Tharqualnaar

{{City

|image=

|Name=Tharqualnaar

|Type=Village

|Location=Deepwater Harbor

|Region=The Savage North

|Population=517

|Demographics=Isolated (merfolk 492, sea elves 10, half-sea elves 10, others 5)

|Religions=Eadro, Umberlee, Deep Sashelas

|GP Limit=200 sp

|Assets=5,120 sp

}}

The village of Tharqualnaar is a community of merfolk older than Waterdeep itself, dating back to the Year of Sea Monsters (–458 DR). For centuries, detachments of male merfolk have been sent north from warmer southern waters to the flooded sea caves beneath what is now known as Deepwater Isle. Members of the merfolk garrison kept watch over the tithes to Umberlee that littered the cavern floor, hoping to keep thieves from provoking the Bitch Queen’s ire and the inevitable ensuing destruction above and below the surface all along the Sword Coast. Since the Year of Three Seas’ Rage (–334 DR), that duty has necessitated keeping watch over Umberlee's Cache and the burgeoning number of sea wraiths and other monsters of the depths that dwell within.

In the Year of the Harp (1355 DR), merfolk fleeing the destruction of Laakos' Reef, a community in the Shining Sea forty miles east of Calimport, arrived in Deepwater Harbor seeking sanctuary from the looming threat of Iakhovas and offering their tridents in service to the Lords of Waterdeep. As they were accompanied by female and young merfolk, Tharqualnaar was transformed almost overnight from a remote military garrison into a thriving village. In the Year of the Gauntlet (1369 DR), the village was nearly destroyed by the Army of Iakhovas, and the merfolk bore the brunt of the Deepwater War’s undersea casualties. However, in the war’s aftermath, refugees from up and down the Sword Coast migrated to Tharqualnaar and made it their home. Coupled with a generous donation of material and magic support from the Lords of Waterdeep, the merfolk village of Tharqualnaar has once again begun to thrive. The merfolk have even cultivated an undersea garden in a “hot rift” on the harbor floor near the eastern tip of Deepwater Isle.

All adult merfolk of Tharqualnaar are considered members of the City Guard if they contribute to the defense of Waterdeep, though their weaponry and equipment is their own. The Lords pay a stipend of food, medical supplies, and trade-bars (the equivalent of 25 sp per head per month) to all who loyally patrol the harbor depths against invaders, predators, and shipping hazards. The merfolk are expected to aid in the recovery of corpses, spilled cargo, sunken vessels, and the like. They are free to travel outside the harbor, but rarely patrol more than a quarter-mile from the western shore of Deepwater Isle or a half-mile north of Stormhaven Island.