Chapter 1:

Two men sat in a dimly lit room, puffing on cigars while an oil lantern swayed in the chilled night breeze let in through the window. They puffed for a moment before the larger of the two, Moss, a fat man in a fancy suit and a curled smile spoke in a gravely tone.

Moss: “I heard ya needed something cleared out, yeh? Some house that needs living in?”

The smaller of the men, Grobe, a lanky and short fellow who wore simple linens and a brown coat, spoke back in a hushed tone.

Grobe: “Shush, you callus fool! It can’t be known the house is infested!”

Moss chuckled, a deep belly laugh that reverberated past his jowls.

Moss: “Worry not, my dear compatriot. Ain’t no one gonna be up your ass about that here, I own all the folks in this room. They won’t say shit. Now, answer the question ‘fore I decide you ain’t worth my time.”

Grobe sneered, he hated having to work with such an overconfident moron, but he was low on options and funds.

Grobe: “Fine, dammit. Yes, I need a house cleared of Geists. I’m sure you’ve heard of the bleeders, little fuckers that are all up and attracted to heat sources. They squeeze out life until they get their fill and drop the bones on the floor. Not good for business as you might imagine.

Moss blew out a ring of smoke and leaned back in his chair, it creaking under his weight.

Moss: “Yeah, I got a guy for that, if you’re willing to put money down on it. 2 gold.”

Grobe felt like screaming at the man in front of him, but restrained himself. His next words were extra polite.

Grobe: “Ah, I see. For that price, I could hire several mercenaries you know.”

Moss: “And you’d be airing out your dirty laundry. You want it done all silent like? Then you’re gonna pay me two gold and shut your damn mouth about having ever even met me. Got it?”

Grobe gave a shaky sigh and pulled out his coin purse before putting down 2 gold. He let it fall onto the table with two tinks which broke his heart both times. Moss snickered and stood up, pushing the table forward with his belly and the chair back with his outrageous posterior before offering out a hand to shake.

Moss: “So, we got a deal?~”

He waggled his eyebrows in a way that’d make a man of weaker constitution hurl. Grobe put his hand forward anyway.

Grobe: “Deal.”

They shook on it, and Moss looked behind him to face a guard with a flintlock rifle in his hands, uttering out in a stage whisper:

Moss: “Get Jack on the horn.”

Chapter 2

It was another terrible day in Tayvald, a village that people who pass through call “A great place to visit’, and a place that if you live in it, you’d call “underdeveloped”. There was exactly one well for a farming community made up of a few dozen people, and a communal hearth right next to the well with a sign on it that said “There, now stop asking for one” on the side of it. Everything about the village was petty, even its origins had to do with a loss of a card game, which segwayed into the ground getting alchemically blasted, which in turn segwayed into a small civil war being fought over what amounted to some mildly fertile land, and some hills that used to have ore in them.

In this mess, lived a man named Jack, along with his sister Lesley. They lived in the third house to the right of Town Hall. They call it a house, but it was more a hollow stone cube held up by a single wood pillar. The house itself was a single room, eight-by-eight space lined with a few furs ling the walls, and two beds on either side of it. Attached in rather ramshackle a manner was a bathing area made of stone with an area to heat water, and a tub to put it in. The latrine was outside and to the side of the building.

Jack was walking home from his apprenticeship in the town square, where he sat all day selling odds and ends in a general store for limited bronze. The town square was four tents, and two stalls meant to sell out to whatever travelers or soldiers happened to be running through the area.

Though he was walking home, he felt rather tired. Some mercenary decided he didn’t like the prices that day and thought it would be a great idea to brawl for the goods instead. So, bruised and battered, Jack’s only comfort was that he managed to force that mercenary to pay double.

Walking into his house, he was greeted with endless chore after chore that had piled up in the prior week. Dirty dishes, dirty laundry, and rotting preserves on the table. All Jack wanted to do was go to sleep and pretend it didn’t matter, but that would mean his sister had to do it. As such, Jack buckled down and got to work.

