The Body Mine
Outside of Eschbach there is a mine that is currently in bother. Run by Dwarves out of the town and employing both Humans & Half-Orcs as well as Dwarves related to Clan Asgersonn.
Purpose / Function
The mine has been in operation for a few years primarily mining a mix of marble, granite and basalt with a few veins of iron & silver. These are either used locally or sold to other towns & cities.
Alterations
Originally a small set of caves in the hills to the southwest of Eschbach roughly 4 miles away, it has been expanded when it was found to be profitable to use the stone. It has been cleared and widened with mineshafts leading off it and downwards. When opened up, there was a strange section that has been left alone & cordoned off with clerical protections. It seems that in the righthand corner of the cave, a discovery of a pair of entwined skeletal remains were found in a sitting position as if they had died in an embrace. Humanoid in appearance they appear to be fossilised and been there for some time. Both are naked & hairless. Who these were & and from when is unknown.
In front of this is a hole about 5 to 6 feet wide, and a rope hanging down in. The top of the rope is split into two with either end attached to stone outcrops either side of the skeletons. The rope appears old and made of some unknown type of hair. The rope has a leathery substance wrapped around it in place to strengthen it. The hole depth is unknown at present though it has been seen that swarms of bats, insects and rats are a common sight around it or moving in or out of it.
History
The mines were opened by the brother & sister Dwarves Agner & Agnis Greybeard. Their clan is affiliated with the Asgersonn Clan in the north, and they were looking for new mines to the south. They got the mine rights from the Frankish government and now falls under direct control of the lordship of Eschbach.
The mine is considered haunted with most of the miners reporting strange knocking in the mineshafts, along with toxic gas, cold air, freezing water, and creatures attacking the miners. These creatures are usually slimes, moulds and oozes, or insects, bats, and rats. This is also backed up with disappearances & accidents happening on full moons. Sometimes shadows are seen when the miners are working.
It is quite profitable due to the new demand for stone, allowing the mine to stay open.
"Aye, we mine there. Never really come into town but the nightmares have been getting worse. that whole area south of town is getting worse. As if something insidious is waking up taking notice now.
I just can't work or sleep, for all I see is the movement of shadows and the strange gurgling noises something squirming in the darkness. Even when I'm in bed I can hear it, and the smell, like rotting meat and acid in my nostrils. Something is alive down there and I don't want anything to do with it."
Harald Gunthrsonn, Half-Orc miner in the village of Eschbach.
Founding Date
768 AD
Type
Barrow / Burial ground
Parent Location
Owner
Additional Rulers/Owners
Owning Organization
Related Report (Primary Locations)
Love the choice of images, and the use of it as inspiration in the creating of the mine. Well done.
Webweaver's Universe
Aye, wanted something kinda creepy especially with the hidden storyteller part. So went and got that painting by Zdzislaw Belsinki. Kinda had it in mind while doing the article.