As if the high tax rate in Falcon’s Hollow weren’t enough to stif le its people and keep them poor and working, the Lumber Consortium—which owns the small town and provides a living to most of its residents—charges outrageous rents for tiny, dingy houses and boarding house rooms. Despite the unconscionable way in which it treats its employees and their dependants, the Lumber Consortium possesses carte blanche north of the Foam River. Thanks to its monopoly hold on the timber trade in Darkmoon Vale (especially the exceedingly valuable darkwood), the consortium can effectively hold Andoran hostage, threatening to cut off the darkwood supply whenever the country’s leaders become too interested in its affairs.
From the River Foam to the foothills of the Five Kings Mountains, nearly every coin of profit made is thanks to the draconian methods of the Lumber Consortium. Beyond Darkmoon Wood, however, other types of business f lourish. In the foothills, a handful of heavily guarded dwarven mines have recently reopened, providing both silver and iron. Because these operations remain small and various monsters continue to plague the area, the supplies of metal from the mines barely affect the region’s economy. More notably, the town of Olfden provides numerous services and goods to the vale’s largest source of outside gold: adventurers and explorers. Nearly any item such groups could need is available for sale in Olfden (including items of magic).