From Introduction:
There is a long, lonely stretch of road, winding its way through the Haunted Forest, that everyone says is cursed. The forest gets its name from being haunted, of course, but this one bit of highway is especially notorious. Or at least all the locals know they should avoid it. Travellers from afar still come through in their fancy carriages, or astride their speedy coursers, or even on foot like those foolhardy heroes in the old stories. They don’t all meet the highway haunter, but some of them do.
Enough people have met the mysterious masked man dressed in gold and purple, and been robbed by him, that word has gotten out. While there are some too ashamed to say anything — and others who cannot, having been robbed of their very lives! —some have earned back what was taken from them, and more, in free drinks just from recounting their experience to those eager to hear an exciting tale. The scenario follows a predictable pattern. The road is blocked, and even though it grows dark, the carriage must halt. But then a figure approaches. He never speaks, but only brandishes a golden idol, pointing at it, then pointing at his victim. Those who refuse to hand over their gold are cut down by his mighty sword. Those who attempt to flee are held back by a ray of light that emanates from what appears to be a glowing gemstone worn upon this highwayman’s forehead.
But why does he seek more gold, when he already has enough to fund a retirement? Sometimes, people say, this highwayman does not even keep the gold he takes—he merely throws it away in what seems to be disgust, pointing back to the golden idol in his hand. Other times, what is stolen is found again in the woods, strewn between the trees. Some peasants have gone out during the day, looking for discarded valuables. But some are too afraid to do so, for they have seen this gold and purple figure out there in the woods, even during the day. And yet other peasants have disappeared, never to be found. Their families suspect this, too, is the work of the highway haunter.