Silver Marches

Under Construction - Last updated 10/12/2003.

Haunted Halls

Map to the Haunted Halls (look for skull in Nether Mountains near the lower left corner, NE of Silverymoon)

Silverymoon

The city of Silverymoon is a beautiful place of ancient trees and soaring towers, with curving lines in its stonework and garden plantings adorning every nook and balcony. Aerial steeds carry riders on high, magic and learning are revered, music and laughter are heard often in the streets, and the city contains fascinating shops brim-full of maps, books, minor magic items, and beautiful things.

Even more so than Waterdeep, SIlverymoon is built on the spirit of cooperation between the races. Humans, elves, and dwarves all maintain dwellings in the same area of the city instead of dividing into separate wards. A human home might be built around the base of a tree, with elves using the tree above as part of the walkway to their central tree home, and dwarves caverns beneath the surface.

Silverymoon is considered the foremost center of learning and culture in the North. It is noted for its musicians, its cobblers, its sculptors, and its stonemasons - as well as the mages, who are gathered here in greater numbers than in any other city of the Sword Coast lands except Waterdeep. Their might alone keeps the ArchBrotherhood of Luskan and other evils of the North at bay - were those mages to vanish tomorrow, the civilized North might well be swept away in blood and ruin.

Silverymoon boasts a conservatory of music, a great library, parks, castlelike residences of many noble folk, and temples and shrines to such deities as Helm, Lathander, Mielikki, Milil, Mystra, Oghma, Selûne, Silvanus, Sune, Tymora, and the dwarven and elven deities. Perhaps the most famous structure is the University of Silverymoon, a school of magic comprised of several formerly separate colleges. Member schools include The Lady's College (for wizardry and the history of magic), Miresk's School of Thaumaturgy, Arkhen's Invocatorium (serving sorcerers), and Focluchan, a legendary bard's college that has reopened (having taken a century off after having been overrun by orcs). Also known as the Conclave, the University also includes related organizations such as Everdusk Hall, The Map House, Utrumm's Music Conservatory, and the Vault of the Sages.

The city's army, the Knights in SIlver, numbers over five hundred and patrols the city constantly. Harper scouts and mages assist them, and when they must turn back orc hordes, awesome mage-might gathers to fight with them. SIlverymoon is also protected by a number of wards that detect the presence of evil beings and the use of magic in certain areas. Even long-time Silveraen know little about the properties of the permanent magical field that augments some magic, turns other spells wild, and negates still others, protecting the city east of its great open market. Certain areas in the palace (a place heavily guarded at all times by mages of the elite Spellgard) have an Inner Ward that requires possession of a token to allow entry at all.

The city's peace and goodwill is due to the influence of powerful local mages and the Harpers. Silverymoon's folk feel safe - and that's due to the vigilance of the mages and agents trained and established by Alustriel.

In 1369 DR, the Lady Alustriel stepped down as High Mage, yielding up the SIlver Throne to Taern "Thunderspell" Hornblade. Alustriel is the High Lady, or Speaker, of the Silver Marches and leads the league councils.

- Quoted or paraphrased from the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting.

Places of Interest

Map of Silverymoon (from SIlver Marches)
Map of SIlverymoon and environs (2E version from the Forgotten Realms Atlas)

