Annotated Shadows Over Garenport map

Let's annotate my new SHADOWS OVER GARENPORT map, shall we? Most of the important locations are detailed a little bit in the 5x5 supercut, or the original posts, but I'll briefly mention them here too, as well as the other areas that are either newly labeled, or which the 5x5s don't assume the PCs will get to, just for background info.

As noted in the last post, this is ~95% or so of the Hill Country. Technically there's an expansion region just to the west of this map, with some ranches and homesteads on the western slopes of the Sabertooth Mountains, in the so-called Cactus Balds dry foothills. That said, there isn't anything developed there from my point of view yet other than that there are dry foothills called the Cactus Balds between the Sabertooth Mountains and the Boneyard desert basin, and that hillmen settlers live thinly in said hills, so you're not missing much. The Boneyard, the Indash Salt Sea, and the northern attachments to the Baal Hamazi section of the map (really Lower Kurushat in this case) would be to the northwest of this section of the map, and Timischburg is to the southwest, west of the Knifetop Mountains. I've never mapped out anything to the north, east or south of this, but Hyperborea would (eventually) be found north of here, Gunaakt would (eventually) be found to the south, and "the Old Country" lands where the hillmen and Timischers ancestors ultimately came from are somewhere vaguely to the east, including Normaund, Skeldale, Carlovingia, Culmerland and Brynach.

Some of those areas are out of scope for the entire setting, and while they'll be vaguely referenced, I'll never do any development of them at all. And, of course, some of them will be further developed in the next two campaign plans, as I make them.

Northumbria This is one of the two largest component areas of the Hill Country, and mostly falls under the political and social orbit of the large city Garenport. The Umber River is considered the dividing line between Northumbria and Southumbria overall, although once the river empties into Waychester Bay it doesn't quite work that way anymore; Northumbria also contains the Garenkarst Peninsula down to the southern edge of the two bays of the Darkling Sea.

Southumbria This is the other major component area of the Hill Country, and is similarly under the influence of its biggest city, Barrowmere, on the shores of the large Lake Byewick. Whereas the elites of Northumbria recall the privileged position of nobility and royals in the courts of the Old Countries and look to recreate them somewhat, the Southumbrians are more dedicated culturally to the flatter, less hierarchical society that the hillmen have always enjoyed since leaving the Old Countries. Important landed gentry, successful merchants, artisans, and political leaders, etc. certainly have more influence than others, but in theory, there is nothing preventing anyone from reaching those ranks if they're hard working, ambitious and a little lucky, so they resist the self-styled Grand Duke of Garenport and his ambitions to unite the Hill Country into a Hill Kingdom with himself as the first king, driving an important political wedge between an otherwise united hillmen people.

Wolfwood Serving effectively as the northern edge of the developed setting, and a formidable barrier to travel further north, the Wolfwood is largely trackless, gigantic, full of dangerous wildlife, monsters, bandits and savages, and more. It represents the epitome of dangerous and untamable wilderness, and PCs wandering under its outer eaves will find that it shares features with Tolkien's Mirkwood, The Old Forest, Fangorn Forest, and the great Black Forests of Germanic mythology which were an effective boundary to their known world in the earliest Middle Ages.

Great Bight An area that is having some very tentative settlement by hillmen looking to escape the crowds and politics of the south. This is a combination of a natural bight in the woods, along with some felling of trees and clearing of land to expand it slightly. There aren't as yet any reliable roads, villages or towns in this area, but it's not completely unsettled either, and if wandering this area, you'll find it a mix of open wilderness and small homestead farmers of hardy hillmen.

East Marches While Northumbria and Southumbria are the two main regions of the Hill Country, there are two smaller and less culturally significant smaller regions too, the East and West Marches. The East Marches are north and east of the Darkling Sea. Cayminster is a significant port city that serves as a kind of gateway to the East Marches, although its still aligned with Garenport, and is considered part of Northumbria proper. The real center of the "movement" if you will of the East Marches is Burlharrow, a modest city or largish town with a fairly independent minded populace that is both still somewhat dependent economically on trade with Garenport (through Cayminster) yet also more and more resentful of its influence, and pulling away from it in ways that they can.

Woodrow's Hamlets A new settlement that the Sovereign faction in Burlharrow is encouraging growth in. Mostly its disaffected Northumbrians, leaving their cities behind, who are driving the settlement of this fairly clement and fertile farmland on the eastern shores of the Darkling Sea. But some of their own Marcher people are relocated to this area, as well as Southumbrians and others, and it is a place to watch for future development.

