**Type:** Mystic / Weird Site **Region:** Deadwood Periphery **Current State:** Haunted burial mound --- ## Overview The **Whispering Barrow** is a single grassy mound rising above the surrounding Deadwood plains, marked by an open stone arch that leads into a shadowed tunnel. On windy nights, voices drift out from the opening—soft, urgent whispers in countless tongues. Some say they are the voices of the dead, others that they are the breath of the Barrow itself. --- ## Appearance - **The Mound:** A low, rounded hill cloaked in pale grasses that never seem to wither. - **The Arch:** A crumbling stone archway carved with runes too weathered to read, standing as the only visible entrance. - **The Tunnel:** Descends steeply into darkness. The whispers grow louder the deeper one walks. --- ## Local Beliefs - **Counsel of the Dead:** Many villagers believe the whispers are ancestors offering advice. Some come to sit outside the Barrow on stormy nights to hear guidance. - **The Liar’s Tongue:** Others say the whispers are deceivers, feeding false counsel to lure mortals into the mound. - **The Test of Courage:** Youths dare one another to step inside the arch at night and listen to a whisper directly. Those who do sometimes return pale and trembling, unwilling to repeat what they heard. --- ## Hazards - **Maddening Voices:** Prolonged listening may overwhelm the mind. Characters must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or suffer short-term madness. - **Disorientation:** Within the tunnel, the whispers echo in ways that confuse direction, making it easy to lose track of the exit. - **Unseen Touch:** Some report feeling cold hands brush against their arms or faces in the dark, though nothing is ever seen. --- ## Connections to Lore - **Duskwatch Rumors:** Legends claim the Barrow was one of the Duskwatch’s hidden tombs, used to bury oathbreakers and traitors. - **Gallows Stones:** Some of the names carved on the Gallows Stones are also whispered here, linking the two sites. - **Rift Scar Influence:** On nights when the Rift Scar flickers with blue light, the whispers grow to a deafening chorus. --- ## Adventure Hooks - **The Whispered Name:** A player character hears their own name among the voices, hinting at a buried connection to the Deadwood. - **The Lost Oath:** A Duskwatch relic is said to lie within, guarded by the voices of oathbreakers. - **The False Counsel:** A local leader has been making decisions based on whispers from the Barrow—and disaster follows. The adventurers are asked to intervene. --- ## Summary The Whispering Barrow is a place of both dread and temptation: a mound where voices drift from the earth, offering counsel that may save—or doom—those who listen. To the fearful, it is a trap for the unwary; to the curious, it is a chance to commune with the past. Its true nature remains hidden, waiting for those brave enough to step inside.