Lynchwood
Lynchwoods lurked near towns and other small settlements that lacked a sufficient militia or powerful adventurers to hunt down and destroy the trees.
This was the first sign that the Elven villages and towns were near. The Elven settlement was found on the edge of the Maze Forest, the reason why Ren still hadn't found an Elven village yet.
The Lynchwood prey at night, hunting those who flee into the woods after committing a crime. Many communities were content to coexist with a Lynchwood, using the creature as an extreme solution to the criminal element in its society.
Or in this case, the Lynchwoods were used to guard some secret lair and secrets.
Those who were guilty of evil found no mercy from a Lynchwood. It couldn't be bribed, persuaded, or tricked into sparing the guilty, no matter how repentant they may be. Death by hanging was always a Lynchwoods sentence.