Over the years Wheloon has grown into a busy commercial center. Increasingly, merchants use it as an alternative to the crowded and expensive ports of Suzail and Marsember for moving smaller cargoes between the coast and the interior of Cormyr. Barges departing Wheloon travel down the Wyvernflow to coastal settlements or cross the Wyvernwater before continuing north along the Starwater River to the furthest points navigable by boat.

This steady trade has made Wheloon prosperous and energetic. The town is active day and night, and its skyline of stone buildings roofed in dark green slate grows steadily taller and grander as wealth flows through the settlement. The slate used for these roofs comes from Cormyr’s largest quarry, located near Marsark’s Grove, a vast excavation reputed to be haunted by monsters.

Wheloon is very much a town of opportunity. Craftsfolk and merchants frequently band together to form small investment groups aimed at starting new enterprises. Many of these ventures are independent transport companies hoping to compete with the established merchant costers. Such companies must employ hireswords to protect their wagons and barges, for rival costers sometimes hire brigands to sabotage their competition.

Workshops throughout the town produce a constant supply of wagons, crates, and barrels, while the surrounding farmland provides abundant crops. Wheat, pumpkins, melons, apples, peaches, grapes, raspberries, and blueberries all pass through Wheloon in great quantity. Indeed, more bulk grain and food are shipped from Wheloon than from any other port in Cormyr.

Raspberry farming is especially profitable; in years when southern harvests are poor, a single acre of raspberries can earn as much as twenty acres of wheat.

The town is also the site of some agricultural experimentation. One successful import is the rosecork tree, originally brought from the Isle of Prespur by the entrepreneur Sarliman Eurdoe. Rosecork wood is prized in construction because it absorbs moisture so thoroughly that it is almost impossible to ignite unless exposed to intense flame for hours. As a result, the trees now grow along much of the Wyvernflow’s banks and are increasingly used in local building.

Landmarks of Wheloon

Despite its wealth, Wheloon has relatively few truly ancient landmarks. Much of the town is new or constantly changing as businesses expand and buildings are rebuilt. Stone and slate homes and shops rise alongside aging timber warehouses, giving the settlement a somewhat uneven appearance.

Nevertheless, several locations are notable.

The Wyvernflow and the Wyvern Ferry

The Wyvernflow River dominates the town’s geography, and crossing it is made possible by the Wyvern Ferry, which operates day and night whenever travelers require passage.

The price of crossing is modest:

• 1 copper piece per traveler
• +1 copper for each crate or bundle that cannot be carried in one trip
• +1 copper more for every cart, wagon, mount, or pack animal

This steady flow of travelers ensures the ferry is rarely idle.

At the western ferry landing stands the Wyvern Watch Inn, the town’s largest and most frequented inn. Across the river at the eastern dock stands the Lantern Inn and Boat Rental, which serves travelers arriving from the opposite bank.

The Western Bank

The western side of the river is the older and wealthier portion of Wheloon.

Here the Way of the Manticore meets Wheloon Way not far from the ferry docks. At this intersection stands the Wheloon Watch House, which serves as the town jail, armory, and barracks for the Purple Dragons stationed in the town.

Just north along Wheloon Way are the butcher’s stockyards, whose location is obvious to anyone with a sensitive nose.

A short distance beyond stands the Wheloon Moothouse, the town’s courthouse and meeting hall. Facing it across a lush paddock is Oldstone Hall, the residence of Lord Sarp Redbeard, the king’s appointed lord of Wheloon.

God’s Grove

On the eastern edge of the settlement lies God’s Grove, a small sacred stand of duskwood trees dedicated to Silvanus, the god of nature. The grove marks the easternmost boundary of Wheloon and serves as a quiet place of worship for travelers and locals alike.

Rathool’s Pond

Another well-known site is Rathool’s Pond, the local swimming and fishing spot where townsfolk catch trout and cool themselves in warmer months.

However, the pond has a grim past: it was once used as a burial site for fallen warriors. Because of this history—and the rusty tint of its waters—locals generally advise visitors not to drink from it.

