Following the Trail

Continuing my journey west while avoiding human settlements, I eventually found my path blocked by a great range of mountains.

The Pluha Great Forest lay at the center of the continent, and just as the route east was blocked by the Man-Eating Great Marsh, the route west was likewise sealed off by a dangerous region.

The way to the west was blocked by the rugged mountains known as the Mist Mountain Range, as well as the Valley of Death, which threaded between them.

The Mist Mountain Range was not merely a collection of rugged mountains. Its outer edges consisted of ordinary mountains, but once you crossed them and ventured farther in, thick fog constantly hung there, blocking your view and confusing your sense of direction.

Moreover, this fog apparently became magically charged.

Apparently, some feature of the terrain allowed magical power arising deep in nature to accidentally reproduce a spell formula, activating fog magic that cloaked the mountains.

Thus, anyone who wandered into this fog, no matter how familiar they were with the mountains, would lose their bearings without being able to see ahead, eventually dying of exhaustion or falling from a cliff.

Well, actually, the more familiar someone was with mountains, the less likely they would be to enter fog-shrouded mountains, so I suppose that was merely a figure of speech.

The Valley of Death was a natural passage that allowed travelers to pass between such fog-shrouded mountains.

With the mountains as its walls and the fog hanging overhead as its ceiling, it was apparently also known as the Labyrinth of Death...