An old dwarf of the Lonely Mountain can learn a lot in exile. For Kragosi it was that a good dwarven axe can be well suited for the lumberjack's trade, when you've no other choice. Hundreds of years spent in overland forests taught him woodworking in place of stone, and talent for keeping critters at bay while he works. 

It's really not all that unusual: it's all a matter of measures. The woods actually provide quite a sense of timelessness and tradition. Not compared to dwarven halls, perhaps, but certainly to the fickle whims of humans. The forests offered a far greater measure of what Crag was lacking than the humans could ever provide. On the whole nature looked and acted the same year after year, constant minor changes of course, but on the whole it's nothing if not consistent and mostly predictable.​

It can be no coincidence that around this same time, things fell through with the woman he loved. She was human and that meant a great deal of learning on both sides; Crag lost the few dwarves he still knew of. Their relationship lasted ten years, after which she decided she'd invested enough and wanted to move on and start having kids...but to him they were just getting started, and he felt she was lacking commitment and going back on what they'd decided together. Becoming sullen and withdrawn, losing trust in the race of man, he left the constant noise of the lumber yard to live by himself and off the land. (He rarely speaks of that village lass now, but it's rumored that he named his horse after her.)

That might explain his earthier behavior in such matters: instead of judging a plant by color or smell, he will often taste the soil or rub a bit in his fingers. Roots carve through the ground like dwarf tunnels, and in both there's a purpose to the digging. Kragosi's been at it for hundreds of years now, and when planting an acorn he can predict just what directions its branches will grow with a modicum of accuracy.

His skill with the greener sides of Endor is starting become more well known, with the Bree-folk coming to him as a sort of consultant just as he had plans to retire. From "problems" with the festival grounds hedge maze to problems with the walking trees of the Old Forest, he's having a far more vigorous retirement than he'd planned.

"Crag" Tackletrunk now hires out as a trail guide over rough ridges and sheer cliffs, though his body can't take much more of it. He should carve himself a rocking chair and retire, but an oath made to a dying friend sends him to Fullbridge, to watch after a daughter left behind. What else will he find there?