Before Cold's Bite

As the wind begins to bring more than just the chill of autumn, a recognizable redhead wanders up and down the length of the woods and exposed landscape, starting from outside Shadowdale's borders and making her way slowly and carefully to the east, through North Ride, Rimwood, and along the borders of the Cormanthor, saving the massive forest for later after the other areas are cleaned.

She carries a fat, but light-on-the-shoulder satchel, its bulkiness giving reasonable conclusion to others that what is being tucked within might weigh less than it appears. Every so often, upon coming across a living, still growing plant getting ready for colder weather, the female stoops down to collect from it before moving on, leaving the plant naked and digging up the occasional hole around them. Returning the dirt to the hole within seconds, as if with a practiced pace, she moves onwards silently.

Spoiler:

Every so often when she encounters an animal hunkering down for the season, she communes with them, offering them the chance to follow her back to her Grove, or to reside closer to the barriers that protect it from intruders. Most who would likely follow would be young, still fresh from their mother's womb due to the heavy activity of death and destruction upon the land... the animals having little time to grow and flourish as they normally might, much like the foliage that cannot be forcefully grown and would often take years to reach full size.

Many of the plants around the Dales and Cormanthor have finally been picked clean, leaving them naked in the cold winter. There are also an extremely small amount of wild animals traversing the open landscape, many having gone into hibernation, or departed the area entirely. To where they have gone would likely be unknown to the general observer. Most were spirited to the Grove or Lyon's forest, in an effort to keep them safe during the troubled times in the land.

Those with a deeper connection to nature might summarize that the Arch Druidess and a select few other nature-denizens have since collected many of the younger beasts, protecting them in glades and groves during the land's time of peril. Many hunters and foragers would find little to offer save for the bare minimum in the Dalelands and Cormanthor wilds.