Vast Swamp The Vast Swamp was an area of swampland in interior Faerûn that lay between Cormyr to its west and Sembia to its east . It was widely thought of as the most dangerous stretch of wilderness in the land . Ignored by surrounding nations , it had no proper name ; " vast swamp " appears to be a nickname that stuck . Geography . It was flanked to the north and east by the Thunder Peaks mountains , to the west by the Eastern Plains of Cormyr , and to the south by the Dragonmere , a body of water that poured into the Sea of Fallen Stars . Between the swamp and the coast ran the Way of the Manticore , the only overland route between Cormyr and Sembia . The Vast Swamp was largely marshland covered with forest of middling density , making it appear more like a flooded forest than an actual swamp . One could rarely see far for the forest . The terrain was dominated by undergrowth and bogs with precious little clear , dry land to be found anywhere within its borders . The ground underfoot was soft and spongy , largely comprising thick peat . What paths there were to be found winding through the swamp were little more than muddy trails . The marshland itself was comparatively shallow , but very great in extent . The wilderness was completely polluted by its various denizens and a long history of dark magic . While a natural marshland would filter sediments and toxic substances from a river , this barely occurred in the Vast Swamp . The many deadly natural hazards of the swamp included insects that transmitted diseases , noxious clouds of gases , dense fogs that were utterly impenetrable , patches of quicksand and bogs that would suck the unwary down to their doom , and the freezing rain that fell thereabouts . The borders of the swamp were forever expanding towards the Way of the Manticore , slowly but inexorably . When it finally reached the road , it might halt all overland travel between Sembia and Cormyr . Climate . Weather in the Vast Swamp was unnatural and inhospitable , and made it a place of unending discomfort . Rain fell regularly , regardless of the season , seemingly falling whenever it would be most annoying . The annual total precipitation was 70 inches ( 1 . 78 meters ) . In summer and autumn , temperatures were oppressively hot , with peak temperatures of 90 °F ( 32 . 2 °C ) , while in winter and spring they were freezing cold , dipping as low as 40 °F ( 4 . 4 °C ) . It never saw snow , however . Whether in the depths of winter or the height of summer , and even in bright sun , the marsh and forest were forever shrouded with a persistent mist or murky vapor . Thin and sticky , it hugged the branches of the trees , pooled in depressions and hollows , and flowed over land and around obstacles , moving almost like a living thing . The ever - present and obscuring mist made it hard to see more than a mile ( 1 . 6 kilometers ) in any direction , even if one could see over or past the trees . Even fog from the Dragonmere coast constantly rolled inland towards the swamp . Fogs there grew thick and impenetrable . Geographical features . The Vast Swamp was the source of the Darkflow , a river that flowed from the center of the marsh and south into the Lake of Dragons . It was wide and sluggish , and fed by marsh water . The regular rains caused it to swell , leading to floods in the lands beside the river . As the name suggested , the water was so dark that it was described as " inky " . This was a result of sediment , filth , and pollution — the water was not filtered or cleaned as would happen in a natural marsh . As a result , the river - water was foul and stinking . The river also formed part of the border between Cormyr and Sembia . Flora . Around the fringes of the swamp grew blueleaf s and oak , typically gnarled and stunted . As one ventured further in , copses of more tangled trees grew more common and finally became predominant . A variety of trees grew in the heart of the flooded forest : black gum , cypress , water ash , water birch , gall oak , and willow and weeping willow . These trees invariably choked the region , their trunks were twisted and dark , and were draped in moss . There were even carnivorous trees that could be hazardous , like the black willow and thornslinger . Other plants found growing in the Vast Swamp were common marsh reeds , swamp grass , and cattail . Meanwhile , duckweed floated on the waters . There were also a number of rare species of water lily ; a few of these served as components for spells and potions , like healing potions . Fauna . Even the ordinary animals were unnatural in aspect and behavior . They were highly aggressive , fighting each other for food or space . They also had no fear of humanoids , being ready to attack with great ferocity . There were fox es , otter s , raccoon s , rodents such as black