Drunken Sagas: The Hill House background design

I really dislike doing backgrounds; there are so many rules one needs to follow to make a really nice and dimensional background and they really just don't come easily to me, unlike drawing people who are more fun and intuitive for me. However, this being said, I need to challenge myself more to become a better artist, and I need back grounds if I want to tell rich dynamic stories. So I challenged myself to try and make 2 background drawings a week, and here is the first.
This is the home and farm of Paul the Wise. He lives atop the a high hill that is easily defended from intruders, much to Eric's chagrin. Every time he comes to visit he complains about the walk up and Paul always just responds, "One day you will be glad that I found this hill." Eric would indeed be glad years later that Paul had found this hill and even more glad that he had the foresight to build and escape tunnel. Though until that day Eric is always looking for a way to get Paul out of his long house at the top without having to go up himself.