Shadowport is a dismal and dangerous underground settlement, populated by the most vile beings the Underdark has to offer.
In this underworld city far beneath Atharavon; mercenaries gather to sell their swords and lives to the highest bidder, Drow shade their sensitive eyes from glowing fungus, drift-globes and braziers of glow-worms; and pitiful slaves go up on the blocks to feed both human and mind flayer demand for labor and food.
Shadowport is a haven for underworld and illicit activities, especially the most dangerous ones. Here, for the right price, anything and everything can be bought, sold, or traded. Slavers, smugglers, mercenaries, and black-market merchants operate openly in Shadowport. In fact, the economy of the underground port is dependent upon the despicable practice of buying and selling sentient beings.
In addition to slavers; smugglers, pirates, drug-runners, and all other manner of thieves, thrive in this seedy city. In fact, most of Shadowport's population are either hiding from, or trying to avoid, the forces of the law back on the surface world. The remainder are simply poor folk trapped here because of grave personal misfortune.
To maintain order on the dangerous streets of Shadowport, an enigmatic group of powerful female wizards called the "Dark Maidens" rule over the city, tending to goals only they can fathom and enforcing their will through the use of their magical powers and assisted by their Iron Golem minions.
Here, all criminal activities are overlooked, unless they should inhibit trade, cause mass destruction, or attempt to wrest control of the city. Of course, in return for keeping order among the chaos, the Dark Maidens pocket one tenth of every transaction. Failure to pay the tax means certain death.
Strangely enough, at one time or another, almost everyone from Atharavon has heard rumors of this infamous settlement located far beneath its streets; populated with horrible creatures and catering to the most despicable of trades.
Parents have long used the threat of being "taken to Shadowport" to frighten their children into behaving. But the truth is, most surface-dwellers simply dismiss these rumors as little more than idle gossip.
Access to the City
Shadowport is relatively easy to find; assuming one knows how to get there or knows someone who does. But this comes with no guarantee of safe passage. Most surface visitors either use the sea-cave near Atharavon, enter the town from the Catacombs or the Underdark, or travel from elsewhere in the Underdark, via the Krandar River.
The most reliable method of travel to Shadowport is through a hidden cavern located along the coast, about two miles east of the city of Atharavon. The existence of this route is not common knowledge in Atharavon or the Lands Above.
The City Leaders have taken every step to quash rumors of the existence of Shadowport, including convincing cartographers to permanently erase all mention of the subject on maps of the region. The doubt as to whether the caves exist coupled with the possibility of being dashed against the rocks around the sea side of the mountain is usually more than enough to deter all but the most dedicated of explorers from trying the caves.
Still, with a few carefully worded inquiries, one can find safe transport through them, usually on board a trade vessel.
The price for passage is usually 50 gp per person, and most Ship Captains request it in hard currency. However, unscrupulous folk traveling to Shadowport are the norm; so travelers must use caution. More than one intrepid explorer has ventured on board a vessel headed for Shadowport only to be slapped into chains and sold into slavery by the ship’s captain at the first opportunity.
Some folk make a fair living this way, so it is wise for adventurers to be prepared to leap overboard and swim if they do not want to risk a lifetime in chains.
A vessel using the sea-cave entrance first heads for the largest of the caves on the north-facing cliffs, located east of the city of Atharavon. A vessel navigating into the cave must be carefully piloted between both jagged rocks and swift unpredictable currents to avoid overturning or being crushed against the cliffs. Once its entrance is cleared, the cave is well over 90 feet in height and a little over half that in width.
The interior of the cavern is completely unlit—the only sound which can be heard within is the crashing of waves on its walls. Vessels must provide their own light sources or risk grounding themselves or crashing into the cavern walls.
At the rear of the cavern is Kenarfin's magical portal; which all ships must pass through. But before entry, the Ship's Captain must pay the "Gatekeeper," an undead guardian who appears on board and takes a payment of 100 GP. If the fare is not paid, a vessel is immediately turned away.
If for some reason the Gatekeeper believes a ship is hostile, it will swiftly flood the chamber with water in an attempt to force the ship back against the jagged wall of rocks. This fate has met more than one vessel, which tried to force or bluff their way past the guardian of Elashar's portal.
Once the fare is paid, the vessel goes through the portal, and is deposited into "Purple Pool," a water-filled underground channel, surrounded by solid rock covered in phosphorescent purple fungus. Then, the downward current pulls the ship toward the subterranean Krandar River, which leads directly to Shadowport's harbor.
