Canyons of Arcuri

Over centuries, the Goltray River and its tributaries carved the Canyons of Acuri through rock as the river approached its mouth on the Reaping Sea. The waterway now runs for nearly 20 miles between 500-foot-high cliffs that are just 40 feet apart in some places. In wider areas of the canyon (where the walls are around 600 feet apart), the rushing river fills much of the canyon floor. The Goltray finally exits the canyon just two miles west of the town of Storm Haven where it empties into the Reaping Sea.
Within the canyon, paths along the sides of the river are hidden in the shadows of the high cliffs and thick jungle trees that rise to heights of 150 and 200 feet from the canyon floor. A secondary canopy of trees about 60 feet tall is below the higher treetops, and vines hang thickly from the stout branches. The double canopies and high cliffs leave the river and canyon floor in perpetual near-darkness. The thick foliage also traps moisture as it creates a dense hothouse of humid air along the surface of the Goltray River. Most of the canyon floor is in twilight during the day and complete darkness at night, and a person under the canopy may not even be able to see the canyon walls because of the thick trees.
Along the river (and in openings in the canopy where the sun reaches the ground), palm shrubs and bamboo palms grow thickly, as well as many other jungle plants that thrive on moisture. The dense growths along the river and in the canopy are also home to multitudes of wild creatures, some of which are rarely seen in other areas. The high walls of the canyons are said to be riddled with caves, and the rumor in Storm Haven is that an explorer found diamonds inside a certain cave, including one the size of his fist.
A small village called Arden’s Grove is built among the branches of massive trees in a side branch of the canyon. The village is many centuries old, and its people stay to their high paths due to the dangers found on the canyon floor below. The folk of the town believe that it is named after a nearby tree spirit. Once the village had two parts spanned by a mighty tree bridge, but the other half was lost a few years ago to a clan of bugbears. These creatures continue to inhabit the portion they conquered and look for ways to force the humans out of the rest of the village. With so much of their attention taken up guarding against the bugbears, the people of Arden’s Grove are reduced almost to subsistence living.

Type

Canyon