Overview of Darkmoon Vale

I’ve been to better places in this world, safer places. I’ve been to places with prettier people, more civilized people. But you know? I’ve never been to a place with such a swing between safety and danger. On the one hand, you can stand within Adamas and feel that not even a second Earthfall could threaten you. On the other, you can peer into the eyes of an angry dragon within the dark tangle of Arthfell Forest and know that not even divine intervention could save you.

              —Luna Aldred, Pathfinder and First Citizen of Olfden

Danger lurks in every corner, every nook and cranny, of Darkmoon Vale. Some threats are obvious—they come in the form of werewolves, kobolds, and dragons. Some threats—and these are by far the more dangerous—are normal humans, from community leaders to streetwise toughs. Hazards are not limited to the area’s living inhabitants, either. In fact, compared to the active dangers presented by much of Darkmoon Vale’s geology, its living threats might almost seem tame. Vast swaths of the low plain within the wide vale hide superheated mud and broiling hot springs beneath only an inch or two of earth, waiting to boil alive any creature unfortunate enough to make a single misstep. And, of course, standing above the entire area looms the immense volcano, Droskar’s Crag, the awakener of the region’s active geology and architect of the largest cataclysm to hit Andoran in the past millennium.

Darkmoon Vale stands at the northwestern corner of the democracy of Andoran, which only recently succeeded in breaking away from the infernal empire of Cheliax. Although named Darkmoon Vale, the area is more like a dale or flat dell than a true valley (and is occasionally referred to as such throughout this volume). While the northern border of the area does indeed sweep down from a range of mountains, the southern end of the vale only rises up to a low shelf. The River Foam crosses the vale, but it had no hand in creating the lowland through which it runs.

Semantics aside, Darkmoon Vale is a resource-rich, geologically active wilderness at the edge of civilization. Its borders rest more than a day’s ride from any major city. While it does provide an overland trade route to neighboring Isger, the few merchants who take advantage of the dangerous journey do not hasten Andoran’s desire to increase patrols along the road. If not for the dwindling supply of darkwood and the few silver mines in the nearby mountains, Andoran would have little reason to show any interest in the region at all.

Symbols

The Andoran National Crest

People identify their affiliations symbolically, from the colors of their uniforms to the specific looks of their coat of arms. As a region within Andoran, many of the symbols used in Darkmoon Vale are not specific to the region. Colors: Black, blue, and gold feature prominently in Andoran and, by extension, within Darkmoon Vale. In Andoran, black signifies honor, blue denotes freedom, and gold symbolizes courage. Red, as seen on the symbol and uniform of the Diamond Regiment, naturally represents blood, which in turn indicates a willingness to sacrifice.

Mascots: The eagle of Andoran denotes courage and freedom. Most eagle representations in Andoran show the mighty animal clutching a sword and branch of holly. The sword shows that Andoran is willing to fight to remain free, while the holly indicates honesty. In the Darkmoon Vale region itself, images of falcons and wolfs are prominent. Wolves play a significant role in the lives of Darkmoon Vale residents, while the falcon is the ancient symbol of an old human family in the area. The Falcon and Wolf sidebar further explains the significance of these animals.

Motto: As indicated on its full coat of arms, Andoran’s motto is “Efrir ep Bered,” Ancient Taldoran for “Free and Ready.”

Darkmoon Vale Residences

Most people who live in Darkmoon Vale own their homes or rent them from the Lumber Consortium. Very few multifamily dwellings exist, and all of them stand in the vale’s largest settlement, Olfden. Despite the wealth generated by logging, housing prices in Darkmoon Vale remain relatively low. Most attribute this to a lack of safety in the region. The following descriptions provide a general overview of how people live in Darkmoon Vale, broken down by sociopolitical standing.

Free Farmer: Self-sufficient farms do exist in Darkmoon Vale, and most of them stand north of the River Foam or atop the Elberwick Rise. Those who live on farms tend to produce more food than they can eat, which they then sell for other supplies. Most farms in Darkmoon Vale use hedgerows and natural borders to mark their boundaries, and those far from the region’s major settlements use more defensible barriers, such as walls, around their buildings and fields.

Merchants: Most of the people who live in Olfden either work for the Lumber Consortium or are merchants. Common items useful to adventurers and explorers are available in Olfden, thanks to the multitude of merchants in that town. Merchants tend to own the buildings in which they operate and keep their living quarters above their storefronts. The exception to this rule is Falcon’s Hollow, where the Lumber Consortium owns every building. The few merchants who scrape by in Falcon’s Hollow must pay exorbitant rents.

Skilled Workers: From craftsmen to lumberjacks, skilled workers make up the majority of people in Darkmoon Vale. The largest group of skilled workers, of course, is the lumberjacks. More than 400 loggers live and work in Darkmoon Vale, and most of them belong to the Lumber Consortium. All the other common trades (carpenters, masons, blacksmiths, and the like) exist in Darkmoon Vale. Those who live in Perin’s Bluff and Olfden usually own the buildings in which their businesses and connected homes exist, while those in Falcon’s Hollow are typically employees of the Lumber Consortium and thus sacrifice much of what they would earn to subsidize their so-called “free rent.”

Soldiers: Whether members of the Diamond Regiment or transient mercenaries, hundreds of fighting men and women live in Darkmoon Vale. Those who belong to an organization live for free in barracks, while those who fight for money either rent their homes or have free housing provided to them (usually from the Lumber Consortium). Unlike the skilled workers who work for the consortium, though, the guards are paid very well on top of their free housing.

Wealthy: The lumber baron Thuldrin Kreed is easily the most famous (or rather, infamous) wealthy person in Darkmoon Vale, but he is not the wealthiest. Retired adventurers, cooperative ex-nobles, particularly successful merchants, and the occasional non-logging industry leader from other parts of Andoran all comprise the wealthy elite of Darkmoon Vale. Most of these people live in or near Olfden, although a few maintain their own selfsufficient manors (even castles, in some cases) beyond the walls of the region’s settlements.

Life in Darkmoon Vale

Outside of Olfden, life in and around Darkmoon Vale is difficult, dirty, and often violently cut short. Only the law of the wild holds sway in most areas of the region. The weak scarcely have a chance here. To live in such a rough and tumble place, the people themselves must remain strong.

If not for the lucrative logging of darkwood, no one would bother living in such a wild and dangerous place. With each passing generation, though, the calming influence of civilization grows in Darkmoon Vale.

The Darkmoon Vale Mindset

Paranoia grips many who live in Darkmoon Vale outside of Olfden, and for good reason. Valers (those who grow up in Darkmoon Vale) distrust newcomers and strangers, at least until those new to the area stay through at least one full moon. Anyone who expresses sympathy or fascination with the area’s wolves draws additional suspicion, and those who dare to point out the positive lupine influences in the vale are lucky to avoid lynch squads.

Valers are a distrustful, taciturn lot and tend to keep to themselves. They fear what they know (werewolves and the region’s geologic dangers) and what they don’t know (strangers and what lurks within the nearby hills and mountains). Unknown bogeymen constantly haunt their dreams and they frequently offer rewards or incentives for adventurers to come to their vale, investigate some rumored horror, and then leave.

As the largest refuge of civilization in the vale, Olfden and its residents buck this trend. Those who live in Olfden actively welcome and encourage newcomers, as visitors tend to bring coin. Thanks partially to the town’s openness, most Valers who live outside Olfden don’t truly consider it or its residents a part of the vale. Many rural Valers look down on the town’s residents as weak cowards afraid to face the region’s many dangers. For their part, the urban Valers laugh off these insults and constantly seek to mend the relationship between the two groups.

