Secomber Secomber was a small , peaceful town that acted as the " de facto " border town between the relatively peaceful Western Heartlands and the more savage North along the Sword Coast . The town contained a number of colorful gardens . Geography . It sat atop three stone hills on the northern banks of the southern - running Unicorn Run river and the western - running River Delimbiyr . Directly south of the town was the dangerous High Moor . To the north , along the Secomber Trail , was Uluvin . Government . Around 1367 DR , Secomber was ruled by Traskar Selarn , a ranger who truly had the best interests of the townsfolk at heart , and he was seen as one of the people by his loyal subjects . Law & Order . Secomber ' s justice system was a basis for most of the settlements in the Western Heartlands . The town judiciary , known as Rods of Justice , were respected elders who were elected every four years . At any one time there were between six and nine Rods depending on how many were deemed to be required to serve . If a majority of the other Rods voted for it , they could dismiss any one Rod from their company at any time and every Rod could also resign willingly at any time . Rods could recuse themselves from specific cases if they thought they could not be impartial but a Rod could not be compelled to , even if the potential for bias was obvious to all . Secomber ' s laws were based on those of the city of Waterdeep with a few differences . First and foremost being the fact that there were no " crimes against Lords " , which were the most serious accusations in Waterdeep , however , assaulting a Rod of Justice was treated as both " aiding an attack upon Secomber " and " assault upon a citizen " , the sentences for which were combined at trial . The plaints were called ' godsfrowns ' , ' deathseekings ' and ' deceits , malices and threatenings ' . Every judicial case in Secomber was heard by a nine - person jury made up of Secomber ' s landowners . The jury selection process was done by a blindfolded child who had themselves been picked at random by a local priest ( or one of the Rods if a priest was unavailable ) . The child would be presented with a cauldron containing chits , upon which were the names of all eligible jurors , however , if the child picked a juror who had already served within the last year , the chit would be temporarily removed and they would have to choose again . Trials were always public affairs often attended by bored citizens looking for something to do . Although the accused were allowed to speak freely , the utterance of threats , obscenities or going on tirades would earn them a gag to keep them quiet . Spellcasting within the court without the explicit permission of a Rod was a serious offence . If the defendant did so , they were knocked unconscious , then bound and gagged before the trial continued with the crime added to the list of charges against them . A trial would rarely last more than half a day , though a Rod could elect to have a stay while waiting on the arrival of a witness or crucial evidence . Upon being found guilty , a defendant was subject to the whim of either the presiding Rod or the jury in terms of sentencing . If fines could not be paid , the guilty party ' s assets and property could be seized and any remaining monies owed were paid off in hard labor . Appeals against verdicts were not allowed , but as time went on , when new evidence came to light , it became more and more common to have an immediate informal retrial . If the convicted were proven innocent by the evidence , charges could be dismissed and prisoners swiftly set free . Outside of criminal matters , Secomber had a system of regulations and bylaws for civic matters , the breaking of which earned the offender a fine and a warning not to do it again , since repeat offenders faced harsher penalties . Economy . Secomber was a stop on the Delimbiyr Route , part of the trail between Waterdeep and Llorkh . Another trail , the Secomber Trail , connected Secomber to Uluvin to the north - west . Farming , fishing , and stone - cutting were the primary occupations , but it also had a number of folk familiar with the High Forest . Some locals hire themselves out as guides or guards for the passing caravans . The town welcomed and catered to travellers and caravans , especially adventurers who based themselves out of the town as they explored the High Moor and the High Forest . Defenses . A small garrison of about 30 , provided by the Lords ' Alliance , guarded the town , and the local militia boasted over 100 members . Inhabitants . The town was populated primarily by human s , but almost as many halfling s called the place home . A small clan of dwarves lived in the area as well . History . Secomber was built on the western ruins of Hastarl , capital of the ancient wizard kingdom of Athalantar . By 1479 DR , Secomber had become a place under constant threat of hobgoblin raids . The citizens had erected a wall , which was their only defense against the raids , but it did them little good . Many adventuring bands were lost trying to free the town from the grip of fear and Secomber had resorted to leaving tributes outside Mishka ' s Warren , the lair of the Urshani clan , which did appease the hobgoblins but did not free Secomber from the occasional raid . Twenty years later , the regular stream of tributes to the hobgoblins had left Secomber poverty - stricken . Activities . From time to time , gargoyle s and other creatures were discovered and unleashed from the Athalantan ruins . Adventurers were called on to deal with them , though adventurers had likely inadvertently released them in the first place .