Mintarn The island of Mintarn lay 400 miles ( 640km ) southwest of Waterdeep , in the Sea of Swords . Mintarn was a popular safe haven for those fleeing the authorities as well as neutral ground for conflicting parties to come to accord . This beautiful island asked no questions and turned no one away . Rule . Piracy . Pirates and other fugitives from justice held business transactions in Mintarn . Legendary taverns and festhalls were famous for both their food and service , and the high level of inherent danger found within . Tyranny . Tarnheel Embuirhan ruled Mintarn , beginning around 1357 DR . His skill as a warrior was reputed to be a major contributing factor to his rise to power . Though technically a tyrant , his rule was open - minded and he preferred to let much of the island govern itself . While he ended the frequent conflicts with neighbouring Orlumbor which had been raising the hackles of the Lords ' Alliance , he also would not hesitate to use brutal force to restore order or keep pirates in check . Tarnheel styled himself as a ' tyrant ' and people had to refer to him as ' His Tyrancy ' . He listened to his friends Bharandas Zhan and Szentarr Ravin but otherwise held absolute power - if he chose to exercise it . The tradition of tyrannies lasted long after Tarnheel was gone . Every five or six years , a new tyrant would rise and take control , but they always maintained Mintarn ' s status quo as a free port . Around 1489 DR , during the Tyranny of Dragons , Bloeth Embuirhan was tyrant . She was supposed to be the great - granddaughter of a former tyrant . She ruled the island through its most prosperous days . History . Mintarn ' s history was dominated by the lengths that it ' s people would go to to placate Hoondarrh , the dragon that lived on the island of Skadaurak to the north . They bought their survival with massive annual tributes . Mintarn couldn ' t afford to turn away any potential income and therefore welcomed all comers , whether foreign dignitaries looking for neutral negotiation ground , or wanted criminals on the lam . Mintarn also gained a reputation for exporting skilled mercenaries , but those who fought them knew Mintarn itself wasn ' t responsible for any violence perpetrated and so never faced any retribution . Luskan once attempted to raid Mintarn but it was very costly for them , as the Luskan navy was no match for Mintarn ' s veteran mercenaries and sailors . Dagult Neverember invested heavily in Mintarn , starting a ship - building business and some training centres as well as investing in the White Sails mercenary company , which grew into the most successful such company on the island . When Waterdeep lost too many ships hunting pirates , Neverember used this leverage and his position as Open Lord to buy a new mercenary Navy from Mintarn and , while he was at it , soldiers to police and protect his New Neverwinter effort . Unfortunately , Hoondarrh took note of the influx of wealth to Mintarn and destroyed two of Castle Mintarn ' s towers when he demanded an increase to his tribute . When Neverember was replaced as Open Lord , the other Lords decided to do away with mercenaries and build their own fleet once more . Neverember too fired the mercenaries in Neverwinter to replace them with actual Neverwintan soldiers . Without the extra coin from those lucrative contracts , Mintarn began to struggle to gather the bigger tribute that Hoondarrh wanted . Legends . Rumour has it that a small number of Ironstar dwarves have a secret cave hold on Mintarn