Rumours Overheard in the Place of the Keepers

1/There is a circle of five standing stones on a windswept hilltop a few miles west of the Place of the Keepers, with gaps where there were once two more; it is called the Once-Were-Seven Stones, and is said to be an ancient gateway to the Hardwater - which might be usable again if the missing stones are found

2/A redcap, Certain Jacob, lives in an abandoned holdfast in the forest with a pack of wolf servants who bring him human prey to enjoy; he is said to have a treasure trove as big as a beer barrel

3/There is a cave in a sea cliff just a short distance north of the burgh from which the locals say they can sometimes hear noises, like distant shouting, or music

4/A heugh called Shepherdskirk Hill is home to a clan of bogles who hide among the gorse on its ridge top and light fires at night which appear to be signals - though nobody knows for what

5/Somewhere in the Hill of Wolves there is a monstrous beast trapped in a stone prison, put there by dwarves long ago; when it knows people are close, it promises them rewards if they are able to release it

6/A cursed knight lives in a bastle house on the Hill of Wolves, haunted by the ghosts of his murdered wife and daughters - he craves release

7/A series of sinkholes in the forest, called the Hazelrigg Doors, go deep underground to where there is an underground city

8/A mad old woman roams hither and thither up and down this section of the Great North Road, claiming she was once an elf

9/A flock of red sea birds roams the sandy beaches to the south, and these were formed from the body of a red-haired daughter of the Nineyear family who drowned herself in the sea here long ago; they know all the secrets of the estate at Stuck Gates

10/A black dragon who the locals call Quick-of-the-quiet sleeps with his treasure horde under a hill named Rackside, but nobody has seen him in many years

11/A tower known locally as Mary’s Lantern stands on a hilltop in the wilderness between the Place of the Keepers and Hrotha’s Town; its owner is a witch who studies the stars and collects starlight

12/A nature spirit made from fallen leaves lurks in the woods off the Great North Road, whispering secrets about travellers who have recently passed by; it is only present when nobody is looking at it

13/A brackish pool sits a short distance from shore, inhabited by water birds, including a swan who can transform herself into a woman - she kills poachers and anything which would harm local animal life, and knows more about the wilderness in this area than anybody

14/Under the dunes somewhere south of the Place of the Keepers is a hidden fortress buried under the sand, built by the Emperor to guard against invasion

15/A cluster of boulders called the Shivering Stones stands on the hillside of Lamb Crags; they are said to hum and tremble from time to time, almost as if singing

16/Somewhere in the barren coast between the Place of the Keepers and Dolorous Garde there has recently arrived a group of whalers and seal-hunters from a distant place, and they are harassing fishermen from the Place of the Keepers

17/A mad knight-errant has recently been in the Place of the Keepers before setting off into the forests on some crazed quest; his brothers have arrived and are asking questions about his whereabouts

18/On top of a hill known as Gallowlaw there is an ancient fort of the people who lived in these lands before imperial rule; all that remains is a series of large circular foundations, and various tunnel entrances closed off by large stone slabs

19/A giant with a deer’s head roams the forests between the Place of the Keepers and Hrotha’s Town

20/It is said that the Guild Hall of one of the prominent guilds in the burgh contains extensive cellars that have fallen into disuse and have never been fully mapped