Sal wasn’t sure what had happened, one second he was cursing the gods for cursing him so. The next he woke up in a rather chilly forest with a pale faced stranger with deep set red eyes and heavily pointed teeth staring at him. It seemed that this was his fate, dying and waking up with some odd fellow or another watching him like he was tonight's entertainment.
At least this time he found that he could sit up and was not restrained, he glanced down and saw that he was wearing the shredded remnants of leather armor at this point, and his flesh was deathly pale like the face he saw when he awoke. He instinctively rolled his tongue around his mouth and his teeth did not seem to be as pointy as his compatriots but his nails seemed longer and unkempt. Sal stood up and stared at the stranger. He turned and started to walk away from Sal, as if he had nothing to say.
It was only then did Sal notice that the tree's leaves were turning a shade of orange and brown, some having already fallen. Wasn’t it summer when he died, both times? And perhaps more pressing was the sudden feeling of hunger in his belly, like he hadn’t eaten in days. The family man in Sal wanted to run off and find his family, but he knew he was. Well he didn’t know what he was but it didn’t seem to be good, and the soldier in him wanted some sense of order and authority so he ran off after his fellow ghoul.
His body did not tire, and while the setting sun did sting his eyes he found it oddly easy to follow the tracks of the ghoul, who he decided he would call Gerxie until he got the man’s actual name. Based on the thinning of the trees they were heading out of the forest and soon enough he noticed new tracks joining alongside Gerxie’s.
By the time he finally caught sight of his fellow, the sun had long set and the two moons were displaying their opposing shapes, as if to draw away attention from the stars. The hunger deep inside of Sal had only grown and at this point he would have done almost anything to satiate it.
It still took at least another hour before Sal had caught up to Gerxie but he was only afforded the opportunity because Gerald was sitting at the edge of a cliff overlooking something, and there were two naked but equally pale strangers sitting there slightly behind him. Sal approached them but when he tried to walk past the strangers he felt two very strong hands grab him by the arms and pull him down to his belly.
Getting the message Sal pulled himself up, but only enough that he was sitting and while he struggled to peek over the edge of the cliff and he saw lights off in the distance, a village although it was about a mile away. Still, Sal was surprised at the amount of detail he could pick out. He could see that the lights did not flicker like torches would, and that there was only a guard or two who were walking through the outskirts of the town.
The hunger gnawed at him, it demanded that he act. He wanted to run into the town and demand a bowl of soup and if anyone so much as threatened him he’d bash their face in! But his attempts at moving forward lead to him being pulled back and stopped by Dormund and Dorminy, as he named them after a pair of brother’s from a tale from his youth.
They sat there, waiting, and waiting. The sun was at its peak and Sal wanted to curl up for it felt like the divine eye of Ramzu was staring down at him, wanting to claim his soul for daring to violate the natural order of things but it did abate some of the overwhelming hunger that he was feeling.
Still, more hours passed and it was not until the sun was at their back and a wagon started to move out of town and heading in their direction did they start moving at all. Gerxie gave a screech which Sal was certain everyone in the area could have heard yet not even a bird stirred from it. He pointed at the carriage and then turned to head back the way they came. Dortmund and Dorminy moved to follow as well, leaving Sal staring at the town off in the distance. His country had never been plagued by ghouls or vampires, so he wasn’t sure what he was but he got the feeling that he wasn’t human anymore and heading into town would lead to his death and so he trekked alongside his new companions.
It was when they ended up on the outskirts of the forest that Sal realized that they had just outran a wagon and did not even break a sweat. Gerxie pointed to Dormund and Dorminy after they neared a road and then across said road. The two ghouls moved silently and took up places behind trees while Gerxie positioned himself in a brush, pointing at the ground next to himself. When Sal did not get the hint, Gerxie moved and forcefully dragged Sal into the brush with him.
Once again they were left waiting, although this time it was far from as long and the sound of wheels on dirt, and horses trotting along the ground could be heard. It took a few minutes from then but the wagon they saw leaving town was sighted approaching down the road and for reasons he did not quite understand yet, Sal’s mouth started to salivate in anticipation.
