A Hollow of Eyes

A ring of stagnant, brackish pools lies deep within the borderlands of the wastelands and wetlands. The pools are unnervingly still, their murky surfaces perfectly reflecting the sky above. Yet, those who linger and look down see more than reflections: they see eyes—hundreds of them—swirling faintly in the depths.
The air here is heavy and damp, filled with the smell of stagnant water. The silence is broken only by the sound of soft ripples on the banks of the wetlands. Half-submerged in reeds and muck at the center of the pools rests a colossal weathered stone tablet etched with indecipherable symbols that seem to shift when glanced at too long.
Deeper: The Hollow of Eyes is a forgotten graveyard, a remnant of an ancient denizen trapped in a perpetual dying state. Those who gaze too long into the pools hear whispers—not in the air, but in their minds—soft, unintelligible voices pulling at their sanity. Some return speaking strange languages or carrying visions of places they do not recognize. The stone tablet at the center resists all attempts at translation, but scholars believe it is a warning or map to something far worse buried below.
Adventurers who disturb the Hollow find the pools hiding more than reflections. Sometimes, shadowy forms claw their way out of the water, eyeless figures whose mere touch chills the soul, their movements jerky and unnatural. They attack intruders silently, pulling them toward the depths into the gaping void of darkness.
The pools are unnatural—deep pits that twist into submerged tunnels, leading to caverns rumored to house forgotten artifacts and creatures.
A pupil of the Apostate Host stumbled upon a marker stone buried in the wetlands, which allowed him to distill meaning from one of the symbols carved into the tablet. Having since uncovered others, he jealously guards his discovery and conducts his searches discreetly, disguised as a madman.