| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| ThirdLevelBard |
Posted - 19 Feb 2019 : 02:27:57
Hey all! I'm working on what I hope is going to be a DM's Guild release of a Cold Run sourcebook. While working on that, I ran into a bit of an issue regarding an obscure location: Auckney. It's a benighted little freehold that's home to about 200 people, sure, but it's also one of only four towns in the area, so I want to get it right.
Auckney doesn't show up on most maps - not in the FRCS, not in the 4e book, not in the SCAG, not in Storm King's Thunder. That makes some sense, as it wouldn't merit a footnote on most maps of Faerun.
Two sources DO have maps that feature Auckney: The Reader's Guide to the Legend of Drizzt and the DnD Next adventure Legacy of the Crystal Shard. The problem is that they put the fiefdom in noticeably different places. The Reader's Guide places Auckney between Luskan and Fireshear, sitting right on the west bank of the Iceflow River. Legacy of the Crystal Shard, which is the more recent source, places Auckney to the northwest of Fireshear, a far more remote location, and says it is reachable only by a minor trail from Fireshear.
I went back and read all three novels in which Auckney is visited (The Spine of the World, The Sea of Swords, and The Companions), and the answer is actually pretty clear. So clear that I'm not sure how they messed it up for the Reader's Guide. A passage from The Spine of the World mentions that:
"Occasionally a ship — often a fisherman caught in a gale out of Fireshear to the south — would drift into the small harbor around Auckney, usually in need of repair."
That seems to me to pretty conclusively prove that the location northwest of Fireshear is the correct one. Hundelstone is also mentioned as being well to the east, and it's mostly north from Fireshear. The only evidence against it is that, in The Sea of Swords, Drizzt and co somehow reach Auckney from an unnamed remote outpost somewhere north of Luskan in only three days. By my calculations, Fireshear is a good week's foot travel from Luskan in good weather (assuming about 25 miles a day). And that's by the local guards' estimate, so not taking special ranger powers into account. I guess they might have been pretty far west already.
It's also mentioned as a place that is only usually skipped by caravans going to Icewind Dale, which seems odd for that northwestern position - if Legacy of the Crystal Shard is correct, you would have to backtrack to Fireshear to get back on the Northern Means to reach Hundelstone and the Ten Trail, OR to get onto the Iron Trail to Ironmaster. There's very little reason for a caravan to ever go to Auckney, but that largely suits the description of the misty, miserable little place.
Did I miss anything about the location? Are there any sources on Auckney beyond the three novels, the Reader's Guide, and Legacy of the Crystal Shard? Does anyone disagree with this assessment, and if so, why? Thanks for your time. |
| 5 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Markustay |
Posted - 23 Feb 2019 : 09:02:58
Thank You.
As Steven Schend was fond of saying - "there's no such thing as 'mistakes', only opportunities for good stories." 
EDIT: It appears the map on the FRwiki also shows the incorrect location (not sure if thats one of mine, or one done for the guide that used the 3e maps as well). I'll need to forward a corrected one to them ASAP (unless there is one in the Crystal Shard adventure that can be used). |
| George Krashos |
Posted - 23 Feb 2019 : 05:52:58
Love this lore Markustay.
-- George Krashos |
| Markustay |
Posted - 21 Feb 2019 : 19:35:11
Volarra's Guide to the Icewind Dale Region
Axe-Knee: The small Dwarven town of axe-knee resides on the northern Sword Coast about midway between Luskan and fireshear, on the southern banks of the mouth of the Iceflow River. Disenfranchised dwarves from both Mirabar and Ironmaster settled the spot after a dwarven hero discovered that the famed Knucklehead Trout - once thought only available to the north of The Spine of the World in Icewind Dale - could be caught in the river's mouth. Apparently, some trout swimming upstream to spawn from the Ten Towns lakes would get swept into underground rivers, and eventually would get caught in the flow of the Iceflow River. During the one or two months when the whether is warm-enough for the river mouth the unfreeze, these poor fish are washed out into the open waters, where they soon perish, but during the colder months - which is nearly all the time that far north - the river mouth is mostly choked with ice, and the fish collect in the large basin beneath the frozen surface. Using ice-Fishing techniques, these industrious dwarves have made a business of selling the fish themselves to passing traders, unlike the folk to the north, who mostly eat the fish themselves, and just use the abnormally large bones for their famous scrimshaw.
