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Nesmyth in Cormyr
Nesmyth is a farming village in Cormyr located northeast of Marsember, set among low hills on the highest ground north and east of the great bend of the Starwater River, where the river turns south toward the sea. When the wooded slopes around the village were cleared long ago, the land quickly dried and farming became difficult. In response, desperate villagers dug irrigation canals from the Starwater and constructed an ox-driven pumping tower to draw water uphill. Yet the sandy soil absorbed the water as quickly as it arrived, leaving the fields dry despite their efforts.
To solve the problem, the villagers introduced popper crayfish from the Wyvernwater into the canals. The shed shells of these somewhat edible creatures dissolve into a sticky, glue-like substance that seals the canal beds. The method worked—but with unintended consequences. The crayfish devoured much of the fish in the lower Starwater and attracted hungry electric eels that followed them into the canals. The eels caused many injuries and deaths among the villagers.
Eventually, farmers discovered that stelk, a cabbage-like plant grown in Hilp as fish bait, could neutralize the electric discharges of eels that had eaten it for about a tenday. Around the same time, Harhansen, a local mage of Nesmyth, discovered another curious effect: water from the canals that had been struck by eel discharges glows with a steady magical light when sealed inside a glass vessel. Harhansen now promotes the idea of selling these glowing “light jars” as a way to bring prosperity to the village.
Today Nesmyth is deeply divided. One faction supports producing and selling light jars, another prefers to feed stelk to the eels and make the canals safe for continued irrigation, while a third argues the canals should be abandoned entirely in favor of crops better suited to dry soil—such as vineyards for wine. These disagreements have grown heated, and visitors are advised to stay away unless they have pressing business in Nesmyth. If you must visit, it is best not to mention eels.