squirrel s , poisonous snake s ( an ever - present threat ) , and even lynx es and swamp panthers . Many of these creatures were diseased , carrying rabies , swamp fever , and the like . Creepy - crawlers to watch out for were leeches and centipedes . Monstrous beasts included dire boar s , giant crocodile s , and giant constrictor snake s , as well as giant frog s , giant leech es , and monstrous centipede s . Relations . The Vast Swamp and the Darkflow served as the " de facto " border between the realms of Cormyr and Sembia , largely because neither Cormyr nor Sembia had any interest in laying claim to the land , nor anything beyond . The myriad of monsters and other hazards made the Vast Swamp the most dangerous place in either land , people had no cause or desire to go in , and clearing it and draining it would be an epic undertaking , so both nations were happy to ignore it — at least until some raider or monster crept out and into their lands . Thankfully , the savage denizens of the Vast Swamp usually stayed in its confines , content to war between themselves rather than raid the neighboring lands . Nevertheless , lizardmen dwelling in the Vast Swamp sometimes ventured down the Darkflow to raid villages . The village of Battlerise , which stood on the west bank of the Darkflow River , was once beset by lizardmen from the river and monsters emerging from the Vast Swamp . Long before the 1360s DR , its population had plummeted . The lizardmen also raided the monastic settlement of Monksblade further up the Way of the Manticore , contributing to its depopulation over centuries . By the 1360s DR , Ghars also lay within reach of Vast Swamp raiders , but was well defended . The town of Thunderstone was also well protected against the dangers of the swamp . Nevertheless , the Vast Swamp enticed explorers who would brave the dangers and endure the difficult environment . Many famed explorers and adventurers , even whole bands , went into the Vast Swamp , and few were heard of again . However , at a national level , neither Cormyr nor Sembia themselves had attempted any major expeditions into the Vast Swamp before the late 14th century DR . Hence few people knew for sure what lurked in the darkest , dankest depths of the swamp . History . In the Year of the Thirsty Sword , 900 DR , King Galaghard III ' s army , the Glory of Cormyr , drove the Witch Lords and their undead forces toward the Vast Swamp . They caught and trapped them there against the swamp ' s western shore and finally defeated them . In the Year of the Dragon , 1352 DR , the Lost King Gondegal , who attempted to carve his own kingdom out of Cormyr , extended his reach as far east as the Vast Swamp . In the late 1340s DR , the Thunderstone farmer Del Geery ( whose farmland extended to the edge of the Vast Swamp ) sponsored the explorer Hadley Erridge for a thirty - man expedition into the Vast Swamp to capture a live hydra . Two months later , they returned with an adult hydra in a cage of iron . Ultimately , Geery developed a variety of uses for hydra body parts and began to fund new hydra - hunting expeditions into the Vast Swamp . He was very successful at this new trade by 1367 DR . Around 1357 DR , an adventuring group called the Moon ' s Twelve went into the Vast Swamp . The last surviving member , Sylara , returned to civilized lands ranting and delirious about discovering an elven ruin as old and as extensive as Myth Drannor but her group was ambushed and pursued by mind flayer s and beholder s . She died of a swamp fever before she could elaborate further and no one knew if what she saw actually existed . Brother Twick , a knowledgeable halfling cleric of Chauntea who studied the marshes of Cormyr on behalf of the Naturalists ' Guild , made a few expeditions into the Vast Swamp before 1367 DR . His aim was to further knowledge of botany and wildlife and to seek converts for the Grain Goddess . He found no potential believers , but plenty of experiences of horror . Nevertheless , he survived to become an authority on the place and its dangers . In the late 1360s DR , the Dragonslayer lizardfolk tribe ( so named for claiming to have killed several dragons over the decades ) slew the black dragon Tyra and moved into her lair . However , Tyra ' s brother Despayr came and massacred many of the Dragonslayers , and enslaved the survivors . He then took her lair and hoard as his own . He had a daughter by one of the lizardfolk , Ketsarra Shadowscale , who became their new chieftain . In time , Despayr was visited by Esvele Graycastle , who retrieved from the treasure the " shadow shard " , with which Despayr transformed the lizardfolk slaves and even his daughter into the first of the undead Shadowscale s . The Dragonslayers were no more . In the service of Esvele ' s scheme , Despayr sought to dominate