Bear's Reach Environs

This section reveals what can be found in Bear's Reach and the surrounding lands. It is not an exhaustive list, but it should give you some idea of what to find and what to expect while adventuring around the locale.

The Climate

From late Spring to early Autumn Bear's Reach is a pleasant place to be. The days lengthen, crops have time to ripen and children have time to play. The average Midsummer temperature in the town is 19°C, with some days significantly warmer and others much, much colder. It rains all year round, but noticably less so in the summer months. The most adverse weather in these months is the dense fog and sea mist that blows in from the east.

However, the autumnal equinox signals a change in the weather for the worse. Heavy rain and storms become more common, and the sqawls that blow in off the Bay of Bereavement can be extremely violent. The temperature begins to plummet as the season goes on, and by Baretwig is normally cold enough to snow.

Snowfalls continue off and on for a few weeks, and this is the sign to gather in the last of the farm animals and secure supplies against the coming winter. Before the end of Baretwig the snow becomes heavier and by the beginning of the following month it will fall and then not lift again before the Spring. By the beginning of Chillbone (the last month of Autumn) the passes to the south of Bear's Reach have usually been sealed, and the town is completely cut off from the rest of Urova. It may not be snowing every day in Bear's Reach itself, but the bite of winter is being felt.

Winter itself is a nightmare. The village's proximity to the coast and the salt in the air prevents a great build up of snow in the town itself, but the Forester's Lodge and even buildings on the edge of the town are often consumed by snow. By Midwinter the temperature is often as low as -10°C. At these temperatures fog and spray from the sea freeze in the air and succeed in concooning many of the buildings in town in a layer of ice that has to be chipped away each morning.

The sea itself seldom freezes. The last time it happened was in the terrible winter of 182 LE (eighty-seven seasons ago) when was supposed to be possible to walk half way to the Isle of Arrock on the ice sheet that stretched out from the shore. Many died in that terrible winter, as fishing was impossible.

The Village

Bear's Reach sits on a cleared area of forest overlooking the four mile long shingle beach of Scarstone. The village is about fifty feet above sea level and anything from a quarter of a mile to three-quarters of a mile away from the sea depending on the tide.

White Bear Peak

Approximately thirty miles to the west of Bear's Reach is White Bear Peak, a craggy and isolated mountain that marks the beginning of the Culbarren Peaks that run from this point for more than fifteen hundred miles along the border of Norandor. White Bear Peak was once considered a holy place by the Bearmen from the days of Scarman Thorn, but has no great significance to the town in these latter days.

White Bear Peak is visible from the town on a clear day. It dominates the westerly horizon. Twenty miles beyond White Bear Peak the rest of the Cullbarrens begin in earnest and although these are also visible from the town, they are not quite so impressive.

The peak is just over four thousand feet in height, and within its rocky crown is the source of the River Running that flows down its unscalable cliffs, and runs through its many hollow caves before reaching the impressive Mannell Falls and then flowing off into the wilderness.

It is a well-established (but generally unproven) fact that the peak is home to numerous deadly creatures from dragons to orcs, and that anyone going over there needs their head examining. To be fair, with the exception of a good view on a clear day, there doesn't seem much at White Bear Peak worth seeing.

River Running

The river begins in White Bear Peak and then runs haphazardly across the entire region. The entire river only travels a distance of seventy miles as the crow flies, but actually travels more than six hundred miles in its twisted journey to the sea. Numerous tributaries and smaller unnamed rivers join or pod off from the River Running.

The River Running passes less than two miles from Bear's Reach and is navigable at this point (although no-one in the village uses the river to transport anything). The Boar stream forks away from the river just to the south of Bear's Reach and quickly runs the two miles into the sea. The Bear stream forks away from the River Running on the other side of the town and heads north through a gorge cut from soft rock. The Bear doesn't make sea-fall for another twenty miles, despite being so close to the sea at this point.

Whittenwood

A truly ancient and gnarled evergreen woodland that covers 90% of the non-mountainous land in the penninsular. Bear's Reach is completely surrounded by the Whittenwood and it is from this wood that almost all the trees that have been used to build the town and to heat it come from. The Whittenwood is a dark and dangerous place to the unitiated and it is also a place where it is extremely easy to lose oneself.

All manner of creatures live in the Whittenwood. In addition to the deer, wolves, wild pigs and bears there are far less mundane denizens. It is believed that the fey exist deep within the impenetrable heart of the woodland, and that other supernatural beasts are just waiting to devour unwary travellers.

