Introduction The Time of Troubles & Era of Upheaval The current period of time for our Forgotten Realms campaigns are set during the 1st and 2nd edition era. Inspired By Ed Greenwood

Night has settled heavily over the road to Dagger Falls. For days, a ceiling of dark clouds has followed your company across the northern Dalelands, bringing long hours of steady rain that has turned the road soft beneath your boots and left every cloak, blanket, and leather strap damp to the touch.

Summer is drawing toward its end, and the air has begun to carry the first chill of the approaching autumn. Dagger Falls still lies three days ahead, hidden somewhere beyond the wooded ridges and rain-shrouded hills of Daggerdale. Your campsite rests in a small clearing several hundred paces from the road, sheltered beneath the crooked branches of ancient oak and ash trees.

The ground here is slightly higher and drier than the surrounding woodland, though shallow pools still gather between exposed roots and moss-covered stones. A modest fire burns at the center of the camp, hissing whenever rain slips through the canopy. Bedrolls have been arranged beneath hastily stretched canvas, the animals have been secured nearby, and the remains of the evening meal sit warming beside the flames.

Beyond the circle of firelight, the forest is little more than a wall of dripping branches and shifting darkness. The rain has softened to a cold drizzle, leaving the night unnaturally quiet except for water falling from the leaves and the occasional groan of trees moving in the wind. No travelers have passed along the road since late afternoon, and no distant farmhouse lights can be seen through the woods. For the first time since beginning this journey, you feel entirely alone beneath the overcast sky.

One by one, you settle in for the night while the fire slowly sinks into glowing embers. Tomorrow promises another long day upon the muddy road, followed by two more before the stone walls and rushing falls of your destination finally come into view. For now, however, there is only the wet forest, the failing warmth of the campfire, and the uneasy darkness pressing close around your small clearing. Somewhere beyond the trees, far enough away to remain unseen, something disturbs the undergrowth—and then all is silent once more.