Darkling Sea A very large freshwater sea, comparable in size to the Great Lakes; the main body being more or less Lake Superior sized, while the Waychester Bay and Waybight are respectively like an attached Lake Huron and Lake Michigan hanging down from it. Because it's a more Western themed lake, it's not meant to imply that it would look like Michigan or Ontario, simply that that's about the size it is. The water is warmer than the Great Lakes. Maybe prehistoric Lake Bonneville would be a better comparison, or an extra large Black Sea during the Ancient Greece period. The water is fresh, not too cold, full of fish, and not overly stormy, making it a fairly reliable and fast thoroughfare relative to traveling by land around it. Most of the cities, towns and sleepy fishing villages on it are hillmen in nature, owing fealty or at least a tributary relationship to either Northumbria or Southumbria, but Lomar is the big exception.

Chersky Island A previously abandoned island on the Darkling Sea. Relatively large, capable of supporting a number of small villages, it had been largely ignored by the hillmen except for a handful of hermits or loners, and even Kurushat and Baal Hamazi when they swept over the area in the past did little with it (the Hamazin built a few forts, but they were only occupied for relatively few years). More recently, orcling refugees have petitioned the various local governments to be allowed to settle on it so that they wouldn't bother the locals as they migrated northwards by forming ghettoes or other hot spots for unrest among the hillmen, and now there are several small villages of orclings who farm, fish and otherwise keep to themselves, attempting to build an independent new nation in the region.

Cayminster An important trading city on the northern shores of the Darkling Sea. It's pretty bustling, and serves as "the gateway to the East Marches" not to mention anyone else who traffics for any reason in the northern reaches of the sea. As well as being an important port city, it's also a major hub on the Eastern portion of the Great Northern Road. It is almost completely hillmen in ethnicity, and has close political and social ties with Garenport.

Burlharrow As mentioned above in the East Marches entry, Burlharrow is the hub and center of activity for the entire East Marches region, which is politically and socially kind of a break-away region, refusing to bend the knee to the elites of Garenport, yet still needing them economically. 

Lomar Another important city on the northwestern edge of the Darkling Sea. Although many hillmen live here as an important plurality, it is really a city of the graymen, fleeing the wreck of Old Hyperborea. The original arrivals, settlers and founders of the city were from the civilized city-state of Zobna within Hyperborea. The Zobnans are friendly with the hillmen, welcoming many of them in their city (and many of them traveling, trading and otherwise traipsing across the Hill Country in turn) and the culture of Lomar has become largely syncretic; many Hillmen customs, political ideas, and even fashions have become second-nature to the Zobnans of Lomar. However, there is also a more recently arrived plurality of Old Hyperboreans from the city-state of Nyx, and they are much more jingoistic, and unwilling to assimilate to hillmen customs, or even Zobnan customs, causing a great deal of social and political conflict in Lomar. See the graymen racial deep dive for more information (note that I wrote that before I adopted the name of graymen, so I still call them just Hyperboreans.)

Calak A notorious orcling pirate haven on Chersky Island

Barion, Wrynn, Edenna and Roclus Peaceful (mostly) villages of orcling farmers and fishers on Chersky Island.

Kavust Prairie A wide expanse of fairly dry grassland stretching far to the east of the Darkling Sea. Sometimes called the Great Eastern Desert (although desert in this case shouldn't be taken too literally; think of the Great Plains prior to the advent of windmill driven wells, making the land unsuitable for much of anything except buffalo hunting) it presents a formidable barrier to travel to the east. Although the founders of the the Hill Country and even the elite class of Timischburg originally came from the east, they did so in generations past when the climate was a little wetter and cooler, making travel more manageable. As the Kavust Prairie has become drier, it is nearly impossible to cross easily. Dry electrical storms, lightning strikes and wildfires are common deep in the prairie. Dangerous wildlife and reputed haunted sections make it even worse. It's been many years since regular immigrants from the Old Countries crossed over to the Three Realms.

Great Northern Road An ancient highway built before the arrival of the hillmen that travels all the way from Burlharrow to Vuukrat and beyond to the shores of the sea in Baal Hamazi, built and otherwise maintained by the Hamazin and Kurushat empires, it originally went only as far as Lomar. The extension from Lomar to Cayminster is relatively newly built; for many years traffic between the two was done rather by ship (and much of it still is.) This new section is still somewhat primitive compared to the paved stone ancient sections of the road. The road from Cayminster to Burlharrow is now considered the easternmost extent of the Great Northern Road, but in reality, that road existed already before the connection between Lomar and Cayminster was built, so it got "grandfathered" into the Great Northern Road designation by fiat. In reality, this section is better maintained and more heavily traveling than the preceding section between Lomar and Cayminster. However, as the threat of orcling piracy on the Darkling Sea has become more serious, more and more merchants and travelers are preferring the road to the sea, so traffic has seen an uptick in recent years.

