Pass to the Valley of Mines

The pass to the Valley of Mines is the only land route leading from the valley of Khorinis to the former penal colony in the south of the island. It lies beyond Bengar's farm on the Pasture Plateau and was for years the route used by royal troops to deliver goods to the colony and transport magical ore. At the northern end of the pass, on the border of the former Barrier, lay the exchange point – where goods were traded between the Old Camp's prisoners and the king's soldiers, and where new convicts were thrown into the colony. After the fall of the Barrier, orcs occupied the pass, making passage nearly impossible. Those still wishing to reach the Valley of Mines had to use a small cave in the pass leading to the abandoned mine, bypassing the orcs. Since the Barrier's collapse, monsters also pour daily from the pass onto the Pasture Plateau, threatening Bengar's farm – a situation so dire that the shepherd Malak fled into the mountains with all the workers.