Lonelywood
A criminal refuge on the edge of a great forest.
Lonelywood is the northernmost settlement in Ten-Towns. It sits on the northern shore of Maer Dualdon. It is surrounded by the Lonelywoods, the largest forest in Icewind Dale north of the Worldspine foothills. While Lonelywoods was once a robust logging town during the Alagonid Empire, by the 400s NE it consisted of only a few dozen structures clustered along the shoreline. Lonelywood's distance from civilization has made it attractive for rogues and criminals seeking a refuge in Icewind Dale.
Politics and Economy
Criminal Democracy
Lonelywood's government is small, with infrequent town assemblies led by an elected Speaker. The assemblies are the principal decision-making body of the down. The Speaker's principal responsibilities are to pursue the direction provided by the town assembly and to represent the town's interest at the Council of Speakers. The role of Speaker is consequently less formal than in many other towns, and it is typically held by one of the town's older and wiser inhabitants.
Lonelywood's isolation attracts Icewind Dale's shadiest element, from unrepentant thieves to cold-hearted killers. The thick forest looming behind it conceals the dark and sordid dealings that sometimes transpire there. Despite its attraction to criminals and miscreants, Lonelywood is not a place where folk murder each other in the streets. The realities of survival demand that the residents live and work together, and not dwell on history. A visitor can make many friends here but would be wise not to drudge up the dark deeds of anyone's past in this small town.
Organized crime, however, is fairly limited. The town's attraction for those who have fled to Icewind Dale to escape unwanted attention in the south has resulted in a population somewhat antithetical to organized activity, criminal or otherwise.
Life in the Lonelywoods
Lonelywood's economy almost entirely depends on the Lonelywoods. The town's logging industry is essential to the growth and survival of Ten-Towns, with much of it carted to Targos or Termalaine for processing and sale onwards to the rest of the Ten Towns. something more than half the working population logs or hunts in the woods.
The rest of the population are fishers and scrimshanders, trawling Maer Dualdon for knucklehead to feed the town or sell during infrequent forays to the larger towns. While its fishing fleets are smaller than those in Targos or Termalaine, it remains competitive by being highly territorial over the northern third of Maer Dualdon.
Lonelywood is connected to the rest of Ten-Towns by the Dualdon trail. A number of smaller trails branch out from the settlement and into the Lonelywoods where they connect logging camps to town. Lonelywood is the only small town with a horse stable, collectively shared by the community to haul lumber into town.
History
Lonelywood in pre-Kingdom days was a permanent Reghedmannish settlement. A substantial portion of its population is descended from those tribesmen. However, it not formally founded until the Woodland Manor was built in the fourth century MA.
During the Kingdom of Icewind and the Alagonid Empire, Lonelywood grew substantially to serve the rapidly expanding population of Ten-Towns, becoming an earldom in the middle Alagonid period. The first Earl of Lonelywood was a southerner from Kadeh called Semban who was granted the Woodland Manor. The manor was then overgrown, having been abandoned for several centuries. The town's oldest standing buildings and docks still bear carvings of dragons, lions, and goats that pay deference to the Semban family's crest, which featured a chimera.
Following the Occupation of Icewind Dale by the Nalemonic Empire, Lonelywood was one of the hardest-hit communities by the subsequent exodus. The disappearance of the Alagonid nobility radically reduced demand for lumber, as construction in Icewind Dale disappeared. While Lonelywood remained the key source of lumber for the region, it is no longer a boom town.
Contents
General Information
Nalemonic Empire
Cult of Auril
Nalemonic Pantheon
Reghed
Silverpine dwarfs
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