Mountain Hall

[Vladim]

 

The Woodmen of Wilderland are not united under a crown, but are divided into several Houses, as they call a group of clans or families who dwell together in the same great hall under a common token of kinship. Every house is ruled by its council of Elders, a circle of the old and wise. In times of need, the Elders from all houses meet at a folk-moot, a great gathering where the most important decisions concerning the Woodmen at large are taken. There are four main Houses of Woodmen in Wilderland: the House of Mountain Hall, the House of Woodland Hall, the House of Woodmen Town and the House of Rhosgobel.

 

Mountain Hall is the main settlement of the Woodmen on the west side of the Great River. It is hidden in a narrow valley east of the Misty Mountains, where a turbulent stream runs amid steep walls of rock and around grassy knolls and pine-covered hills. The village itself is located where the river loops around an area of grassland set against the stony shoulder of the mountains. It is not protected by a stockade or hedge, as the watercourse has been widened and deepened, making the village accessible only by a dirt road cut along the stream where it passes the nearest to the rock face.

 

Many villagers work in mines dug into the mountains to the west, searching in the recesses of the earth for metals prized by all inhabitants of the vales of the Great River: copper, tin and iron. It is a dangerous trade, as many creatures lurk in the dark under the mountains, waiting patiently for the unwary.

 

From the village, a flight of stairs reaches up to the burg, a stone tower built centuries ago by the Northmen who first discovered this remote dale. A watch is set upon it by night and day, ready to blast the great Horn of Warning in case Orcs or other foes would try to approach the village stealthily.

[Vladim]

 

1. Narrow Bridge: This bridge is the only easy crossing over the fast-flowing river. North and west of Mountain Hall, the river cuts through a steep gorge; east of the hall, the river clings to the sheer slopes of the mountains on one side, and is too swift and cold to ford. The Woodmen have fortified this river over the years by placing sharpened stones along the west bank to further dissuade trespassers. There is a hidden boathouse several miles east that marks the uppermost point at which the river is navigable.

 

2. Approach Road: This ramp is the only way into the hall. It cuts back and forth across the mountainside, and at its narrowest is wide enough only for a single cart. The ramp is lined with carved stones to ward off enemies and evil spirits.

 

3. Doorkeeper’s House: Here dwells Beranald, the doorkeeper of Mountain Hall. Woodmen of good Standing may be allowed keep their weapons, but all other visitors must leave their swords and other weapons here in Beranald’s care.

 

4. Great House: This high-ceilinged building is the heart of the settlement. It has walls of timber and is kept warm by three huge fire-pits. One fire is kept burning at all times of the year, and the Woodmen believe that if this fire ever goes out, doom will befall their hall.

 

5. Trading Post: This is a trading post where furriers, hunters and farmers may barter for the work of the forges and the mines. Adventurers may also acquire supplies here.

 

6. Mine Entrance: At the back of the village is the entrance to one of the mines worked by the mountain folk. There are three other mines farther up the gorge, and another two mines over the mountains.

 

7. The Burg: This tall tower was raised by a great chieftain of the Mountain Folk. His daughter, said to be the most beautiful maiden ever seen in Wilderland, cast herself from the top of the tower when her lover was slain in battle with Dwarves. Her body was never found; one story claims that the remorseful Dwarves found her and placed her drowned, half-dead body in a crystal coffin, where she sleeps until her lover returns from beyond the land of the dead.

 

8. Hartfast’s House: This large house is the home to Hartfast son of Hartmut, head of the House of Mountain Hall. It is always busy and full of life; Hartfast sired five sons and seven daughters, and has more grandchildren than he can remember or bother to count.

[Vladim]

West Anduin Vales

 

The West Anduin Vales are wild indeed. South of the Road, the land becomes much more difficult. The western part of the district is dominated by rolling hills; the east is a wilderness of rush-cloaked marshes and thickets.

 

The Woodmen of Mountain Hall are cousins and oathbrothers to the Woodmen of Mirkwood, and live in a long steep-sided valley near the head of the river Icewater. Their Mountain Hall — Firienseld in the language of the Vales of Anduin — is an easily defended burg in the shadow of the mountains, built atop their mines. It needs every wall and trench, as the Goblins often threaten the Hall.