Places of Interest in Wheloon

Oldstone Hall

Oldstone Hall is one of the grand old manor houses built during the early, confident centuries of Cormyr’s expansion. Though not a castle, the structure has much of the imposing character of one. The great soot-darkened building rises in elaborate stonework and is decorated with a remarkable array of carvings: gremlins, gargoyles, satyrs, wyverns, and curious long-necked dragons that some sages call jubbrawuks.

The gargoyles are not merely decorative. It is widely believed that they can animate when commanded either by the local lord or by the Royal Court Wizard, Vangerdahast. Stone plinths bearing similar sculptures flank the gates of the hall and the high walls that enclose the surrounding paddock.

Within those walls lies a rolling parkland of carefully tended grass punctuated by towering duskwood, oak, and shadowtop trees, some of them ancient. The estate provides quiet luxury for its inhabitants and honored visitors. Harpers, war wizards, royal couriers, and other individuals trusted by the Crown are occasionally housed within its walls.

Most travelers, however, see the hall only from outside. The gates are protected by warning wards, and the curious generally content themselves with admiring the structure from the road.

Shops and Businesses of Wheloon

Wheloon’s shops are numerous and competitive. Because so much trade passes through the town, merchants are eager to please travelers and caravan masters alike.

The Blackbard

Barge-building and Rental Storage

The Blackbard is a combined barge-building yard and rental storage warehouse, occupying a converted riverside wharf. Its proprietor is Shanna “Blackbard” Northgate, a retired minstrel whose past is said to include a career as both thief and fence.

Shanna herself claims she abandoned her less lawful pursuits after several stern discussions with Lord Redbeard and the king’s war wizards. Whether that is entirely true remains a matter of debate.

She is famous locally for her sharp voice, quick wit, and uncanny talent for mimicry. Despite her colorful reputation, no one questions the quality of the barges she builds. They are sturdy river vessels, though she refuses to construct anything larger than a barge.

The Blackbard’s rental storage business is another matter entirely. Shanna asks few questions about what is stored in her warehouse and seems curiously unaware of activities such as spellcasting experiments, smuggling operations, or the occasional captive held temporarily in one of the storage rooms. This selective blindness has made her extremely wealthy.

Cormyrean Coins Coster

Merchant Coster

One of Wheloon’s many ambitious shipping ventures, the Cormyrean Coins Coster is operated by a group of former adventurers who now run a vigorous trading concern.

The Coiners maintain their own guarded wharf and warehouse and employ both veteran warriors and mage agents. Their swift coastal vessels carry goods between Westgate, Ilipur, Teziir, and ports throughout Cormyr and Sembia. Wagons belonging to the coster also travel widely across the Forest Kingdom and neighboring Sembia.

The company’s reputation is mixed. They have twice been caught smuggling cut gemstones hidden inside produce shipments and now operate under close watch by the Purple Dragons. Nevertheless, their legitimate business—particularly the rapid transport of perishable food to restaurants—remains extremely profitable.

The Coiners are known to deal ruthlessly with anyone who interferes with their trade, including agents of the Zhentarim and rival merchant costers.

Falconstar Wayshipping

Warehouse

At the southern edge of Wheloon’s eastern riverbank stands the warehouse and wharf of Falconstar Wayshipping, the enterprise of Mhaernos Falconstar, a refined and somewhat pretentious man who styles himself as a gentleman of noble taste.

Falconstar rents warehouse space to caravan masters and ship captains transferring cargo between wagons and boats. His wharf is lit by a driftglobe and guarded by two unsettling guardians: ettin zombies.

Something even more dangerous lurks within the warehouse. Twice pirate raiding parties have attempted to attack the facility, and both times every attacker was slain and apparently devoured. No one is entirely certain what creature performs this task, but it serves as an effective deterrent.

The Fish House

Fishmonger and Ice Dealer

The Fish House is a dilapidated old wharfside structure slowly sagging into the river. Despite its ramshackle appearance, it remains the primary fish market in Wheloon.

Fishing boats arrive daily from both the Wyvernwater upstream and the open sea to the south, unloading their catches here.

