Tree Fingers

"... and then I saw them, dear reader, the little fingers poking up from the soil. As I cast my gaze around I saw another and another, frozen as I tried to fathom if I had already been trapped. I began to make out the ring of them that I was just one mere step away from... one step from my doom..."

- Adventures through Forests: Imerathan - by Leopold Der Vitner

Tree Fingers are an anomaly caused by the presence of a Bitter Oak Trees. They appear as small nubs of root which protrude from the ground and little groups of 2-5, which lends to the finger-like appearance. The roots will form in clusters eventually creating a ring shape on the ground which varies in size depending on the age of the tree. 

Bitter Oaks are believed to be formed by the forced entrapment of a spirit within the tree itself. They appear at first as normal oak trees but over time the grief and anger of the being inside manifests causing the leaves become blackened and the limbs increasingly gnarled. There is also frequently a cleft or hollow in the trunk of the tree. In an effort to allay their loss and loneliness the rings of Tree Fingers form around the tree itself, using them to lure and capture passing people. Once within the ring the finger will swiftly shoot from the ground, grappling the person and pulling them into the hollow space of the tree. They will then hold the person there until they expire, in efforts to make their own Souls join or even replace the trapped spirit within.