the nobles of Waterdeep a lways try to ma inta in at least a
veneer of civility in their s qua bbles.
Although they seldom agree on much, one matter
that all the noble houses see the same way is th at their
status should not be tainted by newcome rs, and cer-
tainly not by anyone so brightcoin as to purchase one's
way to a noble title. When during Lord Neve re mbe r 's
tenure it became legal for impove ri shed houses to sell
their titles, a nd thus allow others to become noble,
m a ny leaders of the old -blood houses were apoplectic,
partic ul arly afte r some purchasers lost all the ir coin a nd
sold the ir titles again w ithin a season or two. Ope n Lord
Laer a l Silverha nd has, to th e relief of those le aders ,
seen the folly of this decis ion, and gathered enough s up-
port a mong the Lords of Waterdeep to not only reve rse
it, but to restore titles a nd la nds to noble families who
lost them th rough folly. T he cha nge has won her much
s upport am ong the nobles. Now Zhe nts and Thayans
a nd Ba lduria n mer cha nts have coin enough to buy prop-
e rty within th e city, if th ey choose, but that is no re ason
to award them noble titles a nd legal ri ghts , ins tead of
m erely a ma ns ion, for doin g so.
YARTAR
Situa ted in th e fork where the Rivers Surbrin a nd Des-
sarin join near the Evermoor Way, Yarta r is a fortified
town th at, were it not for its own petty, interna l s quab-
bl es, m ight wield more influence a mong its fellows
in the North. Curre ntly, it is most r em arkable for its
barge-building operation (and tha t industry's impor-
tance to th e comme rce of other settle ments) a nd its
annual fairs.
Each summer, except in years when S hi eldmeet
occurs, a vast Hiring Fair is held in Yarta r, during which
all s orts of undesirable folk gathe r north of th e town
looking for work as guards, miners, farmha nds, guides,
or other unskilled laborer s. For the most pa rt, those who
attend this fair a re brutes, ba ndits, freeholders whose
la nds can no longer s ustain them , or Uthgardt who wish
to be a mong "civilized" folk for a short time- but occa-
sionally, a strong hand or a skilled wa rrior can be culled
from the bunch. While this event is going on, Ya rta r is
overrun with vis itors it would rather not welcome, who
steal goods, sell wa res in the street (sometimes those
they have jus t stolen), meet unscrupulous contacts to
ha nd off coin , information, or purloined items, a nd
engage in the occasional s pell duel. It's quite common
for a new adventuring compa ny to come into being at
one of these fairs, when those who sta nd out from the
crowd because they have legitimate s kills to sell gravitate
towa rd one anothe r a nd decide to form a group.
In those years whe n S hi eldmeet falls, the town is
ins tead treated to a great festival on tha t day, s ponsored
mainly by the local t emple to Tymora, th e Happy Hall of
For tuitous Ha ppens ta nce. T he Shieldmeet festiva l fea-
tures a numbe r of games of chance, s kill, and bravery,
from dice a nd darts, to drunken running, to wrestling
a nd other physical contests. Occasionally, the Tymoran
priests use this festiva l to id entify adventurers whom
th e goddess has called to a pa rticula r task, selected
for a blessing, or otherwise m arke d for some undeter-
mined destiny.Whethe r during the Hiring Fair or the Shie ldmeet f es-
tiva l, each summe r at least one adventuring ba nd seems
to get its sta rt in Yartar. Mos t fall into obscurity, but the
S miling Company- th e still-active portion of a larger
band of warrior s who gathered in Ya rta r nearly a decade
ago-still enjoys moderate s uccess, a nd makes annua l
contributions to the Happy Hall.
Yarta r is ruled by a Waterba ron who is electe d for life.
The curre nt Waterba ron is Nestra Ruthiol, a hot-tem-
per ed woma n w ho is wickedl y calculating; though s he
is free with her words and he r ins ults , s he seldom takes
acti on agains t ri val s unless s he is sure such can be done
to the most efficiently pa inful effe ct. During my las t visit
to Yarta r, accus ations arose against the Waterbaron tha t
s he ha d murdered a ma n, Ka idrod P a lyr, who was late r
revealed to have been her l over. His body was found in
the river, with the soake d remna nt of what appeared to
be Nestra Ruthiol's favori te cloak. That s he loudly and
publicly argue d with P a lyr 's wife, Tiarshe, s hortly before
the accusations came to light did little to help he r r e p-
utation, or the impression of he r innocence. Whe n s he
was finally cleare d of th e cha rges, Waterbaron Ruthiol
ma de it clear that s he didn't wis h to s peak of the matte r
again , and she would e nsure tha t a nyone who brought it
up in official dealings would be quite unhappy with the
results. Though the re are whis pe rs, it has not been men-
tioned in her pre s ence s in ce. Some bla me the murder
on the Ha nd of Yarta r, t he local thieves' guild, but I
believe tha t Ka idrod was killed, and the Wa terba ron
was implicated , in orde r to free up th e post for one of
her riva ls within th e city.
It is conflicts a nd schemes s uch as this that keep
Ya r ta r fr om gaining prominence in the North. If th e
town can overcome its inte rna l problem s, ta ke advan-
tage of what its fellows in the Lords' Alli a nce can offer,
a nd find a way to re ap greate r profit from its position
along maj or trade routes- whe re it stands as the gate-
way to all th e settl e me nts of th e northeast- Ya rta r
might soon grow in s ize, wealth, and influe nce. Physical
growth would require clearing terra in for furthe r set-
tl eme nt a nd building anothe r e nc ircling wall to protect
s ettle rs - and additional guards hired to prote ct those
who do the work.
With its location near two great rivers and its prox-
imity to a third (the La ughingflow, forming a trio the- ?='~,._..,....,,,,,..., ____ CHAPTER 2 I ~~ THE SWORD COAST AND THE NORTH