The establishment is run by Old Ascalan, a plump retired wizard who preserves his fish using a magical ring of frost. With the help of his sons, who pump river water into large tanks and pans, Ascalan freezes both fish and ice for sale throughout the town.

Ascalan occasionally sells magical potions as well, though at extremely high prices. More commonly he can be found happily telling long stories about lost treasures and famous adventurers of Cormyr.

Haerldoun’s Helms & Shields

Armor and Select Weapons

This well-known shop sells armor and select weapons imported from across the Inner Sea.

Its owner, Albhaera Haerldoun, once pursued a career as an adventurer until her band encountered a beholder in the Thunder Peaks. Albhaera was the sole survivor and retired soon afterward to operate this shop.

She specializes in cleverly designed weapons—particularly knives hidden in armor pieces such as greaves, shields, and breastplates. The shop carries a particularly fine selection of shields, gorgets, and greaves, along with some secondhand armor.

Albhaera herself is famously beautiful and usually appears in striking cutaway armor. Warriors frequently gather outside the shop attempting to impress her with feats of strength, knife throwing, or mock jousts. These impromptu displays attract customers and create a lively atmosphere.

Purple Dragon patrols inspect the shop regularly—though townsfolk joke that the soldiers are merely looking for excuses to visit Albhaera.

Haldos’s Fine Butchery

Butcher

Haldos’s slaughterhouse and butcher shop occupy an inconvenient location in the center of town. Many of Wheloon’s residents complain about the noise and smell of the operation, which often includes the cheerful spectacle of the massive butcher Haldos wrestling livestock onto his chopping block.

Despite the complaints, no one argues with him. Haldos is enormous, bearded like a shovel blade, and widely respected.

His shop is one of the few places where animals can be slaughtered immediately upon request, providing extremely fresh meat for cooks, alchemists, priests, and mages who require it for specialized purposes.

Hanno’s Herbs and Medicines

Herbalist and Physic

The always-smiling Hanno Minstrelsong lives a quieter life now than he once did. Under another name, he was formerly a thief of such skill that he had to flee Amn with magical aid while no fewer than six separate assassins pursued him. In Wheloon he has settled into a genial existence as a herbalist and physic, selling bottled and powdered herbs bought in bulk from halfling hamlets in the coastlands and eastern farm belt to caravan merchants bound for markets in Suzail, Westgate, and Sembia.

Among Hanno’s remedies are several mixtures of notable potency. One is a short-lived but nearly absolute slayer of pain; warriors who have just lost limbs have been known to continue fighting cheerfully after being dosed with it. Another secret mixture can cast a human, half-elf, or elf into a sleep so deep that the sleeper may be wounded—or even pitched down a flight of stairs—without waking.

His rarest and most valuable stock, however, is the spellbane herb. Hanno usually has only a small live plant or a hand keg of dried leaves on hand. He parts with a whole live plant only for 100 gp or more. Pieces cut from the plant cost 40 gp or more, and dried leaves sell for 25 gp each.

Spellbane itself is a plant said to grow only in Cormyr, always in places of deep shade where it can cling to stone—rock clefts, cave mouths, and forest rock piles. When chewed and swallowed, it affects all living creatures in much the same way: for 3d4 hours, any innate or learned spellcasting ability is deadened, effectively lost for the duration. Over that same span, the eater gains magic resistance, or if already possessed of such resistance, sees it improved. Eating a sprig or dried remnant grants magic resistance (+1 to saves against magic). Consuming an entire fresh plant grants +2 to saves against magic. If more spellbane is eaten at once than the volume of a human head, the benefit rises to +3 to saves against magic, which is the greatest increase known. These benefits do not stack with one another; the strongest supersedes the weaker. Notably, spellbane does not interfere with the ability to wield or command magical items.

Rallogar Hardware

Hardware and Rope

Located near the Watch House at the crossroads of Wheloon Way and the Way of the Manticore, Rallogar Hardware occupies what was once an old stable.

Its proprietor, Zendaros Rallogar, is a fiercely mustached man who sells an enormous variety of equipment. Customers can purchase everything from small hooks for securing fashionable masks to enormous towing hooks used for river barges.