Washing the dishes, scrubbing the clothes in a wash basin, and setting them to dry all with bruised ribs was not a rewarding effort, nor a fun one. It was worth it, in jack’s mind at least, to see Lesley come home with a smile on her face as she walked through the main road. This smile was immediately soured, however, as she took in Jack’s appearance.

Lesley: “Are you seriously doing chores like that? You look like you could fall over any second! What did I say about this?”

Jack smirked and set the last of the clothes up on the wire.

Jack: “Not to do it, but I did anyway ~”

Lesley was not amused by this.

Lesley: “Alright mister, inside. Go, go, go! I don’t want to see you up on your feet until tomorrow morning at the earliest!”

Jack chuckled, and grunted, as he was pushed playfully inside the house.

Jack: “Hey, but dinner still needs to be made- ow! Watch the ribs…”

Jack was playfully, if a little hard, pushed back inside and onto his bed on the left side of the room, where he would stay as Lesley started on dinner. Potato and hambone soup, with a bit of buttered bread. The same thing they had most nights. Jack sighed, and lamented aloud:

Jack: “My kingdom for a Danish~”

Lesley: “Oh, shush you. If you’re so fed up with eating this then you can just go hungry.”

Jack: “I never said I didn’t want it, just that I wish it was something else…”

Lesley hmphed and held up the spoon she was stirring the food with.

Lesley: “Well, get a raise I’ll buy something better.”

Jack grumbled and laid his head back on his pillow.

All and all, it was a nice night, that night. And then there was a knock at the door.

Chapter 3

Lesley looked at the door for a moment and immediately went to open it.

Lesley: “Don’t even think about using it as an excuse to stand up.”

Jack laid back down from his position on the bed, ready to sprint up and use the chance to go do something besides lie down. As he did, Lesley opened the door to reveal a man with a flintlock rifle in his hands.

Man: “Moss needs your brother.”

He said, pushing a letter into Lesley’s chest, and walking away just as quickly as he arrived.

Lesley stared at the letter for a moment, before huffing loudly and slamming the door shut.

Lesley: “Do they really think they can just call you whenever they want?!”

Jack groaned and sat up

Jack: “Lesley, they own me. You know that.”

Lesley huffed again and stomped over to her brother.

Lesley: “That kind of talk is exactly what lets them walk all over you like this! Seriously, what are you thinking, taking on this much work? This is the third time this month, and we’re not even halfway through!”

Jack stifled a chuckle, happy he was cared for this much.

Jack: “Trust me, I know what I can and can’t take. Hand me the letter, please.”

Lesley grumbled and placed the letter in her brother’s hands.

Lesley: “Don’t tell me they need you right now, or I swear I’ll go over there and-“

Jack laughed a bit in the middle of her sentence.

Jack: “And what? Get shot? Sorry Lesley, but I can’t have ya putting us deeper in the hole than we already are. I’ll be careful, I promise.”

Lesley let out a grumpy noise and stomped back over to the boiling pot.

To Jack Finnegan

Your presence is required ASAP half a day’s walk north of town.

There you will find a small manor, clear it of any geists you may find, for a profit of

Two silver, and 1.8 gold off your debt. Failure to do so will result in

Repossession of your property and sister.

-Moss.

Jack sighed, Moss never beat around the bush when it came to threats. He decided not to share the last part with his sister.

Jack stood up and began getting dressed, much to Lesley’s dismay.

Lesley: “Let me guess, it said ASAP?”

Jack laughed a bit.

Jack: “About what it said, yeah. Gotta head out now or they might use it as an excuse. Make sure you bring a dagger everywhere you go till I get home-“

Lesley: “And run away if you don’t, I got it. You always come back alive, I know you’ll come back fine this time too. Now get this soup in your gullet before you go.”

Jack chuckled and sat at the table for a nice meal.

