TAELGAR II

Not every place is under the thumb
of oligarchs and fascists.

The Elderwood was once a vast forest, a dense wood of massive trees and lush undergrowth. Some say the trees were kept alive by the gods, for after the Godfall the largest trees died under the withering summer heat. But the forest did not die -- it adapted. In place of tall redwoods, a chaparral forest grew, of scrub oak and juniper.

I. The Oak Groves

The people of the Elderwood adapted too. Now, they tend the oak groves, gathering acorns each autumn to dry and grind into flour. They plant barley and lentils in hidden valleys with the winter rains, while goats graze the rough hills and pigs fatten on fallen acorns. The summer is now yellow and dry, and often hard and hot, but villages keep hidden stores against the lean months, sharing food and water as they once shared the shelter of the great trees.

An older woman and a younger woman sort acorns into woven baskets beneath an oak, while other villagers gather the harvest beside a donkey and foraging pigs. — The work of the oak groves

II. Hidden Paths

Others too now find their way into the Elderwood: people fleeing the mines and timber yards of Karszeg, deserters, debtors, and families driven from their homes. Some are simply passing through, heading toward distant kin or rumors of safety. Resistance fighters, criminals, and those exiled by the richer kingdoms shelter here too, raiding supply wagons and returning with grain, and stories that grow longer with each telling.

Human, orc, dwarf, and halfling fighters move warily through tangled oak woodland, carrying pistols and long guns; a spellcaster holds a faintly glowing wand. — Under cover of the Elderwood

III. A Place by the Fire

A woman fills a jug at a rocky spring beside a camp of patched tents. Dwarves cook and rest together, a traveler speaks with a resident, and an orc steadies an awning. — Some stay for a season, or a year, or more

But a stranger who reaches the right door can usually find supper and a place by the fire, and maybe a home. So many stay, for a season or a year, or more, often gathering in camps around dependable water, learning the work of the oak groves.