Ringing Mountains

The mighty Ringing Mountains, the greatest mountains known on Athas, form the western border of the Tyr Region. The highest peaks in the range reach more than 20,000 feet in elevation, and even the lowest passes are a good 12,000 feet above the lowlands. Despite the brutal heat and aridity of the deserts below, a glimmer of snow and ice clings to the highest spires, visible from a hundred miles away. The high vales are home to reclusive monasteries, isolated clans of mountain herders, tribes of fierce half-giant and tarek raiders, and a wide variety of dangerous predators such as rocs, kirres, and braxats. No sorcerer-kings have tried to conquer the rich Forest Ridge that crowns the mountains, and for good reason. The cold and the thin air are brutal on soldiers, the passes are impossible for heavy wagons and lowland draft beasts, and the forest is protected from defiling by the ancient primal wards of the halflings.

Despite these daunting obstacles to invaders, the Ringing Mountains are thinly settled. Halflings, and those who trade with them, use secret roads and hidden passes to reach the lowlands. Vicious raiding tribes of half-giants and other warlike races lurk in the wild fastnesses of the peaks. And, as in most of Athas, monster-haunted ruins lie scattered through the mountains, tempting explorers to try their luck.

The Ringing Mountains are much steeper on their eastern face. On the western side, the great plateau of the Forest Ridge climbs slowly to its lofty height, but to the east, the peaks rise almost vertically from the Tablelands, fronted by a narrow and precipitous range of foothills a few miles in width. The mountains confront travelers with great walls of riven rock, tortuous footpaths, and sheer cliffs that prevent passage.

The best way to get from one side of the mountains to the other is by walking. Riding animals can cover many miles up into the canyons that twist their way into the range, but eventually a boulder field or rocky escarpment will make it dangerous to remain mounted. Eventually, a traveler must dismount and rely on his own two feet. Walking through the mountains is even more exhausting than plodding through the desert. It’s impossible to travel in a straight line because obstacles intrude that must be avoided. Cliffs, high peaks, deep crevices, rock slides, and other barriers require travelers to constantly change direction. Add to this the fact that for every mile a traveler journeys horizontally, he has hiked hundreds of feet vertically. The paths aren’t all solid and stable. Loose stones and crumbling cliffsides can cause footing to slip, plunging a traveler down the mountain. If such a fall doesn’t kill the traveler, the resulting injury probably will.

Creatures of all sorts roam the craggy peaks, and desperate raiders wait in ambush around every other bend. At night, the mountain air becomes extremely cold, dropping well below freezing in the highest elevations. Travelers unaccustomed to such rapid temperature changes could freeze to death before the blazing sun rises at dawn. Travelers need to beware one final danger. The thin air produces a weariness of both body and spirit. Elves and half-giants are particularly susceptible to this malady, which manifests as a desire to rest more than anything else. Those affected by it even forget to eat and drink as the lethargy overtakes them.

The most important element travelers must deal with is the environment itself, for the mountains and forests are unlike almost any other location on Athas. Ruins can be found in the most peculiar places, while other areas-like canyons and gulches, for instance – seem to have avoided the taint of the ancients. Either the ancients never settled in these areas or the centuries of flash floods have washed away all evidence of their existence. On the other hand, crumbling towers, abandoned keeps, and forgotten castles dot the ridges of the foothills. Often, these ruins sit atop strategic locations, like knolls overlooking canyon entrances. Some ruins remain empty to this day, while others serve as the strongholds of powerful raider chiefs or the lairs of monster tribes. In the deepest parts of these ruins, ancient treasures may still be found, including bits of metal, psionic artifacts, and arcane texts that refuse to succumb to the effects of time. Ancient mines and other subterranean tunnels spiral through the mountains and foothills. Low ceilings and narrow walls make walking through the tunnels all but impossible for creatures larger than dwarves and halflings. The mines dating back to the Green Age were constructed by dwarves or the now-extinct gnomes, while older tunnels were the work of the ancient halfling nature-masters. These latter excavations can be distinguished by the organic feel of the passages, for they seem to have been shaped through growth rather than fashioned by tools. Smooth walls of vibrantly colored porous stone mark these halfling tunnels, some of which lead to underground cities shaped from the same growing stone. Some of these tunnels were used by the people of the Green Age, serving as psionic highways that provided quick transport from one side of the mountains to the other. Time has made many of these mines and tunnels unstable. They can collapse unexpectedly, trapping explorers or even crushing them beneath tons of falling rock. Water fills some of the mines. Every so often a pool of stagnant water burns like acid or dissolves flesh clear to the bone. Explosive gases hang in the air in a few mines, causing tunnels to burst into flames at the slightest touch of torch light. Even the weakest quakes can cause extensive damage to the ancient systems. Intelligent beings can be encountered throughout the Ringing Mountains, but travelers must be constantly ready to fight or flee. Few of the mountain inhabitants that travelers meet will be friendly, with the exception of the herders tending their animals in the canyon sand washes. Most others are hiding or hunting, so they should be avoided.

Travelers may discover trading posts hidden in the canyon passes, especially since a few of the merchant houses have begun to seek routes to the lands beyond the mountains in recent months. Of course, the locations of outposts are jealously guarded, so travelers not affiliated with an outpost’s ruling house shouldn’t expect a warm welcome. However, if the new trade routes develop as anticipated, more than one outpost should grow into a full-fledged fort or even a trade village before too long. Gith wait in ambush throughout the mountain region, while the forest is the domain of savage halflings. Gith hate most other humanoid races, attacking travelers on sight with murderous and plunderous intentions. Halflings, on the other hand, see travelers as potential meals. They stalk travelers, waiting for opportunities to spring ambushes. Halflings always attempt to capture their prey alive so that they can present them to their chiefs. The most savage tribes eat prisoners while they’re still alive and kicking. More civilized halflings at least kill their food before consuming it. Even a halfling among a group of captured travelers is no guarantee of better treatment. Savage halflings assume that their unfortunate brother was a prisoner that they have freed from bondage. “Freed” halflings are invited to join the tribe that “liberated” them or presented with gifts and left to decide their own course through the world.

ENCOUNTERS