Marsh of Chelimber

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

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.

History
The marsh was formally the Principality of the Snarling Boar. The marsh was created when two wizards fought here in 993 DR. The wizards summoned water elementals that then got out of control. The marsh was named for Prince Chelimber, who tasked one wizard to slay the other after a falling out.

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 controled 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 nagas. Despite the rule of the nagas, the lizardmen 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 used to be home to an entire human kingdom. When the kingdom was drowned, its people became undead soldiers. Lizardmen began to inhabit the swamp and became masters of the undead. The various temples within the marsh house the lizardfolk's allies, the minotaurs. The undead, too, serve the minotaurs, 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 having been belonged to Prince Chelimber:
 * Chelimber's Keep: 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.

Roads

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

The Onyx Tower
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.