Shadowdale

## Overview

The most famous of the Dalelands, Shadowdale's notoriety would appear
to be at odds with its pastoral lifestyle. It is a quiet, wooded land of
 dense forests and prosperous farms  and it happens to  e home to a
surprising number of very powerful and important people. The reputation
of Shadowdale's  residents has spread from the Sword Coast to the
farthest reaches of the Moonsea.

Of all the Dalelands, the land
of Shadowdale is the most common stop for parties of adventurers. The
town has long looked  to adventuring companies for security and
leadership. A large number of ancient ruins, accesses to the Underdark,
and hidden treasure caches ensure that most heroes will find something
profitable and useful to do in Shadowdale.

Shadowdale lies along
the road from Shadow Gap to Voonlar, controlling a major trade route
from Cormyr to the cities of the Moonsea. Most people are familiar with
the town of Shadowdale, but the greater portion of Shadowdalesmen live
as independent farmers and homesteaders in the open lands northeast of
the town.

Shadowdale stretches almost 100 miles from the Dagger Hills to the Elvenwoods, and is more than 30
miles wide. Like Mistledale to the south, the Dales lands of the Dale have open since before humans
came to Cormanthor. Unlike Mistledale, the lands of Shadowdale are broken by large areas of light woods and rolling hills.

Most travelers come to Shadowdale along the Shadow Gap-Voonlar road, but major trails lead south
along
 the Ashaba to Mistledale and west through the Dagger Hills to
Daggerdale. The trails have not been very safe lately, with raiders and
brigands reported in the area.

The emblem of the rightful lordship of the Dale is the Pendant of Ashaba, a magical necklace that has
been
 handed down since the time of Shadowdales first human ruler. The
pendant names the Lord over Shadowdale. In the case there is no Lord
chosen, Shadowdale would be run by a mayor or Elder.

## The Final Battle of Rebellion

The following account of the battle to liberate Shadowdale is to be treated as "factual history" from this date forward. It was written
after taking all the information from DM and player accounts and intertwining them to make the differences make some sort of sense while
making the story sound as epic as it should. If any feel some of the
events went differently in game, that is because they probably did. Multiple groups in different areas with different DMs sometimes makes things in one area not match up with another. This account is in no way
meant to slight anyone and is merely a way of making the server lore fit
 as closely as possible with the events of the battle. I hope you enjoy
the read and that no one feels slighted. Everyone that participated did a
 phenomenal job and it was a great pleasure to watch the event play out.

For
 years, the Zhentarim ruled Shadowdale with an iron fist. And for just
as long a time, heroic people had been rebelling against that rule.
After years of waiting, watching, and planning, the opportunity finally
arose that could allow these heroes to finally wrest control from the
hosts of Bane.

A plan was hatched in the darkest of holes where
the rebellion lay in wait. A plan formulated by a few and modified by
many others. The paladin, Vincent, also known as simply “Hero”, was
given leadership over finalizing the battle plans as well as
coordinating all the various assets so they would be the most use. Many
planning sessions later, and the plan was finalized and set. What was
needed was a turn of luck and a way to exploit a weakness in the
defenses.

That opening came when it was learned that a wedding
between the Zhentarim Commander and the Imperceptor of the Church of
Bane was to take place at the recently finished Castle Krag. Through the
 intelligence gathering of groups such as the Harpers and other
rebellion sympathizers, it was learned that a detachment of troops would
 be reassigned from Shadowdale to the castle for added security for the
event. It was widely expected that the rebellion would attack the castle
 during the wedding in hopes of taking out the various high-ranking
Zhentarim officers in attendance.

But that was not to be the case.

The
 elf, Arjay, learned and passed on the date and time of the wedding
ceremony, and the plans were put into motion with haste. A toxin was
developed using the knowledge of dragon anatomy supplied by a pair of
Cormyran dragon hunters that was designed to target the beasts the
dreaded Skymages rode into battle. Without their mounts, the mages were
restricted to more mundane means of maneuvering about the battlefield
and were easier to target. The ingredients were gathered as quickly as
possible and the toxin brewed. As soon as the location of the mounts’
drinking water was scouted out, some of the more stealthy of the rebels
proceeded to lace the water with the toxin. The timing was critical as
too early would allow a remedy to be found and too late would leave the
mounts still active and usable. Luckily, their timing was impeccable and
 the mounts were taken out of the battlefield equation.

The
dwarves of the Ironhouse clan, led by Grendal, were tasked to dig a
tunnel from the ant caves to the river bridge. It was filled with
flammables and explosives and designed to be able to be collapsed on
command, turning the tunnel into a flaming pitfall. They also dug
another tunnel to reopen the old one that lead into town after the
Zhentarim had sealed it off. This allowed an attack force to get into
town after the fighting started.

The rest of the available troops
 were given their instructions and positions for the battle. The farmer
militia that had been trained in the Lathander farms by Karovir and
others were to go to the north gate along with the Chauntea warriors and
 priests to form a distraction team and the rest were sent to the main
force that would hit the eastern gate as soon as the signal was given.

All
 the planning and meetings paid off when the attack started just after
midnight. The farmers, with their armor and weapons hidden, approached
the north gate with torches and farm tools as if they were a peasant
uprising. A lone farmer went forward and threatened the Zhentarim with a
 spoon. This drew out a single soldier to investigate. The guard was
cocky and belligerent and jokingly called to his comrades that they were
 under attack. The guards on duty, seeing this as a revolt and a way to
show the power of the Zhentarim, sent out an attack force to crush the
peasants and quell the uprising. When they reached the tunnels, the
flammables were set ablaze, catching many of the Zhentarim soldiers in
the inferno. The screams of the burning soldiers filled the night air
with a chorus of death and pain. Their comrades on both sides who had
managed to stay out of the firey trap paused for a split second at the
horrific sights and sounds. The troops behind the wall of fire retreated
 to the relative safety of the wall and gate. Several fell to arrows
from seemingly nowhere, but the majority made it back.

