High Road

The High Road was an inland trade route along the Sword Coast North that stretched from Waterdeep in the south to Luskan in the north. For travelers, it was the key route linking Waterdeep and Leilon with "civilization" in the North.

Geography
At its southernmost point, the High Road entered Waterdeep, where it passed through the city as one of its most important streets and continued south as the Trade Way. Hence, some accounts referred to the Trade Way as part of the High Road. The adjoining Long Road separated from the High Road a dozen miles (20 kilometers) north of Waterdeep.

From the North Gate of Waterdeep, it skirted Thornhold and the eastern edge of the Mere of Dead Men where it passed beneath Iniarv's Tower and beside the Sword Mountains, before going through Leilon. Shortly afterward, it intersected with the western Triboar Cutoff then went through Neverwinter and Port Llast before coming to Luskan. It was roughly between Leilon and Neverwinter and  between Neverwinter and Port Llast.

History
The High Road was older than the Long Road, which ran from Waterdeep to Mirabar. However, both roads predated Waterdeep, having been develop to connect to the harbor city.

As the Mere of Dead Men swelled over the centuries, it flooded the lands from the sea to the road, and the High Road was repeatedly rerouted further inland, but could never be moved far enough to escape the ever-encroaching swamp.

While it once passed Castle Naerytar, Holk House, Mornhaven Towers, and Wolfhill House, all lay within the swamp by the mid–14 century DR.

The rise to the power of the orc kingdom of Uruth Ukrypt around 930 DR saw the end of trade along the High Road, until at least the kingdom's collapse in 1026 DR.

"The Mad Dwarf", Gulyaikin Dzrund, who dwelled in the caves of Mount Sar north of Waterdeep in the 1280s DR, was known to roll boulders down onto the High Road, killing hapless travelers there.

After the Mount Hotenow eruption in the and the devastation of Neverwinter, and with common monster attacks occurring, the High Road fell into disuse. It went unmaintained and efforts to shift it away from the Mere of Dead Men were abandoned. By the late 1470s DR, the Mere of Dead Men had fully encompassed the High Road. It passed through the swamp and lizardfolk territory. Meanwhile, a key threat north of Neverwinter were the Blackdagger Bandits; patrols could not prevent them, and from their stronghold of Cragmire Keep, they were hard to uproot.

However, with rebuilding efforts in Neverwinter, the High Road began to be reused and repaired, and in the 1480s DR Dagult Neverember and the High Road Charter Company arranged to reroute it once more. Dagult, who was a lord of both Neverwinter and Waterdeep at the time, invested heavily in the work and in hiring adventurers to keep it safe, as well as tearing down the forbidding House of Thalivar in Leilon. By the late 1480s DR, the High Road was considered safer than sea travel and caravan traffic was increasing.

Travel
On a regular wagon journey circa 1357 DR, a trip from Waterdeep to Leilon took 11 days, from Waterdeep to Neverwinter took 17 days, from Waterdeep to Port Llast took 19 days, and from Waterdeep to Luskan took 23 days. This was 25% longer by foot and 60% faster by horse.

To avoid having to camp close to the Mere of Dead Men and risk being swallowed by its bogs or falling prey to its hazards, such as the will-o'-wisps that could be seen from the road, travelers commonly kept going through the night for three days' straight. Thornhold was the last, or next, safe stop after the hurried journey around the mere.

The dracolich Daurgothoth, the Creeping Doom, kept an eye on traffic on the High Road, Long Road, and other areas within his domain, from his lair northeast of Waterdeep.

Defenses
The Neverwintan militia patrolled the High Road between Leilon and Port Llast.

Waterdeep's City Guard also patrolled the High Road around their city.

The High Road was at times a battlefield between in the conflicts between Neverwinter and Luskan.

Trade
Trade on the High Road was largely arts and agricultural produce from Waterdeep, lumber from the Neverwinter Woods and manufactured goods from Neverwinter itself, ores from the Frozenfar, and metalwork from Luskan. Because of the dangers on both the High Road and the Long Road, metal exports of the North were forced to leave Luskan by sea.

The gnomes of Ieirithymbul in the Sword Mountains journeyed down to the High Road and to Leilon for trademoots. The gold dragon Palarandusk, the Unseen Protector, accompanied them and learned quite a lot about trade on the High Road, alliances between merchants, and other goings on.

Rumors & Legends
According to Varleth of Neverwinter, parts of the High Road near where it was sunken by the Mere of Dead Men had their own mythals, which altered the spells of mages who stood within those sections in peculiar ways, such as empowering them or cancelling them.

Scholars of the mid-to-late 14 century DR theorized that Iniarv's Curse tied the Mere of Dead Men's eastern border to the High Road, thus guaranteeing it would grow whenever the High Road was rerouted.