The Silent Lake

Water runoff from the surrounding mountains and even the distant Feirgotha Plateau trickles down streams and brooks before finally ending its journey at the Silent Lake. The freshwater repository sits at the nadir of a confluence of mountains, yet it still rests 8,420 feet above sea level. The shallow lake encompasses a wide area, though on average it is only 20 feet deep in most spots with a maximum depth of 45 feet near its eastern shore. Long ago, freshwater bass and trout abounded in the virtually pristine lake until an adventurer’s careless act altered the lake forever.
Fresh from their exploits in Rappan Athuk, a party of explorers could not help but wonder why legions of the walking dead constantly followed them. After some deliberation, they finally placed the blame on a piece of an evil stone they recovered from the Dungeon of Graves. To rid themselves of the vile fragment, the party’s cleric hurled the chunk of stone from the dread artifact into the water here, where it lies roughly 60 feet from the northern shore at a depth of eight feet. Hordes of undead now coalesce along the lake’s shores, drawn to the power of the Zombiestone of Karsh lying at the bottom of the lake. All of these lifeless monsters are of the corporeal variety, as the artifact exerts its influence over decaying flesh and bone rather than wicked spirits. Mindless zombies, skeletons, and other lesser undead, most notably ghouls, make up the overwhelming majority of the Silent Lake’s deceased residents. However, some of these creatures also serve the vampire siblings Carina and Edmund Lashae, the lake’s latest newcomers. The pair dwells in a small cave near the western shore among a small herd of oryxes who serve as their mounts and defenders. Indeed, many believe they travel across the mountain disguised as one of these beasts.

Type

Lake