Borean Forest

The Borean Forest, named for Boreas the North Wind, lies south of the Rhiphaen Mountains along Hyperborea's southern coast. It is a thick, tangled wood on rough, hilly ground, hard to cross except along the main trails trampled by its wild boar.

It is also dangerous. Before the Great Cataclysm drowned them, land bridges linked it to Mediterranea and Jambu, and it is now home to many fearsome creatures. Firedrakes den in caves burrowed into the slopes, while ogres and werecreatures stalk the trees. Cimmerian hunters who occasionally reach its fringe report a savage goblin tribe and say arcitenus, giant centaurs with two heads, prowl the trails; others add wyverns, ouranabad (winged hydras) and even great dragons.

Despite this, traders and adventurers come for amber, which turns up most readily in certain streams and ponds and in some low-lying areas. Big finds are rare, but prospectors say a day's work often yields 2 to 12 pieces an inch or two across, each worth its weight in gold. Fortune-seekers should take care, though, since men are not the only ones who prize the golden stuff.