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1st Edition AD&D	-	-	-	Forgotten Realms

This section contains some of the gos-
sip that came to the ears of the
inhabitants of the Northern Realms in
past 2 years; the Year of the Worm and
the Year of the Prince. These incomplete
and sometimes slightly inaccurate snip·
pets of news are given as they might have
been gleaned by an attractive gossip in
the Dalelands, and in Waterdeep and the
North, and are included here not as any
sort of record or strict chronology of
events, but rather to impart some of the
flavor of the Realms, to give you the "feel"
of the Realms as an active, living, and
changing world. The news events are
roughly divided by the months in which
they were "heard" and made well-known.
Note that some items are updates of earlier
news, and that there are sometimes
considerable delays between events and
the news of them "getting around'.'

The DM may use this information in
two ways. First, it may be considered
background information for campaigns
beginning in the Year of Shadows (DR
1358). This is the recent past which the
PCs may know of. Alternately,
the DM may choose to begin his or
her campaign at the start of the Year of
the Prince, and, as the characters MOVE
through the year, present the new
rumors as opportunities for adventuring.
Be warned that in the latter case, PC
action may negate future entries, and the
PCs may add their own
newsworthy notes to be carried by bards
and heralds across the realms. The DM
may take these entries as he or she sees
fit, using them as a basis for organizing
adventures of his own creation, either by
extrapolating the events presented within,
or slipping their own news in among
the lists. News reports that will NOT ever
have follow-up in the published Realms
material are marked with a (*).

Year of the Worm
    Dale Reckoning 1356

Hammer (January)
• There is fierce fighting in the
Sword Coast lands just south of Waterdeep.
Dragonspear Castle has been 
besieged and set afire by the troops of
Waterdeep, but devils are loose in the
Open Marches and there is no safe tra·
vel thereabouts. The merchant-
kingdom of Amn is said to be massing
armies along its northern borders.

• A fighting-band from Tilver's Gap,
battling with orcs in the south of Dagger·
dale, was pursued into the mountains,
and there in a hidden valley found a
ruined fortress tower where they took
shelter. The orcs set watch on the tower,
but did not enter. The band found gold
and a magical, glowing sword in the ruin,
but were chased out by a horrible eye-
covered monster. Upon the band's return
to Tilver's Gap the sword bearer, a temple
servant named Barach Hilthone, refused
to give the blade to the temple of Gond,
proclaiming it his own booty. Several
members of the fighting-band have disap-
peared in Tilverton since their return,
and tensions in that town are said to have
increased over the incident. (•)

Alturiak (February)
• The Wizards of Zhentil Keep are
rumored to have discovered or devised
strange new magic, for in Lord Man-
shoon's court this winter have been dis·
played effects and demonstrations of a
like not seen before in the known Realms.
Powerful illusions, the summoning and
control of elemental creatures such as
wind walkers and xorn, and weird necromantic
experiments are some of the
things that have been reported.
 

Ches (March)
• Selfaril, High Blade of Mulmaster, is
said to be seeking a wife: Tharchioness,
First Princess of Thay. The young, bald-headed
Tharchioness has sent a golden
earring soaked in her perfume to
Selfaril, and he has sent her in return a
cloak of snow-white yeti fur. Having
thus exchanged gifts, they may now vis-
it together with no gossip or scandal,
instead of only through envoys, and yet
part honorably, if they do not wish marriage,
according to Thayian custom.
Selfaril wants Thay as an ally, and dares
not spite its ancient customs.(•)

• To the south of old, vast Thay, the
even more ancient kingdom of
Mulhorand has been jolted in the past
year: the Statues That Walk have begun
to MOVE once more. Over 1000
stone statues of time-lost origin stand
all about this dusky-hilled country. At
odd but long separated intervals these
stone men animate and walk about,
apparently towards specific (Now vanished?)
destinations. They stop at
times and then move on again, fight any
who bar their way or attack them, and
at times hew at rocks or clear pathways
through certain areas. This latter
behavior is a frightening thing when
these areas are many-towered cities, or
tanglewood forests. The stone men are
mute and apparently non-intelligent,
and no one has yet found a way to control
them. Some have crossed through
the border walls into Thay as well as
into Unther, a desert land that lies south
and west of Mulhorand. Tholaunt,
Divine Precept of Mulhorand (one of
the "god-kings" of Mulhorand) says the
coming of the Statues to life is not his
doing nor that of any of his family, as
far as he can tell, and adds that the
power of control the Status is not
known to his family. Some have whis·
pered of strife within his family,
though, and say that the Statues may be
under the control of another.

• The Red Wizards of Thay have sent
legions of elementals against rebellious
neighboring satraps, and destroyed
4 of them utterly, taking those lands
under Thay's banner. It is thought that
such vast numbers of elementals could
not be summoned by spell, but rather a
gate or portal was opened directly to
the plane of elemental fire.

• Marchayn of Archendale, the
feared "Mad Witch" of the Thunder
Peaks, has been found in her citadel,
mindless and drooling, amidst chaos.
All about her tower lay the dead bodies
of the orcs (and worse) that served her,
and much of her tower is now a fire-blackened
shell. The herdsman who
found her reported to merchants of
Arabel that Marchayn (who soon died
and whose body was burned by the
herdsman) repeated endlessly, "Dovel
Dovel Smashed the black star . . .
Dovel"(•)


Tarsakh (April)
• Savage fighting continues in the
Open Marches about the blazing ruin of
Dragonspear Castle. A sorcerous mist
has arisen and cloaked the land for a
tenday now, but within it small companies
of men and goblins and devils
still clash. CARAVAN travel in the vicinity
has turned aside, south to Baldur's Gate.
Amn's armies have gathered on its
northern border but have not yet
moved into a fray. It is rumored in
Waterdeep that all of the master Mage
Khelben's magic cannot dispel the
strange mist. The fearsome carcasses of
slain devils have been carried in tri-
umph through the streets of the city.
Some fear a way has been opened
between the Hell itself and
our world, as more or more reports of
devils seen in greater numbers than
ever before come to the city.

• With the spring thaws Cormyr has
sent a small army east from High Horn
towards Tilver's Gap. It is known that
the army is to use Tilver's Gap as a base
for fighting the increasingly numerous
goblins and orcs who have overrun
Daggerdale and now threaten Tilver's
Gap, Mistledale, and Shadowdale. It is
not known whether the army comes at
the initiative of Azoun IV, or whether
Tilver's Gap has sought aid by diplomatic
means, by an offer of gold from
the rich temple of Gond located there,
or if Tilver's Gap is being annexed by
Cormyr voluntarily or against its will.

