DESCRIPTION:
An independent free-town on the southern shores of the Moonsea: a quietly-bustling trade town with an undercurrent of intrigue.
Elmwood is a beautiful, pastoral town: a rustic backwater set between the eaves of the forest and the jewelled waters of the Moonsea. Elmwood is a town of peace and dignity: surrounded by fertile, rolling farmlands and the hushed majesty of the eldritch Elven Woods.
Elmwood is strategically located outside the mouth of the Elvenflow (more formally known as the River Duathamper) and close by the River Lis (the lifeline between the Moonsea and the Inner Sea). It is a small but lively trade town that readily deals with the elves of the forest, the farmers and fisherfolk of the Lost Coast (more formally the Lissendell); and the passing merchants of the great city-states of the Moonsea.
It remains free due to its small size, value as a free port, veiled threats by Sembia and the cities of the Vast, and mutual posturing among the militant Moonsea states.
GOVERNMENT:
The town is informally run by a self-appointed council of three, who meet each week. Local townsfolk seem content with this arrangement, despite occasional calls for greater representation from local merchants. Thoyanna Jorgadaul serves as the towns only constable, and can be seen out-and-about everyday, keeping a wary eye on strangers, especially around the docks.
ROUTES:
Although most visitors come to Elmwood by boat, there is a trail leading west to Elventree and another trail called the Lis Path going south along the river. A ferry service travels to Calaunt and Harrowdale.
PEOPLE:
Elmwood citizenry numbers about 500 humans and half-elves. This is not including the sailors and merchants that number almost equal to that. It also serves as a marketplace for many farmers in the region. A population totaling 1,000 would be reasonable for Elmwood.
Thoyanna Jorgadaul is a calm, pipe-smoking dwarven warrior known for her braided grey hair, and her skill with quelling trouble-makers with her trusty club. She serves as the towns de facto ruler and only constable, and can be seen out-and-about everyday, keeping a wary eye on strangers, especially around the docks. Thoyanna has watched over Elmwood for 24 years, since she retired from adventuring after contracting a respiratory ailment (and still hawks and spits constantly when on patrol). She constantly wears gauntlets of ogre power, navy cloak and padded armour, but otherwise carries only her metal-shod club and a boot dagger. If serious trouble occurs she will turn out bedecked in Ironstar dwarven plate, multiple axes and a helm of brilliance.
Alamarayne Moonray of Selune is a beautiful, quietly spoken half-elf of middling years, renowned for her kindness to all folk (which has especially endeared her to the rough-and-tumble sailors of the Moonsea) and her clear, pure laugh, said to be akin to liquid moonlight. She is known among friends for a mischievous streak, and her sincere love of the town. Alamarayne is the best of friends with the gruff, no-nonsense Thoyanna; and the two can often be deep in conversation or a game of chess in the taproom of the Still Waters.
Ezril Treewarder is a druid of Eldath who tends a small grove to the south of town. Rather militant for a clergyman of the Quiet Goddess, Ezril is an imposing piercing-eyed man in his late 40s. He provides advice and assistance to local farmers in tending crops and raising animals, while imploring them to respect the land and not deplete its resources. The villagers repay him with supplies and material comforts for his stone cottage near the grove. Ezril is rarely seen in Elmwood, preferring the great outdoors and the company of his wolf and brown bear companions. He has no compunctions about bringing them into town, and even into the local inns, when the mood for civilized company strikes him.
PLACES:
Thoyannas Tower
This squat stone tower is Thoyannas home. A sturdy annex adjacent serves as the town lock-up (2 cells), treasury (warded coffers in a strongroom contain moneys from the docking tariffs collected), and armoury (containing a few suits of chainmail, spears, slings and some swords that are broken out for use by the seldom-trained militia in times of trouble). The tower and annex are heavily warded by Alamarayne (with glyphs and warning spells such as priestly versions of moon rune and magic mouth).
