The Patchwork Hills and the Terraces

The Patchwork Hills are so called because their appearance in the fall is mottled and patchy, not unlike an irregular patchwork quilt. Heather and bracken coat the hillsides, and the grazing is poor (bracken is virtually inedible). if the weather is good and the prevailing wind from the north in mid-fall, hillsmen bum away the vegetation here to protect the terraces from encroachment by the choking bracken.

The terraces were carved from the northern escarpment nearly a century ago. The terraces are cut in layers, each some 50 yards wide, with the next terrace lying some 20 to 40 feet below, accessed by steps cut into the rock. The soil here is surprisingly good, excellent for roots (carrots, turnips, potatoes) and green vegetables (mostly cabbages). Ownership of a terrace is handed down within families and is jealously prized.

To the southeast, the Patchwork Hills merge into lightly wooded hills, eventually blending into the Thornwood. The terrain here is very rocky and wild (movement is reduced. by 50%) and the plant growth is scrubby, stunted, and uneven. There are occasional sightings of big cats, notably mountain lions, within the wooded hills: the Pitcher and Pitchfork in Harlaton proudly displays the skin of an especially large male mountain lion over its hearth (rather mangy and moth-eaten with age).

Encounters

Shiraz has a dilemma. The Aarakocra are having difficulty establishing themselves, due to harassment by Blood Hawks and by humanoids living in the southernmost part of the Thornwood (this can be a band of Gnolls led by a huge flind, a troop of Bloodskull Orcs led by an egotistical and bloodlusting orog, or another menace of the DM's choosing appropriate to the terrain and the strength of the PCs at this point). She can only insure their safety by settling down at Featherfall on a permanent basis - her wanderlust spirit rebels at the very thought - or by eliminating the dual threat. To complicate the issue, she'd really prefer the Aarakocra (a splinter group who recently broke off from a larger tribe far to the north) didn't stay, as they've taken over one of her favorite. spots. Still, her duty is clear and she won't allow harm to come to them if she can help it.

What's a ranger to do? If Shiraz has befriended the PCs, she encourages them to help out the Aarakocra. She'll help, of course, but even so it should take the PCs some time to deal with the problem - time during which the shy Aarakocra may decide to move to quieter haunts. PCs who play up the scale of the menace to persuade the Aarakocra to leave should receive a role-playing XP bonus equal to the total XP value of the Aarakocra when the bird folk depart for a safer place.