Only the eastern half of the Great Northern Road shows up on this map, of course, but it extends considerably farther to the west.

Plateau of Leng This mysterious geographic feature is more than just an imposing physical feature, it is also a magnet for queerness and dark sorcery, and evil people and things have been known to live there since time immemorial. Luckily, they are mostly content to stay high up on their plateau, so little is known about this place, other than to avoid it. In any case, it doesn't feature in the campaign, so I'll not elaborate too much on it here, other than to point out that it is known to be inhabited by cannibals, ghouls, and even more foul creatures. Although not shown on this map, the benighted city of Kadath of the Great Ones is located here, and the infamous Vale of Pnath; a deep cleft on the top of the plateau.

Bucknerfeld Built around and even within the caldera of an old extinct volcano at the northern edge of the Sabertooth Mountains, and close to the salt flats where once the shore of the receding Indash Salt Sea (to the west of this map) came, Bucknerfeld is another fairly cosmopolitan city. Although currently considered a hillman expansion settlement, its position on the Great Northern Road means that leftovers from the Hamazin and Kurushat empire still linger here too. It is the most important (and most northerly, so far) city of the West Marches, which mostly extend south of here along the Cactus Balds, foothills of the Sabertooth Mountains on the western slopes.

Sabertooth Mountains A large mountain range, similar to parts of the Rockies or Alps that separates the Hill Country from the lands to the west of it (except see Bucknerfeld above.) Rough, difficult to travel through or even to, they are an imposing and effective barrier to the west, with few passes, all of which are difficult to find and cross. However, to both the north and south of the range, the land is lower, and the Great Northern Road passes just to the north of the range, and the Fenroad that crosses through Eltdown connects Southumbria to Timischburg.

Goldenwold A grassy prairie that is mostly unsettled, although large tracts of farmlands on either side of the Umber River is growing year by year across it. As of now, it's mostly a barren big game land notable for large herds of buffalo, wild horse, and antelope, as well as the red cheetahs, red lions, sabertooths, cougars, bears, wolves, coyotes, and other predators that hunt them. Many hunters also come to take the enormous ivory tusks of the naked mammoths and hairy mastodons that still roam this territory as well, prompting some of the landed gentry in the area to push for some control of the territory so that they're not over-hunted.

Umber River The largest river of the region, providing irrigation to the farmlands between the Goldenwold and the Copper Hills, as well as the technical boundary between the regions of Northumbria and Southumbria—although the rural inhabitants of this region tend to care less about the politics of Barrowmere and Garenport, and don't particularly consider themselves overly loyal to either. In fact, many of them are somewhat impatient and exasperated with the political division between the two halves of their people, and believe that it should be done away with, and the Hill Country go back to being a united nation of one hillmen people. The river itself is not navigable, due to rapids, waterfalls, and an extended wooded area that is dangerous to cross, so few major settlements have sprung up along its sides as of yet.

Tazitta Hills An area of drier badlands, where hillmen are generally not welcome. The inhabitants, such as there are, of this area are leftover Tazitta tribesmen (hence the name) who were still here in scattered small bands when the hillmen arrived; although rumors of their ancient more powerful and prosperous polities of the past suggest that they were once a much more widespread and powerful and civilized people than the rump end of their populace that was left for the hillmen to discover.

Copper Hills An important part of the northernmost part of Southumbria, squeezed between the forests and the Umber River, the Copper Hills is an important source of mining for the Hill Country. In spite of the name, iron is more plentiful here than copper (although copper was found first, and is what first drew miners to the area) and even silver and gold mines have occasionally been found here, although generally believed to be mostly played out now. Two important towns anchor both ends of the hills; Pineytop and Cockrill's Hill, although many other smaller hamlets, villages and minor settlements are scattered throughout the hills. Both are a little bit more ethnically mixed than is normal for hillmen settlements, as in the past many orcs were employed as manual labor by the early miners. Many of these have moved on for Chersky Island, but a number still remain. It's also one of the places where woodwoses are more prone to gather in the Hill Country, and many were there before hillmen settlement had expanded very much. And, of course, many people of mixed hillmen and Tazitta blood live in the area, since the forest has lingering tribes of the secretive and clannish Tazitta people still wandering them in whatever numbers yet remain.

