Highmoon

1. Rhautides' Tower

This small tower which stands atop so-called Spell Hill is the current residence of the archmage Rhauntides and his beautiful apprentice, Shaunil Tharm. The old wizard only sees clients on a by-appointment basis, and is generally protective of his privacy.

2. The Rising Moon

This popular inn is cheap, warm, and

cozy. It feels like guests are being made

welcome in someone’s home by casual

hosts who do not care if people put their

feet up on the tables, so long as they enjoy

being there and do not pick fights with

other guests.

3. Silverhand House

This imposing stone manor is the

headquarters of the Silverhand House

coster founded by the retired elven

adventurer Gaelin Silverhand 60-odd

years ago (no relation to the Seven Sisters

of that name). The tall, proud elves and

half-elves of this organization run swift,

well-guarded caravans east to Ordulin

and west to Arabel from here, taking rare

woods, resin, amber, and the finest

beaver and marten pelts to long-standing

buyers in those places.

Here the Silverhand House coster

recruits mercenaries its members have

seen and liked in action to begin the long

and rigorous moral testing and training

process that ends in discharge, full staff

status, or actual partnership in the

House. Here is also where its members

buy good specimens of the wares they

deal in from passersby, such as

adventurers who have ventured deep

into the Elven Court woods beyond Lake

Sember.

This coster pays well and is open and

fair in its dealings. If one in turn deals

honestly with its members, they try to

maintain an ongoing, lifetime trading

relationship. This forthright, loyal

behavior makes the coster members very

bad to have as enemies and wonderful as

allies; Silverhand House maintains a

loosely affiliated adventuring company it

uses to take covert action to avenge itself

on any who cheat its members. Around

the Dragon Reach Silverhand House has

won a reputation for reliability second to

none. “"Stay small and stay good"” is

Gaelin’s motto, and his coster follows it.

4. Royal High House

This pair of crammed, barnlike shops on

the East Way are together known as Royal

High House, the home of Royal Provisioners

of Highmoon. The “Royal” in the

place’s name comes from the fact that the

a service to the humans she was enticing

to her new settlement. Today, these shops

cater to the caravan trade. They sell tack,

tents, tarpaulins, tools, harness, and even

new, ready-to-roll wagons. They claim the

finest and most varied selection of traveling

rations anywhere—, and it seems they have

called upon the herb gardeners of the

Dale to season their dried food so that it

just might be the finest anywhere.

Wineskins - —items rarely plentiful

enough in any outfitting shop— - are to be

had in profusion here, as are ready-dried

kindling, horse liniment, slow candles,

and a host of other usually unobtainable

things. If something is necessary for

camping, it is to be found here somewhere.

The Royal High House’s on-the-street

convenience costs you about 10%

more than the average prices—, but if you

are in a hurry, it is more than worth it.

5. The High Market

This large, open market is different from

most others of its kind in that vendors

have the use of a public bathhouse and

privy at the east end of the market and

that a huge variety of herbs and herbal

concoctions (from flavored drinks to

medicines) are offered for sale here.

Merchants from Cormyr are the most

frequent shoppers here in all but the

coldest months; many fast caravans bring

the wares of Marsember and Suzail here

in exchange for good furs and herbs.

thieves in Eveningstar, are very popular

with the Deepingfolk, and many are

brought here by Cormyrean traders—

and the folk of Deepingdale also seem to

have a taste for the sharper cheeses made

in Cormyr. Sembian merchants compete

for Deepingdale coins with elaborate

games and blown glass items brought by

ship from hotter lands, and minstrels

often play in the market for the coins

tossed their way. All in all, this market is a

great place to browse—, and it is even

carefully planted with hard mosses so as

to be less muddy than most.

6. The Oak and Spear

The signboard of this inn shows a spear

buried in the trunk of an old oak. The

shaft of the spear passes through both an

great local victory over an orc horde that

poured through the Thunder Pass almost

200 winters ago, and the harp symbolizes

good cheer, which is what this dimly lit,

cozy drinking spot is widely known for

now.

