Citadel

The Citadel was an ancient fortress-complex in Thay that served as the inner sanctum of Szass Tam and the country's infamous Red Wizards. Even before the wash of undeath overcame Thay, the Citadel was said to be an unholy place, haunted by utmost evil and teeming with secrets that should never see the light of day.

Location
The Citadel was located atop the tallest peak of Thaymount, a chain of volcanic mountains in the heart of the tharch that shared their name.

Structure
The central keep of the Citadel had a broad, flay room, that granted a panoramic view of the fortress-city beneath and the Thaymount mountains beyond.

Most of the Citadel and its dungeons were built by the fortress' original builders, and later expanded upon by its Red Wizard inhabitants. In its entirety, the Citadel was believed to have been similar in size and scope to the dungeon-complex of Undermountain, found on the opposite end of Faerûn.

Interior
Although much of the Citadel's depths were never fully explored and unmapped, there was some information avaialble regarding the so-called Paths of the Doomed.

Atmosphere
The walls within the deepest bowels of the Citadel were decorated with deteriorating, yet still-intact bas-reliefs and wall paintings of unknown origin. Some believed these works of art were created some ancient, race of culturally lizardfolk, possible distant relatives of those that dwelled within the Surmarsh.

Activities
The Citadel was connected to the Red Wizards' numerous dread rings established across the Realms, set in a specific pattern of arcane importance. This mystic arrangement was a necessary component of the ritual of the unmaking, the so-called "great work" that Szass Tam sought to achieve.

History
The Citadel was an ancient structure, of unknown origin, built well before the first millenium before Dale Reckoning.

After taking over the Citadel proper, the Red Wizards led a number of expeditions into the fortress' depths, with varying results. Some groups managed to extricate large caches of treasure, while most others never returned from within.

14 Century
"My agents in Thay report that Szass Tam has hidden himself away in the Citadel, an ancient fortress deep in Thaymount. They say he is preparing some new outrage. What it is I do not know."

- The Simbul, 1368 DR.

In the, Citadel and in fact all of Thaymount became engulfed with Red Wizard activities. Tharchions from across Thay, along with zulkirs of eponymous council made numerous visits to the region, and doubled and redoubled the number of troops they garrisoned within.

A few years later, the ever-curious Simbul recruited a band of adventurers to infiltrate the Citadel and investigate Szass Tam and whatever schemes he was surely concocting. She used a unique spell to transport them within the labyrinthine dungeons beneath the ancient fortress.

Rumors & Legends
According to reports from some agents working with the scholar Lhaeo, the Citadel housed a population of drow during the mid–14 century DR.

There was believed to exist a specific book that detailed at least some of what would be encountered within the Citadel's Paths of the Doomed.

Inhabitants
It was said that some members of the race that originally built the Citadel still resided within its depths as of the mid–14 century DR.

Appearances

 * Adventures
 * Runes of Chaos
 * Novels
 * Unholy
 * Organized Play & Licensed Adventures
 * Dreams of the Red Wizards (Uncertain Scrutiny)