The forest was silent.

Even after several hours of hiking, Telhari had scarcely seen more than the occasional squirrel, and only then at a great distance from where he was. There was an abundance of decaying plant life: moist and rotten and teeming with mushroom overgrowth. The closer he came to the foot of the mountain, the more the stench of death lingered. Telhari was sure he knew the manner of creature he was hunting, but never before had he heard of one with such a presence. Still, he was confident that he could handle things. As he walked onward, the bubbling of a nearby river sounded in the distance.

It is just as he said.

Telhari followed the sound and soon came upon the river’s edge. From the edge of its banks, he traced its path up the mountain. Some way off in the distance, a few thousand feet or so, the river disappeared into the rock face. Near the mountain’s base, Telhari saw a cave mouth open to the waiting forest and headed towards it. Littered around the threshold were the carcasses of dozens of small animals in various stages of decay. Telhari gripped the handle of his sword tightly and stepped into the dark.

The grasses and dried foliage of the forest floor gave way to cold dirt and stone. After a few more paces inside, he came upon a pile of ash and burnt wood. There were claw marks etched into the walls of the cave, which were painted over with rust colored remnants of blood splatter. There, against the wall beside the ashes, were the remains of a human body— both its legs, as well as the left arm were missing.

Telhari knelt down to examine the body; the bones had been crushed and ripped by something with a large bite and strong teeth. What was left of the victim had been fed on by smaller scavengers and was nearly picked clean. A few yards further inside the cave, there was a second body. This one was missing all four limbs and was in a similar state of decomposition. The first of these appeared male and the second female.

The first couple.

Telhari continued on.

The entrance to the cave had been nearly eight feet across, but as he continued deeper, the passage began to narrow. Now as little as five feet across, he could see strange markings appear— depressions that rippled like waves along the rock. They began when the cave had narrowed to about six feet and continued for several hundred feet more, before disappearing as the cave widened again.

“Its scales are quite hard…” Telhari muttered under his breath.

Six feet’s breadth was certainly a larger size than he had ever heard record of. These mountains did not have very large fauna; at least not large enough to sustain the creature’s apparent size. And based on the testimony of the locals, it hadn’t been here for more than a year.

So, what else are you feeding on?

Eventually, the cave began to widen again, and this time Telhari slowed himself. He had good vision, better than a typical human, and could see reasonably well in the dark. But, in the heart of this cave, the light was low enough that even he was having trouble seeing. In response, Telhari began an enchantment. A slow weaving together of syllables, layering one on top of the other until they took on a life of their own. Suddenly, he struck the tip of his blade against the rock face. A spark burst forth; but instead of fading immediately, it lingered, crackling first, then expanding slowly. It grew warmer and brighter in color, settling finally as globe of white and yellow which shone in the air above him. He sent it with his mind up high into the air until he saw the cavern ceiling.

The cavern was fifty, maybe sixty feet wide, but made of terribly uneven ground. There were columns and pillars of rock rising from the floor and descending from the ceiling. A dampness hung in the air, and he could see the reflections of his enchanted light glittering off the surface of the rock formations. A large portion of the cavern was not yet visible to Telhari, as it was hidden by large edifices of stone, some almost ten feet wide.

Plenty of places for you to hide, eh?

Technically, he was at an overwhelming disadvantage. This was the ideal environment for such a creature to hunt in. Under normal circumstances, there would be no light by which to see. The floor was slippery and uneven, and without proper footing, it would be difficult to keep one’s stance in combat. Telhari began with a slow stroll, moving heel to toe as he went, until he had adjusted to the unevenness. Coming around the perimeter of the cavern, he happened suddenly upon another body.

This one was much larger than the others. The man had been relieved of his four limbs, as well as most of his innards. However, due to the moisture inside the cave, he was even more decayed than the first two. At his side lay a large hammer. It had a head of solid iron and was bound with metal bracing to a substantial steel handle. The steel was not as strong as that which Telhari’s kin were capable of rendering, but it was impressive nonetheless. This man must have been very capable to have commissioned such a weapon. Looking closer at the hammer’s head, Telhari could see several dents and teeth marks.

A valiant effort.

Taking one last look at the man’s corpse, he saw a shining brass engraving—  “Grob the Smasher”.

She was right the first time.

