with the appointment of a new high
priest, the Lady Justicar Vala Destrayal (LG female human
Clr13 of Tyr). She is determined to put an end to the Shadowmasters’
ruthless domination of the city and has launched
a crusade against corruption. The Shadowmasters have already
made three attempts on her life, but the Lady Justicar still
persists in her efforts to clean up the town.
cTelflamm (Large City): Conventional/nonstandard/nonstandard;
AL LE/NE/N; 40,000 gp limit; Assets 46,722,000
gp; Population 23,361; Mixed (human 84%, orc 5%, half-elf
4%, half-orc 3%, dwarf 1%, elf 1%, gnome 1%, halfling 1%).
Authority Figures: Prince Wendren Balindre, LE male
human Rog4/Ari4 (Merchant Prince of Telflamm and ostensible
ruler of the city); Grand Master of Shadows Keshna
Finlothleer, NE female human shadow-walker rogue 9/assassin
4/Telflammar shadowlord 9 (leader of the Shadowmasters);
Councilor Pren Salgirk, N male half-elf Exp7 (leader of
the Merchants’ Council).