Dry Creek

A parched settlement along a riverbed that flows only during spring melt. Dry Creek survives on well water and stubbornness, supplying timber to Varnhalt and West Varnhalt in exchange for grain. Its residents are known throughout the Frontier for their laconic temperament and refusal to relocate. On the Varnhalt Frontier, this site sits inside the patchwork of crossroad towns, mesa camps, and trade-protected routes that radiate from Old Varnhalt. The Loosening is constant here — mile markers contradict, paths loop — so settlements rely on local pacing and on the small island of stability around the Black Stone Tower in the eastern hills. The Frontier has no central authority; this place answers to whoever its trade depends on this season.