Forbidden City

Ever hear of the Forbidden City traveler? No? Ah ha, there's that spark of curiosity I have seen so many times before. Be wary wanderer, despite the experience of you and your comrades, all should rightly fear entering the Forbidden City. Did you know it is not an actual city at all? No? You're wondering why the name then? Well, to the first who came upon it, it was a city in their own eyes. They were wrong though. It was a temple the whole time. It was just so vast and large that those who first stumbled upon it called it a city. Ah but let me start at the beginning eh?
During the long forgotten days, legend says there was another empire before the dragons. They say, they mastered not only the world and cared for the younger races, but that they mastered all forms of magic as well. No one knows who they are or what they looked like but what can be certain is their skill. You see, they say that hidden by the magical mists of the Nomnom Jungles is an ancient building. Those who first found it thought it a giant city to be sure but they were not as enlightened as you or I. Regardless, they say over 500 Goblins and Kobolds first found it. Naturally, they had that look of curiosity that you had not so long ago. They ventured in seeking riches of a lost empire or treasures of the like. Some remained outside to prepare their new camps as they figured they'd be here a while recovering all that treasure. Unfortunately, of the first 500, 400 were sent in to explore and gather riches. None ever came back. Concerned for the well being of their comrades, the leaders sent in scouts with specific instructions to stay hidden, look only, and then report back. 80 Scouts left in groups of 2. Only 1 team returned. This worried the leaders but what made their blood turn as cold as death was what the scouts told them. They spoke of trails of broken bodies, blood and gore. Signs of violence and death yet with no bodies. Just blood, imprints of the bodies of Goblins and Kobolds on walls, floors and doors made of nothing but ash. They found other areas with nothing but papers that strewn the floors yet the equipment of their comrades was there. It was as if they had turned into the pages. No screams were ever heard just.....nothing. They spoke of other rooms where it seemed that magic itself had come to life and wandered the halls and rooms. Blast marks from arcane energies spread across every wall, column, door and ceiling. The leaders listened intently taking in every word. They claimed they had seen a comrade who was in a room with nothing but a book of some kind within it. Their friend picked it up and then, turned into nothing but pages. Pages the book devoured. They fled and were stopped only by being nearly blasted as an arcane energy sprang from a room beside them and blasted the wall across it into naught but ash. They heard the running foot steps and please of help from a comrade and rushed to see them, save them, something. Yet when they looked into the room, they saw a Goblin, an old friend, look them in the eye for the briefest of moments with pure fear in his eyes. They say he said one thing: "Run" and was promptly turned into ash as his body was incinerated before their eyes. Nothing except two oddly shaped stones remained. They ran without hesitation. While they fled they heard the voices of their comrades, the other scouts, telling them to run faster, turn this way not that, and warning them constantly of the "Thing in the dark. The Red Eyes."

The leaders vowed to return to defeat the thing that hunts them in the dark. They took the remnants of their group and left. Their travels had to take them through the Nomnom Jungles just to get back home. Of them all, only a handful returned. I would say none has ever gone into the Nomnom Jungles to look for it again but I'd be wrong. You see many adventurers had heard the tale and gone into those jungles to find it. No one knows if they ever did. What everyone knows is that none of them have ever come back.

Spread

This myth is only known of by those of the Sano Confederation and those who visited and remained there for a year or more.