Caravel Towns of The Hedge
The Great Hedge that surrounds the courts of Avalon is a dangerous and ever-shifting landscape where setting down roots in one place is as foreign of a concept as it is foolish. The Hedge moves of its own volition, as a living spellmaze crafted in the days of High Magic by the first courts of the Elladrin and thus where one rests their head at night on any given eve is unlikely to be the same sky and forest they awake to. Creatures of legend and fable also roam its woods searching for prey and folly amongst the briar. Safety and permanence are things quite alien to the denizens of the Feywild. And so to reside within the Hedge for any long period of time either requires an unusual appetite for danger and cunning, or to join one of the many Caravel Towns of the Hedge.
A caravel town and its citizens may survive and subsist in many numbers of ways. The most common imagery that comes to mind are simple wagons pulled by any number of animals or working beasts but that is hardly the full scope of what a caravel town may embody. There are caravel towns of the merrow built upon the backs of turtles, as well as great land ships driven by the force of lunar sails. There are cities of walking hands bearing wizard towers, houses on chicken legs, great magitech spider-crawlers built by native gnome tribes, and many caravels may simply be built on the backs of enormous beasts and elementals.
The cultures of these towns are as diverse and varied as their citizens who by and large may have come from any number of places before joining the caravel. Travelers from across the multiverse have found themselves in the Great Hedge either by choice, trap, trick or folly and the caravels are the only promising havens except for sheer dumb luck in the spellmaze. Even should a wanderer of the Hedge stumble upon a caravel town they may have not truly reached a haven. Nomadic societies often have scarce resources on hand as nothing is promised or guaranteed in the spellmaze, even basic necessities, and the citizens of a caravel may prove of ill-temperament with unproven wanderers.
"So you've found yourself lost in the Great Hedge, huh? Stepped through a ring of toadstools did we? Or were you fetched from your crib in the dead of night? No matter, you're here now so listen close for this is the only advice I can offer: Find yourself a Caravel to travel with and make yourself as efficacious as you can. Caravel life is hard work but trust me you'll prefer it over taking the Hedge Knight's Oath to the courts or ending up in the gullet of some fabled monster's jaw. Be kind, be useful, and most of all beware."
The Caravels
Traveling to and from any plane is a perilous adventure, but the Feywild presents many more unique challenges than most and thus chronicles of it are few and far between. Of the many confirmed accounts that have been brought back there are number of caravel cities which *seemingly* have survived the changing of the seasons and the passing of the Crown of Calyx from year to year and have demonstrated to some travelers a willingness to cooperate with others. On the other side of that coin are the Caravels which have expressed the opposite ideals. We have done our best to catalogue these nomadic settlements to the best of our ability:
Turtlerock
This caravel town was founded on the back of a great Dragon Turtle and is inhabited by a clan of awakened animals and living personifications. It has been detailed as being a friendly caravel willing to offer safe harbor to those in need for a short while and exchange goods and services. As one of the oldest known caravels in the Hedge it has gained a reputation as being "the blueprint" for how to endure the trials and tribulations of this realm and has a high standing in the courts of Avalon (as high as anyone uninvited to the courts can rank, at least).Arborhall
Arborhall is not a singular nomadic tribe traveling the Hedge but rather a loose collective used to describe the myriad of scattered peoples wandering by caravel through the great woodlands. These caravels are lead by work animals ranging from giant elks in the forest, great monitor lizards in the swamplands, and kelpies along the winding and ever shifting riverways; But the particular animals used for such caravel settlements can be anything trained to hall wagons, carts and canoes. These caravel towns usually follow in the footsteps of the herd animals of the woods and when they cross paths may decide to join together in larger bands provided their tribes find common community and the resources to sustain it. Of course when they don't a great deal of bad blood can be born and there are some feuds that are generations in the making.
Oldriddle
The caravel town of Oldriddle is a mystery wrapped in an enigma. It is by and large the newest caravel city within the Hedge and its denizens all refugees from an event they collectively were drawn into the Feywild by yet none will speak of what exactly it was. They are comprised largely of dwarves, gnomes, and humans and their caravel exists as a singular, enormous ship walking on mechanical legs. They've been said to have strange metals in their possession, as well as odd machinery and tools the like of which none understand. They remain wary and vigilant of all outsiders, trading with them only sparingly, while seemingly collecting information and oddities for 'research' purposes.Grimmgully
The Grimgully is less of an organized, singular caravel all working in unison and harmony as much as it is a collective of barbarian forces who occasionally share meat around a fire as they scour, raid and plunder the Hedge for all its worth. Might makes right, and survival of the fittest are the order of the day with these unsavory utilitarians. Should you encounter a warband of Grimmgully out in the Hedge most tales of them advise to run for your lives. Grimgully warriors have a preference for capturing those they stumble across, bringing them back to their camps and field dressing them before eating them. This caravel and its brutal denizens do tend to serve as a strong arm for the seasons of the courts of Avalon who are not in power. Some call this the "Rule of Hobb" within the Hedge, as the lower courts of the seasons may not be able to act against their brother and sister courts upon the throne 'directly' but can still scheme and shuffle the playing cards by proxy.
Balebriar
And finally there are the Balebriar caravels, the homes of Hedge-witches, hags, druids, and other mystics within the wood. There are many tales of houses on chicken legs walking through the forest in the dead of night, or mystical towers appearing out of thin air during a lightning storm. These caravels are without doubt risky business to approach for one can be certain whoever dwells within has a appreciate for the arcane or occult arts. Have you stumbled upon a woodland alchemist who may offer you lotions and potions or have you just knocked on the door of an ancient woodland lich? Only the brave or the foolish would dare find out.
Because the Great Hedge has no true economy due to its denizens living nomadic lives, travelers who appear here hoping to trade for services and goods with any gold coins they might have stumbled through a Realm Door with on their persons may find themselves in a pickle (well, more of one). Few things in the Hedge are considered as innately valuable except one: Crystal Fruit otherwise known as Mermaid Tears. Crystal fruits are crystallized essences of High Magic from the Feywild before the coming of the first Great Wolf of Winter. They are brilliant stones that gleam and glitter in the light of the stars but are otherwise perfectly useless to the average denizens of the Hedge save for the fact that the Elladrin covet them and may be willing to strike a bargain in exchange for them.
So cool, I love this!