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The Sunset Catacombs
The Sunset Catacombs are roughly halfway between the Village and Madaan, and one of the few marks of fame in the immediate area that actually draws people with anything approaching regularity. A massive tomb complex dating back to the time well before the Great Contagion, the Catacombs are said to be vast beyond compare -- extending hundreds of feet down, with multiple levels and huge amounts of space. More interestingly, they have never been fully looted, though exactly what treasures may lurk in the lightless depths are similarly unknown. They would likely draw even more traffic from Scavenger Lords and such, except for the fact that nobody who has proceeded very far in has ever survived. While most suspect they are rich treasures indeed down there, no one knows for sure, and given the dangers it is a risk that only the most bold and foolish wish to take.
The exploration of the Catacombs is made even more dangerous by the fact that no one knows exactly what dangers await them far below the earth, or how you might prepare to meet them. All that has been conveyed to those above is the presence of massive catacombs, filled with hundreds or even thousands of bodies, with twisting passages that extend like a maze far under the ground. None who have ventured deeper have ever returned, at least sane enough to communicate what might wait below.
The Moaning Fields
Yet the Moaning Fields are even less often visited, being the site of a vicious battle between a now-forgotten Kingdom and their nameless adversaries. Dating back well over 170 years, if not even more ancient, this old battleground lay about a half-days hard march south of the Village in the deep wilderness with nothing for miles around but bare plains and light forest. The Fields themselves are somewhat rocky, always overcast, and inspire a general unease to anyone unwise enough to linger. Those that remain into the evening hours have even been known to disappear entirely.
Even so, the Fields are one of the few sources for a rare and puissant herb that some wise-women have long used to fight off disease and infection. Youth are thus fairly frequently sent to the Fields to gather some, ensuring that the supplies of the herb do not run low. Those that spend overmuch time there, especially those that linger into the late hours of the afternoon or into the twilight, speak of strange sounds on the air and phantom figures in the distance. One young maiden even came back, a day after she had gone to pick herbs, heavy with child...
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