Leilon

Southerners usually learn the name of this town from maps, and pronounce it LEE-lon or LAY-lun. Northerners have always called it LIE-lon. This is one way to identity a southerner in the northern wilderlands.

Details
This mining town of 3,000 folk is a firm ally of Waterdeep. Its ruler, Lord Pelindar Filmarya, keeps it within the Lords' Alliance, and communicates regularly with Piergeiron of Waterdeep. Leilon consists of stout stone cottages with slate or thatch roofs, the latter being covered with a hardened slurry of mud. The houses cluster together within a crescent-shaped earthen rampart on the landward side of the settlement. The rampart has a ditch on the outside and a wooden palisade on top.

The town is guarded by the Lances of Leilon. This is a force of 200 mounted lancers skilled at firing crossbows from horseback. They are clad in chain mail, with shields strapped to their chests and backs. The Lances wield axes, daggers swords, light crossbows, and of course, lances. These fighters are always on patrol, seeking to minimize the raids by orcs, bugbears, trolls, and brigands.

The hard-working miners of Leilon concentrate on digging rich lodes of copper, nickel, and silver from deep mines in the mountains east of the town, though a few older shafts even descend from within the town itself. The water near Leilon is shallow, with tidal mudflats extending a long way out from shore. Small bands of Leilonnar sometimes fish these with hurled nets. The mudflats make ship trade difficult. To overcome this, a dozen old, massive, battered barges have been magically protected against fire and rot. Theyre poled out to meet ships, where rickety cranes attached to the high rear decks of the barges unload the cargoes. This can be done only in spring or summer, when the wind is low and the weather fair.

This perilous practice is being supplanted by large, well-armed caravans coming into town from Waterdeep loaded with food and finewares. The caravans sell enough to make room to buy some of Leilons precious metal ores. Leilon is a growing community. Lord Filmarya has established a shrine to Tyr in town. It stands beside older shrines to Lathander and Tymora. The Cult of the Dragon and the Zhentarim are both reputed to be active in Leilon, and there are also dark tales of local cults who worship undead mages or spirits of the mine deeps. An abandoned mage's tower, known as the High House of Thalivar, rises in the center of town. It is guarded by its own ward. Details on the powers of the ward and the existence of tokens remain unknown. It is known, though, that it has guardian monsters, and they have so far proven deadly to all adventurers seeking to plunder the magic reputed to be therein.

High Tower of Thalivar
This abandoned mage tower rises in the center of town. It's guarded by its own ward. Details on the ward's powers and the existence of tokens remain unknown. It's known to have guardian monsters, and they've so far proven deadly to all adventurers seeking to plunder the magic reputed to be there.

The Mines of Leilon
Leilon's miners concentrate on digging rich lodes of copper, nickel, and silver from the mines east of Leilon. The mountains are honeycombed with shafts andtunnels, including several older shafts opening into town itself, and some that go very deep. These mines are heavily guarded by the Lances of Leilon.

The Orc's Tusks
The Tusks is favored by locals. It's crowded, friendly, and cheaper than the Goblet. Its taproom is dominated by an orc's skull with large tusks on which patrons are wont to hang amusing or embarrassing items.

The Sword of Leilon
This old establishment is a warren of small rooms. Guests often get lost and blunder into each others rooms. It's built on the site of an earlier inn where Leilon's defenders used to gather because the building's size could easily accommodate their numbers. That inn burned down due to misadventure, but the name of this inn hearkens to those days of local glory.