much of the Vast Swamp . Their goal was to tear a hole in the Weave of magic and so form a dead - magic zone over all the Vast Swamp . It was to be a powerbase for the followers of Shar and an earthly homeland for their shadar - kai allies . In the Year of Lightning Storms , 1374 DR , at Despayr ' s behest , the Shadowscales made savage war upon the tribes of the Vast Swamp , particularly the other lizardfolk , who could hardly resist the shadowslain raiders . Many were slain and more were captured and carried off to the Lost Refuge , eventually returning as Shadowscales themselves to attack their own kin . However , the lowly Kessessek proved himself by turning the Shadowscales and the leaderless Sharptooths acclaimed him as their new chieftain . Kessessek adopted an aggressive but canny strategy against the mightier Shadowscales . He made an alliance between the Sharptooths and the Blackscale s and Poison Dusk s — other tribes attacked by the Shadowscales — and so they survived against further raids . Then , in early Eleint , he led a war party of Sharptooths , Blackscales , and Poison Dusks into Shadowscale territory around the Skull Staff . They hoped to slay some Shadowscales or their Shar - worshiping allies , or else capture some of the " dream walkers " — mind - controlled petitioners of a false Temple of Mystra — that regularly passed that way to the Lost Refuge . Kessessek and his kin recognized that these dream walkers were innocents and hoped to capture them , free their minds , and deny this resource to their shared enemy . In fact , the next group to pass that way were adventurers in service to Mystra investigating the false temple and Sharrans ' activities . Parlaying at the Sharptooth encampment , Kessessek aided and enlisted the adventurers to deal with the Shadowscales at the Lost Refuge . Afterward , as the adventurers went into the Plane of Shadow to end the Shadowscale and Sharran threats , the Sharptooths took over and guarded the Lost Refuge . When they returned , the Sharptooths feted them as heroes . In the following weeks , after War Wizards investigated the Lost Refuge , the kingdom of Cormyr made an alliance with the Sharptooth tribe . Limited trade even began between lizardfolk and human , and the Vast Swamp lost a little of its mystery and dread to the Cormyreans , though they still declined to go near it . Notable locations . The Skull Staff . Just within the swamp on its south - western border was the Skull Staff , a 30 - feet - high ( 9 meter ) log jutting out of the ground , surrounded by many kinds skulls , with more mounted on spikes and stakes . Built by orcs , it was a territorial marker for them and other tribes who held the area . The Lost Refuge . The Lost Refuge was a Cormyrean keep placed near the border of the Vast Swamp . It supported a town as well but nearly a hundred years ago the combination of the expanding swamp and an orc attack killed the garrison and Cormyreans subsequently forgot all about the place . It was shortly thereafter conquered by hobgoblins but more recently fell into the hands of Sharran cultists . Legend has it that the Dusk Lord of Sessrendale opened up a planar rift to the Plane of Shadow in this keep after fleeing from his former homeland . Orvaskyte Keep . Sages agreed that Orvaskyte Keep , discovered in the 1360s DR by adventurers seeking missing comrades in the swamp , was built by members of the kingdom of Orva . The keep was believed to have been built around the 7th century before Dalereckoning , but was reported to be ( in 1374 DR ) occupied by fiends and other monsters , which abruptly ended all considerations of exploring the place further . Elven ruins . As claimed by Sylara , last survivor of the Moon ' s Twelve , there was somewhere in the Vast Swamp a complex of ruined structures as old and as extensive as the famous Myth Drannor . This too was of elven architecture , with carvings and murals illustrating elven kings and mages , all of which seemed to point to a heretofore unknown and forgotten elf kingdom that had once stood in these lands before the Vast Swamp grew . The truth of this tale and the elven ruins is unknown , but a number of other treasures of elven make , bearing elven imagery and archaic Espruar script , coming separately out of the Vast Swamp supported the Moon ' s Twelve ' s discovery . Other locales . Around 1374 DR , there was a frequently erupting boiling water geyser located in the western Vast Swamp . It was surrounded by several hot springs , and the area was misty , muggy , and smelled of sulfur . Lizardfolk sometimes camped here . Inhabitants . The Vast Swamp was known to be heavily populated by tribes of lizardfolk , hobgoblin s and other goblinoid s , orc s , gnoll s , and trolls . Tribes of bullywug s were also reputed to dwell here , but this was