The Trollford was a passable ford on the Amstel River by the South Road in Amn.[1][2]
Description[]
Trollford was the only safe, shallow ford on the Amstel River for many miles, as the river was too swift and deep for much of its length.[1][2]
Geography[]
The ford was located south of Eshpurta along the Troll Road (the local stretch of the South Road) as it crossed the Amstel, 40 miles (64 kilometers) downriver and 75 miles (120 kilometers) upriver of the next viable crossings. It was just downriver of the Qadim Hills and the junction of the River Valashar and Khalleshyr.[1][2][3][note 1]
History[]
The site was once the center of a troll civilization that was wiped out by humans from Calimshan during its Third Age (−1900 DR to −900 DR), a period of northern expansion. The few surviving trolls fled to the nearby mountains, granting the name of the Troll Mountains, and a small population continued to persist in the region. The fallen kingdom's vast wealth was never found, and treasure hunters repeatedly searched the area to no result.[1][2] The region became known as the Ralamnish Ridings, imperial Calimshan's northern frontier.[5][6]
Trolls continued to use the ford to cross the river, and opportunistically raided caravans on the road. Council Army troops in Eshpurta received special training on dealing with trolls, and provided paid escorts from the city to past the ford. During the 14th century DR, the troll population increased notably and so did their raids and skirmishes. It was believed that between the troll's original royal stash and the treasure obtained from looting, they had amassed a truly massive hoard.[1][2]
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
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Scott Haring (1988). Empires of the Sands. (TSR, Inc), p. 18. ISBN 0-8803-8539-1.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Steven E. Schend (August 1997). “Book Two: Amn”. In Roger E. Moore ed. Lands of Intrigue (TSR, Inc.), p. 43. ISBN 0-7869-0697-9.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 ProFantasy Software Ltd. (1999). Forgotten Realms Interactive Atlas. TSR, Inc. File: Amn.FCW
- ↑ Doug Stewart (November 1997). Castle Spulzeer. (TSR, Inc), p. 21. ISBN 978-0786906697.
- ↑ Steven E. Schend, Dale Donovan (September 1998). Empires of the Shining Sea. Edited by Julia Martin. (TSR, Inc.), p. 17. ISBN 0-7869-1237-5.
- ↑ Steven E. Schend (August 1997). “Book One: Tethyr”. In Roger E. Moore ed. Lands of Intrigue (TSR, Inc.), p. 23. ISBN 0-7869-0697-9.