Odrun Fell

The Churn-Pits, also called the Churn-Pits of Grothak, are a living scar deep within the lower tunnels, named after the Cudgel delver Grothak Halvine, who led a failed reclamation attempt five years ago. The site was once a mining cavity used by the Ashcoats to extract resinous sap, but repeated drills exposed a nest of burrowing insectoids that thrived in the nutrient-rich excretion. Now, the site is overrun with massive, tunneling cockroaches that churn the soft marrow into warm mounds of reeking mulch, ideal for their egg-laying and larval feeding. These creatures are known have been called Gutgrinders by Cudgel delvers. The Cudgel has since walled off most access, though independent scavengers still sneak through ventilation holes to harvest their armored husks.

The Churn-Pits resemble a digestive system gone mad. Layered, circular chambers spiral downward, lined with soft, fibrous pulp from the weapon's marrow, now chewed and broken into thick sludge. Mounds of glossy chitin fragments litter the cavern edges. Every few minutes, the earth trembles as Gutgrinders tunnel and regurgitate steaming trails of softened nutrient paste, coating the floors like hot compost. The air is thick with pheromonal vapor, leaving a sour taste on the tongue. Slime drips from ceiling sacs, forming slow, wet plops that echo off the gut-like walls. Glowfungi line the top ridges in sickly orange hues, illuminating the roiling haze where movement twitches just beneath the surface.