The Spawnkeeper Hanged
A half century ago, Lady Nalestra Thawnfaer was known throughout southeastern Cormyr for her beauty and grace and her willingness to treat all equally, and was courted by the sons of old blood noble families looking to cement their influence in the eastern part of the realm.
Her visit to Hultail was seen as an effort to further increase her profile, and thus her marriage prospects.
Nalestra’s beauty was not lost on the Master of Spawnhall[1] as he led her and her entourage on a tour of Spawnhall’s cavernous interior. Delighted at the sight of the Deepspawn kept within, Nalestra asked to be present when it “birthed” more of the fish that to this day feed so many in Suzail and wider Cormyr. The Master agreed and arranged for a private evening viewing.
That night the Master plunged Lady Nalestra head first into the water, bade the deepspawn to consume her and to produce a duplicate of the noblewoman. This it did and the Master politely sent “Nalestra” on her way from Spawnhall.[2]
In the days that followed the Master had more duplicates made. These he smuggled to an isolated homestead somewhere outside of Hultail where he lived alone, and put them to use as servants, pleasure slaves, cooks, gardeners and even guards patrolling the grounds.
The Master was eventually found out, but not until over thirty copies had been made. A mob of locals, led by the patriarch of the Thawnfaers, abducted the Master of Spawnhall before the Purple Dragons could apprehend him. A gallows was built on the docks where the mob had him surrounded, and the Master hanged.
News of the events traveled throughout Cormyr, bringing with it the attention of the crown, a doubled force of Purple Dragons, war wizards and angry nobles, as well as curious individuals come to see what all the fuss was about. Despite repeated inquiries (many layered with coin), the locals, the Purple Dragons, the war wizards and city officials all refused to discuss the location of the Master’s home with anyone.[3]
The gallows were never taken down[4] and the people of Hultail took to discussing in its shadow what they knew of the Master of Spawnhall, many wondering aloud who else might be a copy.[5] In the half century that followed the gallows served as a rallying point for dockhands, laborers and locals to share news of the day’s events and to discuss rumors and happenings in wider Cormyr. Someone came up with the idea to sell simple food and drink to all those gathered, and in time the dock was reinforced and a restaurant constructed. It was called the Spawnkeeper Hanged (or simply "the Hanged" in local parlance).
Inside the Hanged, from behind the long bar whose seats are filled every night with chattering locals, a shuttered window opens out to the gallows and a view of the Thunderflow where it joins with the eastern arm of the Wyvernwater. A bell with a rope attached runs from the end of the gallows through the window, and whenever good news or a reason to celebrate is heard, the barkeep gives the rope a tug.
In the years since, the Spawnkeeper Hanged has swallowed a nearby warehouse, becoming an inn and rooming house in the process. Its kitchens (already famous for their provender) were expanded as well. Though not nearly as massive as the Trindar Shipyards, by night the Hanged is a bright beacon whose lights can be seen across the water from the rise of hills that stand along the northern banks of the Thunderflow, where the overgrown ruins of the Master's home is thought to stand.
[1] The name of the Master of Spawnhall has been lost to time. Spawnhall is mentioned in the entry for Hultail in Volo's Guide to Cormyr, page 189.
[2] What, exactly, happened to the spawnkeeper’s corpse is a mystery. Most believe the rope was cut and his body was allowed to fall in the water. Others say the body was left hanging for days, until the smell was enough to force its removal and burial in an unmarked grave. One rumor has it the corpse of the spawnkeeper was fed to his pet Deepspawn.
[3] Rumor filled in the gaps, of course, and now a dozen stories, each revealing the "true" location, number of traps, general layout and the treasures to be found within the Master's home, can be heard for the price of asking from anyone in Hultail old enough to speak and listen.
[4] The first copy of Nalestra proved an unsuitable bride to the many suitors who courted her. Once news of the discovery of her murder spread and the flower of House Thawnfaer deemed a fake, the family were shunned by their noble peers and fell on hard times. In the years that passed the copies of Nalestra all died off, and each was buried one right next to the other at Thawngard, home of the now reclusive House Thawnfaer. (See Dungeon #194, page 2.)
[5] Astute individuals questioned whether the crown would allow the deepspawn inside Spawnhall to live. It's widely believed the crown chose economic prosperity over justice, because the remaining spawnkeepers, under the watchful eye of a contingent of twelve veteran Wizards of War, coaxed the deepspawn under their control into producing every last form it had ever consumed, a process that took almost three months. The results of that effort, both physical and written, were largely hidden away. A record of the effort is kept with other Dark Documents by the Wizards of War.
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