The First Fifteen: a hunting-road guide¶

Generated from content/geography/early-journey.json. It names real, shipped rooms and real resident guides; conditional creatures are never required for ordinary progress.

Phoenix Sagas separates geography from topology. A single movement command may stand for a long climb, a ferry leg or miles of maintained road; ROUTES explains that geographic scale, while TRAVEL follows the actual connected room graph. Named hunting branches are where combat belongs. Quiet road trunks remain useful for walkers, caravans, weather and events without becoming walls of random enemies.

Before leaving Coldhollow:

Finish TASKS; your profession-shaped road kit is already issued during orientation.
Use ROUTES (or ROUTES <name>) to read reachable roads, mileage and signed hunting bands.
Use ASSESS <creature> before committing. It reports relative danger, habitat, useful remains and a knowledgeable local when the creature has field records.
Use WRIT LIST at a taskmaster. Ordinary cull and skin writs exclude creatures explicitly marked rare, seasonal, weather-gated or time-gated.

Order	Levels	Ground	Region	Resident help
1	0-2	Coldhollow Old Drains	coldhollow	Reeve Halvard Tamm, Captain Ysra Dorn
2	1-4	Frostspine Warren	coldhollow	Reeve Halvard Tamm
3	2-5	Coldhollow Outwall	coldhollow	Captain Ysra Dorn, Mara Ash
4	2-7	Emberford Riverbanks, Orchard & Reedmarsh	emberford	taskmaster, Kale Fenner
5	3-8	Wether Fells	thornfold	reeve Maud Fell
6	8-15	Highreach	lanternwatch	Brann Fetch, Registrar Elian Vey
7	8-14	Old Emberrun Road Pockets	runmede	Cort Fen, Hobb Millwright
8	12-15	Hollowrun Upper Flumes	hollowrun	Brann Fetch, old Hesk

1. Coldhollow Old Drains (levels 0-2)¶

Reach it: From Shuttered Lane, take the broken stair DOWN to the Cistern Stair, then DOWN again into the drains.

Shape of the ground: The Drain Confluence branches into short, lit loops and every branch returns toward the stair.

People who make the place legible:

Reeve Halvard Tamm (room 1056): starter cull and skin writs via WRIT LIST.
Captain Ysra Dorn (room 4000): ASK YSRA ABOUT ROADS or DANGERS before leaving town.

Why it matters locally: Rat pelts and early writs turn practice into the first small purse; the town furrier buys clean skins.

Warning

The Cistern Stair is safe. ASSESS each rat below it, and turn back before the bricked undercroft if hurt.

2. Frostspine Warren (levels 1-4)¶

Reach it: Follow the Frostspine Trail north of Coldhollow and take the signed warren approach.

Shape of the ground: The upper approach is a retreatable learning ground; the deeper kobold chambers raise the danger in visible steps.

People who make the place legible:

Reeve Halvard Tamm (room 1056): warren writs and the commissioned cull.

Why it matters locally: The reeve pays for controlled thinning because warren pressure reaches the trail, stores and winter fuel crews.

Warning

Do not treat the chief or deeper chambers as an ordinary level-one assignment; ASSESS before advancing.

3. Coldhollow Outwall (levels 2-5)¶

Reach it: Pass the wall watch and use the signed postern path; keep the sanctuary paint and return bells in sight.

Shape of the ground: Two compact exterior rooms provide a first lesson in creatures whose presence changes with daylight and chance.

People who make the place legible:

Captain Ysra Dorn (room 4000): ASK YSRA ABOUT DANGERS, then report unusual remains.
Mara Ash (room 4008): local knowledge of clamp foxes and walking lights.

Why it matters locally: The wall watch records evidence while the furrier buys clean hides and flight-feathers.

Warning

Soot hares are ordinary road life. Foxes, rook flocks and especially the walking light are intermittent and never required for ordinary progress.

4. Emberford Riverbanks, Orchard & Reedmarsh (levels 2-7)¶

Reach it: Use ROUTES to read the Coldhollow Road, then TRAVEL to Emberford; the riverbank, orchard and marsh branches leave the town approaches.

