Forest Dungeon

by Josh Bauman

This particular “dungeon” can be found outside of Sanguine, in a deep forest. The dungeon is a series of intertwined branches, high up in the trees of this large forest, that serve as a series of tunnels and ramps. The forest has been left alone for years by most NPCs because of their fear of the spiders and other unnaturally large beasts living within its boundaries. Since it doesn’t have any caretakers, the forest has changed a great deal; the ground is covered with thick underbrush with patches of dark green shrubs, and some of the trees have rotted and others have fallen on the ground, untouched. Many large trees still stand, but they have grown so tall and so close to each other that they block out all but a little bit of light. Because of this, the dark forest has a darker atmosphere, when compared to the rest of the area it is in.

Its thick and dangerous underbrush that spans the entire forest floor keeps most people away from the forest, but this has only allowed for the beasts of the forest to thrive. As well, the forest serves as a place for many shady dealings to occur.

However, because the forest dungeon is far up in the trees of this forest, it is relatively safe from the larger, more dangerous beasts of the forest below, but not from the smaller, more agile and stealthy creatures. It is also not uncommon to see the occasional Alfar tunnel on the forest floor, leading to an Alfar’s home, or even sometimes a small town. Many who live in Sanguine believe these tunnels and the forest to be the method the Alfar use to tame the giant spiders they are occasionally seen riding.

The forest, being outside of the city, is free from any city guards, and as such is only defended by its thick underbrush; a deterrent for many would-be adventurers, and its inhabitants.

In the past centuries, there have been many instances of Sanguinian mystics taking a ‘vision quest’ which requires them to ascend into the crypt-like branch dungeon of this forest. Recently though, there have been a rash of disappearances of these mystics, so it was decided by the city that the city would begin to hire adventurers, to look into these disappearances.

There are rumours of Alfar and members of the other races living in the forest, but these are shrugged off as old wives tales, as a lot of people believe it to be far too dangerous to be inhabited. Many commoners see going to the forest dungeon as a death wish, adventurers see it as a chance to make it big and get some treasure, and thieves see it as a place to loot many corpses for some decent money and loot.