mister-scarab [2015-02-14 17:51:43 +0000 UTC]
It has been a day since the courier left for the neighboring village. The trip to and back from the hamlet hardly takes that long. Even in the winter.
Unable to ignore his instinct that something was amiss, the knight sends out his trusted lieutenant. After a few hours of hard riding, the rider comes to a clearing. A small creek sinuously makes its way through it. Trees laden with snow border it on both sides.
Beside the creek, lies a corpse or rather, what is left of a corpse. The entire torso save some ribs and the spine has been robbed of its flesh and organs. The arms are gone. Even the face has been gnawed clean, the skull's visage clearly visible under the helmet.
A wide ribbon of scarlet runs from the rider's horse's hooves to the corpse's resting place. Apparently the work of wolves.
Curiously enough, two spears are stuck in the snow right where the man's abdomen would be. As the lieutenant takes in the entire scene, the hairs at the back of his neck suddenly rise up. Keenly aware that he is being watched, the lieutenant eyes the tree line; his body tensing, he realizes that the poor soul Was the courier and his murderer may not be too far.
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