Drúedain

The Drúedain were the odd, mysterious race of Men that lived in the Drúadan Forest. More commonly known as the Woses, they were without a doubt one the least numerous races in Middle-earth—Druadan forest was small, not big enough to support more than a minor settlement.

Characteristics

In appearance, the Woses were short, stumpy bodied men, possibly related to the Pukel-men of ancient Rohan. They had disproportionate bodies and small, sunken eyes that glowed red when they were angry or suspicious. Elves described them as 'unlovely', and their general reception in Middle-earth is similar to that position. Many men of Rohan and Gondor thought that the forest was haunted.

Though the Woses largely held themselves apart from the troubles and calamities of Middle-earth, they were clearly a good-hearted people: their most significant contribution to the Free Peoples was showing the Rohirrim paths through their forest. Without their aid, the Rohirrim would have arrived at the Pelennor Fields much later, suffering losses from an Orc army that was waiting for them. The Woses then used poison-darts and arrows to hold off an army of Orcs searching for the Rohirrim.

Beyond that, though, their contribution to the history of Middle-earth is little. Even after the War of the Ring, when King Elesssar granted the Drúadan Forest to be theirs forever, they never showed their faces again, nor was any alliance or trading system struck up between them and Gondor.

There is no record of their acts in the Fourth Age, but it is clear that they never mingled with the Free Peoples, content to live their mysterious life in the Drúadan Forest, until they faded away into the mists of history and legend.