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.