Rallogar also specializes in rope and wire of every imaginable size—from thin strangling cords to thick ship cables. His cluttered shop, complete with hayloft full of junk, is a favorite place for browsers and tinkerers.

The hayloft has an additional unofficial function: patrons sometimes pay handsomely to hide there from the Purple Dragons or to eavesdrop unnoticed.

Redbeard Rental Storage and Shipping

Warehouse and Goods Handler

Standing beside the public wharf on the west bank of the Wyvernflow, this enormous warehouse is the largest structure in Wheloon. The building is shaped somewhat like an arrowhead, its two converging wings forming a sturdy and defensible compound. Rising three floors high, it is the tallest stone structure in town and is continually being improved.

The top floor was rebuilt in stone only a few seasons ago, replacing the original timber construction, and the former thatch roof has been replaced with sturdy tiles. The building belongs to Lord Sarp Redbeard, who uses it as a model of careful, disciplined commerce.

The warehouse is widely considered the best-managed storage facility on the Way of the Manticore. Lord Redbeard believes strongly in investing heavily in a business so that it produces steady profits rather than squeezing every possible coin from it while allowing it to decay.

Security here is formidable. Veteran guards patrol the compound accompanied by trained war dogs that keep watch for rats, snakes, and more dangerous intruders. A rooftop watchpost protects the building against pirate raids or aerial assaults. The structure itself is designed to resist fire, leaving little fuel for incendiary attacks.

The loading dock is equally impressive. Covered from the weather, it contains flatcarts and overhead rolling-beam hoists that allow cargo to be moved quickly and safely.

The warehouse staff are trained to handle goods properly. Cargo that must be shielded from light is covered. Goods requiring movement are rotated periodically. During winter storms, workers use heated stones in handbarrows to warm cold sections of the building so that temperature-sensitive cargo is not damaged.

It is, by all accounts, a superbly run operation.

Sendever’s Stables

Stables, Equine Trainers, and Horse Physics

Located one block north of the Moothouse along Wheloon Way, Sendever’s is a large and efficient stable complex surrounded by wide paddocks.

A sign at the gate proudly declares the services offered: Horses Bought, Sold, Doctored, and Boarded.

The owner, Illumor Sendever, oversees the business with the help of more than a dozen skilled hostlers, trainers, and horse-handlers. Their specialty lies in diagnosing and treating ailments in horses, mules, and donkeys.

The staff are renowned for their skill in detecting fraud. Within moments they can tell whether a mount has been drugged to conceal lameness or injury.

Travelers who board animals here can expect excellent care. Mounts are properly fed, exercised, and kept in good condition. If a horse should fail to be ready when its owner returns, the stable guarantees that a suitable replacement animal will be provided.

Such reliability has earned Sendever’s an outstanding reputation despite its high fees.

Those tempted to steal from the place should reconsider: the compound is patrolled by guards armed with hand crossbows firing sleep-poisoned darts.

Slowtooth Weaponry

Weapons Shop

At the southwest corner where the Way of the Manticore meets Westbank March stands the crowded shop known as Slowtooth Weaponry.

Its owner, Nym “Slowtooth” Nindar, is a retired Purple Dragon officer who now runs this busy weapons shop. Because the building is packed with polearms, blades, and bundles of arrows, a Purple Dragon armory guard is stationed there at all times.

The shop is a gathering place for adventurers, mercenaries, and soldiers who enjoy listening to Nindar’s stories while drinking his mulled cider. The old warrior frequently demonstrates the correct care and use of blades to eager young fighters.

His favorite pastime is axe throwing, and he delights in showing how a properly thrown axe—what he calls a biter—can cut clean through the thin shields popular around the Inner Sea.

Potential thieves are warned that Nindar is extraordinarily accurate. From his desk he can pull cords that open hidden shutters around the shop, allowing him to hurl axes through them at fleeing criminals.

Nindar sometimes supplements his income by teaching weapon skills to warriors willing to pay for instruction. When doing so he leaves the shop in the capable hands of his five sons.

Wheloon Tack & Leather

Tack, Leather Armor, Scabbards

This leather shop carries everything from riding gear to light armor.

