Old Forest
The Old Forest is a place of deep dark legends for the Hin of the South Shire. Descending down from the Central Mountains the Old Forest seems to reach out to surround the few population centers nearby. While part of the South Shire the Old Forest forms more of a barrier to protect the rest of Gold Hills from the inhabitants that sometimes venture down out of the mountains. It is rumored that Treants guard the forest as could be expected along with Elves, Dwarves and other magical creatures. The Elves call this the Birnham Wood.
Because the hamlet of Scary is tucked up against the southwest corner of the forest the most likely interactions with the forest occur along the Old Forest Way on the way to Frogmorton. The other place honest travelers brush up against the Old Forest is when The Long South Road leaves Stock and heads north towards Hobbiton.
Some travelers trying to avoid careful observation or taxation along The Long South Road take to the wilderness on the western edges of the Old Forest. Smugglers or traders will balance skirting the edge of the forest with the hillier slopes of the mountains to go north around the Old Forest and then into Tuckborough in the West Shire or continue through the open lands to the North Shire and the Wildlands beyond. These paths are little more than game tracks through the rough country.
Hidden in the forest is the grey elf village of Cawdor. Under the forest is the dark elf settlement of Glamis and the hill dwarf enclave of Northambria. During the Court of Thanes story arc the group became entangled in the politics of these settlements.
