THE DALELANDS The Dalelands comprises several forested counties, called dales, scattered around the perimeter of the Cormanthor Forest. Although the dales share common traditions, cultural practices, and religious allegiances, the Dalelands is not a unified kingdom like Cormyr or Impiltur. The broad forest vales, separated by rolling farmlands, are interlinked by narrow trade roads through lush woods. The dales’ independent spirit and age-old alliance with the fey of Cormanthor are well known across most of Faerûn. Those dales that are not under the control of a foreign power are closely allied. Moreover, the Dales Council has consolidated its authority in the aftermath of Sembia’s overt conquests. Most areas are also on good terms with Myth Drannor, though the relationship is strained in the case of Archendale. The Dales are friendly toward Cormyr, especially High Dale, but Mistledale worries about Cormyrian expansion through Tilver’s Gap. The Dalelands is continually troubled by the unsettled situation in the Moonsea region, the drow (who plague Battledale, Mistledale, and Shadowdale), and the monstrous infestation of Daggerdale. An uneasy peace lies over Tasseldale and Featherdale, but Dalelanders fighting Sembians could provoke a wider war. And beyond the Desertsmouth Mountains looms the ominous Empire of Netheril. Archendale Militaristic Dale; Population 90,000 Known as the unfriendliest and most aggressive of the dales, Archendale is also the toughest and best defended. The vigilance of both citizens and soldiers leaves Archenfolk free to get on with the business of growing wealthy through trade—something they have always done very well. Archendale fills the long, narrow valley of Arkhen Vale. It surrounds the gorge cut by the swift, cold River Arkhen. The valley flanks the gorge and spreads out a day’s ride in all directions from the dale’s preeminent community, Archenbridge. Archenbridge (population 8,000) is the Dalelands’ most fortified city. Its center is as cramped and as bustling as a ward of a much more populous city. Wagons rumble up and down cobbled streets at all hours, and every building rises at least three floors above ground level. Tenements and noble townhouses alike feature barred windows and hidden inner holds equipped with arrow slits and nastier defenses. Though it nearly fell to Sembia’s expansionist desires, Archenbridge maintains trade with its southern neighbor—trade that fuels the city’s thriving markets, merchant houses, and far-flung concerns. As a result of the removal of the three autocratic Swords from rulership nearly forty years earlier, Archenbridge now tempers its greed for trade with a significant concern for defense. Battledale Tranquil Dale; Population 30,000 Despite its impressive name, Battledale is today a guarded but peaceful land. The dale earned its name centuries ago from a long history of bloody warfare among greater powers hailing from the Vast (now Vesperin) across the Dragon Reach to the east. Large in size, it is one of the least populous and most dispersed of the Dalelands. Visitors to Battledale see only the open, rolling farmlands along Rauthauvyr’s Road, referred to by Dalesfolk all over as “the Belt.” In summer this is marvelous country to camp in, although one should beware of brigands and the occasional Eldreth Veluuthra hunting party from the Tangled Trees. Deep within the thick woods of Battledale lies the ghost town of Essembra, a long lane of abandoned and fire-ruined cottages rotting on both sides of Rauthauvyr’s Road. Nearly sixty years ago, Essembra was the site of a fierce battle between forces from Myth Drannor and Netherese backed Sembia. Fell magic was unleashed in the ensuing conflict, prompting local Battledarrans to abandon their homes and seek refuge at the Abbey of the Sword. Daggerdale Nightmarish Dale; Population 15,000 Most of Daggerdale is rolling wooded hills broken by labyrinthine rocky valleys. It’s good grazing country for livestock, but large ranches are confined to the region around Dagger Falls. That name applies both to the steep waterfall and to a nearby frontier town (population 2,000). The Desertsmouth Mountains tower over the hills of Daggerdale. A great dwarven kingdom called Tethyamar once occupied the Desertsmouths. Several hundred years ago, it fell to orcs, ogres, evil wizards, and fiends—some of which still lurk in the