Almost no one could sleep, the three students were currently inside Professor Treffle's room, who was snoring lightly. She and Laura were sharing the more than lumpy bed, while Ben and Ryan were sprawled out on the hard wood floor staring up at the cracked ceiling.
The wind was howling outside, the shutters were shut tight against its attempted intrusion. The inn itself was groaning with each gust of wind, the click, click, click of shifting wood tormenting them with each passing moment. It was suffocating inside the room, the combined body heat of the occupants making it almost unbearable, but not one of them were brave enough to open the shutters to allow the wind inside to relieve them.
The morbid statue of the strange creature sat alone on the only table in the room. They had pushed the table into the far corner before placing the statue on top, just the sight of it made their skin crawl. The other reason they had sat it there was because of the lack of instructions from Professor Kal. They had no idea how it was supposed to keep them safe or how to use it.
With the shutters closed, no light could make its way inside the room, although, there was an unnerving orange glow highlighting the seams. A quiet voice, accompanied by a nudge brought Ryan's attention to the boy lying next to him. "You still awake?"
Trying to keep his voice down, he replied. "Yeah, unfortunately."
Ben scooted closer to Ryan. "Can you hold me, I'm scared."
"Shut up." He said in a harsh whisper, rolling his eyes even though he knew Ben wouldn't see it. "Get away from me."
"You're no fun." Ben said. "But seriously, this place is creepy."
Ryan had to agree with his assessment, there was always something about being in an unfamiliar place that made one's imagination run wild. Even when he was inside the dungeon with Professor Kal, he wasn't too afraid. Maybe it was the sense of security that the Professor gave him while exploring its depths. Thinking about it, it should have been the same here as well. He was not too far away, only in the room right next to theirs. For some reason though, it just felt different, he couldn't put his finger on exactly why.
Maybe it was the element of the unknown. The fact that, even though he had never been inside the dungeon before that one time, he still knew much about it due to it being heavily trafficked. There really weren't any surprises inside the dungeon, well, except for when the adventurers directed a stampede of monsters towards him. The inn on the other hand was a complete unknown. No one knew what was happening, what was taking people in the dead of night.
Suddenly, the floorboards creaked in protest as someone slowly made their way towards the two. "Laura, is that you?" Ryan asked, peering into the darkness.
The footsteps stopped before a pleasant voice rung out from the dark. "Yeah, sorry. Did I wake you two up?"
"No, we can't sleep." Ben replied.
A soft glowing light burst into existence; a small flame flickered briefly before descending onto the wick of a candle that Laura was holding between her hands. The tiny flame was attempting to fight back the darkness but was only powerful enough to light up a small area around the girl. She was wearing pale pink silk pajamas, her hair was let out of her usual ponytail and hung loosely over her slim shoulders. It was late at night, and she was exhausted, so dark circles were suspended below her eyes, even so, Ryan was still enamored with her natural beauty.
She walked cautiously to wear the two boys had made their nest, trying her best to be silent in order not to wake up the sleeping Professor. She sat down on her knees close to Ryan, his breath caught in his throat. Even though they had been travelling together for quite some time now, he still got nervous around her. The next words out of her mouth though, broke him free from his nerve induced gawking. "I really need to pee."
Snorting through his nose at the humorous un-lady like proclamation, Ben was the first to reply. He motioned towards a dark corner of the room and spoke. "There's a chamber pot right over there."
Laura shifted uncomfortably, her black hair brushing silently against her shoulders. "I can't do that in the same room as everyone else, it feels weird. Can someone come with me to the privy?"
Most inns, even houses, in the capital city had some form of indoor plumbing. This allowed people to use toilets in the privacy of their own homes or rooms. An inn located in a countryside village had no such luxury. They only had access to outhouses built over large cesspits. The other option, if one didn't want to venture outdoors to do your business, would be to use a chamber pot located in each room. Of course, you had to empty it yourself in the morning, and had to live with the smell until you did.
"That's an awful idea." Ben exclaimed a little too loudly. He put a hand over his mouth and listened for the faint snoring of Professor Treffle. Once he was sure he hadn't woken her, he continued. "You're just asking to be taken by whatever it is that's out there. Haven't you ever heard any horror stories? That's how it always happens!"
