Return of the Runelords, Book 1: Secrets of Roderic's Cove [IC]

[lostsole31]

Feiya and Ranghen look at the map and discuss amongst themselves, before they mention that they will share point together with their smaller friends. Making their way through the footpaths and trails through the Churlwood, the PCs find themselves following a network of trails that aren’t quite roads. Heading straight south from the ferry, as Roderic’s map suggests, they stumble into a large clearing within which a single dead oak tree looms.

The borders of this clearing are unusual in that they are well-tended,clear of brush, and strewn with gravel to form a circular road of sorts. A single dead oak tree looms at the center of the clearing, and something silver sparkles from one of the lower branches—what appears to be an amulet hangs there. The mutilated bodies of three recently slain people wearing the armor of the town watch from Roderic’s Cove lie near the tree’s roots.

The party talks amongst themselves - especially Feiya, Ranghen, and Ziggy - about the possible ramifications of what they see. Feiya finally speaks, "If these bodies remain unburied and out of a sight of a road - these are just trails and footpaths, not roads, mind you - there is a danger they could reawaken. The Varisians call these fell wanderers pârâie slabă - trailgaunts."