I decided to have all of the player characters grow up in Alderland. From there, I used each player's dark secret as a reason for them to leave Alderland.
Our campaign assumes it is a tradition for some folks to be taken, or travel, to the Iron Gate on Awakening Day to be lowered into the Forbidden Lands. After a very short ceremony that basically condemns them to their own fate, they are on their own. They overheard the legend of the Hollows. This is where the actual gameplay begins.
The adventurers, fueled by their fears and goals, decided to band together for survival and riches.
They soon encountered a orc that led to a fight that resulted in the halfling of the group getting a critical injury. During the groups rest that night, a lone goblin that had secretly been following the group, came to aide of the halfling. The goblin ended up helping them, after a couple of days hiking, find the Hollows.