Grave Mounds of the Hills of Shade

The region known as the Grave Mounds contains the densest collection of barrows within the Hills of Shade. Located in the northeastern corner of the hills, the grave mounds include tombs dating back to the Combine Empire and the mysterious civilization that built the Black Tombs, and also features crypts crafted by the ancient forebears of the Crushbone orcs, as well as the first elves who traveled to Faydwer from Antonica; finally, the most recent additions are those tombs placed here by the Knights of Truth from Freeport during the Crusade of Tears. In addition, there are numerous burial mounds that have been completed by one group or another but which for whatever reason were never used, which is likely why so many different groups have placed some of their dead here.

As a result, the barrows themselves are far from uniform.They vary in size from a single room to complexes that spread across (or rather underneath) nearly a full acre of surface area. Many of the barrows are linked by tunnels or cracks in the earth, creating subterranean labyrinths of great danger. Great numbers of barrow wolves make their dens within these mounds, and other creatures often inhabit them as well. Many have complex traps set to protect the treasures buried within, and some of these traps are tied into steam vents to allow them to reset after each use.

Unlike the Black Tombs, the burial mounds are easily spotted from the outside. Each is a large earthen mound with a huge stone slab placed over the top and shale built up around the sides. This area is somewhat more geologically stable than other parts of the Hills, so, although quakes do occasionally bury or reveal new mounds, many of the same mounds can be found on any visit to the region. As the mounds have no distinctive markings on the outside, however, it’s impossible to determine who (or what) is in each without either moving the enormous rock atop it (certainly a difficult task, as each weighs at least several tons) or digging into it from the side.

Because of these difficulties, scavengers and corpse miners tend to ignore the Grave Mounds in favor of easier pickings elsewhere. Only individuals seeking a specific barrow spend time hunting here. The sole exception to this rule is agents of Mayong Mistmoore. Dark offerers, deathly ushers, pledge familiars, recluses, webstranders, and even will sappers are fairly common sights around the Mounds, digging into old barrows and setting up ropes and pulleys to remove the huge capstones. It has been suggested that these creatures are seeking a particular tomb for their master, but, if so, no one knows which one, or why.

According to legend, the high elf Aataltaal, founder of Freeport, is buried within the largest of these mounds. This is not true (and many whisper that the elf is not dead at all), but the mistake is understandable: One of the few elves who aided Aataltaal in establishing the primarily human city of Freeport, Lady Delailith, did return to Felwithe upon his disappearance, and eventually her remains were buried here in the hills. Her burial mound, long hidden and lost to posterity, was only recently rediscovered.