Spiderwood
...West of Silverheath, you can find Spiderwood...
It is a dangerous place to visit as it is home to all sorts of spiders. They range in size from tiny specks no bigger than a pinhead, up to giant spiders bigger than a horse.
The Woodland King has given the spiders leave to dwell there as long as they protect the north-west border of the wood from bandits and intruders, and don't stray into the main body of the Creepy Crawly Woods.
The spiders keep to this rule most of the time but occasionally a young queen or rebellious youth tries to lead a hunting party into the main body of the woods to find new lairs and fresh prey.
Geography
This woodland is characterised by the deep narrow valley that it sits in. It is a natural break in the cliffs and crags that border the western side of the Creepy Crawly Woods, and forms a route into the woods from the north west of the Hardlands.
The sides of the valley are overgrown with pines and other evergreens which help bind the rock and prevent it collapsing into a slope of sand and scree.
The steep sides of the valley make it diffcult to get into or out of unless you are a skilled or determined climber. with the two ends of the valley giving much easier access.
Fauna & Flora
The Spider Wood gets its name from the multitude of spiders that live there. Everyone from the Creepy Crawly Woods and the surrounding Hardlands know that unless they have been given permission by the Spider Wood's Queen to pass through the valley, they could easliy become dinner for the arachnids who live there. The trees are bound with huge webs, which form a deadly maze for anyone who dares enter without permission.
While there are many large and unusual spiders in the woods, there are also many normal-sized ones and its a good indication that you are nearing the Spider Wood when you start to see a proliferation of their webs in the undergrowth.
Most of the trees in this area are pines. They grow very tall from the base of the valley, often reaching the height of the surrounding canyon walls. The steep valley slopes are covered with evergreen oak and smaller conifers better suited to the difficult ground.
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