Archendale
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Known to most as the unfriendliest and most aggressive of the Dales, Archendale1 is both of those things, but it is also the wealthiest and best-defended Dale. This sure defense makes it a secure haven for merchants, who can operate here (at least below Arch Pool) in even more safety than in Sembia. Wayfarers are warned to behave themselves when within the writ and reach of the Rides (mounted army patrols) of Archendale. The Zhentarim, several ambitious Sembian merchants, and.a century ago’the folk of rival Sessrendale can attest to the ruthless, energetic efficiency of the army of Archendale. In separate wars, this tiny holding handily hurled back the armies of all three powers.and not only wrested a treaty out of Sembia that still brings a yearly shipment of gems2 from Ordulin to Archendale, but slaughtered or drove all the inhabitants of Sessrendale from their own land. The wilderness of Sessrendale, known as the Dead Dale, exists today because its soil was sewn with salt by the forces of Archendale.
Lawbreakers in this Dale can expect the same swift, sure justice as acted in these cases to descend upon them; therefore, banditry, thefts, and even fraud are almost unknown here. Be advised that any Ride captain can dispense justice in the name of the three Swords who rule Archendale. And never forget that travelers who so much as speculate aloud as to the identities of these mysterious rulers3.let alone say anything against their judgments.can expect to leave Archendale under immediate escort with some or all of any trade goods they carry forfeit!
The vigilance of both citizens and their soldiers leaves Arkhenfolk free to get on with the business of getting rich through trade’something they have always done very well. The struggling merchant seeking investors in the western Dragon Reach lands should go to Suzail and Ordulin first, but come to Archenbridge before trying the harsher, poorer sponsors of Saerloon, Selgaunt, Westgate, and Yhaunn.
The Countryside
Archendale takes the form of a long, narrow valley, Arkhen Vale. It surrounds the gorge cut by the swift, cold River Arkhen.
The gorge begins where the river cascades down out of the mountains at Arkhen Falls (a spectacular sight) and proceeds along the river’s southeasterly run between the Marching Mountains (as this southwestern arm of the Thunder Peaks range is sometimes called) and the Arch Wood. The valley flanks the gorge and spreads out a day’s ride in all directions from the Dale’s only town, Archenbridge.
Archenbridge stands at the mouth of Arkhen Vale and is named for the bridge that carries the Dawnpost, which links Daerlûn and Ordulin through the rural Sembian backlands, across the Arkhen. Before the Dale grew prosperous, the lower end of Arkhen Vale was all farms, and the upper end was rocky and largely deserted sheep grazing land. Today, few trees are to be found below Arch Pool, a small pond where the river waters spill down a few rapids and the crowded homes, gardens, and shops of the Arkhenfolk begin. Most farms in the Dale today are little more than large private gardens.
Almost all the Dalesfolk make their living at some sort of skilled craft, from gemcut- ting to woodcarving, or as the wealthiest folk in Sembia do: through investments.
The waters of Arch Pool are open to all, and visitors are encouraged to water their mounts and camp on its upper shore. Caravans and people coming to trade in Archenbridge must rent paddock space and accommodations in Archenbridge, however. No visitors are allowed to settle or build any structures above Arch Pool, and the only buildings above the pond are farmers. cottages, several hilltop strong- holds used by the Rides (and usually occupied by bored sentries keeping watch for grass fires and monsters on the prowl), and the walled village of White Ford.
The Arkhen gorge is steep-sided. Although a few foot tracks wind up its slippery rock walls into Arch Wood and the mountains, the only trails into or out of the valley that a mounted man or a wagon can traverse are at Archenbridge and White Ford. Good roads run along both sides of the banks of the Arkhen for most of the length of the Vale. Save where people have built or tilled, the valley floor of the upper Vale is a misty area of ferns, mosses, shrubs, and small waterfalls that bring the many springs that rise from the sides of the valley down from pool to pool to join the river. The half-elven minstrel Thalaeva Rynthar of Elventree called the upper reaches of Archendale .perhaps the most beautiful landscape east of Evereska’much too good for those greedy, churlish Arkhenfolk..
The largest and most beautiful water fall in all the Dales is Arkhen Falls. Here a spring bursts from the top of Mount Thalagbror (a peak named for a long-dead ogre mage who once dwelt in a cave somewhere on its eastern flank) and crashes for hundreds of feet down the always-wet mountainside to begin its 60- mile run to Archenbridge. Legend insists that pegasi dance and frolic around the falling water, but I’ve never seen any despite several visits to this isolated spot.4
On either side of Arkhen Vale stand what some elder Arkhenfolk call ‘the Walls of Night. because they block the early rays of the morning sun and hasten the gloom of night: Arch Wood and the Marching Mountains. Few folk in present-day Archendale know the mountain trails or have ever ventured up into their monster-haunted height, and almost as few have ever entered the dense forest that forms the other flank of Archendale. The Arch Wood is a dark, thick wall of shadowtop, duskwood, ash, oak, and elm trees haunted by owlbears and bearing a fell reputation. Old elven ruins and rumored mage tombs lie within the dense woods, but those who go looking for them rarely come out again. If the planned cutting of timber in Arch Wood proceeds as briskly as some Arkhenfolk desire, some of these lost sites will be cut out of the forest into the easy reach of all.
