The Gram Mountains

It is common knowledge that Adrila is encircled by mountains to the west and the east. The Dimberg mountains are known for their rugged beauty and potential dangers, as well as separating Adrila from Ivellea. They are, all things considered, relatively harmless, as long as one does not catch the attention of dragons and barbarians. East of Adrila, however, is a mountain range few men dare enter. Here dwell ogres, living in their primitive fortresses high up in the mountains. Below, in the shadows where the sun never shines, spiders and bats lurk, waiting patiently for their next meal. Human barbarians somehow make a living here, perhaps out of a desire to defy the dangers already present, and in turn having become a danger themselves. And, on occasion, dragons emerge from their lairs, hungry from their long periods of sleep. Rumours exist of other humanoid creatures dwelling under the mountain ranges, as well; stunted creatures, short in stature and with fantastic night vision. No man has seen one of these, however.

So why do some people venture here?

The Knights of the Tower are notorious for entering these mountains; in their disregard for danger and common sense, they consider them their best training grounds. The giant spiders and bats are extremely dangerous, but that does not stop the Knights; only a dragon seems to give them pause. They are perhaps the most frequent visitors, even though they tend to suffer dire losses whenever they go up against dragons.

Other human adventurers often join with the Knights, in hopes of plundering a dragon's lair while the Knights fight the dragon. Some say dragons keep vast treasures within their lairs, while others say dragon eggs, if cooked properly, can make fantastic dishes. There are dozens of rumours regarding dragons, and many are either brave, desperate or foolish enough to see if they are true. Naturally, the most common thing found in the mountains are bones. Then there are the spiders' poison; so strong it can numb a man within a matter of seconds. Certain unscrupulous individuals seek this poison; useful both as anesthetics and as an assassin's tool, it fetches a high price.

Of course there are those who go here simply for adventure, but even most adventurers avoid the region, because of the difficulties in surviving without having a support convoy with you. This is why most who come here do so together with the Knights of the Square Tower; they are the only ones who enter the mountains as a cohesive force, and can be relied upon to protect the convoy even against dragons.

The mountains themselves are largely sharp peaks and narrow valleys; rivers flow through the valleys, and some places the ogres' paths leading up to their fortresses provide a way to ascend up the mountains, but in most cases, once you are in a valley, you can only turn back or follow it along. The valleys are cold and barren; the sun rarely if ever manages to get any rays down there, and the only plants one can find are various sorts of moss and mushrooms.
Then there are the wild creatures; spiders, detecting approaching creatures before the creatures detects them, are often found waiting behind rocks for their prey to pass, then strike like lightning. Some spiders have a very cunning hunting method; they will strike a group of travellers, once, poisoning one of their members, before escaping. It will strike again, later, poisoning another, or perhaps two, and thus slowly whittling down the group until there are too few left to drive it back. Then it will strike once more. The remaining conscious group members will be defeated easily by the giant spider, and with all of them in one place, it will bind them all in its web, before dragging them back to its lair.
The bats tend to leave adventurers alone, but they will often strike adventurers who find themselves within caves and out of torches. They will swarm their target, biting, screeching and sucking blood until they've had their fill, at which point their targets are usually left unconscious from blood loss.