The forest calls…

Travellers. For many days now, you have walked the long road alone. Now you are weary and the day grows late. Cresting a rise, you behold a vast landscape of shrouded treetops, spread beneath a dark sky. You have reached the Elder Wood, the fabled and tricksome forest through which you must each pass.

At the edge of the trees stands a lonely inn. You will rest here for the night, gathering strength for the trials to come. Perhaps here, too, you will find companions for the road ahead — travellers also bound for the Wood. This would be a blessing indeed, for in the Elder Wood, safety is found in numbers.

Ducking under the inn’s low door, you enter a common room that is barely heated by its sputtering hearth. The sallow innkeeper bids you sit to the dinner table, where even now you see other travellers gathering. But before you can eat, the innkeeper must know your name and business.