The Ossuary Depths
The Ossuary of Forgotten Swords
A weathered crusader's helm, half buried beneath moss and wild grass, is the only sign that anything lies beneath the hill. Below it stretches an immense ossuary where the dead of the Shining Crusade were laid to rest. Soldiers lie beside pilgrims, refugees, camp followers, and even the enemies they fell beside. For centuries the place remained undisturbed. Now something has awakened beneath the bones.
The deeper the party travels, the older the passages become. Burial tunnels give way to ceremonial halls, forgotten shrines, and chambers untouched since the last funeral rites were spoken. Four locations form the heart of the ossuary.
- The Entry Warrens. Narrow burial tunnels choked with cave-ins, loose bones, and hungry scavengers. The Veilbreaker's followers keep watch here, turning away the curious—or ensuring they never leave.
- The Hall of Blades. A vast circular chamber where thousands of swords still stand point-first in the stone exactly as they were planted centuries ago. Restoring an ancient funerary pattern is the only way deeper into the ossuary.
- The Cultist Shrine. In an abandoned burial chapel, Brother Alms gathers the Flock of the Open Grave. Most who kneel before him came seeking comfort after losing someone they loved. What they have found instead is something far darker.
- The Hunger's Lair. At the deepest point in the ossuary, the veil-tear has grown into a ragged wound between worlds. Something waits beside it, feeding on souls that should have long since found peace.
Finding Selene's Name
The party needs to know the name Selene before reaching Area O4, or the Moment of Clarity mechanic cannot trigger. Here are three discovery points:
- Area O1 — The Entry Warrens: Half-buried in the collapsed rubble near the southern entry is a Pharasmin marker stone (DC 18 Perception to spot). The inscription reads: "S. stands vigil. The veil sings here. — S." A successful DC 16 Religion check identifies the shorthand and the sigil style as belonging to Selene, a known psychopomp who operated in the region.
- Area O2 — The Hall of Blades: When a character handles the Arming Sword of Lady Ysolde (the Transit blade), a successful DC 18 Religion check or casting detect alignment triggers a brief vision: a pale woman in gray robes placing the sword in the stone decades ago, humming a dirge. She turns, and for a moment her lips shape the word "Selene" before the vision fades.
- Area O3 — The Cultist Shrine: Brother Alms wears a tarnished silver mask on his belt—a psychopomp's face-piece, clearly not his. A successful DC 18 Perception check notices the name Selene etched in Requian along the inner rim. Alms calls it "the mask of the Hunger's first slave." If pressed, he admits he found it near the deep rift and took it as a relic. He does not know what it means.
If all else fails: Sister Mirela already told the party Selene's name in the prologue. These beats confirm it, lend emotional weight, and give mechanical bonuses (reduce the Redemption DC by 2 if the party discovered at least two of these clues before confronting the Soul-Hunger).
