Whispers & Rumours of Solonor Isle

Whispers, rumours, legends and folklore swirl about the Isle of Solonor and its people. Humanity has clung to this isolated enclave for centuries, and in that time, a great store of dark legendry, myths and tales has grown up around the island and the surrounding wilderlands. Some of this vast body of superstition, lore and myth is wholly untrue, while other fragments contain a sliver of fact that clever adventurers may be able to use for gain.

Roll on the list below to determine what whisper or rumour the characters hear:

1. A mad hermit dwells somewhere in the Swerkwood. He preys on those taken in by his friendly appearance.
2. The deeper one penetrates into the Ebbur Cave, the greater the peril.
3. Pirates sometimes lurk just over the horizon from Bleakwater to prey on the lightly defended merchant ships coming to Solonor.
4. Something terrible and powerful dwells in Cold Brook Hollow. Over the years, at least three adventuring parties are known to have disappeared into that ravine never to be seen again.
5. The foul humanoids of the wilderlands are often at war with one another, Sometimes, though, a charismatic warlord rises from one tribe or another and forges an alliance. Such an alliance has but one target: Solonor Isle and its folk.
6. An elderly druid once lived in a cave below Elina’s Arch on Aralivar’s Isle. She has not been seen for many years, though, and is believed dead.
7. The garrison at Nemeton is sufficient to hold back the tribes of the interior. However, they are not numerous enough to mount a serious expedition or rescue mission into the Wilderlands.
8. The lizardfolk of the Fenmire are savage and primitive. They have developed a taste for human flesh; wise folk only enter the Fenmire in large, well-armed groups.
9. The origin and purpose of the chapel atop Warberry Hill (location B20) is a mystery. No one knows why it was built, but many people have an opinion. Macabre folklore and wild tales hang thickly over the ruin.
10. The cellars below Nemeton Citadel burrow deep into Eagle Rock. Few folk enter the deepest cellars, and rumours speak of a shunned door on the lowest level that is never opened.
11. Baelvain Silverleaf, the owner of the Silverleaf inn (location N5), is a retired adventurer. He is exceptionally wealthy and has hidden his riches somewhere in the inn.
12. Aralivar’s Isle is named after the legendary pirate captain Vilimzair Aralivar. As well as being a legendary pirate captain, Vilimzair has been described as the world’s greatest-ever bard. He is said to have stored a great hoard somewhere on the island.
13. Lone travellers sometimes go missing from Bleakhaven.
14. Strange lights and colours have been reported to emerge from the water-filled shaft at Sparkwell—the alleged site of a battle between two powerful wizards centuries ago. Sparkwell is deep in the Fenmire and difficult to reach.
15. Lone travellers—and even small groups—often go missing in the Wilderlands. Many dangers lurk therein. Wise travellers move in large, well-armed groups.
16. Bandits sometimes lurk in the aptly named Hideaway Mine. The mine—hidden under the Swerkwood’s gloomy boughs—often floods.
17. A brooding shard of black stone and curious design—the Black Monolith—stands atop Black Stone Head’s highest point as it has done—legends say—since time immemorial. Those sleeping near the monolith often report having hideous dreams of the most horrible sort.
18. The citadel at Nemeton is old—older than many people think. Nonhuman hands built the first fortification to stand on the site, and it was them who dug the unfathomably deep cellars honeycombing Eagle Rock.
19. The hollow trunk of the Bound Oak holds a magic portal to the faerie realm.
20. The Starpit—Solonor’s only lake—was formed when a god hurled a Vile Star into Solonor Island.

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Citadel on the Wilderlands is my love letter to B2 Keep on the Borderlands and B5 Horror on the Hill. I'm writing 500 words every weekday for a year.

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