To make better time he'd detoured through the Disenchanted Forest and had made a terrible discovery there. A white gelding, minus rider, dressed in the livery of the House of White had come galloping up. Catching the runaway, he’d gone in search of its master. Spotting the legs of a man protruding from the wild growth by the side of the road he’d dismounted to lend aid. Resting upon its back the body had appeared unmarked until he’d spied a narrow hole such as an arrow might make, directly above the man’s heart. The seeping blood had slowed, already darkening to rust. He had been stunned to recognize the face of the dead man. It was King Wendell's most trusted advisor, Viscount Lansky.

Securing the nobleman’s body across the gelding’s saddlebow he'd raced from the Disenchanted Forest to Castle White but had been ambushed by a troll scout several miles from his destination. A fierce fight had ensued during which he'd been knocked off his feet. Straddling over him, the troll had raised its sword to plunge it into his heart but, with a desperate heave upwards, he'd been able to pierce the troll's instead and it had pitched forward, collapsing in a dead heap on top of him. Somehow he'd managed to gain his feet. Wounded and disoriented, he'd staggered only a little way when dizziness had overcome him and he'd leaned against a tree trunk for support. When his wits had cleared he'd found that the course he was on was leading away from the road and into the forest. He'd retraced his steps only to find no road behind him, just dense brush and trees. Surmising he'd progressed further into the forest than first realized, he'd stumbled on certain that the road would soon appear. But no road had emerged, just endless foliage wherever he turned. Still, he'd persisted."

The messenger, Crispin, wanders into the enchanted Bewildering Wilderness,a forest of no return, where he meets an unlikely family who have taken refuge there to escape a deadly curse of the gypsy queen.