Laura could see Ryan nodding along in the dim light. He too thought it was a bad idea. Undeterred, Laura tried to convince them to help her out. "Please! It's just outside, it'll only take a minute."
Shaking his head, Ryan tried to dissuade her. "No, it's not a good idea. Look, we'll turn our heads, and it's too dark in here to see anything anyway."
Now squeezing her legs together, Laura gave Ryan a reproachful look. "C'mon, I just can't. Please, come with me."
…..
"This is a horrible idea." Ben said to Ryan once again, his back against the outside of the inn.
They had given in to Laura's pleas, accompanying her to the privy located just outside the back of the inn. Leaves were rustling with the wind, combined with the orange red light from the many torches burning in the night made the treetops seem to boil. Marching steps and the clank of plate armor could be heard in the distance. The voices of gruff men could also be heard occasionally being carried on the wind.
Ryan had his back against the outer wall as well, rubbing the gem held securely around his neck with a thin chain between his thumb and forefinger. It was the summoning stone he had gotten from Professor Kal after the battle with the goblins. It was still synced with the devil worm that had been summoned to save him, and he was praying that he wouldn't have to summon it.
Looking over at his friend, Ryan replied. "Maybe we should have brought that statue with us?"
"Too late now." Ben said, shrugging his shoulders. "She should be done pretty soon, hopefully."
Abruptly, the wind that had been ripping through the village stopped. The constant rustle of the leaves was replaced by a deafening silence, even the mating calls of the cicadas that had filled the air just moments before had been extinguished. An overwhelming sense of dread washed over the two, they looked at each other and rushed to the door on the outhouse.
At the same moment they reached the small building, yelling mixed with shrieks and the sound of battle reverberated from behind the walls, seemingly from every direction. Knocking on the door fervently, Ryan yelled out to Laura who was inside. "We need to leave, now!"
The door flung open, revealing Laura with an ashen white face, clearly, she had heard everything as well. Without saying a word to each other, they rushed back upstairs to Professor Treffle's room, passing the disheveled innkeeper on the way. Spilling into the room, Ben slammed the door behind them and bolted the door shut.
The fwomp fwomp of leathery wings beating the air could be heard from outside the shuttered window. The village had come alive with the snarls of unseen beasts and the screams of its inhabitants. Startled awake by the door slamming, Professor Treffle shot out of bed and had already begun chanting a defensive spell. Apparently, she was a light sleeper.
"…concealment." With the end of her chant, a pulse of soft blue light radiated out from the Professor before dissipating into nothing. Concealment was a mid-level spell, used to suppress your scent and any noise within a certain radius of the caster. It was great for hunting prey in the thick forests, for missions that required stealth, or, as in this case, hiding.
"Ok." They could all hear the Professor's voice addressing them in the dark. They all knew better than to light a candle or cast any illuminating magic. "That should buy us some time. What is going on out there?"
"We don't know." Ryan started. "Everything just went quiet and then…"
Before he could finish, the sound of wings flapping grew much louder, a resounding thud shook the shutters sealing their only window. "Shit." Professor Treffle spat out while taking a few steps back from the closed window. They all waited in silence, not hearing anything after the initial sound.
An explosion of wood chips unexpectedly showered the inside of the room, peppering them with jagged shrapnel. The abrupt influx of light, even though it was dim compared to the midday sun, blinded them temporarily. When their vision returned to them, they could see a silhouette of an alien monstrosity perched where the window once was.
They couldn't see it clearly since the creature had the light to its back, but they could see that it was easily large enough to carry a fully grown man. Large wings unfolded from its back, blocking the light that had spilled into the room. It took one heavy step into the room before… "EXPLOSIVE SHOT!" Professor Treffle cast an attack spell.
Five small glowing embers, one for each fingertip, fired out towards the monster. Impacting its barrel sized chest, the five embers snuffed out but only for a split second. Five melon sized balls of light detonated where the embers had just been. The three students shielded their eyes from the overpowering light, their ears ringing due to the thunderous sound. For a second time tonight, they had to wait for their eyes to adjust; only this time, they could see that the hole in the wall was now empty.