Below Arch Pool, the well-ordered countryside presents a vista of gently sloping tilled fields divided by hedgerows that have grown up around rows of heaped stones. Children here learn to use their slings swiftly and surely when very young to bring down birds for use in hearth pies and to keep the avians from plundering seeds or crops. Their elders make sure that not a foot of ground is wasted.
Amid these neat and fertile farms stand the hamlets of Lady’s Belt, Nairning, and Ramblecoats, places which offer farmers markets and farm supplies stores. All lodgings in these farmlands are safe, clean, and enjoyable, but there is little of particular interest to the outlander hereabouts except horses: Fine riding mounts are bred around Lady’s Belt. All else can be had more cheaply in Archenbridge, where competition is fiercer. Most visitors to the farmlands of Archendale are passing through to White Ford and the lands beyond or are adventurers trying their luck in the mountain mines or in Arch Wood.
Of old, there was much copper and gem mining in the peaks above the gorge of the River Arkhen, especially around Arkhen Falls. Monsters have always made mining dangerous in the area, and yields from the delvings have grown ‘more and more paltry with the passing years, so the miners have grown fewer among Arkhenfolk.
Outlander adventurers, however, have increased in the region since Sembia was founded, the elves grew quiet, and the roads opened up. Every year more and more folk visit Archendale in hopes of making their fortunes. They are drawn by tales of caches of elven finery and Sembian merchant treasuries hidden in the many natural caverns and abandoned delvings of the Marching Mountains by folk who did not live to return and claim them.
The most vivid stories of mining in Archendale center on the Sparkling Stones, caverns somewhere in the mountains above Arkhen Vale whose walls glitter with thousands of gems. These caves are said to be guarded by a clan of dwarves driven mad by the riches they guard. These dwarves supposedly seek to slay all intruders, but they may let some escape or even toss them fist-sized gem- stones out of insane whimsy. Many folk claim to have seen these shining deeps and escaped through such dwarven folly - but I’ve never found any story- tellers who look any the richer for their adventures’5 It is certain, however, that crag sheep, vultures, and wyverns lair in the high fastnesses of the Marching Mountains, and that hobgoblins and worse creatures sometimes raid miners and isolated holds in the upper Vale.
Archenbridge [Map of Town]
This busy town of more than 1,200 folk is the center of Archendale. A cluster of stone buildings with slate or tile roofs, Archenbridge has always outgrown its successively larger walls, sprawling along the overland road that its bridge carries across the River Arkhen. Its center is as cramped and as bustling as a ward of Waterdeep, with wagons rumbling up and down its cobbled streets at all hours and every building rising at least three floors above ground level. (A typical Archenbridge squarehouse has a shop or storage cellar below ground, a shop at street level, offices or rental storage above that, and one or more floors of residences crowning all.) Excepting the grand houses of nobles and retired gentry, only Essembra in all the Dales boasts private buildings of such height.
Landmarks
The River Arkhen flows swiftly through town, powering both a grist mill and a sawmill. The grist mill is Heward’s Mill, operated by the greedy and uncouth Salath Heward, and the sawmill is Sandan’s Sawmill, run by Sandan himself, an always-calm retired Ride captain who notices everything and works with slow, deliberate care. The cold, swift Arkhen also affords fishing and boating pleasure to the wealthy folk who dwell in the newly built manor houses along the River Way, the town’s most exclusive district. At least one of these manor houses.Whiteturrets, owned by Marler Chandrar of Fairwind Street.can be rented by the tenday or the month by exclusive guests or for parties. (A tenday costs 50 gp per person in winter and 75 gp per head between Greengrass and the Festival of the Moon. A month costs 120 gp or 300 gp, with the same seasonal variance.)
These grand houses are separated from the sprawl of the ever-expanding town by the trees of Grave Hollow, a glen with a grass-covered barrow hill at its heart. The Hollow is used by citizens of all ages who like to dine at highsun under the open sky and at night by young Arkhenfolk in love.or those who wish to conduct secretive business. (Be warned: The Swords send soft-footed undercover agents patrolling the Hollow at night to listen and learn all they can.)
Rental paddocks (for caravan assembly and the use of visiting merchants) and the market field also restrict the growth of the town. Increasingly, businesses whose trade requires a large workplace and storage area, such as wagonmakers and stonemasons, are maintaining only offices in town and locating their main shops in walled compounds just within sight of the town. They trust, as the lordlings of the manor houses along River Way do, in the readiness of the town garrison in the frowning stone keep of Swordpoint. This old fortress, the largest castle in the Dales, overlooks the town and the West Road leading up into the farmlands and thence the length of the Dale to distant White Ford.
Two large temples lie parallel to each other in the heart of Archenbridge, almost facing each other: the Bounty of the Goddess, dedicated to Chauntea, and the Glory of the Morning, consecrated to Lathander. The homes and shops of the haughty citizens of Archenbridge crowd around these two tall, spired buildings. The only other notable place of worship in Archenbridge is the Shrine of Swords - which honors Tempus. It stands in the forecourt of Swordpoint. Several merchant costers are based in town, and every other shopkeeper in Archenbridge has a secret source or three in Sembia. Somewhere in town the traveler can find almost anything. In this guide I have noted only a few outstanding establishments, and separate entries for the most interesting sights follow.
