Castle of the Lady

The Castle of the Lady was the abode of Dasumia in the mid–8 century DR.
==Location==
While the actual location of Dasumia's castle was unknown, it was closer to Holivanter's Tower than it was to Yintras' tower. In particular, it was west of Hollivanter's Tower, which Elminster Aumar and Dasumia reached by flying carpet, arriving at sundown, strongly implying it was a day's trip away at the most. Furthermore, as Ilbryn Starym reached the castle almost as soon as Elminster, it was either close to the Riven Stone or the trip between both locations could be reasonably done by ground.
==Structure==
The castle had a number of black towers and turrets. There were stables, and behind them were also rusting spits, which were big enough to skewer a purple worm.
Around the castle were stands with thornwood, duskwood, and hiexel. The nearest tilled field was separated from its grounds by a hedge row. There were also phandar trees close to the wards.
==Interior==
There was an enclosed flying bridge about the height of twenty men above the cobblestone courtyard, likely around in the air, called the Long Gallery, linking rooms in the two tallest towers of the building. It alternated paintings and oval windows and, as of , it had been turned into a dead-magic zone by Dasumia in response to a duel between two of her apprentices. The gallery was extremely long, and would take appreciable time to traverse.
One of the towers joined by that passage held the Blue Chamber, in which there was a side table and books were kept in there; as of , they included the Orbrum, Prospaer on Nameless Horrors, and the Tome of Three Locks. A guardian had been placed there by Dasumia, a bizarrely round creature with three stinging tails and many claws. There was a spell-lock on the door, a number of wardings upon the room, and a curse laid upon the whole castle, which would release thousands of malevolent "sentiences" all over it if the guardian was slain. Before sending Elminster there, Dasumia warned him to doff all magic, on pain of death.
The tower on the other end held the Balcony Hall; the door was such that it could be barred and chained. There was a balcony above the level on that room where the door to the Long Gallery was. That balcony had railing, and there were stairs between both levels.
==Inhabitants==
Dasumia lived there along with her apprentices and servants.
==Defenses==
There were wards of undisclosed effect, which were sufficient to test Ilbryn Starym's magic and keep him out for at least three seasons' worth of time. Some of those wards were based on Dasumia's unique darkfire.
==History==
In the , before meeting with Elminster at the Riven Stone, Dasumia claimed that a dozen apprentices had come to her claiming to be Elminster the month prior, and twoscore the month before that, snows and all, with one that month thus far.
Elminster was accepted as an apprentice by Dasumia and began living there. The two of them left the place in the , after a spell-duel that convinced Dasumia he was ready to defeat Nadrathen.
==Appendix==
===Appearances===
===References===
Category:Castles
Category:Locations in Faerûn
Category:Locations on Toril