A few notes from your Scribe, on the subject of maps...

Yes, folks, I HAVE a Simtakka regional map, on a scale of one inch to twenty miles...not quite in the finished stage, but... So here, for the use of those of you who write spots, in one hundred words or more, is a brief verbal description of the area--

Simtakka, as you probably already know, is on the edge of the plains (near the northern end thereof) where the Han Torra Mountains come down from their snow-capped heights... Simtakka is in a valley about forty or so miles east-west by one hundred forty north-south. This valley is mostly rimmed with bluffs up to two hundred feet high. A river, the Semra-No, comes down from the mountains beside the Great West Road and enters the valley from the east. The Han-Ko River enters from the north, and the Sahelo River from the south. All three get together in the middle and head west through a gap in the bluffs, almost immediately sinking into the sands of the river bed. The dry bed, crusted with alkalai, wanders west for miles...there are salt mines out that way, too. The farming in the valley is largely watered from wells and springs, which are more reliable than the rivers; many of the springs are warm, which keeps this northern valley warmer than it might otherwise be and encourages the development of fogs in the cooler months.

Besides Simtakka itself, there are nine towns (populations probably between two and seven thousand), and four forts within the general area. If you would care to take a piece of graph paper...I'll talk you through the rough placements...

Put Simtakka at the center. (It's on the Han-Ko, by the way.)

To the north, or above, are the towns of Kae Holan, six squares (5 miles each--I'm using 4-to-the-inch graph paper here) to the right and seven up; Kae Holan is on the east side of the Han-Ko River. Shanna Ling, on the west side of the Han-Ko, is three squares to the right and ten up, just off the northbound Diamond Trail to the east. Farther north yet, out of the valley itself, is An Selim, sixteen squares up and one to the left; it is just off the Diamond Trail also, to the west.

Kerarima, on the Great West Road, is one square down, and three to the left; it is very near the Plain of Hawks. Out of the valley, on the Great West Road, Naesim is one square up and twelve to the left. The departure of the dry riverbed from the Simtakka Valley is to the south of the Great West Road.

Taskolo, the second-largest settlement in the valley (Simtakka is the largest, naturally), is three squares down and three to the right. It's on the Semra-No River, and the Great West Road and the Diamond Trail from the south come together here--they continue together to Simtakka, then split. Tang Lo Mekan is on the Great West Road just about at the east edge of the valley (but in it), at two squares down and nine to the right.

Korang Ni, which is just east of the Diamond Trail, the Trail being east of the Sahelo River, is at four squares to the right and fifteen down. Badanna, well out of the valley, is at twelve to the left and seventeen down.

The four forts are positioned, more or less, to guard the four main approaches to the valley. On the north, Fort Haro Lan, on the Diamond Trail, is at about thirteen squares due north, or up; it is outside the valley proper. Fort Sen-Han, on the east, is at fifteen squares straight out to the right, on the Great West Road (or East Road, from Simtakka's viewpoint...) in the narrowing valley of the Semra-No River where it can command the only route to the pass through the Han Torra which is practicable for vehicles or large numbers of troops... To the south, Fort Zalar is at two squares to the right and sixteen down, between the Diamond Trail and the Sahelo River. Fort Nasinac, on the west, is at seven squares due left; Nasinac is on the high ground outside the valley.

The land above the bluffs to the east of the valley is lightly wooded and slopes steeply into the foothills of the mountains. The land above the bluffs to the west is rather hilly, dry, and patched with scrubby brush (usually with thorns). Streambeds are mostly dry, except for the occasional flash flood.

Further notes on the Simtakka Region, to go with the map:

Chalharo-Lo-San Forest: This strange forest in the Simtakka Valley itself is said to be a remnant of the orchards of the ancient Hladanna--the oldest known people of this area--gone wild. It is true that there are many trees in this forest which bear plump fruits, but those who have eaten them have not prospered, and who ever heard of apple and peach trees with thorns? Although no one has ever proved beyond question that the fruits of these trees are poisonous, illness follows so surely upon consumption of even a single apple that the trees are now left severely alone. An earlier governor is said to have attempted to cut down that part of the forest which lies between the Han-Ko River and the road to Kae Holan, but the men who worked there began to suffer evil dreams, and all who were scratched by thorns sickened, so that they soon ceased that effort. The governor then ordered that the trees should be set on fire, whereupon a smoke was made which lay heavily in the Valley, and more people were taken ill, and the trees not much damaged. So now the forest is suffered to grow as it will, so long as it does not spread or close off the road that passes through it--but none travel that road by dark, can they avoid it.

Han Marsh: A small area, as marshes go, but very wet and reedy. The marsh retains its pools of open water long after the rest of the river has dried in the summer sun, but it has been found generally unhealthy to drink. The marsh is much frequented by waterfowl.

Haro Tang Hills: On their western edge, the Haro Tang are like the Zey-Kamar Hills (which see) in character. Farther east, closer to the towering Han Torra Mountains, the Haro Tang rise steeper and more ruggedly, with great cliffs of basalt to hinder the stranger who dares travel there. As rangers have so wisely observed, only a fool leaves the marked trails in a mountain region--because those trails may well be the only way through.

