THe Feywood

When you get to the next inn, and inquire about the incident, you get the full story. The Feywood has a mysterious place not well suited to casual exploration for as long as human settlements have existed in the region. The central mass lay to the east of the Silver Road, going all the way over to the Tang River, but one of the smaller, but still significant branches had been cut across from very early on due to the rough geography of the coast directly to the west of the branch. Most people suspected that it had once been home to fey, and they were proven correct when about a century and a half ago, a strange proclamation had been sent to all of the communities neighboring the woods. It declared that the Court had returned to it's summer home, and while excursions into the center of the wood would not be tolerated while the court was present, the court recognized that the development of path and roads in and through some of the smalller branches was to be expected, and so long as no new paths attempted to dissect the heart of the forest, most of the existing paths would be allowed to continue to function.
Given that none of the trails had been anywhere near the areas the Court claimed for itself, since those were some of the most unreachable and oddest parts of the forest, and the few that had seen them described them as being otherworldly, with the presence of the fey Court there simply confirming why they had been generally avoided in the first place, and since the proclamation did nothing to challenge existing local practices, people accepted the proclamation as the offical word, and aside from the occasional individual from one side or the other, as well as the occasional escort like the one you receieved, there had been little interaction between the 2 worlds.
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Snippets of a conversation between a local lord trying to build an inn in an area near the Feywood, one of the local fey, and a party of travelers trying to keep them from killing each other.
The noble remains stiff, though his workers seem to eye the campsite as they start to show small signs of impatience with their lord that they try to hide. "I am Lord Marvox, and I understand that an inn by itself does little, but I have no time at the moment to discuss the greater issues and my plans to help resolve them." 
The druid meanwhile, ponders her response as she takes a measure of the party's intents. She finally replies cautiously, still very tense and watchful. "One must always look beyond what is immediately in front of them. This fool moves forward oblivious to the challenges presented by those in the Feywood and the other creatures in this supposed "empty" land, letting greed and money cloud his decision making. The last time the road was active, there was much abuse by those who used it, and it was by the mercy of the heavens that traffic stopped before it reached crisis. Now the fool wants to reopen the old wounds."
Lord Marvox lays out his case first before Windflower even has a chance to put her thoughts together. "You are right in your points from earlier that no one uses the road. Why should they when they can use the waterways for the same cost in everything but time, and still have access to at least some of the creature comforts from home while doing so? Even during the previous heyday of the road, it was mostly merchants and caravans traveling through the region, stopping only at night, and that was often done at roadside campsites. Of course such people would be more likely to cause problems; they have no sense of ownership or duty to the surrounding area. Meanwhile, half of the estates neglected and ignored because their noble owners couldn't be bothered to travel beyond the comforts of the city to be the first to establish the necessary infrastructure to support those comforts. It's even worse now; aside from the few truly powerful nobles who still maintain summer houses or hunting lodges, the vast majority of the estates lie largely neglected, empty shells that crumble at the touch. In turn, the peasantry suffers by the lack of a local market. While there certainly is value in restoring the merchant trade, that by itself will not help, when the market once again collapses, as all eventually do, without the support a local economy, the road will be back to being a fleeing memory. I seek to address this by providing a place where the absentee lords can stay in comfort and fellowship as they build up their estates to a proper level. This is what will sustain the future of this road, not trade. I can speak from experience when I say this; trade, by itself, can be a strong catalyst, but on it's own, is a fleeting market that will reroute itself as markets change."
Finally managing to get a word in as Lord Marvox stops to access the impact of his words, Windflower's retort is much shorter and much more direct. "And how do you propose to handle it when your precious nobles stir up things that are best left undisturbed? The caravans were bad enough, but they were by their nature incapable of rendering permanent damage. Your nobles could easily stir up trouble and in their stubbornness, keep stirring for the sake of their own pride. They don't have to bother the cursed woods in order to cause havoc, either. Several relics of the past still lie buried in the wilds around the edge of that cesspool, tantalizingly just beyond reach of those who would give much to control them if they were reminded of their existence."
"You could not possibly understand the danger the denizens of the Feywood or their creations pose to the health of the land." Windflower replies obliquely.
