Although the reputed properties of the river is well-known to many citizens of Korval, even the bravest or most desperate person among them has not dared travel through the pass for many decades. The pass is oddly barren, even during the months it is free of snow, and all locals who have attempted to travel through it have invariably turned back well before reaching the summit. All report sensations of being watched by some sinister force, although no living beings are anywhere to be seen.
The sinister force felt in the pass are the spirits of a tribe of kyrie who once protected travelers from harm as they journeyed through the pass. They were all devout followers of Mishakal, but in the dark years following the Cataclysm, they were all killed by bandits in the employ of a black robed wizard who was attempting to create a flying golem. Their spirits still haunt the air around their aeries along the top of the cliffs of the pass, angrily gazing down upon those who travel toward the river. They are unable to attack beings who are touching the ground, but any flying creature is immediately attacked.
Once the pass has been traversed, explorers emerge in a drop-shaped valley that is ringed by steep mountains. A trail leads from the mouth of the pass to a shimmering lake of crystal clear water. On the far shore, almost directly across from the mouth of the pass, stands a dilapidated structure.
Although few living beings remember, this body of water is named the Lake of Light. The River of Healing feeds it from the north. The building on the far shore of the lake is a small temple that was once devoted to Mishakal, a goddess of fertility and healing that was widely worshipped in Solamnia. Within the temple, on the walls of the chambers containing its Holy Circles, explorers can see a mural portraying Mishakal bathing in the lake outside the temple. The priests believed the healing properties of the both the lake and the river came from Mishakal’s blessing.
The temple is home to all manner of small animals and vermin, but nothing that can threaten the heroes lives there.
To the north of the lake, the valley climbs steeply to meet the mountains. The River of Healing enters the valley here, flowing from a narrow, fertile canyon. The canyon snakes through the mountains for roughly 60 miles, its length although 20 miles up the valley is a community of hill giants. These humanoids moved here after being driven eastward during Khellendros’ seizing of Solamnia. The giants aren’t necessarily hostile toward those traveling through the canyon, but they will try to claim one horse from mounted parties as a toll.
The canyon terminates as the sheer cliff walls that line in converge. The river’s headwaters are located in a cave high up on the mountainous wall. The crystal clear water pours forth with a dazzling of rainbow colors during the midday hours when the sun is at an angle that allows it to shine into the canyon.
It is a steep and difficult climb to reach cave containing the river’s headwater. Only skilled mountaineers in possession of the appropriate equipment can do so. Naturally, heroes who can some fly can reach the cave much easier.
Once inside the cave, the heroes can follow a narrow ledge that runs between the river and the wall of the cave in a steep incline. The water flows swiftly from deep within the cave, threatening to wash anyone who gets into it over the cliff.
After climbing steeply for almost two hundred feet, the passage levels out and widens into a large cave. At the back of the cave, crystal clear water pours froth from a spring, forming a pool. The River of Healing flows down the mountain from it.
Scattered about the cave are a dozen highly detailed, life-sized stone carvings of humans, dwarves, and kender, mountain climbers or adventurers all. An examination of them reveals that a few of the faces are calm but the majority of them appear startled while others appear horrified.
These statues were once living males and females who have been turned
to stone by the gaze of the gorgon who once lived here. A careful search
of the cave reveals a small tunnel in the most distant corner. In order
to explore it, characters will have to get down on their hands and knees.
The tunnel terminates in a small cave. The dried and withered corpse of
a creature that was part snake and part human lies in the rotted remains
of furs and blankets. Shriveled remains of snakes cover the top of its
skull. These are the earthly remains of a gorgon, perhaps proof that the
epic poem “The Serpent and Knight” are based in fact.
The river’s healing properties are strongest at its origin. The
waters here can cause lost limbs to regrow, make the old young, and even
bring the dead back to life. As the river flows southward, its magical
effects are diluted. The waters of the lake have refreshing qualities and
have been known to instantly cure colds, but little else. Beings submerged
in the river are cured of more serious ailments and diseases, including
life-threatening wounds and fatal poisonings. Drinking the water has no
effect—a person must be submerged.
Another part of the valley where her presence may still be felt is the temple on the shore of the Lake of Light. Before the Cataclysm, it was home to some of her most devout priests, and a vestige of Mishakal’s power still remains here. Spellcasting heroes who meditate or pray within the walls of the temple find that spells cast with the intent of healing injuries or curing diseases have maximum effectiveness for a period of 21 hours afterwards.
The spirit of the deceased gorgon still lingers in the cave where she lived, waiting for the Crown Knight whom she rescued to return. (He left to resign his rank with the Orders, but when he reached the High Clerist Tower, they convinced him there that he had been under the influence of mind-effecting magic—love for a gorgon was not natural!) The gorgon, however, waited for him, pining away until she finally died of a broken heart. Heroes who are attuned to the spirit world will feel great sorrow when they enter the cave. The gorgon is invisible and insubstantial and the living can only communicate with her through the use of proper magical spells or abilities.
The only danger this undead gorgon poses is that will attempt to force anyone who enters the cave wearing the armor of a Knight of Solamnia to stay—her undead state has caused her perception to become a little confused. She will release the Knight if someone contacts her and explains the reality of the situation—that she has been dead for hundreds of years, and so has the Knight she loved.
| Location
In the lake Lower river Mid river Upper river Headwater |
D&D Game System
Restores subdual damage Restores 1d8 hp/cures poison Restores 3d10 hp/cures blindness Restores 3d20 hp/regenerates lost limbs Heals all injuries and ailments, raises the dead |
SAGA Game System
Restores 1 card Restores max. 3 cards/cures poison Restores max. 6 cards/cures Blindness Restores max. 9 cards/regenerates lost Limbs Heals all injuries and ailments, aises the dead |
The spirit of the gorgon (a medusa D&D system) in the has
all the abilities and properties of a haunt. (See the D&D MONSTROUS
MANUAL™ or DRAGONLANCE Dramatic Supplement The Bestiary for details.)
• During the Age of Mortals: The heroes are in Korval when a child falls
deathly ill. The healers can do nothing for the child, but a sage who retired
from the Great Library to live among the simple peasants of Korval is familiar
with the River of Healing. He and the child’s family approach the heroes
and ask them to pass between Korval and the River of Healing. Unfortunately
for the heroes, a bandit lord who heard Pehte’s tale of the river has decided
to use it as a source of income. His men have sealed off the pass and have
turned the old temple into a fortification to guard the lake.