Desolation Blade Mounts
1. The Mounds of Hardened Clay
Situated in the harsh, rain-shadowed southwestern reaches of the Palakar Forest, the Desolation Blade Mounts are an eerie collection of perfectly smooth, symmetrical hills made of hardened, ancient clay. They look almost artificial, rising out of the barren, tan-colored earth like the knuckles of a buried giant. The terrain here is dry and cracked, utterly devoid of the lush green canopy that defines the rest of the forest, save for the occasional dead, skeletal tree.
No one knows who built them, and no living scholar, dwarf, or satyr has ever been able to offer a definitive answer. The clay is impossibly hard, resistant to standard digging tools, and strangely, it never erodes, even under centuries of torrential rain. The mounds range in size from small hillocks to massive, looming structures, and they are laid out in a terrifyingly precise geometric pattern that aligns with the stars on the winter solstice.
The local fey refuse to speak of them. The Satyrs of the Court of Endless Revelry will immediately change the subject if asked about the Mounts, and the Nymphs of the Court of Seasons actively forbid any creature from approaching them, claiming the mounds are "the grave of something that should not be named." Despite this, they stand as a silent, ominous monument just miles away from the bustling town of Macridi.
2. The Pale Hand and the Blackened Blade
The most terrifying characteristic of the Desolation Blade Mounts is not the mounds themselves, but the stone markers that visitors often return with. These small, perfectly carved tablets are made of the same smooth clay as the mounds. They are etched with a single, stark image: a pale hand clutching a blackened blade.
The markers are not physically given to a visitor; they simply *appear*. A traveler might camp at the edge of the Mounts, fall asleep, and wake up to find the heavy, cold stone sitting in their pocket, or resting on their chest. Sometimes, they are found at the bottom of a traveler's pack, or even placed inside their boots while they were walking. The markers never appear in the hands of someone who merely looks at the mounds from a distance; they are specifically crafted for those who venture too close or who are somehow "marked" by the ancient magic.
Carrying the marker is a profound burden. It is unnaturally cold to the touch and always feels damp, regardless of the weather. Those who carry them begin to suffer from terrible nightmares, dreaming of a massive obsidian blade plunging into the earth, accompanied by the sound of a thousand voices screaming in ancient Kellid. The symbols are a summons—a silent accusation that the carrier has been chosen to fulfill an ancient, bloody prophecy.
3. The First Kings of the Kellids
The truth of the mounds is a terrifying secret buried deep in history. The Desolation Blade Mounts are not natural; they are the ancient earthen tombs of the Macridi Blade Kings, the original rulers of the Kellid people who settled the Palakar before the rise of the dwarves. These kings were not simple warlords; they were blood mages who traded their souls with the deepest, most malignant powers of the First World in exchange for absolute dominion over the forest.
The kings were protected by the Blackened Blade, a weapon forged from the heart of a dead god. The blade was not meant to cut flesh; it was meant to cut *fate*. Every time the Blade Kings conquered a rival tribe, they would bury their enemies' leaders alive beneath massive mounds of clay, using the Blackened Blade to seal their souls within. The mounds are thus literal prisons, containing the trapped, tortured souls of hundreds of ancient enemies, all screaming to be released.
When the kings died, the survivors—horrified by the blood magic they had unleashed—sealed the kings themselves inside the largest mounds. They performed a desperate, final ritual to entomb the Blackened Blade beneath the earth, hoping to bury the entire Macridi Blade culture with it. The ritual worked, but the magic was never truly destroyed; it simply slept, waiting for the greed of a future generation to dig it up.
4. The Curse of the Marked
When a visitor returns from the Mounts with a stone marker, they are marked by the ancient magic. It is not a mere souvenir; it is a debt. The ancient kings are dead and buried, but their greed lives on in the clay. They use the markers to identify souls who are willing to trade their morality for immense, ancient power.
The curse of the marker progresses over time. Initially, the marked suffer nightmares. Within a week, they begin to hear whispers on the wind, telling them to dig, to return to the Mounts, and to unearth what was buried. Within a month, the bearer's hands begin to discolor, turning a pale, chalky white—the exact shade of the hand depicted on the stone.
If the marked does not return to the Mounts and offer themselves to the ancient magic, the curse reaches its final stage: their hands turn fully black, and they are compelled to use the Blackened Blade they have been destined to retrieve. They will murder those closest to them to use their blood to unseal the earth. The only way to break the curse is to destroy the marker, which causes the bearer immense psychic pain, or to find a creature of pure good—such as Ambithas the Archon—to exorcise the ancient evil from the stone.
5. The Maze of Whispers
If the party is brave or foolish enough to explore the space between the mounds, they will discover an ancient, labyrinthine system of tunnels made of packed clay. These tunnels are not natural; they are hollowed out by the roots of the ancient trees that died to build the mounds. The air inside is heavy, warm, and smells of dried blood and dust.
The tunnels act as a maze of echoes. They are guarded by Clay Sentinels—hulking golems made of the very same clay as the mounds. They have no eyes, but they are constantly moving, seeking out intruders. They do not attack to kill; they attack to *imprison* visitors in the endless tunnels, forcing them to wander until they starve.
At the very center of the labyrinth is the Vault of the Blackened Blade. This is the darkest, most terrifying chamber in the entire forest. The obsidian blade rests on a dais of blackened bone, surrounded by the petrified souls of the kings. It slowly pulses with a visible, malevolent black light. It is here that the party will feel the overwhelming temptation of its power. It will whisper to them, offering them infinite strength, the ability to command armies, and the power to seize the entire Kalistocracy of Druma.
6. Ties to the Fey and the Pulgari Estate
The Desolation Blade Mounts are not an isolated anomaly. They are the central nexus of the entire Palakar crisis. The Blackened Blade buried here is the same weapon that Bridden Pulgari sought to unearth to open his portal to Hell. The blight at Reiver's Right is a direct reaction to the mound's magic being disturbed by his mining operations.
The Court of Seasons knows about the Mounts, but they refuse to intervene. Queen Morrow of Autumn believes that the mound is the only thing holding the forest together, and that disturbing the ancient pact will unleash a catastrophe far greater than the blight. The fey are not protecting the forest from the humans; they are protecting the world from *the mound*.
If the party retrieves the Blackened Blade, they will discover that it is the key to closing the portal at the Pulgari Estate. It is the only weapon capable of destroying the Seal of Avarice. However, the blade is inherently evil. Holding it for too long will corrupt even the purest of souls. The party must find a way to use its power without falling prey to the ultimate Blood Price—losing their humanity.
7. Treasures and Horrors of the Mounts
- Stone Markers: The cursed tablets. They are powerful divination tools but drain the bearer's life force. They can be given to an enemy to curse them, but doing so plants a seed of evil in the user's heart.
- Ancient Kellid Armor: Perfectly preserved suits of darkwood armor, carved with the symbols of the Blade Kings. They offer incredible protection but whisper the names of the dead.
- Clay Sentinels: The guardians of the labyrinth. They are immune to bludgeoning damage and can only be destroyed by shattering their hidden core or being melted by intense, magical heat.
- The Blackened Blade: The ultimate prize and the ultimate curse. It is a +2 Keen Obsidian Greatsword. It is capable of cutting through magic, but every time it is drawn, it demands a blood sacrifice from the wielder or their allies. It is the weapon that will decide the fate of the entire Palakar Forest.