Hill of Lost Souls

The Hill of Lost Souls was a lone mountain that stood in the middle of Pelleor's Prairie in the Backlands of the Western Heartlands.

Description
The Hill was a long-dormant volcano that had been weathered and softened over the years into a gently sloped mountain with a shallow crater. Between outcroppings of lava rock and obsidian, the Hill was covered in soft grass and bleached bones. Occasional tremors and geysers were the only evidence of continued volcanic activity.

The area was haunted by the ghosts of human, goblin, and orc soldiers who died during the Battle of Bones, all seemingly seeking a way to finally find eternal rest. They referred to themselves as "the Fallen."

Geography
The Hill stood as a towering landmark over the grasslands of Peleor's Prairie. It sat about east of a tributary of the Serpent's Tail Stream, and this was the closest source of water. The immediate area around the hill was pocked with volcanic rock.

Flora & Fauna
Poisonous plants and venomous snakes could both be found on the Hill. The surrounding area also hosted the occasional lava ankheg.

While rocs had been observed to hunt in the vicinity of the Hill, they did not nest on it.

History
The volcano had been dormant since before the elves came to the North. The Hill was considered sacred to dwarves of the surface, who beleived that their gods often walked upon the mountain.

The Hill earned its name following the events of the Battle of Bones in the. In the aftermath of the battle, some 30,000 surviving humans of Artur Blevin's armies&mdash;nearly all of them wounded&mdash;retreated to the Hill to tend to their injuries and care for the dying. After two days, this ragged force began marching southwest out of concern that their goblinoid enemies were on the move. In the years that followed, visitors to the Hill reported seeing ghosts of soldiers on the Hill, either those who died there or those who died before they could reach the place to which their comrades had fled. As all of these spirits seemed to be searching for something, the place was named in honor of these "lost souls." One such soul was Pelleor, for whom Pelleor's Prairie was named.

The Hill was the site of druidic ceremonies meant to control the weather and&mdash;during the mid-to-late 14 century DR&mdash;hosted the Hierophant Druid Pheszeltan's failed ritual to halt the steady expansion of the Anauroch desert.

Rumors & Legends
It was said that those who slept on the Hill ran the risk of being spirited into a vision of a ghostly battle between humans and goblins, especially if they rested there on Lost Souls Eve. Those who returned from this vision might bear a scar in the shape of the heraldry of the spirits alongside whom they were forced to fight. Experiences along these lines were had by both a local druid named Tharnn Greenwinter and the adventuring group known as the Seekers.

Some dwarves believed that there were massive gem-filled tunnels beneath the Hill.

Notable Locations

 * A mysterious geyser just west of the hill vented about once a tenday with extraordinary force.
 * An outcropping of rock on the western face of the Hill was notable for its resemblance to a lion's head.
 * Tomb of Thelarn, a dwarf-made tomb of Thelarn Swifthammer rumored to contain his legendary axe, Skysplitter.

Inhabitants
Goblins and orcs were known to make pilgrimages to the Hill of Lost Souls, particularly to the sites where the human armies were thought to have camped. These sometimes included ceremonies in which the spirits of goblinoids and orcs slain in the Battle of Bones were summoned to reenact the battle alongside the living. The shrieks and hollers from these events could be heard across the prairie.

A tribe of hill giants lived on the rocky eastern side of the Hill. They were largely disinterested in attacking humanoids unless antagonized, and instead concentrated their efforts on launching attacks on a closely-related tribe in the Battle of Bones region. Their goal appeared to be to "free" their kin from the influence of an undead fire giant who had come to rule over them, and they would launch attacks across the grassland to do battle.

Below ground, the Hill was home to firenewts who lived in tunnels that extended beneath the surrounding plains. These passages were warmed by natural volcanic heat and were made of tempered stone reinforced with support beams.