King's Wood

The largest continuous woods in the Dale, the King's Wood covers the foothills east of of The Thumb, spanning the broad end of valley between the North and South Trade Roads. Still home to several small Kithbands of Wood Elves, it was claimed by the Humans and much of the eastern edge of the woods has been cleared to expand the growing farmland west of King's Port.

Geography

A mixed deciduous and coniferous wood over rolling hills that climb into the forested mountain ridges to extend east of The Thumb. Rocky boulders and hills are broken up by small streams that flow down out of the mountains north to the Trade Flow and south to the South Trade Run, spilling in and out of small alpine lakes.

Fauna & Flora

Large enough to still be mostly wilderness area, the depths of the King's Wood are impenetrable to all but the Wood Elves who still remember it as their ancestral home and the creatures both natural and unnatural who are indifferent to the encroaching civilization. Rabbits and deer are common along the outer edge of the forest with bears serving as the primary natural predator.
Higher into the hills, mountain lions and owlbears become more common. Eagles and other birds of prey make their home in the trees, while griffons are often spotted in the mountains. The depths of the woods may be home to more rare creatures, but they are not yet fully explored, even by the Wood Elven tribes.

Natural Resources

The forest serves as an important source of lumber for the lower Dale, especially the farming villages surrounding King's Port. The density of the woods have prevented humans from moving far enough in-land to explore mining in the hills or quarrying the stone. Hunting is also common along the border of the woods, to the point that game has grown scarce along the outer edge of woods.

Type

Forest