A mug of draft beer costs 8 cp or a

good song; most minstrels and bards

who pass through town make a point of

stopping here. If you want quiet

seclusion for your drinking, come during

the day when harpists play gentle,

washing-the-strings background music.

The rest of the time this place is apt to be

cheerfully noisy because each

entertainer always tries to outdo the

others.

A full range of ales, lagers and stouts

can be had here as well as zzar, a few

sherries, a brandy, and some wines, but

most patrons do not bother. The draft

brewed on the premises, Highmoon

Dark, is justly famous across the Dragon

Reach. It is a dark, smoky beer with a

rich, nutty, almost bacon-like aftertaste.

The Oak and Spear is the only place one

can get it, so patrons drink it in copious

quantities.

7. Andelmaus Logging

In this aromatic shop on the edge of the

market, Andelmaus Logging sells odd-sized

cuts of wood and special orders and

buys timber from anyone who brings it in.

This company specializes in supplying

fine and rare woods to the cities of

or wagonloads of duskwood it has more

than once cut more trees in the Dale than

the foresters allow. (The owner paid the

fines and charged them to her customers

as “special fees.”)

The owner— - purring, catlike, totally

unscrupulous coin-clutcher named

most cutthroat Sembian merchant circles,

is unrepentant but does not want to get

run out of town. She buys timber here

without asking questions as to its origin

and runs heavily armed woodcutting

wagon trains into former Sessrendale to

cut trees along the western edge of the

Elven Court woods. These teams cut

down everything and trample what is left,

and they take a lot, pushing the forest

back year by year.

Consequently, the local elves do not

like Kessia at all. Her guards and her

purchased magical items keep her

personally safe, but the elves made sure

that Arkhen woodcutters were alerted

when she tried to sneak a cutting team

into the Arch Wood. Not a hireling, adz,

ox, or wagon of that team ever returned

to Highmoon.

Kessia is currently rumored to be

hiring adventurers to explore for new

places to cut wood. Locals hint darkly

that what she is after is a private strike

force so that she can arrange “accidents”

to befall elves that stand in her way

(physically or metaphorically) in the

woods and other foes who decry her

business practices.

8. Hanseld's Emporium

The whimsical half-elf who runs this

shop is apt to be seen dancing along the

roof ridge or playing a longhorn atop a

pile of crates out back when a more, er,

normal shopkeeper would be inside selling

things—or at least watching to see

that patrons do not just help themselves.

But Hanseld is, well, Hanseld, and people,

especially children, love him just the

way he is— - the local source of free entertainment.

Hanseld can outplay or out-sing

a minstrel when he is of a mind to,

but he is usually too busy closeted in a

back room seeing to the personal needs

of clients who have traveled a long way to

reach his shop.

Most folk think that people come to the

shop from so far because Hanseld’'s

Emporium is the only place they can get

the rare and exotic spices and curios from

the finely crafted lamps, tables, and

lounges from Marsember and Selgaunt.

But in truth all of those things can be had

in Suzail, Westgate, and Sembia, and a lot

of those clients he spends time behind

closed doors with come from those very

same well-supplied places.

The true draw of his quaint little shop to the steady stream of foreign visitors that he gets almost every day, remains part of his mystery.

9. The Leaves of Learning

The Leaves of Learning is the only major temple within the town of Highmoon, dedicated to the worship of the gods of learning, chiefly Oghma, but to a lesser extent Deneir, Milil, and Gond as well. It occupies a prominent spot, sharing the crown of Highmoon Hill with the Tower of the Rising Moon, just across the way.

10. The Tower of the Rising Moon

Truly the oldest structure in town, the tower (actually a three tower keep) is the center of government for both the town and the Deepingdale itself. It is the residence of the Deeping Lord Theremen Ulath, and the meeting place for the Council of the Dale.

