[https://i.imgur.com/VGCFMQy.png]

Nox watched the twisted building. Every muscle in his body taut like an overdrawn bow. His eyes began to sting, and he realized he'd been so focused that he'd stopped blinking.

Refenial was in there. He should have stopped him, somehow. Even if it meant he risked being exposed and killed for being a ghoul. He should have stopped him.

The rest of the group was also watching with concerned expressions.

Nia stood there, wand now lowered as she looked at the awful structure, her mouth wavering slightly.

One long minute stretched out after another as they waited. Nox's body only growing more tense as the seconds stretched on.

Perhaps he should follow Refenial now. Maybe Nia wouldn't stop him. He looked over at Nia, her face was tight, and her eyes looked wet. She seemed to be just as worried despite her bravado moments before.

That was it. He couldn't wait any longer. He began walking towards the house and noticed Nia had started to walk too.

They only made it a half dozen steps before a shrill sound split the air. Nox grabbed his ears in pain. Nia fell to one knee as she gasped out.

Nox forced himself to keep standing, and after a moment, the sound stopped.

He looked back and saw Matrill and the other men from the caravan were shaken by the sound, most lying on the ground but otherwise fine. Nia pulled herself up and began to run towards the house. Nox started running as well.

They reached the window that Refenial had climbed through at the same moment.

Nox crouched down to look into the open window. As he did, he heard something from deep within the house let out a monstrous roar followed moments later by a second roar from a different unnatural voice within the house.

Nia began climbing through the window. It was too narrow for both of them, so he was forced to wait. He heard a sound behind them and turned, realizing it was the flat-footed steps of Helus.

Nia paused halfway through the window.

"Hurry up!" He hissed at her even though he knew she probably wouldn't understand the words.

Nia began climbing back out of the window. Nox leaned across, trying to see why she was retreating.

As she pulled back, he saw a ruined room inside. Refenial was there half carrying, half dragging an elderly man. "Quick, it's coming down the stairs!" Refenial said as he roughly shoved the man towards the window.

Nox and Nia grabbed the man and began to haul him out through the window.

The elderly man was dirty and covered with dried blood. Whatever had happened to him must have been awful.

There was another snarling roar, this time from near the other side of the window. Refenial dived through the window landing awkwardly on his shoulder. The snow likely the only thing saving him from breaking it.

A heartbeat later, a gargantuan bristly pink-skinned hand swiped through the window at where Refenial had just been.

Nox heard the sound of squeaking hinges above him and remembered a second too late the door that opened into the air on the floor above.

He looked up and saw something pink and fleshy bearing down on him.

He heard a wordless cry from behind him and felt hands on his shoulder and side as someone pushed him out of danger.

He stumbled from being shoved and fell forwards, twisting as he did. He saw Helus behind him, having pushed him out of danger. Nox let out his own cry of surprise, realizing he'd been saved by the man he hated, the man who, if he knew the truth, would kill Nox.

Nox hit the ground hard but scrambled to get up. Now was not the time to worry about injuries. He rose in time to see the monster that had got the drop on him. It was a large pig monster. It walked on its hind legs, its body an unholy union of porcine and human anatomy. As it moved, rolls of fat jiggled across its body, and its cruel tusked face sported a bristly black beard.

Denied its target of Nox, it turned on Helus, grabbing the obsessively pious man by one of his arms and the collar of his clothes.

Nia dropped her wand and pulled out her dagger as she ran towards the monster holding Helus but let out a half squeal half scream as the monster reaching through the window grabbed her ankle, pulling her over and towards its shadowy refuge.

Nox dived towards the ground, grabbing the monstrous arm that held Nia.

He hit it with his full ghoulish strength. Knowing that a single blow from him could kill a man. The arm barely flinched and just carried on dragging Nia.

He grabbed the arm tightly, wedging his legs against a stone that made up part of the side of the house as he pushed against it. His bones creaked, and his muscles burned as he fought, his whole body against the monster's arm.

The stone he was pushing against made a grinding sound as it slid back slightly under the pressure but then held as the house groaned under the force.

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Nia screamed out, her leg being crushed in the powerful monster's grasp.

To the side, he could see the other monster standing tall, Helus's feet dangling impotently as the monster held him in the air.

There was the sound of snapping bone as the monster pressed its thumb forwards, snapping the man's forearm like a dry twig.

In the distance, the men of the caravan were running, but they were still too far away to help.

He saw Refenial charge wildly, dagger in hand, towards the monster that held Helus but had to look back down as he felt the monster he was holding braced itself and begin pulling harder.

Inch by inch, Nox was losing the struggle. Nia looked at him, her eyes half mad with fear and terror as she knew that too.

Dagger in her hand, she stabbed down on the monstrous arm in a life-or-death frenzy again and again.

There was a roar of pain from within the house, and the hand let go.

Nox let go of the hand, losing his balance and falling to the ground in the chaotic madness of the fight.

He launched himself forward from all fours like a sprinter. He grabbed Nia by the shoulder as he ran. His fingers bit deeply enough into her that he knew he'd drawn blood, but survival came before all consideration of comfort.

He shot by the monster that was outside the house, as it threw Helus forwards. Refenial had somehow got himself onto the monster's back and was screaming wildly while he stabbed again and again at its wide back.

Matrill, who was leading the pack of caravaneers, drew level with him just as Nox came to a stop looking back at the house.

There was a crashing sound as the pig monster that had been in the house burst through the wall, its arm bloody from Nia's dagger and its breath heavy.

