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.