Grimsly Dale

A Harfoot farming village located in a bend of the Fairwater River. Although few remembered it, there had once been a scenic trail in the area that was a popular sidetrip on the Wodland Tour. Reason for its popularity could be discerned in the dense concentration of berry bushes and flowering plants along the riverside paths. The village got its name, however, from the bones of men and horses that also turned up along the trail. A large party of Dunedain were ambushed here during the Scourging of T.A. 1409 . Harfoots of t e Sorra clan were clearing ground for farms in Grimsly Dale in defiance of the valley' s foreboding history. Loggers from Nobottle, never fond of this part of the valley , worked alongside the Hobbits in the first years of the settlement , clearing ground and taking a share of the timber for pay. Later, as the Harfoots gained in numbers and confidence , most were pulling out. Part of the reason was the tall, shadowy , forms that sometimes watched folk as they finished their chores at twilight—the kind of shadows that paniced cattle and dogs , but disappeared when a strong light was cast on them. The Hobbits were careful to burn or bury whatever bones or artifacts] they dugg up, but there was a pail of fear over nightfall in Grimsly Dale . Whispers noted how quickly some of the veteran loggers seemed to have aged , and how newcomers were having ugly dreams , full of thoughts of violence and revenge . The true story was known to noone save certain minions of the [[Witch-king . During the Second Northern War , an Arthadan family traveling north from Cardolan were diverted from the main trail by a traitorous kinsman . They were ambushed , but triggered the crystalline artifacts they were carrying home . Magic was released that slew everyone involved , victims and attackers alike . Most of the bodies , including many still living were swallowed alive by the soil of the forest . Finrod Aelinor , the traitor , was a secret sorcerer ; instead of haunting the woods as a ghost or shade , he became a revenant or lich , something neither dead nor alive . Still buried , he cast spells from the site of his burial place , tangled in the roots of an ancient oak tree . He hoped to free himself , awaiting the opportunity that would come if someone dug up the enchanted crystals . Annunlor , the party's Siranna scout , unknowingly had aided Finrod' s treachery by telling the travellers of the beautiful flowers to be seen along this path . His ghost , although maddened by guilt , would give adventurers clue s concerning the story behind the ambush and the location of the artifacts . Only someone with skill in herblore and a working knowledge of Sindarin could understand his cryptic references to forest plants.