As the wagon started to pass by the trees that Dormund and Dorminy hid by, Dortmund threw himself onto one of the horses and started to tear it apart, while Dorminy went for the driver who let out a shriek.
The sight disgusted Sal, not because of the violence by itself but because they were harming seemingly innocent people and the brutality of it. Yet, it just made him hungrier especially when he smelled the fresh blood which sent waves of disgust through his body. His instincts told him to jump in and join but Gerxie’s strong hand with claws on his shoulder prevented him from moving.
It did not take long for a response to be mounted as the doors of the wagon were thrown open, on the side they could see a man in chainmail with a sword hopped out and moved to the front of the wagon, shouting as he went but the tongue was unfamiliar to Sal.
A man dressed in long yellow robes with piercing orange eyes stepped out and he scanned the surrounding area, as if trying to find something and it seemed that he’d found what he was looking for as his eyes stopped on the brush where Sal and Gerxie were hiding. He pulled out some strange metal object and raised it in the air. He said something to his companions and then he started to pray, which made the metal object glow with an intensity that rivaled the sun to Sal’s eyes. Before it felt like the eyes of a god were upon him and judging him, this time it felt like a hand of god reaching down and trying to snuff the life out of his body between two divine fingers.
Gerxie stood up and hissed, pushing Sal backwards out of the bush as he advanced on the cleric slowly but steadily, smoke rising off of the ghoul’s body as whatever was being done seemed to be burning him.
His instincts told him to flee, that he had to run away from this living incarnation of god, that he would be roasted alive completely and thoroughly if he continued to exist as an abomination in front of perfection’s presence but his discipline told him that he had to stand and fight, even if it costed him his life. He pushed onward against the pain even as bits and pieces of him were roasted off with divine energy.
The confidence the cleric had once displayed was quickly fading as he failed to repel either of the ghouls it seemed, his free hand went for his ritual dagger that he kept hidden away within his robes, tossing a glance to his companions that seemed to be faring a bit better but he knew that he was a dam holding back the dreadful tide of this battle at the moment.
To the surprise of Gerxie and a little to Sal as well, Sal leaped forward with unexpected strength and threw himself on the cleric, pushing past the immense searing pain on his hand where it had accidentally touched the terrifying metal and his other hand clawed at the man’s throat doing more damage than he had expected to be able to do.
The smell of the blood tempted him and he knew deep down that if he started to consume the life of this human that he would know a pleasure he had never known in his life but he fought against the hunger, barely. He told himself that his family would never forgive him, that he could not be a monster anymore but he knew the truth of the matter was he was but a man holding a door against a battering ram. The door would break down and he would give in.
Gerxie joined him after the priest fell and the dreadful aura had dissipated, he took a bite from the cleric’s hand before dashing to claw at the armored fighter from behind.
The two lesser ghouls were seriously injured as there was another armored fighter and a man dressed in commoner’s clothes who seemed to be wielding a dagger with startling precision. They fought with all they had wanting not only to survive but to get their long desired meal.
The third ghoul joining the battle seemed to startle them, and the fighter who had been cut along the back shouted “Erel! Erel!” He swung his blade wildly trying to get even a scratch on the foul fiends but he was too blinded by hatred and loss to fight effectively.
Sal sat there and stared at the man he had just killed, no, murdered. This wasn’t like in war, at least war he had the excuse of fighting for his king or telling himself that if he did not kill the other person they would kill him. He had to face the cold, harsh reality that was before him. It was only the sound of a blade digging into flesh and the screech of a ghoul that pulled his attention away.
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Gerxie had been stabbed in the neck by the man in the commoner’s clothes and turned to face the scoundrel while the two warriors moved to try and take on the wounded ghouls.
Sal had grabbed the dagger from the body of the cleric and moved around the back of the wagon, trying to go as quick as he could without drawing attention and when the warrior who’s back was turned to him moved to go in for the strike on Dormund, Sal was right behind him and jabbed the knife into his armpit as he raised to swing, following the attack up with a clawing at the back of his neck where his helmet met his chain vest.
