Riatavin, the Gateway City / Gateway to the East

Thousandheads caravan company, 40% ownership Bhaerkantos

(military adviser, former adventurer)

Tannithall, manor of the Baron of Valshall, 5 miles south

Halfling-only neighborhoods remembering the lost realm of Meiritin

Amnian Noble Houses: Krimmevols (caravans, 1/4 of trade and support

businesses) and Copriths (banking, dominant family owning 40% of
businesses after buyouts and foreclosures engineered around
Riatavin’s defection from Amn)

Orgoth’s Tower, fiends and treasure, half a day east

Jashire Family, majority owners of The Scimitar hedonistic resort on

Lake Esmel, major wine producers (Wine Lord)

Rebellion was sparked by low social status of citizens and exclusion

from the Matzican trade boom

Tormaril family: carriage and caravan fortunes

The Merchants’ Chosen: five ruling families are Coprith, Krimmevol,

Jashire, Tormaril, and Bhaerkantos

Population shrank from 125,000 to 80,000 (number triples during

summer trade season), formerly 50,000 lived and worked east of the
Tejarn Hills. 89% human, 6% halfling, 3% half elf, 2% other

Major Products: livestock, horses, exported trade goods from the East

Defended by the Ring Knights of Riatavin (formerly 3,000 mounted with

chainmail, lances, shields, swords)

Flipping Coins tavern once operated by NE wizard Eris Elenaak, known

for uncanny predictions
Waukeen’s temple in Riatavin, the Lodge of Coins, has one of the few
elaborate and open uses of magic in all of Amn. Its central spire has a huge
12-foot-wide golden coin (Waukeen’s symbol) foating a few feet above it; the
coin acts as a weather vane, marking the direction of the wind as it turns the
coin. The Lodge is led by Overgold Haeclar Dominit (N hm P19Waukeen), and
his church is fully supportive of Riatavin’s new direction.

Close to the center of the city and Riatan’s Needle is Firehair Hall, a temple to
Sune led by Heartwarder Qima Regirr (CG hf P13Sune), a displaced
Tashalantan and onetime slave of House Colwyvv. She is nervous about the
rebellion, and she fears the repercussions to all Riatavin’s citizens, should the
Council restore the city to Amnian rule. She most fears being made a slave
again.

Riatan’s Needle, a tall, slim butte 90 feet high that marks the exact center of
the city of Riatavin. It caught the eye of Riatan Krimmevol, who with two
others then founded this trade city. The Needle has a magically lit brazier on
top that is visible at night to travelers on the Tethir Road. The stairs cut into
the side of the Needle are used by the guard only, but adventurous folk
(mostly youths) try to scale the rough side unless chased of. •

Ghalmrinnar, a large, four-story manor house of the Tormarils at the center of

the city. Many Riatavanners see this as the city’s controlling hall, since the
Merchants’ Chosen use it for meetings and a small contingent of troops
camps on its lawns. Over a century ago, the manor was called Spellmere and
was owned by the Spulzeer clan, a family that has since dwindled but was
once among the founding clans of Riatavin.

STONE CIRCLES
Stone circles for primitive and ancient worship; sometimes still used by travelers, druids, et
al. There is only one complete stone circle within the areas of Amn, Tethyr, and Erlkazar,
though there are fourteen ruined stone circles throughout the three countries.
May have been more----Shoon Emperors had many destroyed for their stone which became
either palace walls or road stone.

The Giants' Ring: Valashar, 20 m. SE of Riatavin

“city newspaper” -equivalent chapbooks (as opposed to broadsheets) published every six
days to a tenday (with rare “special issues” to cover really exciting news or sudden events),
and is a short magazine full of gossip, reviews of local musical, theatrical, and oratical
performances, and news of forthcoming events (such as tours by visiting musicians, eateries
about to open, books soon to be published) and events of cultural interest (e.g. a ruler bans
something, artists feud or marry or announce a collaboration, or something interesting
happens to an artist [from a murder or pregnancy to a drinking bout or the utterance of a
bon mot]). Some such chapbooks last for decades, but many rise and fall abruptly with
changing public mood or moves to silence them by harrassing the writers or threatening the
printers.
RIATAVIN: Dansarra’s Delights (Dansarra was a local dancer and prostitute who died, rose
as undead without any intent or preparation of her own part, and went on dancing despite
her body being less than appealing; though she long since fell to dust, the writers of this
vicious chapbook adopt her voice and purport to be Dansarra as they gleefully skewer local
eateries, plays, and public figures)

THE COLLEGE OF THE ECLIPSE (PGTF 172+)

Headquartered in the Thethyrian metropolis of Riatavin, this society is dedicated to the
advancement of psionic abilities. The College of the Eclipse operates openly from its
fortresslike headquarters. Most Tethyrians believe that it's just another esoteric order of
arcane spellcasters, and its memebers encourage that misconception.

