Shining Falls

Shining Falls was an amazing waterfall in the Graypeak Mountains that formed part of the River Delimbiyr. It marked the beginning of the Delimbiyr Vale and once marked the southernmost point of the elf realm of Eaerlann.

Description
The waters fell in a great torrent around a, horseshoe-shaped concave drop-off, making for a breathtaking and beautiful sight. In turn, the top of the falls granted an amazing view of the whole Delimbiyr Vale on one side and of the slopes and woods of the Graypeaks on the other.

Notable Features
At the top of the waterfall was a tiny island, lying in the middle of the river and right near the drop with no safe way off. It was rocky and covered in shrubs, and drenched in spray from the river and falls; nothing edible was to found except for fish in the river. People on the river bank had a clear view of the island. A stone here was the site of a portal that was part of the Voices of the Lost song path portal network.

Behind the falls was a secret entrance (and the single surface entrance) to the Royal Caverns of Splendarrmornn, the capital city of the dwarven realm of Ammarindar. The Royal Caverns were a legendary tomb of dwarf royalty, but tomb raiders had cleared them out long before the mid-1300s DR. By then, the caves were more often used as a hideout by bandits working for the Zhentarim.

Above the falls were the remnants of an old Eaerlanni portage road, though this had become no more than a light path used by deer. The ruins of a port could also be found.

Downriver of the falls was a strongheart halfling village named for it, Shining Falls.

Activities
The River Delimbiyr was navigable its full length, except at the Shining Falls, which forced a halt to all upriver travel, though efforts were made for the portage of water craft and goods.

History
In the days of Eaerlann, most trade up the Delimbiyr was taken off the river at Loudwater onto wagons that follow a portage path. It went north around the Shining Falls, before being returned to the river above them. The Eaerlanni elves had an outpost above the falls and the falls marked part of its southern border. By the 14 only traces remained.

The undead cavalry of Hellgate Keep were known to hunt humans for sport in the vicinity of Shining Falls.

Around 1368–1370 DR, the Zhentish forces occupying Llorkh and Orlbar worked to re-establish a portage part around Shining Falls, in an effort to continue trade upriver all the way to Sundabar. The destruction of Hellgate Keep in 1369 DR only made them more determined, but treants in the forest near the Heartblood River tributary blocked their efforts.

"Princess" Tianna Skyflower of the brigands known as the Half-Elven Renegades had relocated her base to the edge of the High Forest near Shining Falls by 1370 DR, her purpose unknown.

Around 1372 DR, the Zhents and allied bandits had a significant camp at the base of the falls, with patrols and lesser camps above and around it and a sizeable one in the caves behind leading to the dwarven tombs. They included 280 human soldiers, priests, mages, and 60 orc laborers. They operated in secret as part of plans to attack settlements upriver, such as Sundabar. They would attack those who stumbled upon them.