Falcon and Wolf
Many of the places, organizations, and even people in Darkmoon Vale contain either “Falcon” or “Wolf” (or a related word) in their names.

The wolf aspect of Darkmoon Vale becomes apparent to anyone who stays there—rarely does a night go by without at least one lonesome lupine calling. Wild dogs, wolves, worgs, winter wolves, and werewolves prowl the vale, its forests, and its hills.


On the other hand, few people understand the local obsession with falcons. While the area does contain a couple native species of falcons and the city of Olfden holds an annual falconry tournament, the true origin of “falcon” in so many names comes from the heraldic device of the Novotnian family. The first human to pacify Darkmoon Vale, Baron Karas Novotnian, received a land grant from the emperor of Cheliax in exchange for bringing civilization to the countryside. As more people flocked to the area, they noted the prominent falcon on Baron Novotnian’s crest and began to refer to him and his descendants as “the Falcon.” Even with the death of the last Falcon-Baron Novotnian and the eradication of nobility in Andoran, the people of the vale continue to embrace the imagery and iconography of the bird.

Darkmoon Vale Business

As if the high tax rate in Falcon’s Hollow weren’t enough to stif le its people and keep them poor and working, the Lumber Consortium—which owns the small town and provides a living to most of its residents—charges outrageous rents for tiny, dingy houses and boarding house rooms. Despite the unconscionable way in which it treats its employees and their dependants, the Lumber Consortium possesses carte blanche north of the Foam River. Thanks to its monopoly hold on the timber trade in Darkmoon Vale (especially the exceedingly valuable darkwood), the consortium can effectively hold Andoran hostage, threatening to cut off the darkwood supply whenever the country’s leaders become too interested in its affairs.

From the River Foam to the foothills of the Five Kings Mountains, nearly every coin of profit made is thanks to the draconian methods of the Lumber Consortium. Beyond Darkmoon Wood, however, other types of business f lourish. In the foothills, a handful of heavily guarded dwarven mines have recently reopened, providing both silver and iron. Because these operations remain small and various monsters continue to plague the area, the supplies of metal from the mines barely affect the region’s economy. More notably, the town of Olfden provides numerous services and goods to the vale’s largest source of outside gold: adventurers and explorers. Nearly any item such groups could need is available for sale in Olfden (including items of magic).

Speaking Like a Valer

Darkmoon Vale’s human residents all speak Taldoran (also called Chelaxian), the most widespread tongue in the areas surrounding the Inner Sea. They do so, however, with an accent that borrows from the speech patterns of both Andoran and nearby Isger. This distinctive vale accent sounds clipped and sharp, but not to the point of seeming angry. In addition to this unique accent, the people of Darkmoon Vale have their own dialect unique to the area. In order to help you blend in while exploring Darkmoon Vale, make sure to (correctly) use the following phrases.

Cutyard: A tree-felling camp that temporarily houses lumberjacks chopping an area of the woods.

Mudpot: A type of hot spring or fumarole consisting of bubbling mud instead of boiling water. Also called a mud pool or paint pot.

The Store: Lumbering supplies provided by the Lumber Consortium, which often come with additional “taxes,”

even long after purchase.

Stoutfolk: What dwarves of the Five Kings Mountains call themselves.

Valer: A human born, raised, and living in Darkmoon Vale. Immigrants, transients, and non-humans are not Valers.

The Woods: Darkmoon Wood. Valers don’t call any other groups of trees “the woods.”

The Darkmoon Vale Wilderness

Many places of danger abound in Darkmoon Vale, and some of them even lie outside the walls of Falcon’s Hollow. The thing to keep in mind while traveling through the vale is this: you’re not safe anywhere you go. Forget the critters who call Darkmoon Vale home, the land itself will frequently try to kill you. And looming over everything, like some great and terrifying reminder of destruction, stands Droskar’s Crag. Best to not be in Avistan next time that mountain decides to blow.

              —Luna Aldred, Pathfinder and First Citizen of Olfden

Three distinct geologic areas comprise Darkmoon Vale. In the south climbs the Elberwick Rise, a low shelf of basalt upon which almost all of the Arthfell Forest grows and which eventually rises to a vast plateau covering most of Andoran. Darkmoon Plain forms most of the vale and contains vast swaths of grassland and dotted with geothermal vents small crags of granite and the occasional spruce or fir copse. In the north, the valley rises into a series of foothills, ending on the slopes of the Five Kings Mountains and anchored in the northwest by the imposing volcano, Droskar’s Crag. The people of Darkmoon Vale refer to the three zones of the vale as the Uplands in the south, the Lowlands in the middle, and the Highlands in the north. Enclosing the vale further, the Wolfrun Hills rise in the east, while the Aspodell Mountains form the vale’s border in the west.

Darkmoon Vale is a geologically active region, producing several major events in recorded history and bearing evidence of even greater activity in the past. Most famous of the vale’s geology is Droskar’s Crag, an immense volcano that continues to puff out smoke and ash on occasion even 800 years after its last major eruption (known as the Rending). Lava tubes and other cavern structures wend throughout the lower sections of the volcano, as well as the Five Kings Mountains it anchors. Closer to civilization, the valley floor percolates with mudpots, geysers, and other geothermal phenomena.

Regional Overview

Tucked away in the northwestern corner of democratic Andoran, Darkmoon Vale is a fairly isolated region with an insular population. More or less marking the northwestern boundary of the region, imposing Droskar’s Crag, the tallest stratovolcano in the world, rises to an incredible height. It casts its impressive shadow across most of the vale, and is easily the region’s most iconic symbol.

Aside from the lumber trade and an abundance of wellplundered dwarven ruins, Darkmoon Vale offers little to civilized societies and thus remains sparsely populated and largely unexplored. Most business conducted in the vale centers on the harvesting and transportation of its rich supply of darkwood. The Lumber Consortium owns all of the small logging community of Falcon’s Hollow and exerts considerable influence over the larger town of Olfden.

Geography

Many dangers and hazards plague Darkmoon Vale. The following descriptions, broken down by the most general geographic areas in which they appear, feature only a selection (a wide selection, to be sure, but still only a selection) of the places of interest within the region. The region’s three settlements are covered in Chapter 3. Many of the entries bear alphanumeric codes that correspond to tags on the Darkmoon Vale map.

Arthfell Forest

Stretching far to the south, most of Arthfell Forest actually stands outside the vague borders of Darkmoon Vale. The primarily pine and fir forest generally avoids the axes of loggers affiliated with the Lumber Consortium, thanks to its lack of darkwood. More than two centuries ago, when both it and Darkmoon Wood were much larger and a part of the same forest, a druid circle leader named Narven united the nature-loving peoples in and near Arthfell Forest under his control. Declaring himself the Forest King, Narven reigned supreme within Arthfell Forest for more than 50 years before old age finally caught him in his sleep. His kingdom quickly disbanded thereafter, leaving behind few indications of its existence.

