Geistgate

Located deep within the Dreadwood there lies an ancient, abandoned citadel now known as Geistgate. Geistgate is a grand estate, with an outer wall, a large garden now overgrown, and a great fortress with many vaulted ceilings, crumbling terraces, and hidden passageways. Once the greatest point of Terekor power outside of the imperial grounds in the southeast, its original name has been lost to the ages, and now locals and Harsonian travelers refer to its hidden grounds and long-lost passages as Geistgate, a name which comes from the sounds reported heard from outside the ruined walls. A strange howling, wailing, and hissing is said to be heard once travelers approach the walls, and as such most people who even dare to venture into the Dreadwood steer well enough away from Geistgate itself, and of those who have passed into its gates, only one has ever come back. Isaac Gowerly of Harsonia, an explorer and hunter in the eastern wilds, is a quiet and solitary man, and though he does not easily share his stories of Geistgate, when he does he is often laughed out of the tavern for his lies. Very few believe Gowerly’s words, and since he claimed to venture into the Dreadwood alone, there are none who can support his claims. But none can deny the chill they feel when he speaks of hearing footsteps other than his own, or the echoes of voices down forgotten halls within the ancient fortress of the woods.