[@GreenGoat] [hider=music][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbnpRAKUMfM[/youtube][/hider] [color=d8cfbe]“I’m telling you, we need to go looking!”[/color] Lendal smacked his hand against the scarred wooden table the group used for drinking. [color=d8cfbe]”Kendrick’s been gone for way too damn long.”[/color] The straw-haired teen continued. [color=d8cfbe]“If he’s been chained up by that beastman, who knows what the fuck’s gonna happen to him?”[/color] The three had been waiting in town for several hours for Kendrick to return from his punishment. He’d left in the morning, after losing a drinking game. [color=d8cfbe]“Relax, Len,”[/color] Ema said. [color=d8cfbe]“It’ll be fine. He’s probably seduced her or something, and they’ve just spent the time enjoying themselves, you know? By the way, I wouldn’t mind…”[/color] she moved her hand onto Lendal’s. [color=d8cfbe]“Yeah right. Kendrick hates beastmen more than a farmer hates drought. He’d sooner stick his penis in a bramble bush,”[/color] said Coln. The dark-haired teenager pulled out a band and tied his hair into a knot. [color=d8cfbe]“Still, he might need our help.”[/color] [color=d8cfbe]“I’ll grab my stuff,”[/color] said Lendal, turning away from the table. [color=d8cfbe]“Damn it all. We should have chosen a more suitable dare. Messing with a beastie might have been a bad idea…”[/color] [color=d8cfbe]”What’ll we do when we find her?”[/color] asked Ema. [color=d8cfbe]”Give it back what it deserves for wasting our damn time. Maybe get it sold for some coin or something.”[/color] Lendal shrugged. [color=d8cfbe]”Might as well get something good out of this whole wreck.”[/color] [hr] [hider=music][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ocbdiq_wmA[/youtube][/hider] [color=d8cfbe]“Are we there yet?”[/color] Ema asked. [color=d8cfbe]“I think the Sun’s starting to go down.”[/color] [color=d8cfbe]“Are you sure you know which way it is, Coln? I can’t even see the path anymore.” “Absolutely. Trust in my intuition.” “Your intuition?! Coln, you’ve led us an hour out of town off your fucking [i]intuition?!”[/i][/color] The three were lost. Horribly, horribly lost. They’d left the town a few hours before sundown, but some rapidly descending cloud cover combined with the canopy overhead had darkened the area far faster than expected. Worse yet, Lendal could feel the humidity sticking his shirt to his skin. It was going to rain soon. Hard. There was still no sign of Kendrick. Lendal unshuttered his gemlantern. The light cast an ethereal glow around them, illuminating the bushy undergrowth. He swapped his club to his left hand. [color=d8cfbe]“Dammit, dammit, dammit! Fuck!”[/color] Lendal kicked a nearby tree. It shuddered slightly, then deposited a large centipede on his shoulder. Ema screamed. [color=d8cfbe]“Get it off! Get it off!”[/color] Lendal began to shake violently in an effort to dislodge the critter. The centipede, two feet long and completely unaware of its situation, clung on for dear life. Lendal could feel its pincer-like legs clinging to his arm. It crawled up his arm, towards his face. Coln slashed it off with his dagger. The two halves dropped to the ground, writhing, before eventually laying still. [color=d8cfbe]“What the fuck, man? You nearly killed me!”[/color] Lendal collapsed to the ground, heart pounding through his chest. [color=d8cfbe]“Oh, fuck, fuck, fuck…” “I saved you, dumbass.” “You just about cut my face off! Another centimeter to the left and my fucking arm would be flopping on the ground like that goddamn bug!” “Guys-” “You’re exaggerating, Lendal. It wasn’t that close.” “Guys-” “It fucking was! Watch where you stick your dagger next time!” “Guys. Look.”[/color] Ema grabbed both of them by the arm and dragged them over to the entrance to a small clearing at the base of a hill. By the dim light of the gemlantern, they could make out a massive tree perched atop it, and a small house under its roots. [color=d8cfbe]”We found it.”[/color] Lendal sighed in relief. [color=d8cfbe]“About time.”[/color] He approached the house. [color=d8cfbe]“Wait,”[/color] said Coln. [color=d8cfbe]“We don’t know what’s-”[/color] Above them, a thunderclap boomed, shaking the leaves and dirt. A wall of rain began to descend, threatening to soak through everything they carried. In a rare act of solidarity, the three rushed into the hut and closed the door behind them. [hider=music][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d53FcJACiUA[/youtube][/hider] The gemlantern was beginning to run out. Lendal cursed his luck. The light infuser hadn’t come round to his house last week, saying something about unpaid dues. Bullshit. Lendal always paid people back. It had to have been his parents. Still, under its dying light, the three could make out most of the room within. Standing at the entrance, the house was somewhat small. A small cooking pit lay in the center, and Lendal could barely see the remains of a cookfire within it. A pot lay in the center. The three stepped forward. A light sensation brushed the back of Lendal’s neck. He swung around. It was a feather. Multiple animal bones and feathers hung from the ceiling, suspended by string. [color=d8cfbe]“Kendrick? You here?”[/color] Ema called softly. No response. The gemlight gave out, plunging them into complete darkness. [color=d8cfbe]“Hey, I found something, it feels kinda… squishy?”[/color] Coln said, his voice coming from somewhere to Lendal’s right. [color=d8cfbe]“Hold on, I have a matchbox. Let me…”[/color] Lendal reached into his pouch. Success. The taut sheepskin bag had protected it from the rain. He lit a match and held it up. Kendrick’s lifeless face greeted him, eyes bulging and cheeks slashed off. Even without hair, Lendal recognized the slightly crooked nose and scarred forehead. Some dried blood caked his chin. He was missing both ears. Lendal froze. Ema screamed and backed up into the remains of the fire, spilling whatever was in the pot all over the floor. Coln swore and dropped Kendrick’s head. It hit the ground with a sickening [i]thunk.[/i] Something stirred in the darkness. [color=d8cfbe]“Eska? Are you finally ba-”[/color] Without thinking, Lendal reacted by swinging his club as hard as he could in the direction the voice came from. It connected with something hard, sending a [i]crack[/i] throughout the room. A thump sounded as a body hit the floor. Ema screamed again. The coals had caught flame once again, fueled by the linens of her clothing. Steam hissed as the water in her clothes evaporated and dissipated. Coln rushed over and pushed her off the flames, then poured whatever was left in the pot over her. Another hiss, then silence that was quickly broken by Ema retching her dinner out onto the floor. She coughed, then slowly got up. Lendal lit another match. He had knocked out some sort of beastman, though he wasn’t quite sure. It looked rather green. Without words, he began to drag the body towards the entrance. Still in a pseudo-trance, the other two followed him out the door, and away from the horrors within the small hut.