Thesk

Thesk is a land of shrewd but friendly merchants and able farmers. The trade route that leads to the far land of Kara-Tur allows the Theskians to see all kinds of people and interact with many cultures, making Thesk one of the more tolerant nations in Faerûn. After being decimated by the Tuigan horde, the people of Thesk are rebuilding their cities and towns, and they have even made a home for the orc army left behind by the Zhentarim.

The Theskians’ familiarity with quality and obscure goods makes them skilled at appraising items. Arcane magic in this land is rare; that fact, along with the influence of the Shadowmasters (a thieves’ guild backed by the church of Mask), makes Thesk more than just another realm of traders.

LIFE AND SOCIETY

People in the rural areas of Thesk live like common folk, tending to their soil and livestock. Unlike in other parts of Faerûn, a number of the farmers and ranchers in Thesk are full-blooded orcs. Orcs also inhabit the cities, blending in with the other merchants and workers who serve the Golden Way, the major trade route that connects Faerûn to the Utter East. Acclimatized to strange faces, languages, and goods, the people of Thesk have a long history of profiting from caravans from all parts of the world and go out of their way to welcome visitors.

MAJOR GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURES

Thesk lies between the Plateau of Thay and the Forest of Lethyr. Vast portions of the land are virtually empty—most folk live along the road from Telflamm to Two-Stars.

Ashanath: This unsettled region’s good soil is covered in thick, short grass, and small herds of wild oxen and ponies roam its entire length. It would be an excellent place for farms and could easily support one or more city-states except for the tornadoes that race across the landscape in summertime, sometimes as often as once a tenday. The tornadoes are thought to be side effects of the weathercontrolling magic the Red Wizards frequently use to benefit their crops. The plain is also home to bulettes and ankhegs.

Dragonjaw Mountains: The clans of gnomes in this mountain range are frequent visitors to the human city of Phent, which exists mainly to distribute the tools, inventions, weapons, jewelry, and quality iron ingots the gnomes produce. The mountain is populated by at least two copper dragons that engage in joke-contests with the gnomes on an annual basis.

Thesk Mountains: These mountains are bare and inhospitable, prone to small landslides and sudden dropoffs. Their few moderate veins of iron supply the country’s needs plus a small amount for export.

IMPORTANT SITES

The Golden Way is by far the most important feature of Thesk.

Nyth (Small City, 11,501): Previously under the control of Telflamm, Nyth once again considers itself part of Thesk and trades freely with its sister cities, including Telflamm. The city received its name from the will-o’-wisplike creature that used to haunt the western edge of the Forest of Lethyr. A cabal of wizards eradicated the nyth in a battle of mutual destruction. Since that time, wizards have been respected in Nyth but are thought doomed to meet a bad end.

Phsant (Large City, 21,564): This city is famous as the site of the defeat of the Tuigan horde by the armies of the western alliance. The orc soldiers from the Zhent army settled in this area and have adapted remarkably well. Some work on farms, some have purchased small farms of their own, and others work as mercenaries, laborers, and guards. The other orcs in Thesk work as miners in the Thesk Mountains, returning here to visit with their old tribemates. Some of the orcs have married local women, but the rest are still looking for wives, drawing a steady flow of half-orc women to this area in search of strong husbands of a more civilized mindset than they might find in an orc tribe.

Tammar (Large Town, 3,594): Nearly razed to the ground by the Tuigan, this city was held for a while by a large group of bandits who extorted heavy tolls from caravans passing through their land. The oligarchy paid a squadron of one hundred orcs to root out the bandits, and now the tusked warriors are hailed as heroes in this town, which has been rebuilt and resettled by its original residents.

Telflamm (Large City, 23,361): This city sits at the end of the Golden Way, profiting greatly from the trade route by controlling access to the Sea of Fallen Stars. Independent from Thesk but closely allied with its neighbor, Telflamm is ostensibly ruled by a merchant prince. Actually, the city is firmly under the control of the Shadowmasters. This thieves’ guild owns the city’s inns, festhalls, and gambling halls, in addition to extorting “protection” fees from merchants and wealthy alike.

The Shadowmasters are led by the local high priest of Mask (whose temple in the city, the House of the Master’s Shadow, is Faerûn’s largest to that deity). He knows a ritual that allows a worshiper to exchange a portion of his or her life force for the ability to shadow walk once per day. This ability has served the guild greatly in the year since the ritual’s discovery. The Shadowmasters maintain safe houses in every city in Thesk.

REGIONAL HISTORY

Founded in 937 DR by a coalition of friendly trading and agricultural cities, Thesk has long been a land of farmers profiting from the trade that passes through their country to and from the lands of Kara-Tur.

The Golden Way has allowed Theskians to become very wealthy, which led to their current form of government. The wealthiest person in a city becomes mayor, and joins the other mayors on a council that governs the nation. Sparsely populated and with few natural resources, Thesk has avoided the conquering gaze of the Red Wizards and is instead a reliable trade partner for food and exotic goods brought in on the Golden Way. Thesk suffered greatly from the attacks of the Tuigan horde, because the nomads used the welltrod road to attack several cities in quick succession.

Although the horde was defeated, Thesk was disrupted for years by the presence of refugees of the Tuigan attacks. The thousand orc soldiers left behind by the Zhentarim added to their paranoia, for orcs had not been seen in that region for hundreds of years, and some considered them demons. The Shadowmasters of Telflamm bribed and coerced the orcs to resettle away from their city. After being rebuffed by the druids of the Forest of Lethyr, the orcs settled peacefully in and around Phsant, where the locals eventually grew to accept them, particularly in light of their actions in helping defeat the Tuigan horde a few miles from that city.

Capital: none

Population: 855,360 (humans 85%, gnomes 8%, orcs 6%)

Government: Oligarchy Religions: Chauntea, Mask, Shaundakul, Waukeen

Imports: Gold, horses, trade goods

Exports: Food, gnome goods, iron, Kara-Turan goods

Alignment: N, NG, CG