Chapter 4

Jack began his long walk immediately after dinner, holding a lantern in his hand and a short sword in the other. Lesley called out after him as he went.

Lesley: “Be careful now, I need you coming back in one piece.”

Jack called back in a jovial tone of voice.

Jack: “Why? Because you wanna make rent?~”

Lesley: “Stop being such a smart ass.”

Lesley hmphed out as she watched her brother leave.

Jack used the lantern to light the path along the dirt pathway north, each footfall silencing a cricket hiding in the grass or scaring the shit out of a grasshopper. Even a local cat made its greetings by hissing at Jack for accidentally stepping onto its tail. Despite all this, Jack continued his moonlit walk in relative peace.

Tayvald was actually rather nice looking at nighttime, various lamps hung to the side of wooden posts illuminating the pathway with a dim orange radiance. The path in front of Jack was brighter thanks to his lantern in his hands, making it certain where he was stepping, if one deigned to ignore the cat-based incident a few moments earlier.

Yes, the night was rather peaceful. Cool gusts of wind drew their breaths across Jack’s form, as the light rustling of trees and foliage chimed in harmonic rhythms. There were hardly any nocturnal predators in this area, thanks to the sprawling forces of undead that lived in it, and those were thankfully mostly taken care of by the paladins who made this place their home. Thankfully, this all leads to the walk being rather quick.

The manor itself seemed pristine on the outside, maybe a bit dusty on the windows and with some ivy trailing along the contours of stone bricks that made up the structure. The building was two stories tall and of a more gothic make, with high piercing buttresses and a cute chair on the porch with a red throw pillow on the seat. Even the chair had the piercing points that usually accompany the style and make of the house. Jack considered stealing it before quickly giving up on the prospect, and making his way up to the door.

Jack wasn’t given a key, so he tried the handle. It was a bad sign this worked, as unlocked doors in houses like this probably meant other forms of defense from the inside. Jack was quickly proven right as a bolt curved its way sloppily into the porch’s pillar behind him. Thankfully, that trap had been busted up rather obviously. Raising the lantern served to reveal a crossbow rigged to be pulled and let loose should the door open and the lock not be turned with a key, but something had bent the metal beneath it about 3 inches to the right. A good thing for Jack, but also a bad sign for what might have had interest in doing that.

Stepping inside, Jack’s muddy boots made contact with a lovely red carpet, which served to dampen his foot falls across the lovely foyer of the manor. The smell of smoke was wafting from what was an assumed nearby fire place, and so Jack pulled out his sword to go investigate.

Chapter 5

The house creaked and groaned as Jack took his steps inside, beautiful gold-trimmed paintings caked with dust seemed to bristle under the cool night air that was let in from the open door. Every footfall caused the wooden flooring to squeak lightly from what must have been months of abandonment at the least.

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

Jack went in deeper, making his way from the foyer into the living room on the right which was accessed via archway. The living room itself was lovely, well furnished with sheet-covered décor and paintings depicting some rich-looking family. Jack wished he was allowed to steal even a bit of it.

One thing of note, however, was the fireplace. It was still burning, even though everything else looked as though it had been untouched for a long while now. Even more oddly, the charcoal on the bottom looked dimmer than they should have been despite faint orange cracks forming across the entirety of the crumbled logs.

Jack, looking it over, saw nothing immediately out of the ordinary. That was, until he lifted his lantern to get a better look. Immediately, a shadow became obvious over the coals, one that was not dispersed by the light. Jack looked to see what might be casting the shadow, only to see nothing in the room with him. The shadow, however, began to move towards him.

Jack gave out a:

“Oh fuck no!”

Before stabbing into the ground where the shadow was. This was met by a loud shrieking sound as the shadow lurched away from both sources of light. This took the dark covering off the fireplace, immediately illuminating the room and showing off several more impossible shadows covering the ground. Geists, or, better known as “Predatory Darkness”.

