Page 68 - D&D - Player's Handbook

and the riches of trade. The Stoneshafts aren't blind to Mintarn hired themselves out to various power groups,
House Margaster's ambitions, and they know that they with no fear of retribution on Mintarn.
must bring in profits if they hope to weather the chal- Not long ago, Mintarn was awash with coin. Dagult
lenges to their home. They're very careful to avoid being Neverember invested heavily in the island, creating a
caught alone, fearing kidnap or torture at the hands ship-building company, combat-training facilities, and
of hired agents of the Margasters eager to learn the even lending his coin to the yearly tribute to Hoondarrh
secrets of their defenses. For the same reason, only the when other means fell short. The White Sails company
Stoneshaft elders know and plan all the details of those in which he invested grew to become Mintarn's premi-
defenses, so any single dwarf doesn't know everything nent supplier of mercenary ships and soldiers.
and can't reveal it. Things only improved when Waterdeep wasted its
Stoneshafts like and are interested in the full variety navy chasing Northlander pirates. Then Neverember,
of clothing and fashions, music, jokes and current news acting as Open Lord of Waterdeep, relied on his con-
and rumors, and household goods and tools that Water- nections to Mintarn to draft a new mercenary navy for
deep offers. They tend to favor maces and morningstars the city. What's more, Neverember took it on himself to
and other bludgeoning weapons, plain armor with full- raise Neverwinter from the ashes, hiring more merce-
face helms that conceal a wearer's identity and that naries of Mintarn to serve his needs as that city's Lord
have plates to protect the vital areas of a knocked-down Protector.
dwarf, and spicy foods. With funds from two of the greatest cities of the
Sword Coast filling its coffers, Mintarn knew a pros-
ISLAND KINGDOMS perity of which its people had never dreamed. It's true
that the same tide that had coin flowing into Mintarn
WHAT MAKES ME SUCH AN EXPERT ON SAILING OFF THE drew much of its young and vibrant people outward, but
Sword Coast? Well, experience, for one. Survival, for an- those they left behind were comforted by the knowledge
that their family and friends didn't leave for war, but for
other. I've been doing this longer than most of my readers
much safer duties.
have been alive, and this is the third version of this book I'm
The trouble started, not surprisingly, with Hoondarrh.
offering. I write one of these only every ha/f-centwy, and if Though Mintarn made yearly tributes to the great wyrm
you think the purchase price isn't worth the heaps of coin and was always careful to neglect not a copper, old
Hoondarrh was known to sleep for decades at a time,
you'll make by selling my work to your customers, you're a
and the folk of Mintarn took their agreement with the
fool. Don't want it? Don't buy it. dragon for granted. But something awoke him early
- Gardorra Burr, to a Waterdhavian bookseller a few years ago, and it was as if the red bastard could
smell the gold coming into the island. Although Mintarn
West of the Sword Coast lies the Sea of Swords, and had made proper tribute, Hoondarrh landed atop Castle
beyond that the Trackless Sea, a vast expanse separat- Mintarn, toppling two of its towers with his weight, and
ing Faerftn from whatever lies to the far west. Between roared a demand for more treasure, right then, and in
the shore and the unknown are a number of islands, future tributes.
some large and others so small they lack names of their Of course, the folk of Mintarn scrambled to meet the
own. These island nations trade- and war- with Faerftn impatient wyrm's demands. Even if they had all the sol-
and one another, just like any mainland nation. diers shipped away to Neverwinter and Waterdeep, what
The information below is drawn from Fifty Years could they hope to do to mighty Hoondarrh?
at Sea, Volume the Third, by Gardorra Burr, a gnome Things got worse recently when Neverember was
sailor who has spent most of her two hundred years tra- deposed as Open Lord of Waterdeep. The Lords of
versing the Sea of Swords. Waterdeep have decided to reestablish their own navy,
and they've told the soldiers of Mintarn to leave the city
MINT ARN or take a commission among the navy or the city's other
armed forces. Now in Neverwinter, Lord Neverember
I don't know what the people of Mintarn did to attract
has decided to do away with a mercenary force as well.
Beshaba's ire, but they surely have her attention. For
He says he wants to instill a sense of civic pride among
as long as I can remember, Mintarn has lived in the
the folk of Neverwitner, but many in Mintarn see it as
shadow of the dragon Hoondarrh- called the Red Rage
a betrayal. Neverember is a cunning man. I think with
of Mintarn since he dwells on an island close by- but
Hoondarrh active, the Lord Protector is simply cutting
for just as long, the people of Mintarn have been able
his losses. He didn't get the nickname Dagger just
to purchase the dragon's mercy. Now a series of events
because his first name is Dagult.
conspire to threaten their power to pay the dragon, as
Mintarn had been playing the game well, but now it
well as their other aspirations on the Sword Coast.
finds itself backed into a corner with few moves left to
Mintarn has long been a neutral ground for various
make. The coin is no longer flowing into its harbors,
forces- a place aloof from the conflicts between the city- and many of its best and brightest have decided not to
states of the coast and the rivalries of the North lander
return. There's talk of hiring adventurers to slay Hoond-
isles. Any ship- be it pirate, privateer, or merchant
arrh, but Hoondarrh's hoard must be massive. If that's
vessel- could dock at Mintarn and find a warm wel-
not enough of a draw to dragon slayers, then there's
come. Many treaties were struck on its shores, and
when peace couldn't be achieved, soldiers and ships of
CHAPTER 2 \THE SWORD COAST AND THE NORTH
66