Who Rules: Admiral Orm Brightblade (LN, Human Male, F14) came here 15 years ago, a young man and the captain of a square sailed ship with low gunwales and a curved dragon head at the prow. He spoke some strange language that no one knew, and after a comprehend languages spell was cast, he told a tale of some strange land, of his city of birth Upsalla, and a land inhabited by men called Danes. His crew told similar tales. Similar boats and crews over the years give credit to this story, but no one knows how they came here, and how they can get back. Despite the trauma of the situation, this ship readily joined the navy and proved to be exemplary, and Orm rose to the role of leader of the city. It is through him that "long ships" have appeared in the navy, and in small numbers throughout The Regions.

Who Really Rules: Admiral Orm rules almost completely. He is still uncertain on certain customs and facts on this world, so he often turns to the city council, and other leaders of the Vilhon League. While they give good advice most of the time, sometimes someone uses the opportunity to further their own needs.

Population: 48,000 (75% human, 12% elf, 8% sea elf, 5% other)

Major Products: Fish, fish breeding knowledge, barrels, sails, chains, anchors, ships, bounty hunters (training of), pewter, carved ship prows, and Burial Mound Mead, which is one of the finest meads in all of Faerûn.

Armed Forces: 5,000 (3,000 heavy infantry, 1,000 light infantry, 500 artillerist/engineers, 500 sea elf commandos) and a fleet of 20 ships (10 heavy warships, 10 Viking longships) fully crewed and augmented with a Marine complement.

Notable Mages: Cirso Redmane (CE, Human Male, W18) lives inside his tower near the main market square and uses his minions to do whatever it takes to acquire money through his business, which is that of a merchant. He is not above killing off the competition to earn a few platinum pieces. He is always careful and makes sure that if his minions are caught that it can't be traced back to him. The city officials recently come close to catching him, so Cirso is being careful. His business, though, is extremely successful without his help, so he doesn't mind taking it easy for a while.

Layli Fairmaid (LG, Elf Female, W16) is Cirso's main rival. She has been hired by the city to try to provide proof of Cirso's guilt, and despite no real proof, she has made a lot of progress. There have been several attempts on her life, but she has always come through unharmed. On two different occasions it is believed she has battled with Cirso, but whoever she fought was magically disguised and the person managed to get away.

Erilk Danehen (CN, Human Male, W2) is a child prodigy, being only 6 years old. His mastery of magic is uncanny, rivaling that of Elminster when he was of a similar age. He is carefully tutored and protected by the local mages guild and his teachers have great hopes for him.

Notable Churches: Gond, Tyr, Tempus, Umberlee, Deneir, Talos, and Waukeen.

Notable Rogues' and Thieves' Guilds: Red Nathal (NE, Halfling Male, T16) and his guild, the Red Claws, are quite a nuisance to the city. There is currently a reward of 15,000 gp for his capture. However, no one, not even his own followers, are certain who exactly he is. Some say that he is a local farmer, and others say he is a local merchant, but no one is sure. They aren't even sure what race he is. In fact, Red is the owner of a local jewelry store, one where the guards have orders to kill any thieves they catch in the store (just to throw anyone off the sent). Several of Red's friends, and rivals, have met their demise this way. Business, both legal and otherwise, is extremely successful for Red, and all members of his guild enjoy a comfortable life, even if they are living on the underside of society.

Equipment Shops: Full, with high quality fishing equipment being readily available (only 3x the standard cost, not 5x).

Adventurers' Quarters: Adventurers are welcome throughout the town, though they tend to favor the inns and taverns located on Pier 16, especially Barring's Griddle, a rowdy bar with good ale, great food, and a fight almost every night.

Important Characters: Bernard Settam (LN, Human Male, 0-level) is a large (300 lb., 6' tall) good natured money lender and collector of gems. He is extremely wealthy and is fond of eating at an Inn called The Happy Cellar. There, for the right price, he can tell you anything you want to know about gems, and anything about anyone trying to buy or sell gems in town.

Brient Laog (CG, Gnome Male, F3) is an expert blacksmith who specializes in horseshoes, of which he is an expert. He also shoes the horses, despite being highly allergic. He is constantly sneezing when he is within 10' of a horse. If he shoes a horse with his shoes, they will last 25% longer than an average shoe.

Ulf Thorgenson (LN, Human Male, W12) was a recent arrival from the land of Danes. He quickly mastered the local language and has adapted very well to his new world. Over the last 4 years he was become an expert on sword fighting, and often instructs locals when he isn't working as a highly successful merchant. He has sworn to kill Cirso if he can ever prove it was Cirso behind a deal that Ulf feels he was cheated on.

Herrin Longkeel (CG, Gnome Male, F6) was the owner of a successful shipbuilding company before these strangers came. Seeing a great boat design, he learned from the Danes and is now the richest and busiest ship builder in Garamond. His company also produces rowboats, canoes, and barrels. He frequently refers customers to his good friend Ulf if they are looking to stock up on supplies for a voyage.

Ulo the Daft (NG, Human Male, T16) is a retired adventurer and currently spends his days in his massive shop taking his crazed inventions from his mind and making them reality. His entire home is filled with hundreds of useless inventions, a testament to his seemingly endless supply of energy. Some of his inventions, such as a hand-cranked bolt manufacturing machine actually work. Most, though, do not. Ulo's innate luck has kept him alive many a time. His greatest achievement, though, he has kept a secret. He actually developed a self-contained "walking wagon" that can travel along the bottom of the sea. Ulo uses it for the sheer joy of exploration and the occasional salvage job. He has a secret tunnel deep beneath his basement that connects to the sea bottom far from shore. The far end is hidden and heavily protected with magic.

Important Features in Town: The city is built in the shape of a half circle at the end of a small bay. The city is made up of one very large section interspersed with fortresses at the intersections of very wide streets. A series of towers have been built out into the bay so as to form a complete circle with the city walls. These towers are massive (50' tall, 40' diameter) and each has several chain boons between it and its neighbor with which to block off the bay. There are also hundreds of buoys scattered between the towers, in the bay, and out beyond the walls. A lot of them are magical in nature with built in early-warning systems and are also invisible and hidden from magical detection. There are rumors that some of them are also weapons. A lot of thieves over the years have tried to steal some of these buoys but they have all been caught in the process. There is always at least two mages on duty in each tower at any given time and they are able to monitor the buoys.

Local Lore: There isn't really any local lore out of the ordinary other than the recent appearance of Vikings in the surrounding waters. Garamond is a typical city with typical surroundings. No one knows how they got here, but these so-called Vikings have been a welcome addition to the area and have been adapting quite well to the Realms, despite the occasional ship turning renegade. Given its location near the head of the Vilhon Reach Garamond sees a lot of trade business come through its docks. It is more accessible than Dorgan and Reth and it is a very important gateway into the Regions of Rossak. Because of this the streets are always full of foreigners coming and going. The city is a haven for information gathering.