Cedarspoke is a small, isolated city in Gulthmere Forest. It sits astride the Cedar River and rarely interacts with the outside world. Some claim that the folk here enjoy living simple, rural lives; away from the hubbub of the major cities of the Dragon Coast. Others claim that they are haughty egotists, who look down on outsiders, while hoarding the wealth of Gulthmere Forest for themselves.
Not helping their reputation is their insistence on always correcting those who mention the city's name. To many outsiders, especially those along the Dragon Coast, the city is called Cedarspoke. However, the locals insist, for some unknown reason, on calling it Cedarsproke. As such, most visiting it simply take to referring to it as the City of Cedar to avoid an argument. Indeed, the City of Cedar is a fitting name for it.
The city's chief exports are high-quality woods and objects crafted from those woods. The large presence of high-quality wood means that, if the city were free to begin large-scale logging, it could quickly prove to be one of the most prosperous cities along the Dragon Coast. However, the circle of druids that rule over the city and that protect the surrounding forest would never allow that to happen. They insist on maintaining the “balance” between nature and civilisation.
These druids contribute to Cedarspoke's reputation as a city of haughty elves and humans. Any who visit Cedarspoke are likely to be warned about the druids that patrol Gulthmere Forest, and the fate that awaits those who cause too much damage to the forest. That's not to say they turn away anyone looking to enter the forest. In fact, the druids can be almost courteous when they need help from outsiders.
Lycanthropes and incursions from the
Feywild plague the deepest reaches of the forest. Adventurers sometimes delve into the forest
to clear out these monsters, in the vain hope of gaining gratitude from the druids. Other
adventurers delve into the forest in the hopes of finding gemstones (which the forest is said to
be rich in) and other assorted treasures.