Hi all

I'm currently planning the next adventures for my campaign. One of
the characters wants to go to the Shadowworld, and she has good
arguments to convince the others so they'll probably join her. So
what I'm planning is this very trip. The characters have found a
device to create a gate to the Shadowworld. What they don't know is
that this gate will be very short lived, and (surprise, surprise) only
one way (the device, a small cube, melts away after being used). This
means they have to find their own way back into the world of the
living. The reason why they want to go there is to rescue a lost soul
trapped somewhere (they only have clues where exactly).

Now, what I'm asking you:
What exactly does the Shadowworld look like? Any ideas? I know the
landscape is the same, but what about buildings? A guess some ruins
could be intact in the Shadowworld, or the other way round. And what
about the light? Probably dark and gloomy, eternal twilight.
The most important thing is, I want to fill the Shadowworld with
something. So far I have come up with ruined towns inhabited by
phantoms and ghosts, but I don't want to overdo it. Any idea what a
settlement of living people (or halflings) would look like?
Filling the Shadowworld only with undead is not only boring, but
predictable.
I would appreciate any input.

Kai