he County of Rowan-Oak sits above the ramparts of the Virginia Blue Ridge, which rise from the lowland fields and forest like an abrupt wall. Largely rural, the county holds few towns of any size except for those along its northern marches, and the city of Roanoke at its eastern end. Southward, the population grows sparse, especially at the county's western end, where the hills upon the plateau grow steep and twist around Buffalo Mountain, the highest point in the region. The County is bounded by two trods and a river which exists in both the dreaming and the waking-world. Since the trods also follow mortal landmarks, more or less, it is convenient to describe the county in terms of mortal geography: All the territory east of the New River between the Appalachian Trail and the Blue Ridge Parkway, as far as and including the city of Roanoke, Virginia.

The mass of the mountain plateau sits atop an aquifer, which feeds thousands of springs and streams throughout the county. This enormous upwelling of pure water here is thought by some to correlate with the prevalence of glades in the region, and with the seeming proximity of the Dreaming to the Autumn Lands, especially in the less-developed regions. The Kithain tell many strange stories of the powers of various springs and waterways, and of mysterious guardians set over potent hidden glens. The past three years have brought the region little rain, however, and as springs begin to run low in the Autumn world, kithain fear what this may portend for the Dreaming, and mutter that it may be time to seat a new duke upon the Rhododendron throne.

The chimerical resources available from the Dreaming here reflect those found in the Autumn Lands. Timber is abundant, as forests proliferate all around the small homesteads with their clearings for pasturage and crops. Chimerical cattle raised for meat and dairy are pastured here, and many fields grow hay for their winter fodder. Stone, particularly granite and shale, may be quarried here. Although findings are now scant in the Autumn Lands, tales told by the mortal inhabitants of the region recall a time of greater plenty and the stream-beds of the Dreaming still glitter with gold amidst the sands. Resourceful prospectors can -- with the Countess' permission and for a tithe of their gleanings -- accumulate riches with a little diligence and luck. Further mineral wealth includes a lead mine beneath the freehold of Ben Bison (although the mine said once to have existed in the Autumn Lands beneath Buffalo Mountain cannot be found) and veins of garnet and quartz of a quality suitable for jewelry making.

Fortune-hunters must be careful not to let greed outstrip respect for the welfare of the Dreaming. While careful gathering may proceed with only moderate risk (as few of the richest regions are on the silver path), indiscriminate rapine of the Dreaming's bounty will surely draw the ire of the regions chimerical denizens. Claim-jumpers are not taken kindly to, and any who harvest the wealth of the county had best obtain the approval of the nobility, or else face strict penalties.