Etherveil: A mile or so south of the gentle slope marking the edge of Elbewick Rise lies a vast indentation in the forest floor in which only silver-barked paueliel trees grow. No underbrush clutters the Etherveil, but a low, chilled fog forever fills it. Thin at the 4-foot top of the indent, the fog thickens quickly until it is opaque only a few inches above the lowered forest floor. On nights preceding solstices, the fog turns from a natural white-gray to a lightly sparkling blue-green. Some legends speak of creatures wandering into the Etherveil and never coming out, while others claim that lovers who loudly declare their love while standing within the indentation live happily ever after. Cartographers who map out the indent never agree on its shape, although sages who have seen the maps universally agree they are in the shapes of letters from the Elven script. Whatever its shape, Etherveil covers several acres of land and is even notable from the air. The few histories of Arthfell Forest and Darkmoon Vale that exist all mention the location, but none of them offer clues to the etymology of its name or its purpose.

Moon Silver Pool: This shallow reflecting pool stands in a quiet glade near the northern edge of the forest. Thick plates of pure silver, somehow immune to tarnish, form a narrow lip around the pool and pave most of its bottom. Despite its extreme beauty, the pool is a place of extreme danger (particularly at night). Druids of the Shadow Pack circle consider Moon Silver Pool a holy site and protect it viciously, as do non-druid werewolves in the area. Nonwerewolves (and even some werewolves who have not yet proved their loyalties) are torn apart on sight if they come too close to the pool. Many believe the Moon Silver Pool is a relic left over from the reign of Forest King Narven.

Taxthyl: Compared to Daralathyxl (see Five Kings Mountains), Taxthyl’s appearance in the region is a relatively recent event. The first recorded sightings of Taxthyl come from 3300, when reports of a reclusive green dragon came in from Tar Khadurrm. Taxthyl quickly established herself as someone not to be bothered. Never an active threat to the forest’s inhabitants, Taxthyl seems only to kill trespassers into her lair or those who annoy her during her long meditations or marathon reading sessions (which can last, uninterrupted, for a year). Only those invited to her lair are truly safe to approach, and then only if they do so quietly and respectfully.

Although their territories overlap somewhat, Taxthyl does not venerate or acquiesce to Daralathyxl. Indeed, Taxthyl seems intent on driving out or killing Daralathyxl, and their few direct confrontations always result in tremendous draconic battles that begin in the sky but frequently come crashing to the earth—without care or concern for what they land on. For her continued defiance against King Daralathyxl, Taxthyl is seen as something of a strange folk hero among both young dragons and humans alike.

Despite her conflict with Daralathyxl, Taxthyl is a typical green. She cares less about commanding other creatures than she does improving herself. To that end, she hungers for information and collected knowledge, and her insatiable lust for self-improvement leads her to hire adventurers to explore the dwarven ruins of the area. When she can find no mercenaries up to the task, or when a bit of information is too valuable to trust in the hands of easily killed humans, Taxthyl emerges from her home deep within Arthfell Forest. Most of the time, when Taxthyl deigns to leave her home, she does so for a particular purpose, and never to spread wanton destruction. For that reason, as well as her defiance of Daralathyxl, the Fangwatch and the other humans in the vale continue to tolerate—if not openly welcome—her presence.

Aspodell Mountains

These jagged but relatively low mountains rise to heights around 9,000 feet at their peaks. A convoluted line connecting the range’s highest peaks forms the official border between Cheliax and Andoran, placing most of the range squarely in the former. Only one pass exists through the dangerous, monster-ridden mountains, and over the pass rises Vendikon Keep.

Only because of the town’s location and its keep’s strategic importance does Andoran retain its increasingly tentative claim on Perin’s Bluff, and only because of this claim does the country consider any of the iron-rich Aspodell Mountains its territory. Unlike the imposing Five Kings Mountains to the north, however, the Aspodells themselves are not considered important by the People’s Council in Almas, and thus Andoran grants Cheliax free reign in the range—except for the all-important Aspodell Pass, of course.

Aspodell Rangers: These men and women roam the Aspodell Mountains, looking for giants, trolls, and other fell beasts that lurk in the mountains’ shadowy places. The rangers bow to neither Andoran nor Cheliax, but the governments of both nations claim them as honored citizens and frequently petition for their aid or offer them various forms of support.

Darkmoon Plain

Darkmoon Plain comprises all of the Lowlands of Darkmoon Vale and stretches from the short rise of Elberwick Rise to the foothills of the Five Kings Mountains and the Highlands. Most of the plain bears the scars of the area’s extensive logging: wide swaths of tree-stump stubble wind among geological hot spots.

Aspodell Crossroads: This is the intersection of the Aspodell Pass road at the eastern foothills of the mountains and the north/south trade road skirting the mountains that intersects it. A small garrison of Andoran regular soldiers posted at the crossroads keeps watch for Chelish incursions. The garrison barracks doubles as a fortified inn where caravans and travelers sometimes stay if they are not heading for Perin’s Bluff.

Standing only a few miles east of Piren’s Bluff, the crossroads once marked not only the intersection of two roads but also of three baronies. All of the lands east of the Crossroads belonged to Baron Novotnian of Darkmoon. Those to the northwest stood within the Barony of Perin, controlled by the Vendikon family. To the southwest, the noble House Fordyce to this day controls the Barony of Pamiatazova in neighboring Cheliax, which is much reduced in size since the independence of Andoran. When Andoran still belonged to Cheliax, all three barons and their baronies existed within the countship of Count Elberwick, which became the Shire of Elberwick during the revolution in Andoran (see the Elberwick Rise section for more information on Count Elberwick).

Geothermal Activity: Various forms of surface-level geothermal activities exist all throughout the plain, particularly in the areas south of River Foam and between Arthfell Forest and the Aspodell Mountains. Human explorers new to the area faced—in addition to the usual dangers from monsters, wild animals, and savage humanoids—the hidden hazards presented by subsurface mudpots and hot springs. Many early expeditions lost men or pack animals when an unsuspecting victim stepped on a particularly thin bit of ground and fell into the superheated mud or water underneath. Modern guides know of these dangers and lead their patrons around such obstacles, often following game trails. Unfortunately, even the most experienced guides sometimes lead their employers astray, as the geologic activity beneath much of the Darkmoon Plain remains relatively active and constantly shifts.

Most of the geologic features of the plain remain in plain sight, however, and announce themselves regularly or continuously. Many of these exposed geysers and mudpots attract the attention of people and creatures drawn to natural displays of beauty and heat (dwarves and gnomes in particular seem to appreciate the beauty of displays created from within the earth itself ). Three major areas of activity take their names from their most prominent above-ground features.

Dragonspring: The wide Dragonspring boils and steams at a skin-blistering temperature. Deposits of iron, cobalt, and copper somewhere below the hot spring bubble up with the water and form colorful bands of reds, blues, and greens at the bottom of the shallow pool. Thanks to the crystal-clear waters, these bright hues can be easily seen, even from a distance.

Once or twice a year, for at least the last 8 years, a young red dragon flies in from the west and splashes around in the water for a few hours before taking off and disappearing into the southeast. Although he has been approached several times, no one has had any luck communicating with him, and his name and purpose remain mysteries.

Painter’s Pot: Brightly colored superheated mud boils and pops in this most popular of Darkmoon Vale’s mudpots. Sculptors and painters alike travel to Painter’s Pot to collect the pigments and clay that constantly ooze up from below. Wise sculptors and painters bring guides and guards (usually members of the Greenfire Circle or Fangwatch), for the path to Painter’s Pot travels near the territory claimed by a surly group of magmin.