unconfirmed . There were also reports of catoblepas , a few black dragon s ( mostly small ) , one or two insane beholder s , occasionally hydra s , and even grell , as well as stories of even stranger monsters , like undead and mind flayer s . Only the common breed of hydra was known in the Vast Swamp , but they were well - feared by the humanoid inhabitants , owing to many deadly encounters . Surprisingly , these hydrae were profitably hunted by Del Geery of Thunderstone in the 1360s . Of the black dragons , at least two young drakes laired in the Vast Swamp in the mid - to - late 1300s . These were Tyra and Despayr , and were the spawn of the great Skurge of the Marshes of Tun . Although Tyra was slain in the late 1360s , Despayr became notorious for allying with the cult of Shar and attempting to conquer the whole Vast Swamp in 1374 DR . Will - o ' - wisp s were also found there , and were often sighted from the Way of the Manticore . Meazel s were widespread in the Vast Swamp . They lived out of crude shelters in the deep swamp and regularly preyed upon kobolds and goblins and even orcs that they could catch alone . Although not populous enough to serious affect local ecology or society , the goblins , and kobolds , and orcs saw the meazels as magical spirits who kidnapped humanoids to devour . In efforts to ward them off , lone orcs and goblins carried charms and fetishes , while kobolds tried to appease them by leaving their own kind , bound but alive , as sacrifices . The meazels took these offerings , and still hunted the kobolds . Darktentacles were among the rarest yet deadliest predators of the Vast Swamp . They lurked beneath the water ' s surface and surprised and seized victims with their tentacles . When one became known to swamp denizens , they carefully avoided it . A darktentacles could eradicate all fish and birdlife in an area in weeks before it moved to fresh hunting grounds . Despite their rarity , however , their populations were apparently growing in both the Vast Swamp and the Marshes of Tun since the Time of Troubles of 1358 DR . All kinds of restless undead were reported in the Vast Swamp , including revenant s and mummies ( normally a product of arid climes ) . Lizardfolk . According to Brother Twick , the lizardfolk of the Vast Swamp were utterly savage , even compared to those in the Marshes of Tun , and matched all the worst depictions of lizardfolk . The evil atmosphere seemed to have affected these lizardfolk badly ; they were said to be almost psychotic , attacking any outsider who even came close and relentlessly and obsessively hunting down human s , elves , and halflings . Rather than follow the traditional lizardfolk god Semuanya , they paid homage to evil spirits of nature and to fiends , especially the demon lord Sess ' innek . Shamans of these lizardfolk fashioned strange altars and icons from the bones of animals and sacrificial victims , and there conducted brutal rites . He reported these lizardfolk gathered into tribal groups of only around a dozen members and that they were nomadic , erecting no permanent structures or shelters . They were led by especially cruel and wicked lizard king s who demanded the sacrifice of sentient beings like elves and humans , and would settle for killing and devouring their own followers . The reality , however , was quite different when the adventurers in service to Mystra penetrated the Vast Swamp in 1374 DR and gained the aid of the friendly Sharptooth tribe and their allies , the Blackscale s and Poison Dusk s . Only the undead Shadowscales , twisted to suit a dragon ' s ends , were hostile . Ultimately , the Sharptooths even made an alliance and trade with the kingdom of Cormyr . Some of the known lizardfolk tribes were : Hobgoblins . Also according to Twick , the hobgoblin tribes of the Vast Swamp were also especially violent and xenophobic compared to their kin in other lands , assaulting all trespassers in their territory . There were several tribes who fought incessantly against each other . Most had enslaved goblins and kobold s to use as servants and fodder in battle . Unusually , these hobgoblins followed the mad god Cyric . They believed their conflicts would ultimately unite them under a single commander , who would then lead them in a unstoppable holy war against the human realms outside the swamp . They believed Cyric himself would arrive to lead their crusade , wielding a weapon so mighty that whole armies would flee at the sight of it and that it could cause castle walls to fall with but a touch . Some of the known hobgoblin tribes were : Grell . A colony of grell , numbering some sixty specimens spread over four hives , operated in the darker reaches of the Vast Swamp . Each hive was dominated by a patriarch of greater than normal psionic power . The grell ' s evil