Zundle

Zundle was a village in the heartlands of Cormyr that fell to ruin after being assaulted by trolls. The legacy of the village remained and extended across Cormyr, with Zundle being a byword for foolishness, incompetence, and stupidity, and the village considered the infamous home of iconic country bumpkins.

Description
"Are ye sure ye're not from Zundle?"

- Cormyrean phrase meaning "Are you crazy?" or "You must be an idiot."

All that remained of the village by the 1360s DR was a water pump and an unwalled cowshed, frequently used by travelers.

Geography
"All the boys'd be after her in Zundle."

- Cormyrean phrase describing someone in a dishevelled or ridiculous outfit.

The village sat on the Way of the Dragon at the southern edge of the King's Forest. The surviving pump and shed lay on the west side of the road.

A royal stable for supplying remounts for urgent long-distance travel was not far away on the Way of the Dragon.

Trade
"A real Zundle party."

- Cormyrean phrase describing a dull or disorganized event.

The rock around Zundle was surprisingly rich in garnets, allowing a casual but observant traveler to spend a day chipping gemstones out to sell later. This was complicated by the presence of a mimic or other creature that began hiding in the area and ambushing unwary prey.

History
"He'd cut quite a dash in Zundle."

- Cormyrean phrase describing someone in a dishevelled or ridiculous outfit.

A particularly cunning troll who had learned some common by eavesdropping on travelers used his command of the language to destroy the village. One night he led two-dozen trolls there, and persuaded the lone sentinel watching the cattle to douse his fire on account of it hurting the troll's eyes. When the watchman obliged, the trolls stampeded over him in their haste and began ransacking and devouring the village. Miraculously alive after being trampled and forgotten, the watchman fled and summoned a patrol of Purple Dragons who proceeded onward to battle the trolls. The soldiers arrived to the sight of a village elder helpfully pointing out and describing all the hiding places that the villagers could be using, relayed through the linguistically adept troll.

Although the trolls were all destroyed, the village was effectively ruined and abandoned afterwards. The tale of the village lived on, however, with Zundle becoming a synonymous with foolishness or the dullness of country bumpkins.

Rumors & Legends
Persistent rumors spread that years after the village was razed, a priest of Waukeen stole a temple's treasury in Westgate and buried it in a cattle paddock somewhere around Zundle. Astute historians noted that the event as described was impossible, as the village was never resettled or inhabited after being destroyed.