• Shadowdale has repulsed an attack
from Zhentil Keep. A tiny army of
adventurers, villagers, and elves inflicted
very heavy losses on an attacking
army that outnumbered them by more
than 4 to 1. It is rumored that an
insect plague raged over the battlefield,
and it is known that woods near the
dale were set afire. No formal declaration
of war or comment on the battle
has been made by either side in the conflict
Shadowdale's new Lord, Doust
Sulwood, who came from the west
(some say Cormyr, others Waterdeep or
even Moonshae Isles) last year with the
Pendant of Ashaba to claim the high
seat, is as yet largely a mystery. Most of
the dales and clergy have dispatched
envoys to him.

• The adventurers' band led by the
fighter Mane, formerly resident in Shadowdale,
have disappeared in the
south. There is talk of their defeat and
death in the Yuirwood, but others say
they have fallen in battle with the Red
Wizards in Thay, or even that Mane has
become chieftain and war leaders of
the nomads of the Shaar. Nothing is certain,
however; all is speculation.

• The city of Melvaunt is the scene of
unprecedented shipbuilding activity.
Over 60 vessels of all sizes are being
constructed along the shoreline, having
spilled both east and west out of the
workshops for lack of space. It is not
known who is paying for the vessels or
for what purposes they are intended,
but observers say at least 4 of the
large vessels have ram-spire hulls.

• A new merchant alliance calling
itself the Iron Throne has sent letters to
the rulers of Cormyr, Sembia, and strategic
cities such as Hillsfar, announcing
its formation and its intent to control
overland TRADE in all weapons and
equipment used in transport and commerce
within its AREA of operations,
bowing to no monarch, but not intended
to wage war or become unto a monarch
itself. No reply has come from the
recipients of said missives, but it is
thought they are not pleased.

Mirtul (May)
• The Simbul, the infamous
dweomercrafter who rules Aglarond,
appears to have left her court shapechanged
(possibly as a cat or falcon) and
vanished. Upon her high seat she left a
signed letter directing her Council to govern
Aglarond wisely, and dispose of several
specific matters (no details are
known) thus and so. It is thought she may
have headed north to speak with the
elves (with whom she has an uneasy alliance),
and/or to observe events in the
strategic Dalelands, where there are
rumors of war both between Zhentil
Keep and the northern dales and
between Scardale and its neighbors, as
well as the sudden announcement of the
formation of the mysterious Iron Throne.
The Simbul is known for her unpredictable
behavior and mastery of magic, and
the tale most often told of her is her
unaided destruction of The Red Sword
mercenary company at Mistbridge.

• Drow have been seen in the hills
around Kulta and Daerlun, in Sembia,
and again in the High Dale. The High
Constable's patrols out of High Dale
report a confused night encounter on
the slopes of Hooknose Crag. A Sembian
merchant reports that a band of
monkey-faced, black-haired creatures
with glossy mail armor and glowing
swords fell upon a caravan he was part
of on the East Way, just east of Thunder
Gap, and "like swarming cats" SLEW all
who offered resistance, in less than a
minute's fighting.(•)

• Huge balls of fire, 4 or 5 in
number, appeared in the sky above the
Towers of the Blade in Mulmaster one
night a tenday ago. There was a battle
involving magic within, and rumor has
it the Simbul, ruler of Aglarond and a
Mage of great power, was involved. The
Simbul disappeared from her own kingdom
a short time ago.

• The Iron Throne has announced
that it will not oppose the sale and
transport of weapons and other goods
intended for use against the goblins
raiding out of the Desertsedge. It
warns, however, that use of such weaponry
within the dalelands will result in
sanctions against the aggressor(s). The
merchant Thond of Wyvernwater has
made himself known as a spokesman
for the group. Thond is a middle-aged,
respectable dealer in wood and the boat
building trade, and is said to have magical
powers. He owns large reaches of
the woods around Wyvernwater. The
rulers of Shadowdale, Mistledale, and
Tilver's Gap have all publicly refused to
support the Iron Throne alliance.

• The armies of Amn have turned
back wandering devils at their borders,
and have pursued them north, charging
into the fray. Devils of all sorts
appear to be growing even mo r e
numerous in the disputed field. Reports
from Waterdeep indicate that the Wood
of the Moon EJves is a blazing ruin. It is
not known if the elves are fled, all slain,
or fighting on. The mist over the region
still holds. Overland travel north of
Amn's borders has almost ceased;
Baldur's Gate is virtually under seige,
and bands of orcs, trolls, bugbears and
hobgoblins, accompanied by devils and
powerful Mages, have been reported in
the Troll Moors . The village of Triboar,
north of Waterdeep, was ransacked
almost a month previous, and the population
of such small northern towns has
fled north to Mirabar, Silverymoon, and
coastal ports.

• Prices of all luxury items in Waterdeep
have risen rapidly with the war,
and shortages are beginning to affect all
of the cities of the North. The " wild harvests"
of hay and brushwood customarily
brought in to Waterdeep from the
High Moors are of course destroyed,
and are missing. The wild grains grown
in the open close by Triboar are also
gone, and much food that is usually
available is reserved for the armies in
the field. Shiploads of mercenaries
from the south and east are arriving in
Waterdeep daily, headed for the mist·
shrouded field. Caravans are tending
south through Calimshan, avoiding
Amn and the lands west of Cormyr.

• Rumors have been heard of a
bloody skirmish around the fortress of
High Horn, in which orcs and hobgoblins
out of the mountains and the Stonelands
were beaten off by a large force
of horse-archers and lancers, Cormyr
regulars who issued forth to protect a
CARAVAN. 76 men died, and 112 orcs were slain.
Tessaril Winter, Lord of Eveningstar
has called on Azoun IV for reinforcements
to keep the village and roads
nearby safe from orcs and trolls raiding
out of the Stonelands.

Kythorn (June)
• A small army of Cormyr now holds
Tilver's Gap, having slaughtered "many
thousands" of orcs. Tilverton has been
relieved, but its government left
untouched. Merchants leaving the Now safe
town after over a month of virtual
siege report that Cormyr lias offered to
annex Tilverton, but not demanded or
enforced a takeover, and that the High
Priest Gharri of Ghond, Elder of the
town, has not yet decided to accept or
reject the offer.

