The elders of Eluine's village were disturbed by the report of feral pineys attacking a lone adventurer. It wasn't talked about out loud, but there certainly where some whispers of the Wild Hunt having returned.
A call for seekers was requested and several were chosen, including Eluine since he witnessed the attack. So far in his travels he hasn't found evidence of the pineys he saw. But something is wrong with the Margreve. It's unsettled. Or maybe unbalanced is a better word.
The night after the party defeated the creature that erupted from the gall on Jedza, a seeker found Eluine at the inn. "I hear rumors," she said, "rumors that a self proclaimed King of Thorns is declaring himself a new power. I believe this king is a piney who claims to have found an old power in the forest. He no longer considers himself a piney, but something more."
"The group I saw," Eluine asked, "that attacked the adventurer, they are part of this King of Thorns?"
"It must be, right?" she said. "But we have to be sure. Please, keep an eye out for any other information."
The King of Thorns may have been a piney at one time, interested in The Hunt, but he went far beyond that into a much darker power. At least he's one less thing to worry about. But it has led the party to Kerok, who seems to be behind much of what's happening in the Margreve. This must be what the Margreve has been leading Eluine too.
But still, the Margreve is calling.