In the gently lit bar under the relentless rain that pours down on a little town called Rudan, the locals celebrate another great show by the flexible and fairy-tale like dancers supported by their technical musicians wielding 3 string guitars, drums and delicate wooden flutes. The traveling entertainment group are praised and treated to drinks from the locals that swarm the bar.
However, right in the darkest corner far from the merry crowd, 3 bandits celebrate in hushed voices their recent raid of a cart, a worthwhile sacrifice of their once 5-piece party for the plentiful riches in their hands.
"I canny believe there was only 2 guards! HAHAHA, easy fucking pickings." The man resembling a rat downs a drink, half of the cider spilling onto his shirt.
"AND don't forget those weapons we nicked! The best quality! No more cheap shit from the discard piles of blacksmiths." The oaf of a man toys with the stolen weapon under the table, admiring the pure shine the light makes off of it.
The toned bruiser that now acts as the leader stands over them, poking at the gold in the pouches between them all,
"Makes you wonder though, what is the chieftain doi- HEY!" a cloaked figure bumps into him, knocking him over the table.
They walk on without stopping or even muttering a sorry, and only then does the leader see a couple of pouches now missing…
"GET THAT BASTARD!"
They all rise. The leader catches the guilty, icy blue eyes of the boy as he dives outside into the storm. The bandits stick together as they run toward Rudan's town centre, past a bakers with its pleasant aroma still vaguely present, they soon leave the muddy paths in Rudan's back alleys and into the stone pathways of the town's main streets in complete darkness. The wind had already decapitated all the lantern posts long before their search had led them here.
They boy vanishes. Camouflaged by the darkness enveloping the town.
"Shit." The rat man squells, his body shivers as he kicks at an abandoned merchant stand, crushing the supporting post.
"Oi, over 'ere!?" the Oaf bellows over the never-ending rain. They gather before the dark alley as lightning begins to awaken.
"Something is in there, can't see too well though. Too dark mate -"
"I bet it's the thief!" interrupts the Rat. He pushes past him, a knife in hand.
But the Oaf grabs his hair and reels him back behind him, he screams as the oaf continues.
"No. I think it's some animal. I swear I hears growling or screaming!"
"Pff" the Leader scoffs, "Well, I say we get some hard earned Rwa's for some animal hide and the meat! Come on." The 3 men confidently walk into the alley together. In moments they eventually find a dead end.
Lightning breaks apart the sky and the clouds bleed on them heavier than before, however, they know for sure that the broken, pained growls are not the howling of the wild winds.
Within this alley, a beast makes its own den under the full moon that slowly rips through the dense clouds in the sky. The bandits' eyes follow the ground leading toward this thing, and fear creeps into them as the puddles turn red, then lead to a fresh fatal trail toward a crouched over being.
As the lightning strikes and fades, the colour of the bandits faces fade with it. They see white hair, bits of silver armour painted with blood, and a weapon similar to a butcher's knife, more than large enough to be a sword. It rises as the next flash occurs, and the bandits feel themselves shrink under the presence of this animal, it wraps its fingers around the swords handle, almost romantically, then takes very slow steps toward them. There is no thunder. Only the painful but excited growls it produces as it approaches its prey.
His hungry eyes tell them that he knows just how he is going to carve them up, one by one.