Jack threw his lantern onto the nearby couch, where it broke open and had the oil contents spill onto the white sheet. Following this, the fire caught onto the oil-doused sheets, causing the couch to erupt into flames. The Geists swarmed the fire, and Jack did likewise.

Jack began cutting into the cloth and shadows, slicing up everything he could get his sword into. Cotton fillings fell to the ground, still burning a dull blue, as springs from the couch cushions sproinged out from their idle states.

After a few moments of slashing, the screaming ceased, and the fire was easily put out. Jack would simply have to deny that he ever saw the fire in the first place. With a breath, Jack began to walk out of the building as he looked upstairs from the foyer. There, surely weren’t any more, right?

…He would have to check, lest he be murdered by Moss. So, Jack began his jaunt up the stairs, the wood creaking and dust flying off the handle as he went. However, he had little clue how he would find any more Geists, as his lantern was currently very much shattered on the living room floor. So, he looked around for a candle and found one quickly enough as it was a fancy house. Picking it up, he went and lit it downstairs and made his way back up, only to be interrupted by… Many, many more Geists.

Chapter 6

It was at this moment that Jack considered burning the building down and saying “I have no clue how it happened” to anyone who asked. Maybe even throw in a “Yeah, I killed them all, no clue why it burned down”. This would probably end in a lynching, however, so Jack put his big boy pants on and walked up those stairs.

The first thing that happened was that Jack saw his breath, the air got incredibly cold as he got higher up in the house. Jack Assumed this was the fault of the Geists, and just kept walking upstairs, swinging his short sword around at anything that looked a shade darker than it should have been.

This action was met by loud screaming once again, as the darkness scattered back and into various rooms on the second floor. Jack silently thanked Fate that there wasn’t a third floor as he reached the top.

Jack began a long, frankly troublesome process that went something like this:

Walk into a room, wave sword around, stab anything that screams, Repeat. It should be noted that there were about 7 rooms upstairs, all of which were well furnished with plenty of places for literal darkness to hide.

By the time Jack was done, the sun was beginning to come up, and exhaustion started settling in at the reminder of all the “No sleep” that Jack had gotten. As such, Jack wanted to quickly make his way out of the manor in a faster way. This haste gave him no favors, as suddenly he felt something insanely cold and goopy drape across his back.

Jack couldn’t even shout as the cold shot up his spine and into his lungs, sapping the warmth from his core as if it were never there to begin with, wobbling in an almost sensual manner. Jack stabbed behind him, only to accidentally nick himself on the hip from the odd angle the sword had to go. Jack hissed almost as loudly as the thing on his back screamed as steel drove itself into the form's phantasmagorical self.

Quickly, Jack shunted himself forward and away from the glob, looking behind him as he went. He was met with the sight of an orb of darkness leaking an inky black substance that seared the carpet under it. The glob attempted to roll away, before Jack sprinted forwards and onto the lecherous thing, stabbing repeatedly until the sword in his hands began to glow a light orange color.

The blob ceased all movement and seemed to have entirely split open. Jack shivered from the deep cold of where the thing had touched and began rubbing his own back to force friction’s warmth in. He sighed and made one last trip around the building to double-check for anymore. Thankfully, the manor was now empty. Jack began his long trek home with nothing left to do here, where nothing but more work awaited him.

Chapter 7

Walking back to Tayvald wasn’t too bad, it was only half a day’s walk to and from. The sun was up, and it was a cool morning with a slight breeze. The trees that lined the forest walkway rustled in the wind, and branches poked and prodded outwards at anything that would come within reach.

Jack then heard an odd bark, something higher pitched than a dog’s. Looking in the direction of the bark, Jack saw an odd, cloaked figure, wearing a purple robe, and what Jack thought was a mask until the fox head began speaking.

???: “Oh? A young man this deep in the woods, at this hour? Usually, this time of day is only used by old fogeys like me, who stalk and prowl, seeking to clean up.”

