The Woods of Death

An area of forest surrounding the township of Terni, north east of Rome, on a mountain side is generally known as the Woods of Death. Stretching from a few miles outside Rome in the direction of Ravenna, the forested region is marked as different to the surrounding forested areas. A few overgrown caves are in the mountainside along with a large entrance to an underground shrine to Orcus & underground graveyard as part of this shrine.
Terni is a town of many hunters, carpenters & woodsmen, who work in this region, and all believe the area has been cursed. In olden times it was quite prosperous, with the odd mining operation to, as well as skins & hides of animals, and wood being sold off. Now it has dwindled, and rumours of the walking dead are rampant. Many caravans travelling between Ravenna & Rome has been attacked by the Lombards, or so it has been thought, though some survivors have spoken of revenants being the aggressors. They describe these attackers has having very soft tissue, that seems to break down & slough off. The locals blame the Lombards for disturbing the temple of Orcus, which was meant to hold a horrendous book of powerful black magic. They spit & cross themselves when they speak of this book, calling it the Book of Eibon.
Local legend states that the Book of Eibon was written down by an ancient sorcerer of the Etruscans (who worshipped Orcus), and was meant to contain the funerary rites of Orcus. It also had rites concerning the resurrection of the dead, partly to help protect their burial sites. Also rumoured is that wherever it is found, is in the vicinity of a Gate to Hell of which only seven exist. On top of that, many of the rituals the book contains are tied in with even older deities too, some of which are truly alien in origin, and taught Orcus how to tap into the Hells & how to bind the dead to himself.

Geography

The region is rough, rocky, and mountainous. A large mountain sirs to the north west, and slopes down with Terni to the south of them. There is a valley too, starting besides Terni and going north into the mountain. The forest goes around the town and mountain, with breaks here and there. Small rivers & streams also flow down through here and there. Around the more mountainous area, there is old abandoned mines, and caves dot the landscape too. An old underground temple & graveyard dedicated to Orcus is in the valley with the entrance hole being about 4.5 to 5 feet high, and carved as a blank face around it. The hole in is the 'mounth' so to speak.

Ecosystem

Many trees & bushes live here. Ash, the odd oak, and wild olive trees grow here, along with the odd wild grape bush & the odd rose bush too. Every once in a while a wild orange tree & apple tree is also found. They are perennials, so don't produce fruits during the late autumn to early spring. Most of the wild varieties of fruit producing plants are descendants of escaped varieties that managed to settle long ago.
Cave bears & lynx are rare here, though a scary reminder to many residents when one appears. European varieties of hawks, vultures, otters, boar, and deer are found too. Some like the otters, boar, and deer are quite common, and a few goats exist too. The latter are quite not common, but are in large enough numbers to be a nascence at times to farmers. Some are wild, and others are domesticated. Sheep & pigs are common farm animals, reared for their meat, skins, and hair. Many farmers grow wheat, barley, and other such grains for use, along with locally bred buffalo. These are a good source of milk being turned into localised cheeses such as mozzarella. Sometimes wild mushrooms are picked & ate, and the streams & rivers fished to get the odd spot of trout, salmon & similar fish.

Ecosystem Cycles

The region has the standard Spring, Summer, Autumn & Winter cycles, though has slightly longer summer conditions being closer to the equator. The winters are milder, though the higher the elevation on the mountain the greater the chance of cold winds & snow.

Localized Phenomena

A common problem that the whole of the Italian peninsula suffers from is earthquakes. The region it sits on or is close to, suffers volcanic activity in some form or fashion due to close by tectonic plates. Every once in a while an earthquake happens and the locals batten down & try their best to ride out the shockwaves.
Far darker phenomena are known here. The dead do not always stay that way here. It seems that when the Lombards swept through the region they made the situation worse. There had always been a darkness emanating from the woods. What exactly it was nobody could guess. Since the time of the Etruscans most avoided the woodlands unless necessary, and even then, only under the protection of Orcus. The forest itself seemed to hate sentient life, and rumblings like earthquakes happened in great frequency when such creatures moved en mass through it. Anybody that stayed any length of time in the region faced nightmares of rotting & partially liquified corpses attacking them, of tentacles wrapping round trees & coming out of the ground, and of eyes the size of the moon peering down from amongst the treetops. After a while, when the Etruscans built the temple of Orcus, the worst of these seemed to fade. More moved into the region, and started to live. A few also started to go missing.
Stories started to spread of demon worship, and that under the soil, and under the mountain a great evil exists. That those who are missing return, the tissues of their bodies melting slowly due to rot, and they are the servants of a powerful creature that controls the dead. When the Lombards took up residence in the region, they lost that many to this, they left, went south and never came back. They also left spies & scouts behind, and when interacted with, they talk of their leaders wanting to find where Eibon has gone, and that one of the Seven Gates of the underworld exists somewhere here. Those of them that follow the old ways talks of Hel and the denizens of Niflheimr thawing out, trying to come back to Midgard., that Hel is looking the rites to expand her territory.

Fauna & Flora

Many predators such as lynx, cave bears, adders, wolves, foxes, hawks, and a few eagles can be found. They feed on a number of other animals including livestock. Prey species include sheep & goats, buffalo, deer, rabbits, mice, trout, salmon, boars & pigs are found. Also a few vultures are found naturally here.
Deciduous trees are found including wild varieties of farmed species. Regularly found are: beech, ash, olive, apple, pear, the odd orange tree, and the odd oak. Bushes found in many varieties including wild roses & wild grape bushes.

Natural Resources

Old mines still exist, and many of them being iron & copper. Very little is found anymore in them, but it doesn't stop those with a brave heart and little brains trying to scrape by in them.
Timber and animal skins are rich resources in the region, and a thriving trade in both drives many small hamlet & villages to compete for these resources.

History

The region has been populated for a number of millennia now. Originally by early man, then the Etruscans, the Romans, and now the Papal States. Only in the past few hundred years has any major number of inhabitants lived in the region. Before then, smaller numbers of which only some would stay.
After a while, the region has seen a number of hostile attacks. First was parts of the Celts, then the Goths, and in the past 50 odd years, the Lombards. When these incidents happened, the invaders suffer crippling nightmares & morale, and generally fled the region. When any blood was spilled there seemed to be minor earth tremors, a smell of brimstone, and the dead awaking only to attack the living.
With the region being called the Woods of the Dead, only hardy locals & travelling merchants dare to be in the region for any length of time.

Type

Forest, Temperate (Seasonal)

Location under

Italian Peninsula

Ruling/Owning Rank

Pope

Owning Organization

Papacy