Winona crept down the stairs, cautious not to reveal her location by the sound of her spurs. Each step was taken quietly, and she listened intently to the horrifying symphony of flesh and bones splintering. Amidst this ghastly cacophony, monstrous sounds and groans of pleasure echoed through the air.
Winona glanced at the orange gem that adorned her neck, the Voilatresta. Within it, a fire burned brightly, fulfilling its purpose. When the gem remained a calm orange, it signified safety. However, when the fire inside the Voilatresta danced and flickered like a trapped prisoner, it signaled the presence of evil. These necklaces were bestowed upon all Hunters of the Veil by the witches who created this righteous order, serving as a protective talisman.
Reaching the final step, Winona raised her lantern, but its beam illuminated only a few feet ahead. A table covered in woodworking tools emerged from the darkness, with a cloth draped loosely underneath. She didn't need to see more to know what was the source of the bone-chilling noises.
To her right, behind a wall of wine barrels, she caught a glimpse of the vile creature. Its red fish spines waved back and forth against its slimy, wet, green skin. Winona's lip curled in disgust as she recognized the creature: a Griymble. These horrid human-like fish creatures were born from humans who died in tainted water. They primarily preyed on cattle that strayed too close to their underwater dens, but they were not afraid to attack and devour humans who did the same. Their presence in towns was typically a sign of disturbance in their aquatic habitats.
Without giving it much thought, Winona raised her gun at the beast. The sound of her gun cocking alerted the creature, and it turned its head to face her. Winona could now see its face in its entirety. It bore the semblance of a human, but its anglerfish-like teeth, clamped tightly on the arm of the unfortunate woodworker who had become its meal, and its bottle-sized red frog eyes filled with anger and menace, gave it a horrifying appearance.
Winona wasted no time. She fired a round from her sixshooter into the Griymble's shoulder, causing it to let out a gurgling scream as if it was drowning. The arm it had been devouring fell to the ground with a wet squelch, and the creature darted towards Winona as she closed the gap between them, knife in hand.
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She lunged at the Griymble with a curse, tackling a shelf of wine. Barrels and bottles tumbled all around her, pinning her to the ground. Her target, however, had nimbly avoided her attack and was now clinging to the wall beside her, their eyes locked in a deadly stare.
The Griymble scuttled closer to the trapped hunter and opened its jaws mere inches from her face, unleashing another wet scream. Its long, thin tongue flailed around its mouth between jagged teeth, a grotesque display of predatory intent.
Winona acted quickly. She seized the creature's tongue with one hand while smashing a piece of broken shelf into the side of its head with the other. The Griymble let out a piercing cry and fell back against another wall of wine sending even more bottles and barrels to break on the ground.
Seizing the opportunity, Winona grabbed her lantern and flung it at the pile of debris that now covered the beast. The lantern exploded, engulfing the wine, broken shelf, and Griymble in flames. The creature's screams grew louder before they eventually subsided as it met its fiery demise.
Winona winced and clutched her ribs in pain. She looked down and retrieved her cowboy hat, which had fallen off during the struggle. She placed it carefully on her head as she slowly and painfully made her way up the stairs. The Voilatresta flickered twice before returning to its normal orange glow, signaling the end of the threat.
Winona groaned and staggered as she exited the house. She limped towards the woman waiting outside the now-burning homestead. "Sorry, Ma'am," Winona McCray choked out, bending over with her hands on her knees. "The problem is gone. It's dead. But so is yer husband. I'm afraid it got him before I could intervene. He seemed like a good man who enjoyed strong spirits and made sturdy shelves. Oh..." Winona chuckled between coughing fits. "You might want to stay with some kinfolk for a while. On account of, uh..." She gestured behind her without looking at the burning home.
She tipped her hat and offered a final "Ma'am" before turning away and limping back to her horse, Aurora. As she untied her solid white horse from its stand, she noticed it staring at The Highwaymen, a saloon that doubled as a hotel where Winona had spent many nights.
"You're right, girl. I should rest. You be good out here tonight, okay?" The horse didn't respond, and Winona didn't expect it to. She gave her horse a loving pat and headed towards The Highwaymen.
She pushed open the swinging double doors and took in the scene. Respectable families dined on the second floor, while rugged and dirty men gambled away their meager earnings on cards below them. At the bar, a scuffle was about to break out between two outlaws, but a man in red robes stepped in to quickly defuse the situation.
Winona started towards the staircase that led to the third and fourth floors, where the bedrooms were located, but she was stopped when her Voilatresta grew warm again. "Oh, fuck. What now?" she muttered aloud with a pout.