ZelbrossThis hamlet is home to about 120 folk, mostly quiet farmers. At this point,
the Shining River has rich natural claypits along its banks. This
may even be the reason the very old settlement was established. A
dozen elderly craftsfolk in Zelbross make pottery of all sorts. Their
work is excellent, and passing merchants and peddlers snap up all
they can produce. Samples of their work have been seen as far east
as Daggerdale, as far south as Chult, and even in distant Evermeet
(or so the local rumor tells).
Zelbross is famous as a source of clay smoking pipes, baked iron-hard with a
mottled, tortoise-shell finish. These pipes can be found throughout Faerun.
Places of Interest
The Sly Fox: The Fox is the sort of tavern one would call rustic. It has a low-beamed, smoky taproom with a hearth surrounded by elders warming their toes and nursing tankards. They ignore visitors, who find the beer good but the wine awful. The other drinks available are unfiltered cider and a rusty-colored water that came from either a stagnant pool or a near-empty, shallow well.
The Sly Fox is rumored to be built on a mass-grave site. The sepulcher is believed to contain the remains of famous adventurers and warriors who fought battles or discovered important sites throughout the North. The tombs supposedly contain the long-moldered corpses of the individuals as well as all the gear they perished with.
The Last Place: The origin of this old, crumbling establishment's name has been lost over time; perhaps it was once the last inn on a particular route. The north bedchambers have nice views of the High Forest and shelter from road noise. The chambermaids are nothing to look at; theyíre either tainted with orc or ogre blood, with a personality to match if angered. If heavily tipped, they promise services that would make the strongest human and elf turn tail and run.
The food served here is reminiscent of a frontier town, which this is. The meats are heavily salted, which either means the salt wasnít steeped from the meat before cooking, or the meat was in a salt vat for years. In either case, expect a high bar tab after the meal.