The Golden Fortress was a large fortified military base and academy in Eshpurta that housed and trained the Council Army of Amn.[1][2]
Description[]
The academy was made up a large central structure with a number of smaller outbuildings. A large wall surrounded the entire complex, running down to the banks of the nearby river.[1][3]
Geography[]
The Golden Fortress was located just outside of Eshpurta next to the Eshpurta Road, on the opposite side of Trifin Creek as it joined the River Rimril.[1][3][note 1]
Activities[]
The Golden Fortress was the primary training ground for the Council Army's recruits, and the command center for all military operations in eastern Amn. The wide plains between the Troll Mountains and Snowflake Mountains were considered a likely route for outside invasions, and so Eshpurta was turned into a heavily militarized garrison city.[1][2]
Befitting its martial inhabitants, the Fortress contained chapels to Helm, Tyr, Torm, and Tempus. During the mid-to-late 14th century DR they were all overseen by Shield Brother Benitus, a venerable priest of Helm assisted by younger priests of many faiths.[1]
Defenses[]
Between the Golden Fortress and Eshpurta, the local Council Army forces were made up of 18,000 soldiers and 6,300 officers, as well as 3,000 trainees and 700 military instructors, craftsmen, and other support staff.[1][2] They were joined by the 2,000 Shield Militia of the city.[4]
The officers of the Fortress kept an eye on predatory businesses that could harm the welfare of their soldiers in Eshpurta. If a particular enterprise in the city such as a loan-shark or gambling den proved exceptionally troublesome, the problem was usually resolved by an unfortunate accident during catapult drills that destroyed the establishment.[2]
Inhabitants[]
- Commander Balacer Macefist.[1][4]
- Shield Brother Benitus.[1][4]
- Ard Roton, Swanmantle of the Heralds of Faerûn in Eshpurta.[1]
Appendix[]
Notes[]
- ↑ The map of Eshpurta on page 39 of Lands of Intrigue Book Two: Amn marks the Amstel River as beginning at the convergence of Trifin Creek and the River Rimril, and page 45 describes the river as flowing "from Eshpurta" and being fed by the Khalleshyr and the River Valashar. However, three sources, Empires of the Sands (p. 18), Castle Spulzeer (p. 21), and Lands of Intrigue Book Two: Amn itself (p. 43) indicate that the Amstel River began east of Trollford, the only safe place where it could be crossed for 75 miles. Finally, the wording on page 38 of Lands of Intrigue Book Two: Amn implies that the river began "at Trollford," where the Khalleshyr joined it. It is consistent that Trifin Creek, the Rimril, the Khalleshyr, and the Valashar all fed the Amstel. It seems possible that the north–south fork from Eshpurta and the east–west fork from Trollford were both called the Amstel. It is also possible that the map on page 39 of Lands of Intrigue Book Two: Amn is in error and that references to "from Eshpurta" and "at Trollford" are not meant to be precise but rather as general descriptions of the area, i.e., "near Eshpurta" and "in the region of Trollford." If this latter interpretation is correct, then page 43 of Lands of Intrigue Book Two: Amn would clearly indicate that the River Valashar became the Amstel River when the Khalleshyr joined it 40 miles east of Trollford. According to page 38, then, Trifin Creek flowed into the Rimril at Eshpurta, and it was the Rimril, not the Amstel, that flowed south from Eshpurta. The Rimril then joins the Amstel west of Trollford.
Appearances[]
Adventures
Castle Spulzeer
Connections[]
Ruined Fortresses
Fort Ilbratha • Nine Sentinels
References[]
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 Steven E. Schend (August 1997). “Book Two: Amn”. In Roger E. Moore ed. Lands of Intrigue (TSR, Inc.), pp. 39, 40. ISBN 0-7869-0697-9.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Scott Haring (1988). Empires of the Sands. (TSR, Inc), p. 9. ISBN 0-8803-8539-1.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 ProFantasy Software Ltd. (1999). Forgotten Realms Interactive Atlas. TSR, Inc. File: 4130 Eshpurta.FCW
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Doug Stewart (November 1997). Castle Spulzeer. (TSR, Inc), pp. 18, 19. ISBN 978-0786906697.