Professor Treffle walked forward; the students timidly followed behind her. Looking out and through the hole, they watched for any signs of the beast that was just there. With their attention focused on what was in front of them, they all failed to notice the statue resting on the table had broken apart into thousands of pieces.
…..
Jordi was on edge, everyone was. His life used to be simple, patrol the village, maybe arrest a few drunks for fighting, then go home, that was it. He'd been a guard for several years, nothing major had ever happened. Well, there was that one time when the baker had been found stabbed to death, but that ended up being a scorned wife, upset about his affair.
His easy life came to a screeching halt three days ago when the disappearances started. The first night, entire households, whole families, were abducted. Only their screams were heard and by the time the city patrol ran to the scene, they were gone.
The second night, whatever had taken the first group seemed to have grown bolder. People started to be plucked from the streets as they walked by. Of course, there weren't any witnesses, only the desperate shrieks of those being dragged off could be heard. That was when the village leader petitioned the local adventurers guild, posting a blanket mission to any and all that were available
He also commissioned the wall that was currently erected around the village, it was built within a day. Men, women, and even children helped build it, he had never seen anything like it. With the wall and the extra manpower provided by the adventurers, people started to feel safe again, but that was a false feeling.
The third night was by far the worse so far. One adventurer was killed while patrolling the outer walls and nearly one-hundred people were abducted that night, their screams filled the air while everyone could only listen, helpless. That was when they had decided to put together as many torches and bonfires as possible in the faint hope of being able to at least see what had been tormenting them.
The village leader had also sent a messenger, riding the fastest horse they had, to the capital pleading for help from the crown. Even if they did send help, it was still several days away, there was nothing else they could do. The nearest village was two days away on horseback, so evacuating was out of the question. All they could do was hunker down and try to fight back.
It was currently the fourth night. The torches lit up almost every square inch of the inside of the village, driving away the darkness, and some of the anxiety along with it. He was partnered with another guard, Harnel, and two recruited adventurers, making the number in his group come to four.
Dressed in studded leather armor, both the middle-aged adventurers had long swords sheathed and at the ready. Most adventurers made their livings deep underground, fighting monsters inside the many dungeons spread throughout the land. With hardly a monster roaming the surface, not many chances for jobs above ground came to them. When one did, many jumped at the opportunity, and it being an emergency request as well made the reward very tempting.
Jordi guided the group around the village, there were several other groups just like his patrolling as well. The two adventurers hardly spoke a word, which made the constant silence a little awkward. Jordi didn't mind though, he much rather them be on guard taking this seriously than not.
Moving in silence, they made their way towards the only inn in town. The heat was almost unbearable earlier today but now that the sun had set below the horizon, the chill of night caused Jordi to shiver slightly. At least, he told himself it was just the cold. "Hold up." One of the adventurers said, stopping his measured steps.
"Ya feel that?" he asked the other adventurer.
"Ya, somethings up."
Jordi turned around to face the two, just in time to witness them pulling their swords out of their scabbards. "What is it? What's going on?" He asked, his voice wavering with tension.
"Don't ya feel it? The wind stopped; the crickets shut up. This aint good." The older of the two adventurers said, his eyes darting around, watching between the houses.
Jordi and Harvel followed their lead, pulling their issued short swords from their sheaths. Being given to them by the village, the swords were far from the best quality they could have wished for. Jordi in particular was wishing he would have spent some of his spare coins on a better weapon, instead of the bitter ale they served at the tavern. Now they could only hold onto the cheap swords with trembling hands and pray to the gods that they would perform their jobs well.
Nothing happened for quite some time, only their strenuous breathing could be heard as they waited. All of the other patrols must had been doing the same, for they didn't hear any voices coming from their comrades. Everyone was holding their collective breaths.
"May… maybe its nothing? Maybe it's just some weird weather, ya know?" Harvel muttered out, most likely trying to convince himself more than the other three.
No one responded, even Jordi knew better than to blame it on the fickle weather. They remained standing there, unmoving, waiting. Guuuuaaaaahhhh An ear-piercing roar rung out from the darkness just out of reach of the orange glow of the flames. The sound of large wings beating the air above registered, causing them to snap their heads upwards, straining to see.
Having fought monsters before, the adventurers took the lead. "Group up, stay together. Move towards the inn, let's go!"