• The temple of Bane in Voonlar was
sacked and burned by a small force
from Shadowdale, led by the Lord of
Shadowdale and his adventuring companions.
No fighting or pillaging
occurred in Voonlar itself. The attack
was specifically on the temple, and
envoys of Shadowdale have since apologized
Priests of the nearby temple of
Chauntea (and, through them, to "the
good people of Voonlar") for any upset
and inconvenience. The troops from
Shadowdale engaged in magical combat
with the priests of Bane, and although
some of the most powerful Priests are
said to have escaped to Zhentil Keep by
means of magic, others are known to
have perished, and the men of Shadowdale
seized much gold, and took almost
500 prisoners (minor Priests, adherents,
lay worshippers, and guards of
the temple). Far more people than the
folk of Voonlar ever suspected were in
the temple complex. The Lord Doust
Sulwood says that the attack is in retaliation
for a recent attack on Shadowdale
by Lyran of Melvaunt, who led troops
of Zhentil Keep supported by priests of
Bane.

• Dragons have attacked dales and
cities in the Moonsea and Dalelands as
they once did of old, leaving much ruin
and devastation. Many dragons flew
south and west from the glaciers
beyond Thar, landing at many of the citi-
ies of men in fearless daylight attacks.
Phlan is now a smoking ruin, home to
one Great Worm. Melvaunt was
attacked by a smaller drake that "tum·
bled the towers" of the walls, and Now
holds sway over much of the city. One
dragon flew to the Citadel of the Raven;
no word has come back of subsequent
events there. In the wreckage of the
city streets of Zhentil Keep a monstrous
worm is presently embattled by the
armies and arts of Lords Manshoon and
Chess, while fires rage unchecked.
Yulash is completely ruined, reduced to
tumbled stone, scarred and lifeless by a
dragon that later came to Shadowdale.
A great fire in the elven woods was
doused by the elves after they slew a
dragon landing there, with heavy losses.
The awesome body of the largest
Worm of all lies half-submerged in the
waters of the harbor at Hillsfar, where
it fell , slain by the mages of the city. Jn
Shadowdale, THE WITCH Sylune perished
in combat with the dragon, and it is said
she broke a magic staff to destroy the
great worm. At least 3 dragons are
known to have survived the attack. The
reasons for this flight of dragons is a
mystery, and cannot with certainty yet
be deemed the work of some "Dragon
Cult;" the secretive cult that holds that
undead dragons should and will rule
the world.

• A corpse washed up on the beach
just west of Hill sfar has been pronounced
by the eminent sage Auvidarus
to be definitely that of one of the
legendary githyanki, a race said to visit
the Realms only seldom, from another
dimension.(*)

• Raithspur, Captain of the Guard of
Ordulin, has issued a decree banning
elvenkind, including golden and moon
elves, and the half-elven, from Sembian
soil. No formal reason has been given
for the ban, but it is said that the Councillors
of Ordulin fear elves of other
sorts are aiding and concealing a Drow
invasion of Sembia's remoter areas.

• Hlethl of Battledale and merchants
of Essembra have separately reported 
that they have encountered no elves in 
recent days.  Upon investigation, the 
nearby elven woods seem deserted. 
Nothing more is yet known.

Flamerule (July)
• Forces of Scardale have attacked
Mistledale, and been rebuffed by the
dale militia, aided and led by troops of
Shadowdale. Scardale briefly took the
eastern half of the dale, but could not
pass the ford, and was thrown back
after 2 days of heavy fighting by the
arrival of 200 mounted spear-
men of Cormyr. Lashan of Scardale has
proclaimed himself King of the Dales,
and his armies have been reinforced in
Essembra: 6000 hopefuls from
Impiltur and the Vilhon Reach have
joined Lashan's forces, arriving on the
12 ships now owned by Scardale,
seeking lands and wealth in the new
kingdom of the Dales in return for mili-
tary service. Lashan has announced
plans to occupy the Lost Vale, and settle
many of his new citizens in the newly conquered
southern dales (Battledale,
Featherdale, and vicinity). Doubtless
this last move is to strengthen his fledg-
ling kingdom against possible attacks
from Sembia to the south.

• Fey magic has destroyed a force of
200 troops of Scardale who
were exploring the fabled ruins of Myth
Drannor. A later patrol found no traces of
a struggle, or any signs of monsters, but
only their horses and camp-gear. None of
the surrounding settlements report seeing
any strangers; the missing warriors
appear to have vanished without trace,
not deserted.

• Scardale has sent an army along
the Halfaxe Trail, attacking Mistledale
again (where they were driven off by
the Cormyrean garrison), and sent
exploratory patrols westward to
Deepingdale and Lake Sember. Warriors
from all of the conquered dales,
led by the Battledale Seven (an adven·
turing company) and some adventurers
of Mane's Band, have gathered in
Highmoon to halt Scardale's advance.
These anti-Scardale forces are being
aided with money, provisions, and
weaponry by Sembia.

• Gharri, the High Priest of Gond in
Tilverton, has announced the formal
annexation by Cormyr of Tilver's Gap.
Gharri will remain at the temple as "Lord
Regent of Tilverton;' and Cormyr will
maintain a standing garrison in the town.

Eleasias (August)
• Alusair Nacacia, youngest daugh·
ter of Azoun IV, king of Cormyr, has run
away, vanishing from the royal palace
in Suzail in early spring. Her reasons
and destination are unknown, but she
is said to have been recognized in
Tilverton, and that the army sent there
was intended primarily to bring about
her safe return, rather than to aid
Tilverton's besieged inhabitants.

• Forces of Scardale have taken the
fields of Battledale, and now hold Har-
rowdale, Featherdale and much of Bat-
tledale. The trade-road from Sembia to
the Standing Stone has not yet been
blocked, and Essembra is still nominally
independent. Travelers on the road
including caravans out of Hillsfar, Zhen-
tit Keep, Cormyr, and Sembia, have
been stopped and searched by the
largely mercenary forces of Lord
Lashan. Public statements have been
made by the ruler of Zhentil Keep,
Archendale, and Sembia that if the road
is blocked, and the taking of Essembra,
Archendale warns, is synonymous with
blocking the road, Scardale will find
itself, economically and eventually on
the battlefields, at war with all 3.


• The Citadel of the Raven has been
revealed to have been largely destroyed
in the attack by 3 dragons and is
now being rebuilt by Zhentil Keep's
work parties. The great armory of the
Citadel contained many great siege
engines, and with those 2 of the
drakes were ultimately slain (one of the
younger dragons escaped, flying west
towards the Border Forest). The Citadel
was largely gutted in the battle, and
over 9000 warriors perished.
It is feared that if the defenses at the
Citadel are not very strong by winter, 
the ogres of Thar will come south from
the glaciers to attack the cities on the
north coast of the Moonsea.

