Battlemap
Barrow of Nine Bells
The dead remember every oath, and the hills have begun to ring.
Beneath the Old Hills lies a buried complex of hill-fort stone, royal graves, and ritual chambers built around a black funeral bell. The dead have begun to rise as an ancient oath fails, spreading a curse across De Gylleneåsarna and calling something greater from beneath the land. The dungeon offers several routes to its deepest sanctum, but every shortcut demands a sacrifice, confession, or betrayal.
The dungeon smells of peat smoke, wet stone, old iron, and sweet burial spices. Pale blue flames gutter in clay bowls, while roots push through the masonry and drip black water. Bells toll without movement, sometimes from distant chambers and sometimes from inside the characters' own memories.
☠ Threat
King Rauthen, the Last Oathkeeper, lies enthroned in the deepest barrow with the black funeral bell chained above him. He is an intelligent revenant who believes the living broke their promise and must be buried to restore order. Rauthen can negotiate, offering safe passage and knowledge, but every bargain binds the speaker to a supernatural oath that may turn against the party later.
History
The complex was built into an older hill-fort by Queen Yseld and the oathbound clans of De Gylleneåsarna. They buried their rulers beneath the fort and forged nine black bells to seal a nameless power beneath the hills. Each generation renewed the oath through blood, burial gold, and truthful testimony. When the last oathkeeper vanished, the rituals stopped, the royal dead awakened, and the bells began calling to one another through the earth.
Encounter Table
CRThin undead pilgrims carrying cold lanterns. They repeat the last words spoken by anyone they encounter and become hostile if contradicted.
A skeleton wrapped in peat-stained funeral cloth, dragging a length of gold chain that rings softly against the floor.
A corpse swollen with roots and black water. It imitates the voice of a party member calling for help from around the next corner.
A faceless warden carrying a small bell and a broken spear. It silently points toward the deepest level, then attacks anyone who follows too slowly.
Rumours & Whispers
A black bell rings under the Old Hills whenever someone in the villages breaks a promise.
The dead beneath the hills wear more gold than the living, but every thief who returns forgets the face of someone they loved.
The old noble families still send offerings into the hills through sealed doors.
A pilgrim road vanished beneath a landslide, yet fresh footprints appear on it after every new moon.
The curse is not spreading outward from the barrow. It is spreading downward toward something older.
Quest Hooks
Quest giver: Edda Varn, peat-cutter and village elder
A village elder asks the party to recover a silver signet from the collapsed pilgrim entrance. The signet opens a sealed side passage and bears the crest of the last family sworn to maintain the dungeon's rites.
A pouch of burial gold, safe lodging in the village, and the family's oath-token, which grants advantage on one negotiation with the dead.
Quest giver: Master Oren Vale, expelled royal archivist
A disgraced archivist believes the dungeon contains records proving that the regional curse was engineered by a noble faction. She wants the ledgers recovered before her former allies destroy them.
A translated map of the underground seal network and access to hidden historical contacts in De Gylleneåsarna.
Quest giver: Sister Maela Thorn, leader of the Ashen Covenant
A rival faction enters through the old pilgrim route while the party explores the lower levels. They may become allies against Rauthen, attempt to steal the black bell, or betray the party during the final ritual.
A rare funerary charm that protects against possession, though accepting it marks the bearer as a servant of the Covenant.
Quest giver: The bell itself, heard in recurring dreams
The funeral bell has begun ringing in the memories of villagers who have never visited the hills. The party must decide whether to renew the ancient oath, alter it to free the royal dead, or break the bell and face the awakening seal network.
A powerful relic tied to the chosen ending, along with the gratitude or hatred of the dead beneath the hills.
Corridor Notes
Carved oath-stones line the oldest passages, each showing a kneeling ruler placing a ring into a flame. Characters who touch them hear a private promise they once made whispered by a dead voice.
Bundles of dried peat and juniper hang from iron hooks, still giving off thin trails of smoke despite being cold to the touch.
Gold burial nails have been hammered into the walls at irregular intervals. Removing one causes a nearby corpse to turn its head toward the thief.
Thick roots form natural curtains over lower passages. Behind them, scratching, breathing, and muffled conversations can sometimes be heard, though no living creature is present.
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