Waller's Grove, Roan's Mill, Rettersville and Benchley are all smaller towns nestled in the farmlands between the Copper Hills, the Umber River and the Waychester Bay. This area is collectively called the Northwoodshire, which I didn't have space to label on this map, and is an important part of the second column of the 5x5. Although on the northern edge of Southumbria, it is very typically Southumbrian; landed gentry own large tracts of land, worked by tenant farmers and small villages of artisans, traders, and other support staff, while away from these large plots, many independent smaller homesteaders make a riskier, yet potentially more profitable and certainly more independent living. As you get to the northern part of the Northwoodshire, the grassland is drier and less fertile, and traditional farming gives way to cattle (mostly) ranching. In spite of the independence of the homesteaders, they are friendly with the sharecroppers and landed gentry, because the Tazitta and others are not always peaceful, and a strong united hillman front is sometimes required for mutual protection.

Waychester Bay A major part of the Darkling Sea that swings deeply south on the west side of the Garenkarst Peninsula. Heavily traveled, and a major hub of trade between Northumbria and Southumbria.

Waybight A major part of the Darkling Sea that swings mostly south on the east side of the Garenkarst Peninsula. It is only lightly settled, and no significant towns exist on its shores.

Garenkarst Peninsula A large peninsula that is associated with Northumbria and Garenport in particular, in spite of its relatively southwards position. A (poor) road connects Garenport to eastern Southumbria across this peninsula, although by far most such traffic is by boat. Although green and covered in trees, this isn't very arable land, made up of rocky and steep limestone karst hills. Some few small settlements and homesteads are on the peninsula, though, as well as small herds of cattle, sheep and horses. The peninsula is also where many from the Garenport area go for game meat, which is plentiful here. The road is notorious for bandits which harry small groups or single travelers.

Garenkarst Woods The thickets part of the forest on the peninsula is the Garenkarst Woods. There are many possibly spurious stories told about witches in these woods. The portion called the Garenkarst Woods is more rolling rather than steep, but in reality the Garenkarst Woods and the Garen Hills are more a question of degree rather than clear separation.

Garen Hills The drier part of the hills that are steeper, rockier, and have fewer trees are traditionally called the Garen Hills, but as noted above, there isn't really a clear separation between the Garen Hills and and the Garenkarst Woods; the more easterly part is simply lower and less rocky and has thicker tree covering than the western part.

Garenport One of two of the largest and most important cities in the Hill Country, Garenport is the political and social center of Northumbria, and the self-styled Grand Duke who claims sovereignty over all of Northumbria lives here. His wealth and power extends to some degree throughout all of Northumbria and even beyond, although how well his subjects actually recognize his right to govern them varies considerably (although to be fair, where there is more skepticism of that right, it's a moot point, because that is usually the more rural and far-flung parts of the region anyway.) Garenport is more traditional in many ways, and looks back to the privilege of the nobles of the Old Countries, and seeks to replicate them in the Hill Country, whereas the character of the hillmen is somewhat skeptical of that entire concept; many of their ancestors having fled the Old Countries generations ago specifically to not be told what to do by self-important nobility. Garenport, as you can imagine, features heavily in the 5x5 for SHADOWS OVER GARENPORT, especially in the first column, and more information about goings-on in the city can be found in the 5x5 posts.

Chokewater Forest A large forest region that separates the Northwoodshire from the more southern part of Southumbria (sometimes flippantly called the Southwoodshire.) Although thick and overgrown, this isn't a particularly dangerous forest; and I mean that relatively. There are no large number of ghosts and hauntings, no werewolves, thurse tribes, woodwoses, necromancers, or other inordinate hazards; just thick woods, and potentially dangerous wildlife and bandits. It's still avoided, but mostly because it's difficult to get through (and the mundane hazards may be mundane, but will still ruin your day) meaning that there's only a fairly narrow corridor between the forest and the bay to travel from the south to the Northwoodshire. This constricted travel corridor is part of what causes the Northwoodshire to have a unique personality; it is relatively isolated and insulated from cultural or political problems or influences related to the rivalry between Barrowmere and Garenport. The Chokewater River runs through the forest, often running at various rates of flow, so that sometimes it's a little babbling brook over rounded stones, while other times it spreads in vast wetlands through the trees, making it another hazard of travel. To the western edge of this forest, the ground rises and becomes rockier, until it becomes literally a small mountain range, called the Chokewater Range (not labeled, but clearly marked). The tops of some peaks peek (no pun intended) out above the trees, but mostly they are completely blanketed by the forest. On the western slopes, however, the Chokewater Forest takes on a much more sinister nature, and this part of the vast woods is called the Haunted Forest.

