Golden Way

The Golden Way was a road starting in Telflamm which connected the nation of Thesk all the way to the empire of Shou Lung. It was a major trade route between the lands of Faerûn and the distant lands of Kara-Tur.

Description
The road was well maintained within Thesk and Rashemen, and was considered an easy if not pleasurable route to travel. However, once it entered the Endless Wastes it was nothing more than a series of stone markers, each barely visible from the last. Rather than serving to pave the road, these markers allowed travellers to navigate and&mdash;far more importantly&mdash;to find water in the vast, desert-like wastes. Unfortunately, these markers also served as places for bandits or monsters to stage ambushes.

Geography
From Telflamm on the coast of the Sea of Fallen Stars, the road extended eastward between the Forest of Lethyr and the Thesk Mountains. It first crossed the River Flam before passing through Phent, Inkar, Phsant, Tammar, and Two Stars. As the western anchor of the route, each of these towns were known to have sizable populations of Shou immigrants who lived in neighborhoods referred to as shou-towns. Parts of this stretch of the Way were known to be at risk of hill giant attacks from the Thesk Mountains.

Upon reaching the River Mulsantir where Lake Ashane met Lake Mulsantir, travelers crossed via ferries to Mulsantir or by braving the ice during winter. The route then continued through Rashemen, passing south of Tinnir and through Thasunta and Shevel before traversing the Sunrise Mountains and turning southward to pass Citadel Rashemar and enter the Endless Wastes. From there, the Golden Way headed southwest to circle south of the Lake of Mists, which it gave a wide breadth. This route through the Wastes was badly ravaged during the Spellplague, causing several settlements to disappear. During the mid-to-late 14 century DR (prior to this cataclysm), this stretch passed Beacon Cairn and crossed Dead Dwarf Bridge to reach the southern shore of the lake before continuing east through Almorel. As of the late 15 century DR (following the cataclysm), the only notable stopover south of the lake was Uzbeg.

From the Lake of Mists, the Golden Way proceeded east across Yaïmmunahar and passed through Kourmira. The Golden Way itself did not go all the way to Shou Lung, but instead terminated at the Ni-Ko Oasis between the Glittering Spires and Kora Shan mountain ranges. From there, the Spice Road continued across the Plain of Horses to Chao Yang in the Chukei Province of Shao Lung.

Trade
The Golden Way was the source of Thesk's wealth and influence thanks to the connection to Shou Lung. The markets of the various towns along the route were known as places to find strange magic items from Kara-Tur, and various Kara-Turan goods were among Thesk's major exports to the rest of Faerûn. Additionally, one of the realm's main sources of revenue was providing services to the merchants and tarvelers along the Way.

The Golden Way also provided the folk of Rashemen easy trade both west to Faerûn and east to Kara-Tur, allowing them access to goods like textiles, wood products, and food for which they exhanged wool, furs, firewine, and cheese.

Defenses
The Merchants' Council of Telflamm maintained a standing army for the purpose of safely ensuring that caravans reached their destinations in Thesk. Even so, there was always demand for adventurers to serve as caravan guards.

Maintaining the trade route was of pivotal importance to Thesk, and the armies of each of its cities&mdash;regardless of whether they were located on the Golden Way itself&mdash;would rally against any who would jeopardize the road.

History
The Golden Way was pioneered by Windyn Balindre in 917 DR, a merchant from Impiltur who also founded Telflamm in the process. In 920 DR, he founded the Royal Company of Shou-Lung, and by 925 DR, the Company had establishee a series of outposts along the route that would become the Golden Way.

Trade along the Golden Way was interrupted for a few years in the late 1350s DR by the Tuigan Horde until they were defeated at Phsant in 1360 DR by King Azoun IV of Cormyr leading an alliance of nations from throughout Faerûn. Tuigan bandits continued to harass merchants along the Golden Way through much of 1361 DR.

In late summer of 1366 DR, Thesk negotiated with the Witches of Rashemen to begin improvements along the road. In 1368 DR, the Red Wizards of Thay opened an enclave in Phsant along the road, instantly gaining influence with the merchants who travelled it.

In 1375 DR, the Tuigan prince Hubadai Khahan ordered that the expanse of the Golden Way between Almorel and Kourmira be paved with stones to better expedite trade. Despite this, as of the late 15 century DR the route remained little more than the series of stone markers it had always been.

Following the Spellplague of 1385 DR, many settlements along the Golden Way were lost, leading to the founding of Uzbeg as a stopover. The cataclysm hit Kara-Tur as hard as it had Faerûn, and so the following decades saw a mass migration of shou people across the Golden Way, who continued on into other parts of Faerûn further west, most notably the Dragon Coast where they founded their own nation of Nathlan.

Notable locations

 * Telflamm, a large city on the shores of the Sea of Fallen Stars that served as the western anchor of the Golden Way.
 * Phent, a town in Thesk that served as the main trade connection to Thay. The Resthaven Inn was a major lodging on the northeast side of town right on the Golden Way.
 * Inkar, a town in Thesk.
 * Phsant, a large and thriving merchant city in Thesk that was home to the notorious shou syndicate known as the Nine Golden Swords in the mid-to-late 14 century DR.
 * Tammar, a large town in Thesk that connected the Golden Way with the road to Kront.
 * Two Stars, a city in Thesk where the Golden Way intersects with the Cold Road.
 * Mulsantir, a large Rashemi town located on the shore of Lake Ashane where travelers along the Golden Way had to ferry across to and from Thesk.
 * Thasunta, a hub for Rashemi farmers and ranchers to trade their goods.
 * Shevel, a cosmopolitian walled trading town that was the largest Rashemi settlement along the Golden Way.
 * Tinnir, a Rashemi village on the shores of Lake Tirulag that was so well hidden that most travelers along the Golden Way pass it without realizing. It was notable for the Lakeside Inn.
 * Citadel Rashemar, a Rashemi fortress that fell to the Tuigan Hoard in 1359 DR, and subsequently became home to a hag named Chaur and her goblinoid minions.
 * Beacon Cairn, the easternmost town of Rashemen.
 * Dead Dwarf Bridge, a river crossing near the small town of Drubiev to the southwest of the Lake of Mists.
 * Uzbeg, a fortified stopover and village built in the 15 century DR as a partnership between Thesk and Raumviran people near the Lake of Mists.
 * Almorel, a trading city on the eastern edge of the Lake of Mists.
 * Kourmira, the capital of the Tuigan kingdom of Yaïmmunahar.
 * Ni-Ko Oasis, the eastern anchor of the Golden Way where it met the Spice Road.