Tailain

(Sak. "Wicker Cache") Tailain was a village of the Ethir-folk, situated in the northwestern part of the Mouths of Anduin. The village Was the principal center for the crafting of wicker baskets, woven from the reeds of the Ethir, which its folk traded in Pelargir and other nearby markets in exchange for needed goods. Tailain was also the hearth of the Cher Taeol, the tribe most closely associated with the Cult of Benish Armon. It was here that the priestess of the cult dwelt while not engaged in religious ceremonies. The village was built on six small islands formed from alternating layers of mud and reed mats. Each islet was surrounded by a fence of sharpened stakes and was connected to the others by bridges made out of tied flat bottom boats. The walls and elevated walkways detered swamp dragons. Fishing boats moored in nooks, where their pilots tied them to exposed tree roots or stakes driven into the swampy bed. Livestock pens stood safely inside the compounds, right beside the common house. Each cross-shaped common house provided the villagers a place to gather, share meals, and socialize. Like the other huts, it was constructed of reeds. A back room accommodated the hamlet's rare visitors. Although built of light material, the structures ideally fitted the needs of the Ethir-folk. The arched reed construction of their homes enabled them to construct or tear down a communal house in a matter of hours, while their movable wall panels let them alter their shelters according to the wind, temperature, and rainfall. Even the seemingly crude reed mat foundations served a purpose, for as they settled, new layers could be added.