Thunderstone

Thunderstone was a small town in northeastern Cormyr. It lay along the southern bank of the Thunder River, close to the southern side of Hullack Forest, north of the Vast Swamp, and near to the western slopes of the Thunder Peaks. The Thunderway began at Thunderstone, before running through High Dale and ending at Saerb in Sembia.

The town was named after the Thunder Peaks that rose nearby.

History
Thunderstone was one of a number of places captured by the Lost King Gondegal in the Year of the Dragon, 1352 DR. Like the others, his mercenary troops occupied and pillaged the town before being ousted by the Purple Dragons as Gondegal's eight-day kingdom fell.

Government
Thunderstone had no lord of its own. Instead, in the 1360s DR, the crown's interests were represented by Sarp Redbeard, lord of the city of Wheloon. However, lying partway across Cormyr, his efforts were limited.

Closer to town, one Hurm Thiodor was the local official of the crown and the unofficial Herald. The clerk's primary duty was to handle record keeping and collect reports from adventures on the state of the nearby Hullack Forest and the monster-clearing efforts there, though he could not have an accurate or up-to-date understanding. He sometimes joined bands of adventurers on their missions into the forest and swamp to add a little flavor to his otherwise boring life.

The Hawklin and Huntsilver noble families had holdings in or near Thunderstone.

Defenses
Thunderstone boasted a 100-strong Purple Dragons garrison under the command of Oversword Faril Laheralson. He was an unruly but loyal crown "lord" but not of noble blood. He cared deeply for his men and made sure their morale was high and constituted the law in Thunderstone (such as it was). Faril gave lip service to the crown, and respected King Azoun IV, but though little of the King's representatives.

Trade
Thunderstone has a relatively small economy, relying mostly on the caravans and travelers passing through. They do however have a small farming, forestry, and pelt trade, offset by prospectors in the Thunder Peaks and the lucky adventurers who return from the forest and swamp with relics of lost civilizations. Animal pelts from the Thunder Peaks and the Storm Horns did very good business in Thunderstone as of 1368 DR.

A group of gnome alchemists established themselves in Thunderstone, making and selling alchemical supplies to the adventures. Their most popular wares were flasks of acid, tanglefoot bags, and especially the deafening explosives known as thunderstones.

Notable locations
The Thunder Stone was a mysterious boulder set deep into the center of town outside the shrine to Tempus. The Thunder Stone was about 3' in diameter and was composed of a strange rock not found for miles around. It was rumored to have been magically transported to its current home when the land was nothing but wilderness. The stone itself had no known magical properties and otherwise appeared to be just a strange rock. A superstition arose among adventuring groups that kissing the Thunder Stone before going on a mission meant more treasure would be found and less comrades would die.

The only safe means to cross the river north into the Hullack Forest was the Stag Skull Bridge, an old stone crossing that despite its name, was not adorned or otherwise decorated with any skulls or stags. The bridge gained some notoriety for the number of foresters and adventurers that came running out of the Hullack Forest with monsters hot on their tails. The Thunderstone garrison let these heroes pass safely before engaging these monsters and so virtually every Dragon was a veteran monster slayer. In fact, two lit lanterns were placed on each side of the northern end of the bridge from dusk to dawn to let adventurers and foresters know which way to flee to safety. The phrase "between the stag's lights" came to refer to being "almost out of danger".

Inhabitants
During the summer months, merchants and caravans moved through Thunderstone on their way to and from the Dales, swelling the town's population to nearly thrice its usual size.

Adventurers also flocked to the town and used it as a base from which to launch their missions into the Thunder Peaks to the east, the Vast Swamp to the south, and the Hullack Forest to the north. All three regions were rumored to contain the ruins, treasures, and magic of lost civilizations. These included the dwarf kingdom of Thunderholme, the unknown kingdom of Orva, and the Netherese descendant Tethgard, respectively.