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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Carlo-One" data-source="post: 8270652" data-attributes="member: 7015827">A few hours later, the three adventurers had arrived by the river. Darrow halted in order to put on his good armor, while Dermot informed an already-complaining Shanni that they had a ways to go yet. Approaching the bridge, Darrow yelled out a provocative greeting to any trolls that might be around, but there was no answer. The only reaction came from a nearby deer, which halted and regarded the dwarf with wide eyes, then bolted away as Dermot shrugged apologetically at it.After crossing the bridge and heading east along the Starmantle road, and with no enemies in view, the ranger took the time to pull out their map and compare it with their progress. He concluded that the indicated turn off the road could not be far, if the map was right, and literally started sniffing around, to Shanni’s bemusement. After a short while, Darrow answered his own question about looking for a pile of skulls when he spotted one to the north. The dwarf poked them, but nothing happened, to Dermot and Shanni’s evident relief.They headed north into a dense and dark forest. A wary Dermot urged them to proceed slowly, saying there was something on the air. Shanni shivered at the chill in the woods, then Darrow spotted something glowing in the distance. Dermot suggested that they avoid it and started heading away, but then several glowing, floating orbs converged on the group’s location. The balls of light attacked the intruders to the forest, but after a wild melee were repelled by the adventurers’ magical weapons. Shanni and Darrow both found the experience weird and Dermot remarked that the forest was haunted.After fending off another, similar attack, the three encountered a fence and a transparent-looking ghostly figure, blocking their way on the path past it. The ghost challenged them and inquired if they sought death and glory, prompting Shanni to circle behind the nearest tree as Dermot and Darrow looked at each other. Darrow told it that they sought to keep some moldering corpses from ruling Westgate, which caused the ghost, who used an archaic form of language to address them, to query what that had to do with it. Darrow further explained that they were seeking to find out more about the one called the Night King.The ghost shared that his name was Alexander, once of Teziir. He knew nothing of a King, but referred to a Queen, saying she might know. At Darrow and Dermot’s prompting, the ghost told his tale, of how he was lured into the forest, which at times appeared a magical land of faerie. He had passed through the gate of skulls, which at the time appeared to be jaunty maypoles, then found a female…apparently one that he could not name, though he attempted it, eventually settling on calling her a witch. He warned she could appear in various guises and told them he had served her for an uncounted time. However, the ghost lamented, another served her pleasure, and he must now guard the way. (The term "witch" is a vague and rather unhelpful one, when describing an individual. In this particular case, it does not really do justice to the "queen" they seek to encounter, and probably is quite unfair to any self-identified witches. --R)Darrow looked at Dermot and shrugged, as the ghost warned them to go back. Getting to the point, the dwarf confirmed that the ghost would have to fight them if they tried to pass by the gate. Undeterred, Darrow stated that they had to head that way, as there was foulness afoot, and moved forward. As promised, the ghost attacked, but despite the solid sword he carried, he proved no match for the two adventurers. Shanni emerged from behind the tree, looking more than a little creeped out, as Darrow offered an apology to the departing ghost. None of them wanted to touch the ghost’s sword and they agreed they should wait for Aerikoth, before continuing further.</blockquote>

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