Rivegonian Pass
The Rivegonian pass is the most easily accessed and best maintained mountain pass through the Bloodpeaks. Owned by the Kingdom of Rivego, it has four checkpoints that are staffed day and night with at least four armed guards each.
While the Rivegonian is the safest way to get through the mountains, it still isn't safe. Landslides and avalanches are common, and the cold is unforgiving. The distance between checkpoints averages at about a day's worth of travel--but that's if conditions are favorable. Getting caught between checkpoints when the suns set is a terrible fate.
Geography
The pass twists its way between the peaks in a series of nauseating switch-backs. A good portion of it is paved, but some parts of it are too steep for that to be possible. Ropes are nailed into cliffsides to act as handholds in particularly treacherous stretches. It is a tough hike, but not nearly as tough as crossing somewhere else.
Checkpoints
There is a guarded checkpoint at the entrance and exit to the pass, plus two more along it, for a total of four checkpoints. The checkpoints are about a day's travel apart from one another, so the estimated amount of time it takes to make it through the pass on foot is a minimum of three days.
This estimate is generous, though. It assumes that the weather is good, that the path hasn't been compromised somehow, and that the travellers are in good health and have minimal burdens to carry. Most of the people that use the pass are merchants, which often travel in long caravans for safety. Therefore the real amount of time it takes to get across the mountains is closer to five or six days, and even longer if anything goes wrong.
This means that outside of the guarded checkpoints, there are several "unofficial" checkpoints that have been gradually maintained by passerby over the years. These sites are similar to the campsites that can be found in the Shadow Pass. Rivego does not officially maintain them. Instead, there is a mutual understanding amongst travellers that using the sites allows you to stay out of trouble, as long as you respect it and clean up after yourself when you leave.
Some maps show these campsites on them, others do not. Most of their locations are known only through word of mouth.
History
The Rivegonian pass is much older than Rivego. It is older than the Convention. It has gone by numerous names over the thousands of years, most of which have been lost to time.
It was claimed by Rivego in 688 AD. Since then, the pass has seen many different states of repair and ruin. How important the current reigning monarch finds the pass plays a large role in whether or not it is properly maintained.
In recent times the pass has seen the most use ever, as navigation technology has improved, and trade with the tribes of the Wastes has increased. It has become a boon to the Rivegonian Kingdom. Enough of a boon that some neighboring nations are starting to eye it with jealousy.
Kingdom of Rivego
Ancient forested kingdom that holds fast to tradition.
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