Five centuries ago, an orc priest named Wund forged a kingdom under the Sword Mountains, choosing an orc warlord named Uruth as a figurehead ruler. Wund was devoted to an evil god of death and disease, and Uruth was a cruel warmonger. A young orc wizard named Nath fled the Sword Mountains with his wife Ona and their children to avoid the wars he knew Wund and Uruth would soon wage.
Settling near the village of Phandalin south of Neverwinter, Nath traded with farming families and shared arcane knowledge with the crafters of nearby Wave Echo Cave. Nath hid his identity to protect himself and his family, and the folk of Phandalin knew him as Lethchauntos.
Nath and his family had peace for a few years but, deeply troubled by Wund’s leadership, Lethchauntos decided to take action. With the skilled crafters of Wave Echo Cave, he forged the Ettin Axe , a sentient weapon with two distinct minds and personalities. Then, leaving his family, he returned to the Sword Mountains and sought out Uruth. Nath argued that Wund was selfish and manipulative, and Uruth had an obligation to be a wiser, better king. He gave Uruth the Ettin Axe , optimistically hoping that the axe’s two minds would balance out the bad advice Uruth was getting from Wend.
For a brief time, Wund, Nath, Uruth, and the twin minds of the Ettin Axe were locked in a power struggle for Uruth’s realm. But communications from Nath’s family ceased and, fearing the worst, the wizard fled home to find his family dead from poisons only Wund knew how to brew. Wund’s spies had identified Nath’s family and murdered them.
Nath was devastated. Donning black robes of mourning, he forsook his birth name. For the rest of his life, he wore only black and answered only to Lethchauntos. For twenty years, he researched Wund’s poisons in an attempt to find antidotes to the poisons that killed his family, collecting this knowledge in a book he dubbed the Nathlum , and planned elaborate memorials for his loved ones.
Uruth and Wund eventually perished in war, but one of Uruth’s successors discovered Lethchauntos’s location and led a raid against Phandalin, devastating the region.
Lethchauntos survived, but he considered himself cursed for bringing death to his friends and family. He left Phandalin and put his final plans in motion, visiting the Dalelands, Icewind Dale, Calimshan, the Moonshae Isles, and Baldur’s Gate, places his family had spoken of visiting. In each of these locations, he constructed a hidden library, burying one of his family in each location. When the last library was complete, Lethchauntos departed for the Outer Planes. His final fate is unknown.
Shadowdale Town and Vicinity Map
Old Skull Inn Equipment
Mungo Silvermane carries commong adventuring equipment which he sells per PHB cost, and will purchase adventuring equipment for a 20 percent markdown from PHB costs. He also has a handful of common magic items that sells on consignment for other adventurers that pass through the Inn. He will put an item on consignment for players for a 10 percent fee.
Current Stock:
Ammunition [Arrows, Bolts, Sling Bullets] 1 GP, 1 GP, 4 CP
Backpack 5 GP
Ball Bearings 1 GP
Bedroll 1 GP
Block and Tackle 1 GP
Glass Bottle 2 GP
Caltrops 1 GP
Candle 1 CP
Chain 5 GP
Component Pouch 25 GP
Crowbar 2 GP
Flask 2 CP
Grappling Hook 2 GP
Healer's Kit 5 GP
Hunting Trap 5 GP
Ink 10 GP
Lamp 5 SP
Hooded Lantern 5 GP
Lock 10 GP
Net 1 GP
Oil 1 SP
Paper 2 SP
Quiver 1 GP
Rations 5 SP
Rope 1 GP
Shovel 2 GP
Signal Whistle 5 CP
String 1 SP
Tinderbox 5 SP
Torch 1 CP
Vial 1 GP
Waterskin 2 SP
Magical Items:
Horn of Silent Arm 100 GP
Shield of Expression 80 GP
Silvered Dagger 65 GP
Tankard of Sobriety 50 GP