Shelyn’s Bow: This irregular geyser blasts boiling water and superheated steam nearly 800 feet into the air, regularly cooking everything within 80 feet of the stream. The ejected water carries all manner of minerals, giving the geyser a colorful spray that augments the normal rainbows forming as a result of the steam and mist. Shelyn’s Bow can be seen up to a mile away and serves as an unreliable landmark. It shoots water roughly four times per week, and since its discovery the height of its spray has only increased.

Ruins: Before Falcon’s Hollow formed, two other logging towns rose and fell north of Olfden. First rose Falconridge in 4389, founded by the son of a Lumber Consortium director. Once Falconridge exhausted its nearby darkwood supply it turned to the other hardwoods growing in Arthfell Forest and then to the pine and alder softwoods. As Falconridge’s profitability declined following the fall of the last darkwood tree, the logging community of Northsap formed in 4452. Northsap stood close to a much larger section of darkwood and thrived for a little more than a century. As Northsap’s darkwood glade played out, lumberjacks broke away from it to form Falcon’s Hollow in 4573. As each town ran down and was supplanted by the next, its occupants abandoned the location with little concern paid to its structures. The ruins of these two nearly forgotten logging towns still (mostly) stand, and they occasionally house bizarre or fell creatures.

Ruins of Falconridge: Founded on a low rise overlooking bubbling mudpots on one side and a vast glade of darkwood on the other, Falconridge was the first logging community north of Olfden. The loggers of Falconridge tore into their darkwood glade with glee, depleting their supply in less than half a century. For another decade, the town limped along on the much-lower profits brought in by its hardwoods and softwoods, but the founding of Northsap stole away many of Falconridge’s best loggers. The last holdouts in town left in 4467, abandoning it to nature. Nature, in turn, has attacked Falconridge with a vengeance. Today, little more exists of Falconridge than a small graveyard’s tombstones, foundation stones of several large buildings, and a low stone wall ringing the base of the rise. Reports occasionally come to the Diamond Regiment of ghostly apparitions near Falconridge’s ruins, but to date the Eagle Knights have seen no purpose in investigating a possible haunting so far removed from civilization.

Ruins of Northsap: Standing at the base of a particularly tall lava plug tower, Northsap remains largely intact. Much of the town was built from stone quarried from the lava plug, and most of the buildings still stand (although nearly all of them lack their roofs). Today, Northsap’s ruins occasionally house a variety of opportunistic creatures, from cowardly kobolds to hungry ghouls. Despite the distance of Northsap from either Falcon’s Hollow or Olfden, the Diamond Regiment occasionally sends a force to the ruins in order to chase out or destroy the squatters. Rarely, this force consists of actual Eagle Knights. More often, Commander Odeber sends mercenaries or adventurers.

Darkmoon Wood

While still the largest collection of darkwood in Andoran, Darkmoon Wood steadily decreases in size with each passing year. The logging community of Falcon’s Hollow chops away at the woods, harvesting roughly 7,000,000 board feet of timber per year (about 5% of which is darkwood), almost all of which ends up in Augustana to the south. Formerly a part of Arthfell Forest, centuries of logging separated the two into distinct forests, with much of Avistan’s remaining darkwood trees standing among pines and firs within Darkmoon Wood.

At the current rate of logging, the Lumber Consortium estimates the Wood only has about two more decades before it all falls to the lumberjack’s axe. Numerous factors are beginning to slow the harvest, though, and Greenfire druids hope to reach an equilibrium of felling and regrowth in time to prevent the wholesale destruction of the forest.

Cold Marrow: Cold Marrow is an accursed place. Parched and withered weeds spring from cracked earth littered with glum, lifeless rock. No sound of nature penetrates the supernatural stillness of Cold Marrow, and no living creature willingly makes its home in this place.

Calendar of the Ancients: This wide, low hill rises within the silence of Cold Marrow. Symbols of unknown origin encrust the mound’s entire exterior, although most are eroded by time’s careless caress. Ascending the mound is a series of broken stairs framed by two giant menhirs of white marble. At the base of these stairs two enormous stone disks, each the size of a giant’s wagon wheel, rest one atop the other, their edges overlapping slightly. The disks are carved with thousands of runes in wild patterns that defy reason.

Elara’s Halfway House: Standing right on the edge of the woods on a small hill roughly 8 miles outside of town, this small orphanage recently fell to a fire, killing everyone inside—child and caregiver alike. Until the tragic fire razed it, the orphanage housed not only the lost children of Darkmoon Vale, but also those of refugees from Isger and Druma. Now, the superstitious people of Falcon’s Hollow avoid the sad ruins, calling them haunted. Although no confirmation of actual haunting exists, people who get too close to the ruins occasionally vanish.

Forest Elder: The dense trees and thick brush of the forest give way, parting seemingly in respect for the titanic darkwood tree that dominates this clearing. Several times taller than a temple minaret, in one direction the obviously ancient tree reaches into the sky with branches like a giant’s arms, while in the other it plumbs the earth with roots thicker than a man’s waist. Its limbs broad and strong, its bark thick and so richly colored as to almost be black, and its leaves the size of bucklers, the giant thing is less a tree and more a cathedral of boughs and branches. Some of the local druids, in fact, actually consider the Forest Elder and its hanging branches a cathedral of sorts.

This elder darkwood tree is the most ancient of its kind in Andoran (and likely one of the oldest on the continent). Said to have been carried as a sapling from the Hissing Jungle and planted here in the distant past by Deirzir, the Eagle of The First Way, the druids who once guarded the forest claimed this darkwood to be the root from which all Darkmoon Wood grew.

Local tatzlwyrms occasionally make their lairs in the immense branches of this massive darkwood. While Greenfire druids frequently drive out those draconic menaces, others of their kind inevitably return. Why they are drawn to the magnificent tree remains a mystery to local druids and sages.

Lumber Consortium’s Main Camp: This efficient and profitable camp stands amid an ugly swath of clearcutting roughly 15 miles from Falcon’s Hollow. Five sturdy log buildings—a bunkhouse, a meal hall, an office, a barn, and a smithy—comprise the camp, which provides for roughly 30 men. Scattered amid the sawdust-covered clearing surrounding the buildings are numerous wide, heavy carts and sleds.

The Lumber Consortium owns this hard-working camp and employs all its residents. Most of the men here work as lumbermen, and all 23 of them sleep in the bunkhouse. The camp’s boss, Jarlben Trookshavits, lives in a small room tacked onto the outside of the filthy and taxidermy-filled office (in which he works). Similar small rooms attached to the well-organized barn and the junk-filled smithy house their caretakers as well. Several wanderers and woodsmen who explore Darkmoon Wood for the Lumber Consortium (ever looking for new copses of darkwood and other valuable resources) use the camp as a base of operations, taking warm meals here on occasion and bedding down in the bunkhouse during particularly foul weather. Experienced tracker and hunter Milon Rhoddam is one of these itinerate residents.

Ulizmila’s Cottage: Deep in the forest stands a small cottage owned by the witch Ulizmila, said to be a daughter of famed Baba Yaga. The exact location of this cottage remains a mystery, and most people of Darkmoon Vale are happy to keep it that way. Rumors place with Ulizmila the power to kill with a word, turn a man into a goat, and to shoot lightning from her eyes. None dare look for her cottage, and woodsmen who venture into the wood and fail to come out are said to be victims of the witch.

