Thaymount (Tharch)

See Also: Thay

The Thaymount is a not a single peak but a chain of volcanic mountains in the middle of High Thay, the plateau above the Second Escarpment. Knifelike ridges of rock and smoldering cinder cones reach an altitude of more than 17,000 feet, and soot-covered glaciers cling to their upper slopes. Access to this region is restricted to Red Wizards and their guests—unauthorized visitors are executed on the spot.

Three rivers have their sources in Thaymount’s ice covered peaks. The River Umber runs west toward the Sea of Dlurg. The River Lapendrar flows south to the Wizards’ Reach, and the River Eltar pours east into Lake Thaylambar, the largest body of fresh water in the nation.

Eltabbar may be the capital of Thay, but Thaymount is the nation’s heart. Private fortresses of the most powerful Red Wizards are scattered across the smoking slopes like black stars in a fiery sky. Gold mines, volcanic forges, and the dark barracks of elite monstrous troops, as well as the magical workshops and armories of the Red Wizards, cluster around the foothills of the Thaymount. Many of the magic items created for export, along with deadlier devices the Red Wizards keep for their own use, come from these forbidding factories.

The troops here—mostly gnolls, blood orcs, darkenbeasts, and other evil creatures—number in the thousands. They stand ready to be launched in any direction their masters send them. The current peace has left these aggressive warriors restless for action. This pent-up violence has been painful for the few foolhardy souls who have trespassed in Thaymount over the past couple of years, as the creatures take out their frustrations on folk unfortunate enough to cross their paths.

Many of the Red Wizards’ fortresses contain laboratories for dangerous experiments in magically influenced breeding. The more promising results are sent out into the world to test their abilities, striking fear into all who encounter them. The greatest success so far has been the blood orcs, which have exceeded their creators’ wildest dreams. Now the Red Wizards have started trying the same techniques on members of other races to build even broader populations of creatures under their control.

The Thaymount’s peaks include a number of active volcanoes. Ash falls and pyroclastic flows are more common than lava fountains or explosive events. In recent years, the activity of the Thaymount has been increasing, giving rise to stories that demons imprisoned there before the founding of the realm may be close to escaping. The earthquake that shook Eltabbar a few years back broke the seals holding the demon prince Eltab under the city, and rumor has it that this creature was—or still is—behind the latest geological troubles too.

What’s not in doubt is that the Red Wizards are more agitated and secretive than usual. The sinister mages are spending a great deal of time and effort on constructing new fortifications around their keeps. Some are even working to connect their fortresses for mutual defense, something that was almost unheard of just a few years ago.