Alderheart

Basic Description

The road winds around an enormous tree whose branches block out the sunlight for at least a mile. Looking up, in the canopy you can see a system of pulleys which lead to networks of platforms and bridges. Closer inspection of the tree reveals hidden steps carved into the massive trunk. You have reached Alderheart, the Great Tree City.

Emerging from the winding stairway up the trunk into a canopy filled with the bustle of city life. Buildings are located within the foliage, and crowded roadways are sculpted from the giant branches. The roadways are connected with rope, wood bridges, and carefully positioned platforms made of timber. Birdfolk guards, known colloquially as “the Perch Guard,” can be seen keeping watch throughout the city. Laborers operate pulley systems that are used to raise carts to the canopy platforms.

Levels of the Great Tree

Council Plaza

The upper levels of Alderheart’s canopy can be reached by a stairway near the canopy market that leads up through a massive central pillar. This is where all judicial and government buildings related to the oversight of Alderheart and Humblewood can be found. Here, is the Birdfolk Council Chambers, a large domed structure nestled within the branches. Directly across from the Council Chambers is the Dawnmother's Aerie. One can also find the courthouse, a small gaol, and the Perch Guard Headquarters.

All of these buildings are arranged around an open plaza containing a large statue of a sera luma dressed in ceremonial robes. This is an effigy of Speaker Ava, the Founder of the Birdfolk Council.

Canopy Market

This busy market in the canopy is where characters can find high quality wares and imported goods from beyond Humblewood. Talented weaponsmiths, armorers, and merchants of all sorts do business here. There are also shops on the outskirts with truly unique wares. Eliza’s Emporium (pg.106) is located in the canopy market, a little ways off from the main thoroughfare. Near the stairway to the Canopy Level, stood the Library, built into a hollow in the trunk.

The Boughs

An affluent neighborhood of high class homes. Many of Alderheart’s aristocrats and high ranking city officials have residences here.

The Branches

A neighborhood made of modest homes, connected by wood bridges and gliding platforms. This area is dangerous for non-birdfolk. Without the ability to glide, a fall from here is almost certainly fatal.

Trunk Market

Lately, the number of folks residing in the trunk section has swelled due to villagers escaping the fires. A hollow space, just a few minutes walk from the trunk’s market, has become a shelter area for refugees, much to the dismay of local merchants. The market area is overcrowded, and many refugees are searching for work, begging for alms, or taking to thievery to support themselves.

The Bright Hollows

This part of the trunk is known for a series of holes within the bark that allow natural light to stream in. The trunk contains many of the common homes and markets in Alderheart, and the majority of those who live there are humblefolk. Some pathways here lead to dwellings on the outside of the tree, which are nicer than the simple homes that can be found inside the trunk.

The Underfall

The roots are the slums of Alderheart, and within these shabby tunnels characters will see destitute refugees and communities of locals living in poverty. This is the best place to find criminal contacts within the city, as well as fences who can help characters sell restricted goods or purchase them ]at a heavily inflated price.

Type

Capital