As the man walked up to the porch he stood before the door covering it as he held out his arm gesturing inside. Ragnar took a step inside, the lanterns against the hallway were not broken like he saw last night, they were lit and gave light to the home. He walked past the farmers room. The bed was neatly made and there was almost no evidence that someone had been in there. The farmer walked Ragnar into a dining room, at the table sat the woman he saw last night, she slowly turned around to face both of the men, her neck seemed to be a bit too crooked, perhaps some sort of injury? She had the same expression as her husband, a blank stare and a large smile. At the end of the table there was a child gnawing at the bones of what he was eating. When he noticed the new man that entered the child began to smile brightly at the man. It was quite a nice smile compared to his parents.
"This is my family adventurer, My wife Margret and my son Joseph. Oh and pardon my rudeness, you can call me Joe" This warm welcome that had been given to Ragnar reminded him of something he hadn't felt in a long time, it made him feel something different.
"I thank you for having me. My name is Ragnar" he gave a small bow to show respect for their kindness. He joined the farmer at breakfast where they all ate a hearty meal containg foods from oats to fatty cuts of meat.
The child finished eating and pushed himself off of his chair and grabbed ahold of his stuffed toy. The boy walked past Ragnar, Joseph's fingers seemed to grip around his toy a bit too hard with his long slender fingers.
"So please tell me of this creature you've been struggling with" Ragnar talked between bites not wanting to waste any day time when he could be learning more about the monster.
"Creatures actually, it seems like a pack of them have been destroying my crops and mutilating my livestock" the farmer showed no anger when talking about his loss of agriculture.
"Have they killed anybody yet, the notice mentioned the death of some farmers." Margret sat up from her chair abruptly.
"Thats odd no one here has died, it must have been a mistake. Now if you'll excuse me I have chores to do" She walked out of the room, slamming the door shut behind her.
"You'll have to excuse her, she is quite torn up after we lost some of her favourite sheep" There was an undertone of something in the farmers voice but it couldn't be picked out.
"All I know is that off in the forest behind the barn is where those things have been coming from" Ragnar nodded and got up from the table.
"I'll search there today, if I find nothing I will be back at sundown" And with that Ragnar left the Farmstead and his family to deal with their jobs for today while he was out hunting what he had just found out was a pack of monsters not just one.
He set off into the forest, the sun peeked in through the leaves between tree branches, visibility was definitely better than last night. It was a nice change for Ragnar, ever since he made it to Galdor the weather had been terrible. He wasn't used to such nice weather, or such nice people. He had no idea what was wrong with that family, after all most families have imperfections, so what if they have creepy smiles.
The crunching of branches caught Ragnars attention, ahead of him was a large boulder and the sounds were coming from behind it. He pulled out his greataxe and began to creep around the boulder to see what was on the other side. His foot sunk into the ground slightly, and when he looked down he saw himself sinking. The ground beneath him began to fall away… A pitfall trap, he swung his axe down and lodged it into the ground creating a large thud. A screech echoed through the woods as what was hiding behind the boulder had noticed the sound and Ragnar, the sound of leaves rustling began to fade. Whatever it was it had ran off. Ragnar was hanging off the handle of his axe leaning into the pit. At the bottom of the hole were spikes of wood that were stained in blood. Ragnar swung his legs back and pushed them into the walls of the pit trying to ground himself. He tried hoisting himself up but to no avail. He had to wedge his feet and hands in the cold soil as he began to climb out of the pit.
He was a bit short for breath. Ragnar retrieved his axe and looked into the pit, at the bottom impaled onto the spikes were two skeletons, the clothes on them resembled that of a mage and an archer.
"Unlucky bastards" Although he didn't know who these people were he got on his knees and said a short prayer for them.
Why were there traps in this forrest, was it the hunters guild?, the farmstead? Whoever it was it lead to the death of two adventurers and almost Ragnar, and that thing that screamed and ran off he had never heard such a screech. That must be what he was looking for. What he was hunting. There was meant to be more wasn't there? Maybe they seperate in the day. The forrest is too large for Ragnar to chase after it, it would be able to run circles around him with ease. His best choice would be to wait the monster out at the barn. The farmers didn't expect him back so early but he knew they would understand. So he began to head back to the clearing where the farm was.