seemed related to the evil of the Vast Swamp , and they were feared and hated by all in the swamp . The grell venerated the Imperator — perhaps a god of their kind — a colossal grell of enormous psionic power , who was reputed to lie under the surface of the whole swamp . The grell apparently believed this thing would lead the floating brains in a war of conquest and consumption . This also figured highly in local hobgoblin legends , which told of an enormous and highly cerebral grell lurking in caves under the swamp . The truth of this remained unknown . Rumors and legends . The popular image that city - dwellers had of swamps and marshes — as dark and dismal place of danger and death , disease , and dismemberment — while completely false when it came to natural wildernesses , was completely true when it came to the Vast Swamp . If it was widely imagined that evil lurked and festered in such places , then it was entirely likely it did in the Vast Swamp , and even authorities like Brother Twick were inclined to believe it and fear it would spread . There was , as yet , no tangible proof of this , but neither was there a better explanation . Nevertheless , all those who lived outside the Vast Swamp , namely the folk of Cormyr , shunned the place and shared all kinds of horror stories about what went on there . It was commonly claimed that at one time dark magic was practiced here or that forbidden gods were worshiped , and this was the cause of the evil , but this was unverified . Nevertheless , evil magic was rumored to lay about the swamp . According to one legend , early inhabitants of the area once gave refuge to a vile demigod and were cursed for their deeds . Some speculated this was in fact a stunningly powerful beholder or the Imperator of the grell . More recent versions of this legend ( post – Time of Troubles ) told that it was the god Cyric who sheltered in the Vast Swamp , and his evil lingered . According to one legend , the notorious Dusk Lord of Sessrendale was not killed as history recorded , but instead escaped into the Vast Swamp . There , the story said , he plotted vengeance against all living beings in the Dalelands . The Dusk Lord was the most well known of the villains said to inhabit this land . There were rumors of both mind flayer and beholders lurking in an ancient ruin close to the center of the marsh . This could well be the elven ruins reported by Sylara of the Moon ' s Twelve , who were ambushed and slaughtered by such abominations . There was something to support the idea of an ancient elven kingdom once lying in this land , as several items of old elven design had been retrieved over the years . Furthermore , other treasures including elaborately ornamented crowns , amazing gemstones , scintillating armor pieces , and weaponry of exotic design and make had also been found , apparently created by different hands in different cultures and in different times . Perhaps these had originated elsewhere and been carried into the Vast Swamp by adventurers or raiders , but they hinted a number of lost and forgotten kingdoms that predated the Vast Swamp and were later buried in its bogs . Only a close archaeological examination could say for sure . Necromancers were reputed to make their homes in the Vast Swamp . Some stories even told that , somewhere deep inside the swamp , there was a ruined necropolis or some other complex of ruined structures . Herein dwelled a lich or even a whole cabal of liches , in tattered black clothing and wielding archaic and exotic weaponry , alongside countless skeleton s and zombie s . From these liches , it was said , flowed an unremitting evil force that contaminated all that stayed overlong in the area . Indeed , Cormyrean investigators theorized that not only was the Vast Swamp slowly growing , but it had a malevolent influence on those outside . Incidences of violent crime , such as arson , brawling , feuding , and murder were apparently increasing in neighboring settlements in the 1360s DR . However , it was hard to say whether this was due to the evil of the swamp or merely to the troubles of that era . Worse still , a several humanoid tribes and inhuman monsters foretold of an impending unification and subsequent holy war against the humans of Cormyr and surrounding realms . For example , the hobgoblins believed they would unite and conquer the human realms in the name of Cyric the Black Sun , while the grell believed they would do so under the god - like Imperator . True or not , it seemed inevitable that an ambitious warlord or mage or other dominant entity would try to fulfil these prophecies to gather an army . ( In fact , something like this seems to have occurred when Despayr attempted to conquer and control the Vast Swamp for the goddess Shar using the marauding Shadowscale lizardfolk in 1374 DR .