Traveler's Guide to Icewind Dale

The Traveler's Guide to Icewind Dale was a book dedicated to the history of the 13 and early 14 century DR Icewind Dale.

Contents
The guide opened up with a general overview of the region between the Spine of the World and the Reghed Glacier. The author claimed that the name of the region came from the great winter storms that descended on the dale with all their fierce power, strong enough to destroy buildings and blow away anything not nailed down. The weather was not the only danger in Icewind Dale. The region was home to roaming tundra yetis, frost giants, burrowing polar worms, and winter wolves.

As of the 13 and early 14 century DR, Icewind Dale had a reputation that only insane travelers braved the north, and it was no place for civilized folk. However, that attitude began to change as the region saw settlers, explorers, rogues, and those looking to start a new life away from the southern nations. The relative young towns of Easthaven and Lonelywood saw troubles that attracted historians, treasure hunters, and adventurers, many of whom never returned from their expeditions to the north.

Easthaven and Lonelywood were part of the Ten-Towns, the outposts of civilizations that were described in the guide's next section. The Ten-Towns were unassuming frontier fishing settlements founded around the three great lakes of Maer Dualdon, Lac Dinneshere, and Redwaters. All three were home to the knucklehead trout, a unique species of fish not found anywhere else in the Realms. The Traveler's Guide to Icewind Dale also had a chapter dedicated to the said knucklehead trout, the source of food and scrimshaw in the Ten-Towns. Both resources fueled trade between southern Faerûn and Icewind Dale. Knucklehead ivory rivaled ivory from the faraway Chult, and figurines and other works of art carved out of trout skulls were in high demand as far south as the city of Baldur's Gate.

The book continued the guide talking about the walled town of Bryn Shander, the heart of the Ten-Towns. The settlement was the main travel destination for visitors to the dale. From Bryn Shander, travelers could pass along a narrow trail called the Eastway towards the towns of Caer-Dineval, Caer-Konig, and Easthaven. The guide noted the recent history of Easthaven and its role in a conflict of the when the town became encased in ice under a siege by a powerful fiend.

Next, the guide talked about the lake of Redwaters and its bloody history, as well as the towns of Good Mead and Dougan's Hold. Finally, the guide moved on to the largest of the lakes – Maer Dualdon, and towns of Termalaine, Targos, Bremen, and Lonelywood. Termalaine was recommended to visitors for its beauty, carefully planted trees, and protective walls erected around the buildings to shield inhabitants from cold. The town of Bremen received a steady flow of barbarians, river traders, and merchants traveling up and down the Shaengarne River. The town of Targos was notable for its ports, the largest in the region, and the Targos Guard, a large defensive force. And the town of Lonelywood was prominent for its logging industry that was once besieged by barbarian armies of the lord Wylfdene in 1281 DR.

The last part of the guide covered the topic of the great peak of Kelvin's Cairn, named after a frost giant Kelvin Duarol, slain by god Tempus, according to Uthgart legends. Because of that history, Kelvin's Cairn was considered to be a holy site by the Church of Tempus.

Hisotry
The Traveler's Guide to Icewind Dale was penned sometime between the and the. Copies of the guide could be found among goods sold by enchantress Elytharra Dinnesmore of Targos as well as in possession of several townsfolk.

Appearances

 * Video Games
 * Icewind Dale II