• Almontier, a Mage of the High Dale,
has announced the formation of the
Company of the Hippogriff. The adven·
turing company will operate in the
Inner Sea Lands on a mercenary basis,
out of a fortified keep in Thunder Gap
that was once a "waystop" stronghold
of the merchant lords of Arnn.(•)

• Scardale sent an emissary to Sha-
dowdale, offering an alliance. The offer
was refused, and Lord Lashan has
announced that his forces are now at
war with Shadowdale. Any persons or
property of the dale that fall into their
hands will be treated accordingly.

Eleint (September)
• The northern city of Melvaunt is
still largely in ruins, but its elders are
concentrating on rebuilding its docks
and navy. 7 large ships have been
keeled already, and shipyard talk has it
that 12 more will be laid down
before winter.

• Lord Manshoon of Zhentil Keep has
ordered a proclamation read in Sembia,
Scardale, Cormyr, and Archendale. The
proclamation sums up the combined milli-
tary power of the devastated cities on the
north coast of the Moonsea, and informs
the world (and in particular the rulers
and adventurers of the places in which it
was read) that any attack upon any of the
cities will be considered an act of war,
and will be crushed by the massed might
that Lord Manshoon now commands.
Manshoon's host will then carry the bat-
tle back to the attacking country and conquer
it in the name of the north coast
cities. It is known that some attempt was
made to arrest the crier of this message in
Scardale. The crier disappeared into thin
air, after hurling a meteor swann at his
attackers with deadly effect.

Marpenoth (October)
• A group of adventurers known as
the Company of the Dragon is traveling
south from Hillsfar, bent on meeting
with the Elven High Court. All elves
have disappeared from Hillsfar, including
members of the city's ruling Council.
Reports from Sembia to the north
coast of the Moonsea indicate that
many elves everywhere have vanished.
It is said in Hillsfar that the Company of
the Dragon is hurrying to be the first
explorers of the fabled ruins of Myth
Drannor, that splendid city of time-shrouded
lejend once regarded as the
center of all culture, including music,
magick, and the arts of invention, in the
known world.

• The forces of "King" Lashan of
Scardale have been destroyed in a swift
series of battles with forces from Cormyr,
Sembia, the united Dales, and the
Moonsea cities (including Zhentil Keep).
The capital of Scardale has fallen and
Lashan himself has disappeared. The
area has been placed under joint occupancy
by the combined forces until a
stable government in formed (no less
than a year from now at best).

Uktar (November)
• In the Hall of Sparkling Stones in
Mirabar, the elders of the city sit in
Council, planning where and when to
sell their Metal, mindful of who is weak
and who is strong, and who will use the
trade-metal to make swords to wage
war on whom. As it does each winter,
Mirabar has closed its gates and turned
inwards, to the mountains, where
teams of miners dig throughout the
cold months. Much silver has been
found, it is said, and Mirabar is seeking
sheep-breeders to establish for it huge
flocks of the animals to provide winter
food and wool. ( •)

• In a letter from Luvon Greencloak
to the rulers of the Dalelands (including
Lord Doust of Shadowdale), the Elven
Court have announced their retreat
from their native woods to "a further
land from Man" (presumably Evermeet).
The great majority of the elves
have departed, though certain individuals
remain (including those with close
ties with humans or elvish adventurers).
Luvon notes that elves who wish to
follow the Elven Court should contact
him as soon as possible, and goes on to
thank the Dalesmen for their good relationships
in the days "since I have seen
the planting of the Standing Stone." Other
nations and city-states, The Moonsea
Cities, Sembia, and Cormyr, have
received no such messages. Disposition
of the Elven territories and Myth Drannor
were not mentioned in the letter.

Nightal (December)
• Barroch's Hold has been found.
The fabled citadel of the first great bandit
lord of the Inner Sea lies south and
east of the cities of the Moonsea, in the
Glacier of the White Worm. The adventurers
who found it encountered a
number of strange creatures and were
scattered or slain. 2 survivors
reached Orm to tell the tale: Feenoch
the 5-Fingered, a rogue of some infamy,
and Yostur Ulhmond, a young fighter
from the villages of the Snow People
in Thar, blond-haired and strong as an
ox. The 2 evaded queries about treasure,
but there is talk in Hillsfar that
they have been trying to gather together
a large adventuring band with
sledges. (*)


Year of the Prince
Dale Reckoning 1357 

Hammer (January)
• Liantha, Priestess of Tymora in
Silverymoon, has set off east with a
small band of adventurers, seeking a
route across the Great Desert,
Anauroch, to Cormyr and the Dales.(•)

• A dragon is believed to be nesting
in the mountains near Archendale.
Whole herds of cattle have vanished
from secure fields at night, and many
small fires have been seen in the remote
forests of the mountains slopes.(•)

Alturiak (February)
• A man known as Haljack is hiring
fighting-men in Scornubel for 7 gp per
month plus board and outfitting. He is
said to have a shrewd eye for trained
and experienced fighters and has turned
many knaves away. He has accepted
at least 16 well-known mercenaries
(most estimate he has hired
upwards of 60 men thus far, all
told), and these have vanished from
sight.(•)

• Mellomir, sage of Arabel, claims to
have discoverd a great treasure in an old,
abandoned dwarf-hold north of the village
of Eveningstar. The treasure is
ancient and magical in nature, Mellomir
attests (he has refused to say what precisely
it is), and helps to explain two
things: why the "Haunted Halls" have
been the center of so much activity over
the years (many strange creatures and
small bands of armed outlanders of all
breeds have been seen entering, or
emerging from, its tunnels) and how the
dwarves, once so numerous in these
lands, disappeared so quickly and tracelessly
in only a few winters. A small troop
of guardsmen from High Hom arrived in
Arabel after Mellomir's announcement,
and the sage has not been seen since. He
is thought to have been taken to High
Horn for questioning, but no word has
come to confirm this.(•)

• A retired merchant who keeps a
ferry at Thunderstone on the
Wyvernwater reports that a corpse
found in the thawing ice of the harbor
is probably only a few months old, and
is unmistakably that of a Drow. It died
of a slit throat, and was clad in armor of
black leather. The High Constable of the
High Dale has doubled the strength of
his armed patrols indefinitely.(•)

• The coastal cities of Cormyr and
Sembia report ice thin enough to break
and clear harbors, and expect stronghulled
ships to begin sailing in a ride
(10-day week), or perhaps less time,
but the Dragon Reach is still frozen in
solid, and the merchants of Scardale
and Harrowdale are preparing caravans
for the first trade of the new season.

