Thunderstone Thunderstone was a village or small town in northeastern Cormyr . It lay along the southern bank of the Thunder River , close to the southern side of Hullack Forest , north of the Vast Swamp , and near to the western slopes of the Thunder Peaks . The Thunderway began at Thunderstone , before running through High Dale and ending at Saerb in Sembia . The Hullack Trail began at Thunderstone , and ran west through southeast Cormyr . The town was named after the Thunder Peaks that rose nearby . History . Many years before the late 1360s DR , an ettin of the Thunder Peak assembled a band of orc s and goblin s and sent them on raids against Thunderstone and Hultail . The attacks were ultimately thwarted and the ettin slain . Thunderstone was one of a number of places captured by the Lost King Gondegal in the Year of the Dragon , 1352 DR . Like the others , his mercenary troops occupied and pillaged the town before being ousted by the Purple Dragons as Gondegal ' s eight - day kingdom fell . Desiring lumber and game to fuel the expansion of the realm , the Cormyrean crown sought to exploit the primeval Hullack Forest . Thus , it encouraged adventuring companies and such groups to clear the forest of monstrous creatures and the many goblin and orc tribes dwelling there , and to investigate its secrets and quell the rumors of danger . To that end , the crown suspended many rules normally placed on adventurers . By 1367 DR , Thunderstone had become an oft - used base of operations for expeditions into the nearby Hullack Forest , by adventurers , Purple Dragons , and merchant groups . By the late 1360s DR , a rumor circulated that an enterprising cloud giant dwelling in the southern Thunder Peaks had secretly contacted some merchants of Thunderstone , with plans to open regular trade with the human town . The merchants involved kept their dealings with the cloud giant secret . In the Year of the Shield , 1367 DR , a sage in Thunderstone received from an explorer a deceased giant golden carp from a pond south of the Thunder Peaks . Examining it , this sage found the carp had died of a gill rot sickness and estimated that all the carp in the pond would die by year ' s end . This pond happened to be guarded by a red dragon , whom the sage feared would retaliated against nearby villages . However , the disease could be treated with an antidote brewed from the shells of popper shrimp . In the late 1360s DR , the Wolfmasters adventuring company from Sembia came through Thunderstone on an expedition into the Vast Swamp . Lord Partic Thistle , the Registrant General of Adventuring Companies , hired a group of adventurers to pursue the Wolfmasters on a matter of unpaid dues . At that time , over the course of a tenday , four young men of Thunderstone — Troyappa , Kenhart , Joelem , and Jonren — went missing . Some rumored they ' d abandoned their betrotheds , others that they ' d disappeared near the graveyard . In fact , they ' d been kidnapped by hobgoblin s from the Hullack Forest , and put to work smelting copper for the hobgoblin ' s fire giant mistress , Oghalis . Adventurers investigating dead escaped centaur and satyr slaves of the hobgoblins would eventually find and rescue the men . Government . Thunderstone had no lord of its own . Instead , in the 1360s DR , the crown ' s interests were represented by Sarp Redbeard , lord of the city of Wheloon . However , lying partway across Cormyr , his efforts were limited . Closer to town , one Hurm Thiodor was the local official of the crown and the unofficial Herald . The clerk ' s primary duty was to handle record keeping and collect reports from adventurers on the state of the nearby Hullack Forest and the monster - clearing efforts there , though he could not have an accurate or up - to - date understanding . Local folk thought the crown representative was a poor joke , and that Thiodor was weak . He lived and worked out of the small , tidy Office of the Crown at the center of town . The Hawklin and Huntsilver noble families had holdings in or near Thunderstone . Defenses . Thunderstone boasted a 100 - strong garrison of the Purple Dragons , all foot soldiers , but no War Wizards . Their duties included enforcing the laws of Cormyr , as interpreted by their commander ; guarding the pass to Sembia ; defending the town from threats from the Hullack Forest , Thunder Peaks , and Vast Swamp ; and sometimes by necessity rescuing adventurers from monsters out of self - same areas . However , the Purple Dragons were only in town from spring to autumn , and left before winter . When in town , they were based out of the two - story Purple Dragon Barracks . Around the late 1360s and early 1370s DR , this contingent was under the command of Oversword Faril Laheralson . Unfortunately , Laheralson and his troops had a bad reputation for causing trouble around town . The Oversword cared deeply for his men but was concerned more with their morale and spirit than their discipline . They were a rowdy bunch of veterans who enjoyed brawling and monster - slaying , and frequently got out of control . They were by - and - large undisciplined , unreasonable , and unpleasant , they harassed visitors and bullied locals . They seized a local tavern as their own hangout , roughly ejecting all civilians . Although Laheralson respected King Azoun IV , he paid only lip service to the Crown and thought little of the King ' s representatives , seeing them as soft bureaucrats not worth his time . He usually ignored the Crown clerk Thiodor . As the capital was so far away , they got away with a lot , and the Crown cared only that the town remained loyal . The folk of Thunderstone once petitioned Lord Redbeard , asking him to reprimand Laheralson over the behavior of his soldiers . Although Redbeard talked to Laheralson , the Oversword had the favor of King Azoun himself , and Redbeard was unable to force the issue . The town had no fortifications , nor a militia . Eight Purple Dragons — veteran monster slayers all — were stationed on the Stag Skull Bridge at all times , guarding the way from the Hullack Forest . Law and order . The Purple Dragons were the law in Thunderstone ; they both enforced it and interpreted it . All those who " got out of line " in their view were simply roughed up and warned against starting trouble . Those who continued were forcibly ejected from town . In fact , it was the Purple Dragons themselves who most often got out of control . Activities . Thunderstone in the 1360s and 70s DR was a commonly used base of operations for expeditions into the neighboring Hullack Forest , used by adventurers , merchant groups , and Purple Dragons alike . Trade . Thunderstone had