Customers can purchase gloves, breeches, belts, harnesses, reins, wagon traces, and a wide variety of scabbards. The store stocks equipment ranging from simple riding tack to gear suitable for teams of sixteen horses or oxen.

The proprietor, Landon Bhentyl, is an elderly wizard with a white beard and a permanent limp. Formerly one of the king’s war wizards, he retired after surviving severe poisoned wounds.

Landon prides himself on never leaving a customer without what they need, and he maintains an enormous stock of equipment.

Locals call him Wonderwand, because he carries several magical wands at his belt and frequently grabs the wrong one in moments of excitement—sometimes producing unpredictable magical effects when he meant only to blast a thief.

If threatened by powerful enemies, Landon simply activates his boots of levitation and rises beyond reach, calmly firing spells and wand blasts from above.

Woumar’s Wheloon Mill

Grist Mill

The large stone grist mill operated by Leahon Woumar serves farmers from the surrounding countryside.

Leahon inherited the business from his father and has greatly improved it. The mill now contains separate grinding runs for corn, wheat, barley, and pulp. The pulp consists of vegetable scraps, bones, and other organic material that are ground into fertilizer meal for fields.

Leahon himself is an endlessly cheerful and talkative man who enjoys chatting with every visitor.

He never betrays confidences, but he hears a great deal of gossip. Because of this, the Purple Dragons often consult him to learn what the people of Wheloon truly think about royal decrees and Lord Redbeard’s judgments.

The mill is often noisy and busy during the day. At night, however, people gather in an upper room overlooking the river to gamble and talk late into the evening.

Some Purple Dragons suspect these gatherings also keep watch for smugglers approaching along the river.

Restaurants and Taverns

The Sleeping Cat

Once a rough tavern, the Sleeping Cat has become an increasingly respectable restaurant since it was purchased by the retired adventurer Whelgar Taerncole, formerly of the Easy Blades adventuring band.

Seeking to eliminate drunken brawls, Whelgar removed the taproom and wine cellar entirely. The establishment now serves only small amounts of brandy, mead, and clarry, focusing instead on food.

The menu, though limited, is excellent. Dishes include:

• roast venison
• fried eel soup
• pork pastries
• chicken and pheasant pies
• stewed hare
• goose simmered in wine
• aged brandycake

The cooks keep the menu small and prepare each dish expertly. They also remember the preferences of regular patrons—how they like their meat cooked or which sauces they prefer.

Though the selection is limited, the quality is excellent.

The Scarlet Sheaf

The Scarlet Sheaf is Wheloon’s roughest tavern and serves as the town’s primary drinking hole for farmers and passing merchants.

Its owner, Anthara Softangles Shalymarr, is a striking woman originally from Mulhorand and formerly a thief. The tavern itself was once an abandoned ruin, and its condition still reflects that history.

Anthara has attempted to improve its appearance by covering the walls with tapestries—though these conceal numerous holes and scorch marks rather than repairing them.

These hidden gaps have occasionally been used for murder. On several occasions Zhentarim agents have slain enemies by thrusting blades through the walls from outside.

Despite this, the tavern is surprisingly comfortable. The furniture is soft and plentiful, and the serving maids are cheerful and attentive. Regular patrons fiercely defend the staff from troublesome customers.

The Scarlet Sheaf also functions as a gray-market meeting place where almost any topic may be discussed openly—dark magic, slavery, or crime. By agreement with Lord Redbeard, conversations held inside the tavern are not later used as evidence against the speakers.

This unusual arrangement allows the tavern to act as a kind of social safety valve for the town.

The Silvery Sembian Snail

The Silvery Sembian Snail is the most luxurious entertainment house in Wheloon and the closest thing the town possesses to a true festhall.

It stands at one of the busiest crossroads east of the Wyvernflow and is run by Roond Asmyrk, a former priest of Sune. Roond left the priesthood after disagreements with other clergy regarding his rather enthusiastic interpretation of the goddess’s teachings on pleasure and beauty. According to some, however, the goddess still answers his prayers despite his exile from formal church authority.

The Snail’s wine cellar is legendary. It contains a collection that rivals those of wealthy nobles in Waterdeep and surpasses the cellars of many Cormyrean lords and Sembian merchant princes.

