Arvanweald

The Arvanweald is a dark and dreary wood filled with thorn trees, brambles, briars, and thickets. Its massive trees are black with age, seeming to menace those who pass under their boughs. The western end of the forest, where the wood grows near the city of Tarnauld, is open and clean, but the eastern portion of the forest is a foreboding place. Many nonhumans, mostly orcs and goblins, lair in this part of the Arvanweald, along with gibberlings, ettercaps, and stranger creatures. Legends place a lost city in this forest, but few dare to confirm these rumors due to the dangers of the wood.   Rumors speak of a "spider king" somewhere in the heart of the Arvanweald, and goblin are often seem riding and working with the giant spiders of the forest. It is possible that the local goblin king has made some sort of alliance with the spider king, if it exists.   Another threat has also reared its ugly head. Right now, much of the northeastern Arvanweald is under the control of the Heart Ripper gnoll tribe. It is said that the tribe has great magical power and that they know where their enemies will strike. Other gnoll tribes that initially fought them are now vassal tribes, giving homage and booty to their masters. The largest vassal tribes include the Night Stalkers, Hounds of War, Bloody Hands and Devil Spears.   Bands of kech fight the gnolls for control of the forests, though the kech fail to see the benefits of banding together, and lose ground daily. Quicklings also inhabit this stretch of forest, often cooperating with the gnoll tribes when it suits their purposes.   The last player in the forest is the ancient Green Wyrm, Khilashandara. She has not been seen in over a hundred years.