Shape of the ground: River rats and mud crabs occupy the near banks, boars the orchard, and vipers and hounds the progressively deeper reed lanes.

People who make the place legible:

taskmaster (room 1323): WRIT LIST for level-banded local work.
Kale Fenner (room 4021): ASK KALE ABOUT SOUTH or DANGERS for road context.

Why it matters locally: Skins feed the fur trade, forage and fish support market writs, and road reports protect river commerce.

Warning

The bog lurker is a level-seven endpoint, not the first marsh target. Read the terrain and ASSESS before following reeds away from town.

5. Wether Fells (levels 3-8)¶

Reach it: Take the signed west road toward Thornfold; the fell loop joins the Frostspine side near room 1107 and the crofter road near Thornfold.

Shape of the ground: Broad upland loops support a gradual climb from fell wildlife to reiver country without making the through-road itself a spawn corridor.

People who make the place legible:

reeve Maud Fell (room 2012): gear, skin buying and level-banded western-pass writs.

Why it matters locally: Pelts, pass protection and escorted traffic sustain Thornfold's slate-sized government and outfitter.

Warning

Buy the rope. Weather, reivers and the higher pass are separate hazards even when the room graph makes them look close.

6. Highreach (levels 8-15)¶

Reach it: Use the Ore Road to Lanternwatch, recover at the outpost, and take the signed Highreach branches rather than the quiet Wyrmshoulder trunk.

Shape of the ground: Successive shelves and quarry paths increase from level eight wildlife through level-fifteen high-country threats.

People who make the place legible:

Brann Fetch (room 1517): WRIT LIST, provisions and current high-country work.
Registrar Elian Vey (room 4030): ASK ELIAN ABOUT CHARTS, MARKERS or WYRMCROWN.

Why it matters locally: Pelts, nuts, lichen, quarry safety and witnessed survey returns all enter Lanternwatch's working ledger.

Warning

Highreach is a vertical danger ladder. A short topological step can represent a hard climb and a large change in exposure.

7. Old Emberrun Road Pockets (levels 8-14)¶

Reach it: Follow the quiet Old Emberrun Road and Lockwater Towpath; leave the trunk only at the Rope-Bridge Gauge, Shepherds' Shelf, Old Rope Ferry or Gravel Islet signs.

Shape of the ground: Four one-room pockets make long-distance travel exploratory without filling the public road with compulsory combat.

People who make the place legible:

Cort Fen (room 4065): ASK CORT ABOUT bridge or shelf creatures.
Hobb Millwright (room 1610): Runmede writs and the local market connection.

Why it matters locally: Bridge comb, hides and ferry evidence matter to wardens, rope crews and the Water Court when their origin is witnessed.

Warning

Every creature in these pockets is sparse or conditional. Explore them for opportunity; never wait on one for routine advancement.

8. Hollowrun Upper Flumes (levels 12-15)¶

Reach it: From Lanternwatch, take the signed Hollowrun Falls descent to the Falls Foot and remain on the upper flume walks.

Shape of the ground: The upper works form the final early-career circuit; scree runs and the Undercut continue beyond the level-fifteen boundary.

People who make the place legible:

Brann Fetch (room 1517): current work and return supplies before the gorge descent.
old Hesk (room 1516): road stories and remembered conditions below the outpost.

Why it matters locally: Tallow, hides and safe-flow evidence support the flume works and the settlements depending on Hollowrun water.

Warning

Stop at the upper flumes through level fifteen. The scree runs, Undercut and Flumekeeper are later objectives.

The safety rule that continues after level 15¶

A level band describes the authored ground, not a guarantee that every inhabitant is present or appropriate. Weather, time, season and rarity can add exceptional creatures. Read the room, ASSESS the creature, keep a return route, and let the local economy reward what you actually encounter rather than waiting for a rare spawn to satisfy a routine checklist.

Continue with Three Roads After Fifteen, Roads Beyond Thirty, the Regional Atlas, and the Creature Field Guide.