Surcross

Surcross was a heavily fortified town in western Thay on the border with Thesk.

Geography
The town was located on the border of Thesk and Thay. It lay at the base of the Thayan Plateau east of the Thesk Mountains and south of the River Sur and the Sur Hills. Prior to the Spellplague, the town lay along the road from Nethentir to Two Stars. Following the Spellplague, this region became craggy and broken, and the skies were often choked with smoke from the Thaymount. As such, the area came to be known as the Bonedark Hills.

Government
Surcross was controlled by a Thayan military governor who ruled from the town's central citadel, the Tombstone. In the late 15 century DR, this was Ukulsid, who would entertain his people's pleas and pass judgment on their disputes within the Tombstone's Hall of Petition. However, he was known to conscript or kill any petitioners who so much as annoyed him with their needs. Ukulsid was loyal to Szass Tam.

The Thayan army was in complete control of the government and the town watch. Those who violated the law could expect to be imprisoned or expelled if lucky, but more likely executed and reanimated to serve in the army.

Trade
In the late 15 century DR, Surcross served as the eastern anchor of the Thayan's so-called "Shadowfell Road", which connected it to the Dread Ring in Neverwinter Wood and served as a key supply line for Valindra Shadowmantle's nefarious operations in the Sword Coast North.

Defenses
Surcross was heavily fortified as of the late 15 century DR, and boasted a larger garrison than most cities many times its size. This was for the simple reason that Szass Tam, in his paranoia, saw the town as the first line of defense in the case of an unlikely assault on Thay from the west. The town and surrounding area were well-patrolled by Thayan forces both living and undead. Some of these forces rode chariots pulled either by undead creatures or propelled wholly by magic. The most elite troops were the Sunmasters, evil clerics and warlocks who wielded radiant energies.

The town was ringed by a heavy stone wall nearly thick and dozens of feet high. This was known as the Wall of Crypts, so named because of the hundreds of corpses stored within the wall to serve as an emergency reserve army of zombies should the wall ever be breached. The main gate, known as the Gates of Bone, was made from the bones of humanoids and monsters, and could animate as a fearsome undead construct to defend the town.

Five thin, windowless towers&mdash;hundreds of feet tall but only a few dozen feet in diameter&mdash;stood equidistant from the town's center along the perimeter. These were known as the Fingers of Szass Tam, and employed a number of powerful defensive magics. The walls were enchanted to allow defenders to see and hurl spells from inside, but were solid marble to any attackers from outside. In addition, the Fingers had the ability to project fields of force, which could serve either as bridges to quickly deploy troops around the city or as shields to protect from areal assaults (although such a shield could only spread across the whole city for a few minutes at a time).

History
Because of its location, many renegade Red Wizards were known to pass through Surcross while fleeing west out of Thay.

The entire region surrounding the town was devastated during the Spellplague in the late 14 century DR, and it was not until the late 15 century DR that the Thayans began rebuilding roads to a number of the ruined towns in the area, including Surcorss.

By the, Surcross was the largest Thayan settlement west of the Thayan Plateau, and had become a fortified base for the Thayan army. It was one of several sites where fortresses similar to Dread Rings were being constructed at the behest of Szass Tam in apparent preparation for war with Thesk. At this time, town's garrison was comprised of soldiers loyal to Valindra Shadowmantle and Ukulsid&mdash;both of whom in turn served Szass Tam&mdash;however servants of Dempharis Sibront, the self-proclaimed "zulkir in exile", had begun to infiltrate their ranks.

That same year, as part of the ongoing Shadovar–Thay War, Surcross came under attack from the floating Netherese citadel of Kolthunral. The city's forces proved largely insufficient to repel this assault, and soon the town's vast garrison had been reduced to half strength, even accounting for the practice of reanimating slain soldiers or civilians to add to the undead ranks. The lands around the town were reduced to a necromantic wasteland of blood and body parts known as the Charnel Fields, and only the protective shields of the Fingers of Szass Tam prevented the town from being completely obliterated by areal bombardment. As the situation became more dire, the Thayan army instituted martial law, locking down the town, requisitioning nearly all remaining food, and brutally repressing any dissent or disrespect in the populace, no matter how mild. During this siege, the town was said to be choked in hot smoke and eerily quiet.

Notable Locations

 * The Fingers of Szass Tam, five highly magical guard towers around the town's perimeter.
 * The Garrison, a heavily fortified series of barracks for the Thayan troops, which contained teleportation circles to allow for speedy deployment around the city.
 * Gates of Bone, the main passage through the town's defensive wall.
 * The Tombstone, the central citadel from which the town was ruled. The top floor contained an opulent throne room wherein the town's leaders could commune with Szass Tam, while the cellar contained a massive ossuary used for necromantic experiments.

Inhabitants
As of the late 15 century DR, the citizens of the town were outnumbered by the Thayan soldiers stationed there. It was home to humans as well as dwarves, gnolls, half-orcs, and orcs.

Notable Inhabitants

 * Isma Lecere, a corporal in the Thayan military who led the elite Sunmasters contingent in the late 1470s DR.
 * Omdros, a half-orc death mage who led the saboteurs loyal to Dempharis Sibront embedded within the Thayan ranks in the late 1470s DR.
 * Ukulsid, an undead gnoll who served as the town's military governor in the late 1470s DR.