Kekolo Hills: The northern sentinels of the Sahelana Hills, the Kekolos are of red sandstone and yellowish limestone mostly, although the black lava of the Zey-Kamars intrudes somewhat on the northern parts. In height, they vary from five hundred or so feet above the plateau on which they stand at the north to a thousand feet or more as they blend into the Sahelanas south of Badanna. Eons of erosion have webbed the hills with unexpected narrow canyons and hollowed them with caves. Wherever there is soil in the hills there is grass, and a thicket of Kekolo scrub oak, which is thorny and scarcely grows more than shoulder height at its best. The thickets make most of the area impassable to men, mounted or afoot, but it is a paradise for wild pigs. There is little surface water here; the streams run only immediately after a rain, and most of the wild creatures find their water in caves.

Ko-Hira Hills: An area of malpais near the Han-Ko River, within the Simtakka Valley. This lava is much worn and eroded but still an inhospitable region for travelers. Fortunately, it is small.

Plain of Hawks: This oval plain, with its ring of sheltering hills and its firm sandy floor and short grasses has been used throughout Simtakka's long history as a site for contests--races, mock-battles, and occasional fairs. When not being so used, it serves as pasture for the flocks of Kerarima.

Rima Plain: This is the local name given to the beginning of the wide plains of the west. The land here, which slopes gradually down toward the west, is gently rolling and cut by the occasional steep-walled arroyo. The grass grows thickly, knee-high, interrupted by a few wind-stunted trees. Except during and immediately after the rainy season, the wind carries dust--at times, it is thick as a fog. There is little surface water through most of the year. Small herds of antelope are sometimes found, and quail and rabbits seem to survive here in the worst seasons, along with lizards, snakes, and the small, tough, and cunning desert wolf.

San-Lo-Hara and San-Kera-Li Forests: Perhaps only a people on the edge of a great plain could call these areas "forest." The land here slopes up toward the east to meet the foothills of the Han Torra Khang, and it is clothed in scattered and open groves of juniper, oak, and nut pines. Many small streams come down from the Han Torra into this area, fading to nothing by the time they approach the Simtakka Valley but encouraging grassy meadows and thickets of sturdy bushes. Game is fairly plentiful here, except in the worst seasons; deer and wild pig are hunted on these park-like slopes.

Sin-Tira Plain: This is a shallow bowl in the hills, stony and inhospitable. There is a sparse cover of salt grass on the slopes, but the center is barren alkali. In a rainy season, the center holds a shallow lake with boggy edges. The water in that lake is drinkable only at its first appearance, rapidly becoming too alkaline to endure--and, due to the rapid development of the marshy edges, too dangerous to approach.

Stony Waste: An area of relatively level ground between the Ko-Hira Hills and the Western Bluffs, the Stony Waste is just that--a plain of stones, mostly smaller than a man's hand, where very little grows. There is considerable sand here, which moves under the spring winds and attempts to invade the northern croplands.

Tira-Na Hills: Like the Ko-Hira, the Tira-Na are the remnants of a lava flow, but the Tira-Na are much the younger--they are higher, steeper, rougher, and altogether a more unwelcoming region.

Vale of Tira: This basin, more or less in the center of the Tira-Na Hills, is an area of intense geothermal activity. Geysers are found here, hot springs, and pools of boiling mud, and the whole basin is filled with a stifling hot fog. In the center is a crater nearly a mile and a half across; its center is several hundred feet lower than the rest of the basin. At the deepest part of the crater is a lake, the water so charged with minerals that it is coppery red, opaque, and has an oily sheen. Once a year in the middle of winter, which they claim is the only safe time, the peasants come here to gather certain mineral-laden waters and highly colored muds which they claim to have powerful medicinal effects.

White Plains: The first of the alkali beds that mark the lower regions of the Han-Ko River's course. The plain is actually a pale gray, as the alkali is here mixed with a fine dust derived from some ancient lava flow. Always irritating to the eyes and lungs, when driven by the spring winds (or the winds of any other season, of course), this dust can rise in clouds dense enough to smother men and animals. Farther down the river bed (it is almost always dry below the White Plain) are found beds of pure salt, which are mined by gangs of doomed wretches; the salt is a valuable export.

Zam-Torra Hills: Foothills of the Han Torra Khang, similar in character to the Haro Tang Hills.

Zey-Kamar Hills: The Zey-Kamar Hills are formed by the action of erosion on a highland with a caprock of black lava. The hills are largely flat-topped, the crests ringed with cliffs ten to twenty feet high; below are slopes of talus, steep and loose and prone to slide if disturbed. On the average, the hill tops are four hundred to five hundred feet above the edges of the Sin-Tira Plain and three hundred to four hundred feet above the Rima Plain. The tops are grassy and inaccessible, with straggling groves of waist-high juniper trees strongly flagged by winds from the northwest. An occasional larger juniper may be found at the top of the talus slopes. The valleys between the hills are narrow, crooked, and littered with boulders of all sizes that have broken from the cliffs, and choked with thorny shrubs. For a month or two after the rains, the valleys bloom with short-season grasses and extravagant wildflowers; then the Hills are frequented by shepherds who know the narrow trails and temporary water holes.