TheNexusProject/DeadBeastHill

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Dead Beast Hill

by Hulen

"You stay far away from that hill, child. You'll live longer'n those as don't."
-Old Gran, matron and wise woman.
"A night on the Hill? Hell no, I like my skin!"
- a child of Firewander

Dead Beast Hill - the name alone strikes fear in the heart of any resident of Firewander. None of them remember a time when the Hill was not feared - and most never remember who told them about it. To outsiders, the fear is only partially understandable. While the skins of animals are found upon the Hill nightly, that is not why it is feared - that cannot truly be put into words.

The locals will merely say that Dead Beast Hill is a place of bad luck and bad omen, and that you'd live longer if you stayed away, echoing the words that everyone in Firewander has heard from Old Gran. What is known is that to spend a night on Dead Beast Hill almost always results in death. The few times it has been tried, always by an outsider, they never returned. Locals say that a human skin appears on the Hill some time after these attempts.

The skins that appear at times around the city, wrapped around the branches of the stone pines, are said to come from the Hill. Old Gran will say nothing of this, and nor will any other local leader, instead merely shaking her head quietly and warning questioners to stay away from the Hill.

Rumours

  • When she thinks it's safe, Old Gran says that the things of Stone Pine Marsh, which she calls Madman's Hands, are only the servants of whatever it is that haunts the Dead Beast Hill.
  • The Stone Pine Cultists serve the thing ruling Dead Beast Hill, some out of madness and some out of fear.

Secret

  • The haunting of the Hill is caused by a mad spirit whose name is long forgotten, older than even, perhaps, Nexus itself. It and the things of the Marshes are mad relics from an earlier time, and they thrive on fear and terror and darkness. It is their nighttime visitations of some of those in Firewander and other portions of the city that have bred a fear of darkness into the Firewander residents, and their coming is always foretold by the skins on branches. They are afraid of fire, though, being creatures of darkness and swamps, and this is the cause of Firewander's old superstitions about candles and fire, which are mostly true.

Comments

I don't really understand what the second rumor is trying to state. its a bit confusing for me and I was hoping you could clarify a little - Paladinltd

Seems very clear to me. There's a group of cultists related to the Stone Pine Marsh, who themselves have a phantom link, so we know very little about them yet. The rumour claims that they serve the supernatural entity that owns the hill. The rumour may be slightly problematic because it directly implies the secret for the entry, but the secret is such an obvious possibility that it doesn't really seem like a problem to me. Maybe if you state what exactly is confusing you it'll help the author more.
~ Shataina
As to the rumor implying the secret...well, the secret's more about what's ruling the Hill than that it's ruled at all, as I saw it. Also, yes, it'd help to kow what was confusing you. - Hulen
O.k. to clarify as I was aware of it the thing that was haunting Stone Pine Marsh was one and the same, but after reading the entry over again I see where you were going with it. (Note to self: reading and writing on the internet at two in the morning: bad idea)