Glorming Pass

Glorming Pass was a major pass through Earthfast Mountains in the Vast, linking the northern and southern halves. The North Road ran through it to connect Sevenecho and Dragon Falls. It was a wild and dangerous place, prone to orc ambushes and haunted by The Phantom Knights.


 * Based on maps and descriptions in "Into the Nest of Vipers", the Glorming Pass may also include the land between Brynwood and Adhe Wood.

History
The pass was named for Glorming, a local orc chieftain who died fighting in the pass.

At the close of the Year of the Banner, 1368 DR, the Vipers bandits began raiding merchant caravans going through the Glorming Pass. They soon made a fearful reputation for themselves by the beginning of the Year of the Gauntlet, 1369 DR.


 * As "Into the Nest of Vipers" is an adventure module, its conclusion is officially unresolved. Successful completion would see the Vipers banditry ended in early Eleint, 1368 DR. As mentioned above, the Vipers bandits may have specifically raided the area between Brynwood and Adhe Wood.

Inhabitants
Orcs were highly populous in the mountains on either side of the pass, dwelling in cavern-lairs.

Various kinds of monsters were also found in numbers.

Usage
Orcs frequently patrolled the pass and monsters of various kinds were commonly sighted. However, despite being so dangerous, the Glorming Pass saw a great deal of traffic along the North Road, as it was one of only two major passes linking the Vast. It was recommended that merchants not risk passage without sufficient numbers to defend themselves. It still had less locations for ambushes or deliberate rockfalls than Elvenblood Pass.

Rumors and legends
The Phantom Knights haunted Glorming Pass, usually seen galloping their similarly spectral mounts the full length of the pass. Their origins were unknown.

Riliyyn Scantshar of Sevenecho theorized that some evil entity, likely a wizard, a lich, or possibly even an alhoon, dwelled in nearby parts of the Earthfast Mountains. She also believed that it kept a deepspawn in the area to spawn creatures that would discourage explorers from finding its lair. According to other sages, the deepspawn guarded a fortress that housed a gate to some other world, such as the demiplane of Ravenloft.


 * This deepspawn may be related to those mysteriously deposited in a number of old ruins throughout the Vast circa 1370 DR. 

It was generally supposed that the local orcs must have amassed an impressive amount of treasure from their victims over the ages, hoarded within their nearby lairs. It was also thought that whatever force had left the deepspawn behind possessed powerful magic.