Thornhold Keep

Thornhold Keep was a few shabby buildings along the coast line with a sea of small islands in front of it when Grim 'the Goldfish' Goldfist was given the deed to the land as reward for heroics on the last "Grand" adventure he would take in his long life. Settling down, he began to do what he did best, attract.

## Prospering

It wasn't long that he and his dwarven friends and family had expanded what was once a few fishing huts and a small keep into a large bustling village of a few hundred people. Soon Thornhold became known for its elaborate parties and anything-goes atmosphere, it quickly became the talk of the underside of every city along the Sword Coast.

Becoming a home for his family and extended that family to recruited members he trusted, he hoped to extend his legacy with his merchant stop along the High Road connecting Neverwinter and Waterdeep. His family went out on their own adventures around all of Toril, always returning to Thornhold Keep bringing their father or grandfather countless goods and stories.

They created outposts that connected Thornhold to far off lands around the world, and began to trade their goods far and wide. The keep quickly gained a reputation for it's marvelous goods and lewd entertainment but eventually it attracted the wrong type of customer.

One day the Spellplague struck and destroyed the ancient protections on the keep. Almost immediately without warning a dwarven sorcerer used a relic to destroy vulnerable Thornhold Keep. Every living thing on the island that wasn't related to Grim Goldfish died instantly as the island sundered into over a dozen pieces spreading out between the other islands and the coast. However Grim and his family somehow were left alive, each family member left holding a strange artifact glowing with the same blue light as the sorcerer's spell.

In the ruins of the keep shortly after the calamity, Grim would die in the company of his huge family as he told his last made up tales, imploring his family to restore Thornhold Keep and avenge their losses.

## Following the Spellplague

The large tall island that pointed out of the coastline like a thorn had been splintered into over a dozen thick spires spreading away from each other each by about 200-feet. The vast underground network of tunnels now shown exposed along the tall rock bodies sticking out of the ocean.

Shortly after losing their home they lost their patriarch as Grim Goldfist's long life finally came to an end. Despite all of this the family held together and the clan was put under the leadership of the three surviving widows of Grim. Each deciding to run a different stronghold throughout Toril, putting Dagra Waybeard (grandmother of Garls and Queen Dagnabbet), in charge of Thornhold Keep.

A strong leader, Dagra commissioned a massive reconstruction project using the treasury that had fallen into the ocean when the vaults had split open during the attack. A vast series of bridges, most of them 200-feet long and able to magically expand and contract to allow passage, were built between the major islands that had once been Thornhold Keep. This reconstruction would become known to locals as the Tethering.

Following the Tethering, life began to slowly return to Thornhold. Eventually most of the buildings were restored, except for the lower tunnels that were now flooded, and the keep was again open for business. Again the Goldfish Clan would adventure out seeking trustworthy recruits who could help restore Thornhold and avenge the memory of Grim "The Goldfish" Goldfist.

## The Tethered Spires

After is was broken apart, the lower tunnels of the island became flooded and home to all sorts of nasty creatures lurking in the submerged stone halls. Dangerous aquatic life seemed to find its way to the jagged waterways of the Tethered Spires, either drawn by residual magic or by the bodies that often fell from the islands.

Because of this the higher you were in these islands the safer and more expensive it was as a member of the clan. It also usually represented how important you are. The listed locations are separated into three categories.

*The map shown has locations numbered 1-20; with 1 being closest to the water and 20 being over eight stories (80-feet) above the surface.*

### **The Spires (15-20)**

1. **The Clutches**
2. **The Sunken Chamber**
3. **The Drowning Bridges**
4. **The Lower Shore *(brothel and tavern)***
5. **The Washout** *(watchtower ruins)*
6. **The Twins** *(thieves and assassination guild ruins)*
7. **North Harbor**
8. **The Feasting Hall** *(grand hall ruins)*
9. **The Fishbowl** *(fighting pits ruins)*
10. **South Harbor** *(trading post ruins)*
11. **Oversight Pass**
12. **Coverstone**
13. **The Ocean Run**
14. **Timber Point**
15. **Last Lights Look** *(academy ruins)*
16. T**emple of the Laughing Dwarf** *(cathedral ruins)*
17. **The Lucky Eight** *(gambling den ruins)*
18. **Goldfish Square** *(faire, oracle, and magic item shop ruins)*
19. **The Heights**
20. **Thornhold Keep *(safehouse)***
21. **The Fist of Suns** *(monument ruins)*
22. **Harvest Cliffs *(farm)***