Forest of Hope

Few places bear a more inappropriate name than this insidious cluster of gnarled trees and overgrown shrubs. The forest earned its moniker not based upon its disposition, but rather in honor of a long-forgotten princess named Hope. Most believe its original name, the Forest of Horrors, feels infinitely better suited for this swath of hellish wilderness. “Flirting with Princess Hope,” given her association with the forest, is a widely used expression used to indicate that a person is about to do something not only stupid but also highly dangerous. Since this is exactly the province of many adventurers, they may hear it quite a lot.
Three hundred years ago, the Army of Light pursued Orcus’ demonic minions into this forest from which they never emerged. Despite the efforts of numerous adventurers and expedition parties, their ultimate fate remains a mystery to this very day. The handful of fortunate souls who return from such excursions occasionally retrieve rusty equipment, moldy leatherware, tarnished talismans, and other gear left behind by a human army and diabolical hordes, but they never come back with a viable explanation for their sudden disappearance.
In an event that seems inextricably linked to the Army of Light’s presumed destruction, explorers searching the forest’s eastern edge near the Coast Road stumbled upon Rappan Athuk, the dreaded Dungeon of Graves, in 3400 I.R. Since its discovery more than a century ago, many adventurers have ventured to the remote site to plunder its fabled riches and test their mettle in one of the deadliest locations in all of Akados. The forest’s deserved reputation for mayhem fails to dissuade everyone from entering into its terrible, woody embrace. The depths of the forest are choked with dens of giant spiders and other deadly predators such as trolls, stirges, and worgs. Outlaw bands take refuge in the tree-shadowed reaches, and each year ushers in a new hatching of young green dragons to plague the scattered settlements of the forest’s western verge. Dragon season along the forest edge is a common testing-ground for young knights of Eastreach hoping to prove themselves, offering up battles with very small dragons whose size will necessarily be exaggerated in later retellings of the heroic tale.

Alternative Name(s)

Forest of Horrors

Type

Forest