OSR: The Hearing Menhir

Tucked among the modest brick houses of the sleeping village of Torins protrudes a 50-foot-tall opal menhir. Its rune-covered surface diffracts the falling sun light. A bronze basin rests on top, where every night oil gets dosed and lit by the villagers, without exceptions. This tradition being carried on by generations.

The highly superstitious simpletons swear that failing to do so will cause a thousand ghosts to awake and accost the living. This rumor is false. In truth, it will shatter the menhir, revealing its entombed contents, and the entrance to a prison dungeon of civilizations long forgotten.

The ears of a thousand foes of old, slayed in battle, rest buried under the phallic structure. Since the pile of bodies after war was eclipsing the sun, a more practical approach prevailed. Together with them a long-forgotten (cursed) magical sword known as Repentant is hidden, wrapped in stained rags.

Repentant is a +1 Sword (+2 against Clerics, Priests, and those resurrected).

Marta Sokołowska

Torins

Population: 220
Ruler: Mayor Sico (Thief 4, Neutral), stoic, lean, in his youth a renowned trapper and woodsman. Has 5 archers, and can gather up to 20 militiamen if in dire need.
Main occupation: local trappers (rabbits, foxes), apple farming. Laughable economy. Locals are known for their brawn and resilience, and get their water from a nearby stream.
Features: an inn, "The Repentant", a repurposed barn, poorly mended. Sees the odd pilgrim elated about the Hearing Menhir, and disappointed traders in search of stocking on furs and apple cider.
Oddity: the singing of local cuckoos is interpreted and recorded as omens by the inhabitants, and used sporadically for important decision-making.