Travelers passing along the roads near Northal have begun reporting voices coming from somewhere beyond the trees.
The voices rarely shout. They call softly from deep within the forest, often using the traveler's own name. Some claim the voice belonged to someone they knew—a friend, a parent, a lover or even someone long dead. Others heard their own voice calling back to them.
Most travelers who remain on the road eventually hear nothing more.
Those who leave the road to investigate are not always seen again.
People familiar with Northal warn travelers never to answer a voice coming from the forest, no matter how familiar it sounds.
Some believe creatures hidden among the trees imitate human voices to lure prey away from the road. Others say the forest somehow remembers those who enter it and learns which voices they would be most likely to follow.
A few survivors claim the whispers became clearer the farther they walked from the road. One traveler insists the voice knew things that no stranger could possibly have known.
Others dismiss the stories entirely, blaming exhaustion, fear and Northal's heavy mist.
If the player investigates the whispers, strange details may gradually appear:
The voice may know the player's name without being told.
Footprints occasionally leave the road and disappear among the trees.
Personal belongings belonging to missing travelers may be found deeper within the forest.
The voices become difficult to hear when several people speak at once.
Following one voice may eventually cause another to begin calling from a different direction.
Some travelers hear nothing at all, even while companions beside them clearly hear someone calling.
Marking trees or leaving a trail may reveal that paths through the forest do not always lead where expected.
A voice may repeat something previously spoken by the player, but slightly incorrectly.
The whispers should feel personal and increasingly unsettling without immediately revealing their source.
The player may hear warnings from travelers before approaching Northal, encounter someone searching for a missing companion, discover abandoned belongings beside the road, or simply hear their own name whispered from beyond the trees.
The mystery works especially well when introduced without explanation.
A player traveling through Northal may hear a familiar voice unexpectedly, allowing them to decide whether to ignore it, answer it or leave the road.
Franz may determine whose voice the player hears based on people the character has encountered, memories established during the campaign or voices that would reasonably attract their attention.
The whispers should lure rather than command. They may plead for help, call the player's name, imitate someone in distress or attempt to encourage the player deeper into the forest.
Franz may create missing travelers, survivors, abandoned camps, tracks and minor discoveries connected to the phenomenon.
Not every disappearance near Northal must be caused by the whispers. Some travelers may simply become lost or encounter the ordinary dangers of the region.
The true origin of the voices should remain uncertain for as long as possible. Franz may develop an explanation if necessary, provided it remains consistent with Northal and established Eldrath lore, but the mystery may also remain unresolved.
Most importantly, hearing the whispers should never automatically force the player to follow them. The decision to leave the road must always belong to the player.