Droskar’s Crag

The beautiful and mostly conical stratovolcano known as Droskar’s Crag stands at the northwestern corner of Darkmoon Vale and anchors both the wide valley and the Five Kings Mountains. At 28,822 feet, Droskar’s Crag is the highest peak in Andoran and the highest known active volcano in the world. Although it continues to emit intermittent puffs of smoke from its two craters, dwarven volcanologists assure concerned Andoren citizens that a major eruption is not imminent.

Basic Statistics: Droskar Crag’s South Peak (sometimes called the Hammer) rises to 28,822 feet. Its North Peak (also called the Anvil) stands at 28,305 feet, with a prominence of 404 feet. The South Peak is comprised of the remnants of Droskar Crag’s pre-3980 elevation, while the North Peak rises by roughly 1-1/2 feet each year and caps the volcano’s main active crater (called Rovagug’s Caldera). The low area between the two peaks—Softiron Saddle—forms the high, southern rim of Rovagug’s Caldera (the low, northern rim having been subsumed by the growth of the Anvil). In addition to the immense main crater, Droskar’s Crag also has a smaller active crater on its southwest face—Torag’s Mouth—which still occasionally belches forth puffs of steam and ash and which acts as the “headwater” of Torag’s Breath (see Five Kings Mountains).

Geologic History: Droskar’s Crag (then known as Torag’s Crag) last erupted in any meaningful way in 3980, when a powerful eruption (which either caused or was caused by a powerful earthquake) began a series of blasts and quakes known as the Rending. Since the Rending, the volcano has calmed and begun rebuilding its sloughed-off northern face. The mountain almost constantly belches forth ash and steam, acting as a constant reminder of the continentaffecting power it can unleash.

Prior to the Rending, Droskar’s Crag existed in a state of dormancy lasting since the beginning of written history in the area. Some evidence exists that suggests that prior to its eruption, the volcano constantly added to its height by pushing up magma into a reservoir of slowly cooling rock just below its peak (prior to the Rending the volcano had only one true peak). This presence of magma provided additional warmth to the dwarves living beneath it in their city of Jernashall.

Settlement History: Dwarves first settled Droskar’s Crag at the height of their racial power during the Age of Darkness. A small army of spelunkers, miners, and soldiers exploring the Five Kings Mountains came upon the impressive peak and decided to explore its possibilities. As is their way, the dwarves first delved into the side of the mountain to get a feel for its mining value, volcanic stability, and geologic history. After declaring the mountain relatively safe and worth mining, they expanded their initial diggings to establish the dwarven plug of Jernashall. Using Jernashall as a defensive point and cultural hub, the dwarves explored the surrounding area. They established the surface city of Raseri Kanton just down slope from Jernashall as a trading post and outlying strongpoint.

For more than five centuries, the dwarves toiled to expand Jernashall and draw on the rich veins of mithral, gold, iron, and copper deep within the mountain’s interior. In 3332, Jernashall engineers became famous among all the dwarven empires when they created the Magmafall in the middle of the city. The Magmafall tapped into the vast underground magma reservoir near the top of Droskar’s Crag, allowing the molten rock to drop through the center of the city into a specially formed channel that then sent the magma into deeper reservoirs several miles beneath the city.

As Jernashall engineers predicted, the city survived the massive, continent-shaking eruption that signaled the beginning of the Rending. Most of the visible damage in the city occurred near the drop of the Magmafall, as pressure from the eruption burst open the narrow tubes that carried the molten rock and caused a sudden surge of the stuff to exceed the safety basin around the drainage channel. Unfortunately for the engineers and the dwarves living in Jernashall, either that initial eruption or the earthquake associated with it compromised most of the city’s safety structures. When a second eruption nearly as powerful as the first shook the mountain again, magma flooded the city in a matter of seconds, killing every dwarf inside. Since the tragedy of the Rending, no dwarf has lived on or under Droskar’s Crag, and almost all other intelligent creatures similarly avoid it.

Caves: Hundreds of miles of natural caves exist beneath the surface of Droskar’s Crag. Dwarven spelunkers and mine-scouts occasionally return to the mountain in which so many of their brethren remain sealed. The spelunkers enjoy the natural caves for what they are and contribute the most to mapping out the twisting lava tubes and occasional remnant mineshaft. The mine-scouts explore the caves looking for veins of valuable metals or other excuses for returning to the mountain. To date, the mine-scouts have turned up nothing of interest.

While intelligent humanoids avoid the lava tubes and dwarf-cave remnants on Droskar’s Crag, other creatures are far less picky about where they live or haunt. As such, many of the lava tubes crawl with various menaces, from creatures drawn to the mountain’s elemental fury to those simply seeking a quiet place to live and hunt. The many caves of Droskar’s Crag house creatures as diverse as delvers and azers, thoqquas and grimlocks, and mephits and fire oozes.

The Crags: This series of stepped cliffs extends roughly 6 miles along the southeastern slope of Droskar’s Crag. The Crags drop elevation by roughly 400 feet, with no individual cliff face greater than 200 feet. When the mountain split to form the Crags, it revealed dozens of lava tubes running down the side of Droskar’s Crag just below the surface. During the subsequent eruptions that continued to wrack the volcano, some of these lava tubes once again carried molten stone, resulting in impressive lavafalls that dumped large amounts of rock at the base of the Crags. Many of these tubes sealed themselves when the lava they carried congealed within. Others, and those that did not carry lava during the Rending, remain open and act as homes to those creatures that can reach them.

Ruins of Raseri Kanton: At the bottom of the Crags lay the tumbled ruins of a once-massive city. At the height of the dwarven kingdom of Tar Khadurrm, the city of Raseri Kanton acted as a merchant’s haven, connecting the wealth and craftsmanship of the dwarves with the humans who sought them. When the earth collapsed during the Rending, it did so right beneath the center of Raseri Kanton. The doomed city crashed down the side of the mountain, killing almost all of its residents. A fraction of the city’s buildings still stand at the top of the Crags, and those abandoned structures give homes to a variety of creatures. Most of the buildings, however, lay tumbled, cracked, and shattered at the base of the cliffs. For the most part, only undead live among those buildings—the restless spirits and shambling bodies of the residents who perished in the Rending. In the last several centuries, though, the fey of Darkmoon Wood have taken an interest in clearing the ruins of undead, fearful that the horrors therein might spread or—worse still— fall under the command of a truly maleficent being. To that end, bands of fey (especially satyrs) frequently patrol the ruins, looking for mortals to drive off and undead to put to rest. While they are suspicious of outsiders, they occasionally work with mortals that come to the ruins and prove their good intentions (usually by performing a series of tasks for the fey).

Ruins of Jernashall: Most of Jernashall lies entombed within thousands of cubic feet of solid stone. Two exceptions exist, however. The massive Gates of Jernashall, marking the city’s only above-ground entrance, still stand tall upon the mountain. Lava from the eruption that destroyed Jernashall blasted forth from the gateway like beer from a freshly breached keg, and as that eruption wound down, the molten rock cooled and sealed the entrance, leaving the barbican, gatehouse, and open stone doors to guard a flow of jagged volcanic rock. Further up the slope, above and to the south of the gates, the great Casements of Torag open onto lavafilled chambers once rich with plantlife and the tombs of non-dwarves who earned burial within the city. The mechanisms for opening and closing the immense stone slabs that form the casements are forever sealed by tens of thousands of tons of cooled lava, leaving the three barriers opened at varying angles.

