Shadowdale
is the best known of all the Dales because of its history of successful
battles against drow, Zhents, and would-be conquerors such as the Lashan
of Scarsdale. Although small, Shadowdale makes up in quality what
it lacks in quantity of citizens. The dale is notorious as a home
for adventurers who now prefer a quieter life but are capable of exerting
extreme force when necessary. Though not quite as spread out as Battledale,
Shadowdale's population lives beyond town walls or village fences, in small
farms and cottages that may be within eyesight of a neighbor's chimeny
but not within earshot of that neighbor's disputes.
Shadowdale's sleepy appearance
and the retiring ways of its people have lured half a dozen would-be conquerors
into underestimating their target. inside these sturdy wood and stone
buildings, built to survive winters that send Sembians trotting back to
the warm plains, Dalesfolk maintain a curious balance between commonplace
lives and unshakeable courage and determination.
Unlike the folk of other Dalelands towns situated along trade routes, Shadowdale's people don't go out of their way to cater to merchants, nor do they turn caravan folk aside. They just refuse to orient their civic life around the needs of traders who are just passing through.
