Tombell Wood

The forest is flanked by two points of light. In the West, Bard’s Gate straddles the rivers. To the East, Endhome lies overlooking the sea.
Some call it the Forest of Hope.
The old Stross Road cuts through one part of the woods. It remains the only passable route from the one city to the other. The road was kept by the once proud noble masters of Bard’s Gate, the Stross clan. Over a century ago, their bloodline was wiped out during revolts against their reign. In the times of their great power, the family built twelve griffon towers across the forest to protect their trading fortunes.
Now that all their lives have been spent, the family’s works crumble. The griffon riders have been disbanded by order of the council in Bard’s Gate. The griffons here run wild and prey on passing travelers. The tower-outposts, evenly spaced along the length of the road, were sold to enterprising individuals who converted many of them into coaching inns. These fortified hardpoints serve as resupply and rest stations during the caravan season.
Kariv Gypsy bands restlessly ply the ways among the trees and along the road. Yet in this season other merchants only ply the main road, and only in force. Combined, they keep the grass from overgrowing the route.
Some of the coaching inns are rumored to be haunted. Beasts and Bandits make the roadway dangerous. However, fools and heroes are often swallowed by the wilderness, where true peril lies. In the common tales, rocky outcroppings and hazardous terrain mingle with other deadly natural and unnatural hazards. Others speak of restless graves, treacherous weather, lost magics, and all manner of things deadly or unkind.

Type

Forest, Temperate (Seasonal)