Chokewater River See above. Running from the Chokewater Mountains, it passes through the Chokewater Forest, where you can easily see where it got its name. A small stub of it runs out of the forest across the cleared land and into the southern Waychester Bay. Here, an old stone bridge allows traffic to travel safely across the river along the road that connects the main part of Southumbria to the Northwoodshire.

Haunted Forest Read the full write-up here, but otherwise, I've copied and pasted (with some small edits to bring it up to date) the important part as follows: The territory of the Hill Country, up to at least the borders of what is today Timischburg, was probably first settled by early ancestors of the Wendaks.  Some few still live deep in the Haunted Forest and other remote areas of the territory, but it is here that their touch is the least disturbed. Cursed burial grounds, sacrificial altars, barrows and more leave their lingering taint on the ground, and there is a rumor that "sympathetic magic" ties the Wendaks to the land in a way that it does not for other peoples; the land itself, and some kind of genius loci favors them and occasionally actively fights against more recent interlopers.  In addition to a kind of vaguely defined genius loci haunting the region and making modern peoples uncomfortable deep in the forest, lingering semi-sentient spirits either cursed Wendaks or those whom they summoned in ancient times still linger, worn down to being little more than vague emotional resonances of hate and defensiveness, but which can occasionally embody themselves in bodies of earth and wood and stone, animate ill will in the animals and trees and brambles, or even appear as wraiths or wights of some kind.  These spirits are not organized by anything other than a general animus towards anything in the forest that is not Atlantean, and they are usually essentially mindless, possessing no thought, but only emotions such as hate and rage.

Evil empires of kemlings and surturs washed over the territory in the past as well.  They built fortresses and waypoints and roads, some of which still linger in the forest, and the evil influence of their sorceries still taint the territory around them.  The kemlings were descendants (in distant generations) from daemonic ancestors, and they used their dark magic to "burn out" pockets of resistance against the Wendaks.  While the genius loci of the forest has re-encroached on this territory to some degree, the curse of much of what the kemlings built still is there.

The modern population is not cursed or evil, of course, but their ability to have "settled" the forest is limited.  They have been more successful where they've cleared it, and turned it into farmland, and torn down the stones of whatever menhirs and henges or crumbling fortresses of the past might have been still there.  This has only happened to a small degree around the very fringe of the forest.

The latest to enter the forest, however, have been various dark sorcerers, witches and worse who, being driven out of civilized society, have sought refuge in the forest and established their own small, haunted demesnes deep in the woods.  Many of these are necromancers, or wizards who speak with other spirits besides the dead; strange fey spirits, or even daemons.

Therefore, the haunted forest has layers of hauntings, many of which are actually in open competition with each other.

Pickton One of the few settlements just outside of the forest, nestled in the arms of the western Chokewater Mountains, but south of the wide expanse of trees. Pickton is a lumber town, and provides much of the wood that makes its way to Barrowmere and beyond.

Lake Byewick A large freshwater lake, on the shores of which is Barrowmere, the political and cultural center of Southumbria. Some other towns are on other portions of the lake, but it is not necessary to travel by boat; the lake is large, but a modest coach ride will get you to the far side and to Willow Springs or Omsbury without too much trouble.

Barrowmere So named because of the ancient Kinzassalian barrows and marshes that surrounded Lake Byewick when the hillmen first arrived. This fertile land quickly grew in population, and today Barrowmere is one of the largest cities in all of the Hill Country, and rival to Garenport. As Garenport is the center of Northumbria, Barrowmere is the beating heart of Southumbria. Ruled by an elected Lord Mayor, the city is heavily focused on trades, crafts and artisanal industry, and powerful guilds, merchants or self-made wealthy hold sway. In fact, there's often ill-disguised contempt for the pretentions of the elites of the north, who claim to be nobles.

Omsbury A smaller city on the north shore of Lake Byewick. It is connected by a fairly direct road to Pickton, and lots of lumber and timber traffic on great wagons goes up and down this road. Omsbury processes some of this lumber, and has a thriving furniture industry. Many other logs are placed directly from the docks into the lake and poled along south to Barrowmere.

