Helm's Hold

Helm's Hold was a fortified city and cathedral located near Neverwinter.

Location
Helm's Hold was located around twenty miles (less than a day's travel) south east of the the city of Neverwinter, not far from the edge of Neverwinter Wood.

History
Founded at the beginning of 1340 DR by Dumal Erard, a priest of Helm and former member of the Company of Crazed Venturers, as a farm that was originally known as Helm's Stead. Other followers of Helm arrived, electing to stay, and by 1353 DR the site had grown to become a fortified town of seven hundred surrounding an abbey.

The town lost prominence following the Time of Troubles when the people of Neverwinter proscribed the residents for the actions of their god.

Cultists responsible for infecting Neverwinter with the Wailing Death used Helm's Hold as a base in 1372 DR, posing as Helmites while desecrating the abbey until the Hero of Neverwinter entered a portal that led there to arrest Desther Indelayne.

After recovering from its losses, Helm's Hold gained a reputation for safety over the next several decades and began to grow again. The abbey became a grand cathedral and the town itself grew to become a small city. This fortune changed once the Netherese briefly conquered the place but then it was allowed to be retaken when Mount Hotenow erupted.

Helm's Hold became a prime site for refugees fleeing Neverwinter's destruction, many infected with Spellplague energies. Though none of the residents held any preconceived notions against such people, many of the uninfected refugees brought theirs with them and persecuted any who showed signs of spellscars. Those who were persecuted against fought back, forming the Heirs of Azure to retaliate against their oppressors.

Because of the already high population of spellscarred within Helm's Hold's walls, and the success that some of the priests had shown in suppressing symptoms, Dagult Neverember issued an edict that required all those showing symptoms be sent to the Hold for treatment.

Unfortunately, an agent of the Abolethic Sovereignty, known in the Hold as The Prophet