Perhaps peak camp is more accurate, given that this is the highest and dryest you'll be for the rest of the journey. Here at camp, your have indefinite of time to purchase gear, find recruits to join you, relax, exchange stories with travels and other delvers.
At the start of the campaign:
It has been a long journey through the Mountains of Starlight. The freezing cold is humbling even to the hardiest of travelers, but you have finally reached your destination. A warmth hits your face as you reach the hot springs nestled cozily within a shallow crater. It seems you aren't the first to arrive; a small camp including a tent several meters across beckons you as a place to rest your weary bodies before beginning your true journey. Just beyond is a massive maw made of stone- the entrance to THE BOTTOM OF THE EARTH.
When the players first arrive at base camp, they should already understand what awaits them. They will spend this first session introducting their character's strength and weaknesses, talking with NPCs, and-if they haven't already- purchase gear and supplies for their upcoming delve. Some of the important starting equipment will be introduced later on this page.
This tavern, which is more of a tent at the start of the campaign, provides protection from the elements, places to rest, and warm meals. Of course, it also serves as a store front for everything the players need during their delve. Jeremy Bearimy is the proprieter and runs all of the basic facilities. He is a Bearbug, a particularly strange species of humanoid insect which orginates in these mountains, resembling some combination of a mantis and hornet with thick fur growing between and around exoskeletal plates. Always polite, he opened this tavern to keep a safe eye over anyone who might bring harm to the caves as well as turn a tidy profit. He charges nothing for room and board, so long as any adventurers prove they have the determination to DELVE. Tourists (if they ever find their way out here) still have to pay though.