As beautiful as a walk through the [[Tristram]] wilderness is, with its lush fields and picturesque rivers, the air seems to take on an otherworldly foreboding as one approaches the fishing village of [[Wortham]]. My search to catalog the weird, the fabulous, and the all-too-often-dangerous inhabitants of our world had led me there. I hoped to find a guide who could bring me safely into the [[Festering WoodWoods]] and back, for I had come to see for myself the strange creatures that are the "[[gnarled walker]]s".

According to Master DeSoto, the [[Festering WoodWoods]] derives its name from the fact that everything in it seethes and roils with evil intent: even the ground itself has been known to rise up and devour a person. When pushed further in regards to the gnarled walkers specifically, he pontificated at length as to their true nature. He maintained they are vile mystical creatures from another realm who can only sustain their existence in our world by sapping life energy from men or animals. These heinous beings have shifted their appearance to that of trees, thereby luring their prey close so as to consume it whole and enrich their reserves of dark power. These beastly things move ponderously, and some are known to exude a foul stench that poisons their victims. Master DeSoto is certain the origin of the walkers, and of the Festering Wood itself, can be traced to the foul doings of [[necromancer]]s, who he claims are responsible for much of the evil that has befallen our world. He expounded in full to me his theory that the "whole [[Diablo_Legend|Diablo incident]]", as he called it, was tied up in their dark arts as well.