Dark Dragon Hunt

A Dark Dragon Hunt was an annual (possibly more often) event organized by Endreth Molipher to give idle, rich Sembian merchants a memorable, heroic monster-hunting experience for a hefty fee. Dark Dragon Hunts started in the 1360s DR and were still ongoing in the 1370s DR.

Description
The event took place on a large plot of land in northern Sembia that was styled as "the Dark Dragon Lands". It had terrain that varied from hilly to boggy, with plenty of thick, wild undergrowth. Molipher released various monsters into this preserve and had agents disseminate stories and rumors of the exotic and dangerous beasts in order to drum up business. The Dark Dragon was a ghost dragon—a myth concocted by Molipher to enhance the eerie atmosphere and heighten the sense of danger from a spirit that inhabited and guarded the area.

Molipher's target clientele were those willing to pay large amounts of gold to be escorted on a monster hunt and hopefully bring home a trophy and/or a good story to brag about back home. These individuals were usually not physically fit nor particularly brave, and the spiel they were fed was crafted to play on their self-image as a risk-taker and instill enough fear to get them to hire more of the staff to accompany them for safety. Some accomplished hunters did participate, and the monsters were real.

Location
The clients were lodged in a run-down castle reportedly built by "Duke Baraudos" in the early days of Sembia. It was far from the luxurious accommodations that wealthy Sembites usually expected, but renovations were avoided in order not to anger the Dark Dragon.

Activities
Monster hunters were typically escorted into the Dark Dragon Lands and given the experience of traversing the untamed terrain on the trail of some beast. Actual dangerous encounters were rare for most of the clientele.

Outcome
Upon return to the castle, the huntsmen escorts were replaced with the arm-candy type and the clients were given plenty of drink and food. During their last night in the lodge, one of Molipher's wizard partners invaded their dreams and crafted visions of a heroic battle with a foul beast and their triumphant fatal blow. In the morning, the staff praised their client and reinforced the dream-woven story with awe, accolades, and eye-witness accounts, presented them with a trophy of some sort (a claw, a mounted head, or something else that matched the dream vision), and sent on their way home.