The Still Waters
This friendly establishment is the largest and most popular inn of Elmwood. The Still Waters is run by master brewer Enrad Daleborn: a friendly, honest fellow whose family hails from Shadowdale. His ale is much sought after, and he makes a lively trade selling his brews to townsfolk and sailors alike. His part ownership of the ferry service ensures that his barrels are the only cargo (besides passengers) that the ferries regularly carry.A comfortable bed, bath, food and drink is all-inclusive for 3gp a night (5gp if a horse needs to be stabled).
Inn of the Smoky Moon
The inn is a quiet place, catering more for long-term tenants than the Still Waters.
The Lounge Lizard
This rough-and-tumble tavern caters for the sailors who pass through Elmwood and the fisherfolk who call the prot home. The covert operatives from the various powers also frequent the tavern, hoping to pick up a snippet of gossip or information that may help their interests.
The Dell
The Dell is a quiet, open tavern on the banks of the Elvenflow, that caters mainly for the river traders and elfbloods of the town. It features an open beer garden that overlooks the rivers mouth; and is frequented nightly by local elves and half-elves who like the open air experience. During winter, coal-fired braziers keep away the cold so that patrons can enjoy the crystal-clear night sky.
Temple of the Two Moons
The centre-piece of the town is the small temple of Selune. Alamarayne and her aides, Enstarred Maidens Felice and Shaana (both: hf P), oversee the spiritual affairs of Elmwood: providing daily services; and advice, blessings or healings when necessary. Alamarayne has a particularly kind regard for the sailors who call Elmwood home, and can be seen on most days down at the docks, blessing the fishing boats, and talking to the fisherfolk and boat crews about currents and catches and sailing in general. Locals often cite this good rapporte as a great boon for the town, and retell the tale of the Zhentarim-led raid on Elmwood that failed miserably several years ago when the hired pirates turned-coat and defeated the Zhentarim when they realised that the attack was on Elmwood. The temple is also home to Anaith Tanemirė ((moon) P), a quiet and mystical priestess of Sehanine (hence the temples name). She spends her time in reflection, and is seen as a source of strength for the elven community of Elmwood. She lives a nocturnal existence and so is seldom seen about during the day. By night she usually dines at the home of a local elven family before wandering the woods or studying the stars from the rooftop observatory of the temple. Alamarayne was once a pupil of Anaiths, and firmly believes that their two goddesses are aspects of the same divine being. Anaith has not commented publically on this school of thought.
The Grove
South of Elmwood lies the sacred grove of Eldath, tended by Ezril ( hm D) for the last twenty years (since the time his druidic mentor died). It lies seemingly hidden in a large copse of shadoweir trees and bordered on one side by a tiny burbling brook that springs from a small pool on the edge of the grove. On nights of the new moon it is dark enough to see that the grove radiates a very soft blue light, an earthly manifestation of its spirtual power. Ezril has in the past had some dealings with the elves of Cormanthor, but was antagonised at some stage by a delegation of gold elves, and has not forgotten the slight. His antipathy towards them subsided somewhat when a number of copper elven priests of Rillifane journeyed to the grove to speak of their impending retreat from the mortal realms, and he joined them for a season visiting all the sacred sites of nature magic within north-eastern Cormanthor. As such, he knows much of the Elven Woods, including the locations of many old elven ruins (which he has little intention of revealing unless it is to send adventurers to clear out unnatural dangers) and of the sacred sites of Rillifane, Solonor and Eldath. Ezril occasionally meets with allies in the Flooded Forest of Dorthonion across the Lis (in that wild realm reside a circle of druids and guardian Grim).
The Grange
This is a large trading emporium, supplying Elmwood with all manner of mundane and exotic goods. The business is owned and run by Tayrom (hm F), cynically nicknamed One Try after an unsuccessful foray in adventuring (after being spooked in a kobold ambush). The Grange stocks every nonarmour, nonweapon item in the Players Handbook. There is a small selection of arms and an armour suit or two, but these are generally ordered in from Melvaunt (which makes excellent manufactured goods) in 3d6 days. What it doesnt have can be ordered.