1. The Bright Blade Brandished: Located in Northbank, on Sunset Lane in the western angle of the Wallrun. A friendly alehouse with two floors of rustic charm, all are welcome here. Mages looking to pick up some cash receive 1 sp per mage hand spell cast to deliver tankards to waiting customers.
2. The Moorgate: Gate from Northbank to the west.
3. The Golden Oak: Located in Northbank on Dancer's Mask Lane, northeast of Rallowglass Ride. This inn features cozy, rustic rooms, dim flagstone passages, fragrant herbs, and windowbox ferns, all intended to remind the guest of sleeping outdoors in a safe, pleasant corner of the woods. Meeting rooms are available upstairs, and the taproom is downstairs.; All of the rooms open off a central atrium dominated by a huge oak that rises to the open sky, lanterns hanging from its branches to hover over tables. The inn is dedicated to the goddesss Shialla, and is favored by rangers, elves, and others that appreciate peace and quiet. Prices are stiff, but service is superb.
4. The Hammer and the Helm: Found on Highaxe Lane in Northbank, this cheerful barn of dwarven revelry also welcomes trusted sword companions. Roast fowl wings provide missiles when jests go bad, amid oceans of stout Strongbeard cider.
5. A Handful of Stars: Located in Northbank, on Shadowstars Lane, this shop is staffed by Selûnite clergy and followers. Dimly lit and crammed, it is dominated by a glowing star chart on the ceiling. This shop sells navigational aids of all kinds, from Sembian astrolabes to timed-burning candles, fathom lines, surveying chains, maps, nautical charts, sunrods, wands of light, and lanterns of all sorts.
6. Helmer's Wall: In Northbank, bridging Bowshot Ride at its meeting with the Old Wall, stands this former city gatehouse built of massive beams and rough stone walls. Helmer's Wall boasts a superb wine cellar, and is extremely popular with students of the various colleges. Entertainment of an evening is often provided by these students, both scholarly and magical, who haunt the bare beams of the Wall alight with hopes and dreams and pompously high-minded speeches.
7. Wayward House: Found in the northwest corner of the meeting of Bowshot Ride and the Ghostwalk, this inn was built on the former site of the Inn of the Wayward Sages, a local landmark. That building was destroyed by fire and the Wayward House built - a place less shabby and seedy than its predecessor, and the new popular place to stay for visitors not concerned with trumpeting their wealth or importance.
8. The Stagstand: Located in Northbank, on the north side of the Old Wall nine doors west of the Market. This tavern features antlers everywhere and bright battle banners lit by lanterns, and is a dining house and dance hall rather than a simple taproom. It serves venison, strange-tasting eel pie, crusty cheese-baked river crab, an assortment of spiced breads, hearty darksmoked rothé sausage, and the famous nut cheese of Silverymoon. Late in the evening the large dance floor comes alive with revelry.
9. Hunter's Gate: Northernmost gate of SIlverymoon.
10. The House Invincible: This temple to Helm is a stout, no-nonsense Keep built for battle.
11. The House of the Harp: Once known as the famed Focluchan bardic college, the school stood empty for over a century. It has just reopened, and there are plans to restore its name once the Master Bard feels it will live up to its predecessor's legend. At the moment it is little more than a live-in revel for musicians, orators, minstrels and bards; the Master Bard hopes that the sharing of songs and tales will enrich the attendees and yield him a faculty. Many Hapers are known to mingle with the "merry folk of the House."
12. Rhyester's Matins: Named for the blind prophet who founded it in 717 DR, this temple to Lathander features an altar lit by rainbows every dawn, when the sun's rays lance through the stained-glass windows in the easter face of the temple.
13. The High Palace: A soaring, spired castle of thick stone clad in white marble, the High Palace lies near the heart of the city. The merlons of its crenellated battlements are carved in the likeness of unicorn heads, and inside the palace features lofty ceilings, gleaming marble floors, hanging plants, tapestries, and white relief-carved walls showing scenes of flowers, vines, ferns, and trees. The Palace also features four tall towers - the two north towers house the armory and barracks of the High Guard, with holding cells beneath. The southernmost, Bright Lady Tower, was formerly Alustriel's personal residence and now belongs to the High Mage Taern. The central tower, Moonshield, houses the Chambers of State on its lower floors and residences for high officials of the Palace in the upper stories.
14. Temple of Silver Stars: A beautiful structure of curving stone inset with many crystal-and-silver star windows, this temple to Selûne is shaped like a single-spired tiara, its spire to the north and its roofline forming a crescent moon when seen from the streets around.
15. Halls of Inspiration: A magnificent, rectangular four-towered temple devoted to Oghma and Milil, its spires hold libraries, study rooms, and prayer chambers, with silver temple bells above and guest apartments for visiting bards and worshipers beneath. An open chapel with three levels of balconies join the towers. The music here is the best in the north, and the clergy is dominated by skilled bards and loremasters.
16. Everdusk Hall: An elven temple, its upper floors contain rooms of genealogy, poetry, records, and philosophy of elves.
17. The Market: A large, open area well-shaded and decorated by trees and plantings, the Market has some permanent and semi-permanent stalls for vendors, but the majority of the space is filled by the awnings and carts of those who bring their wares here on Market Day.
18. The Star Court: A two-story stone building that looks like a gigantic, many-spired king's crown set on the ground, the Star Court houses many of the city's bureauocracies and officials. The most important offices found here are the Halls of Judgement, Silverymoon's criminal courts; the Rolls, which holds registration records for permits, land deeds, maps, geneaologies of current citizens, and other items; and the Halls of Converse, where citizens can complain, debate civic matters, and petition officials for changes.
19. Sundabar Gate: Eastern gate of Silverymoon, out of Northbank.
