Hermit's Wood

Hermit's Wood was a large forest in southern Cormyr, lying southwest of Wheloon and east of the Wyvernflow.

History
During the life of King Azoun II (1001–1056 DR), a hermit was the first person to dwell in the forest, giving it its name.

It was once a part of the forest that covered most of Cormyr. By 1372 DR (and 1479 DR) the Hullack Forest, the King's Forest, and Hermit's Wood were almost all that remained.

Industries
Local Cormyreans often foraged, hunted, and logged at the fringes of Hermit's Wood in the 14th century DR. Game was plentiful here, and it had been heavily cut for timber.

Inhabitants
Bar visiting humans, no sentient beings actually lived within the forest.

The village of Blustich lay at the edge of Hermit's Wood, on the western bank of the Wyvernflow. The villagers hunted and foraged in the forest.

The settlement of Ongul's Water lay in a wooden valley on the northwest side of the wood. Some of the braver folk hunted in Hermit's Wood, and worked as guides to visitors, but knew much less about the forest than they let on.

Ecology
Hickory trees grew in the forest. The nuts were gathered by the inhabitants of Blustich. Meanwhile, blueleaf trees grew in large groves on the northern side of Hermit's Wood.

Hermit berries found growing around the wood could be used to ward off kelpies.

A breed of toad found near Hermit's Wood had the power to see invisible creatures.

Rumors
The ghost of a gray-cloaked or gray-robed old man with a lantern that shone with an unnatural blue- or azure-colored light was said to haunt the wood, appearing at night under a full moon. However, it was hard to find anyone who claimed to have seen it with their own eyes, despite the regular human presence there. Many wondered at the ghost's origin, and whether it even existed or not. The most popular story was that the ghost was of the hermit, who supposedly met some dreadful and unnatural end there, and that the cause might yet lie somewhere in the wood. Some attributed the lack of habitation to this, claiming non-humans had the good sense or instinct not to live there. Again, no actual incidents were ever recorded. Skeptics said it was this was all fiction or will-o'-the-wisps.

Appearances

 * Adventures:
 * Waterdeep


 * Novels:
 * Waterdeep