peaks. Many adventuring companies based in Daggerdale seek Tethyamar ruins in the western mountains. A century ago, Daggerdale was ruled by Zhentarim agents, but that occupation is a distant memory today. Daggerdale has been increasingly troubled by humanoids raiding out of the Desertsmouth Mountains and by a resurgence of lycanthropes infesting the crags of the Dagger Hills. As a result, the frightened villagers of Dagger Falls have become isolated and cut off from the other dales. Deepingdale Welcoming Dale; Regional Population 50,000 This dale is situated along the contested route between Cormyr and Sembia. Deepingdale comprises the lands around the rivers Glaemril and Wineflow. Both of them flow swift and strong, and have abundant salmon runs that nourish forest creatures as well as the people of Highmoon (population 8,000), Deepingdale’s capital city. More than any other dale, Deepingdale is woven into and around Cormanthor. The Deepingfolk, half of which are elven or half-elven in ancestry, live in the shadow of the trees and in the lighter growth at the outskirts of the great forest. Featherdale Sembian Dale; Population 18,000 Featherdale isn’t technically a dale, since it is not a valley. Its rich farming lands fall within the sweep of the River Ashaba as it flows east toward the Sea of Fallen Stars. The lowlands of the Ashaba are a patchwork of gently rolling farms. Waist-high fieldstone walls and rather haphazard lines of evergreen planted levees guard against flooding. Featherdale is truly the pastoral farming country that many Sembians imagine the Dalelands to be. Thus, despite being under Sembian control, the Shadovar puppet state pays little mind to this stretch of road between regions of far greater significance. Unlike other Dalesfolk, Featherdarrans have little to do with Myth Drannor. This traditional separation has become even more pronounced with the influx of Sembian merchants, who collect taxes and enforce their trade policies on farmers by means of well-paid mercenaries. Harrowdale Oldest Dale; Population 44,000 Harrowdale borders Cormanthor to the west, the Dragon Reach to the east, and the Cold Field to the south. The dale is mostly farmlands, which turn to orchards closer to the sea and to the Velarswood at its center. The countryside has changed little over the last century, though the former small seaside village of Harrowdale Town has grown into the rich mercantile port of New Velar (population 9,000). The renamed city is the largest free settlement in the Dalelands (now that Scardale has fallen to Sembia) and claims the best port into the area. Goods from all across the Sea of Fallen Stars flow through New Velar on their way to and from Myth Drannor along the Harrow Ride (the old Halfaxe Trail, now a well-guarded, paved road through the old Elven Court). This robust trade accounts for the great wealth of the city. Greater Harrowdale and its capital city are ruled by its wealthiest merchants, the Council of Seven Burghers. A Burgher holds his or her position for life, and upon a death in the Council, the Harrans appoint the wealthiest non-Burgher to fill the seat. High Dale Cormyrian Dale; Population 15,000 High Dale is tucked just below the main section of the Thunder Peaks and just north of the mountainous splinter that runs along the Vast Swamp to the west. The main area of High Dale is a high plateau suitable for farming. Its people also farm the mountainsides by carving terraces into their slopes. High Dale is known for crisp air, splendid views of the Thunder Peaks, and hardy shepherds, small farmers, craftsfolk, and stonecutters. Scattered among the native dwellings stand stone watchtowers garrisoned by Cormyrian forces—High Dale gives its allegiance to Cormyr, the only force that aided the Dalelanders when Sembian militants threatened attack. High Dale’s pass has three hidden valleys branching off to its sides: Copper Gulp, the Dancing Place, and Hidden Vale. Mistledale Ruling Dale; Population 34,000 Mistledale occupies the valley along both sides of the Moonsea Ride, east of Peldan’s Helm and west of the spot where the forest closes in roughly three miles before the Standing Stone. The River Ashaba cuts across the center of the dale, crossed by the Ride at the excellent natural ford at Ashabenford (population 5,000), whose population has exploded over the last several decades. Mistledale