Illowwood

Illowwood was a forest-village in Turmish in the late 14 century DR.

Geography
It lay in central Turmish, along a curving road between Dauntshield and Peldrathan's Pool and east of the Faraway forest. With it lying so deep in Turmish's countryside, few outsiders to the realm ever found their way here.

A lush dense stand of shadowtops lay just to the west, and gave Illowwood half of its name. A tiny pond lay deep in the woods, called Illow Pool.

Inhabitants
Dryads had long been great in number around this woodland.

History
The ranger Illowarr met a dryad in this place circa 1270 DR and became infatuated with her. For the rest of his days, he lived here amongst the trees, giving Illowwood the other half of its name. The village grew up on the site.

Rumors & Legends
According to a local legend, the dryads protected a magnificent treasure, specifically several cart-loads of moonstones supposed once sunk in Illow Pool in times past. There was some truth to this: searches of the pond produced a number of empty carts and a handful of moonstones, as well as a piece of stone, the size of one's hand, inscribed with a rune. This was identified to be a ward-token that would lift a magical ward and permit entrance to some hidden or barred place, probably elsewhere in the woods. The remaining moonstones were of course thought to be stored within.

Local halflings and gnomes told the story that there was a hidden citadel of an elf archmage that could be entered via a gate somewhere in the area. This gate would only activate for those who held the correct token or uttered the correct words. This archmage, it was said, had escaped enemies in Halruaa and was still keeping them away, and was served in his citadel by either halflings (according to the halflings) or gnomes (according to the gnomes).

Elves did say the area was once home to an elf-lord and their hall and household, with the entrance to it hidden somewhere in the area. However, their accounts differed on whether these elves had died, had been placed in magical stasis, or simply cut off all contact with the outside world.

It's just possible these findings and tales were connected somehow, but the truth was yet to confirmed. It didn't help that, through the 1360s DR, a number of adventuring companies exploring the area went missing, and only one was found, with their decapitated bodies stacked neatly on the road near Illow Pool. This put a slight dampener on enthusiasm to go exploring around Illowwood.