Tharbad

Tharbad
Region:	Cardolan
Connecting Area(s):	Sedgemead Wadewater - Swanfleet Western Old South Road - Swanfleet
Levels:	Mainly 14 - 17
Resource tier:	Journeyman

Tharbad is an area within Cardolan on its south-eastern border with Swanfleet.

This once grand city of Arnor is located at the crossing of the Greyflood river and The Old South Road.

The old city has been in ruins for years, and recently has become home to many orcs. A great bridge once crossed the Gwathló (Greyflood) river here, but it has long since crumbled.

The river can still be forded at certain points though the infestation of orcs may prove enough to dissuade travellers.

NPCs

NPC	Function	Coords
Boromir	Quest - Phased	Various
Cadwallon	Quest - Phased	[55.4S, 39.9W]
Caron	Quest	[57.6S, 40.2W]
Egfrith	Quest - Phased	Various
Meneldir	Quest - Phased	Various
Woodcutter Huel	Quest	[57.2S, 37.4W]

Quests

The Great Bridge

Starting:

• [16] A Master of Oak, Not of Orc

[16] Someone Else's Axe

• [16] An Imagination Most Vivid
• [16] Just Filth and Trinkets?
• [17] The Cleansing of Tharbad

Epic Quests:

• [17] Book 2, Chapter 1: Something Creeps in Tharbad
• [18] Book 2, Chapter 2: Boromir, Son of Gondor
• [19] Book 2, Chapter 3: A Long Way From Gondor

[19] Instance: A Long Way From Gondor

• [20] Book 2, Chapter 4: The Words of Bregoleth
• [21] Book 2, Chapter 5: Crossway House

Involving:

• [15] The Wayward Mayor
• [16] Book 1, Chapter 11: The Crossing at Tharbad
• [20] A Supply for a Supply
• [20] Stonecrop's Supplies
• [20] Wolfscomb's Bow

Creatures

The following creatures are found within the area:

• Orc-thief
• Tharbad Attacker
• Tharbad Defiler
• Tharbad Fire-berserker
• Tharbad Orc-leader
• Tharbad Skirmisher
• Tharbad Warrior

Lore

"Like the ebb and flow of the Gwathló, the fortunes of Tharbad have fallen, risen, and fallen again throughout the centuries. Built long ago by the Númenóreans as a settlement and ford, its bridges, dikes, and dams have been destroyed and rebuilt numerous times.

Thanks to its position alongside the river and the North-South Road, most trade between the kingdoms of Arnor and Gondor passed through Tharbad. As the burghers of the city grew richer, the Dúnedain undertook to deepen the channel at the ford, allowing for ships of greater draught to pass. The fens and waterways of Swanfleet were dredged and drained, with extensive dikes built to support nearby farmlands.

Tharbad grew grander and more prosperous through trade with Gondor, the Elves, and the dwarves. But its enemies were many, and the city was often ravaged. Each time it was destroyed, the city clawed its way back. Its leaders repairing, reforging, and renewing the causeway. However, when the Great Plague swept across Cardolan, its rulers could no longer keep up with the needed repairs.

Tharbad met its final demise slowly, as the elements battered the weakened structures. Finally, after the Fell Winter, a sudden thaw created a rushing wall of water that decimated the last bits of the crossings over the Gwathló and ruined the Great Bridge once and for all.

Now the ruined city clings to the banks of a river whose hungry currents carry away more and more of its jagged remains every year." — Deed

Maps

Gallery

• 

  Much of the city has been flooded

• 

  One of many orc camps

• 

  The Gwathló River, through Tharbad

• 

  Atop the ruined bridge

• 

  The Keep of Tharbad

• 

  Inside the keep

• 

  Distant view over Tharbad

• 

  Main entry from Cardolan

• 

  Path into the ruins from Swanfleet

• 

  A once grand terrace, now in ruins

• 

  Nature has long since claimed the city

• 

  The approach to a ruined tower in the city