“Bells on the river, eyes on the woods.” _{~ bellwarden}

Bellwatch residents say the river is their first wall, and the clearcut their second. The town sits well south of the river canyon with a wide strip of cleared ground between, keeping the Sleepless Forest on the far side. By day the cut is plain stumps and grass. By night it fills with ghost trees that match the old forest line, pale and half-seen, and the road goes missing under their branches. Few dare cross after sundown.

Building on hard lessens from the Scourge, the townsfolk keep bell shifts through the night, teach alarm codes before letters, drink wake-tea strong, and keep pillows thin. When the wind comes off the trees, no one naps.