The two conversed as they began, pushing the cart uphill to help the donkey until they were set on the proper path. Once there, even the two chatty fellows would find the foliage growing more and more foreboding, almost pressing silence upon them regardless of their curiosities or efforts to keep a casual air about their travel. The donkey seemed somewhat glum (even for a donkey) but it didn't look overly agitated or fearful, which at least likely meant there was no problems with beasts so far. 

A large gulley lay on their right, and on their left a steep upwards incline into the swell of a hill. It rose like a wave and where it began to dip, as it was hard to tell with the trees in the way. Across the gulley and past the creek within its bed was just further trees, hiding all manner of Gods-know-what. To a couple of entrepreneurial chaps such as these, it might look like a lot of untapped resources. But the terrain was far too hilly to capitalize on it without a vast team of hired hands and a guard to keep them safe and protected if any of the stories of the Blackwood were to be believed. 

An hour passed by, and the donkey was guiding up yet another hill. It grunted irritably, but did its job without going lax as some stubborn donkeys were liable to do. The three just crested the hill when they found themselves on a straight path without the perils of twisting over uneven ground. The trees here were thicker, however, but that was not the most noticeable aspect. 

In front of them stood two large men; Knights, in fact. They were black and grey, with a marking of a skull at the center of their torso. Emilio and Wēlanandaz would see they were heavily armored in gambesons, chainmail, and bits of plate in the form of pauldrons and greaves. Their faces were hidden behind great helms given the visages of skulls at the front, and two steel horns plumed with feathers fanned out above their helmets. They held large swords, perhaps greatswords even, their blades on the ground with both hands on the hilts made of bone. Silently they stood there, saying nothing as the two fellows and their donkey came into their field of vision. 

Were it not for the slight tremor of their bodies from breathing, and the fact they were standing upright, it would have been difficult to tell if they were awake or even alive. 
[@Tony Pajamas][@Jb]