Immil Vale
Along the northern edge of the Running Rocks is a deep fissure in the earth known as Immil Vale. No matter the season or temperature above, this place is continually warm and green. Grass, flowers, and trees grow everywhere, and crystal-clear streams are free of ice year-round. Many kinds of colorful birds nest here that live nowhere else in Rashemen, while deer and small animals live in the underbrush, hunted by small predators such as lynxes.
Legend has it that the goddess of magic blessed this place with protection from the cold so the Rashemi would always have a vision of spring even in the heart of winter. The real explanation is mundane—subterranean volcanic activity heats underground water, keeping the vale warm and creating many hot springs, which emit clouds of steam. Fortunately, these springs are not tainted with the brimstone stench of some volcanic vents, so the air is pleasant. Sometimes the vale fills with mist, giving it an ethereal quality and enhancing its magical reputation.
Many spirits live here, bound to the trees and stones. One famous spot is the Mosstone, a huge moss-covered piece of rock near the center of the vale. Those who camp in the stone’s shadow are blessed with prophetic dreams and are sometimes visited by Hulmarra Murnyetha (N female telthor human Rgr9), a beautiful and skilled Rashemi tracker killed by a Red Wizard over two hundred years ago. She was fond of visiting the rock, and after she died, her spirit found its way back to it. Hulmarra sometimes steals away visiting men who remind her of her long-dead husband, returning them years later looking not a day older.
Another notable feature is the Red Tree, a large aspen with about half its leaves turning colors as if it were autumn. The spirits of two Witches—Imsha (LN female telthor human Sor4/Clr3/Hth1 of Chauntea) and Tamlith (LN female telthor human Sor3/Clr4/Hth1 of Mystra)—are tied to the tree and give advice to other Witches who visit them. The spirits dislike idle chatter and only speak of important things, particularly involving the safety of Rashemen.
In addition to the spirits described above, many telthors and thomils inhabit the vale and vigorously defend it from aggressors. The Witches are on good terms with the spirits and elementals, and can sometimes convince telthors to undertake short missions outside of the vale but within the spirit creatures’ safe distance.
