It had been weeks of accursed travel and you can smell nothing, but rot.  These so called "civilized men" of the kingdom known as Barista had kept you caged like animals.  Inside your cage is especially bad as the weather and foul treatment from the guards had lead to the demise of the eldest shamaness. 

Age had reached her and she wasn't as strong as she was in her prime.  Still she was strong enough to raise two boys who eventually became warriors.  Warriors who are lucky enough to see their mother lying dead and rotting in a cage as if she is discarded garbage.  Rage is not enough to describe your emotions right now. 

The fog grows thicker and carries a faint yet familiar feeling of dread.  No...  The rage slowly dies out as you realize the harpies gave that old woman a mercy.  These mad men of Barista are heading towards Silence the Forbidden Forest.  The Forest of a Thousand Deaths.

It seems she had already blessed you in a way with her share of the rations, or perhaps you should burn them as offerings to her spirit to make her journey easier.

As you make towards the edge of the forest and you can see the classical ill sign of thick fog crawling out of the thick foliage of the trees.  You heard tales of these woods and the fact that the Three Kingdoms consider this place forbidden does not sit well with you.  Tales of fae, ghosts, witches, and worst makes your raise.

The guards armed their crossbows and aimed at you.  They take you out of the wagon one by one which to your young thief is a good sign.  She had gotten a few leery stares from the younger guards.

Strange men in expensive garbs had emerge from their comfortable looking wagon.  They are holding metal rods with the tips have glowing white hot azoth.  The guards begin to strip you naked till your backs are exposed.  Then these guards firmly plant you all on the ground by force like your animals ready to be branded.  Oh you were branded.  When that azoth touched you the pain was like being strike by lightning and burning alive all at once.  The pain felt like it took forever.  When it was done all you can do is lay there and silently cry.  Through the tears you see other cage wagons arriving and with the same treatment before passing out from the pain.

Next day you wake up in your cage and ordered to leave the wagon.  There is about a twenty other prisoners outside of group.  Their backs exposed with the same markings you have.  Finally the guard captain speaks.

"If you want to escape, then escape."

A few prisoners do flee, but not towards the forest as everyone knows it is suicide to enter those haunted woods.  No they run passed the caged wagons and into the fields.  Even if the guards shoot them in the back with crossbows it would be a better death than what would lie in those woods.

Sadly the guards didn't need their crossbows...

The sigils branded on their backs begins to glow white hot till the escapees either drop from the pain, or the strong man got to a hundred yards.  At that point the brand set his entire body to be consumed by white flame.  A most painful end.

The others that were too weak to resist the pain had to crawl back while hearing the captain laugh.