Droskar’s Crucible: Squatting at the foot of Droskar’s Crag, this ruined monastery sits among ancient, gnarled trees. Made of simple stone blocks, worn smooth with the passage of time, the stout building is falling apart. This slow crumbling alone points to the unusually poor construction of dwarves no longer interested in excelling at their toils, but merely toiling.

Just prior to their withdrawal from the region to nearby dwarven holds, the dwarves of the Five Kings Mountains turned to the worship of the Dark Smith: Droskar, god of toil and labor. As the decades passed, fidelity to Droskar no longer inspired great works, only works, and the quality of dwarven craftsmanship plummeted as the stoutfolk attempted to ceaselessly churn out monuments, temples, and armories in his honor. Droskar’s Crucible is a hallmark of this decline in imagination and spirit. Its spartan interior is a testament to the joyless final days of the dwarves. Smooth halls, many of which are filled with ironblood mushrooms, stretch between cold-stoned chambers. Crudely hewn tunnels connect the underground monastery directly to dreary mines and the thundering forges that long ago hammered out steel day and night.

In the centuries since its abandonment, predators and worse have taken up residence in the ruined building and the tunnels and mines beneath it. On the surface, within the crumbling building of the monastery itself, lives a powerful worg named Graypelt.

Elberwick Rise

South of the wide, flat plain that dominates Darkmoon Vale climbs a short plateau known as the Elberwick Rise. The large and sparsely populated Shire of Elberwick fills the rise, which before the Rending ran up against the foothills of the Five Kings Mountains. The resulting collapse of the northern 30 miles of the plateau resulted in an irregular edge to the rise. In some places, the rise and the plain transition smoothly in a shallow slope, while in other areas the break is more sudden and forms 20- to 40-foot-tall cliffs. Very little of the rise officially resides within Darkmoon Vale, but the part of it that does holds two of the region’s most civilized locations: the gleaming tower of Adamas and the mercantile town of Olfden.

Many of the names in and near Darkmoon Vale bear the name of the Elberwick family, who once held the largest Chelish county within what is modernday Andoran. When Andoran became independent, then-count Rochard Elberwick peacefully surrendered his claim to the land (and reputedly half his other assets) and sent his son to Almas to enter democratic politics. Today, People’s Councilmember Wellam Elberwick (son of Rochard) represents the Shire of Elberwick and Darkmoon Vale in Almas. Wellam remains popular both among those he represents and with those he works alongside in the capitol.

Adamas: This 65-foot-tall whitemarble circular tower rises from the floor of Darkmoon Plain at the base of the Elberwick Rise a few miles east of Olfden. The bottom 25 feet of the tower is built pressed against the cliff wall, with the upper 40 feet rising freely above. Atop the shelf, where the edge of it meets the tower, a circular white-marble wall extends out from the tower and surrounds a few small buildings.

The tower has a small door at its base and another that opens into the circular enclosure—the only way into that walled-in area. Other than these doors, only a few small archery slits cut into the curved walls of the tower and enclosure break up their monolithic exteriors. Atop the tower’s f lat roof (which is surrounded by a crenellated wall) f lies the f lag of the Diamond Regiment of the Eagle Knights.

Adamas and its small enclosure house the 400 soldiers of the Diamond Regiment. Due to the small size of both the tower and its connected enclosure, many suspect that Adamas hides some kind of underground facility beneath its gleaming white exterior. The Diamond Regiment neither confirms nor denies these rumors.

Diamond Regiment: Although a backwoods on the edge of civilization, Darkmoon Vale provides a resource vital to the Andoran Navy. Thus, in order to protect the region’s inhabitants, the Golden Aerie—headquarters of the Eagle Knights—sent a regiment of 12 Eagle Knights and 388 army regulars to guard the vital trade road out of the vale.

Operating out of Adamas, the Diamond Regiment patrols all of Darkmoon Vale south of the River Foam (although it rarely visits Arthfell Forest, trusting to the Fangwatch to guard that area), with infrequent visits north of the river into Falcon’s Hollow. Neither Ingrid Odeber— the regiment’s commander—nor the leaders of Falcon’s Hollow enjoy these visits, however, so the order only goes there to escort convoys of darkwood to Olfden or when commanded by the Golden Aerie.

Ingrid Odeber leads the Diamond Regiment with an abiding passion tempered by a strict regimen. As a paladin of Iomedae, Commander Odeber tolerates no mischief from her soldiers, and for the most part she must deal with none. Her troops frequently prove their unbending loyalty in the face of terrible dangers birthed from the depths of the Arthfell Forest or the low scrabble of the Wolfrun Hills. Ingrid publicly acknowledges her marriage to the druid Tablic, leader of the Greenfire Circle. This arrangement led to the close collaboration of the Diamond Regiment with the Fangwatch, which in turn spawned Commander Odeber’s close friendship with Aurore Kaiseva.

Commander Odeber answers directly to General Traxxus, an ambitious but caring man who leads a small army of both Eagle Knights and regular soldiers headquartered in Carpenden. General Traxxus seems to favor Commander Odeber and keeps the Diamond Regiment well stocked with supplies and soldiers.

Sixteen Steps of Irori: A line of lava plugs extends in a gentle arc from within Arthfell Forest, curving north and slightly west over a distance of 2 miles. These plugs are remarkable for three reasons: they stand unusually close together in a slightly curving line, they have nearly identical heights, and the space between each one is almost identical. Atop each lava plug stands a small wooden platform used as a watchtower, maintained and manned by the Fangwatch and Greenfire Circle.

Dwarven volcanologists remain at a loss to explain the phenomenon. Historians note that, while the name for these natural towers has existed for nearly 3,000 years, no explanation for the unusual name remains in any text that has been found so far.

The Five Kings Mountains

Named for the large carvings of five dwarven kings sculpted into five passes flanking some of the range’s highest peaks, the Five Kings Mountains run from the southwest to the northeast and form the northern border of both Darkmoon Vale and Andoran. The Five Kings Mountains boast 17 peaks classified as fourteeners (a mountaineering term meaning mountains above 14,000 feet in elevation), a few of which stand in Andoran.

Only one of the five kingly carvings stands near Darkmoon Vale—that of King Taggun, founder of Taggoret. The massive carving, standing more than 150 feet high and portraying the king from the waist up, looms over Kingtower Pass between Droskar’s Crag and Mount Gustus. King Taggun’s carving shows the powerful and popular monarch wearing an elaborate crown at least as tall as his own head. His wellgroomed beard bears several braids, with numerous bands and trinkets. King Taggun’s depiction holds a massive hammer in such a way that its immense head is “resting” on the floor of the mountain pass. The other four kings have larger but equally elaborate representation, and all four stand within strategically important passes on some of the range’s highest mountains.

Ten Peaks of the Five Kings

The ten tallest peaks of the Five Kings Mountains, by elevation, are as follows.

1. Emperor Peak, Druma, 18,365 ft.

2. Mount Langley, Druma, 17,400 ft.

3. Mount Mist, Druma, 16,237 ft.

4. Mount Arugak, Andoran, 15,638 ft.

5. Mount Carissa, Andoran, 15,126 ft.

6. Queen Peak, Druma, 14,831 ft.

7. Mount Gustus, Andoran, 14,806 ft.

8. Mount Onik, Druma, 14,714 ft.

9. Mount Soryu, Druma, 14,603 ft.

10. Mount Kla, Andoran, 14,411 ft.

Thousands of miles of caves, caverns, tunnels, and abandoned mines are believed to lie beneath the Five Kings Mountains. Prior to the Rending, dozens of entrances to these underground passageways existed all around Droskar’s Crag and Darkmoon Vale. As a result of the Rending, though, many tunnels and caves collapsed or were sealed with magma, making entries more difficult to find in the last 800 years.