is a widely spread dale. Its small settlements can see each other and Ashabenford across the gently rolling hills, except in the mornings and the evenings, when mist rises from the river and fills the valley. For communication across the dale, each hamlet is equipped with special bells whose peals penetrate the fog. By varying the rings, the bell-ringers carry different messages of alarm or inquiry. The sounds are understood by long-term residents of the dale but are a mystery to outsiders. Scardale Sembian Dale; Population 90,000 Scardale’s three significant geographical features are the River Ashaba, which runs through the dale from west to east; the Sea of Fallen Stars at the river’s mouth; and the great gorge named the Scar, which gives the dale its name. According to legend, this high-sided ravine is the result of an errant blow from the sword of Corellon during his struggle against Gruumsh. Sembia owns Scardale, and the center of that control is Scardale Town (population 20,000). Like Sembia, Scardale is subject to Netherese rule. Still, the dark hands of the Shadovar lie lightly here. Scardale has long been a naturally contentious and unruly place. Scarlet ships out of Thay sometimes put in at Scardale Town harbor without comment by the authorities. Shadowdale Fey Dale; Population 10,000 Shadowdale is a broad tract of rolling hills and thick forest with patches of cleared and settled land. The unwalled village of Shadowdale (population 1,000) and the looming presence of the white granite promontory called Old Skull dominate the forested area where the North Ride and the River Ashaba cross. Today the woods of Shadowdale are quite changed from centuries past. The Living Wood, as it is once again known, is peopled by all manner of benevolent fey. Led to the dale by retired Lord Azalar Falconhand, the fey congregate near the Ashaba because of the unusual concentration of geomagical energy along its banks. Just outside Shadowdale’s town limits, north of the old Silverhand farm, are a series of standing stones surrounding a copse of ancient trees. This is the Druid’s Grove, a place that visibly exudes great primal power and is particularly sacred to the fey. Shadowdale is currently ruled by Lady Addee Ulphor, who gained the Pendant of Ashaba twenty years ago when Azalar Falconhand resigned his lordship. Tarkhaldale (Lost Dale) Netherese Dale; Population 10,000 In ancient times, Tarkhaldale was a flourishing mining and farming community, trading with the dwarves of the Desertsmouth Mountains and the human realms of Asram and Hlondath. After the spread of the Great Desert of Anauroch and the destruction of the dwarven mines at Tethyamar, Tarkhaldale was abandoned, left to the orc and goblin tribes of the region. Among the few who remained aware of the land, it became known as the Lost Dale. In the Year of the Turret (1360 DR), a lizardlike race of humanoids named saurials arrived in the dale, enslaved and carried from their home dimension by the lost god Moander. The saurials broke free and enjoyed decades of peace, carving a home for themselves in the forested hills of the Lost Dale. Today, Tarkhaldale is once again peopled by human settlers. The Empire of Netheril uncovered the hidden saurial villages of Tarkhaldan and drove its inhabitants underground. Few outside Netheril know of the vale’s existence. Tasseldale Sembian Dale; Population 10,000 Tasseldale sits north and east of the Arch Wood, southwest of Featherdale, and just barely north of Sembia. The dale is largely flat, open land, perfect for farming. Yevenwood to the north provides fur, timber, and hunting for Tassadrans who can’t bear to work the loom or plow. The craftsfolk and tradesfolk of this dale are heavily taxed by Sembian merchant overlords. Long thought immune to Sembia’s imperialistic ambitions, Tasseldale learned to its woe that Sembia had no qualms about annexing it, just as it long ago overran the long-vanished Moondale (later renamed Ordulin). Unlike in Featherdale, the Tassadrans resisted the occupation, led by their charismatic leader Grand Mairshar Erich Inshiland. The locals fought bravely and blood was spilled, but in the end, Sembia (and thus Netheril) gained control. Together with Scardale, this area constitutes a restless northern borderland for Sembia, because the Dalelanders who still live here don’t care to be governed by outsiders.
