Page 100 - D&D - Player's Handbook

by the Sea Tower, where Luskan's first pirates built Luskan. The other, far more sudden, was the return of
their stronghold, while the northern one is home to the Arcane Brotherhood and its five-spired tower. A few
the Hosttower of the Arcane and the stables it shares years ago, the ruined Hosttower of the Arcane began
with Ship Kurth. regenerating its damaged stone, climbing into the sky
Fang Island has no inhabitants, and is named for its once more. Shortly thereafter, mages of the Arcane
propensity for destroying vessels swept down the Brotherhood emerged, almost immediately began
River Mirar. cleansing the Luskar ruins of undead, and fought off
Harbor Arm Island is a tall spire sheltering Whitesails a dragon menacing the city. Cheered by the citizens,
Harbor from the worst of the storms and waves that they swore to keep themselves out of the politics of the
wash in from the south. High Captains and the city at large, but the notion that
powerful wizards closely aligned with one another can
THE BRIDGES truly remain neutral is laughable to anyone familiar with
The North and South Banks are spanned by three such things.
bridges: the Upstream Span, from the South Bank Now, the Arcane Brotherhood again walks the streets
straight to the North Gate; Dalath's Span, the middle of Luskan, marked by the distinctive colors and patterns
bridge with a name none can place in legend, and of their cloaks. From a distance, these cloaks all bear
Harbor Cross, split between the Short Span that runs the same cut and silhouette, but each wizard of the
from the South Bank to Blood Island, and the Long Hosttower chooses a color or a design, and a moniker
Span that continues on to North Bank. Only Ship to match it. The leadership of the Arcane Brotherhood
members and those authorized by a High Captain may is the archmage and the four overwizards of the other
traverse Harbor Cross. spires of the Hosttower:
Dark Arch connects South Bank with Closeguard
• Cashaan the Red, Archmage Arcane
Island, and only members of Ship Kurth and the
• Zelenn the White, Overwizard of the West
Arcane Brotherhood may cross that span unchallenged.
• Jendrick the Blue, Overwizard of the South
The same is true of Sword Bridge, which crosses
• Teyva the Gray, Overwizard of the East
from Closeguard Island to Cutlass Island. Although
• Druette the Raven, Overwizard of the North
Closeguard Island is officially unguarded, it's still true
that only members of the Arcane Brotherhood or Ship Other notable members of the Brotherhood include
Kurth are expected to be there, so anyone out of place is Vaelish the Brown and Maccath the Crimson.
aggressively questioned about their presence.
ICEWIND DALE
THE ARCANE BROTHERHOOD
Go far enough north, and you will come to the moun-
In the last decade or so, two great changes have come
tains rightly called the Spine of the World. Turn west
over Luskan. The first was the plague that crippled the
and go toward the S ea of Moving Ice, and you might
gangs that had controlled the city, allowing the High
eventually come upon one of the scattered communities
Captains to reclaim the power they had long held in
of Icewind Dale. You can also travel up the ever-narrow-
ing road from Luskan called the Northern Means, and
eventually come upon the frozen tundra beyond.
Why travel so far? Well, if you're like many who've
drifted up there from the south, it is because an easier
THE SYMBOL
life doesn't suit you, you're running from something, or
OF THE ARCANE
you just don't fit in anywhere else.
BROTHERHOOD
TuN-TOWNS
Coming up the hard road from the south, the first thing
you'll see is Kelvin's Cairn, a great mountain scarred
by a crack down its southwestern face. Even in high
summer, its peak is capped in snow and ice. In the
mountain's southern shadow is Bryn Shander, the larg-
est, most populous, and most fortified of the Ten-Towns
of Icewind Dale. Ten-Towns is a grouping of communi-
ties clustered around the three lakes of the area: Maer
Dualdon, from which the Shaengarne River flows down
toward Iron master; Lac Dinneshere to the east, whose
waters are nearly always cold enough to kill; and Red-
waters, named for an old battle between rival fisherfolk
that left the waters bloody.
Ten-Towns thrives on fishing and trade, both endeav-
ors reliant on the knucklehead trout of Icewind Dale's
lakes. Without these fish, the people of Ten-Towns
would starve, but there would also be little for them to
barter or sell. The ivory-like bones of these fish are the

CHAPTER 2 I THE SWORD COAST AND THE NORTH