The Docks
The small but bustling docks seem, at times, out-of-place in rustic Elmwood. The lively shouts of sailors and fisherfolk, the clanking chains of hand cranes, the clumping of draft horses, the creaks and bumps of moored shipping and the lapping of the amethyst waters make this the busiest and noisiest place in Elmwood.
The main part of the docks are centred around the central pier: a huge old structure of great wooden planking on piles driven into stony rubble. Known as Ginthers Arm by older locals (and simply the Arm to everyone else) it is named for an early mayor of the town who commissioned the building of the austentatious structure (and invested most of his personal wealth into it: by his own admission an arm and a leg (no-one knows what became of the leg!))
The central dock sees the main merchant traders. Most ships pass Elmwood by and only dock if in trouble. Some dock to take on trade goods (such as salted fish, specialty timber and wood carvings, and potatoes and onions from surrounding farmlands). Sometimes the larger ships that cannot navigate the currents of the Lis stop here to offload their cargo and passengers, which are then loaded onto smaller boats for the run south. The large cogs then pick up freight for the return journey. The fast light sloops used by the ferry services also use the central part of the dock; and leave an hour after dawn and around sunset, bound for the Lis and Ylaraphon beyond.
Three large warehouses dominate the shoreline of the docks: huge sturdy structures built of oak and brick, with great doors large enough to allow two wagons to enter side-by-side. Around these warehouses are the various small businesses involved in the merchant trade, the Lounge Lizard tavern and boarding houses for travellers and sailors (the shabbier ones). Two of the warehouses are owned by syndicates of local businessmen, and the last (the eaternmost and most run-down) by the people of Elmwood herself, and used as a community storage, clearing-house and emergency granary.
To the west of the Arm, nearby the rivers mouth, are the small docks used by the shallow-draughted rafts and river cruisers that ply the Elvenflow. They are set apart from the main docks due to the lack of seaworthiness of the small riverboats, and due to the elves traditional desire to minimise the time spent around humanfolk.
On the eastern end of the docks lie the tumbledown docks and houses of the fisherfolk. This area has developed over centuries of chaotic building into a precinct of winding, muddy lanes and precarious fishermens huts perched atop ricketty wharfs. There are always a few old salts squatting here repairing nets, scaling fish, relating old sea shanties and exchanging gossip. When looking out to sea from Elmwood by day, the sparkling amethyst waters are dotted by the hulls of the fleet of small fishing boats. The memory of the vista of half-a-hundred billowing sails framed against the setting sun has been known to reduce many a homesick Elmwood sailor to tears.
The Old Well
This old, delapidated well lies in the southeast corner of the town. There is no pulley and bucket (that having fallen into the well long ago). Boards are nailed across the top to prevent children falling in. Once an important source of water for the townsfolk, the well abruptly dried up some 30 years ago.
RELIGION:
Selune the Moonmaiden and Sehanine Moonbow
The spiritual guidance of the average townsfolk, and most of the sailors and fisherfolk, comes from the Temple of the Two Moons that dominates the centre of Elmwood. The priestesses of Selune (and to a lesser extent Sehanine) conduct daily services and fulfills other priestly duties. The local teachings intermingle the two faiths (which are very similar anyway), most locals seeing them as different expressions of the one divine power. Given the respect they hold for the two Ladies of the Moon, Elmwooders are among the few folk of the region who consider the term Mooneye something of a complement.
Shaundakul, the Rider of the Winds
Waertin Nanszrai is an aging, bespectacled half-elven priest (hem P) of the Helping Hand who resides in the town. One of the few priests who maintained the Shaundakuls worship before his renaissance after the Time of Troubles. As such, he has high standing in the chaotic faith. He has no formal shrine, but adherents of Shaundakul often meet at his house for informal social get-togethers. He spends his time aiding travelling traders (in return for donations of course) and spreading his lords word.
