Lantan-Samarach portal

The Lantan-Samarach portal was a large but illegal portal that connected the jungles of Samarach and the island of Lantan, as well as the Crossroad Keep on the Sword Coast.

Location
The portal was constructed in the Samarlogh jungles of Samarach, on the foothills of the Sanrach Mountains on the border with neighboring Chult.

The portal was at the center of a small gnomish logging camp. It was a metal frame shaped like a circle that generated magical gate when activated. The camp used heavy mechanical lumbering machines, long and weighing several hundred pounds, and clockwork constructs like Lantanese clockroaches and golems.

Activities
The portal was usually activated at least twice per day. In the morning when the laborers and overseers arrived at the camp, and in the evening when they returned back to Lantan with the timber collected during the day. The portal could handle transportation of around pounds of weight per use.

The consortium employed some of the local Samarachan laborers in addition to those arriving from Lantan. They were present at the portal's camp during the day but refused to stay late, being fearful and superstitious about the dangers of the Samarlogh. These superstitions fueled typical gnomish love of pranks. The locals were usually not targeted as they were likely not to enjoy such treatment, but gnomes happily used the jungle's scary tales and eery atmosphere to play tricks on each other. The favorite tigers were new people at the lumber camp and especially non-gnomes visitors from Lantan.

Defenses
The camp was guarded by giant mechanical Lantanese blade spiders, smaller clockroachs, and massive Lantanese iron golems.

History
In the late 14 century DR, a consortium of Lantanese gnome-ran merchant organizations decided to end Lantan's dependence on outside trade due to the lack of natural resources on the island nation. The consortium sought to explore, claim, and export resources from less developed areas of Toril into Lantan. One such target was the dangerous Samarlogh of Samarach, discovered after several months of research and scouting operations.

The gnome artificers constructed a frame that opened a portal upon activation, connecting Lantan and Samarach. The portal remained a little-known location and an illegal secret kept from the High Phantasmage, the ruler of Samarach. The gnomes started a secret lumbering operation as of the. Despite the consortium's beliefs in following all local laws, the portal and logging operation was established with help from Sa'Sani, one of the most powerful merchants of Samarach, and her Mercantile House, who also gained a private passage to the Sword Coast's Crossroad Keep, allowing the Mercantile House expand their trade beyond the Chultan Peninsula. The gnomes agreed to help the locals who knew of the portal's existence and provided them with new methods of illusory defenses and wonders of clockwork trinkets. Despite the relationship being exploitative, the Lantanese consortium was not opposed to the arrangement.

Several weeks after the portal's initial construction, the logging camp started suffering from misfortunes and strange occurrences. At first, massive logging machines were discovered in the morning and moved across the camp from their previous locations without leaving any tracks. Later, the very lumber produced by the camp became a problem. Once logs were cut and portions, they began to quietly hum and vibrate. This was noticeable enough that customers in Lantan were filing complaints. Lastly, the portal began to misfire, randomly shutting down for ten minutes up to an hour. A minor setback could turn into a disaster if it happened at the wrong moment.

Many thought these occurrences to be pranks, but no one wanted to admit nor to be "got" by them, so the camp's operations continued. Some thought these events to be caused by some strange jungle spirits or creatures inhabiting the Samarlogh. Regardless of the cause, the consortium was likely to investigate the events in fear of losing their investments in the portal and the camp.

In 1374 DR, the portal faced more strife. A yuan-ti spy named Luaire Farwander, once an adviser of the Mercantile House and Sa'Sani, attempted to sabotage the camp and its portal when his treachery was unveiled. He sought to disrupt the trading company's operations and cut Sa'Sani from her allies on the Sword Coast. Luaire poisoned the portal operator with a specific toxin found in the jungle. This poisoning eventually led to his death at the hands of Sa'Sani's hireling adventurers, but not before the portal was fixed. Dall Nickleplate, the camp's overseer suspected the mechanisms to be moved by hungry dinosaurs. He tasked Sa'Sani's hirelings to hunt the creatures down while the sabotaged mechanism was being repaired. Another misfortune at the time was the untimely death of Tamith Timekeep, one of the portal's engineers. She was murdered by a fellow gnome named Leva over Tamith's new logging machine designs, and her restless ghost began haunting the camp at night. Her body was buried behind the camp's western walls.

Notable Inhabitatns

 * Ahri, an eccentric woman also known as "Golemkin" who was the artificer in charge of the camp's constructs circa 1374 DR.
 * Dall Nickleplate, the camp's overseer circa 1374 DR.
 * Nil Sheafrustle, the artificer in charge of the portal operation circa 1374 DR.

Appearances

 * Video Games
 * Neverwinter Nights 2: Storm of Zehir