Windingwater

Windingwater is built in the trees of an old forest through which a river cuts a winding path. The soil is rich, and the trees tower at least 100 feet above the ground. Their boles measure between 6 and 8 feet across, sometimes more.

The river widens and narrows, but averages about 20 feet in width and about half that depth. To the east of the river is an 80-foot-high bluff. Its existence would be hardly noticeable since it is lower than most of the trees, except for one towering hollow oak atop it.

As with many elf cities, visitors to Windingwater rarely notice the town until they are inside it. The homes and other structures are built high in the trees, and the rope ladders that provide access to them can be rolled up when not in use. Rope-and-plank bridges connect the various buildings and serve as walkways through the village.

A typical tree home consists of one or more platforms connected by ladders. Most have wooden plank walls and ceilings that can be retracted to leave various rooms open to the sky in clear weather. Rooms may be formed by permanent wooden walls or by hanging panels. Paintings, murals, or frescoes often decorate interiors.

Notable Locations

Temple of Corellon Larethian / Armory

The Temple of Corellon Larethian in Windingwater is a platform structure built over three large trees at the top of the bluff. Capable of housing the entire community in an emergency, the temple is stocked with basic supplies. The worship area is a spacious room with a retractable ceiling and an altar shaped from saelas. Branches of the trees stick up through various portions of the floor, and the walls between are decorated with lifelike patterns of branches and leaves.

One section of the temple serves as an armory and a mustering area for the watch. Bows, arrows, longswords, and various other weapons are stored here; the junior clerics of Corellon keep them well maintained.

The clerics of Corellon all have rooms in the temple, but some also maintain residences in the town. The High Priest of Windingwater, Amyn Silverstar, occupies the largest of these rooms, and he has decorated it to resemble the sky at dawn.

Meeting Area

This large open area just below the bluff is visible only from above. It serves as the location for town meetings, theatrical events, poetry readings, dances, and other impromptu gatherings. Grass carpets the ground and flowers edge the surrounding trees, despite the many feet that tread on the area.

Ruler's Dwelling

Panadil Nightbreeze, the King of Windingwater, dwells in this large but not ostentatious tri-level tree home with his family. His wife Tynowen and their two children Morfindil and Galadan live here with Bylil and Rengiil, the children of relatives who are fostering here. A sizable garden featuring climbing vines, vegetables, and every kind of lily imaginable grows around the base of their tree. A platform at the rear of the structure juts out over the meeting area, enabling the king to address the townsfolk conveniently.

Community Stores

The community's stores of dried fruit, dried meat, root vegetables, preserves, and other non-perishable foods are kept in this two-level structure at the top of a particularly tall tree at a bend in the river. Rope ladders all around the trunk provide easy access but can be taken up when danger threatens.

Below the tree is the community's well. This water supply is largely used for gardens, though a rope and pulley system enables the elves to draw fresh water up to their tree homes without having to leave the safety of the treetops.

Archery Range

To the west of the river is a large, open area with a series of targets at the far end. The master of arms conducts archery training here for the young elves of the village, and members of the watch practice here to hone their skills.

Orchard / Memorial Garden / Compost Pit

To the west of the river, just south of town, is an orchard planted and tended by the town's guardian of nature. The trees are not planted in rows, and they are not organized by type. Rather, they are artfully arranged to resemble a natural stand of trees and interspersed with hardwoods, including sugar maples. Brambleberry vines climb many of the trunks, and lower berry bushes dot the open areas between trees.

Elves may help themselves to fruit from the orchards, and any excess produce is dried or made into preserves and taken to the community stores at the end of the harvest season.

On the other side of the river from the orchard is the memorial garden, where shrines are kept to honor elves who have passed to the next world. The shrines are small niches carved into tree trunks, small structures built of stones or saelas on the ground, or open containers hanging from the lower branches of small trees. Each shrine contains a likeness of the deceased elf, his or her name, and various artworks and mementos placed there by loved ones.

The paths through the memorial garden are lined with flowering shrubs and are carefully manicured. Benches placed here and there allow visitors to pause and reflect.

North of the orchard is a compost pit where the community dumps all organic waste. The guardian of nature tends the pit and distributes the resulting fertilizer to the community.

Library

Across the river from the community stores, nestled in another bend of the river, is a tall tree that supports the community’s library. The library contains a copy of each poem, story, or other literary work that the community members have ever produced. Several wings are devoted to magical writings. Scrolls of all the arcane spells that community members wish to share are here, organized by school. Numerous treatises on research methods, the philosophy of magic, and the uses of various spells are kept here as well. The library also contains drawings and plans for future expansion of the community.

Owlery

Windingwater is home to owls of all sorts. The residents often tame and train these creatures to carry messages, hunt small game, and scout the area by night for intruders. The owlery is an immense, one-room tree structure three stories tall, with branches sticking through openings in the walls to serve as natural perches. The owls usually fend for themselves, but when game is scarce, the residents provide their owls with food and water here. These owls are trained to respond to basic commands, such as "come," "hunt," and "scout," from any elf. Many of the owls nest and raise their young within the structure because it provides shelter from the elements and the safety of numbers.

Artisans' Glade / Saelas Grove

North of the bluff and on the same side of the river is the Artisans' Glade. The elves come here to create works of art in a peaceful setting where they can visit with other artists and become inspired by each other's work. Numerous sculptures are on permanent display here, along with miniature tree homes done as models to demonstrate architectural features. On any given day, various members of the community can be found here painting, sculpting, or working metal at the forge at the far end. Poetry readings occur here spontaneously.

Just north of the Artisans' Glade stands the community’s saelas grove. The trees here have been formed into various fantastic shapes. Many of their branches suggest recognizable objects such as weapons, armor, furniture, ladders, kitchen implements, or something else that an elf might wish to make out of wood.

Cistern

Atop the bluff that overlooks the village is a particularly tall tree. Near the top is a small platform and a simple pump. The hollow trunk of this great tree serves as a large cistern that stores rainwater. This water supply is for emergency use in case the river and well ever become compromised. The water here can also be pumped through a series of wooden tubes to a sprinkling system to wet down the houses below in case of fire.

Stables / Kennels

Just south of the archery range are several buildings on the ground that serve both as poor-weather housing for the community's horses and for breeding elven hounds.

Water Wheels

At two points on the river are water wheels that provide power for grinding grain, operating pumps, and running pulleys that lift building materials and heavy items to the treetops.