Barrow

This important trail junction, site of the new Hobbit village of Oatbarton , took its common name from a distinctively shaped hill overlooking the Greenfields Trail at the point where it crossed Biersin Stream (S.Belsensintor "Peaceful Resting Stream"). The hill had the circular loaf-shape of an ancient barrow, and even possessed the half-buried traces of a few ancient megaliths along it's crown. The Elves, however , claimed no knowledge of any abandoned Adan settlements in the area. Those who took the Elves' story seriously pondered the promontory's presence, for what could be older then an immortal? No one who lived near Barrow ever got lost as the hill was never far from their minds. They took a constant unconscious bearing on it all through the day and night. The summit appeared as a constant background feature in their dreams. Because most folk dreaed primarily of their home ground, few mortals noticed this peculiarity ; Elves did , and they seldom came here. Since the Elves had little use for the valley around Barrow, the Tarmas acquired rights to the region early. The Marwens, a knightly family sworn to House Tarma since early Arnorian times , built a timber and stone hall ,Bar Edhelas or Edileaf House , upstream from the landmark hill centuries ago. The Elves did not allow the Marwenath to build a fortified castle, nor did they permit any large scale settlement. Edileaf House and the Hobwood Inn, situated directly at the junction , had traditionally been the only sizeable buildings in the area. Aradan en-Marwen inherited the family fortune around the turn of the 17th century. As the Marwen estates along Lake Evendim offered little prospect of increased wealth, he sought instead to enlarge his lands in the Tarmaladen , taking advantage of the declining strength of the Elves.More than any other Tarma knight , Aradan saw the Hobbit settlement as a direct threat to his ambitions. Harfoots of the Corburr and Greenroot clans had moved into the forest west of Hobwood Inn in TA.1625. Aradan had attempted to move the "squatters" out by force but found his legal rights meant little on ground cleared by his own peasants. The Corburrs founded Oatbarton Grange, across the Greenfields Trace from the inn , at the end of the year. Since then, other clans had moved into the valley , the Trace and the barrow-hill serving as a divide between the Marwen lands and Oatbarton colony.

The Grange
While nominally just a building for grain storage, the Grange now served as the center of local trade. If open fighting broke out, its walls were unusually thick for a granary ; the Grange could also serve as a fort for the Hobbits. They might have well needed one. Bandits roamed this area ; suspiciously, they troubled mainly Hobbits and travellers from the outside. Aradan, unable to recruit enough Arthadan commoners to expand his holdings ,had brought in Dunmen from Cardolan to work his fields and a small company of Dwarvish mercenaries to protect them. The first action had bred resentment among the Marwen peasants, who bore strong racial animosity agains the Daen ; they no longer trusted their lord. The second move had caused a reaction of fear and panic among the Hobbits of Oatbarton. Dwarvish soldiers were of little use chasing bandits through the woods, but they might be just the thing for digging Hobbits out of their holes. Two locations in this valley remained neutral ground : Hobwood Inn and the barrow-hill itself. The owner of Hobwood Inn, Gellain Oakwye , was an aging Eriadoran (with a trace of fey blood ) who had "friends in the woods". Gellain, who ran his inn peacefully for two centuries before Aradan's arrival , did not tolerate violence or political argument. Aradan, who depended s on an Elvish charter for his position , seldom crossed the innkeeper. The barrow-hill, considered by many a good location for picnics and berry-picking , nonetheless remained an imposing feature.

The Fey
The barrow-hill was th e focus of an ancient spirit,Featiriel-mi-Nole (S. "The Spirit that Watched in Contemplation"), a Maia , who had faded from the world of Ambar virtually beyond the ability of any living being to sense its presence. Only those who had lived in the Undying Lands (such as Gandalf or Galadriel ) or another Ainur, such as Bombadil or Mock the Trickster could communicate with the barrow-spirit at will.