yet any guilds to restrict trade or construction, and no
nobles to be petitioned or placated. Those seeking to
create a home or start a business can simply do so, and
even those without skills or money can use their hands
and backs to provide until they can set up a place for
themselves.
Along the river, many of the merchant villas are being
claimed and restored by folk who have heard rumors of
what Neverwinter once was, and might be again. Some
have no skills to speak of, and many have no wealth,
but all come with the desire to work and to enrich them-
selves in the process. New stores and workshops open
by the tenday, and workers without training offer their
services as laborers or apprentices; those that fail move
on to other employment, taking advantage of the mul-
titude of opportunities the city now offers. Those with
no other options can get work dredging or mapping the
city's sewers for the Lord Protector, a task made neces-
sary by the cataclysm that created the Chasm.
Like any city, Neverwinter isn't without its drawbacks.
Though most folk are willing to work, some steal as a
means of making their living, and prey upon those who
have little to be taken. Food is sometimes scarce, as
inns and taverns underestimate the number of guests
they will receive, or merchants simply run out of goods
to sell. It's likely to be a few years before the city entirely
shakes itself of these ills, but for some, the uncertainties
of life in Neverwinter are what make the place exciting.
For many traders, in particular those who produce or
vend the grains and vegetables needed in the city, it is
a vast opportunity to both aid a fledgling power and get
quite rich in doing so.SILVERYMOON
Long a powerful and influential member of the Lords'
Alliance-and, for its entire existence, the Silver
Marches of Luruar-Silverymoon is what many cities
aspire to be: a quiet, peaceful realm, where many races
live together for common knowledge, celebration, and
defense. The city is peopled primarily by the "goodly"
races (humans, dwarves, gnomes, elves, halflings, and
half-elves), but no being is turned away from Silvery-
moon because of its race-though a drow or an ore
proving true to one's blood is sure to be punished in
full for transgressing against the peace of the city. I will
make no secret of my love for my home in the following
summary, but I will endeavor to be as evenhanded as I
can in describing it.
The Gem of the North is a stunning place of sweeping
curves, soaring towers, and structures built into the
living trees. To many elves, the city is a reminder of the
ancient elven cities of old; some call it the Myth Drannor
of the North, even nowadays after the restoration and
subsequent fall of that fabled city. Even where stone is
employed in construction, ivy and other living plants
grow through, over, or around most structural elements,
giving most of the city a green cast.
Despite its arboreal architecture, Silverymoon is
very much civilized, boasting schools of music and
magic, a great library, bardic instruction, and temples
or shrines to Mielikki, Oghma, Silvanus, Sune, Tymora,
and Mystra. Knowledge, both the acquisition of it and
the wisdom that comes from diligent study, is the real
treasure of Silverymoon, as much as magic or wealth
could ever be.
While it is easy and pleasing enough to get lost among
the trees of the city, anyone who comes close enough
to the River Raurin is awed by the vision of the Moon-
bridge: the great arch of silvery force that spans the
water. Even for those native to the city, it is a powerful,
moving sight, and some claim to see the goddess Lurue
(for whom the city is named) dancing above the motes of
the bridge when no one else is watching.
Given its beauty, a visit to Silverymoon is among the
most memorable experiences most non-Silvaeren might
have. Even among those that regularly fight monsters or
handle magic, Silverymoon is a place of quiet, contem-
plative beauty, splendid opportunities for learning, and
respite from the harsher realities of the North.
Folk seeking knowledge that has been lost or hidden
often come to Silverymoon seeking a means to find it,
whether by studying in the Vault of the Sages or perus-
ing the Map House for the location of a lost city or grove.
These are but two of the many buildings and houses
of learning in the Conclave of Silverymoon, the great
center of knowledge and wisdom that forms much of the
city's southern part. If a map, a book, or a spell exists
anywhere in Faerun, knowledge of it likely exists here,
even if only a mere mention in a tome or a recollection
of one of the city's great sages. Candlekeep might be the
greatest assembly of written knowledge anywhere in
the world, but in the end, that place represents accumu-
lation for its own sake. Silverymoon is where study and
wisdom are honored. If your charge is to translate an
ancient tome in a lost language, to learn the proper into-
nation of a complex song, or to better understand the
cryptic writings of a long-dead sage, there is no better
place to seek aid than Silverymoon.
It is an easy thing to come to Silverymoon seek-
ing knowledge of one subject, and find oneself so
enraptured by the study that it takes a lifetime to accom-
plish-or to realize that it was the study, rather than
the sought-after fact, that one truly desired. Although
tutors and sages in every field can be found In Silvery-
moon, rarely is interaction with one so simple as to ask
a question and be provided an answer. Learning to cast
a particular spell, to find an ancient ruin, or understand
a specific secret might involve undergoing months of