11. The Lord's Barracks

This walled compound of armory and

barracks buildings has its own gate in the

town walls opening directly into the

caravan campground so that army forces

can charge into that ever-changing tent

city in an instant if need be. The gates and

walls of this compound are alertly

guarded all day and night through

because more fine weapons are stored

here than in all the other Dales

combined. (Swordpoint in Archendale

can boast more arms, but not better

arms.) The town watchmen, who patrol

the streets and market, operate out of the

barracks and the Swords are based here,

though at any given time half of them are

out in the Dale on patrol. Visitors are not

encouraged to nose about here, but the

admirer of fine horseflesh is in for a treat

when a mounted East Way road patrol

sallies forth: Many Swords soldiers like to

coax their horses to rear up and dance,

flinging their hooves out in fighting

strikes, as they emerge through the gates,

12. Caravan Compound

Formerly a camp for hired workers constructing

the town walls, this muddy

chaos of buildings is now the center of an

ongoing horse market and caravan camping

area. It has all the untidiness so happily

missing from the High Market, but it

also boasts frequent and heavy watch

patrols to keep things far quieter and

more law-abiding than in most such caravan

grounds.

This campground is where to go to see

caged monsters from far lands, jugglers,

contortionists, and freaks of nature (usually

these last are subtly shapechanging

dopplegangers or simply races normally

unknown in the Dales region). This area is

where the shadier business deals in Deepingdale are made. This is also where most

ordinary hireswords pitch their tents,

awaiting a patron to pay them to guard

things or kill things.

13. The Silver Shield

The mirror-bright hanging shield of this

wayhouse is the first thing travelers

approaching Highmoon from the east

see. It heralds a house of quality—,

pretentious quality. The Starnar

elven family, who run this inn, mean

well. They go for spotless cleanliness and.

expensive furnishings that scream luxury

and money. However, the service is so

haughty and slow and the rooms so cold

that the disappointing final effect is one

of being unwelcome.

The 13 sp per night per head fee does not help, either, when everything from a tall glass of chilled mintwater to stabling is extra. A careless traveler can easily run up a bill of 15 gp or so for an overnight stay with a bath, evenfeast meal, drinks, and the like.

Still, for snobs or folk with so much

money that they want to be rid of its

irksome weight, this is surely the

cleanest and most exclusive lodging in

town. The careful traveler who dines,

drinks, and stables a mount elsewhere

than the Silver Shield will enjoy a stay of

average cost at an inn that is a very clean

and pleasant but otherwise average—

and pretends to be much, much more.

14. Darian Stables

An always-calm, patient former warrior

from far Impiltur, Alamus Darian

breeds, trains, and sells horses here and

at a much larger ranch well down the

Glaemril. He is considered an expert

trainer and a fair judge of diseases and

injuries, but he never buys horses. He

sells tack and harness, trained riding

mounts, and draft animals for average

prices. He charges 1 sp per horse

examined for consultations about

equine health, but he does not travel to

look at any beast further away than as

far along the East Way as one can get

while still keeping the Tower of the Rising Moon in sight.

15. Bunstable Street

16. The Deeping Run

17. Stallion Lane

18. Acorn Lane

19. Torlar's Street

20. White Arrow Way

21. Glaemril Ford

This unremarkable ford of the Wineflow,

a tributary of the Glaemril, located just

north of the town walls is mentioned

here because of a strange magical power

it possesses that is said to be the blessing

of the Laughing Princess: From time to

time, random folk crossing the ford are

cured of all diseases and hurts—, and a

random wizard spell comes into their

minds for them to cast later without

incantation or material components.

This usually befalls non-wizards, and

some of them are momentarily beset by

yet a third property of the ford: They

levitate straight up into the air for a few

breaths.

Several priests and mages, including

the nearby Rhauntides, have investigated

the ford, but they have found no cause or

source for these odd but consistent

occurrences. Some folk of the Dale even

talk of forming a club, —or worse, a cult—

of people who have been “blessed by the

ford.” Despite queries put to various sages

and Danali’'s Index, the origin of these

manifestations remains mysterious.

22. The Harps at Highmoon