Tumblepeaks(area)

An mountainous area in Volfor, near the town of Osuvanne The Tumblepeaks contains many crags, peaks, canyons and areas of interest. A hideout of creatures and criminals, but also an area of beauty and history.

The hills in the Tumblepeaks don't so much as roll, as creep up behind you and push you over.

—Kydanni Minoggui, Touring in the Republic: A Musicians Review

History

It's a mountain range, so it exists. As for it's history, well... It's had a troubled time of it. Traditionally a hideout from people and creatures on the run for what passes for authority, these days it's not a 'villain around every corner' so much as those unsatisfied with society slping off into the hills to sulk for a bit until people forget why they stropped off in the first place.

Creation myths tell of a hand breaking forth from the ground, which formed the central area - but it's a pretty strange hand, if they're just referring to the Tumble since it's a single spire in the centre; perhaps something got lost in translation over the many, many centuries.

Locations

The tallest crag in the Tumblepeaks is called, of course, The Tumble. Many have tried to scale it, but the sheer rise of the highest point, together with the low cloud cover that seems to bite into the base of the rise to the apex has put paid to the plans of many a would be mountaineer. With the geography of the place, it’s almost like The Tumble has been placed slap bang in the middle of the range, if one were to measure and plot the area.

Amongst the other rises, the more scalable mountains include a chain of three called Byll, Bynn and Wyyd – it’s difficult to say where one starts and the other ends, but the area of these three mountains contains various crevices and plateaus where many different types of flora and fauna. The plateaus here can measure from a few metres to ones that spread kilometres wide and move in, out and between of various overhangs.

The rolling hills as you travel into the area are nicknamed the Rumbles – amongst these, you might find the occasional burrow of a group of angry badgers, are the barrow of an angry spirit. It’s rumoured that treasure can be found amongst the many bumps and lumps – but one’s more likely to find a twisted ankle or ill-tempered wildlife.

There are many caves, caverns and waterfalls at the base and amongst the mountains themselves, almost as if some angry borrower popped in and out of the place.

You’ll find caves such as the Teeth of Owwach which is comprised of stalactites and stalagmites and looks, from a certain angle, like an angry witch with huge teeth, stopped in mid-chomp.

Or you might wander past the beautiful Singing Falls. They’re not called that due to the sound of the water tumbling, as one might think, but due to the very odd plants that grow there with some strange pollen that make people spontaneously burst into song if they stay there too long. It’s a favourite area of lovers who are looking to prove their devotion by serenading their lovers. Bizarrely, it’s also got a history of dreadful, bloody murders. Funny, that.

Marmorikroon

It's difficult to point out how to get there, but Marmorikroon is a stone circle, found within a treacherous region of the ‘peaks. Dating to the early crossing of the ‘peaks, the circle isn’t your usual grey-stone monolith circle, haphazardly dropped in place by unknown hands.

When you encounter the Marmorikroon (and, believe me, sooner or later you will) you’ll find the area that you’re in is… changed. The greyish-to-white crags of the crevice you’re picking your way through will give way, and you’ll notice that the stones colours are gradually leaching away until you encounter a smoother type of stone in the area. The area around the Marmorikroon seems bleached white, almost like the sun has never left the place. Or is it that the stones of the circle have infected the surrounding natural stone?

The five stones themselves lie in a rough-hewn circle – some horizontal, some standing. They are comprised of a classic type of marble, pale white, yet at the same time earthy, with an ominous yet not threatening presence.

Scholars differ on whether it’s a larger or small circle; indeed from the few maps of the place one hasn’t been included here because… Well, to be honest, no two seem to be the same. Whether people are a bit slapdash or there’s something not quite right here, you can swear until you’re blue in the face that you KNOW where the stones were positioned, yet next time… you must have been mistaken, they’re lying a different way.

And the stones themselves? If you look closely at them, there’s something not quite right in the way they’ve been positioned.

Many who have visited has described the sense of peace and quiet that descends on you as you pass through the Marmorikroon. The air here smells even purer than other areas in the Tumblepeaks, a kind of deep almost sea-like clean. It’s almost like if one went to sleep here, one would have the most peaceful and relaxing sleep ever.

Or you’d never wake up. One thing or the other.