Eldath the Quiet Goddess
Ezril tends the grove to the south of town, but holds no services. He is quite willing to discuss spiritual matters with those interested, but given his other duties (and general distain for town living) he spares little time for the townsfolk, preferring the farmers of the outlying areas and the solace of the forest.
Lis the Beacon
The clergy of the little-known demigod Lis maintain a safe-house and small shrine just east of Elmwood. They quietly shelter refugees from the despotic Moonsea city-states (arranging for them to journey to the south and safety), lead local trackings & rescues when someone gets lost, and school locals in bushcraft. A local ritual sees the adherents swim the river that (they say) is named after their god, at least once a season. The faithful of Lis have a friendly relationship with their wanderings cousins of the church of Shaundakul.
The Bright Path
A quiet but popular local cult is that of the Bright Path. Thought to be sponsored by the recently elevated Finder, or perhaps a scion of the Lathandrian faith, the cultists follow a simple credo promoting independence, life and equality for all:
All creatures have their place, and all are fit to wield power. Those whowalk apart find new ways and try new things and do most to advance their races. People of power best house the energy of life which the Bright Path reveres and represents. Self-sacrafice furthers the cause of the Bright Path.
The only priest of the faith in town is Heffron (hm P): a likable, easy-going yet quite devout character. He readily explains his beliefs to all, and how he is himself tutored by a mysterious hermetic holy man called Diehl, whom occasionally visits him or arranges nighttime meetings in the woods southeast of town. What is not known by Heffron or the rest of the cultists is that they worship a reasonably-benevolent interpretation of the fell faith of Ghaunadaur (The above quotes are excerpts from Ghaunadaurs dogma in Demihuman Dieties). Diehl is a drow priest (em(drow) P) who has thought of a novel way to convert supposedly good humans to the worship of the Lord of Life or Ghormath (as he refers to the fell diety, not actually knowing his more common name of Ghaunadaur). He himself sees the credo of the Bright Path as a sanitised, watered down, weak version of the true dogma, but is happy that he has gained a foothold in Elmwood, from whence he can slowly bring the cultists into worship of the core faith of Ghormath.
GEOGRAPHY:
Elmwood lies on the south coast of the Moonsea, and as such is spared much of the cruel storms and ravages of monsters that plague the cities of the north and western coasts. The strategis River Lis lies barely twenty five miles to the east, and the sluggish River Duathamper (or the Elvenflow in local parlance) drains into the Moonsea to the west of the town.
The River Lis is the lifeblood of the Moonsea, and through its deep water flows most of the trade between the city-states of the Moonsea (and what little flows from the wild lands of the Moonsea North) and the rest of Faerun. Moonsea states have traditionally tried to control access to the Lis at times when they were militarily strong (the latest being during the Time of Troubles), but have always been foiled by the combined actions of the other cities and Sembia.
The mouth of the Elvenflow is navigable only by very shallow-drafted vessels. Most trade on the river is conducted by elven (and a few half-elven) traders who use thin, manouverable river cruisers to transport goods to and from the scattered elven communities between Elmwood and the Maidens Tear Falls (where Halfaxe Trail from Harrowdale crosses the Duathamper). [Many have the Far Trader kit] Thick streams of salt ivy (large sea weed that entangles ship keels, see Moonsea, DMs, p64) choke the river mouth and prevent any sea-going ships from sailing up the river. Sea scrags are known to lair in the thick beds of ivy, and attack entangled ships at night.
TRADE:
The town supports itself by fishing, farming, wood-crafting and support of through-trade. A ferry service to Calaunt and Harrowdale operates on a twice daily basis. The ferries are actually fast sloops (to shorten trip times, and to flee pirate raiders or Moonsea man-o-wars if necessary).
