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 ground. 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, to tired or drunk drovers, the horsepond was quite a hazard to navigation. The ditch was dependent on rainfall or snow melt to replenish it, otherwise the water was stagnant.

History
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.