Turmish

Turmish lies in the northwest of the Vilhon Reach. It is a rich, fertile, farming land of villages and few cities—peaceful, civilized, and well managed. Turmish features rolling fields divided by hedges or dense rows of trees, with ample room for wild creatures. The mountains to the west harbor orcs, kobolds, and other monsters, but few raid Turmish thanks to well-organized mercenary bands that serve as local militias.

Turmish’s natives have an excellent reputation as fair traders, welcome throughout the Inner Sea. The area is remarkably popular with adventurers despite its lack of monsters. Buried treasure abounds (at least according to bards’ tales), and the area offers plenty of ruins and wild lands to explore.

LIFE AND SOCIETY

The people of Turmish are tall, mahogany-skinned, and comely. The men of the trading class wear long beards with the ends carefully squared off. The phrase “square as a Turmian beard” signifies anything well or carefully done.

In addition to its farms, Turmish is known for its ornate and finely crafted armor. This armor is embellished with embossing, spires, and raised, fluted curves, mixing elven and human styles. It is sometimes hard to know which is more important to a Turmian fighter, his armor or his beard.

The Turmians have a variety of customs, both quaint and bizarre. Among the best known is the tradition of the guest dish. Anyone visiting a Turmian home, even on business, is expected to present a fine dish of food. Snails in an ornate bowl made from a skull are a perennial favorite.

MAJOR GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURES

The Orsraun Mountains form Turmish’s western border. The Aphrunn Mountains lie to the south and the Sea of Fallen Stars to the north.

Mountains of the Alaoreum: These northernmost peaks of the Orsraun Mountains nestle against the Gulthmere Forest. Treefall Pass separates them from the rest of the Orsraun. The range includes Mount Andrus, a semiactive volcano sacred to worshipers of Talos, who are rumored to be in league with an evil being or community dwelling in the heart of the volcano. The Alaoreum also holds Ironfang Deep, a great dwarven delving that produces highquality iron ore, gems, and gold. Ironfang Deep supplies most of Turmish’s iron.

Aphrunn Mountains: These mountains have long served as a shield of stone between Turmish and the towns and city-states than have sprung up on the shores of the Reach. Travelers are familiar with Mount Kolimnis, also called Eversmoke for its volcanic activity. Over a decade ago, the mountain threatened to destroy the city of Gildenglade, but the eruption subsided before inflicting any damage.

Orsraun Mountains: The largest, tallest mountain range south of the Spine of the World is a well-known abode for all sorts of evil creatures, including kobolds, orcs, goblinoids, and red dragons. It is a wild place, untouched by the civilized lands of Turmish.

IMPORTANT SITES

Turmish is dotted with hundreds of agricultural communities too small to appear on most maps, all interconnected with winding country lanes so tangled that they would drive an invader mad. Its few large cities are the jewels of the country.

Alaghôn (Metropolis, 88,704): Nearly the entire capital of Turmish is built of stone. A great fire in 352 DR razed the city, and laws have since required that all new construction must be stone or brick. Older buildings have been expanded and remodeled numerous times, and have several layers of old walls behind facades. This construction has created thousands of cubbyholes and hiding places in the city. Games of hide-and-seek are popular among Alaghôn’s children.

A freely elected council governs Turmish’s ancient capital. Each citizen, regardless of race and social position, has a single vote. The chief speaker is chosen from the ranks of this Free Council. The duties of this chief speaker are few, the most dramatic being to maintain local and mercenary units for defense from pirates and other nations. The rest of the country is organized along similar lines.

Gildenglade (Metropolis, 48,384): This city is the second largest in Turmish, home to dwarves, elves, and half-elves. Its economy is based on woodcutting, woodworking, and mining. The elves rule the community and handle all negotiations with the Emerald Enclave. The elves are skilled enough in forestry and preservation that they probably have the best rapport with the Enclave of any city in the Reach. The dwarf population concentrates on mining the unusually pure veins of gold that honeycomb the earth below Gildenglade.

Nonthal (Large City, 12,902): The smell of manure mixed with the odor of slaughterhouses and tanneries provides an unforgettable olfactory experience for visitors to this town. Still, the lure of gold draws the curious to its streets and inns. Nonthal was named for a wizard who set up shop here over a century ago. He built a cottage behind a local inn, erected signs warning people to leave him alone, then disappeared. His house was ransacked after his presumed death, and directions were found to a place called Nonthal’s Hold, a ruin said to hold a portal or series of portals to distant locales.

REGIONAL HISTORY

The origins of Turmish go back to the founding of Alaghôn in –37 DR. Alaghôn eventually became the capital of a powerful confederation of warlike, mercantile city-states similar to Chondath in its heyday. In 142 DR, the Lord of Alaghôn, Dempster Turmish, expanded his control to include all the territory Turmish encompasses today. Dempster Turmish’s efforts to expand his borders to include the city-state of Hlondeth and beyond never quite came to fruition, and by the time of his death in 150 DR, Hlondeth remained free.

After Dempster’s death, Turmish had no strong leader for over a century. Political control ebbed back and forth between the various nobles and merchant houses. Turmish’s commercial power remained undimmed during this period, however, because the Turmians never let their political ambitions get in the way of business. By 1242 DR, control of Turmish passed into the claws of the blue dragon Anaglathos, who insinuated himself into the capital and staged a coup. The dragon ruled as a despot for five years, nearly driving the country into ruin.

The paladin Corwin Freas slew Anaglathos and liberated Turmish in 1247 DR. Uncomfortable with ruling, Corwin abdicated the following year after creating the republic that rules Turmish today. Corwin was assassinated in a coup attempt in 1254 DR, but the coup failed and the republic stood.

Turmish remains peaceful but wary today. Its ships patrol the Vilhon Reach, keeping trade routes open, and its mercenary militia keeps the country’s borders secure. Turmish worries about Chondath’s rising power, but it has not offered Sespech assistance for fear of provoking Chondath.

Capital: Alaghôn

Population: 1,693,440 (humans 78%, dwarves 9%, halflings 5%, elves 3%, gnomes 2%, half-elves 1%, half-orcs 1%)

Government: Republic

Religions: Chauntea, Eldath, Helm, Lliira, Loviatar, Nobanion, Silvanus, Selûne, Tempus, Tyr

Imports: Luxury goods, metal

Exports: Glass, grain, lumber, mercenaries, salt

Alignments: N, LN, LG