Much wealth in the form of trade passes through the town, though little remains there. Such trade means that a shadowplay of intrigue underlies the towns overt dealings. Operatives from all the Moonsea and Dragon Reach cities, and many clandestine organisations besides (Harpers, Zhentarim and Inner Sea pirates, for example) are stationed here to monitor trade and the activities of their rivals.
Traditionally Elmwood was used as the point of contact to the outside world for the elves dwelling in the eastern reaches of Cormanthor. With the passing of the Elven Court this once steady trade has dropped off to a trickle, which brought some measure of hardship upon the town in the mid 1350s. However, the influx of emigrants from Hillsfar has brought many specialist craftsmen to the town (especially woodworkers and artisans), and fostered industry. The retreat of the elves has also laid open the forest to large-scale logging. Although the timber industry in Elmwood is small (being generally limited to felling tall old trees for masts, and the extraction of specialists timbers for local craftsmen and export), as the years go by the forest will come under increasing pressure from timbercutters.
HISTORY:
The community was established in the Year of the Screeching Vole (163DR) as a waystation for shipping travelling between the Moonsea and the Dragon Reach. It never grew into a city because it lacked deposits of the metals and precious stones that brought early settlers to the Moonsea. The elves of Cormanthor prevented logging of the forest, which limited the farming land to the coastal downs and excluded a large timber industry. Elves sent their traders down the Duathamper (called by humans the Elvenflow) to trade at the tranquil port; and quiet a few have over time settled there (especially elven adventurers who could not totally leave behind the energy and change of the outer realms for the timeless contemplation of the elven woods. This adventuring fraternity saved the settlement from several dragonraids and many attempted plunderings by pirates and the forces of the Moonsea city-states)
It has always been independent of the large city-states of the Moonsea (except for a brief period in the 1100s when a grasping Mulman general mutinied in the City of Danger, sailing his rebel ships west and occupying Elmwood, before being driven out by Mulman loyalists in an atypical and laboured alliance with elves of the Elven Court (who resented the disruption to trade)). For long it sheltered under the friendship of Hillsfar (when that city was ruled by the multiracial alliance) and stayed discreetly out of regional politics.
With the withdrawal of the Elven Court to Evermeet and the siezure of lordship in Hillsfar by Maalthiir, the character of Elmwood has changed somewhat. Hillsfars virulent racism sent most of the citys demihuman citizens packing. Some of these folk have resettled in Elmwood (and many more to neighbouring Elventree). The loss in trade from the retreat of the Elven Court has been offset by these newcomers, and has actually increased the population of the area. The current flux in the powerplays of the Moonsea (with the fall of Zhentil Keep, the rise in Hillsfars fortunes, the rebirth of Phlan and the re-opening of trade routes into the Cold Lands of Vaasa, Damara and even legendary Sossal) the future of stable Elmwood looks bright.
OTHER:
Pirates are only a minor problem on the Moonsea: the sea is simply too small (and the navies of the Moonsea states too large) for them to have many places to hide. Still, they occasionally raid ships and outlying settlements near Elmwood. In the early days of the Zhentarim, their purple-flagged slave ships were known to occasionally raid the scattered steadings of the Lost Coast, topping up their cargo.
A number of pirates and privateers are known to quietly dock at or nearby Elmwood for resupply and fencing of plunder. The freedom-fighting pirate Ilandra Wavemistress and her sloop the Mingleblood, (distinguished by her bright-red sails and heavy armaments) are known to call at Elmwood for supplies and to drop off prisoners. The fiercely charismatic pirate captain (hef(sea) F/W/T) and her 40 mixed-race crew were ostracised from Hillsfar by the rise of Maalthiir, and so delight in attacking ships flying the Hillfarian ensign. The local Hillfarian agents are constantly foiled in their plans for revenge by the agents of Mulmaster, the pirates themselves and the tacit support of the council of Elmwood. |