Ches (March)
3 ships that have sailed the
Inner Sea in the past week have failed
to make port again; the ice, the pirates, 
or something else is very bad this year. 

The ships were:
    The Ratclaw, an independent caravel
    out of Selgaunt captained by Strauph
    Omerehellin, carrying dates, nuts
    and olive oil from the cities of the
    south to the cities about the Moonsea.
    The Ratclaw left Selgaunt 14
    days ago, and was due in Hillsfar 6
    days ago.

    The Umbolden, a full-rigged cog that
    left Tulpir with a cargo of dried fish
    and cheese 12 days ago. It also
    was bound for the Moonsea, to dock
    at Melvaunt 2 days ago, but it was
    to call in at Scardale or one of the cities
    south of Scardale on the coast of
    the Dragon Reach, and did not. No
    word has yet come from it.

    The Bloody Umber; a "sailrig" (large
    wooden raft fitted with a trisail and
    sweeps), a coaster working its way up
    from the Neck to Harrowdale and
    back with pottery, fine clothing, iron-
    ware and rugs, live swine and poul-
    try, axeheads and 400
    crossbows bolts for the army of Scar·
    dale.


All 3 ships have vanished without a
trace. They are among the 1st vessels
to venture out of harbor this season.
Such a large number of boats lost without
a trace in the first 2 tendays of
sailing is very alarming.

• The Leader of the Red Cloaks of
Asbravn has reported by carrie-
pigeon to Peirgieron of Waterdeep that
a horrible monster "with many heads,
all like snakes" has slaughtered the
inhabitants of 2 farms to the north of
the town, and no one in the village
seems able to face and slay it. Its lair,
and the sites of possible future depredations,
are unknown. The Red Cloaks
are seeking aid in dispatching this creature.
(")

• In Secomber, east of Waterdeep, a
Waterdeep patrol reports the inhabit-
ants have found the corpses of 6
illithids (mind-flayers) and thirteen
Drow, washed down the Unicorn Run 
from the woods upstream. All were
slain by fire and sword. The purpose
that brought these creatures to the
woods, and the identities of their SLAYERS,
are unknown.(•)

• All is quiet around Dragonspear
Castle. The armies encamped there
report that no devils or other foes have
been seen since The Feast of the Moon
(previous Uktar). But at least one CARAVAN 
from Calimshan, heading north-
wards from the borders of Arnn at the
beginning of Ches, has vanisheti with-
out a trace in the lands between Amn
and the Way Inn, where Waterdeep's
forces have a guard on the road.
Knights of the Waterdeep Watch are
readying griffons for aerial patrols
along the caravan-ways as soon as
spring comes. Young griffons and
intact, warm griffon eggs are sought,
and Piergeiron will pay top prices for
any brought to him in Waterdeep.

• Rumors are rampant in the North
that there is a new Beast Lord. This
term, drawn from the folklore of the
northern lands, is applied to evil men
who by magick, artifice, and the service
of others seek to unleash horrific bestial
servants upon the world, breeding
rare creatures like the bulette, gorgimera,
owlbear, peryton, and even
beholders, and raising armies of bestial
undead. Such monsters have suddenly
become far more numerous in the for·
ests and wastes northeast, east, and
southeast of Waterdeep, and misfits
such as mongrelmen and leucrotta
seem to have gathered into organized
bands or groups, co-operating for the
good of all. Some whisper that the Beast
Lord is a powerful evil Mage, others
that he is a mind flayer or worse.

• Gauntlgrym, a "Lost City;" built in
the northern mountains by the
dwarves centuries ago for a warrior-king
and his followers, has been located
by someone in Waterdeep. A large (30 or so strong) 
party of mercenaries,
called the Company of the Gryphon had
been organized to explore it for him.
Only 3 of that company have
returned to the city, these 3 having
fled shortly after the party located the
crumbling entrance to this lost
mountain-hold, in a high hidden valley.
Several adventurers in Waterdeep are
trying to find out the whereabouts of
this city of Gauntlgrym, said to hold
riches and magick, but if they have even
found survivors of the ill-fated band or
the one who sent them forth, no one
else yet knows of it in Waterdeep.(•)

• Orcs are reported to be on the
move in large bands near Baldur's Gate
and along the northern borders of
Arnn, and even remote villages have
reported the passage of secretive,
stealthy orc patrols, who avoid men
rather than slaughter them, and make
no raids on livestock or stored crops.
Some believe that these are forces from
Dragonspear Castle sneaking away ere
Waterdeep's forces attack again in the
spring, but others fear the orcs' unusu·
al behavior denotes something worse,
such as the gathering of many orc-
bands into a Horde, for instance, some-
thing not seen for nearly 200
years in the North, or perhaps some
new plot of the mysterious Wizards for
the Inner Lands who command many
of the orcs in the area, or their allies the
drow and perhaps the illithids. Others
say the orc King Graul is gathering all
loyal to him, to drive men out of the
North, now that the elves have left, and
establish great orc kingdom.

Tarsakh (April)
• The fabled Tome of the Unicorn,
the long-lost grimoire of Shoon, Mage-King
of vanished Iltkazar (who is said
by some to survive today as a lich), has
been reported found by a merchant
captain, Roald of Baldur's Gate ... or
lost, rather. It seems the ruling house of
Ruathyn has held the Torne in the Green
Rooms, their great library in the palace,
for hundreds of years, and when Roald
docked there, all was in uproar: some-
one had stolen the grimoire, and the
secrets that none outside of the royal
house of Ruathyn had seen for a great
while were out. Roald could get no hint 
of who is suspected of the theft, or any
details of it, but he and his crew and
ship were most thoroughly searched by
both magical and physical means. Some
he talked to on the island did believe
that in the Tome of the Unicorn are the
means to create a permanent gate
between the dimensions of existence, the
means to create golem armies, and
many spells found nowhere else. Roald
reported his news to an open meeting
of merchants in Baldur's Gate, warning
all to beware a sudden rise in power,
anywhere in the Realms, in the near
future.

