The exposed, crumbling earth of the Pitted Lowlands, when combined with the numerous underground rivers and streams hidden from view by that earth, lends itself to regular collapses and sinkholes. This, combined with its sagging between hills to the south and shrublands to the north, is commonly believed to be the reason behind the region's curious name, and most would agree either way that the name is an apt description for the area, so covered is it in such sudden drops and pits. None dare build any but the most temporary of structures on the crumbling earth, knowing full well the futility of more sturdy constructions in an region where the earth so commonly gives way. Still, the area sees occasional merchants or travelers struggling to get across, likely headed toward Hammerstead in the northern shrublands, and so it's known that bandits cluster thickly around the easiest and most direct routes to the town.<br/><br/>Because of the nature of the Pitted Lowlands, its titular pits often expose ruins from the old world, so that the bandits have opportunities for treasure seeking among the forsaken structures, plundering from the dead when they can't plunder the living. Plunging into the subterranean wonders is unsurprisingly dangerous; the unstable land and age of the ruins makes them prone to cave ins and other natural dangers, but the real threats lie with the things which skitter and slaver in the tenebrous depths, and with those drawn from the world over via nightmares to make offerings to the unknown horrors. In rare cases adventurous souls have sighted those tortured men drawn to the sites, and there has been much speculation regarding the tales of horrible sacrifices and mad orgies in the dark.<br/><br/>Still, the ruins themselves offer the magically inclined a rare chance to rediscover the secrets of the old world, to add to their repertoire spells not able to br obtained elsewhere, as well as magical artifacts from a time before man had forgotten the art of making them. Such ideas were likely in the mind of the sorceress who was looking down into one of the blighted spots where the earth gave way, opening up to reveal the lightly colored masonry of a prior age and prior glory. These ruins were likely those of one of the many temples which the old people had built, and at the base of the pit its open archway yawned hungrily, with whatever lie beyond cloaked in darkness. The archway offered the most obvious route into the temple, easily reached by the earth which sloped on one side of the pit, but a narrow fissure in the uneven stone leading up to that entrance hinted of another, more precarious route leading straight downward into a lower level of the ruins.