Skadaurak Island

Skadaurak Island, often called simply Skadaurak, was an island in the Sea of Swords that was home to Hoondarrh, an ancient and powerful red dragon. It was visited annually by the people of Mintarn, who came to pay tribute to the dragon.

Description
The island was essentially one massive volcanic mountain that rose out of the sea. It was riddled with a vast complex of heavily trapped underground caves that were large enough to afford Hoondarrh room to fly, including three massive vertical shafts that granted him direct access to the sky. Entrances could be sealed by the dragon with massive boulders and spells. The island was also dotted with false lairs&mdash;filled with tempting treasure and deadly traps&mdash;designed to distract or kill any who came to steal from Hoondarrh's hoard.

Geography
Skadaurak was the northernmost of a pair of islands northwest of Mintarn, and was within a red dragon's flying distance of not only Mintarn but the Moonshae Isles.

History
While the island was home to the mighty Hoondarrh, it was actually named for a different, deceased red dragon that had once laired there and had been known as the "Red Terror of Mintarn". This Skadaurak awoke from a millennium-long magical slumber&mdash;aided by Saldrinar's slow gem&mdash;in the, and no sooner had he dug himself out of his lair, he was beset by Hoondarrh and torn apart. Hoondarrh then claimed the island as his own, working diligently to expand the caves beneath the island. When his new lair was attacked by adventurers only two years later, he resolved to transform the lair into a formidable trap-laden dungeon complex, and to cover the island in false lairs to ensnare would-be robbers. To accomplish this, he spent a great deal of treasure taken from Skadaurak's hoard to pay wizards and dwarven artisans to aid him.

By the, after eight years of construction, Hoondarrh was satisfied with his island's fortifications after it successfully repelled two pirate raids and an intrusion by a mercury dragon. He thus dismissed his workers, and then set about hunting down and devouring every single one of his former hirelings, spending two years eradicating anyone who might know the secrets of his lair.

In the winter of the, Hoondarrh revealed himself to the common folk of Mintarn, and demanded that he be paid one gold piece per person on the island per year, or else he would kill them. In a surprisingly magnanimous gesture, he proposed that in exchange for this tribute, he would also gift the islanders some of the livestock that he kept for food, and would even kill pirates who harassed them. Subsequently, many scholars would suspect that he did this in order to encourage tales of his lair, and so lure adventurers laden with magic items into his traps.

Hoondarrh's tribute rolled in, and would continue to do so every year into the late 15 century DR. During this period, he was in the habit of entering into decades-long sleeps, assisted by Saldrinar's slow gem taken from Skadaurak. During the Dracorage of the, Hoondarrh departed his island lair to attack the Moonshae Isles, but otherwise he was predictable and Mintarn flourished even as they paid his tribute. During one of the dragon's long sleeps in the mid-to-late 15 century DR, Mintarn's wealth exploded as their services as mercenaries became highly sought after in Waterdeep and Neverwinter, largely at the behest of Dagult Neverember. However, when the dragon awoke suddenly in the 1480s DR, he descended upon Mintarn and demanded that his tribute be increased now that the island was wealthier. Unfortunately, Mintarn's mercenary contracts began to dry up by the end of that decade, and the residents began to worry that they would be unable to pay the dragon's new tribute. Some even debated hiring adventurers to go to Skadaurak and slay Hoondarrh.

Notable Locations
Hoondarrh's lair spanned the underground tunnels beneath the island. The most salient point of entry was located in a large sea cave that contained a small bay, a sandy beach, and several large tunnels leading out or up into the island's cave network. The people of Mintarn brought tribute for the dragon to this cave.

Inhabitants
Hoondarrh was, of course, the most notable inhabitant of Skadaurak. His island was also home to a group of deepspawn, which the dragon had procured in order to produce a steady supply of food in the form of spawned cows, rothé, and horses. The dragon also allowed the occasional group of pirates to camp on the island and search for his false lairs, which he tolerated so long as they stayed away from his real hoard.

Appearances

 * Comics
 * A Darkened Wish