The Buried Kingdom

The Legend

There have long been stories in the Moaning Highlands of an ancient catastrophic eruption that buried an entire kingdom. The mysterious moaning for which the mountains were named is often attributed to ghosts from that eruption attempting to warn the living of another eruption on its way. The moaning is reported to be loudest right before an eruption.
Obviously, those who aren't local don't put much stock in these rumours.

"They'll tell you it's just a legend but let me tell you it is not. I was up there camping with a buddy of mine about a week ago. We woke in the dead of night to a horrible moaning, it sounded exactly like a person who was screaming. Well, our guide freaked and we ended up heading back down. Then, just today, I hear there was an eruption out there. That isn't a coincidence!"
A young Fae quoted in a newspaper

"It was definitely a voice, he sounded like he was in pain. 'My baby' he kept saying, 'somebody save my baby!' I spent an hour searching the mountain side, didn't see a single soul."
Priest of Day, who barely survived a recent eruption

"Sometimes it's one voice, sometimes many. Most of the time they're just moaning, other times you can make out words. Never heard one talk in a language I knew though."
A guide who frequently leads groups in the mountains

The Discovery

Recently, however, an archeological discovery may have given new life to this legend. Archeologists looking for evidence of pre-corruption settlements in the region stumbled upon a thick layer of ash above the corruption line. Within the ash, they started to discover the ruins of buildings. Realizing they had stumbled onto something big, they called in early post-corruption specialists from Emberton, who took over the dig.
So far, it is estimated that about half of a large city has been uncovered. The site seems to have been a thriving city buried in a sudden and extreme volcanic eruption.

What We Know

The site is located above the Corruption Line, which means it was built and buried after the corruption. Archeologists estimate the eruption happened sometime during the Emberton Empire or Age of Blood. The city seems to be very large, possibly large enough to be counted as its own kingdom.
There was a large and thriving population of [Fae in the city, who died in the eruption. The architectural style has been found to be similar to sites of similar age in the savanna. Thanks to careful excavation, the murals and mosaics in many buildings have been preserved, which may yield new information.

A Few Discoveries of Interest:

• A adult man who appeared to have been struck in the leg by a boulder, clutching an infant to his chest
• A couple who appeared to be holding hands, killed when the roof of their house caved in on them
• A child found curled up with a dog in an alleyway
• A soldier and a noble woman who appeared to be fleeing together
• A woman with strange jewellery, suspected to be a guardian, who appeared to be running towards the eruption
• A person clutching a chest of scrolls as he fled. The scrolls are poetry, praising the poet's husband
• Two young boys, thought to be brothers. The older one is hugging the younger
• A number of bodies whose dress and jewellery is inconsistent with the rest of the residents. They are only found on one side of the city and appear to be running into it instead of out of. It is theorized that they may be from a nearby settlement, and came running to help.

RUINED SETTLEMENT
Unknown, before the Faerie Empire existed

Alternative Name(s)

The Moaning City, The Land Under the Ash

Type

City

Population

0

Location under

Desolate Expanse