a relatively small economy , relying mostly on the caravans , adventurers , and travelers passing through . It served their needs with a range of inns , taverns , and stores selling supplies and equipment . There was also a trade in loot and relics of lost civilizations recovered by the lucky adventurers who returned from the forest and swamp and typically bought up at One - Armed Magurk ' s . The town did however have a local industry for fishing and logging and a thriving pelt trade . Animal pelts from the Thunder Peaks and the Storm Horns did very good business in Thunderstone as of 1368 DR . In particular , there was a fashion in making clothing from bear hides , sold to travelers on their way through to Cormyr or High Dale . Local humans and demihuman s hunted brown bear s in ever - increasing numbers . Farmers in Thunderstone , like their peers in nearby Kulta , raised the domesticated yak , declaring it to be a superior beast of burden , thanks to its placid nature . The yak ' s habit of turning its furry hindquarters towards the wind in a blizzard led to a common saying in both towns : " to go yakward " or similar , meaning to avoid a hazard or discomfort by turning away . Farmers used it in regard to town leaders they felt were ignoring problems or would not see from their point of view ; thus they spoke of the " yaks " in office . Thunderstone had no major merchants of its own in the 1360s DR , but there was a branch office of the Six Coffers Trading Coster , which dominated trade in town . Managed by Adris Colebriar , the Six Coffers office sold all standard , non - magical weapons , armor , and equipment , typically at higher - than - normal prices . A group of gnome alchemists established themselves in Thunderstone by 1372 DR , making and selling alchemical supplies to the adventures . Their most popular wares were flasks of acid , tanglefoot bag s , and especially the deafening explosives known as thunderstones . Locations . The center of town life was the Assembly , a hall used to hold a variety of civic , private , and religious gatherings . In poor weather , it became an under - cover town square or marketplace , and occasionally public bouts were hosted . The Assembly was also a destination for folk seeking news , rumors , jobs , or to meet people . The Thunder Stone was a mysterious boulder standing in the center of town . It was about 3 feet ( 1 meter ) in diameter and was composed of a kind of rock not found for miles around . A local legend told that it had been magically transported from the highest mountain in the Thunder Peaks to its current home when the land was nothing but wilderness . Certainly , there was no mundane explanation . The stone itself had no known magical properties and otherwise appeared to be just a strange rock . Nevertheless , a superstition flourished among adventures that kissing the Thunder Stone before setting out would bring luck and that they would win more treasure and suffer less deaths . It seemed to work , but by boosting confidence and morale . Mages like Tiztor the Great were convinced it had a deeper secret , however . Another local landmark was the Stag Skull Bridge , a grandly built old stone bridge that spanned the Thunder River and led the way north into the Hullack Forest . The bridge gained some notoriety for the number of foresters and adventurers that came running out of the Hullack Forest with monsters hot on their tails . The Thunderstone garrison would let these folk pass safely before engaging the monsters on the bridge , and so virtually every Dragon on duty here was a veteran monster slayer . From dusk to dawn , a lantern was kept burning on either side of the northern end of the bridge , to let adventurers and foresters know which way to flee to safety . The local saying " between the Stag ' s lights " came to refer to being " almost out of danger " . Despite the name , the bridge was not adorned or otherwise decorated with any stag skulls , but the Purple Dragons did mount on the railing posts the heads of monsters that dared try to cross the bridge . Inns and taverns in Thunderstone tended to change hands and names more or less every season , so much so that Volo declined to list them in " Volo ' s Guide to Cormyr " . Active in the late 1360s DR were the inns The Bear ' s Den and The Sign of Thunder ( favored by adventurers ) and the taverns The Dragons ' Den ( favored by Purple Dragons ) and The Furniture ' s Fate ( favored by adventurers ) . The town had no temples , but there was a shrine to Tempus , god of battle , and a cemetery dedicated to Kelemvor , god of death . Inhabitants . In the late 1360s DR , Thunderstone had a settled population of around 900 in winter . However , through spring , the town ' s population swelled dramatically , reaching thrice its normal size during the summer months , and dropping off through autumn . In 1372 DR , it averaged at about 1800 people . This seasonal population came as merchants and caravans moved through Thunderstone on their way to and from High Dale in the Dalelands and Wheloon in central Cormyr . Adventurers , explorers , Purple Dragons , hunters , trappers , and other such folk also flocked to the town and used it as a base from which to launch their expeditions into the Hullack Forest to the north , which was rumored to contain the ruins of the storied realm of Tethgard . A good deal of traffic remained in winter , however , as merchants and smugglers came through , after the Purple Dragons had departed . Rumors and Legends . Sitting on the frontier , populated by adventurers , Thunderstone could be rife with rumor and hearsay , but it was hardly the hotbed of intrigue some claimed . A few locals imagined there were all kinds of spies in town — Crown and Harper , Zhentarim and Sembia n , paladin s and druid s , and others . This was not entirely true , but there were such people either passing through or keeping an eye on affairs there . In the late 1360s DR , some in Cormyr claimed that followers of the Lost King Gondegal , the usurper of 1352 DR , were based in the region around Thunderstone . However , this was not true — they were nowhere near Thunderstone . At the least , a rebellious lord and former supporter of Gondegal had a spy of his own in Thunderstone . There were also many stories about the surrounding wildernesses for adventurers , some of which could be useful , but there was also a great deal of misconception and misinformation that could prove dangerous or expensive . For example , in the late 1360s DR , some said that there was a 10 , 000 gp bounty on red dragon s of any size or age , with bonus land grants for slaying old dragons — this was dangerously mistaken .