Chess Mage of Faerûn

Chapter 196 Dagger Beach

Ambitious but unlucky!
This is Zhang Yuan's opinion of the small town of Dagger Beach.

Yes, Dagger Beach may sound like a mudflat by the river, but it is actually the name of a small town.

The next day, the Canaan caravan, having resumed its journey, arrived at this small but very important town along the trade route.

Dagger Beach is located on the south bank of the Derrimbir River, where the river makes a near 90-degree bend, and the town's terrain resembles a cone inserted into the rushing water.

The town's geographical location is undeniably advantageous, situated at the confluence of the trade route and the major waterway, the Delinebil River. Not far to the north, the infamous Black Road, connecting the Sword Bay region and almost the entire northern part of the Faerûn continent, also passes through.

In fact, the northern part of Dagger Beach is the westernmost end of Black Road!

The Delinebil River does not flow through barren lands; civilized cities such as West Cambu, Water Town, and Locke Town are located along its banks, and Dagger Beach is situated at its westernmost estuary.

No wonder the leaders of Dagger Beach dare to imagine themselves as another Deepwater Refuge. It's not entirely unfounded, but their ambitions are certainly a bit too big.

"Don't let the small size and population of this town fool you. It's the capital of a duchy, and the mayor is a grand duke," Zhang Yuan said with a slightly teasing tone. He had prepared this geographical information very thoroughly.

“Boss, what’s the big deal? Baldur’s Gate isn’t that big of a place. Tell me how many Grand Dukes there are. Four, boss! A whole four!” Bard said dismissively, giving an example from his own neighborhood.

Zhang Yuan slapped his forehead and realized that he was still influenced by the preconceived notions from his previous life.

Faerûn, or rather the Sword Coast, is not the Europe of my previous life, nor the Westeros of A Song of Ice and Fire. The title of Duke is reserved for top-tier noble families with real power.

The Sword Coast, which is more like a city-state alliance, is almost equal in all towns, or rather, they consider themselves equal. No one is willing to be inferior to another. The title of Duke is not exactly common, but it has much less prestige.

Even so, the fact that this town called itself a Grand Duchy was far beyond Zhang Yuan's imagination and comprehension!
Let's stop and turn our attention to the small town in front of us.

This place is densely populated—there are over five hundred residents!
There are well-prepared defensive fortifications here—a wooden wall as tall as a person surrounds the land connection of Dagger Beach like a fence.

There's a strong sense of martial spirit here—a full fifty guards, fifty!

Well, while it's impossible for our Master Zhang to have complete knowledge of all this detailed information, the current shabby appearance has already made Dagger Beach, this precious place, synonymous with roadside stalls in the minds of the Canaan group.

This attitude became even more apparent after Kegan told a joke.

"It's said that the owner of Dagger Beach, about a hundred years ago, was that idiot Grand Duke Conan who wanted to imitate the political system of Waterdeep City and have an anonymous council, where every city councilor would wear a mask to participate in politics. And guess what happened?"

As Kegan spoke, he chuckled, his laughter full of sarcasm: "It turns out that those councilors were all leaders from various guilds. Dagger Beach is such a small place, you see each other all the time. Wearing masks is no big deal. After the first meeting, they knew each other's identities, so they simply threw off their masks and started tearing them apart."

The crowd found it both funny and absurd; they were unfamiliar with the idiom "Dong Shi imitates Xi Shi" and couldn't find the right words to express their feelings.

"But actually, Dagger Beach wasn't doing badly back then. With its geographical location, any leader who wasn't stupid would know how to make good use of this advantage. It's just a pity that it encountered that incident ten years ago." Zhang Yuan thought of something, his smile faded, and he sighed a little.

"You mean the Battle of Dragonspear Fortress?" Bard's face took on a solemn expression, and even Kegan beside him suppressed his smile.

"Dragonspear Fortress is a place we passed through a few days ago. What does it have to do with this place?" Such a carefree voice naturally came from the ignorant female thief Nancy.

Then several pairs of eyes stared at her, making the female thief shrink back and take a few steps.

"You don't even know about the Dragonspear War that made Sword Bay famous back then?" Kagan looked at Nancy with a very affected sense of pity and sorrow, as if he were looking at a fallen woman who had dropped out of school.

Before Nancy could explode, Zhang Yuan quickly stepped forward and interjected: "Just three years ago, the evil forces from Aphrodite in Hell surged out of Dragonspear Castle once again, and then spread throughout the Sword Coast region. Even evil black dragons joined in. Several cities centered around Dragonspear Castle, especially Waterdeep and Baldur's Gate, were most affected."

"Under the leadership of these two cities, the combined forces of the army and adventurers eventually forced the Hell Legion to Dagger Beach. At that time, the lord of Dagger Beach, Puwel Dagford, also resolutely joined the battle, and the three flags flying over Dagger Beach became famous throughout the Sword Bay." Most of the team members had heard this story that Zhang Yuan told them.

Of course, Nancy and the cannibal brothers are not included in this category.

“The Three Cities Meeting? That’s probably one of the few glorious moments in Dagger Beach history.” Bard chimed in, then grabbed the beer bag and gulped down a large mouthful of ale.

*Burp* The dwarf brother let out a satisfied burp. They had finally arrived in town, and the alcohol ban in the party had been lifted. They could take this opportunity to satisfy their craving for alcohol.

"The Shield of Waterdeep, the Baldur's Flame Fist, and the Tindal Dagger—these three emblems were quite the sensation during the Second War of Dragonspear. Waterdeep and Baldur's Gate were alright; the war had an impact on those two cities, but it was within their tolerance. But what about Dagger Beach, which is far smaller than the other two? Hmph." Bard, having enjoyed his drink, also started to chatter.

"So, Dagger Beach has fallen into this dilapidated state?" The female thief was making a fuss again.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yuan shook his head:
"The influence of Dagger Beach is not limited to what is currently visible. Many residents do not live in the town, but in the surrounding villages and farms. The town is mostly inhabited by chambers of commerce, guilds, and passersby."

"Moreover, it wasn't just these guards and lords who fought in that battle; the elves and dwarf allies of Dagger Beach also played a significant role." Kegan was quite knowledgeable about the War of the Dragonspear.

As they spoke, the Canaanites boarded the carriage again and slowly drove into the small town.

After passing through the simple wooden walls and the "moat" that emitted a pungent stench, the town's condition was not particularly eye-catching. Putting aside the somewhat dilapidated and uneven buildings, the bumpy and treacherous roads alone made the people in the carriage question their existence.

Is this really the rumored trading hub?
(End of this chapter)