Battlemap
Hornskull Mine
The horned skull atop the wooden totem pulses like a heart, and every warg in the cave answers it with a low growl.
Hornskull Mine is an abandoned excavation hollowed into a limestone ridge, later occupied by Troglodytes driven underground by the empire. Gurt, called the Wolf Shepherd, now uses its old ritual chamber to turn stolen wargs into berserkers and feed forbidden magic with blood sacrifices.
Cold mineral air carries the stink of wet fur, old blood, and lamp oil. Water ticks from the ceiling, distant claws scrape across stone, and the largest chamber pulses with a dull red glow that makes every shadow seem to breathe.
☠ Threat
Gurt the Wolf Shepherd is a scarred beastman who believes the Witch King's old commands can make him master of every predator in the ridge. His wooden totem, bound with branches, bone, hide, blood, and a horned ogre skull, drives nearby wargs into violent berserk rages. Each sacrifice strengthens the magic, and the next ritual will permanently bind the surviving pack to Gurt.
History
Hornskull Mine began as a small imperial silver dig, abandoned after miners broke into foul-smelling caverns. Troglodytes of the Men of Gog claimed the tunnels and carved obedience rites into the walls while serving the Witch King. Imperial soldiers later routed them, leaving the cave sealed and forgotten. Gurt found it years later, learned the inscriptions, and built his blood-fed totem around a horned ogre skull.
Encounter Table
CRA pair of half-trained wolves wearing bone collars and smelling of blood. They are scouting for signs of intruders and may flee if one is badly injured.
A berserk warg with glowing eyes and ritual cuts across its muzzle. It has broken away from the main den and attacks anything that moves.
A pale Troglodyte scavenger from the forgotten lower tunnels, drawn by the smell of fresh sacrifice. It knows nothing of Gurt but recognizes the old inscriptions.
Rumours & Whispers
The wolves around the ridge have begun attacking in daylight, and some villagers swear the largest ones stand upright when they howl.
An old mine beneath the ridge still holds imperial silver, but every prospector who enters hears someone counting behind them.
The beastman called Gurt can make a dead wolf rise and fight again by feeding it blood beneath a horned skull.
The Men of Gog were driven into the deep earth, but their king's servants were never all found.
A child taken from the village was seen alive near the mine, guarded by a black warg with a red rope around its neck.
Quest Hooks
Quest giver: Hessa Udo, a broad-shouldered charcoal burner who found a child's shoe near the ridge
Villagers from three nearby settlements have vanished, and bloody wolf tracks lead toward the old mine. The party must rescue any surviving captives before Gurt's next sacrifice.
Forty gold pieces, free lodging in the settlements, and a trained hunting hound
Quest giver: Osei Varro, a soft-spoken caravan factor with a bloodstained ledger
A merchant's son was taken alive because Gurt believes noble blood will please the totem. He is held in the sacrifice chamber, guarded by wargs that are beginning to transform.
A sealed merchant's coffer containing a potion of healing, trade goods, and seventy-five gold pieces
Quest giver: Sahira Pell, an imperial archivist with soot on her gloves and a talent for ancient scripts
An imperial scholar wants the Troglodyte inscriptions copied before miners collapse the ridge. The party must enter the cave, preserve the carvings, and determine whether the hidden deep-earth route still opens.
A scroll of comprehend languages, imperial favor, and a map to a forgotten watchtower
Corridor Notes
Rusting mine rails emerge from the rock and vanish beneath claw-marked mud. Several iron spikes have been driven into the walls to hold strips of wolf hide and finger bones.
Faded Troglodyte inscriptions cover the lower walls, their grooves filled with soot and dried blood. A character who studies them can recognize repeated references to obedience, hunger, and the Witch King below.
A cold draft leaks from hairline cracks around the secret door leading toward Room 2. The air smells briefly of pine smoke whenever the totem in the boss chamber pulses.
Small piles of gnawed bones mark the safest path through the cave. Most are animal bones, but several bear crude knife cuts and old human teeth marks.
Turn Hornskull Mine into a sheet
A high-res, share-ready sheet you can post or print.