The Trees Have Ears

In the city of Oderbeck, deep in the jungles of Greth, the common folk of the city have a saying: the trees have ears.

Origins

Oderbeck is ruled by a group of lords, one of whom is declared the high lord of the city. These lords are rather unpopular among the common folk, as the aristocracy primarily serves its own interests rather than the interests of the city as a whole. Unfortunately for the common folk, the lords of Oderbeck also have a firm grip on the city guards, as well as their own network of spies and secret guards, to keep strict order in the city.

Many centuries ago, the common folk began to concoct an idea: rebellion. They had had enough of the tyranny of Oderbeck lords and wished to overthrow it for a new government that would act in the interests of the common folk. They met in secret places around the city, used codes and secret phrases, and carefully selected who to let in on the conspiracy. But despite all of their precautions, word somehow reached the lords of the city, and the rebellion was crushed. Each and every individual that had been involved in the planning was found and imprisoned or executed. No one could figure out who the mole had been or if there had even been one

Oderbeck is built in and around the forests of Greth: it has buildings built into trunks and perched in the branches, with walkways extending from the forest floor to the canopy above. As such, city life occurs all around trees. Those who had been involved in the failed uprising began to suspect that in fact the only thing that could possibly have leaked their secrets would have to have somehow been the trees themselves. Not a single member of the rebellion had escaped punishment, and it was generally established that the lords of the city would not punish anyone who gave them information that would help them stop any threat to their power.

Since that time, it seems that anyone who even breathes the word "rebellion" to another simply vanishes from the city, as though they had been heard by something and reported to the city's lords. Many began to whisper that it was the trees themselves listening in, sending information to the lords keeping the rest of the citizens under their thumbs. The saying "the trees have ears" has become a warning amongst the common folk, a way of saying "we can't talk here" especially when discussing sensitive information.

Do the Trees Have Ears?

The trees themselves do not have ears of their own; however, the lords of Oderbeck have employed a rather unusual method for tracking down insurrection. Each tree in the city is host to several camouflaged celliamanders, which are tiny lizard-like creatures that are connected in a great network to one another. The queen of this particular colony is kept in the high lord's hall, where all the senses of each celliamander are compiled and translated into one constant feed of every home and every street. This allows the lords of Oderbeck to be constantly aware of what is going on in their city, and clues them in to any possible rebellions that may rise.