Telhari continued to creep along the edge of the cave, watching carefully for any hint of movement. If the creature was sleeping, he may be able to end things quickly. He reckoned it was blind, and so the presence of his glowing orb shouldn’t disturb the creature. The orb gave off little to no heat and was floating almost twenty feet in the air, near the top of the cave ceiling. As he turned the corner, however, Telhari saw something strange. There was a pile of bodies that were unlike the others. All of these victims were young, no more than eleven or twelve years old by Telhari’s estimate. The corpses were clustered beneath a ledge that was over ten feet from the ground. Several of the long bones were splintered or had fractures running along their surface.

What is this?

As Telhari looked closer, he could see that their abdomens had been violated, but not by scavengers…

Suddenly, a guttural sound filled the cavern.

Telhari whipped around and drew back his blade. He stared intently in front of him, but he saw nothing. He listened carefully, just barely making out the low rumble of the creature’s breath. Telhari localized the source and began to move silently towards it. Then, the sound began to evolve— from a low grumbling into a visceral symphony.

The creature was feeding.

Coming fully around the nearest column of rock, Telhari could finally lay eyes on it.

The creature’s long, leathery tail wormed back and forth along the floor, gliding against the slick of moist rock. He could hear it greedily sucking down air between bites. The muscles of it’s neck rippled as the creature tugged and pulled and crunched down. Telhari heard bones snap like twigs between its crushing jaw. Finally, it ripped away the flesh, sending a spray of fluids onto the adjacent wall. The metallic scent of fresh blood wafted over to him.

Telhari squeezed his hand around the fine leather embroidery of his blade’s handle. Everything about it, from the ore of which it was forged, to the enchantments placed upon it, was designed specifically for him.

Designed to do one thing.

The warmth in the palm of his hand spread like a fire down the blade and it began to vibrate. Crudely at first, but within a second it had become a precise and rapid oscillation that made his whole body tingle. It produced no sound as one might expect, but it carried an undeniable presence to any who had the sense to perceive it.

And at this, the creature stopped feeding.

Telhari jumped to the right and planted his foot on a platform of rock several feet off the ground. Sensing his movement, the creature spun around roared at the place where Telhari had been. Its face was ghastly: mottled, uneven, and littered with scales, punctuating slick black skin. Its mouth was dripping with blood and viscera. Rows of fat, jagged teeth stuck out at crooked angles from inside of its jaw.

All of Telhari’s muscles were humming now— he felt light and quick. His whole body was singing. In an instant he had chosen his mark. Telhari pushed off the rock face and shot towards the nape of the creature’s neck. It wailed terribly as steel cut into flesh. Yet, even with his enchantment, Telhari was unable to sever cleanly through the creature’s tough skin. He quickly withdrew the blade and kicked off the creature’s back, just in time to avoid the lashing of it’s serpentine tail.

Crack!

The tip of the tail snapped against the creature’s back and whipped around, moving as if it had a mind of its own. Telhari landed on the top of a nearby boulder, out of reach and unharmed.

Under normal circumstances, his spell weaving should allow him to pierce the creature’s hide in a single swing. But his technique has suffered greatly, ever since that day…

Memories of flame and loss threatened to overtake him. So Telhari fought bitterly against their tide, willing himself out of the past and back into the present…

He was greeted by the soft rhythm of the creature’s blood as it dripped from the end of his sword and splattered against the rock. Squatting low once again, he studied the creature. As it snarled at the open air, its tongue darting out, trying to sense him. There were two large, swollen masses on either side of its head. They captured the light of Telhari’s spell-woven globe, still floating high in the air, and spun it around, reflecting it in myriad combinations and giving an illusion of movement. These were the “eyes” the man spoke of.

The creature sniffed at the air.

Having trouble?

As it turned its head toward him, Telhari could make out an indent on the side of the creature’s face.

The hammer strike.

There was a healed gash on the side of the creature’s jaw and it was still missing teeth. If he could aim at the weakened tissue, he could pierce into its skull from beneath and deal a killing blow. Telhari placed his fingers inside of the pouch he kept buckled to his belt. He pulled out something small— a pungent smelling powder wrapped in thin cloth. He pinched the end with his fingertips and concentrated. The tip of his fingers heated up, and a red embers began to singe the cloth. The creature turned toward him, and he could feel its murderous intent moving outward like a wave. Telhari then flicked the ball to the creature’s right side. It hit the ground and exploded.

The pop startled the creature. It turned reflexively toward the sound and, sensing the heat of the explosion, chomped down on the air. With its attention shifted, Telhari dashed toward the creature’s left side. He planted his foot and drew back his blade.

It’s over—!