The odd figure chuckled a deep belly laugh, Barking madly while seeming content with the subpar train of thought it could muster. Jack tilted his head.

Jack: “Are you some kinda werebeast? I’ve never even heard of a Werefox, so that can’t be it.”

???: “I asked you a question first, my boy~”

The thing giggled to itself again, looking very pleased between barks. Jack clicked his tongue and spoke again.

Jack: “I had work out north, just got done with it. Why do you ask?”

The thing kept up its mad giggling, speaking in raspy tones, the words having to be ripped out between barks and put back together to make any sense.

???: “Oh? Work, at this time of day. I must imagine it pays rather well~”

Jack’s eyes twitched.

Jack: “Not at all, actually.”

???: “Oh? So you’re doing hard work for not enough pay? Do I smell a debtor?~”

The thing cackled madly, rolling onto its back and trouncing in the dirt. Jack had enough and went to walk away, before the thing barked out again.

???: “Wait! Don’t you want out?~ I can get you out!”

Jack didn’t give it a second thought, till he heard the jangling of coins in a bag.

Turning to look, Jack saw a large burlap sack of coins, produced by the odd figure.

???: “I never leave home without something to, ‘grease the wheels’~”

Jack turned back with caution, eying the bag suspiciously.

Jack:”…Mm, hell no. This is way too good to be true. Take your “Oh there’s a price, just not an obvious one” shit somewhere else. If I wanted to be a warlock I would have sold out to the first magical thing I met.”

The thing cackled again, now more barks than words.

???: “Ooo You’ll regret it! See you soon, I’ll be here~”

Jack turned to leave, with no intention of stopping even for a second while this thing was around. Jack made his way down the road, the echoing laughter of the creature behind him followed until the town was in sight.

Chapter 8

Tayvald came into sight, the lovely little hovel of a town happened to be a comforting sight considering what it could have been. See: A babbling fox-man-thing.

Jack walked quickly towards his home near the center of town, pulling closer as fast as his tired legs would carry him. This was equal parts desire for bedtime and desire to check up on Lesley.

He needn’t of worried, though, as Lesley was just leaving the house as Jack walked up.

Lesley: “Oh? Back already? I was expecting you to be gone for a while longer, glad to see I was wrong!”

Lesley smiled at his return, which made Jack feel a bit less tired in the moment.

Jack: “Of course, it was simple!~”

Jack raised his head high, trying to not let the early morning light catch ungracefully on the rings around his eyes. Lesley chuckled lightly at this.

Lesley: “Well, glad to hear you’re doing good. Go wash up and eat breakfast, your shift is starting soon.”

Jack sighed as he was once again pulled away from his one true love: Sleep.

Jack: “Fine, fine. Just get to work, Lesley. Love ya.”

Lesley smiled and returned the gesture, shooting a “I love you too” back at him before running off to the local tavern where she worked.

Jack stepped inside the shared home, and felt like he might fall over at the sight of the cozy little building. His body screamed for rest, and yet he would have to deny it. Quickly, Jack ran through the food locker he and his sister kept: It was an insulated cabinet that had some ice at the bottom of it, courtesy of a small Ice Rune their father had inscribed back when he was alive. In the locker was a bowl of soup and some bread from last night; it would have to do.

Jack, like a degenerate, took his food in with him to the bathroom, bathing while quickly eating his breakfast as there was little time for anything else. While Jack was in the bathhouse, he could of sworn he heard a faint tapping from somewhere. Thinking it might be the Fox from earlier, Jack wrapped a towel around his waste and stood up before  walking off to pick up his sword. The tapping grew louder as it was clear it was coming from the door. Sighing deeply, the young man opened the door in nothing but a towel, where a man with a flintlock rifle looked down at him.

Man: “Selling yourself now, are we? Are our rates that unreasonable?~”

The man snickered at his own joke while jack leaned against the sword.

Jack: “What do you want, prick? I might be late for my shift at this rate.”

The man chuckled again, and shook his head.

