FIELDS OF THE DEAD
The expanse known as the Field s of the De ad has
been the battleground for myriad wa rs and skirmishes
over the centuries. It is s a id that the hills that dot the
countryside her e all hold the dead , a nd there is some
measure of truth to that-many of the hillocks are
indeed barrows, raised to house the fallen dead of one
faction or nation on either side of a war. I have seen
more tha n one such barrow, e ither broken open from
the outs ide by those seeking lo s t treasures, or s omehow
broke n from within.
The Field s of the Dead is a vast, rolling pl a in of
w indswept grasses that seem s to go on to the hori-
zon in every direction. Regula r trave lers through the
a rea s peak of the "whispers of the dead," the popula r
term for the sound that results when a breeze rus tles
the grass. The wind almos t a lways blows here, and it
is n't uncommon to s mell salt in the air even dozens of
le agues inland.
Though this land is uncivilized, it is n't barre n. Eve n if
many monsters hide in the tall grass or build burrows
in th e sides of the hills, the field s r epresent a n opportu-
nity for shepherds and free folk to cla im a plot that no
one else has yet occupied. S m all, s tout farmhouses and
even a few walled e nclosures th at conta in severa l s uch
dwellings can occa sionally be found a s hor t dis ta nce
away fr om the roads and rivers tha t run through or near
the Field s.
The folk of this land are kind but wa ry, us ua lly willing
to share their wells or cisterns, and part with the goods
th ey s tore away in return for goods in tra de. I have me t
a few who s how greate r hos pita lity, letting stra ngers
ma ke camp within th e shelte r of th e low s tone walls th a t
surround their s te adings. They a re a good a nd honest
people, by and la r ge.
Away fr om the vicinity of these settlements, there are
threats apl enty. Small ba nds of nom adic humanoids
traverse these grass lands, as do monsters from out of
the Wood of Sharp Teeth to the south, the Trollclaws to
the north, or the s erpent kingdom of Naja ra to the east.
Occasionally, one of the barrows bulges a nd vomits
forth unde ad, wakened by some ins tinct known only to
them , or a patch of terrain buckles and collapses in on
itself, r evealing a sinkhole to warre ns be neath.
DRAGONSPEAR CASTLE
Though the structure is crumbled a nd perpetually
s h roude d in mis t , more tha n one of the car avans I've
guided through these lands have seen Dragons pear
Castle from a far and expressed a desire to seek s helte r
the re. As I t ell them at s uch times, it is bette r to seek
s helte r ins ide an ope ne d tomb in these lands, a nd
craw l in to huddle among the warrior dead within, tha n
to seek anything like sanctua ry from Dragons pear.
Built by an a dventure r na me d Daeros afte r he found
a wealth of gem s in a sunke n dwa rven settle m ent,
Dragons pear Castl e was erecte d a bove the very cav-
erns whe re tha t settle me nt- falle n Kanaglym- was
interre d. Two hundred year s ago, sorcerous machina-
tions brought about the fall of Daero s and the opening
of a n inferna l portal in the d epths of the castle.
Afte r th a t eve nt, Dragonspear's ruins wer e occu-
pi ed by hobgoblins a nd myria d ba nds of ba ndits, until
Wa terdeep and Baldur's Ga te sent troops to root the m
out. Discovering t ha t the porta l yet exis te d , but una bl e
to destroy it, t hey esta blis he d the Hold of Battle Lions,
a for tifie d te mple of Tempus, in a n a ttempt to preve nt
a nything from coming through. In time, though, devils
broke through new porta ls ins id e the ca s tle's walls and
overra n the defender s.
The n came the Second Dra gons pear War, more than
a century a go, during whic h a stra n ge cloa k of mist
settled over the castle, a nd the forces of Waterdeep
a nd Baldur's Gate once mor e attacked. This time, they
de feate d the d evils, leaving the castl e ruined a nd s till
cloake d in mis ts. At least one othe r time since then ,
the devils have punche d back th rough, a massing other
fell creatures to attack the nearby settle m ents (notably
Daggerford), but they have been fought off by adventur-
e r s each time. The mos t recent s tories tell of he roes
confronting Re d Wizards of Thay and othe r devilry. I
pray that this will be the la s t time such efforts are nec-
essary, but somehow, I think not.
Today, Dragons pear r ema ins crumbled a nd mis t-
shrouded. Rumors say th at the castle-seemingly
quiescent- has become home to u ndead hor rors of some
sort, but no one seems terribly inclined to investi gate
s uch claims, s o long as they don't threaten th e folk who
live nearby. S ome inte rested pa r ties out of Ba ldur's Gate
offered me more tha n a fair a mount of coin to investi-
gate the truth of these rumors, though I demurred. I
don't fancy myself an investigator or a spy, a nd I know
be tter tha n to seek out whatever foulness might have
ta ke n hold in this place.TROLLCLAWS
A tangle d la ndscape of r ough hills along the north-
ern ed ge of the Fields of the De ad, the Trollclaws ar e
home to a great ma ny of the regene r ating, bloodthirs ty
beasts. E xactly what ma kes these hills such prime
ground for trolls is unknown (and a favorite topic of
conversati on around m a ny of the campfires I've s at at
while passing through or near this place), but there's
no doubt that they dwell her e in great numbe rs.
Those traveling south to Ba ldur's Gate or north out
of the Fields of the Dead typically travel through the
Trollclaws. The Trollclaw Ford, so named for obvious
reasons, is the only place for leagues that wa gons can
safely cross the Winding Water. Importa nt as it is, the
s ite has been occupied by several forces over the years,
as ev id enced by the ruined remna nts of forts and s imilar
buildings nearby. But those cla ima nts have always fallen
eventually to prolonged assaults by trolls. My advice is to
avoid th e region entirely, but if you can't, keep a lit torch
ha ndy at all times.HARTS VALE
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I have been to Hartsvale only once, a nd found it s ur-
passin gly beautiful e ach time. Its wonde r s are wild
and unta m ed, with eve n the so-calle d civilization of
the place exuding a kind of prima l be auty that is found
nowhe re else that I know of.CHAPTER 2 I THE SWORD COAST AND THE NORTH