Maskyr's Eye

Maskyr's Eye or simply the Eye, was a village and vale in the Vast in north Faerûn. It was named for the archmage Maskyr One-Eye, who gave his right eye in payment for the vale.

Geography
The village of Maskyr's Eye lay within a wooded vale, at the base of the Giantspike Mountains and Earthspur Mountains, beneath the Glacier of the White Worm. It was known to be cloaked in mountain mists on some mornings. It was located on the North Road between Mulmaster and Kurth.

Description
An overgrown and idyllic little place, it was a small community, consisting of twenty main buildings, including stone cottages. Much of the stone used in the walls was once part of Maskyr's old tower.

However, Maskyr's Eye was also home to what was probably the finest inn in the Vast and one of the best in Faerûn—The Wizard's Hand. It was, of course, also named for Maskyr One-Eye, and was rivaled only by The Worried Wyvern in Sevenecho.

Government
The village was governed by a Council consisting of every farmer of the vale, and a few prominent individuals in the village. The Council elected an Elder from among their number who had additional powers over trade and the defense of the vale. The Council could override any decrees made by the Elder and could also eject them from their post with a majority vote.

Trade
The primary trades were farming and the breeding of horses. Maskyr's Eye was known for breeding a rugged breed of horse, popular all over the Vast, called the 'blackhair'. These steeds could easily fetch 400 gold pieces, though local Maskyrvians rarely paid more than 75 gold pieces.

Less popular were the two wines made there, sund and brambleberry wine.

Two or three times a year, dwarves came down from the mountains and stayed to trade for a few days. Merchants from Mulmaster would then rush to the village to trade their goods for the fine metalworks the dwarves brought with them.

There was only one family engaged in hunting; game was not sufficient to support another.

History
In the 7 century DR, the powerful archmage Maskyr came to explore the newly opened Vast, seeking a place to live in solitude. One morning in the, Maskyr came upon a wooded vale that he found quite beautiful, serene and veiled in mountain mists. He decided to make his home there, and nowhere else. Unfortunately, it was claimed by the dwarf kingdom of Roldilar. Maskyr gained an audience with Deep King Tuir Stonebeard and asked his price for the vale. Thinking to discourage him, Tuir offered the whole vale, from rim to rim and the earth below as deep as four men, at the cost that Maskyr pluck out his own right eye and give it to him, there and then. Shockingly, Maskyr did just that.

Tuir kept the bargain and granted him the land. He also ordered that no dwarf trespass in the vale nor disturb the archmage. Maskyr then went and dwelled there, erecting Maskyr's Tower for his home, with the vale becoming known as Maskyr's Eye. Maskyr was said to have lived peacefully and alone in his tower until he disappeared while planes-walking and was presumed killed.

In time, more humans came and settled in the vale, clearing land for farming, and some retired adventurers settled nearby. A small settlement of the same name soon arose in the vale.

In the, Maskyr's Eye was the site of the one of the last skirmishes of the fall of Roldilar, as the elven hero Beluar hunted down the last routed orc from the battle at Viperstongue Ford and slew him on the road outside the smithy.

Occasionally, mages and adventurers would try to enter Maskyr's abandoned tower, with no success. Eventually, some time in the late 12 or early 14 century DR, a retired adventurer known as Gathen Swiftsword, along with thirty men hired from Mulmaster, attempted to breach the wards around the tower and, after two days, managed to make a hole in the wall, through which Gathen ventured. That dusk, the tower collapsed and out of it emerged a massive dragon, which flew off to the north. Treasure hunters descended on the village and surrounding farmhouses, determined to take Maskyr's magical loot for themselves but they didn't turn up anything. Some threatened or enchanted the villagers for information, causing trouble. The wizard Loathren of Phlan later tried to build his own tower on the site, only for the ruins of the old tower to magically whip around in a vortex before crushing Loathren and his camp. The tower's ruins came to be known as cursed as a result, leading to far fewer treasure hunters since. Eventually, the farmers took even the stones away for reuse.

Notable Locations

 * Landmarks
 * The Dwarfstone, also known as Durn's Finger
 * Ruins of Maskyr's Tower


 * Taverns & Inns
 * The Wizard's Hand: A high-quality inn and village council meeting house, established around 1290 DR.


 * Temples & Religious Sites
 * House of Plenty: A temple dedicated to Chauntea
 * Shrine to Tymora
 * Shrine to Malar

Culture
Life here was slow and taken up by hard work on the farms and the need to collect and store food to make it through the cold, difficult winters. Folk had hardly any time to go exploring, not the vale's environs and not lands further afield. Most could only dream of traveling elsewhere or even marrying some from outside the vale. Yet the majority of Maskyrvians were satisfied with their lot, and had little desire to live any place else or abandon or betray their kith and kin. However, they not backwards or disinterested in the wider world either.

In the evenings in good weather, Maskyrvians regularly went to The Wizard's Hand inn, where they met up in the taproom to drink beer and brambleberry wine and to hear news, clack, and music from the travelers, adventurers, and itinerant minstrels that passed through. If bidden, the Maskyrvians told their own stories of the area, sometimes growing quite exaggerated. Bards were especially welcome, with audiences gladly giving coin for a ballad or dramatic story, despite how often it might've been heard before. Some of these wandering bards, like Sshansalue Wonderharp, were hailed as old friends of the villagers.

Not much happened in Maskyr's Eye to break up the routine beyond the travelers coming down the road, and few of them thought about staying. Maskyrvians paid close attention to strangers in the village, watching those wandering behind the farms in daylight and challenging trespassers in their fields and barns, and such confrontations could lead to fights. Such fights were common in the mid-to-late 14 century DR, with increased numbers of adventurers and others passing through. Maskyrvians were quick to defend themselves and their village with whatever tools or weapons came to hand.

Maskyrvians had several in-jokes, such as saying to anyone who looked particularly disheveled "The latest style in Alphar Isle" or variations upon that phrase, referring to the practice of pirates to dump sick, injured, or otherwise unfortunate people on Alphar Isle where their conditions would only deteriorate further. Another phrase, when a Maskyrvian saw the need to get into a fight, was "Nice weather we're having, no?", probably referring to the habit of strangers to make small talk by referring to the weather.

Natives of Maskyr's Eye held great disdain for people who lived in Mulmaster and Calaunt. Calling someone a Mulmasterite, if they were not in fact from Mulmaster, was intended as a vile insult, typically given to those who cheated on business deals or were spendthrifts. Arrogant, dangerous, or foolish people were called "Calaunt-heads" or told to go to Calaunt. As a pastoral people, Maskyrvians loved their animals and anyone seen mistreating an animal in their presence would be verbally or sometimes physically attacked.

Inhabitants
There were no people of great power dwelling in Maskyr's Eye in the 1350s and 60s DR.

Notable Inhabitants

 * Khonduil Ammargath, former adventurer and priest of Tymora
 * Lharathuel Hesmyr, a priestess of Chauntea
 * Gundul Hulvespar, a horse-breeder
 * Torzhin Hulvespar, an acolyte of Chauntea
 * Lhullbannen Orlsyr
 * Elephon Stoneshoulder
 * Jhenta Sulpir, an acolyte of Chauntea