World of Samardan: The Wild Woods of Loganka...

Greetings, All:

This is the twenty-third post in my A to Z Challenge series for 2013, in which I describe 26 different locations in the World of Samardan campaign setting, one for each letter of the alphabet. Today, W is for the Wild Woods of Loganka.

(hex) Wild Woods of Loganka

Ambiance: The forests in this area are worn with narrow trails, and the shrubbery appears well tended. The sounds of the local wildlife are fairly muted; it is obvious that the woods here are relatively devoid of fauna, save those that have wings. Bandraki (small winged serpentine creatures with acidic spittle and a high attraction to sparkling items) flit abundantly through the upper foilage, but rarely descend below the canopy. In a large clearing, a tall conical mound of soil reaches to heights slightly above that of the surrounding canopy.

History: This forested region contains a number of plants of great medicinal value, but it is also the home of a great hive of danrakkomi (dog-sized insectile creatures with an acidic bite and a telepathic hive-mind). Because danrakkomi are extremely territorial, any land-based fauna have been hunted out to feed and protect the hive. Herbalists from Pordel strongly desire these woods for the abundant healing herbs found within, but gathering them has proven almost lethal because of the danrakkomi presence.

Encounters: Colorful flying creatures are quite abundant here. The danrakkomi frequently patrols this region, protecting the hive from intruders. Common encounters and hazards are desperate herbalists seeking rare herbs, poisonous plants and occasionally falling trees.

Treasure: Rare medicinal herbs are the greatest treasure of the Wild Woods of Loganka. Some of them bear a strong resemblance to poisonous plants, so having a professional along will help harvesters choose wisely. While the bandraki collect shiny objects for their nests high up in the trees, it is the danrakkomi that gather fallen heroes and their equipment, and drag the bodies into the hive to feed the queen. Once their gear has entered the mound, only the truly mad or insane would be fool enough to follow.

Adventure Hooks: Adventure hooks for this site could include the following:

• Muda Hanaminan, a Rakran herbalist studying at the Lorarasak, seeks mercenaries to protect her while she harvests rare herbs from the Wild Woods of Loganka.
• Nago Balsanan, an animal trainer, seeks explorers willing to retrieve eggs from bandraki nests found within the Wild Woods of Loganka, as their plumage is particularly desirable.
• The danrakkomi patrols have discovered several villages a day's travel from the hive, and have begun harvesting the local population and their livestock as a new food source. In response, the village elders are hiring mercenaries to extinguish the threat, once and for all.
• The Order of the Healing Hand requires a large supply of a particular herb in order to create a remedy for a new contagion that is starting to spread through the smaller communities of the upper valley. The only known source large enough to meet the immediate needs of the Order lies within the Wild Woods of Loganka.
• Viro Minankan, an agent of the Raganu Podluso Banasam, Emperor of Pordel, is soliciting hunters and guides to join him on a trek to the Wild Woods of Loganka. One of the Raganu's personal messengers fell into the woods when his gorbani was attacked, and the Raganu wants the contents of the messenger's saddle bags recovered immediately.

Standard Disclaimer: As I have not yet decided where to set this particular location on the map as yet, I've left a placeholder to remind me to come back to this in the future. Later on, I'll replace (Hex) with the actual hex location, when I put all of this together into a single document.

Hope This Helps,
Flynn