Traversing these woods is perilous, as many a wayfarer will tell you.
Strange creatures roam here, one of the most notable being the one clad in an old cloak and with a deer skull hiding its face. Some say this being is a traveller who lost his way while searching for a loved one who disappeared many years ago. Whoever it is he was searching for was never found, but he did not give up his search, refusing to face the truth.
So he stayed behind while others gave up and left, determined to find the one so dear to him.
And so his determination turned to obsession, the strange powers of these woods being the very thing that would drive him mad.
One day he stopped returning to the town for supplies. It was not long after that he was found by the riverside trail. Dead.
However, by the time the one who found the body returned with some others to retrieve and bury it, it was gone. The only thing that was left in its stead were a set of footprints and the mutilated, decapitated corpse of a deer. The townsfolk returned from that place, fearing what they had found and attempted to drink away their worries.
It was only after this incident that the sightings began.
At first, travellers at night would notice a flickering light keeping pace with them through the trees. When they called out, it would vanish. But slowly the creature grew bolder, drawing nearer whilst they slept and going so far as to follow travellers even when they could see it.
Sometimes it leads them astray. Other times it simply follows, and watches from the shadows.
What does it want from them?
What does it hope to gain from doing this?
Does it still seek its loved one? Or does it now only wish to keep others from the ones they love, simply because it could not be reunited with the one it sought?
Whatever the case, tread carefully through these woods and remain vigilant at all times. For there is no telling what - or who - may have noticed your presence.