Visible from the town is Scarman Rise - an unforested hill that stands out of the Whittenwood about four miles from the town. It is on this rise that a circle of standing stones known as the Players to the villagers can be found. Although the existence of the Players can be found in the old notes of the first Chronicler they certainly had nothing to do with the barbarians who lived here, and date from an earlier time.

The Whittenwood to the north of the Bear Stream has been felled for the village. New evergreen trees are planted by the loggers and members of the Forester family - one for each that is chopped down. An area of several square miles of forest now consists of this new growth. When the new trees are ready they too will be cut down and replaced. The area of new growth is named Darnavan's Forest after Darnavan Forester (son of the famous Dael Forester) who began this practice. The Forester Lodge sits inside this area of new growth, although it was once deep inside the Whittenwood.

Wyrwood

The woodland within the area border by the River Running, the Boar, the Bear and the sea is known as the Wyrwood. This woodland is largely deciduous - although there are still many evergreens - and is generally considered a much safer place than the Whittenwood across the rivers. The village believes that the water (and the high gates on the bridges) keep most predators out of the town.

About a mile from the town is Higham Dip - a deep pool of freshwater that is used for swimming and general recreation. It is a great favourite of children during the summer months. However, not a winter goes by without someone walking out onto the ice that covers the dip and falling through. Over the years many have died in this manner.

Scarstone Beach

A beach of shingle and stone only a quarter of a mile from Bear's Reach. Scarstone runs for more than four miles along the coast before high sea cliffs take over. The presence of the beach (and therefore easy access to the sea) is the one thing that keeps Bear's Reach alive. At low tide a three mile long shingle and shale spit is visible creating almost a 'lagoon' effect. It is possible to walk out on this spit and have more than a mile of sea between you and the land. Villagers often do this in search of mussels other creatures. But these brave souls must read the signs, because the weather can change quickly and if a mist rolls in they may not be able to tell which way the coast lies.

The fishing fleet of ten boats (belonging to various families) are stored on the beach. These boats vary in size, but the largest only holds ten men. None have any cabins, or protection from the weather greater than a tarpaulin. After a fishing expedition they are dragged up the beach - either by the fishermen or by shire horse - and left beyond the high tide mark. The fishermen normally lauch at hightide and return on the following high tide about fourteen hours later.

Isle of Arrock

About fifty miles east across the Bay of Bereavemet are the islands of Arrock and Calsinor. The smaller Arrock is the closest to Bear's Reach and can just be made out by the naked eye on a very clear day. Despite its relative proximity, Arrock might as well be on another planet. It is surrounded by unscalable cliffs and there is nowhere along its entire length to moor a boat. The sea is so violent around the islands that small vessels would be dashed to pieces by the enormous waves. No-one from the village has ever set foot on Arrock.

The Tower

Everyone knows the legend, and it is written in the account of the chronicler and therefore it must be true. Every thirty years (one hundred and twenty seasons) on the first day of Winter, Bear's Reach experiences an incredibly low tide. The sea retreats almost five miles from the shore. In addition to revealing the sea bed, it also reveals a large tower of unknown design and a causeway leading to it.

The first record of the tower's appearance was in 54 LE. It has been seen four times since then on 84 LE, 114 LE, 144 LE and 174 LE. It is, of course, due on 1 First Snow 204 LE (which is less than three weeks after the beginning of the campaign). Attitude in the town to the town is one of guarded scepticism. There are plenty of people who don't believe that it is going to rise up, and others who aren't really bothered whether it does or not.

The tower catches the imagination of the young more than the old, but no-one is seriously talking about an expedition to go and see what is inside it. Wisdom has it that the tower is trouble. Konig Njedelstrom is taking all his sons out in the boats the day before and isn't planning to return until after the thing is safely below the waves.

Everytime that tower has appeared in the past, it has always signalled something bad for Bear's Reach. The last time it coincided with an attack on the village by orcs, but that was at the height of the orcish wars and such an event is unlikely to happen again. Also the presence of the tower is known about outside Bear's Reach. This is the one time that people actually take the trouble to come and visit this place, and normally they are unwelcome and unwanted.

Iron Mine

Six miles to the south of Bear's Reach, dug into the side of Von Turnsgate Hill that rises out of the Whitten Wood, is an iron mine. The presence of iron in the hills was discovered by Chiswé Von Turnsgate many years ago, but it was widely believed that the iron was played out. The mine is currently owned and controlled by Borax Chandar. He hires labourers (normally Goodies and Lyars) to work the mine, but without a great deal of success. The mine is dangerous and liable to flooding, although no-one has been killed there in the time it has been re-opened. The mine produces only a small quantity of iron ore each year - barely enough for the needs of the village.

See Also:

• History of Bear's Reach
• Bear's Reach Today