The establishment’s greatest attraction, however, is its staff of beautiful and personable escorts. They not only serve wine to guests but also assist in producing some of the beverages themselves.

Roond has spent years developing spells that can alter the scent and flavor of fermented drinks, allowing inexpensive wines to imitate the taste of far more expensive vintages. These magical creations—known locally as shadow wines—sell for only a fraction of the price of genuine vintages. Discerning patrons can purchase both the real wine and the imitation in order to compare them.

The Snail has occasionally drawn criticism from Lord Sarp Redbeard, especially when drunken festivities spilled into the surrounding streets and frightened nearby livestock. To prevent such disturbances, Roond now uses magic to sober intoxicated patrons and escorts when celebrations threaten to become unruly.

Recent additions to the establishment include:

• gallery ropes for swinging performances
• heated tubs filled with scented water
• a chamber of haystacks illuminated by magical moonlight

These features help keep most revelry contained indoors.

The name of the establishment does not indicate Sembian ownership. Instead, it honors a famous Sembian dancer known as the Silvery She-Snail. This performer retired after marrying a reclusive archmage who created the illusion spells that made her airborne dancing performances famous across the Inner Sea.

Inns of Wheloon

Immerhand Inn

The Immerhand Inn is a rough, little-known lodging house located at the northwest edge of Wheloon, near a crossroads just beyond Rathool’s Pond.

Its proprietor, Chalthos Immer, is a retired mercenary who runs the establishment with minimal frills. The inn primarily serves drovers and caravan merchants who prefer to avoid the crowded streets of the town center.

Amenities are sparse. Guests must pump their own water, feed and stable their own animals, and make use of an outhouse located across the muddy wagon yard.

The furnishings throughout the building are a curious assortment of scavenged, purchased, and roughly built pieces: beds, stools, and chests of every shape and size.

Each room contains a large storm lantern of the type Chalthos relied upon during his campaigning days. As a small touch of luxury, every room also contains a painting that Chalthos looted during his travels somewhere in Faerûn.

The Lantern Inn and Boat Rental

Standing at the eastern end of the Wyvern Ferry route, opposite the Wyvern Watch Inn, the Lantern Inn is owned by the cheerful and scholarly Staephon Gylesman.

Staephon is deeply interested in the ballads and legends of the North and enjoys discussing old stories with his guests.

The primary business of the Lantern, however, is boat rental. Travelers wishing to explore the Wyvernflow or Wyvernwater can hire barges and small boats here with little delay or paperwork.

As an inn, the Lantern is respectable though somewhat expensive for what it offers. Its rooms are usually occupied only after the nearby Wyvern Watch Inn fills to capacity.

Large groups of travelers often favor the Lantern because it provides large suites with private hearths and baths. These suites can also be barred securely from within, offering additional privacy.

Overall, it is a decent establishment, if not particularly remarkable.

The Wyvern Watch Inn

The Wyvern Watch Inn is Wheloon’s largest, busiest, and most successful inn.

Its popularity stems partly from its excellent location beside the ferry landing on the west bank of the Wyvernflow, but mostly from the generous pricing policy of its owner, the red-faced and somewhat cynical former warrior Buldegas Mhaerkoon.

Rooms here cost as little as one silver falcon per night, which includes meals, drinks, and a bath. Stabling and feed for animals cost two copper pieces per beast.

Such prices are astonishingly low by Cormyrean standards. Some stables in Suzail charge three times as much merely to house a horse.

The quality of the provisions reflects the bargain prices. The beer is watered, the wine diluted even further, and the meals consist largely of coarse bread and salty vegetable stews.

Nevertheless, travelers can live comfortably on the fare.

The rooms themselves are simple but warm and private. Most are little more than small cubicles containing:

• a chamberpot
• a wall shelf
• several hanging pegs
• a rope-and-straw sleeping mattress stretched between wall rings

There are no traditional beds; the woven rope mattress fills the room from wall to wall. Still, the door bolts securely and the window can be opened for fresh air.

For a single silver falcon, few travelers feel they can reasonably ask for more.