The Groznyar

Overview

The Groznyar, commonly translated as “The Black Pits of Barrowmere”, are yawning chasms scattered across the Barrowmere Marshes, each a perfect circle plunging into unmeasured depths. Vapors rise from their mouths, carrying the stench of blood, rust, and scorched bone. The land around them is hushed and devoid of life, birds do not fly overhead, and beasts refuse to graze within sight of the pits.  

The Fortress-Barrows

Encircling many of the pits are ancient fortress-barrows, earthen mounds reinforced with blackened stone. Each is crowned with ruined keeps whose foundations sink directly into the chasms themselves. Rusted chains seal the gates, and the corridors inside twist in circles around the pits, as though to contain something that should not escape.   Though their origins are lost, Volstroi chroniclers claim they predate their written history. Some were manned for centuries as prison-garrisons, where condemned soldiers and traitors served their sentences guarding the abyss. Today, most lie abandoned or are tended by silent orders of penitents who refuse to speak of what they keep watch over.  

Folklore

Volstroi Legends: The pits are mouths of the underworld, swallowing the condemned so that neither body nor soul finds rest.   Vornish Skalds: Claim they are wounds torn into the land by giants during the Dawn Wars, still exhaling the last breaths of titans.   Leadan Chronicles: Suggest the fortress-barrows were not to contain the pits, but to contain the cults that once worshipped them.  

Known Dangers

The Depths’ Hunger: No rope lowered beyond thirty fathoms has returned intact; they fray as if chewed apart.   The Breath: The pits exhale in slow, rhythmic pulses that stir the grasses of the marsh. Many claim it is the cadence of something vast breathing below.   The Black Waters: Pools near the pits swallow light; fishermen whisper of nets catching on unseen shapes that pull back with unnatural strength.   The Silence: Sounds carry strangely—whispers echo louder than shouts, as though the earth itself listens.  

Cultural Impact

Punishment & Exile: To be stationed at a fortress is considered a death sentence in itself. Some Volstroi nobles still condemn traitors to this service.   Shrines & Offerings: Local sects treat the pits as shrines, leaving offerings at their edges to prevent the land from splitting further.   Songs & Ballads: Each failed expedition to measure their depths is woven into local ballads, sung not as heroism but as warnings.