Old Road (Vilhon Reach)

The Old Road was a road in the Vilhon Reach area that ran from Shamph in Chondath, south through the Chondalwood, through Elbulder in Sespech, where it crossed the River Arran, and then further south across the Golden Plains towards Shaar.

Description
The Old Road was a minor trade route and a road used by travelers and adventurers more than by merchant caravans. Much travel activity on the Chondatahan patch of the Old Road came from adventurers who bravely or, more often, stupidly ventured into the dangerous and wild Satyrwood. Past the woods, the road ran south-east, hugging the edge of the Chondalwood, crossing the River Arran, through the city of Elbulder, ruins of old monster-infested Elbulder, towards the city of Torch. Before reaching Torch, the road crossed the Nagaflow then split into two fords, the Naga Ford and Roaringford, eventually joining back into one road. It reached the city of Highcastle where it split into the Road of Dust that stretch north to Unther, while the Old Road continued on southeast, past the Uthangol Mountains, separating the Great Rift from the Riftwood, and finally ending on a crossroads with the trade way between Earthart and Delzimmer in the Eastern Shaar.

Trade
The trade moving along the Old Road was humble. The city of Elbulder used the road to send merchant caravans to and from Chondath and the town of Torsch. Caravans that moved from further south along the Old Road were split between the cities of the Emerald Corridor, Iljak and Hlath. The rivalry over the Old Road trade led the two cities into a small-scale war in the late 14 century DR. Another city that thrived on trade coming from the Emerald Corridor and the Old Road was Shamph that stood at the beginning of the route. Despite its size, the Old Road was the main trade route with the Old Empires, and the secondary trade route that connected the Vilhon Reach with Shaar, the Shining Lands, Luiren, and Dambrath.

Defenses
The part of the Old Road that crossed the Chondalwood was kept safe by the satyrs who patrolled the northern part of the forest but stayed away from traveling humans. The hoofed forest men also ensured that no caravan lingered in the forest for too long, scaring the travelers away with monstrous sounds and other auditory intimidation, especially late a night. These actions were never violent.

The rest of the way was just as dangerous as other roads in the Realms. Bandits and slavers were paying on unprepared travelers, and hungry monsters followed suit. Chondalwood's elves and Shaar's centaurs provided some protection from hated slavers, but they held no allegiance to humans.

History
At one point long before the 14 century DR, the Old Road was rerouted following the ruination of the "old" Elbulder in a disastrous magical battle. The town was rebuilt further east, and for a long while, the Old Road used the city's wagon-ferry to cross the River Arran. However, by the 14 century DR, two bridges were built across both tributaries of the River Arran to the north and south of "new" Elbulder.

Circa the, strange sightings started plaguing the Old Road. Shamph's inhabitants started witnessing spirits wandering the forest route. The Mayor of Shamph, Tian Redwon, sent out several bands of adventurers to investigate the apparitions in fear of them scaring away merchants, but the hirelings returned empty-handed every time.