Post by DM Sin on Oct 21, 2006 10:52:11 GMT -5
Beregost
Tired travelers on the Coast Way between Baldur’s Gate and Amn often stop in Beregost. Beregost is located just off the road about a day’s travel on horseback south of where the Way of the Lion that leads to Candlekeep branches off from the Coast Way. It’s within reach of the northern borders of Amn. Merchants of that land often use it as a rendezvous for caravan assembly before attempting the perilous overland runs north to Waterdeep or east to the Sea of Fallen Stars. As a result, this small town gets very crowded at unpredictable intervals.
Begun as a farming village under the protection of a school of wizardry, Beregost is now dominated by the Song of the Morning, a major temple to Lathander. The mage Ulcaster, a conjurer of note, founded his school over 300 years ago, but grew too successful, attracting would-be wizards from all over the Sword Coast. Calishite mages came to fear the school’s power and destroyed it in spell battle, though Ulcaster himself disappeared during the fray and was never found. The school burned to an empty shell, which still stands on a hill east of the town. Local fear of the ruins, which are said to be haunted by phantoms who are still able to cast spells, has caused Beregost to be expanded to the west of the Coast Way road, leaving the hills east of it to the sheep. Beregost has only one tavern. It is called the Burning Wizard, of course. It has no signboard, but the traveler can easily find it. It’s the building with the crowded hitching rail that stands just north of where the small rivulet known as Wizards’ Doom Creek, which rises on the hill where the ruins stand against the sky - crosses the Coast Way.
That’s where I heard of the two chief dangers to the curious and to young magelings hoping to gain spells or items who approach the ruins too closely. There’s a wizshade who hurls random spells at folk, sometimes appearing as a thin, wraithlike, impossibly tall, bearded man and sometimes just as a battered wizard’s hat. There’s also another wizard wraith, a haunt, who tries to lure folk into the depths of the ruin’s cellars and possess their bodies. Old villagers also speak of magical traps deep in the ruins and at least one gate that leads to unknown destinations. This last claim has been confirmed as truth by no less a pair of magical personages than the Lord Mage of Waterdeep, Khelben “Blackstaff” Arunsun, and Elminster of Shadowdale.
Beregost’s governor strongly disapproves of explorations of the ruins. Although there is a five-person town council, the governor’s word is law in Beregost, and he is a tireless proponent of farming, starting up new businesses, and improving the place. He is also Most Radiant of Lathander (high priest of the temple) Kelddath Ormlyr, and his temple troops police the town, keeping it safe so that trading, meetings, and spending at the shops are brisk. In this, he has two powerful allies: the wizard Thalantyr, a conjurer of great repute who unfortunately wasn’t at home when I visited, and the smith Taerom “Thunderhammer” Fuiruim. Kelddath has also successfully encouraged several important Amnian merchants to establish estates around Beregost, notably the Craumerdaun family, whose fine horses (now bred here) are highly prized in Amn and Tethyr.
Tired travelers on the Coast Way between Baldur’s Gate and Amn often stop in Beregost. Beregost is located just off the road about a day’s travel on horseback south of where the Way of the Lion that leads to Candlekeep branches off from the Coast Way. It’s within reach of the northern borders of Amn. Merchants of that land often use it as a rendezvous for caravan assembly before attempting the perilous overland runs north to Waterdeep or east to the Sea of Fallen Stars. As a result, this small town gets very crowded at unpredictable intervals.
Begun as a farming village under the protection of a school of wizardry, Beregost is now dominated by the Song of the Morning, a major temple to Lathander. The mage Ulcaster, a conjurer of note, founded his school over 300 years ago, but grew too successful, attracting would-be wizards from all over the Sword Coast. Calishite mages came to fear the school’s power and destroyed it in spell battle, though Ulcaster himself disappeared during the fray and was never found. The school burned to an empty shell, which still stands on a hill east of the town. Local fear of the ruins, which are said to be haunted by phantoms who are still able to cast spells, has caused Beregost to be expanded to the west of the Coast Way road, leaving the hills east of it to the sheep. Beregost has only one tavern. It is called the Burning Wizard, of course. It has no signboard, but the traveler can easily find it. It’s the building with the crowded hitching rail that stands just north of where the small rivulet known as Wizards’ Doom Creek, which rises on the hill where the ruins stand against the sky - crosses the Coast Way.
That’s where I heard of the two chief dangers to the curious and to young magelings hoping to gain spells or items who approach the ruins too closely. There’s a wizshade who hurls random spells at folk, sometimes appearing as a thin, wraithlike, impossibly tall, bearded man and sometimes just as a battered wizard’s hat. There’s also another wizard wraith, a haunt, who tries to lure folk into the depths of the ruin’s cellars and possess their bodies. Old villagers also speak of magical traps deep in the ruins and at least one gate that leads to unknown destinations. This last claim has been confirmed as truth by no less a pair of magical personages than the Lord Mage of Waterdeep, Khelben “Blackstaff” Arunsun, and Elminster of Shadowdale.
Beregost’s governor strongly disapproves of explorations of the ruins. Although there is a five-person town council, the governor’s word is law in Beregost, and he is a tireless proponent of farming, starting up new businesses, and improving the place. He is also Most Radiant of Lathander (high priest of the temple) Kelddath Ormlyr, and his temple troops police the town, keeping it safe so that trading, meetings, and spending at the shops are brisk. In this, he has two powerful allies: the wizard Thalantyr, a conjurer of great repute who unfortunately wasn’t at home when I visited, and the smith Taerom “Thunderhammer” Fuiruim. Kelddath has also successfully encouraged several important Amnian merchants to establish estates around Beregost, notably the Craumerdaun family, whose fine horses (now bred here) are highly prized in Amn and Tethyr.