"That or you just don't want to admit that your conflict is in no way impacted by our presence. I have researched your so called artifacts, and they appear to me to be no more than sentimental places or items, and that you are simply afraid of change. No where in my extensive research did I come across anything that suggests any other solution. There is absolutely nothing in the written or spoken historical record that suggests you are anything but pouting after letting change get the best of you once and are now determined to refute it's very existence. If you have evidence to make your case with, I suggest you make it now in front of these fine folks who have taken their time to listen. And yes, dear, I do seek a permanent community that can sustain itself. Those who live here currently deserve that much. Number wise, they are spread out enough that you can't see them all, but there a lot of lives who depend on this road for their well being." Lord Marvox retorts, trying to remain civil, but getting impatient with the constant interference of the local fey without a good reason.
"I and my kin have gone over this many times. The evidence is around you everywhere, yet you ignore it. The wailing of the wind through the cut down trees, the tiredness of the soil, the teardrops you call rain, the absence of the animals that once roamed this land. All point to the despoiling of nature as it was intended to be. Those of the Feywood forsook it long ago, and you, while traveling down a different path, are going in the same direction. If we cannot turn you from your path, we fear the consequences may be dire. The occasional city is all well and good, but there must remain wilds." Windflower pleads her case to you, having given up all hope of getting anywhere with the stubborn noble.
The nobleman just sighs. "And the wilds shall remain, as they are an integral part of this region, critical to the hunting and vistas that will draw the permanent residents and travelers alike. You assume that it must be either civilization or wild land. I see no reason for drawing such lines. Proper management can ensure the coexistance of both, and those who lack proper management will find that they return to the city rather quickly."
"You would have a valid point, good sir, if there was indeed evidence to support the position that it was potentially dangerous course of action. So far all I have seen in my efforts to research it, which includes talking to the locals as well as digging through the history books, is that there is a rift between the Feywood and the surrounding fey, with no indication that anything humanity has done has ever, in the entire time we've been here, had an apparent effect on said rift. If Windflower has evidence to suggest otherwise, beyond arguing that all civilization should be left to the city, and the woods already inhabited by people should be left completely to the wild, I am all ears." Lord Marvox replies to the summoner.
Windflower doesn't seem entirely convinced at Saktouk's logic, but reluctantly acknowledges the truth of it. She goes on to give a long spiel that manages to impart everything and nothing at the same time. The basic gist is that the Pact that the Feywood Court released is part of a much bigger agreement, and the manner that they released it came across as both a personal slap to the face and an attempt to force the hand of those who chose this land as their permanent home. Lord Marvox yawns through most of it, though he seems to take notice at the mention of a larger agreement, as if he hadn't heard that part before, or at least not from a credible source.
After her diatribe is over, the late hour and the combined effort of the party leads Windflower to accept work on the inn, but insisting that anything else would require "significant conversations with her kin." With that, she and her wolf disappear into the night. Lord Marvox holds his tongue long enough for her to leave, at which point he can't help but vent a little, commenting that he suggested that very thing hours ago before you arrived on the scene and it was flatly refused. With that off of his chest he heads off to bed after getting his men to help with watch. The workers have long since been asleep or passed out. The night is uneventful accept for the occasional strange musical like sound being carried on the growing wind.
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The men will swap stories with you, and after half an hour of swapping stories who are as amazed of your stories of the city as you are of their stories of this area, you get the impression that the fey immediately outside of the Feywood have a very ambivelent attitude towards those inside, and tend to be rather jumpy when anyone tries to take significant actions that might attract the attention of their darker kin, a fact completely lost on their latest lord.
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Spoken by a local. "The pact you mention holds true here as well, as I suspect it does all around the edge of the Feywood, and there are those who believe that the fey of those woods are using the pact as a screen to hide secret and dark activities. They are certainly a reclusive bunch, definitely different from the others, wilder, some of them almost alien, but most people haven't seen any proof that they are plotting anything dark against the neighborhood. It's hard to say what the truth is; all most people know is that if you leave them alone, they'll leave you alone. The rest of the local fey, on the other hand, are a different lot. They see shadows of conspiracy everywhere, and aren't afraid to let people know it."
Category:Work in Progress