• The famous explorer Dabron
Sashenstar has returned in triumph to
Baldur's Gate, having mapped a route
across the great glaciers of the north to
the near-legendary country of the
Sossrim (Sossal). Irlentree of the Merchant's
League will mount an expedition
carrying the maroon trading banners
of his house when spring has settled in,
and Sashenstar says that he will oversee
the building of waytowers in
Damara. The Merchant's League, now
over 20 years old, has long planned
to build a series of waytowers, but wars
and the growth of may small kingdoms
has made this largely unnecessary, and
in some places impossible. The league
has not yet reacted to the news that a
new, rival merchants' alliance, the Iron
Throne, has been formed, but the lat·
ter's apparent area of operation suggests
that conflict between the two
organizations is almost certain. (•)

• A Ruathyn war vessel searching
for the stolen Tome of the Unicorn has
destroyed a merchant caravel of
Luskan. The caravel Tulgontan Horn
was boarded 2 days' sail south and
east of Luskan, searched, and then set
afire. The crew sailed the blazing hulk
landwards until they could no longer
control its course, and then took to
boats. The Horn was seen to burn to the
waterline and sink. The boats were lat-
er picked up by a cog out of Neverwinter.
2 of the High Captains of Luskan
have put to sea with 6 large rakers
(low warships), and it is rumored that 
they are bound for Ruathyn. It is certain
that a Ruathyn vessel in the harbor
at Waterdeep was seized by Luskan
forces who entered the city and
reached the quays by means of stealth
and disguise. This craft was sailed out
of the harbor but was not found when
pursued an hour or so later, and is
believed to have been scuttled in coastal
waters.

• Strange creatures have been
reported in the Yuirwood south of
Aglarond, and are thought to be
spreading. Throughout the fall trolls
seemed to be growing more numerous,
and then owlbears were reported. As
the weather grew colder, a bulette was
seen, and it was rapidly followed by
other nameless or unique creatures,
things which seem to be expanding out·
ward from the depths of the wood. The
adventurer Sparleye was last seen in
this area with his adventuring company,
the Men of the Purple Arrow. Oth-
ers who have gone into the woods have
not returned, and traders are avoiding
the area.

Mirtul (May)
• No news has come to light regarding
the ships missing on the Inner Sea.
No wreckage has been found. It is
rumored that Selgaunt will soon send a
fleet to search the Pirate Isles.

• Archendale is building a large,
armed, mounted force; its officers have
been recruiting in Waterdeep and the
Vilhon Reach, and fears are growing in
the southern dales that Archendale
may be planning conquests of its own.
Sembia has tripled the guards on all caravans
leaving its borders.

• A fierce naval battle has been
fought on the Moonsea. Zhentil Keep
now rules its waters, having defeated
and destroyed all warships of the rebellious
cities of Melvaunt and Mulmaster.
Hostilities between Zhentil Keep and its
former allies show no sign of ending.

• Lashan, recently Lord of Scardale
and briefly of an empire that included
most of the Dalelands, has been seen in 
Tilverton and Arabel, and is believed to
be gathering followers for another try
at an empire, possibly striking at Daggerdale,
Voonlar, or Yulash.

• A temple to Gond has been opened
in Essembra; the High Priest, Lord High
Smith and Artificer, one Gulmarin
Reldacap, is introducing many new
devices for sale, and much gold is now
flowing into Battledale.(•)

• Gharri, Patriarch of Gond has vanished
from Tilver's Gap. The Cormyrean
garrison is looking for him.

Kythorn (June)
• While Calimshan has long dominated
sea trade in the South, this vast
and decadent realm has never boasted
a navy. Recently, however relentless
piracy and escalating wars between
rival merchant houses have driven the
satraps to lay down a fleet. Reports say
that huge floating cities are planned,
laden with many catapults and firehurlers,
and the satrapies are sending
spies to investigate many coastal
realms, particularly the harbors. Calimshan
has been training archers in closequarters
naval work for some time
now. Both Amn and Baldur's Gate are
taking on mercenaries in this past trio
of "rides" and for the foreseeable
future.(•)

• Armies of "walking dead" are said
to be advancing steadily northwards
from Thay, led by armored skeletal
warriors of great power and fell aspect.
Impiltur fears that Thay will overwhelm
all of the Eastern lands, and
then turn west to crush the coastal cit·
ies, Impiltur, and Aglarond.

• A band of adventurers, a dozen
strong, has arrived in Tilverton, apparently
with the permission of Cormyr.
The adventurers are human, of both
sexes and include some workers of
magick, but no known Priests are among
them. No one has ever seen them
before or learned their present intentions,
and they are called only The
Hunt.

• Luskan has attacked Ruathyn's
harbor. 14 Ruathyn vessels were
rammed or burned in a fierce engagement
about the island, for the loss of
one Luskan raker. Ruathyn's naval
power has been almost totally
destroyed. A bare, 6 Ruathyn
ships survive in ports all along the
Sword Coast. Ulphron, First Axe of
Ruathyn, is said to be missing. The 2
High Captains commanding the attack
took their men ashore after the
destruction of the Ruathyn navy, and
presently wage war on the island. No
news of events has since come out of
Ruathyn, but it is expected that Luskan
will conquer the island.

Flamerule (JULY)
• The Fair Venture, a caravel out of
Sembia, has gone missing in the vicinity
of the Pirate Isles. Her owner, the merchant
Golthond of Thesk, is talking of
hiring mercenary companies to storm
the isles and clear them of outlaws. 

• Many reports and rumors are
spreading in Cormyr and Sembia concerning
some sort of internal, all out
merchant's or nobles' war that has
erupted in Westgate. Nothing definite is
known, beyond residents' reports of
armed skirmishes in the streets at
night, and many bloodstains on the cobbles,
and floating corpses in the harbor,
by day.

• Cormyr has sent envoys to Shadowdale,
Mistledale, the High Dale, and
Deepingdale; to (in the words of King
Azoun IV) "strengthen the ties of
friendship, good open-handed trade,
and common defense that we all share"
Sembia and Archendale are said not to
be amused by this latest political manip-
ulation.