Broken Tower: Clearly an engineering marvel when it stood, the broken tower lays strewn in eight pieces across the southwestern flank of Mount Gustus, about 2 miles up the road from Kingtower Pass. Each immense piece of the square tower measures at least 25 feet long, and current estimates put the tower’s overall height at around 210 feet, with a base width of 100 feet. Only one piece of the tower remains standing, which rises to around 20 feet at its highest point opposite the buckled side that collapsed and brought down the whole tower. The dwarven architect and sage Garson Felskran identified the architectural style as that of the dwarven empire under the rule of King Sidrik III, who reigned 3919 to 4111. Explorers at the Broken Tower’s ruins have uncovered evidence of a tunnel complex beneath the structure, the entrance to which has long-since caved in.

Eye of Droskar: This squat, three-story square tower rises only 30 feet from the alpine meadow in which it stands. Clearly built by dwarves during the height of their laborious toils (some call this the low-point of dwarven craftsmanship), the plain, uninspired tower appears on first glance to deserve no mention. Inside, however, the tower’s top floor bears a peculiar magical occurrence. Set firmly into the stone floor in the exact center of the tower is a 4-foot-tall jagged green crystal with a triangular base. The roof of the tower directly above the crystal bears a triangular hole of exactly the same dimensions as the crystal.

Within the crystal burns a bright green-white flame that does not react to any mundane or magical stimuli. Known as the eye of Droskar, this large crystal, as well as the hole in the roof and the intricately carved runes in the flagstones at its base, all look as though they were added long after the dwarves evacuated the tower. The runes in the floor look like random symbols and do not contain letters or pictographs of any alphabet known in Avistan or Garund.

Hexagonal Tower: Built at the height of Tar Khadurrm’s control over the region, the hundred-foot-tall Hexagonal Tower survived the Rending mostly intact. Four of its six sides and two of its three lesser corner towers still fully stand, and even the walls and tower that have partially collapsed are more damaged than destroyed.

Despite the strength of the tower (even in its partially ruined state), no creature resides within it. Beneath it, however, the Dragonclaw Tribe of kobolds calls home the vast network of tunnels and chambers that delve into the ridge on which it stands. The kobolds mostly ignore the strong fortifications above them, although on occasion they try to coerce some kind of dangerous (but not kobold-eating) creature to live in the tower and act as a guard. Three days after these “guards” take up residence, however, the kobolds return to drag their corpses below ground, their intact bodies showing no obvious signs of harm. The Dragonclaw Tribe considers these events as excellent excuses to hold feasts (with the “guard” as the main course).

Torag’s Breath: A strange river floats lazily among the many peaks of the Five Kings Mountains. It finds its source at Torag’s Mouth—the smaller of Droskar’s Crag’s two craters—and winds once around that mountain before flowing northeast into the heart of the mountain range. Torag’s Breath flows for almost 250 miles before ending at an alpine meadow low on the flank of Mount Mist in Druma.

Like normal rivers, Torag’s Breath contains eddies and swells (but not “airfalls” or rapids) and comes with the additional navigational danger of being difficult to see. Unlike normal rivers, this one floats 10,000 feet above sea level and is comprised exclusively of magical winds from the Elemental Plane of Air. The magic of these gentle winds allows the air to hold aloft a ship or boat (or really, anything that can float on water, including tree branches and other flotsam). In 3997, dwarven volcanologist and explorer Rinehardt Morotok accidentally discovered the air river while studying the aftereffects of the Rending and the long-term stability of Droskar’s Crag. Since then, experimentation has shown that the air river provides exactly the same amount of buoyancy as a waterway of similar size and depth. Indeed, shortly before the collapse of Imperial Cheliax, the empire managed to build a large sailing ship (largest ever to navigate Torag’s Breath) near the river and put it afloat. That ship, the Chimera’s Wing, rests at anchor within the air river along the flank of Mount Visoka in Druma.

Thanks to its remote location and inhospitable elevation, Torag’s Breath never became an important route for trade or military uses, and remains to this day little more than a curiosity. The air river’s popularity waxes and wanes among those who live anywhere near it, and as a result dozens of boats and ships of various sizes wait in anchor along its course (or lie smashed to bits on mountain sides). Gnomes in particular seem to enjoy navigating the air river, and most craft still active on it belong to or are crewed by gnomes (who seem nonetoo- skilled at sailing).

Daralathyxl: Somewhere in the foothills between Droskar’s Crag and Mount Gustus lives the magnificent red dragon named Daralathyxl. This grand terror is sometimes called the Sixth King of the Mountains, and most people who interact with him (and somehow survive) wisely address him as a king, if not “emperor” or “god.” Daralathyxl is one of the oldest, largest, and most powerful dragons in Avistan, and his influence is felt as far away as Tamran in Nirmathas. At least a dozen other evil dragons are known to live within the area Daralathyxl claims, and all but one refer to him as their liege.

In the past century, Daralathyxl’s appearances have declined, leading some to wrongfully speculate that he has died. Every time such rumors begin circulating, though, Daralathyxl reappears to exert his undeniable influence and command over the region. These reappearances lead many to speculate that Daralathyxl controls a network of spies in Darkmoon Vale, for his return always seems coincidentally linked to rumors of his demise. When he does deign to appear within the vale, Daralathyxl stays only long enough to terrorize his “subjects” and acquire proper tribute, usually in the form of food, treasure, and beautiful young human or elven women. The king’s last visit came in 4699.

Although less active in recent memory, Daralathyxl proved a far more dynamic menace several centuries ago. At the height of his activity, roughly between 4200 and 4500, Daralathyxl appeared in Darkmoon Vale almost every year, demanding his customary tribute. Reports of Daralathyxl go back even further, though, and some stories put him at the mouth of the volcano—swimming through the lava with glee—when Droskar’s Crag erupted in 3980. A few surviving dwarven records even speak of a powerful young red dragon who took up residence in the southern end of the Five Kings Mountains around 3000. Some scholars debate as to whether that dragon could be Daralathyxl, but references to a distinctive hooked chin horn and dark red stripes along his forelimbs seem like fairly strong evidence that the dwarves encountered Daralathyxl some 1700 years ago. Certainly, his size and power lend credence to such tales of his age, and it seems likely that Daralathyxl has lived for more than two millennia.

River Foam

A relatively minor river, the River Foam skirts the southern foothills of Droskar’s Crag before cutting across the northern basin of Darkmoon Vale. The river punches through the Wolfrun Hills via a narrow gorge filled with rapids and shallows before dumping into the Andossan River.

Despite its proximity to Darkmoon Wood and that Falcon’s Hollow sits upon its northern bank, the River Foam makes for a poor highway. Not even riverboats can pass through the Wolfrun Rapids, and the few ferries and boats on the river (including the Falcon’s Hollow ferry) were carried overland or built on the river.

No bridge spans the river, but two fords and one ferry provide ways across the Foam. The only bridge to have spanned the river was destroyed in the Rending of 3980. One of the river’s fords lies a few miles upriver from the remains of that bridge, while the other cross just upriver from where the Foam dumps into the Andossan River. The lone ferry crosses at Falcon’s Hollow.