The Tethir Road: This lonely stretch of road spans thousands of miles from
Murann to Ormath of the Vilhon Reach. From Riatavin to Murann are no major
caravan stops; but a half-dozen tiny villages not shown on any maps allow
travelers to rest there, surrounded by pastures and cattle, grain fields,
orchards of figs and dates, or hillside vineyards. Travelers are watched most
of the way; the elves of Forest Tethir are not trusting sorts. The worst section
is the long slope of road from the forest’s northernmost bend down to
Trademeet on the Trade Way, where elves often shoot arrows into wagons to
spook yoxen (Amnian yoke-oxen) and horses, sending merchants and goods
on a mad race down the hills toward town.

Roaring Manticore Inn

History
Year of the Wailing Winds (1000 DR) Riatavin is established as a trading post
and temple city with the backing of the Spulzeer, Krimmevol, and Coprith
families.

Ches 1370 DR (Year of the Tankard) The Rebellion begins: Riatavin and
Trailstone defect from Amn, citing many objections to their social and
economic treatment. Both petition to join Tethyr. Amn and the Council are
shocked; the Council’s intelligence network gave no warning of the disaster.
The Council immediately sends arbitrators to Riatavin to discuss the hostage-
taking of loyal Amnians against their will from the protection and profit
provided for them by the Council. Additional agents are sent to Darromar to
prevent the involvement of the Tethyrian government.

Tarsakh 1370: The arbitrators’ talks with both Tethyr and Riatavin collapse.
While western Amn got rich on Maztican gold and goods, Riatavin’s and
Trailstone’s infuence and importance were minimized; they did not get any
benefit from the Council or the Maztican trade to funnel east, as the trade all
went north or south. The two communities choose to ally with Tethyr to gain
more important trade (and higher social) links. The Council cannot deny that
the Merchants’ Chosen of Riatavin own 90% of the businesses there, nearly
85% of the people support the move, and it’s more profitable for all
concerned! (More profitable for all in Riatavin, that is, but not for the Council
of Six and Amnjust the way the Six treated Riatavin with regards to the
Maztican trade.) By the end of the second tenday, Amn’s ofcials quietly
abandon hopes of regaining Riatavin and Trailstone.

Mirtul 1370: Riatavin receives the first caravans from Erlkazar and parts east.
Despite some caravan merchants’ protests, the city’s rulers purchase all the
shipping contracts, caravans, and goods coming into the city, making many
happy with quick profits but curious over the future of this caravan route.
Riatavin, with the escorts of the Counts of Valashar, Hazamarch, and
Spellshire, moves the caravans down to Darromar and on to Zazesspur for
sea passage, or down to Saradush and on to the Lake of Steam. A tenday
after hearing of Riatavin’s buying-out of caravans from the Sea of Fallen Stars
and the Vilhon Reach, the merchant families of Amn demand the the Small
Council go to war against Riatavin over lost profits and the worst crime in
Amn: disruption of trade.

Kythorn 1370: The Council of Six and the major families Argrim andLurraxol
hire mercenaries in Athkatla and Eshpurta to besiege Riatavin and reclaim
their trade-route access. By month’s end, they have over 10,000 mercenaries
mobilized outside their cities. Shadow Thief assassins attempt to kill the
rulers of Riatavin and their Tethyrian advisors by poisoning their meals,
placing scorpions and asps in their rooms, and •ambushing them on
nighttime streets. All such attempts fail, and seven severed feet are found in
alleyways about the Gateway City within two tendays. As a result of this,
martial law is established in Riatavin.

Flamerule 1370: The mercenaries at Athkatla are ordered by the Council to

march to Eshpurta and join General Craumerdaun, who will lead the full army
against Riatavin. On the march, these forces gather additional troops from
the Citadels and from the garrisons along the Eshpurta and Gem Roads. The
army collects in Eshpurta at month’s end, then marches toward Riatavin.

Eleasias 1370: A lone scout who escaped the slaughter at Imnescar staggers
into Hillfort Torbold, with information that the monstrous armies’ primary
target is Murann. The information is sent along immediately to Hillfort Keshla,
with the command to abandon the attack on Riatavin in favor of preventing
the loss of their country’s secondary port. Despite the orders of Major Olehm,
some ofcers ignore the orders and remain in place for a few days.

A war may well have resulted from Riatavin's and Trailstone's secession from Amn to
Tethyr, but that was averted by the crisis of the Sythillisian invasion.