• A CARAVAN out of Zhentil Keep was
apparently destroyed in the ruined
town of Teshwave by allies and warriors
of Cormyr. Cormyr and Zhentil
Keep have already clashed over the
troubled land around Daggerdale.(•)

• Merchants have been asked in
Sembia and Westgate if any adventur-
ers know the whereabouts of the fabled
Warrior's Crypt, said to lie somewhere
north of Cormyr in mountainous, lawless
country. These merchants are not
men known locally, and offer four pieces
of gold a day as pay, plus "a substan·
tial bonus if the venture is successful"
(they decline to give more details unless
their offer is accepted). Only three
freeswords are known to have signed
on with these merchants.(*)

• That mysterous Mage known only
as "The Firemaster" has been seen in
Suzail and in Westgate, hiring merce·
nary adventurers. He usually gathers
such forces to aid him in reaching
sources of old magick he has located by
his arts and research; tavern-talk has it
that there are several ancient tombs
hidden in the depths of the woods
north of Waymoot.(•)

• A new trading coster, the Firehands
Group, is being formed in
Daerlun, and is interested in hiring
experienced caravan-guards, swordsmen,
and travelers to staff its caravans
on the overland routes from Watergate
to Hillsfar, ranging over Cormyr, Sembia,
the Dalelands, and the southern
Moonsea settlements. Paymaster for
the new group is the old warrior Dhe·
larr "the Night Blade:' Rates are
described as "competitive." (*)

• Mourngrym and Randal Morn,
with their own men and a few merce·-
nary additions and loaned troops from
Cormyr's garrison in Tilverton have
been fighting steadily to hold the overland
road from Shadowdale and Mistledale
through Tilver's Gap to Cormyr
clear for safe passage by CARAVAN. To
lose this route means eventual eco-
nomic ruin for both dales, and the
acceptance of Daggerdale's extinction.
They have largely succeeded: the devils
seem to be fewer these days, and trolls
and hobgoblins seem to have moved
northwards, leaving only orcs and
norkers in the Daggerdale area.

• Zhentil Keep's caravans (and those
of a few of the other cities of the Moonsea)
have been slipping through
Teshwave and down across the eastern
Stonelands to Arabel, in steady numbers,
and Zhentil Keep's strategy vis-a-vis
the dales now seems to be ignore
them, using the ores to keep them busy,
while rebuilding Yulash--a move, this
last, that Mourngrym sees as ultimately
serving to divert all Moonsea--area TRADE
away from Shadowdale and Daggerdale.
This is inevitable unless a safe,
easy route through the elven woods can
be created, and controlled by Shadowdale.

Eleasias (August)
• The Nentyarch, ruler of vast lands
east and north of Impiltur, has sent
agents into the Realms, seeking black
gems for some unknown magickal or
religious use.(•)

• A noted dancer and entertainer,
the Grey Veil, has vanished from Zhentil
Keep, and is being hunted by the
rulers of that city. It is said that they are
trying to regain from her a precious
thing of magick, "Yuthla, the Eye of the
Beholder," which she won from a
drunken Zhentian noble.(•)

• Azoun IV of Cormyr has given
orders for his warriors to search all
travelers in his realm: someone is smuggling
out fistfuls of gemstones from the
royal mines near High Horn. These
gemstones have surfaced in Mulmaster,
Hillsfar, Westgate, and Selgaunt, so
far.(*)

• The Sceptanar, reputed ruler of
Chessenta, has sent an envoy to Sembia,
Cormyr, and the Daleland, seeking
word of those who unleashed the
magick-eater in Scornubel 2 winters
ago. The Sceptanar has a similar creature
imprisoned in an ancient globe in
the Crypt Royal beneath his palace in
Soornar, and offers gold, magical train·
ing, griffins, or noble maidens of his
realm to anyone who can safely unleash
the magick-eater without harming the
people and treasures of Chessenta, and
successfully return it to its home dimension,
or control it to do the Sceptanar's bid-
ding in a certain task.

• Forces of Cormyr under Duke Bhereu
have advanced from Tilverton to
Shadowdale, where they have joined
forces with Mourngrym, the Lord of
that place, in an attack on a dark-elven
caravan, and also aided Randal Morn in
his fight to regain Daggerdale from the
orcs of the Desertsedge Mountains. The
garrison at the fortress of Castle Crag
has been doubled in size, to repulse any
attacks from the north, or from bandits
taking advantage of the strife. Soldiers
of Cormyr have met and battled the
armies of Zhentil Keep in ruined
Teshwave and in Daggerdale. 

Eleint (September) 
• An entire CARAVAN was slaughtered
on the trade-road just west of Shadowdale.
The origin and cargo of the caravan
are unknown; the Lord of
Shadowdale is said to be investigating
the matter.

• Lurkan the Reaver, a mercenary
"Lord" of the Sword Coast, is moving
eastward to the Inner Sea lands. It is
said that he intends to take up residence
there, and expects to earn a living
by selling his skills in the coming
conflict between Zhentil Keep, Cormyr,
Hillsfar, and Mulrnaster; 4 combatants
all with designs on the lands
around them.(•)

• Shairksah, an evil merchant operating
out of Beregost, has threatened
several rival merchants with death at
the hands of magically-created killing
creatures; strange crab-like menaces
that he has in the past unleashed in
Amn against such rivals (leading to his
banishment from that nation).
Shairksah has mentioned casually in
several noble courts that he has previously
had a few of these creatures
released in Cormyr, Ordulin, and
Iriaebor to "add to the amusement:" No
reports of such things have surfaced in
the said 3 cities -- but then, few who
have seen such things in the past have
lived to tell the tale.(*)

• In Westgate, fresh trouble has
erupted between rival Houses. It is not
known which ones yet, but no less than
6 hired assassins have been found
floating dead in the harbor in the space
of 2 days (this news is 2 tendays
old), and more are expected.

• A new company of adventurers,
the Company of the Cloak, has been
formed in Scornubel, and has headed
east to the Inner Sea lands to seek fortune.
Its leader, a little known Mage
called Mhair Gulzrabban (thought to be
from one of the coastal cities of Calimshan),
has spoken of the treasures of
Myth Drannor, the lost wealth of The
Kingdoms Under the Sand (those lands
north of Cormyr and west of Daggerdale,
long swallowed by the desert
Anauroch), and the hidden riches of the
Dalelands. The Company has over 12 members, 
none well-known, and
has no known headquarters. Its symbol
is a swirling cloak (in the shape of a
breaking wave, with its point curling to
the right) of dark green hue.(•)

• Reports continue to flow into the
Royal Court in Suzail of sightings of the
missing princess, although these
reports are suspect because they come
from all directions in the known
Realms, some from lands known only as
legends in Cormyr. Alusair Nacacia,
youngest daughter of King Azoun IV,
vanished from the royal palace in Suzail
a year ago, and is said to have run away.
Her reasons and destination are
unknown, but she is said to have been
seen in Tilver's Gap, with the former
lord of Tilverton, the High Priest of
Gond, Gharri, who has himself since
vanished. It is also said that the army
sent to Tilverton was intended primarily
to bring about her safe return, rather
than to aid Tilverton's inhabitants
against beseiging orcs. Obviously, that
army did not find her, for a royal
reward is still offered for her safe
return to Azoun.