It had just turned miday, there was a while until sundown. As he stood on the outskirts of the forrest before the clearing he noticed something. Margret was hanging out bedsheets. One of them was stained. Not with food or anything like that, but with blood. It was the same bedsheet he saw in the child's room last night. Was what he saw that night all true. He needed to make sure so when no one was looking he ran through the clearing and hid behind the barn away from the eyes of the farmstead or his wife. He was sure of it, those sheets were stained a dark red with blood. There was one more thing he needed to check, he snuck around the barn and clear as day he saw the door that the farmstead covered earlier this morning. Spread across it were gaping claw marks and gashes, the exact ones he saw last night. He hadn't imagined any of it. It was all real every bit of it.
"Your back early hunter" It was the farmstead, he looked agitated, but still had that blank look on his face and that creepy smile, how could he not have noticed it before.
"I assume you failed to find the monsters?"
"Oh no I found them alright"
Ragnar grabbed his axe and unsheathed it. As soon as he did the fathers face twitches his smile spreading a bit too far. The corners of his mouth begin to split but no blood dripped from them. It was silent for a while, Ragnar just stared at him for a while until the father started to unfold. The thing in the farmestead skin detaches. His head lurches to the side with a sickening crack, his neck stretching like a piece of pulled taffy. His skin begins to peel away, not tearing—sliding, as if he was never meant to be inside it. From beneath something black and wet emerges like sinew stretched too thin. This thing had been wearing the mans skin and had malformed his flesh into its own body. The farmer or whats left of him lunges forwards his fingers were no longer fingers but hooks of sharpened bone. It tried to latch onto Ragnar but he swung his axe and made direct contact with the remnants of its arm, the hook of bone has been cleaved in two. Flesh spurted out from the things skin and wrapped around the bones creating two new appendages that now swung at Ragnar. He swung his axe again this time aiming to remove the things arm from its body. He sunk his blade into what looked like a shoulder but the "thing" just grabbed its arm and ripped it off itself freeing it from his weapon. There was no blood just a thick black ichor oozed out. The creature continued its attack, its only arm latched onto Ragnar's hand, spikes began to burrow under the skin of his and, this thing was trying to get inside of him. Ragnar leaned back and brought his head into the monster's face dazing it, and as it stood there confused he pulled back and swung his axe through its neck severing its head from its body. The beast fell to its knees and collapsed to the floor occasionally twitching before becoming motionless. Ragnar looked at the wound on his hand and saw a gouge in the top of his hand that had black gunk spewing out.
"That's disgusting" he began wiping his hand on his cloak as he turned around. Facing the house he saw two people—no creatures standing at the door. The "mother" and "child" stood there no expression of anguish at the loss or one of them or any fear.
The mother blinked for the first time, then again and again until she forgot to stop, her eyelids flutter until her eyes are a deep bulging black, she then collapses in on herself, her form crumpling as her bones lose all meaning. Fingers turn into tendrils, her body twisting backward, her spine bends until it snaps—but she does not fall, she crawls her limbs bending in ways that should not be possible. The child simply laughs and as he does his jaw unhinges, splitting wide open in a horrific gaping chasm of gnashing, writhing teeth. His hand's start to jitter, long fingers splitting apart like wriggling maggots. They only say one thing.
"You should not have done that Ragnar"
The mother skitters forwards like liquid across the ground, her limbs a blury mass of shfting flesh. He mouth opens to reveal row after row of glistening, hollow fangs. Its too fast for Ragnar to react she latches onto his shoulder and starts to bite down. He drops his axe and balls his free hand into a fist and plunges his arm into the mothers eye, there is resistance at first but he forces his way in, he fishes around in its skull until grabbing a hold of its brain before crushing it in his palm. It let out a piercing scream that almost bursts Ragnar's eardrums. But like the father it too fell to the ground and became lifeless. The child just watched standing there it slowly walked forward, it got closer every step giggling louder after each one. Before Ragnar gave it a chance to do anything he brought his axe down onto it's skull it began to laugh it was a deep knowing laugh. Its shifting skull writhed in angony and the sides of its exposed skull began latching onto the axe, its skull had turned into more teeth gripping onto Ragnars axe as it laughed more. Ragnar picked his axe up in the air the monster still latched on, and swung his axe full force into the ground completley bifurcating the creature.
Ragnar stands amidst the carnage. Axe dripping with black ichor that once mimicked blood. The father lies in a heap, his elongated limbs twitching before shrivelling into something less than flesh. The mother is still smiling even in death, her limbs coiling and curling in on themselves. The child in two wiggling pieces. He stands there a deep wound covering his shoulder and a pulsing rash from his hand, he felt a sense of victory as the sun began to set.
However, a creeping feeling of being watched dawned on him. He turned around to see someone coming out of the shadows. There was one more and he didn't have a good feeling about it.