Tsurlagol Tsurlagol , formerly known as Chessagol , was the southernmost city - state of the Vast , lying at the end of Stormcrest Trail from Sevenecho , on the north coast of the Sea of Fallen Stars . It was a prosperous port city , the last on the Inner Sea before Impiltur . To merchants , it was " The Gateway to the Unapproachable East " ; to pirates it was " Pirate ' s Haven " . It had the unenviable record of being raided , destroyed , and rebuilt more often than any other city in the surrounding lands , such that to the local dwarves , " Tsurlagol " was a byword for " job available " . Etymology & Language . When founded , the city was known as " Chessagol " , but this later evolved into its modern name , " Tsurlagol " . The name " Tsurlagol " was pronounced as " Tsss - SIR - lah - gel " or " TSIR - lah - gol " , and its people were called " Tsurlagoli " . Its people spoke the Easting language , which was related to the Damaran language . History . Early history . Tsurlagol was almost as old as its sister - city Procampur , and shared a common origin , having also been founded by human settlers from fallen Jhaamdath ( what is now Chondath ) . They settled on the southern coast of the Vast and , in the Year of Enchanted Hearts , −72 DR , founded the city of Chessagol , as it was then known . According to local legend , the first Tsurlagol was destroyed by uncontrollable powerful magic . This was the first of many times that the city would be destroyed . From then on , over the course of Tsurlagol ' s long history , the city was raided , sacked , burned , and destroyed numerous times , by pirates , conquerors , orc ish and other hordes , magic , and various other forces . No conquerors held it for long . But each time and each generation , the people salvaged whatever survived and rebuilt the city . They relied on their trade to fund their reconstruction , and local dwarves received a steady income rebuilding Tsurlagol each time . In this way , the city was rebuilt at least twenty times . In the early 5th century DR , King Meldath I of Impiltur led a conquest of the Vast and other nearby lands , turning Chessagol and Proeskampalar ( Procampur ) into vassal city - states . He took the royal regalia of both cities . Once , early in Tsurlagol ' s history , an unknown warrior rode before the walls , waving his banner and boasting . The city ' s defenders met the challenge and attacked ; four of them brought down the nameless warrior and slew him . His treasure was discovered , and the city ' s acquisitive wizard s took one particular gem , the Moaning Diamond artifact . The nameless warrior was cremated and his bones stored in one of Tsurlagol ' s ossuaries . According to mosaics found in the subterranean ruins of Tsurlagol , wizards once using fire magic started a blaze that got out of control and burned down the city again . So fierce was the inferno that a wizard in an azure cloak was forced to use the Moaning Diamond to cause a great earthquake to topple the walls and towers of Tsurlagol , burying the city itself beneath the earth to put the fire out . The wizard died in the earthquake and was treated with honors . Later tales in the Vast claimed that it was the god s who sent the earthquake in response to people ' s pleas . In the 7th century DR , Chessagol came under the rule of King Lamoth and his newly royal family , though they were not considered legitimate . Lamoth sought to bolster his line by marrying his children to the royal families of Cormyr , Milvarn , Westgate , and others around the Inner Sea . Finally , he successfully arranged a marriage between his daughter Elthia and Prince Bellodar III of Impiltur . Bellodar became king of Impiltur , and Elthia queen , in the Year of Sifting Sands , 642 DR . In the mid – 13th century DR , the Vast suffered rampaging hordes of orc s , goblin s , hobgoblin s , and bugbear s , supplemented by some human brigands and half - breed rogues . In the summer of the Year of Burning Steel , 1246 DR , the orc warlord Fottergrim and the magelord Archlis led a mixed horde of them against Tsurlagol . It was thought that they bribed the gate guards to allow them access . The horde invaded the city and took over , while numerous local humanoid s of their kinds flocked to join the city . Fortunately , the Thultyrl of Procampur chose to honor his city ' s treaty with Tsurlagol and led an army to besiege and free the city , with the aid of the Siegebreaker s , an adventuring band of sappers . In their expedition , the Siegebreakers discovered the Moaning Diamond beneath Tsurlagol . By the siege ' s end , the southwest and western walls of Tsurlagol were destroyed , thanks partially to the Siegebreakers diverting a river beneath it and mostly to use Archlis using the Moaning Diamond to collapse them . Fottergrim and Archlis were slain , Procampur ' s armies victorious , and Tsurlagol was liberated . Fottergrim ' s silver - plated skull was mounted on a pillar halfway between the two cities with a warning against threatening Procampur ' s allies . Modern history . In the Year of the Wandering Wyrm , 1317 DR , the Plague of Dragons quickly spread around the Inner Sea , from the Vilhon Reach to Impiltur . As it reached them , Tsurlagol declared a quarantine against the plague . By as late as the early 1350s DR , the city could still be known as " Chessagol " , and was home to King Osbrun . In the Year of the Crown , 1351 DR , the king ' s treasury and armory were robbed — by magic , some said . This included the shield called " Thurbrand ' s Protector " , sold by the warrior Thurbrand to Osbrun some time before . The Time of Troubles . During the Time of Troubles , in the Year of Shadows , 1358 DR , the god Talos the Destroyer visited Tsurlagol . He was there at the conclusion of the crisis on the 15th Marpenoth , where he protested Ao ' s new commandments before returning to the godly realms . Also during the Troubles , many wealthy merchants of Tsurlagol fled to their country houses in the neighboring town of Maerstar . However , they were harassed there by looting mobs of refugees from Tantras , Calaunt and even Mulmaster who ' d also come through Maerstar . To protect their treasures , the merchants buried them in the paddocks , but not all survived to retrieve them afterwards . Recent history . By 1367 DR , Conoptora Billon was serving as the Ven ' s Voice . He was ambitious and planned for Tsurlagol to move out from under its ally Procampur ' s shadow and develop on its own to rival and overtake the other cities of the Vast . In particular , he wanted Tsurlagol to beat Ravens Bluff at attracting traders , adventurer s , and other sources of wealth . It was unknown if the Ven shared these plans . A Thayan enclave was founded in Tsurlagol in the Year of the Banner , 1368 DR . Conoptora Billon still held the position of Ven ' s Voice in 1370 DR . Demographics . In 1372 DR , the city was listed with a population of 17 , 594 , making it the smallest of the sister - cities of the Vast . The human population was of largely Chondathan and Damaran extraction . Government & Politics . By the mid – 14th century DR , the city was governed by the Council , consisting of its highest noble s and leading merchant lords . From among their number , by means of a secret ballot they chose their leader , called the Ven , and the Ven ' s Voice . The Ven was a title given to Tsurlagol ' s highest government official . Each Ven served for a 10 - year term , in which their word was law , though unpopular Ven tended to die prematurely . Strangely , the true identity of the Ven was kept secret throughout their reign ; it was an odd arrangement but apparently worked well for Tsurlagol . The nominal second - in - power was the Ven ' s Voice , who served as a spokesperson for both the Ven and the Council . The Voice was also chief advisor to the Ven and announced the Ven ' s decrees to the people of Tsurlagol . As such , in many ways , the Voice could often be more powerful than the Ven themself . This position was not secret , and in the late 1360s DR , the Ven ' s Voice was the ambitious Conoptora Billon . Previously , Tsurlagol was ruled by a monarchy . King Lamoth ruled in the 7th century DR . He had a fledgling rule , and his large royal family was not considered legitimate . Law and order was enforced by the Royal Constabulary . Even as late as 1351 DR , the city was led by King Osbrun . Relations . Tsurlagol was one of the five so - called " sister cities " of the Vast , together with Calaunt , Procampur , Ravens Bluff , and Tantras . It was the smallest of the five . Tsurlagol had a long - term alliance with neighboring Procampur , with a mutual defense pact . According to the treaty , Procampur promised to protect Tsurlagol against outside invasion , or liberate it if conquered , and could recover any expenses for the effort from Tsurlagol ' s treasury . Procampur actually kept to this promise , such as when Tsurlagol was occupied by an orc ish and goblinoid horde in 1246 DR . In exchange , Tsurlagol provided financial aid and spying services to Procampur . The arrangement was beneficial to both cities . Economy & Trade . Tsurlagol was a prosperous city with a busy port . It was the last such city on the north coast of the Inner Sea , before one reached Impiltur and the Unapproachable East , giving it the title " the Gateway to the Unapproachable East " . In this position , it became a crossroads and meeting place for traders and sailors from the Vast , Impiltur , the Vilhon Reach , and the Old Empires . The city also saw a great number of dwarves travelling through , transporting metal s , sword s , messages , and other errands between their kind . The city was an open and free port for all , allowing even pirates and smugglers to enter and do business with legitimate merchants , provided that they behaved while they were there . As such , it was also known as " Pirate ' s Haven " . A number of former pirates became merchants based in Tsurlagol . Nevertheless , many denizens of the Pirate Isles kept hideouts in the city , where they could stash stolen goods , contraband and prisoners . The city had a number of regular traders . Among others , from Ravens Bluff in 1370 DR : the Smokeflower House merchant house sold goods from Altumbel ; the " Old Masters " of the Brotherhood of Wool Carders and Weavers sold bolts of cloth and bales of wool ; and the Zorden noble family operated its merchant fleet out