Connects to: 04.02 04.05, 04.06, 05.04, 05.07, 07.06, 15.07, 41.09 and 43.08.
Overview
A rushing river breaks the silence of the otherwise smooth stone landscape, the rocks just beneath its surface strangely crystalline in appearance, and sharp enough to be deadly for one caught in the fast flow of the current. From its source in the mountains, the river flows several miles to the south-east before pouring abruptly into a gaping hole in the ground. At night, strange, almost festive sounds come from the caves in the hole, and the riverbed glows with a soft green light.
The caverns that run under the Glass Rapids extend an enormous distance and have never been thoroughly mapped. In the upper caverns fungus grows abundantly in the strange green glow of the riverbanks, nearly covering what appear to be the shattered walls of ancient buildings, perhaps carried here by some long-forgotten flood.
On the nights that the singing from the caverns can be heard the most clearly, travelers have also heard the baying of hounds and reports of massive woolly-coated black dogs have been given. According to those who have consulted the wisdom of The Weeper (43.08), the few words that could be made out clearly among the singing translate to “the last child,” “the flute of black fire” and “beware!” in a decadent dialect of Demonic.
Connections
- The Pool of the Firebirds (04.05) is the ultimate source of this short river.
- The crystalline stones are, strangely enough, a secret ingredient used in the preparation of fried entrails (15.07)
- The river itself provides water for the Glass River Winery (05.04).
- The source of the singing seems to be be the sister of a young Dogtar warrior named Naik who might have sold her to the black dog. He often hunts at (05.07).
- On those nights that the black dog roams, smoke issues from the old volcano known as the Drinker’s Mouth (04.02).
- A ley line runs between here and Cragsend (04.06).
- The caverns run southeast from here towards the caves of the Destorying Angel (07.06).
- The black dog greatly resembles the one owned by the Grandmother of the Ford (41.09).
Hooks
- Why does the landscape seem so unnaturally smooth around the river?
- Aside from helping make delicious fried tripe, what properties do the rocks have? How can they be gathered safely?
- What’s up with the black dog?
