Marsh of Chelimber

The Marsh of Chelimber is a swamp located in the Western Heartlands near Evereska.

Geography
The swamp is bordered on the north by the Greypeak Mountains, and on the east by the Greycloak Hills. Several tributaries of the the Winding Water are either sourced or fed from this marsh.

Description
The marsh had pungent sulphur steam pools.

History
In 993 DR, this land was the Principality of the Snarling Boar, the demesne of Prince Chelimber. A wizard known only as the Wizard of the Crag had recently raised a tower in his land. Chelimber tried ousting the wizard with swords, but the wizard turned his men to stone and sent fireballs into the Prince's keep. Chelimber then hired a wizard of his own -- Taskor the Terrible. On Midsummer's Eve the wizards matched their Art. Both wizards vanished from the Realms, and have not been seen since. The crag upon which the enigmatic wizard built his keep was shattered, and the water elementals he kept were loosed. Their depredations subsequently flooded the land and slew the Prince himself.

After being chased into the marsh, Eldrith the Betrayer united the lizardfolk of the marsh under her rule. She then built the Onyx Tower in the middle of the marsh. When Eldrith was killed, the tower fell and the marsh was put under vampiric rule. The vampires rebuilt the Onyx Tower only to have it fall again with the death of the vampire lord, Mordoc SeLanmere. However, the death of the Betrayer also resulted in some catastrophic changes in the marshes.

The marsh was given to the Zhentarim by the treacherous lizardfolk. While some villages sprouted at the north of the swamp, these were either destroyed by the monsters or put under Zhent rule, who controlled the marsh with a cruel hand.

In 1497 DR, it was revealed that the Spellplague had weakened Zhentarim rule in the marsh and they no longer ruled over it as they were not able to delegate it, thus they abandoned it. The Black Network still send spies there but the rule now belongs to Najara, a kingdom of naga. Despite the rule of the naga, the lizardfolk are quite prominent in this new kingdom and are the majority of the inhabitants in the marsh are still lizardfolk, undead and minotaurs, they are just in a unified rule with Najara.

Inhabitants
The Marsh of Chelimber was home to numerous lizardfolk, bullywugs, and sivs.

The Marsh of Chelimber used to be home to an entire human kingdom. When the kingdom was drowned, its people became undead soldiers. Lizardfolk began to inhabit the swamp and became masters of the undead. The various temples within the marsh house the minotaurs, allies of the lizardfolk who guard the pathway to the Betrayer with the aid of bulettes.

Ruins
The Marsh of Chelimber houses many ruins in it. Many of them originally belonged to Prince Chelimber.
 * Chelimber's Keep (also called Keep of the Drowned Prince) : Prince Chelimber's former castle. Now ruled by lizardfolk.
 * The Sinking Chapel: A former temple belonging to Chelimber, now filled with minotaurs formerly serving the Betrayer and now the Zhentarim.
 * Dunkapple Castle: Ruins.

Roads

 * Adderspine Road East: A road overrun by lizardfolk and undead.
 * Adderspine Road West: Overrun with lizardfolk who have built a huge village in it that eventually leads into Chelimber's Keep.

The Onyx Tower
The Onyx Tower was a huge tower that housed the soul of Eldrith the Betrayer, which would fall when she died. The Onyx Tower vanished forever from the marsh at her death, and reappeared briefly when Mordoc SeLanmere brought it back. However, it was quickly moved to the city of Baldur's Gate.

Novels

 * Elfshadow

Video games

 * Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II