The Schlangental

Located amongst the north-eastern peaks of the Felsspitze Mountains, the Schlangental Valley is a remote and inhospitable part of the Mountain Principalities, with little life visible on the surface. Beneath, however, is an extensive cave system that has been colonised by Dwarves originating from the Union of Mishtoon, who live in the city-state of Freihofen and claim the whole valley for their own.

Geography

Around 30 miles in length, the Schlangental valley winds its way steeply and sharply up into the north-eastern Felsspitze Mountains, rising up from the lower lying land that is claimed by the Shire of Rorbach and ending high above amongst the remote mountain peaks. Not only does the valley’s altitude rise sharply, the flanking sides of the valley are themselves incredibly steep and the valley floor, which is no more than a couple of miles wide is thickly covered with scree and loose rocks, which makes the terrain very difficult to traverse. These loose rocks are forever at risk of turning into landslides, which have been known to shoot down the valley with an incredible amount of destructive force, taking out everything in their way. A river flows down the length of the Schlangental, but its exact course is difficult to judge, because it dips in and out of the loose rock formations, which disrupt its flow, break it up and in some places have stretched the body of water across the whole width of the valley.
Whereas the Schlangental looks rather bleak and uninhabited on the surface, beneath the ground the area tells a different story. In the large and extensive cave system beneath the valley the caverns and tunnels were large and level enough for the Dwarves of Clan Mynydd-Cryf to decide to found the town of Freihofen there, and use it as a base from which to claim the above and below ground sections of the Schlangental as an independent city-state.

Fauna & Flora

As the terrain of the Schlangental is so steep, the valley quickly reaches the point, about 5 miles into its length where the altitude is so great that most plants struggle to survive. In addition to this, because the terrain of the valley’s floor and sides is so rocky, with a severe angle it is hard for most plants to find a foothold stable enough for them to survive for long. As the plant life in the Schlangental is restricted to mosses and lichens predominantly, there are few animals that venture down into the valley, and those that do quickly make their way out again. However, the remoteness and lack of population in the valley means that it is known to have a high number of earth and rock Elementals living amongst its rock formations.

Type

Valley

Location under

Felsspitze Mountains

Included Locations

• Freihofen

Owning Organization

Clan Mynydd-Cryf