Marpenoth (October)
• A new leader, Thaalim Torchtower,
is rising amongst the lawless men who
live in the wastes west of the mountains
that lie on the western edge of Cormyr
those same men that are known as
"bandits" for their frequent raids upon
travelers in the Forest-Country.
Thaalim is said to have spies in all of the
cities, towns, and villages of the realm,
and to be waiting for the richest caravans.(•) 

• Lothchas, bandit-lord of the lands
northeast of the Moonsea, is said to
have his eyes on the rich Dalelands. and
plans to found his own kingdom there.
The rulers of Hillsfar, Sembia, Cormyr,
and Zhentil Keep are said to be uniformly
unamused.(*)

• A vicious battle between forces of
Maalthir, ruler of Hillsfar, and soldiers
of Zhentil Keep has been found in the
ravaged town of Yulash. Over 90
slain, and the town is now in the hands
of Hillsfar. Forces of Zhentil Keep are
known to be massing in Voonlar for a
counter-strike. In Zhentil Keep itself,
the militia is said to be whelming for
battle.

• There is civil war in Melvaunt, as
rival senior families of that city struggle
for control of the throne. Further strife
in all of the Moonsea cities is expected
as the grip of Zhentil Keep's rule is loosened
by the struggles to the south.

• Strange, fey beasts have been seen
in the Hullack Forest and in the hills
around Thunderstone, and such
reports have always come down into
Cormyr steadily from travelers in the
Stonelands and Gnoll Pass; the land
beyond the spear-points of the King's
soldiers seem truly wild.(•)

• A tavern in Ordulin, The Stranded
Fish, has been set afire and destroyed in
a brawl between local Bravos and a
bearded, robed Mage of great power
thought to be one of the Red Wizards of
Thay. The Mage escaped the blaze, and
his present whereabouts are unknown.
It is certain that agents of the city's
Council, and the City Guards, are looking
for him.(•)

Uktar (November)
• The forces of Zhentil Keep have
retaken ruined and dragon-deprivated
Yulash from the Hillsfar armies. At first
glance, the success of the numerically
inferior Zhentil Keep forces was
ascribed to surprise, but reports have
developed of high sorcery being used,
including the ground itself growing
arms and attacking the sleeping Hillsfar
forces. The Hillsfar contingent has
retreated in disarray and Zhentil Keep
will likely retain control of the city until
spring. Work parties from the Citadel of
the Raven are said to be being shipped
to Yulash to aid in the building of a
defensive position.


• The Blue Diamond, a magickal ship
that sails the skies, created somewhere
in the Utter East, far south of Thay on
the southern coast of all Faerun, has
been seen in the Vilhon region, traveling
north. The ship always carries rich
cargoes such as spices and items of
minor magick, gems and perfumes, and
is said to have fearsome magickal guardians
and Mages among its crew.

• The war between Luskan and the
island realm of Ruathym was halted for
the winter, whose ho wling storms yet
rule the northern waves. Aumark
Lithyl, First Axe of Ruathym has set his
court in Ruathym upon the death of his
father, Ulphron, who perished in the
last great battle in and about the tow·
ered palace of Ruathym. Aumark won
this decisive engagement with a surprise
attack, at the head of the merce-
naries and adventurers, slaughtering
much of the landed force of Luskan and
driving the men of that city back to
their boats. The High Captains of
Luskan are said to have escaped injury
in the fray. Aumark's last decree, carried
to Waterdeep ere winter closed in,
is that anyone who brings the traitress
Maerkla, noblewoman of Ruathym, to
him alive or dead will receive 2 new
ships and his or her own weight in plati-
num pieces.

• Piergeiron of Waterdeep has publicly
declared his support for the new
ruler, and invited both Aumark and
Tuer! of the High Captains to his palace
at Waterdeep on the first day of
Kythorn, to meet for truce-talks. The
penalty for either refusing to attend
being the alignment of Waterdeep
against the absent ruler, and either way,
a QUICK end to the war.

• Agents of the Red Wizards of Thay
have openly slain merchants in Westgate
and Scardale-port, and it is whis-
pered that the fell Red Magic Cult is
stirring again. Perhaps the Red Wizards
will resume their quest for world domi-
nation soon, in the Inner Sea lands.

• Merchants and caravan-masters
recently on the road in the Elven Court
area report (from safe destinations in
Hillsfar, Ordulin, and Selgaunt) seeing
manacled humans in the trees as they
passed by Myth Drannor in the deepest
woods. One merchant, Saszesk of
Suzail, left the road to investigate, and
was met by hail of arrows, which he
survived, but which deterred him from
further investigation. Slavers have
been active in the Moonsea area before,
and now are apparently on the rise
again.

Nightal (December)
• The first heavy snowfall has swept
the North, blanketing Cormyr and the
Dales with up to a foot of snow. Most of
the general population have long-since
settled in for the long winter, though
there still are reported to be last-minute
merchants seeking to make a final sale
before heading for their wintering
grounds, and there are (as always) 1
or 2 ships caught in the ice on the
River Lis. Most activity for adventurers
consists of reassessing their situations
and planning for the next year.

• The adventuress Shaless, ofTsurla·
gol, has returned in triumph to her
favorite tavern, The Drunken Dragon,
in that city, displaying strange harps
and blades of arcane, beautiful make
which she claims to be her booty from
the lost city of Myth Drannor, wrested,
she claims "from the very claws of devils
who walk there!" The bard Maerhult
has pronounced 2 of the harps
shown to him in the tavern, to be
unmistakably the work of the lost, long·
ago artisans of Myth Drannor, and to be
rare things of magick besides.(*)

• Across the Dragon Reach, in Selgaunt,
a mercenary band is gathering to
investigate the ruins of Myth Drannor
for themselves; a group, thus far 20
strong, under the leadership of the
fighter of great renown Narve
Dwarfkin and the mage Ryhinn Blackcloak,
Hurler of Thunderbolts.

• Rumors abound in Suzail (as they
have periodically on this subject for the
last winter) that someone in the city has
a map revealing the location of the lost
gem-hoard of the Great Worm
Draughthothnor, and is hiring mercenary
adventurers to form a party that
will undertake an extended expedition
to seek out the hoard. Draughthothnor
was slain by the Five Wizards 200
and 60 winters ago, and his
fabled hoard is said to contain gems
now found nowhere else in the
Realms.(•)

• Haspur, a seer who dwells in
Baldur's Gate, has foretold that a magick
of great power, called "The Ring of Winter:'
will be rediscovered within the
year. In trance, he seemed very upset,
but gave no further details, and could
recall nothing upon reawakening.