This grim staff, of a most despicable repute, was originally carved from the wood of Dead Man's Tree: an ancient black willow that stood on the outskirts of a forgotten hamlet of the Moonshae's, from which criminals were hung. All manner of bandits, murderers, rapists, and other worthies were left dangling from its knotty limbs; and all to the delight of the gravedigger Mordigan. For Mordigan, a secret practitioner of the necromantic arts, saw ample opportunity in which to ply his trade. Interring the remains of the evil men within close proximity of the tree, Mordigan called upon the dark powers of the negative material to perform a baleful act upon the black willow. It was given a sort of semi-sentience, and the ability to feed upon the remains of those who had so recently swung from its branches. Black roots descended into rotting flesh; and alarmingly enough, the tortured visages of the slain began to appear in the twisted knots of the black willow's bole before its burning. But, to the surprise of the villagers, the potently ensorcelled staff carved by the hands of the evil Mordigan did indeed prove to be their undoing. And thus did the hanged men of Dead Man's Tree have their revenge.
