Races of the Wild
Rifinti Cliff Dwelling
By Skip Williams

Rifinti Cliff Dwelling

The Rifinti have used this particular cliff dwelling for many years, and they are constantly maintaining and improving it. The flock varies in size from year to year, but so far it has never been too large for this home.

The Rifinti dwelling lies on the face of a 300-foot-high cliff that looks out over a snug valley. At the foot of the cliff is a deep lake nestled in the foothills of the sheltering mountains. Vast mountain lakes provide additional water, and the nearby alpine forests offer good hunting. Farther on, the rolling plains of the lowlands spread out in fertile grandeur.

The nearest settlement of any kind is Kalandri's Crossing, a small elf town with fewer than 1,000 residents. It lies across the lake, about 12 miles away as the eagle flies. In addition, a tribe of nomadic human barbarians sometimes hunts in the foothills where the mountains meet the plains.

Rifinti hunters and traders have sporadic contact with both the town and the nomads, but the raptorans maintain no official ties with either group. To the elves, the Rifinti are quaint, distant cousins who live in splendid isolation, sheltered from the woes of the broader world. To the humans, the Rifinti are near-legendary creatures that occasionally sail down from their mountain heights to converse with a lucky few who know their ways. In fact, contact between the raptorans and the nomads is so infrequent that the human adept or hunter who meets a Rifinti in his youth might not see another until he is in his dotage.

The flock has recently taken in a wounded elf named Hannilac, who fell to an ambush while tracking some strangers through the wilderness. They have established to their satisfaction that Hannilac presents no threat to them, but the Rifinti leaders are concerned about the possibility that the attack on him portends trouble in the nearby elf village, and possibly even for the flock.