Inhabitants of the Wood

This portion of the Gnarley Forest Is home only to one human settlement, the village of Five Oak. The other community, Blackthorn, is not the least bit human in nature, and its existence is a closely guarded secret. The humanoids who have gathered here rernam furtive and sneaky, taking care to conceal the existence of their lair.

The sylvan elves of the deep forest occasionally venture into this part of the wood, for hunting, or simply exploring. Occasionally a band of elves comes to Five Oak to trade an exquisite cloak, or a pair of soft leather boots of mystical elven craftmanship for many pounds of salt, a rare perfume, or some other product of the outside world that the elves have come to enjoy.

Many individual woodsmen, sometimes with their families and sometimes alone have carved little homesteads in the forest. These are usually within a day's march of the forest's fringe, for its darker depths are known to be too unsafe for unguarded settlements, let alone individual cottages. In some places these homesteads have grown to be clans of 20 or 30 people, living in a collection of buildings centered around a family lodge. Even these minor collections of humanity are rare.