Liam tells you that the Maenads are a nomadic sea faring race, they get itchy feet on land if they stay too long in one spot.
They setup tiny fishing villages at various spots in the archipelago and stay for a few months while the fishing is good. His people have a tiny flotilla of ships, maybe 30, with 10 of them being stouter vessels (Schooners,Frigates,Barques, Brigantines) also The Vhem's corruption seems to end about a quarter mile off the northern coast of the continent.
There building's are primarily composed of bits taken from their boats, or actual shanty's that they Detach from their ships. It takes about 3 days for the maenads of his tribe to setup town once they pick a spot, and they can pick up and move just as fast. The maenads are a zero trace group and they leave a spot exactly how they found it. His tribe, the star whisperer's are unusual compared to the other few dozen or so because they have a monastic tradition and seem to produce unchained with more frequency. Most Maenads you'll meet possess at least some degree of psionic skill, and his chief is a skilled wilder.
As far as finding a guide to Vhem amongst his people, he can't think of anybody quite crazy enough to head in there. This is the closest inland he has been to the continent, and the only reason he came was in an attempt to rescue any crewmen of your boat before they got eaten alive by the bugs here.
They will sting you with paralytic poison and gnaw you to death slowly. In addition they secrete a strong anticoagulant from their mandibles and it prevents you from bleeding to death and it also amplifies your agony while they eat you alive.
Getting killed by most of the Vhem is a fate worse than death and I try to help whenever I can.
Our tribes do not war with one another, however there is a strong sense of competition. We meet twice a year and participate in great hunts of the nastier sea beasts in the area (not Vhem Wyrms!) and our elders hold council then. Our tribes sometimes consist of humans and rarer other races that we rescue or come to learn Psionic arts from us. In maenad society the easiest path to success is to contribute something to the group. (They are a very socialist people) A small gift of food, an offering of a weapon or tool, or even a grand story around the fire will cement your good will with my people. Never refuse a gift at the time that it is given, it is a terrible insult that brings dishonor and shame to the giver. If you truly do not want what is given, return it in private politely.
The maenads remain in this area for two reasons, one being that it is our ancestral lands. My people once lived in thriving metropolis's like the ones on Primael, but long before the Vhem came, a great cataclysm occurred that sank most of our nation beneath the sea. Great ruins and our legendary Maenad Monoliths surround the great northern archipelago. The Monoliths sprout lesser crystal patches that we farm around them. The fragments contain great psionic power, and the Monoliths themselves resonate with powerful energy that keeps all but the strongest of Vhem Wyrms from crossing the threshold. The second reason that the maenads remain is that our chained will feel a great and supernatural longing for the archipelago if they are gone for more than year. This place seems to provide spiritual sustenance for my people and the longings for it amongst our chained are unbearable.
Well that is pretty much all he can think of as far a specifics go, they have their own holidays and traditions and such, however they change from tribe to tribe and it would take you weeks to learn the rituals and slang of the maenad people, pretty much everything else you'll have to learn through observation of their culture first hand.
Also each tribe has its own heroes, some chained and other not, but he strongly doubts that there are any willing adventurers ready to explore the continent of chaos.