Seeing that it was a two on four, and with their strength only dulling, the man in the commoner’s clothes tried to pull away from Gerxie, his attacks putting him in a more defensive stance as he tried to circle around so he might run back to town.
The maddened warrior lunged at Gerxie, assuming him to be the one who had slain Erel and he attempted to run him through, but all this earned him was a deep gash going down along his arm and then Dorminy jumped onto him and started to weigh him down while Dormund dashed to gnaw at his legs.
A part of Sal wanted to join in but he knew better, for he’d seen that there were four opponents and only three corpses. He sprinted, no, galloped as he found himself unconsciously getting on all fours as he ran back around the wagon again, this time following the tracks of the stranger who had run off. He followed him through the woods as it seemed he tried to get away from the road in an attempt to hide, and with the difficulties that Sal was having following his tracks it might have even worked except Sal could still smell him.
The rogue ran and ran, occasionally glancing behind himself as he knew that someone had to warn the town. Ghouls weren’t too much of a problem, until they got out of control, then their growth would be almost exponential. His body wanted to give out, at this point the only thing keeping him going was the sheer desire to live but. Unfortunately, even he could not outrun the ravenous fledgeling that had been on his trail.
When Sal finally caught sight of the man again he almost sprinted after him, he told himself that at this point it was kill or be killed, even if he knew that a part of him was just enjoying the thrill of this, like when he hunted deer with his pa in the woods. He started to leap through the forest, every hop getting him closer and closer until he had the man on the ground.
He tore into the man but once he was sure he was dead, the hunger came to the front of his attention. Before it was a nuisance, a rather large one but now with a dead body in front of him it was an inescapable presence. It was almost like when he’d felt the hand of god down upon him, except this time it was trying to tell him that it could all be better. All he had to do was to take a bite. All he had to do was give in, it smelled delicious after all.
It did not take long for Sal to come to a decision, he closed his eyes and asked that his family forgive him before he leaned down and started to consume the person he had just killed. It was an almost divine experience and as he ate, he felt his muscles grow, his teeth and nails became sharper.
After he finished, Sal made sure to bury the skeleton and say a brief prayer that the man may be taken peacefully, although after he said the prayer he felt a chill go down his spine as if someone were watching him. Sal looked around and saw no one, so he took a deep breath and turned to head back to the carriage.
It seemed that his companions also had a snack, although the fighter that had called out for the cleric appeared to be untouched. Sal tilted his head slightly but now that his hunger had at least quieted down somewhat, he felt disgust that one of his thoughts was “Can I eat that?” so instead he watched quietly as Gerxie grabbed the warrior by the feet and started to drag him away from the road, with Dormund and Dorminy following behind him.
They headed deep into the trees once more, going for over an hour until Gerxie let go of the body and sat down, turning to sit and face the body almost like Sal had seen him when he first awoke. The two lesser ghouls gave some type of screech and then headed off in different directions in the woods.
Sal looked where the other two had gone, and then he looked back to Gerxie. He had questions, but it seemed that they could only communicate in some type of howling and screeching that he only barely understood so Sal took a seat across from Gerxie and stared at the body.
Seconds turned to minutes, minutes turned to hours and after about three days of waiting Sal could not take it anymore, his head was pounding and while he wanted to see what they were doing as the body did not seem to be rotting, except for getting a little paler and some of the hair falling off, he had to address the hunger. While eating that person has slaked his needs for a little bit, it seemed that it was going to be a permanent problem.
He stood up and decided to head north, figuring that the way that they came and the way the other two ghouls had gone would not have much to hunt, he ran with speed that would have shamed any of the men from his town, unburdened by tiredness and provided with the supernatural increases of his body. After about an hour of running he saw snow, although it was piled up as if against some invisible barrier, and given that the trees were still relatively healthy Sal thought it couldn’t possibly be cold enough for it to not melt.
Whether he had a death wish, or he’d accepted that he’d stumble across strange things Sal plowed on with haste, determining that it was in fact snow when he ended up buried waist deep in it as he tried to cross it. Oddly enough the chill did not seem to bother him at all, it was more just a fact than a truly unpleasant situation and he smelled blood on the air which distracted him from any further perceptions.
