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Wood-elves were also known as Forest Elves. Members of this elven subrace mainly lived deep within the great primeval forests.
Their hair ranged from blond and black to copper-red. They were sturdier than other elves, and their clothes were mostly dark green and earth tones, allowing them to blend in with the forest. Their homes were treehouses built high in the crowns of enormous ancient trees, tens or even hundreds of meters above the ground, merging directly with the trees and living in symbiosis with them. Vines formed winding stairways connecting the trees and their homes.
So outsiders unfamiliar with the wood-elves—or those who weren't welcome—might not even manage to climb the ancient trees and reach the wood-elves' homes.
Of course, although wood-elves lived in trees, they weren't monkeys.
Quite the opposite!
Like the mysterious druidic order known as the Emerald Enclave, which dedicated itself to protecting the order and balance of nature in Faerûn, wood-elves loved nature and had developed an entire civilization around living in harmony with it.
It was said that wood-elves got along exceedingly well with the Emerald Enclave and shared a natural affinity with them. As a result, every wood-elf settlement was guarded by druids of the Emerald Enclave who could transform into giant owls or leopards.
Naturally, there were also wood-elf rangers among them.
With these guardians around, outsiders—especially ill-intentioned strangers—would generally find it extremely difficult to break into a wood-elf settlement.
But this wood-elf territory was an exception. It was near Neverwinter, had been attacked by the lord's soldiers, and had been declared enemy territory, home to traitors!
Today, in this wood-elf settlement, inside the towering treehouse tavern—a place usually visited only by members of the mysterious Emerald Enclave or wood-elf residents—a strange party arrived. It consisted of a human, a female