They were already very close to the inn, so, moving as a group, they arrived within a minute. Rounding a waist high wall that was erected around a small courtyard in the front of the inn, they arrived just in time to witness a large, winged monster land heavily on the top floor of the inn. For better, or for worse, the constant light from the many fires provided abundant light, more than enough for the four to get a good look at the back of the monster.
Leathery wings, twenty feet from tip to tip, were unfurled from its lower back. Standing eight feet high, its skin was covered in pulsing veins and seeping boils, oozing yellow pus that gave off a sickening sheen. Four arms sprouted from its sizeable chest, two were long, with bulging muscles rippling with strength as they moved. Two were directly below the others but looked to be much shorter and atrophied, nauseating ichor dripping from nodules populating them. Even without the wind, the smell that radiated off of the vile creature made the four of them retch.
They watched in incapacitating fear as the creature used its four limbs to rip a giant hole into the side of the inn. Chunks of wood showered the courtyard below, the sound of groaning timber caused them to wince. Any moment now and the screams of the unlucky souls inside would be the next thing that they heard, but that never came.
Instead, a blinding flash accentuated the light given off by the many fires. Next, the sound of explosions reached their ears, causing them to flinch and duck their heads down for protection. Directing their attention back to the hole in the wall, they saw no traces of the beast, only the figure of a woman looking down at them.
"She a mage?" An adventurer asked no one in particular.
"Must be, what's she doing in an inn like this for?" The other replied, not taking his eyes off the woman above them.
They continued to gawk, only being dragged back to reality by the chorus of growls and shrieks coming from the sky above them, getting closer. "Oh shit, oh fuck!" Harvel was practically screaming as he circled around in place, his eyes wide and pointed at the sky.
They had no way to tell just how many of them there were, but a lot would be a fair estimate. If they were all the same as the individual they had seen, then there was no doubt in any of their minds that they would soon be dead. Descending from the heavens, more than a half dozen grotesques landed around them with a thud, sending clouds of dust up into the air. Open maws, blossoming like gore-soaked flower petals lined with serrated teeth and dripping with saliva, surrounded them. Green glowing eyes filled with insatiable hunger and rage peered down on them.
The stench was overwhelming, rot and decay filled the air, they couldn't help but to involuntarily gag. Pus dripped onto the ground with wet plops, their clawed fingers wriggling in the air as they outstretched their many arms in anticipation of catching their prey.
Grrrraaaaaaaaawwwwwoooooooooo! A devastating roar emanated from near the inn, sounding like a mixture of an elephant's bellow and a lion's roar. It was many times more powerful than the noises the monsters had made thus far. Heavy footsteps shook the ground, but the four men couldn't see past the monsters that had surrounded them. Sensing the intrusion, the monster closest to the inn turned quickly, facing whatever had produced the soul shaking blast.
Jordi and the rest stood stock still in abject horror, watching the orange light reflect off the monster's pus slicked back. Suddenly, with a wet squelching sound, a bouquet of long, clawed fingers sprouted from its back. The monster didn't make as much as a scream, its body seized up, unmoving. Then, with a sound that would haunt their dreams for as long as they lived, the monster was ripped in half with incredible force. Organs, bones, and other foul smelling bodily fluids spewed over a wide area, turning the ground crimson red.
Towering ten feet above the pile of steaming organs was a behemoth of bone and rotting flesh. Its long, bleached skull contrasted greatly with the black nighttime sky. Eyeless sockets burned brightly with licks of red flames. The orange-red flames behind its thorn like antlers reminded the men of a wintertime morning sun, rising over the horizon with the leafless trees before it. White rib bones, much like its skull, could be seen through rips in its flesh that hung and swayed with the movements of the beast. Long arms, now drenched in the blood of the 'thing' that it killed, hung flaccidly, almost scraping the ground. Muscled legs, as big around as tree trunks, supported its massive frame.
Flinging its head back, its colossal rack cutting the air like knives, it let out another guttural roar. The vibrations from the sound were enough to cause ringing in their ears and their armor to tremble. Jordi had seen enough, he was already on the verge of what his mind could take, and this had pushed him over the edge. Once his bladder had emptied itself by its own volitions, his mind decided to shut down due to fear, causing the world around him to fade into black.