The Switchback Path

Anyone returning to the village — from trade, from grief, from the Wood — comes up this path first. The Switchback Path descends the bluff from Stonetop to The Stream and The Great Wood. Climbing it takes ten to fifteen minutes, longer with a heavy load.

It is the village's most immediate route down from safety into the Wood, water, and whatever approaches from below. People returning from danger, trade, hunting, grief, or secrets often come up this path first.

Use the Switchback Path as a stage for arrivals and returns: an injured hunter at dusk, a delegation climbing into view, a corpse carried home, or something from the Wood testing how close it can come.

• The single path down from Stonetop's bluff
• 10-15 minutes to climb, longer with a heavy load
• Watchtowers along the Ringwall above overlook the approach