Large, silver-flanked salmon fill the river in the spring and autumn, spawning at the base of Gold Falls and filling the river with their easily harvested corpses. Crawdads live all along the river’s banks as it widens and slows through most of Darkmoon Vale. Otters, fisks, marles, herons, and various breeds of alligators also live along the river at various places. Aside from all these animals, the occasional reefclaw makes its way to the River Foam, as does the infrequent water naga.

Gold Falls: The River Foam drops over the edge of a tall plateau at the roaring Gold Falls. Gold Falls drops a total of 564 feet in two sections: a 323-foot plunge into a deep, cold pool and a 241-foot cascade fed from the oft-ice-encrusted basin. Gold Falls Inn hangs out over both River Foam and Gold Falls, giving guests of the inn spectacular views of the waterfall.

Gold Falls Inn: This large, well-guarded stone-andtimber lodge stands on the northern shore of the River Foam, right next to plunging Gold Falls. Owned and operated by Mierson Berekland, a friendly middle-aged retired Pathfinder, the inn originated as a small dwarven fortress built to control a wide bridge across the river at the top of the falls. One of the massive earthquakes accompanying Droskar’s Crag’s eruption during the Rending collapsed the bridge. No longer serving a purpose and heavily damaged from the Rending, the fortress was abandoned and fell quickly into ruin.

For several hundred years, the fortress ruins served as a home to a succession of creatures until, in 4437, an explorer named Argus Berekland discovered placer gold at the base of the falls. In less than a year, Argus and a small group of his friends cleared the fortress ruins and built a sluice above the falls among the ruins of the great bridge. Over time, the group built a heavily defended manor house to guard the sluice and to offer protection to travelers along the riverside trail.

Today, Gold Falls Inn serves as a heavily defended waypoint on the trail from Falcon’s Hollow west to Cheliax. The Berekland family now owns the inn outright, and it still operates the nearby sluice as well. Thanks to the revenue from the sluice, the family can afford to offer very affordable rates on food and lodging, making the Gold Falls Inn a popular destination for bored residents of Olfden and Oregent looking for an excuse to traverse the dangers of Darkmoon Vale.

Wolfrun Rapids: One of the major causes of lost timber when floating logs down the River Foam, this 3-mile stretch of whitewater begins just before the base of the Wolfrun Hills and continues on nearly until the Foam dumps into the Andossan River. Multiple efforts to smooth out the rapids have failed, thanks partially to the frequent landslides that constantly dump in more rocks (changing their shape every few months) and partially to the many logs that have become snared in the rapids over the years.

Wolfrun Hills

Grassy rises capped with small copses of pine and fir drop into rocky grottos that in turn rise again with low basalt cliffs covered on their leeward side with scrub oak and prickly shrubs—these are the Wolfrun Hills. Forming the eastern border of Darkmoon Vale, the high Wolfrun Hills present a dichotomic geology (and to a lesser extent, climate). The gently sloping western hills are covered with plantlife (mostly grasses and low shrubs) and provide homes to numerous kinds of animals (including packs of eponymous wolves). On the eastern side, facing the Andossan River, the hills are ragged and rugged, giving home to tougher plants and more dangerous animals (including packs of dire wolves). Between these two extremes runs a jagged transition zone showing the wounds of the Rending. There, in the area between lush and rough, hills end or rise suddenly in crumbling cliffs, grottos offer sanctuary to dark druids and heartless bandits, and trickles of water meander for miles before suddenly drying up. Amid these three zones, numerous sites of interest and danger abound.

Grotto of St. Elth: When Karas Novotnian came to Darkmoon Vale, he brought with him a young cleric of Sarenrae named Elth Hammerson. This small grotto houses a carefully maintained shrine to Sarenrae featuring a large statue of St. Elth standing over the injured Ponchus Kaiseva and facing down a chimera. For his courage that day, the high priest of Sarenrae in Almas posthumously granted Elth his sainthood, and the spirit of St. Elth appears in this shrine (which stands over his interred body) every year on the anniversary of his death. The spirit never reacts beyond acknowledging the presence of other Sarenrae clerics, who he smiles to. In the past few years, Sarenrae worshipers have reported that St. Elth’s spirit looks increasingly melancholy every time he appears.

Wolfhead: Defiantly standing atop a crumbling hillside, the heavily guarded inn called Wolf head takes its name from the building’s distinctive shape. Designed and built by the eccentric gnome architect Las Stopbiddle in 4213, Wolf head has since passed through a dozen families and scores of owners. The current owner, a capricious halfling named Dopp, serves anyone who comes through his door, but he seems to possess a sixth sense that lets him identify lycanthropes. A shrewd businessman despite his mercurial ways, Dopp has his guards respectfully escort found lycanthropes from the premises after they imbibe (and pay for) a drink. Those who resist are instead thrown out the Wolf head’s wolf mouth, which overlooks a 50-foot drop to a patch of wolfsbane below. Wolf head can house up to 17 people in its nine rooms.

The Organizations of Darkmoon Vale

Despite centuries of inhabitation by those who consider themselves civilized, much of Darkmoon Vale remains wild. This wildness does not preclude the existence of humans and demihumans, of course, but those who do live away from their civilized kin band together in groups of their own for survival and companionship. The most powerful of those groups are described here.

Dark Druids

Whispered and fearful rumors speak of active dark druid circles operating in or near Darkmoon Vale. These circles, known as the Shadow Pack and Third Veil, prey on the innocent people of the vale and occasionally cast shadows of doubt over the hard-working members of the Greenfire Circle.

Shadow Pack: For the most part, the Shadow Pack remains a reactionary group of lycanthropic druids whose main activity seems to be preventing logging within Arthfell Forest. Organized recruitment drives are extremely rare, and usually only follow sweeps conducted by the Fangwatch from the north and deputies of Elberwick’s sheriff from the south. Members of the Shadow Pack almost never conduct raids outside the forest, as they seem content to remain within its boundaries. In general, only those who must venture into or through the Arthfell need fear the Shadow Pack, although residents of Olfden certainly suspect its members were a part of the Night of Silver Blood.

Generally, the Shadow Pack and the Fangwatch maintain a careful cease-fire that keeps an uneasy but balanced peace in the forest. Occasionally, one group or the other initiates a conflict, causing a frequently brief but always blood-soaked war that displaces other residents of the Arthfell. On exceedingly rare occasions, the two enemies put aside their differences and work together, although this only occurs when some greater foe threatens the forest (such as the trampling of Arthfell by the Slohr in 3537). The Shadow Pack and sheriff deputies of Elberwick never work together and tend to attack one another on sight.

Third Veil: Rumors hold that Third Veil members live among their victims and maintain a number of standing stone circles within hard-to-reach grottos in the Wolfrun Hills. These rumors do not report how the Third Veil lures or takes its victims into the hills, however, so the Diamond Regiment pays the stories little heed. Some people in Olfden consider the Third Veil a myth concocted by the Greenfire Circle to keep people from wandering around within the Wolfrun Hills. These conspiracy theorists hypothesize that something exists within the hills that the circle wants to keep secret from normal folk. The Diamond Regiment pays these theories even less heed.

What people in Olfden know for certain, however, is that occasionally someone—almost always the elderly or infirm—disappears from within the town or a nearby farm and then turns up a few months later in the Wolfrun Hills. These victims bear absolutely no indication of the cause of their death, but their faces always look completely relaxed and without any fear or apprehension.