These lofty mountains are a wondrous balance between the beautiful and

the deadly-- their twisting, razor-sharp spires reach elegantly

towards the sky, but they mean certain death to anyone foolish enough

to attempt to scale them. To the west, a squat stone tower stands, its

heavy wooden doors banded by thick iron strips. Thin arrowslits to

each side of the door peer out like beady eyes. Fluttering quietly

from the top of the tower is a purple-and-gold banner of an eagle.