of Tsurlagol and other cities . Over the Inner Sea , glass from Turmish was imported , and copper and iron from the mines of the Earthfast Mountains were exported to Turmish and Chondath . Culture & Society . After their city was raided , invaded or destroyed countless times , the people of Tsurlagol became an indomitable lot , gaining a reputation for great patience and adopting the long view . They usually offered only a token resistance to invaders , knowing that their city was impossible to hold for long , and knowing that they could outlast them . Afterwards , they would reclaim their city , salvage what remained , and rebuild , relying on their trade to return them to prosperity . Merchants . Quite a number of the city ' s most prominent merchant s were once involved in piracy , which they called the " Free Trade " . Living off their ill - gotten riches , they retired to the shore to acquire respectability . Religion . Tsurlagol was unusual for having relatively few temple s , to the gods Selûne , Umberlee , Shar , Helm , Tymora . However , it was a major center of worship of Helm , and the Noble Hand was the most prominent temple of the god . There was also a growing population of worshipers of Valkur through the 1360s DR . In Tsurlagoli funereal rites , the dead were cremated and their bones stored in ossuaries , and kept in underground crypts . Thieves . The thieves of Tsurlagol had such close ties with the pirates and smugglers who came through the city that they shared some similarities and overlap . Many were either former pirates or smugglers , or others who aspired to such a life on the sea . They were familiar with sailing and navigation , and were more likely to hide contraband about their persons than to hide themselves in the shadows ( which were scarce on the deck of a boat ) . They tended towards a semi - nomadic lifestyle , traveling alone and less likely to pick up henchmen . Tsurlagoli thieves were of the opinion that , as mage s didn ' t pretend to be pirates , they should not pretend to be mages . As such , they rarely mastered the tricks of using spell - scroll s . Curiously , the city once had two thieves ' guilds divided by gender : one open only to men , and the other only to women . However , the men ' s guild was wiped out , leaving only the women ' s , which later also accepted male members . However , this guild was the Sharwomen , which was directly controlled by the Cult of the Shadow temple of Shar . Layout . To its misfortune , Tsurlagol ' s exposed location left it difficult to defend and vulnerable to attack , allowing the frequent raids and invasions , and leading to its regular destruction . As it was rebuilt every time , the city ' s precise location shifted many times , and by the 1360s DR it came to rest upon a low rise or hill that consisted of the ruins and foundations of at twenty prior cities . This left the ground riddled with tunnels , dungeons , crypts , sewers and pipes , and corridors through its old ruined buildings , many connecting . Here could be seen remnants of an old city ' s great palaces and temples , fountains and baths . Some sections were flooded , however . City walls surrounded Tsurlagol . These were also often destroyed , and rebuilt in different sections . The harbor was separate from the main city , and was connected to it by the harbor road . Much of the city was actually built and rebuilt by dwarves , who received a steady income from every reconstruction . Therefore , the later cities usually showed signs of dwarven construction , in addition to that of humans . One tavern in Tsurlagol was The Drunken Dragon . There was an inn called the Bloated Gargoyle Inn . A Thayan enclave was located in Tsurlagol . Raven Express kept an office in Tsurlagol , allowing communication via carrier - raven to its offices in other cities . Temples . Unusually , the city had relatively few temple s for its size , namely : The Cult of the Shadow temple also doubled as a thieves ' guild . Organizations . The Red Wizards of Thay were represented in Tsurlagol at the Thayan enclave , established in 1368 DR . There were once two thieves ' guilds in the city , divided by gender . The men ' s guild was wiped out years before 1367 DR , but the women ' s guild , called the Sharwomen , began accepting male members . They were , however , controlled by the local cult of Shar . Local legends and rumors . The ruins of old Tsurlagols were a favorite target of adventurer s and they were often explored . They were inhabited by a variety of undead and other monsters , and others that came in to prey on the adventurers . They acquired a reputation for being dangerous , so many entrances were sealed . But with each succeeding city , the entrances and locations and knowledge of the ruins became lost to history . Local tales imagined the ruins to be full of great treasures and magical artifacts , but most were well - looted . The Moaning Diamond artifact came to Tsurlagol early in its history , was rediscovered in a crypt beneath it in the Year of Burning Steel , 1246 DR , and was lost beneath the city again . The royal regalia of old Chessagol was said to be buried with King Meldath I of Impiltur , in his tomb in the Hill of Tombs .