During the brief warm weather, many have taken to 'panning for mithril' in the river bed, but this is a very dangerous prospect, because this is also when the river is at its highest and most dangerous. They work in teams, and put to good use ropes and large rocks (boulders, really) to anchor themselves in place while the water rushes through their screens. Its not the easiest way to gather mithril, and certainly doesn't produce substantial amounts, but it is enough for the simple folk who live there... especially since they aren't taxed as the would be in their former strongholds. Others herd the large and wooly tundra-goats for their meat and pelts.
The thorp of about 80 souls wouldn't even get a mention in most guides, and is certainly not indicated on most maps, except for the fact that its name sounds a lot like the human barony of Aukney to the north, beyond Fireshear. Travelers unfamiliar with the region sometimes mistake the dwarven village for the human town, and if its in their best interest, the dwarves are fine with pretending it is Aukney (they once managed to obtain an entire shipment of vegetables out of Waterdeep meant for the baron's own table in this manner). To make matters worse, at least one poorly-conceived Guide to the Frozenfar (by a suspiciously named Golo Vedarm) actually had Axe-Knee indicated on a map as 'Aukney', and rumor has it this mistake lead to further errors on other published products as far away as Calimshan! Needless to say, that book was later found to contain numerous other examples of false information (making the famous Volo's work look like a Candlekeep fact-checked 'cyclopedia), and has since been removed from all better booksellers, libraries, and collections.
The reason for the original adventurer to have been in the area is all but forgotten; there are some ancient ruins below the site of dwarven origin, which she was investigating. It is not common knowledge why she quit her archaeological pursuits in the region, but the rest of her group - dwarves all - returned to Mirabar and told about the lovely clearing and the delicious fish, and so the place began to be settled (mostly be dwarves who felt the conservative leanings of the dwarf-lords had become too stifling, compared to the progressive policies seen among the other races... elves in particular have made a strong comeback from the brink). The only ruin of any note (in plain sight) is a sealed mausoleum-like structure which is considered taboo to go near or even talk about, just outside of town. 'Elders' in the village know its actually the topmost part of tower sticking up from below, and access to further ruins can be garnered through there... most of which is flooded with sea water.*
*Elminster: I truly wish Volarra would steer clear of these 'potential problem' areas, but the lass has a bit too much of her grandsire in her for her own good. The ruins are of Haunghdannar origin - they had a small outpost on this spot at one point, and after the fall of their main kingdom many fled here... only to succumb to the same madness of the others, eventually. This is why the 'tomb' is sealed, and must remain so. Whatever secrets lie buried with the cursed dwarves of Haunghdannar is better-off left buried along with them. Several maps in the library of Mirabar and at least one in Candlekeep show this spot as 'Araughalaur', which roughly translates as 'gift of the sea'. I have personally cast obfuscation dweomers on the ones at Mirabar (unbeknowst the folk there), and have warned the Scribes of Candlekeep not to allow casual perusal of the one in their possession (they will contact ME if someone inquires... so just DON'T). Ye have been warned. |
| Markustay |
Posted - 21 Feb 2019 : 03:59:09
I placed it on at least one of my maps as well. I think I fudged it a bit though, more for gaming purposes. Normally I don't do that - I try to get things as close to the lore as possible, but IIRC, I thought that for such a large, barren area (that peninsula below Icewind Dale), it seemed odd to me to place the only two settlements mentioned to be in that area (one can assume there are plenty of others we've just never heard of) in close proximity to each other. I just checked my old map of The North (I'm surprised that wasn't still up on DeviantART) and I did place it south of Fireshear on that one - my bad. The Reader's Guide probably used my map as a reference (it wouldn't be the first time I accidentally changed canon in that manner).
Legacy of the Crystal Shard would be the correct placement - they probably caught my mistake on that one (not that it was an accident - I just wanted to spread stuff out a little more up there... which was stupid, in hindsight). I'll create a similar-sounding town for that spot to correct my error (like Axe-Knee... which sounds an awful lot like "arrow to the Knee"). 
Edit: To consolidate the 'lore' portion in the post below. |
| Barastir |
Posted - 19 Feb 2019 : 12:58:15
In the Forgotten Realm Interactive Atlas it is located approximately 20 miles northwest of Fireshear. |
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