Beyond the town’s borders lies the rugged terrain of its hinterlands—rolling forested hills rising to verdant mountains to the west, while to the east, the region’s largest river eventually flows into the [[Sea of Ghosts]]. Where this river meets the sea stands [[Willowshore]]’s closest neighbor, the coastal fortified market called [[Karahai]], yet even this location is a day’s ride from town. The immediate hinterlands feature a number of minor sites of interest. The Duyue River is the largest waterway in the region with Willowshore founded on one of its tributaries, the Ceiba River. A shallower tributary, Dragonfly Creek, winds south to an open area of rugged stone known as the [[Gorge of Fangs and Teeth]]—a natural quarry that supplied the stone for Willowshore’s roads and foundations. [[Gourd Lake]], downriver from Willowshore, provides excellent fishing, but those who would ply its waters would do well to make offerings to the kappas who dwell in its depths and cavort on its southern shores. [[Green Silk Peak]], nearly 2,000 feet high, is the highest point of elevation in the hinterlands, while the natural sinkholes known as the [[Eyes of Fumeiyoshi]] are the opposite—barren pits in the ground where nothing grows and gritty water has pooled. Signs of habitation beyond Willowshore are sparse in the region, but they do exist and are largely abandoned. To the northeast stand the burnt-out ruins of an abandoned roadhouse once known as [[Canary Inn]], while a remote Hunter’s Hut stands near the headwaters of the Duyue River. To the north can be found an old expansion once intended to support Willowshore, but these buildings and farms were soon abandoned when it became apparent the stream that flowed through the area tended to dry up at random intervals each year. To the west, near the source of the Ceiba River, are the remains of the old Lumber Camp abandoned a few years ago by the local lumber lords—a location that’s slowly being reclaimed by the forest. And in the low mountains northwest of town, at the far end of the trail known as Pilgrim’s Path, stand the ruins of the [[Tan Sugi Monastery]]—a place reputed today to be the den of monsters, ghosts, or worse. The forest surrounding Willowshore is part of the much larger woodland known as Specterwood, although here in Willowshore’s hinterlands, the haunts and ghosts notorious for plaguing these woods aren’t as dangerous. Wildlife is abundant with deer and boars making up the primary large game in the region, and more dangerous predators like black bears, wolves, giant stag beetles, and enormous spiders comprise the greater perils of the hinterlands to those who travel too far from the roads or explore the wilds after dark.