something slightly (slightly) more developed

[hengest]

Breaking with weeks of tradition here at Evening Bell, I have something slightly different here.

These images represent parts of an area, once developed and lived in, now abandoned.  The images show what was, perhaps 100-120 years before present.  You might have them deteriorate differently for your campaign, so I am going to present them as they are and then mention my own thoughts on how it all collapses.

In the lower left, we have undeveloped forest, the edge of which, grading slowly down into meadow, has been used as a forest edge garden.  This garden area is labelled as such on the overmap.  On the forest edge map, which I largely stole but re-drew (poorly) from a book on forest edge gardening, you can see roughly how it works: shade-tolerant herbs are planted under the tall trees, while outside the forest proper, there are rows of useful plants in decreasing height and decreasing shade tolerance: 

• first, some small fruit or nut trees
• hazelnut
• berry bushes
• Jerusalem artichoke (in-world called sunchoke)
• meadow

At the time, the interactions between these different setting provided many micro-environments and contributed to what we would call biological diversity.  Paths between these "levels" provided access to all the plants and were used socially.  These paths graded into in-wood paths, well-trodden by mushroom hunters.  

A well-trodden, less grassy area narrows into a path that leads towards the central area on the map.  At first, heading toward that central area, one will pass by several paths branching to the left and right, by which one can walk alongside relatively narrow strips of berry and herb gardens.  Heading straight and not diverging to the left or right, you come to the central area, paved with stone and containing two semi-circular internal gardens of fruit trees. Stairs lead down from the area to an artificial pond surrounded by large stones.  To the left of this pond on the map is the village proper, crudely represented here.  

To the right of the pond is an item that is not actually located here, but is included in this image because I drew it here.  Set into the ground, it appears to be a gigantic single gemstone with veins of blues and reds throughout, and an alteration of color in its center which, viewed from a hill a ways away or from above, give it almost the appearance of a stylized eye.  One cannot see through the colored stone, although we would say it has the appearance (roughly) of extremely thick stained glass.  If there is anything in a chamber underneath, it cannot be glimpsed from above.

Overmap here:

[hengest]

Forest edge illustration (citation for inspiration later):

[hengest]

The "star" in the middle of the central area is a large ancient "stool" of a coppiced tree. The surface of the stool is quite soft in the center. It seems almost as if you could press down into it.

More thoughts on all this later.

[hengest]

Of course, there can be more history to all this.

But the more important question is how it all shakes down when abandoned, and what is left here.

***

No one has destroyed the forest edge garden, so while it has gone quite to seed, there may still be a sense of old paths and a general feeling of the forest "leaning down" gradually toward the meadow.  It would be quite easy to come here during the day looking for fruit, and then to find oneself uncertain about how to get out, as one can easily follow a seeming path that now leads nowhere except into thicker brush.  Night could fall before you find our way out again, as you find yourself wandering out of the abandoned garden and into the wood proper, not wanting to go deeper.  Sometimes, as you turn around, the path you are sure you followed to get there has quite vanished.  

This was once a garden and no one lived here.  But someone lives here now.  You may be sure that he knows he has visitors.  

***

The artificial pond is dry now, a low-lying area that feels dead, despite the land plants that encroach on it.  The stairs that lead down to it now seem to go nowhere,

***

In the central area, the fruit trees are dead but remain standing.  These snags continue to stand guard over that central stool, itself standing dead with a few small poles jutting from it.  The center of the stump feels tough now, but has some give to it.  One could slowly work one's way inside it, perhaps, if one did not fear being swallowed up.

***

The gigantic jewel eye in the ground has largely been covered over with humus after decades of fallen leaves have collected on it.  One might stumble onto it, however, as the earth there just does not feel the same as elsewhere.  The layer of new soil, after all, is not very thick.  

[mao]

Maybe include some potion-level herbs and fruit that are fought over by things in the area.  This would be an awsome opportunity for RPing negotiations w the local "gangs"Do you have anything else in mind for the Gem?

[mao]

This might inspire you.