Grey Mountain Narrows

The region known as the Grey Mountains Narrows is a long strip of land separating Mirkwood from the Grey Mountains. It extends for more than sixty leagues, from the riverbanks of the Greylin to the west, to the flat Dalelands to the east. While the region is from twenty to thirty miles wide for most of its length, it tapers to little more than ten miles where the mountains and the forest almost meet, at its opposing ends — known as the Narrows’ East and West Gaps.
The slopes of the Grey Mountains are an inhospitable waste. Before the Battle of Five Armies crushed the might of the Goblins in the North, the area was described as simply stiff with the likes of them. Now it offers a safer alternative to the dreadful pathways under the trees for those who need to get across the width of Mirkwood, but it remains a dangerous and cheerless land. Barren and very cold in winter, its climate is made only slightly more bearable by the protection offered by the mountain range itself, as the rocky barrier shields the area from the fury of the northern winds.
Near the region’s western Gap, just beyond the Forest River, the hills grow taller, rising to meet a great spur of the Grey Mountains that bends round to the south-west. At the feet of the rocky spur, a winding trail crosses the gap from the south. It is a trading road, a long path that meanders among the stony hills and the dales of the Narrows, cutting across the length of Wilderland. Kept in good repair for many long years, this grey road saw traffic decline dramatically after the coming of Smaug, and the stone bridge that used to cross the Forest River collapsed during the Fell Winter of 2911 — today, its raging waters can only be crossed safely further away from the mountains, where the river enters Mirkwood; here, the stream runs both swift and deep, but its banks are lined with trees, and travellers can use ropes to get across.
As the road travels east, the landscape becomes harsher. The bare hills diminish in size and dot the land like innumerable barrows. Travellers on the road feel the strength of the winds rise, as cold currents from the Withered Heath blow against them, and dust clouds rising from the Waste to the east darken the light of the sun. After miles and miles of bleak, lonely countryside, the road finally reaches the East Gap of the Narrows, to then turn southwards into the Northern Dalelands; the Dalelands were once known as the Desolation of Smaug; several years after the death of the Dragon, the region is once again a green and pleasant land, tilled and rich.

Wildlife

Strangely, the desolate Narrows are not wholly deserted of life. Many birds, mainly ravens and crows, roost under the eaves of Mirkwood and in the mountain dales; they take to the skies in large flocks when disturbed, breaking the silence of the land with their caws and squawks. Wolves prowl the hills, ranging from the foothills of the mountains to threaten any traffic along the road. Now that the path across the Narrows sees more use once again, these canny animals have learned to avoid groups of armed warriors and to approach lonely wanderers instead. Wargs and other wicked creatures also tend not to stray too far south, as they learned the hard way that getting too close to the borders of Mirkwood is likely to attract the attention of the Silvan Elves — and the Elvenking does not suffer trespassers gladly. In fact, experienced travellers know that around the Woodland Realm it is safer to make camp closer to the forest than far from it, contrary to what common sense might suggest.

Location under

The Northern Tundra

Included Locations

• The Greydelve