Sal chased after the smell, going across the snowy grounds until he found a clearing with the oddest sight. There was a snow hare sitting in the middle of it and a wounded fox that seemed to have left a trail of blood in a circle around the hare, with gashes going down it’s side.
Sal figured that he could steal the fox’s dinner and then go after the fox if he was still hungry after so he charged at the hare, thinking mostly of how delicious it was and so it only barely registered when the hare jumped up and claws extended from it’s feet and cut along his face, leaving black blood dripping onto the snow.
The rabbit hopped back a little, and licked it’s feet looking as innocent as any other rabbit. If it paid Sal, or the fox any mind it was once again not showing it.
He shook his head and looked back to the fox, no wonder it had been pacing around the rabbit, it was likely afraid for it’s life rather than thinking of this thing as dinner. He was still hungry and while he wanted to get revenge on the rabbit that had bested him, there was at least some prey available.
The ghoul turned and dove at the fox, which had thought itself agile enough to escape from this prey but the blood loss slowed it down enough that it was caught on Sal’s fingers, and with that Sal dug in. He could feel the flesh on his face healing much quicker as he ate the fox and while it wasn’t as noticeable as when he ate the man, he did feel himself getting a little stronger as well.
Sal narrowed his eyes at the rabbit, he noticed he was also hissing at it but he had the mind to pull away and head away from a fight that he realized he was likely to lose. He decided to get out of the snow, not knowing what other strange mysteries it may have had waiting for him inside of it.
Returning back to camp while chewing on a deer leg from his hunt, Sal saw Gerxie still sitting and staring at the corpse, wondering how he was able to withstand the hunger for so long while he did this. He sat down against a tree this time as he ate his leg, watching once again with curiosity which was soon rewarded.
The body raised an arm and it’s eyes opened, hissing wildly but within moments Gerxie sprung into action and dragged his claws across the body’s neck, decapitating it and silencing the hissing forever.
Gulping down the last bit of deer, he glanced from the body back to Gerxie. He wasn’t sure what exactly had just happened but he was grateful that it at least hadn’t happened to him, the last thing he wanted was to be stuck in an endless cycle of dying and being reborn only to die shortly thereafter.
Gerxie let out a loud screech and within minutes Dormund and Dorminy showed up and the four ghouls headed off to hunt for prey together. They spent the next few weeks wandering the woods heading in a wide circle around the town, killing and devouring any animals they found but it all felt hollow to the sweet taste of human that he had previously.
Eventually their hunting found a seemingly alone and near defenseless human, each of the ghouls moving to surround the woodsman who was humming a tune to himself as he looked through the trees as he found the one which served his purpose.
What the ghouls did not realize was that this was a trap set for them. Inquisitors hid themselves in the trees, using special oils to mask their scents from the ghouls Crossbows with bolts covered in holy water were at the ready and so their hunters waited.
Dorminy was the first one to try and pounce but he found that the axe was as effective at removing his head as it was at cutting trees and when Sal and Dormund charged in next they were met with a barrage of crossbow bolts. Most of them missed but one hit Sal in the leg, while the other hit Dormund in the arm. The burning sensation from the bolts made Sal back up, the hairs on the back of his head, if he still had any, would be straight as a board at this time and while Dorminy charged forward, Sal backed off to look for the attackers.
Gerxie at least had the intelligence to retreat as well, screeching and motioning for Dorminy and Sal to follow him but Dorminy was too distracted with the temptation of fresh prey, and vengeance in sight. He ended up falling to the next barrage of bolts that pierced him in his chest and legs.
Sal and Gerxie ran through the woods as fast as they could, using the trees as cover when they could. Sal thought they’d make it out safely until he saw Gerxie trip as if his legs were shackled and he’d reached the end of the chain. Sal moved to try and grab him and pull him but found that he could not, Gerxie’s body would not move an inch farther away from the inquisitors than it had.
Faced with the decision to stay and fight, or to flee, Sal almost stood and fought a battle he knew he could not win, but the hateful glare of Gerxie pushed him away. The last he saw of his third creator was the ghoul rising up and charging into battle with a screech that went on for minutes until it suddenly stopped.