"Don't go into the Thornwood," they said. "People who go into the Thornwood never come out," they said. "Ha!" you shouted to their faces, "I'll show you guys!" But now- now you're not so sure. You keep hearing whimperings and murmurs, and you keep swearing that the branches of the trees themselves are running around you. There is one thing, though, one thing that is oddly calming about this place. You can't quite put your finger on it, but you feel like this might be a nice place to rest for a while. You'll go prove the other townsfolk wrong later, you're terribly tired. "Sleep," a voice urges you, "Sleep, my child." The voice is soothing, it reminds you of your sweet grandmother, who also vanished into the Thornwood so long ago. In fact, this is exactly what your grandmother sounded like! "No! They were right! I never should have come here! Let me go!" you want to scream, but you can't. You can feel the forest around you, hear its thoughts. They calm you, reassure you. "Maybe it is a nice place to rest, at least for now..." You think, and then the darkness overwhelms you. Instinct: To continue the growth of the forest

• Make them a part of the forest
• Make them hear voices
• Call the natural spirits to its command
• Make them want to stay
• Summon Thornlings

"Wow," you think, "That is a huge tree." Indeed it is, almost 20 feet tall, and 6 feet wide at each of its bases, as it appears to be two trees which melded together. It looks like the perfect spot to make camp. As you settle in for the night, lighting your fire and laying out your bedroll, you hear some strange groaning and creaking coming from the tree. Before you have time to act, the trunk you are leaning against suddenly lifts up, roots and all, before coming crashing down on top of your fire, smothering it instantly. You hear a wail of anguish, and then a barrage of needle-like barbs fly through the air and land just inches from your hand. The Old One has you trapped. Instinct: To crush

• Pin them to the ground

Slurgs are one of the oddest creatures you will ever encounter. A sort of slug, they don't really eat, they don't have much meat on them, and they most certainly don't hurt anyone. In fact, they're not really good for anything... except, that is, they make a really loud noise when they get squished or stepped on. It's not quite a "pop", and it's not really a "squirt". It's more like a "splat". Yeah, definitely a "splat". Instinct: to wander

• Make noise
• Get in the way