Catacombs

On the eastern border of the ancient city, near the tall expanse of the city wall, the remnant of a giant tower lay broken on its side, stretching far away into the distance. Inside this ruined ancient lighthouse was a massive echoing tunnel, and deeper into it, there was a broken tunnel floor forming a narrow crevice. It was filled with darkness, leading deep down into the ground where one cannot see the bottom.^[2]

Below was a narrow tunnel and its walls were made out of weathered stone, clearly put there by human hands. It was populated by creatures made of nothing but human bones.^[1] These creatures, however, were undying.^[3] The tunnel leads to a large cavern. A few meters in front, the floor of the catacombs was broken, collapsing into a vast, seemingly bottomless chasm.^[4]

The chasm was no less than forty meters across and stretched far into the distance to both left and right, like a dark border separating the world of the living from the world of the dead. A rickety rope bridge was drawn across it, connecting to a similar-looking tunnel at the other end of the abyssal chasm. The rope bridge looked like a derelict of ancient times. It was flimsy, slippery, and rotten.^[4]

The tunnel at the other side of the chasm was located a hundred meters or so below the surface, pretty much exactly under the city wall. It looked more weathered and decrepit, with its walls and floor smoothed and uneven, as though eroded by something over the course of countless years. It was wet, surrounded by puddles of black water. The smell of sea salt permeated the air.^[5]

Deeper into the tunnels was the central chamber and the exit to the surface was right ahead of it. The Nightmare Creature that lives in the chamber is the Lord of the Dead.^[5]

• Hunters don't like to mention the catacombs because very few are crazy enough to explore what little remains of it, and even fewer return to tell the tale.^[1]
• The chasm is what prevents the catacombs from being flooded by the dark sea.^[5]