Willow Springs A market town on the eastern side of the lake, a little off the beaten path. It's become also a quaint resort town, and many wealthy merchants and politicians from Barrowmere keep luxurious cottages on the shores here

Knifetop Mountains Very steep and sharp mountains that, among other things, provide a barrier between the Hill Country and Timischburg in the southern edge. There are few passes, and most are out of the way and as difficult to even reach as they are to cross.

Eltdown A backwards and surly town on the edge of the fens. Important mostly because the only reliable road between Southumbria and Timischburg passes through the gap (the Fenroad mentioned above) between the Knifetop Mountains to the south and the Sabertooth Mountains to the north. However, travelers are cautioned to stay on the road, as the fens themselves have an evil reputation. The people of Eltdown don't have any particular loyalty to the Hill Country or Timischburg, and may be partly hybrid in their blood, although others claim that they are the remains of an even more ancient people that lingers. I have an older but still mostly accurate larger write-up of this location here.

Eltdown Fens Dark and foreboding swamps, fens and marshes that linger in the broad and vast hollow between the two imposing mountain ranges to the north and south. It is rumored that it was once a lake which has been slowly being overgrown and reverting to swampland. It is also rumored that a fell city of some ancient evil people lurks yet deep in the marsh, although if anyone has found it, they have not brought back any report of it. People generally avoid the fens, and those who do not are seen suspiciously as likely witches or sorcerers, meddling in things that they should not. The suspicious Eltdowners occasionally get overzealous if they hear of anyone wishing to explore the fens, and simply lynch them before they can bring more trouble down on the heads of the town.

Chatterwash River (North and South Fork) A river that flows eastward from the Knifetop Mountains. The southern fork continues south out of the reckoning of the hillmen, but the north fork fails and dumps into a gigantic mire. Fertile farmland covers the land between the two forks, and feeds much of the lands between the Thursewood in the south and the Haunted and Chokewater Forests in the north.

Chatterwash Mire The ignominious end of the north fork of the Chatterwash River. A strange collection of outlaws and secretive cultists live deep in the swamp, making it dangerous to traverse except in large groups, especially at night. These people have a preternatural affinity to their terrain, and few even see them. They are superstitiously rumored to be unable to speak except in the calls of birds and animals, and to live exclusively on the blood of human (and demihuman) victims but these tales are not true. Probably.

Burham's Landing This town, more than most, is put off by the political conflict between Northumbria and Southumbria, since the majority of their livelihood is facilitating trade and travel between the two along the Waychester Bay. Travelers are a common sight on the street, and the people are fairly open and don't like to take sides.

Roanstead A smaller town that's a satellite, of sorts, to Burham's Landing. Nestled near the Thursewood Forest, it is also a garrison town, and Fort Roanstead is the original reason for the founding of the town. The training facility for the Hill Country Rangers is here. Northumbria isn't thrilled by that, but the Rangers have steadfastly refused to get involved in politics, and refuse to bow to either the power base of Garenport or Barrowmere either one.

Thursewood Forest A deep, dark and vast forest, notorious for the presence of the thurses that gave it it's name; bestial, savage humanoids that are generally believed to be unable to reasoned with or lived with at all. A generation ago, a large force of violent thurses attacked and burned down Rabb's Hill, which had been a thriving town before that. The fire ended up burning out of control and a large stretch of the forest remains an obvious burn area, with blackened dead trees and blackened ground, lightly covered with new growth. The thurses were themselves caught in their own blaze, and many died in the forest fire. The rallying Southumbrians killed or chased off the rest of them, and the thurses have been quiet since. Most believe that their numbers are greatly reduced since the Rabb's Hill Massacre, and that they are relatively powerless deep in the eaves of the forest.

Rabb's Hill A smaller settlement of brave and hardy souls is trying to rebuild Rabb's Hill, but it is a new venture, and remains both poor and poorly defended.

Orcling Trail The route that orcling refugees take from their homeland of Gunaakt to the north. Most of those that travel this trail are making for the Chersky Island far to the north, and have yet many leagues to travel. 

Ruins of Dunsbury Mostly just for the GM's reference. The Southumbrian column of the 5x5 has the PCs seeking an ancient gold idol hidden in the remains of a crumbling villa called Dunsbury near the Orcling trail.

Grym's Tower Mostly just a reference for the GM. Few people in the Hill Country remember the name of Jareth Grym, and of those, even fewer know his current whereabouts or activity, thinking him just an old bogeyman or serial killer story from a prior generation.