Those who
had made it past the tunnel were shocked to find these mere peasants
turn around and brandish their hidden weapons. They were even more
surprised when their blades met not only the rags of farmers, but also
slid off the chainmail they had mostly worn beneath their clothing. The
sight of the armored leader of the force and the Chauntean priests and
warriors further unnerved them. The battle was hard fought, but with
spells from the priests and warriors, the farmers managed to cut down
the soldiers and make their way over the fire breaks to reach the gate
and resume the assault. The archers at the gate, along with the skymage
throwing spells from atop Storm’s house, fell to the spells of the
force’s leaders and the main troops were slain by the farmer force.
Their victories making them more confident in the training they had
received and making them fight harder than they had believed possible.

Those
 that had turned back towards the gate when faced with the flames and
stench of burning flesh found themselves face to face with dwarves from
the Ironhouse clan. They had managed to reopen the tunnel into town and,
 once the battle was started, burst forth in a virtual fountain of
muscle and steel. They hit the forces that had remained at the gate from
 behind and met the retreating forces as they came back. When the dwarf
force and the farmer force met, they simply obliterated any foes between
 them like a hammer hitting and anvil. As soon as victory was assured,
the force turned and headed for the main force to join the battle for
central Shadowdale.

Amidst all the chaos and hurried orders in
the central part of town, the Dark Doom and Scyllua Darkhope emerged
from the temple and made their way to the area near the bulletin board.
Orders were given to have some check to the north and others to prepare
for an attack from the east. The Zhentarim in the area seemed bolstered
and in extremely high morale with the pair of leaders in their presence.
 All orders were carried out immediately and with military precision.
Even the adventurers standing around the town were conscripted into the
defense and given permission to bear arms in town.

As soon as the
 fires and explosions were heard from the north, the pair of Banites
headed for the eastern gate. When they had passed the general area, the
Zhentarim troops were surprised when many of the adventurers they had
just ordered to take up arms turned on them almost in unison. It was as
if an unspoken command had been given to strike at the Zhentarim
soldiers from behind. The barracks entrance was firebombed to cut off
any reinforcements from within and the lone skymage was quickly stabbed
to death before he managed to get off a single spell. The culprits of
this back stabbing maneuver then went about attacking the rest of the
troops while the main force moved on the eastern gate.

With the
epic battle in full chaos, the greatest of the warriors of light fought
their way towards central Shadowdale. They slowly cut through the
Zhentarim soldiers and mercenaries in a bloody scene of carnage. As they
 inched closer to the gates, one of the Cormyran War Wizards prepared a
spell to decimate the enemy ranks. But, as he neared the end of his
incantation, he found his voice lost to him. He looked around in stunned
 silence and caught a glimpse of two dark figures just before a giant
black morning star smashed him and his steed to pulp.

The battle
seemed to pause a bit as all eyes looked to the gates to see the Dark
Doom quickly switching to her next prayer after unleashing the Hammer of
 Bane upon the mage. Her black armor glistening in the fire light from
the battlefield, she unleashed another barrage of evil divine energies
into the ranks as another figure emerged from the smoke.

Clad in
the darkest of full plates and astride a flaming nightmare, Scyllua
Darkhope, the left hand of Bane, joined the battle. Her blade cut swath
after swath through the forward ranks of the assault force. In seconds,
the black armor was covered in the blood of her enemies. The nightmarish
 steed cut down any who found themselves beneath its flaming hooves as
it carried Lady Darkhope into the midst of the most dangerous appearing
group of the attackers. She showed no hesitation and not sign of mercy
as she tore through all who stood in her way. Cormyran Purple Dragon
knights, Lathanderite paladins, and the various other regular troops all
 fell to her blade as if they were wheat before a scythe. The dark wards
 of the Dark Doom protected her against most attacks as she headed
straight for the leaders of the assault. The Dark Doom was mere steps
behind as her morning star smashed any that managed to escape Scyllua’s
blade. The two were a seemingly unstoppable force.

The warriors
of light braced themselves for the coming storm and met the pair head on
 in an epic clash of steel, magic, and blood.

The battle seemed
to go more in favor of the pair of Banites as the Dark Doom would heal
any damage done to Lady Darkhope as fast as it was done. Her own wards
healed and kept her from serious harm for some time before they finally
collapsed under the assault of the collected warriors of light. Once the
 Dark Doom fell, those focusing on her moved to add their might against
Scyllua.

Facing the full force of the warriors of light and
having lost her divine support, Scyllua fought on, fought hard, and
never gave up. The battle was one of legend with this beacon of darkness
 and tyranny standing against the combined might of all the greatest
forces of good in the Dales. In the end, it was inevitable that she
would fall to such a focused force.

Many claim to have made the
kill. Was her death from the many dwarvish axe cuts? Perhaps it was from
 the multitude of wounds from a holy sword. Or maybe it was the cuts
from a simple farmer’s tool. Or perhaps, just perhaps, her death was the
 result of none of these. Perhaps she was finally defeated not by the
blades of her enemies. But, rather, by the sheer force of goodness and
will of the combined force. Perhaps it took the teamwork and shared
purpose of those involved to fell the most hated member of the
Zhentarim.

And perhaps we will never know.