Soubar. Soubar is a small walled town with support-
ing farmsteads strung along the road to the north and
south. It is a waypoint settlement much like any other
except for the existence of the Black Abbey. This dark
stone structure once served as a monastery to Bane and
lay in ruins for many years. Now priests of Bane have
begun rebuilding it, bringing an influx of wealth and
trade, along with the many skilled masons and laborers
necessary for such a project. Some people question the
desirability of a temple to Bane in Elturgard, but those
who do are encouraged to recall the Creed. For their
part, the priests of Bane have pledged to aid in Soubar's
defense against raiding goblinoids and other threats, a
promise that gives some solace to the suspicious.
EVE RE SKA
I would be remiss if I didn't mention Evereska, but I will
be brief for I have no desire to publish all its secrets. I
shall endeavor to describe my own homeland in as unbi-
ased a way as I might, but I must warn: I am a daughter
of the Greycloak Hills, and its mists yet roil through my
soul as surely as elven blood does through my veins. Ere
I make mention of my home, though, I will discuss the
meeting-ground that is the closest most outsiders will
ever get to fair Evereska: the Halfway Inn.
THE HALFWAY INN
Evereska lies hidden in the Greycloaks. Our paths to
it are secret, cloaked by natural features and magical
guise. No significant human settlement stands within a
hundred miles west of it, and to the east lies the hungry
desert sands of Anauroch.
Strange, then, that the Halfway Inn should stand
where it does. Perhaps it is there because, as humans
put it, "It is halfway to everywhere." A small village
surrounds the titular inn, which is itself not a single
building, but a small compound that includes stables
and other outbuildings. The folk who live here year-
round are hunters, trappers, gold prospectors, gem
seekers, smallholders and their families, and it is they
who staff the inn when traders come to see what goods
can be reaped from the region.
Evereska is self-sufficient, but its citizens in their trav-
els sometimes stop at the Halfway Inn and, if traders
are present, exchange goods with them. Whenever I
return home, I make it a point to spend at least a night
at the inn to see old friends (often much older since last I
saw them) and learn what has passed since my last visit.
Elf artisans sometimes come out of the Greycloak
Hills to sell their goods here, and some of the best-
known can sometimes spark impromptu bidding wars
over the right to purchase their wares. My kin don't do
anything so pedestrian as set up booths or tables for
themselves, but instead deal with a few traders who
might be at the inn at the time. These agents then travel
out and sell the elven crafts to others, which has given
the Halfway Inn an undeserved reputation as Evereska's
trading post.
Permit me to state this in as clear a fashion as writ-
ing allows: don't venture into the mountains seeking
Evereska unless you are in the company of a citizen of
Evereska. You will not find such accompaniment easily,
for we are determined over the whole of our lives that
no outsiders may gaze upon our homes without invi-
tation from the eldest among us. If strangers need to
meet with any of us, that is the purpose the Halfway
Inn fulfills.THE REFUGE IN THE HILLS
When I rest at the end of the day and retreat into reverie,
I do not revisit the wonders of ancient ruins and majes-
tic creatures I have seen on my wanderings. At those
times, I recall the Evereska I wandered as a youth, when
I followed a haunting song or a wisp of light among the
roiling fogs of the Greycloaks, picked sweet berries in
the hollows of the hills, and swam in the cold streams
that fl.owed out of their heights.
Evereska nestles in a sunny canyon, high in the
mountains. The surrounding peaks hide it from all but
the most powerful fliers who can stand the chill and
high winds of their towering heights. Yet should such
approach Evereska, its guardians mounted on giant
eagles would ensure no ill befell the vale.
Unlike cramped and crowded human cities, Evereska
is composed of clusters of buildings throughout the
many levels of the great valley, with many a footpath
between them. These clusters are separated by clear-
ings, meadows, and small woodland groves-natural
spaces just as much a part of the city as the buildings
are, their presence essential to our way of life.
With the recent tragedy of Myth Drannor's second fall,
Evereska has seen the largest influx of new citizens in
many centuries, in the form of our Cormanthan breth-
ren. They have been warmly welcomed into Evereska,
but some of our people are concerned that so many new
residents will disrupt the peace and balance we've thus
far been able to maintain. At the same time, some of
the newcomers have reacted unpleasantly to Evereska's
reclusiveness, which they see as a form of prejudice or
cowardice, and a few of their younger folk have taken
it upon themselves to speak on such topics rather heat-
edly. I'm hopeful that the coming decades will smooth
over these differences and sooth the contentions. Evere-
ska is a beautiful place, and I see no reason to mar that
beauty with an argument among friends.