Man: “Nah, your boss already knows you ain’t gonna make it for work today.”

The man shoved another letter into Jack’s chest, with substantial force. Jack had to grab onto the doorframe to stop from sprawling out.

Man: “Later.”

Jack sighed, and took up the letter as he closed the door.

To Jack Finnegan:

You will travel down south as soon as possible, and it will take a day and a half to deal with a problem I’ve been having. You are to gather blood from the creature you will find. It will attack you first.

Any issues with finishing the job will be met with force. So, get to it.

- Moss

So much for going to work.

Chapter 9

Jack decided the best course of action was a power nap. He wouldn’t be needed at the shop, so why not get some rest before setting out? Besides, it said “As soon as possible”, which meant after a nap in Jack’s eyes. Nothing happened of note during the nap, but what came after was a surprise.

Upon opening his eyes, Jack looked out the window to see the dark of night. Looking around the room Lesley was making dinner. This made him snap up out of bed and start getting properly dressed out of his towel.

Jack: “Shit!”

Lesley turned to look at her fool of a brother with a soft smile.

Lesley: “I already saw the letter, but you know the drill. Dinner first.”

Lesley had a patient smile on her face that gave Jack pause. She was always like this, always so kind to him despite him not feeling deserving. Despite him being a lazy, foolish man. His eyes drooped a touch before Lesley cleared her throat.

Lesley: “Hey. You’re still naked, moron~”

With a soft chuckle, Jack looked down.

Jack: “It would appear that way.”

Jack pulled up his still dirty trousers and put on the same shirt with a nick in it. Lesley sighed.

Lesley: “We really should go shopping for you.”

Jack just smiled and sat at the table.

Jack: “Guys don’t need as much clothing, Sis~”

This was a thinly veiled attempt at making it seem normal. It did not work.

Lesley: “Sure, I absolutely believe you.”

She then walked over, put a bowl and some bread in front of Jack, and sat across from him. It was potato and ham soup again.

Jack sighed and ate up, enjoying the time spent with his sister.

Lesley: “How was work?”

Jack: “Oh, the usual. Got gooped on by a monster that bled heat, so just another day at the office”

Lesley: “Gooped on, huh? Was it nice?~”

Jack nearly choked

Jack: “No, it was not ‘Nice’ to have the heat drained out of me by a Geist.”

Lesley’s face fell.

Lesley: “Oh, I thought you meant-“

Jack: “Ew, no. If that happened, I’d of come back a Warlock or something.”

Lesley: “Wait, that’s all it takes? Maybe I should go get gooped on…”

Jack: “Over my dead body.”

Lesley snorted

Lesley: “Okay, dad~”

They shared a look, Jack looking a little miffed about the topic, and Lesley just happy to be teasing her brother. Soon, Jack finished his bowl and stood up, much to Lesley’s apparent dissatisfaction.

Lesley: “Already? I barely get fifteen minutes with you nowadays…”

Jack smiled

Jack: “Don’t worry, I’ll get back then it’ll be my turn to cook. Sleep well, I’ll be out for a while.”

Lesley waved as Jack made his exit.

Chapter 10

The walk was thankfully, uneventful. Jack got some weird looks from the town’s people as he walked straight by his workplace and out of the village, though.

Not very much happened on Jack’s Walk down south, as the area had been cleared out somewhat recently by Paladins. The only sounds were from chittering insects and the buzzing that came from katydids in the harsh summer heat. This made it even odder that there was a monster he was expected to “Procure the blood of”. What the hell would the paladins leave alone for long enough to have Jack of all people swoop in?

In the end, the question was moot. Jack had a job to do, and not doing it would prove detrimental to his health. As such, Jack walked for a day and a half south, only stopping to get a good night’s rest next to a brook.

Getting up, Jack’s eyes immediately fell upon something odd. A large red rock was bursting out from the ground next to him. Picking it up, Jack felt it start to melt like ice. Just, instead of water, the liquid was an off-reddish color that smelled heavily of iron. This was strange, but Jack only took it as a sign that he’d been getting closer to his target; whatever that may be.