20. The Map House: A soaring stone keep previously owned by the High Heralds, this building once housed the Vault of the Sages, and remains a storehouse of maps, heraldry, and geneaologies for the North and the Heartlands. The general public, guided by herald-in-training and loremasters, may browse the maps and records for a fee, though materials may not be removed, and copies are obtained only by application to the Master of the House.; The Master, the famous sage Esklindrar, lives to acquire knowledge and has become the greatest known expert on Sword Coast human writings outside Candlekeep. He has been known to befriend adventuring groups and give them hints on where treasure may lie, in return for their reports on what they found and a copy of any writings they gain.
21. The Shining Scroll: The crumbling stone steps of this long, narrow shop on Brightbuckler Street in Northbank lead up to a royal blue circular wooden door painted with many complex (and meaningless) runelike silver symbols. Inside is a stool for patrons to wait on, a small space in which they can stand or pace, and a counter with shelves of potions and scrolls.; Xara Tantlor, the proprietress, is a wizard who casts spells for a fee as well as selling potions and scrolls. When she is behind the counter, her raven familiar perches on odd spots in and around the shop and keeps a wary eye on customers.
22. The Dancing Goat: Located in Northbank on the east side of the Moonway just north of the Moonbridge, the Goat is renowned for racous revelry at all hours. It is the site of endless, enthusiastic, dancing and flirting, with a remarkable cellar boasting hundreds of vintages. It sometimes attracts the attention of pickpockets and other professionals.
23. The Moonbridge: The Moonbridge rises in a gentle arc to a mid-span height of 60 feet above the River Rauvin, and is a smooth, railless span of silver force 14 feet wide and 2 feet thick. It can be taken down (receding to each bank) to permit the passage of ships or prohibit its crossing.
24. Utrumm's Music Conservatory: Located in a large, rather nondescript building in Southbank, this archive of written music and "song scrolls" also houses over forty sound-shielded practice rooms where musicians can sing and play. Many practice alone, but teaching is available for stiff fees from a faculty of Masters that enjoys a good reputation. Anyone can rent a practice room, but must agree to allow Masters and students to listen from the balconies in every chamber. Paid admission performances are prohibited, but free recitals may be given in one of the Halls of Hearing.
25. Blacklar Gate: Southwestern gate, out of Southbank.
26. Sorlar's Smiling Satyr: Located in Southbank, on Auchtareen Lane, this relatively new, bright maze of stained glass windows, booths, curtains, and odd stairs makes navigation difficult for the tipsy. This establishment caters to females and dignified or timid males escorting them. The proprietor is a sorcerer of some skill who does not tolerate brawling.
27. The Lady's College: The Lady's College trains wizards in the history of magic as well as in spellcraft. The tuition is steep, but students may stay in the college's rambling housing-halls and eat in the college's refectory. The food, and particularly the wine, are surprisingly good, and accompanied by dance, music, literary readings, or displays of entertaining illusions.; Many of the Masters of Art are crusty or strange-minded, but the college teaches tolerance, cooperation, and an appreciation for differing philosophies and approaches to magic. The number of students is limited, and there is an ever-lengthening waiting list to get in.
28. Arkhen's Invocatorium: A school of sorcery - one of the few in Faerûn - run by Arkhen the Icy. Its furnishings are almost all animated constructs under the will of Master Arkhen.
29. Mulgate: Southeastern gate, out of Southbank.
30. The Vault of the Sages: This massive structure has the shape of a horseshoe five floors high, with five vast, labyrinthine dungeon levels beneath. If Candlekeep is the greatest storehouse of written lore in Faerûn, the Vault is its greatest assembly of knowledge, in the form of a staff of expert sages and its remarkable library.; The Vault is maintained and guarded by priests of Deneir; they reshelve materials and fetch tomes from the library levels to examination rooms in the Forehall for a fee of 5gp per book. Books dealing with magic are 10gp to view, and spellbooks are not available. No personal copying of maps or manuscripts is allowed, and even carrying in writing materials is forbidden, although Vault scribes will write down a reader's brief verbal notes as part of the reading fee. Copies can be ordered at the cost of 50gp per map or 2gp per page of text.; The Keeper may offer to purchase valuable manuscripts and literary fragments, or if the vendor refuses to sell, requests the chance to copy them for a lesser price. During the time the copying is done, the vendor is offered free room and board in luxurious guest apartments.; Most patrons to the Vault visit the open book (no reading fee) galleries on the ground floor and the floor above it. Broadsheets are posted here with news of Faerûn, and multiple copies of reference works such as Delblood's Atlas of Faerûn, Revendro's Roll of the Passing Years, and Gaurdront's Guide to Monstrous Beasts are available.; Other floors of the Vault contain workrooms for the Vault's scribes, illuminators, and bookbinders; study rooms for topics of learning (such as magic, history, alchemy, zoology, and geography); and offices where sages may be consulted.
31. Mielikki's Glade: An open-air glade dedicated to Mielikki, this place consists of a ring of towering shadowtops surrounding ferns and berry bushes that give way to a central floor of lush moss.
32. Silverguard Isle: Headquarters of the Knights of SIlver and the Spellgard.
33. Optym's Blade: A superb arms shop located in Northbank on Many Cats Lane, Optym's carries many masterwork weapons, especially axes of all sorts. The proprieter is an expert knife-thrower and stocks a huge selection of throwing knives and daggers, and many targets hang in all corners of the shop, for practice.

- Information quoted or paraphrased from SIlver Marches.

Additional Places of Interest

100. Temple of Mystra: A .
101. The Lucky Coin: "Lucky" Leathertoes (halfling), proprietor. The Coin is a tavern and gambling hall in the [location] section of SIlverymoon. It is an "honest" place - the house takes a cut, though not an unreasonable one, and the games are not rigged any more than is customary. "Lucky" is known as a kindhearted soul who keeps a couple of rooms available for those regular customers down on their luck after losing at the tables.
102. Sparkling Edge Gems and Jewelry: Oscar Kerlin, proprietor.
103. Private home: Taliesin the Silent: A .