The monster with Refenial on its back swatted at the boy, it managed only a glancing blow against the side of the boy's head, but he tumbled onto the ground below.

It turned to look down at Refenial, Nox dropping the wounded Nia roughly to the ground, charged back at the monster and crossed paths with Matrill, who was also charging, axe raised, at the monster that had just burst through the side of the house.

Nox's target had its back to him as it looked down at Refenial, who was struggling to stand. Across the beast's back, he could easily see two dozen shallow bleeding dagger wounds where Refenial had launched his frenzied assault.

Nox launched himself at the monster, kicking at the back of its legs as he grabbed at its neck.

The monster staggered uncertainly under his attack for a moment before falling backwards and landing on Nox.

Nox involuntarily let out a choking breath as he felt the monster's heavy weight on him, winding him.

He held on with every ounce of strength as dots danced in front of his eyes, and his muscles screamed out for air he couldn't provide.

He heard the sounds of others moving around him, attacking the monster in his arms, but he couldn't focus on anything beyond holding on. After several moments he felt the monster's movements slow and stop.

He released his grip as he tried to breathe while also looking around.

Refenial and several caravaneers stood around him and the monster, their weapons bloodied.

There was a roar from nearby, and he saw Matrill in a desperate fight with the monster that had burst through the wall.

Matrill's axe swung in tight arcs, scoring minor blows against the tough monster, but the pain seemed to only enrage the beast further as it advanced on the one-eyed man.

Refenial and the caravaneers began moving towards the fight to help.

Nox tried to move, but he was pinned by the heavy corpse of the monster. His shuddering breaths do him no favours.

He pushed again, moving the body slightly.

He focused on sucking in air for a few moments before pushing the body off him with one last heave.

He rolled over and stood, bent double and coughing so hard he thought he might be sick. His head swam from suddenly standing while still oxygen deprived. He took several drunken half steps to stop himself from keeling back over.

He looked up as he forced his body straight. The monster was surrounded by Matrill, Refenial and the caravaneers. It lashed out with vicious swings of its porcine arms as the figures dodged its deadly blows by the tiniest of margins.

He needed to end this, he needed to end this now, or someone would die.

He saw Nia's long dagger that had been dropped on the ground in the chaos. He stumbled to it, picking it up.

With concentration, he focused on the fight. He was at the limits of his stamina. He'd have one shot at this. If he attacked the beast and failed, then there was no guarantee he'd get another shot, especially another shot before someone died.

He focused entirely on the moment, running towards the pig monster with every ounce of strength he had. As he passed between Refenial and Matrill, who both looked at him with surprise, he leapt into the air, swinging the dagger down in an icepick grip towards the monster's head.

The dagger met flesh, then bone, then brain as it punctured the monster's skull.

Exhausted and weakened, Nox flubbed the landing smacking hard into the snow, knocking what little wind was in his lungs out again.

He lay there on the snow fighting for air and vomited, turning the white snow yellow.

[https://i.imgur.com/oMrGBK6.png]

Nox wasn't sure how long he lay there in the hell of oxygen-starved exhaustion, but he sensed Refenial come over. The boy was still breathing heavily as he helped Nox sit up.

The sun was beginning to set, turning half the sky a warm orange-red.

"Th... th..." Nox realized he was still too winded to speak, so he gave a tired pat of thanks on Refenial's arm.

The boy smiled, but the smile didn't reach his eyes. Nox wondered what was going through Refenial's mind right now. What carnage had the young boy seen in the house?

He had seen the crazed determination that Refenial had fought with while clinging to the monster's back. What could turn a child into such a fearless monster slayer? He'd seen grown men wet themselves over monsters half as dangerous.

He wondered what the boy would become as an adult, assuming his reckless behaviour didn't get him killed before then. He looked at the smiling Refenial. The boy's eyes held a hardness there that made Nox shudder slightly. In those eyes, he could see a hint of the future. If this boy met his potential, then maybe even immortals would cower in fear of his wrath.

Nox realized Matrill had approached and was standing next to them. The Retired warrior silently handed Nox a canteen of water. Nox rinsed his mouth out with it, then drank deeply, not realizing how thirsty he'd become.

He handed the now empty canteen back to Matrill.

"A couple of the men, those with the stomach for it, are going to look in the house and see if there are any other survivors," Matril said matter of factly.

Nox nodded.

"What if there's more monsters?" Refenial asked.

Matrill shook his head. "Not likely. They'd have attacked at the same time. Also, monsters working together like this isn't common."

There was silence again for a time.

"We're going to bring the caravan up into the walls. Even with the monsters dead, most are wanting a little extra protection tonight."

Nox nodded again, too tired for words.

He heard a sound and saw two caravaneers exiting the monster's crooked house. The first led a woman who looked no older than thirty, her clothes a bloody mess, her hair a tangled ball of dirt. Where her left hand should be, there were only bloody rags. The second was carrying a boy that looked no older than thirteen. The boy lacked a foot on one leg and anything below the knee on the other leg. Red-soaked rags covering the stumps.

What Nox knew he would remember more than anything, what he knew would haunt his nightmares most of all, was the looks on their gaunt, tired and dirty faces. Their eyes were wide as if in horror, but the rest of their faces sat in disconcertingly neutral expressions as the two victims looked forwards passively as if nothing was left of their minds, their sanity torn apart by whatever the monsters had done to them.

[https://i.imgur.com/3vZaHAB.png]