 

To the south-east of the Hall, the land becomes more treacherous as you approach the River Gladden, so most traveller go north-east across the stony hills before turning east for the Great River or north for the Road, avoiding the middle-marshes.

 

The middle-marshes are not so tangled or confusing as the golden maze of the Gladden Fields, but can be hard going for a traveller. The River-folk live and fish in these marshes; they build small huts on stilts above the waters. The forest in the south of this region lies on a highland overlooking the Gladden Fields. Called the Wolfswood by the folk of the Vales, it is home to wolves and outlaws in great number.

 

Wildlife

 

The marshes of the east swarm with fish and birds, including the infamous corpse-eating Grim Hawks. The Woodmen of Woodland Hall keep herds of goats and sheep in their sheltered valleys, and breed sturdy mountain ponies. Wolves often slip down from the north to prey on the herds of the mountain-folk.

 

Inhabitants

 

For the most part, this land is empty and wild. A traveller who strays off the road is unlikely to meet another living soul within several days’ journey. The only permanent settlement is the fortified burg of Mountain Hall in the west. The Woodmen and the River-folk may settle in a spot for a few years, but the threat of Orc attack from the warrens of the Misty Mountains forces them to stay nomadic.The Woodmen living in the area are a curious, unforthcoming folk. They are counted as one of the Houses of the Woodmen, but they differ from their forest kinsmen in many ways. They learned from the Dwarves in days of yore, and picked up something of their stubbornness and secrecy. They are not at home in the dark places of the wood as much as the Woodmen living under the eaves of Mirkwood, but are more willing to travel long distances under the sky.

 

Notable Places

 

The Wolfswood: The Wolfswood is a forest of oak, ash and rowan, running to willow along the banks of the rivers. It is thick and

tangled, but is still much more airy and welcoming than Mirkwood. The only horrors beneath these trees are the evils men bring with them. Four crumbling stone forts mark the edges of the Wolfswood on the north and west. These forts were built long ago as a defence against the Orcs, who once used the woods to shelter from the sunlight. The forts were abandoned many years ago, and are now covered in ivy and cracked by questing tree-roots. Only ghosts watch the Wolfswood now.

 

The hunters and trappers of Mountain Hall usually seek their quarries here, as Mirkwood is too far. They have established hidden outposts in the trees, the greatest of which they call the tree-lodge. At least a dozen hunters can be found at the tree-lodge at all times; a dozen more often hunt in the forest, typically in pairs, and find shelter in the smaller tree-houses.

 

The Wolfswood has always been associated with outlaws and exiles, and many tales tell of brigands living in these forests. Heroes, too, have found shelter here — the Woodmen speak of a mythical heroine named Ivina of the Green, who fought the servants of the Enemy more than three thousand years ago when the Shadow ruled all Middle-earth from Mordor to the Sea. She hid in the wood, and sallied forth to raid the forces of the Enemy. Other old stories tell that an Elf-prince once went hunting in the Wolfswood with nine companions, all riding fair white horses and bedecked in armour of silver and gold, but they never returned. The River-folk swear that on still nights, you can hear their hunting horns blowing desperately in the distance.

 

Trader’s Island: Trader’s Island is a refuge of the River-folk. It is one of the larger islands in the Anduin; the river splits around a rocky outcropping like the Carrock, and a long sandy spit has formed downstream of the rock. Stunted trees and long grasses bind the island together, but the ground is not always safe, and unwary travellers may blunder into soft sand or mud with little warning. There are usually several éafolc families camped on the isle, for they use it as a meeting-place and trading post. Persistent rumours claim that there is a huge cache of buried treasure somewhere on the island, a hoard accumulated by many generations of thieving River-folk.

 

Hag’s Island: Hag’s Island lies just north of the meeting of the Gladden and the Anduin rivers. It is a small tree-covered lump of earth in the middle of the rushing waters, with dangerous rapids on the east side. The island is said to be the home of an evil monster, the River Hag, and certainly many visitors to the isle have vanished mysteriously. At times, especially in summer, impenetrable river-mists surround the island, and boats that try to make for the safer western passage find themselves shipwrecked on the rapids of the east channel.