Leaning Tree

Leaning Tree was a roadside camping spot located near the intersection of the Tethyamar Trail and the Northride in Shadowdale, circa the Year of Wild Magic, 1372 DR.

Geography
Leaning Tree was located southeast of the heart of the Spiderhaunt Wood, where the Northride came up from the Tilverton Scar on its way to the town of Shadowdale and the Tethyamar Trail split off toward Dagger Falls to the north. This area had dark, rich soil, but it was a relatively thin layer over mostly solid bedrock. The terrain was characterized by gently rolling tree-covered hills that were sometimes interrupted by narrow ravines that cut deep into the landscape, or outcrops of stone jutting out of the ground. Many loose stones littered the forest floor. This, combined with the twisted shallow tree roots, made off-road travel difficult.

Geographical Features
The area known as Leaning Tree had a prominent finger of rock, called Beacon Fang, that rose above the ground about 80 feet (24 meters). It was set back from the crossroads and required a short hike to reach its base. Beacon Fang was a sheer cliff on the southeast, south, and southwest sides, but was an easy climb when approached from the other directions. This spar had standing room for up to three human-sized creatures, and gave a magnificent view of the surrounding area because it over-topped most trees by twelve feet (3.6 meters) or more. Lookouts could see the surrounding countryside for about a mile (1.6 kilometers) in all directions, and about three miles (almost five kilometers) down the Northride.

A small spring with drinkable water was located a short walk behind the campsite. The water emerged from the rocks and filled a small pool known as "Alath's Hole". The pool was deep enough that even in winter a determined seeker could break through ice up to a foot (30 centimeters) thick and find clean water. The tiny rivulet that ran from Alath's Hole eventually became Daggerstill Stream.

The presence of water and the thick tree canopy ensured that the Leaning Tree area was wreathed in mist at dawn and dusk, whenever weather conditions permitted it.

Notable Locations
This campsite featured a makeshift lean-to, a drover's ditch, and pair of old wells that no longer served their original purpose.



Peddler's Palace
This ironically named shelter provided little more than a windbreak, but was better than sleeping on the open ground. Two tall tree stumps were notched to form forks that held up a crossbar made of another, smaller tree trunk. More thin tree trunks were laid diagonally to rest on the crossbar, forming an angular space with a leaky roof. The pavilion faced southwest toward the crossroads. A few paces in front of the structure was a circle of scorched rocks that formed a fire pit. Embedded vertically, deep into the bedrock beside the pit, was a massive iron beam of dwarven construction that was bent at a right angle and formed a hook sturdy enough to hold even a huge cauldron over the fire.

Directly beneath the Palace, buried a few feet down, was a huge, flat, rectangular stone slab that was carved in the form of a face in relief. The face had a large nose, prominent eye ridges, a beard, and a very angry visage. Those that knew about this mysterious megalith called it the Snarling Dwarf. The slab was not magical, was blank on the reverse side, and, over the years, various excavators found no treasure above, below, or anywhere within a few paces of it.

The Horsepond
This drover's ditch, also known as a drive-through trough, was close to the crossroads. It was a long, narrow, shallow pond with muddy ramps leading in one end and out the other. A team of horses or other animals could be watered without unhitching them from a wagon, but getting them in and back out was sometimes difficult, and nearly impossible to do and remain clean and dry. Cautious folk were wise to probe the muddy water with poles to find any large items that might injure their beasts. In the dark, the horsepond was quite a hazard to navigation for tired or drunk drovers. The ditch was dependent on rainfall or snow melt to replenish it, otherwise the water was stagnant and smelly.

Wells and Hideyholes
There were two abandoned wells, one a short walk from the Peddler's Palace to the east, and one to the west. The western well had dirt sides while the eastern one was lined with stone and surrounded by more stones, mostly broken. Both were choked with detritus, mud, and leaves at about seven feet (a little more than two meters) down. They both had wooden covers that were held in place by heavy tree boughs or rocks. Travelers generally used these wells as protected overnight food storage. Storing valuables in them was risky at best.

There were a number of hollow trees in the area that could be used to hold a coffer, a portable chest, or even hide a dwarf-sized being. One was beside the Palace, and two more were located on either side of the horsepond. A human-sized creature could hunker down and be mostly concealed, but none of these hideyholes would fool even curious children.

History
Leaning Tree got its name from a huge shadowtop tree that grew at an unusual angle to the ground. Everyone who saw it thought it was surely about to fall, but it took some two hundred years before it actually met this fate. By 1372 DR, no trace of the tree remained to be seen. Sometime in the area's history, a human family unwisely tried to stake a claim, build a house, and farm the land, but some combination of rocky soil, predators, and bandits soon drove them off. The two wells were all that remained of the doomed homestead. Interestingly, whenever the well covers became too rotten (which happened many times over the years), some kind individual or group eventually replaced them.

The Harpers kept a signal fire ready to ignite at the top of Beacon Fang. It was a six-foot (almost two-meter) high stack of branches and limbs that formed a hutch over some kindling stored inside an old greathelm that was blackened by multiple fires. The Harpers checked on this beacon every few days, rebuilding it when necessary.

Around the base of Beacon Fang and in the forest eastward along the Northride, were many stones that, when upturned, revealed deep engravings of symbols, words, sometimes phrases, and rarely, a full sentence. Most of those already discovered were taken away by wizards, or by fortune hunters to sell to wizards for their lore value.

Around the Year of the Behir, 1342 DR, the Peddler's Palace collapsed and had to be rebuilt. At that time, the Snarling Dwarf was fully excavated and the area investigated down to the bedrock and outward for a few paces in all directions, looking for anything unusual. They found nothing out of the ordinary. Casting legend lore on the slab revealed that it was a door that came from an ancient dwarven stronghold far away from Leaning Tree. The questions of how it came to this location and for what purpose remained a mystery, but over the years, no one damaged, moved, or stole it, probably for fear of a curse.

As of 1372 DR, the cauldron that hung on the iron beam had been damaged three times and the Harpers repaired it each time. All attempts to remove the bedrock-anchored beam met with failure.

Rumors & Legends
Gruesome rumors were told about the falling of the tree for which this area was named. Typically, they described a foolishly placed dwelling with various occupants that were surely crushed to death. Leaning Tree was also said to be the site of great wizard battles, great army battles, and various murders.

Legends about the area being haunted by beautiful women that sang mournful songs, a ghost dragon, or a watching spirit, were all somewhat true. Leaning Tree was the home of a spectral harpist named Thelaerle Mounshraun, a half-elf sorceress that loved to sing and used her healing powers in service to the Harpers before her untimely death. One of her talents in life was being able to shapechange into a tiny dragon, and she used this form when she didn't want to reveal her true self to witnesses. She had a kind heart and was known to help those in need by guiding them, awakening them to danger, finding lost items, diverting large predators, or bringing them to the attention of a Harper or other folk that could lend assistance.

The origin of Alath's Hole has been lost, but legend had it that Alath was slain in an orc raid, but not before he managed to bury his cauldron of coins near the spring-fed pool. The legend also stated that his cache had not yet been found.