Dung

Dung was a waste product commonly used as fuel for cooking and heating in the Realms. The word in Common was naeth.

Heaps of dung were sometimes found within dungeons, and bat dung, known as guano, was actively mined in many lands in Faerûn.

Properties
Alchemists claimed that the dung of certain dragons had many special properties, such as quick ignition even in cold or wet conditions and the production of an intense blue flame. A red dragon's dung contained significant quantities of potassium nitrate and sulfur, making it potentially explosive, as well as metal and stone stomach stones.

Applications
In desert regions, dried camel dung (called jalla in Midani ) was often used as fuel; in the cold reaches of the far north, the dung of local pack animals was used instead, such as that of the rothé. Some farmers used the dung of pack animals as fertilizer, including donkeys, horses, and mules.

Dung was a common material component of several spells. A pinch of bull's dung was used as one of the possible components required for the arcane version of the bull's strength spell and its derivations. Similarly, fox dung was potentially used when casting the spell fox's cunning, and eagle's droppings were used for eagle's splendor. (In all cases, hair or feathers from the respective animals could be used as an alternative material component.)   Bat guano was combined with sulfur into a tiny ball that was used in the casting of the spell fireball.

Dragon's dung was smeared on wounds as a medicine to quicken growth and healing.

Reputation
Words for dung in various languages were used as curses. Naeth was considered mild, but when pronounced naed, the word was considered stronger language. In the Tymantheran dialect of Draconic, one of the words for dung, aithyas, was considered an expletive.

Removal
Sewers were used to carry away dung from many cities, but in places without access to streams or where tidal changes were problematic, dung wagons were used instead. In the cities of Suzail and Athkatla, which did not have well-working sewer systems, the dung from people's chamber pots carried off by such wagons was called "'night soil'". Dung wagons were often used by smugglers to transport items or even people out of such cities. The job of carting away dung was often given to the disabled, poor, orphans, or others claiming sanctuary at various temples or monasteries.

A class of creatures known as gulguthras were known to consume dung as part of their diet.

In Sumbria, one of the city-states of the Blade Kingdoms, daily offerings of all the town's "seats of ease" and outhouses were collected by honey carts every evening. The manure was carted to the shores of Akanamere and deposited onto a honey barge. From there, the odoriferous vessel traveled to distant farms on Akanamere shores, blessing them with quality fertilizer.

Variations
The dung produced by cows was referred to as cow chips by inhabitants of Waterdeep and the Delimbiyr Vale. The cow dung scent was similar to the smell of Modovian dung beetles.

Mephit guano was a substance with some magical properties. It was used to enchant items and, if thrown, exploded in a deadly stinking cloud. Carrying such items around was frowned upon and their stench was surely to scare people away.

Appearances

 * Novels
 * The Council of Blades
 * Uneasy Alliances • The Black Bouquet
 * Video Games
 * Neverwinter Nights 2: Storm of Zehir
 * Neverwinter Nights: Darkness over Daggerford
 * Neverwinter Nights: Darkness over Daggerford
 * Neverwinter Nights: Darkness over Daggerford