Standing up, Jack began the last outward leg of his journey. The rustling of trees slowly died down, the chirping of birds was replaced by an eerie silence, and Jack couldn’t even see a bug crawling on the ground as he went forward along that path.

The red crystals also became steadily more common as he went, pieces of them chipped off and puddles of a reddish liquid streamed into each other and into the mud. Jack thought about selling them, but sadly any piece he picked up quickly broke down. As such, Jack continued to walk.

As the hours passed, the red crystals became more and more common. Some seemed to hold bits of armor half inside them, while others were shaped almost like weapons. Jack felt a pit growing ever larger in his stomach as he kept walking, the silence picking up ever more steadily in his ears. His careful foot falls on the path being the only sound around the forest path as even the wind seemed to die on its way here.

No bush moved, no bird chirped, no bug skittered, and no animal called. Jack had been expecting combat for a situation like this, but no sounds of conflict reached his ears. It was all simply still, like he was an intruder in all of this.

Jack took out his short sword, his stomach going in knots at the seemingly endless quiet.

The first thing to change in an instant was the temperature. Suddenly, things got a whole lot hotter. The bushes around him started to droop and wither from the intense heat. The second thing to be noticed was the giant thing barreling towards Jack. He had about two seconds to scream before being knocked to the side by the giant, crystal-covered arm of something.

Chapter 11

Jack was sent flying back, slamming back first into a large oak tree. He felt several points in his body pop as the air was forcefully ejected from his lungs, before falling into a rose bush. The thorns caught his clothing and cut into his flesh, but something else odd was felt. Something cold was stuck in his shoulder, a great chunk of crystal needle was stuck several inches in him. He could feel it melting quickly in his flesh and ripped it out before a wave of nausea racked his already battered body.

The thing that hit him was Seven feet tall lacking legs, it was clear that the hulking torso and arm had already been in a terrible fight beforehand, as some great instrument had lobbed off all but one of its limbs. It was hulking, muscle fibers breaking through the skin and  being sewn into place by crystal needles and an almost cocoon bit of crystal sticking on its chest, holding in the thing’s guts.

Jack felt himself beginning to black out from what had already happened, but closing his eyes would mean certain death. As such, he pushed himself to his feet and took out his sword, as well as holding the needle that was stuck in his shoulder.

The thing screamed out, its jaw unhinging to let loose more of its furious wails before bounding forward with one arm like a gorilla slamming the ground.

Jack raised his sword and swept clumsily at the thing, the sword bouncing off its crystalline plating as the thing batted him to the side with its forearm.

Jack went skidding off and slammed once again back first into a pile of shrubs. Once more, the thing bounded towards him, and Jack raised his hands in defense, having forgotten about the needle that seemingly stopped melting in his grip. As he did, the monster skewered itself on the needle, its head pierced straight through the neck as it gargled and fell.

Jack shakily got to his feet and brought up his sword.

Jack: “Damn Bastard!”

Jack swung his sword down and took the head off the creature. With a splat, the head crashed down from the hulking body.

Jack fell onto his knees, evacuating his stomach from accumulated stress and injury. However, his job wasn’t done yet.

Reaching into the body of the creature, there was very little liquid to actually be had. It seemed most of its blood had turned into the crystal mass that had been used as armor or a gauntlet to clobber things with. As such, Jack took out a vial and took what little he could, along with some of the crystal itself.

Something Jack hadn’t noticed till now, was just how cold he felt. His entire body shivered, and his hands shook slightly. He attributed it shock, or just the low temperature of the evening forest before tightening his coat.

Stepping back onto the path, he began his long journey home. He didn’t get very far, however, as exhaustion and the chills quickly took him to sleep. He fell down, not thirty feet away from the abomination’s body, before passing into a deep slumber.