Frozen Forest

The Frozen Forest was an almost entirely coniferous forest, named for the glittering ice that sheathed the needles and boughs of its close standing trees. At the edge of the forest, most of the trees were bent over from the weight of the ice, but deeper in towards the heart of the wood, the trees stood too closely together to bend, and their uppermost boughs became welded together with ice. The forest was vast, with very few natural clearings, and no human cut roads or trails. The icy Alaphaer Run ran down from the Abbey Mountains and into the forest, leading almost directly to the fabled Monument of the Ancients.

Ground fogs were ever-present below the boughs; close to the ground there was an unnatural warmth radiating up from underground magma, which helped support the trees and wildlife. Abundant rabbits, squirrels, and grouse fed lynxes and owls (including of the giant varieties) as well as foxes, voles, and many other small animals. Along the verges of the forest moose, elk, and rothé foraged, constantly moving to where they could find green shoots, and they used the lee of the forest for protection when the fierce storms of North Faerun hit. Caribou wintered in the forest, and deep in the forest lived fey who had no love for sentient intruders of any sort.

Over the ages at various points, humans had tried to settle within the forest, but persistent hobgoblin attacks decimated their numbers and forced the survivors to flee to the south. They reported finding strange ruins & foundations in the forest from previous settlements, from which enchanted weapons and other treasures had been recovered. They also said that fell monsters had been encountered in the depths, and it was also said that unknown powers actively prevented dwarves and gnomes from living or mining directly under the forest.