The Cave of the Monkey was a cave found within a fertile valley located in the Kun-Yen Shan mountain range, itself part of the larger Yehimal mountain range, in the Hordelands.[1][2][3] The cave system was also a demiplane located between Toril's Prime Material plane and the Spirit World of the Celestial Empire and was home to the greater spirit Monkey.[1]
Geography[]
Deep in the Kun-Yen Shan lay the valley in which stood the Cave of the Monkey. Only accessible through a maze of high passes and other valleys, the place was obscure and difficult to find. It was surrounded by the jagged icy spires of the high mountains.[1]
The valley itself was long, narrow, and deep, descending far below the mountain heights. This gave it a warm, wet climate that supported a small sub-tropical forest, even a jungle making it a veritable oasis amidst the cold, bleak mountains.[1]
Flora & Fauna[]
The valley's lowest slopes were dense with oak and pine trees, as well as bamboo and rhododendron. The jungle was home to a number of wild animals such as boar, bears, leopards, and small monkeys of many different species, which most numerous around the entrance to the cave.[1]
Description[]
Stepping foot into the cave mouth placed one inside the demiplane. From the entrance, a winding tunnel led past a number of branches before coming to actual home of Monkey. Otherwise, the cave system extended several miles into the depths of the earth, and included a number of tumbled caverns, sinks, and pits that appeared bottomless. [1]
This was a series of chambers, each sumptuously furnished with some of the most expensive high-quality furniture, rugs, and painted scrolls hanging on the walls, much of it stolen from around the world and replaced with obvious forgeries. One chamber served as a library, with scrolls from centers of learning across Toril, from Shou Lung and Wa to Phelzol and Skuld to Waterdeep. Another was a treasure store, full of valuable artworks and jewelry, also stolen.[1]
As well as these, the caves held gates leading to other worlds and other planes, even to different Prime Material planes. Some of course were known to connect to sites in the Spirit World, with one to the Celestial Emperor's own gardens, a second to his stables, and a third to somewhere in the Underworld. Many others were to places unknown to mortal sages.[1]
Defenses[]
While the cave's treasures and tomes were seemingly unguarded and undefended, Monkey had actually included amongst them various tricks and traps to trouble any would-be thieves. Some were just worthless fakes while others were enchanted to appear valuable and even magical to every appraisal, only to turn into dung or offal, simple rags, monkeys, snakes, spiders, or dangerous monsters once brought out of the cave in order to embarrass or terrorize the miscreant. Should Monkey himself be present when people arrived, he would sometimes hide or disguise himself to play pranks at their expense. If he was robbed, he would pursue the thieves to retrieve the goods, but rarely was he vindictive [1]
For added defense and added confusion, Monkey applied many quirks to the gates leading to the Cave of the Monkey. From gates on the Prime Material plane, one could enter the cave freely, but couldn't leave without knowing a pass-phrase. Conversely, from the outer planes, the gates leading to the cave worked the exact opposite way: one could freely pass into the other planes from the cave, but one could only enter the cave from the other planes by knowing the pass-phrase. This prevented mighty extraplanar beings from entering his home uninvited and prevented mortal trespassers from escaping without a perilous trip into the outer planes. Monkey changed the code phrases regularly, so they could never be reused once known. As a result, the Cave of the Monkey was very difficult to find and almost impossible to escape.[1]
Inhabitants[]
You'll be lucky, or unlucky, to catch him at home.
While it was the home of Monkey himself, he was rarely actually here as he was invariably out in the world either playing pranks on people or paying penance for them when he went too far. Its main purpose was to allow Monkey to easily travel between planes via the gates located in the caves. Nevertheless, Monkey preferred his privacy and so he made his home in this remote, hard-to-reach valley. Even when he had his freedom and could wander the planes prior to his banishment[note 1] Monkey preferred to pass some of his time on Toril or elsewhere on the Prime Material Plane.[1]
Reputation[]
Although obscure and difficult to locate, the Cave of the Monkey was a key site in the legends of the different religions and faiths of Kara-Tur, as Monkey was closely tied to the teachings of many of them. It was both his dwelling place and his power base.[1]
Appendix[]
See Also[]
- Mad Monkey Island
Notes[]
- ↑ While The Horde's Monstrous Compendium entry for Monkey states he is banished to Toril and restricted from traveling the planes, the entry for the Cave of the Monkey in Volume I mentions his travel to the planes and discusses portals in his cave giving him access. This article presumes this refers to the situation prior to his banishment, and that these portals are no longer usable by Monkey at the time of the sourcebook.
References[]
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 David Cook (August 1990). “Volume I”. In Steve Winter ed. The Horde (TSR, Inc.), pp. 32–33. ISBN 0-88038-868-4.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Map of the Horde included in David Cook (August 1990). The Horde. Edited by Steve Winter. (TSR, Inc.). ISBN 0-88038-868-4.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Karen Wynn Fonstad (August 1990). The Forgotten Realms Atlas. (TSR, Inc), p. 14. ISBN 978-0880388573.