Daggerdale Daggerdale ( originally named Merrydale ) is a remote region of the Dalelands located between the Desertsmouth Mountains and the Dagger Hills . It is a region of dark forests and rocky hills with a single large settlement named Dagger Falls . Geography . A lightly wooded dale of rolling hills and perhaps one of the most unspoiled of landscapes among the Dalelands . Daggerdale is divided up by numerous rocky valleys and the few settled areas are centered around the town of Dagger Falls . Defenses . Since 1369 DR and Randal Morn ' s reclamation of the dale , the lord has used his Freedom Riders to drive beasts and Zhent s from the lands . The Freedom riders are supplemented by mercenaries bands to keep the scattered farmlands of Daggerdale safe . By 1480 DR , the Lord ' s Retinue had been formed , a fighting force of 150 mounted warriors that patrolled the dale and its roads . Stationed in Castle Daggerdale and Dagger Falls mostly ; they would be supplemented by local village militias when their numbers were insufficent . Trade . Daggerdale ' s economy was largely based on subsistence crops , furs and livestock ( notably sheep ) . Deposits of found deep in the Dagger Hills meant that emerald s could potentially be mined , however the threat of lycanthrope atacks in the area made most excursions too dangerous . Most of Daggerdale ' s manufactured goods had to be imported though . History . Early History . Dwarves were the first recorded residents of the area . They built a small settlement at the future site of Dagger Falls to act as a portage around the River Tesh and to store metals before they were transported south for trade . The human history of Daggerdale goes back to the Jhaamdath an settlers to the dale . Certainly , the history before the arrival of humans was recorded by the elves of Rystall Wood thousands of years ago . These first human settlers fled from destroyed Jhaamdath in the Year of Furious Waves ( - 255 DR ) , were led to the northwestern foothills of the Dagger Hills by a man named Dordrien . These Jhaamdathan refugees built a small keep in those hills to defend their lowland town ( which the dwarves had no interest in ) , which took the name of Dordrien . They traded the crops and livestock that they farmed in the lowlands for dwarven crafts . Refugees from the Netherese survivor states of Asram , Anauria , and Hlondath fled east toward the Moonsea and founded Teshar in the Year of Leather Shields ( - 75 DR ) . By the end of that same year , the last people of Dordrien left their holdings in the Dagger Hills due to orc attacks from the mountains . House Mindosel commissioned Cormyrean cartographers to map the lands of the Inner Sea to mark the year of their family ' s elevation to the nobility of Teshar ( 112 DR ) . Bands from the horde that brought low Northkeep in the Year of the Stallion Triumphant ( 400 DR ) make their way in to the Tesh Valley and began raiding the human settlements there . These raids , combined with a very harsh winter brought about the collapse of Teshar as a nation in the Year of Forestfrost ( 479 DR , leaving behind a number of scattered and isolated hamlets and villages . A mysterious and powerful mage named Alokkair came out of the West and helped one of the regions petty lordlings to conquer his neighbours . In the Year of the Laughing Lich ( 536 DR ) , they found Hlontar amid the ruins of Teshar . Although he served for awhile as the court wizard of the kingdom , Alokkair soon killed the lord and most of his family , taking one of his daughters as his wife . He ruled over Hlontar as its Wizard - king through a combination of oppression , superior magic and an excellent network of informers and toadies . In the Year of Tumbled Bones ( 569 DR ) , Alokkair ' s three daughters defeated him and Hlontar reverted back to a realm of independent , but allied villages known as Merrydale . Rise and fall of the Morn family . The undead servants of a group of master vampire s plagued the land of Merrydale for many years . In the Year of Grey Mists ( 796 DR ) , the most influential family of the dale , the Morn s , renamed the land Daggerdale after the traditional name the dwarves had for the land . Terribly weakened by the infestation of vampires , certain factions considered the dale ripe for the taking . Increased numbers of Malar - worshiping lycanthrope s stalked the fringes of the Cormanthor forest , seeking Daggerfolks to feast upon and infect . Many would - be wizard conquerors began to infiltrate the realm at this time , unleashing their deadly constructs upon the land . It was during this time that Shraevyn the Weapons - Mage created the Sword of the Dales in the Year of the Disfiguring Scar ( 996 DR ) . Like the other dales , Daggerdale fell briefly under the sway of Aencar , the Mantled King , in the Year of Spreading Spring ( 1038 DR ) . Shortly thereafter , in the Year of Singing Shards ( 1044 DR ) , Daggerdale regained its traditional independence when Aencar died . The Daggerfolk enjoyed prosperity as a trading partner of the Tethyamar dwarves prior to its fall in 1104 DR , which resulted in economic collapse of the dale . During this period the tyrannical Mage - lord , Colderan Morn , rose to power in the mid 1200 ' s and drove the remaining dwarves from the dale . Colderan blamed Clan Brightblade for the disappearance of his son and heir , Belard Morn . In actuality Belard had been kidnapped by Colderan ' s drow ' allies ' before being rescued by the Harpers ( including Elminster and Storm Silverhand ) . Belard and eventually his son Flars Morn were raised in secret by the Harpers away from the Dale until an opportunity arose to reveal Flars ' heritage to him . Returning to Daggerdale , Flars found his grandfather , Colderan , had passed away and roving bands of Zhent - sponsored outlaws held sway . Uniting the dale once again under the rule of the rightful Morn family , Flars soon sired one of Daggerdale ' s most famous lords , Randal Morn . Zhent Occupation . Later in 1316 DR , when refugees from fallen Teshendale started flocking to Daggerdale , the first agents of the Zhents arrived . By 1336 DR the Black Network claimed Dagger Falls as their own , driving Randal Morn , the hereditary lord of Daggerdale , into the hills and installing Malyk as ruler . The House of Morn had ruled Daggerdale for centuries prior to the arrival of the Zhents , and Randal was the last surviving male heir . Morn began fighting the Zhentarim with guerrilla warfare , with the first major victory occurring nearly two decades later with the death of the puppet ruler Malyk in 1353 DR . The Zhentarim responded aggressively , leading to a series of events that culminated in all - out civil war by 1369 DR . The Return of Randal Morn . With events abroad such as the recent destruction of Zhentil Keep , the Zhentarim had its attention elsewhere during this time , allowing Morn the window he needed to reclaim the Dagger Falls and thus the region . Randal was the last male heir to the House of Morn . His sister , Silver Cormaeril lived to the south , married into the Cormaeril family of Cormyr . Unless Morn produced an heir , control of Daggerdale would pass to the Cormaeril family upon his death . Cormaeril rule . In 1391 DR Randal Morn died after catching pneumonia on a hunting trip . Randal Morn ' s nephew , Sathrin Cormaeril , arrived in Daggerdale and claimed the throne . Sathrin ruled to 1425 DR when he died and was succeeded by his son Domavos . Domavos attended the renewal of the Dales Compact in Mistledale during that same year . After 44 years of reign Domavos died in 1469 DR and was succeeded by his son Barathal . In 1475 DR , Neranya Cormaeril , Barathal ' s sister was attacked by werewolves and joined the lycanthropes of White Crag . In 1480 DR , the evil Zhentarim cleric Rezlus attempted to seize control of Daggerdale through the Tower of Void where four heroes from the Dalelands stood and opposed him . Upon the Zhentarim ' s defeat , the dragon Incendius destroyed Daggerdale but was killed by the human fighter of the four heroes . The Cyricist Zhentarim then began their invasion of Tethyamar .