Forest of Bones

The dense and mysterious Forest of Bones is packed with large twisted roots and vines, rocky terrain, and tall dark conifer trees called the Black Pines. It's home to a variety of dangerous creatures, many of which are not catalogued or studied, but based on brief and terrifying encounters by adventurers and some locals, have been named and described.   The Forest of Bones stretches across the top of the rocky hills of the eastern boulder fields (east of Gitte and Carmela ) around the cliffs to directly east of Giant's Tears Lake  and north of Sunnywood . It ends somewhere north of Nosta and possibly includes the source of the Bones River, though the region has not been properly mapped. Though it is clear that the Forest of Bones is all uphill of its surrounding areas and is defined by the the change in tree species and density as well as by the presence of massive root systems and dangerous predators.   Common Wildlife: There is a rare red bird called a Whistler, due to the fact that you hear it long before you feel it dive past you and prick your skin. The beak is coated with a paralyzing poison that will loften takes affect within a few minutes. The Whistler often works with a Root Walker, a creature made entirely of dark roots and doesn't move far from it's home hidden in the roots of the large Black Pines of the forest.   A root walker is a small creature and usually will move in groups to carry the paralyzed victims of a Whistler to their Tree where they will bury the body in the root system and will feed off the blood. The Whistler in turn lives in the and gains the poison from the sap off the bark, where the bird sharpens it beak.   Demon Wolves are a dark, almost black, skinned wolf-like animal that has very short fur and dragon-like ridges along it's back and tail. They typically hunt in small packs of four or five, are roughly the same size as a wolf, but have claws instead of paws. They can run incredibly fast even through the difficult vine and root terrain of the dense forest without any hinderance. They only hunt at night and their dens are unknown.   Shade Flowers appear as flowers, but in truth are creatures with flaps of strange skin that unfold from the tops of their heads to look like flowers and have arms and legs that look like vines. They emit a poison spray from the flower's center to stun their prey, and then turn around and attack.   Common Flora: The Blood Lily only grows at the lake shore of Misty lake and in ponds in the Forest. It has a dark green striped lily pad with a beautiful red flower growing on short stalks that rise a short distance above the pad. It's noted by it's sweet, but heady scent and blood red color.   The aforementioned Black Pines are a noteable resource in the forest, if it can be obtained. The tree has a sap that numbs on contact, and paralyzes a medium creature within a handful of minutes. The sap has other uses, once properly prepared and is an excellent tool for trained healers. Difficult to obtain, but highly prized. Even the tree itself is a remarkable hard wood, noted for it dark ash natural color.   The Umber Mushroom has a musty brown color and a wide nearly flat cap with curly edges and tends to grow directly beneath the roots of a Black Pine Tree or a large root or vine in the forest. It's a delicacy prized by cooks across the Dom due to it's flavor and difficulty to obtain. Apothecaries make excellent uses of this mushroom as well.   Dragon's footprint is a sage green colored moss that has only been found in the Forest of Bones. It's extremely rare and was found growing on boulders near the massive footprints of a dragon.    

Myths and Legends

  The Forest Dragon Those who live near the Forest of Bones or even the rural towns at the eastern edge of the Golden Fields, have seen a dark green dragon climbs the cliffs above the darkf forest. And regularly note the swift movement of trees, as if a large creature was moving quickly between the trees. Whether scaling up or down, the dragon has never flown above or near the woods, if at all, and the closest observers noted large scars along it's wings and backs. Dragon hunters have left for the forest, but none have ever returned.   The Haunted Wizard Tower Just a mile or so into the Forest of Bones, where the trees get darker and closer in, stands a lone tower overgrown with vines and weeds. Local legends tell of a wizard who built the tower long ago, only to die within by his own hand.