There is Something in the Woods

My name is Haraldur Stefansson. Father of two daughters. Husband to Maria Stefansson. Bread winner, carpenter, dirt ball enthusiast. It is 1895, Firch, the weather is warm but in Kuu snow still falls in the northern villages and the air is still cool.

We live in Fotur, a small village beside Fotur Lake, where the rich in Hiemskog and Fallinbannao spend their Oforand vacations. Our home is small, in the woods toward the tall mountains that touch the sky and pray to Ofandyr. Today I hiked those woods to collect wood for our inevitable long and freezing Dodar. It was then that I saw something.

I wasn’t quite sure what it was at first, the sun was setting and the sky was turning orange and dark. When I first saw it, it was just a hunched, dark mass that seemed to be heaving. It made a noise that sounded like footsteps in mud, an occasional crunch of a twig.

It frightened me because I couldn’t make it out and I couldn’t seem to move in my fear. I could only watch as the mass seemed to bob its upper half and make that hideous noise. My eyes began to adjust to make out the shape of a human body instead of a mass. The body was small and thin, female. I began to notice that she was hovering over something.

My curiosity grew, and with that my immobility lifted. I hid behind a tree, but close enough to try and make out what she was doing.

I squinted my eyes, I stretched my neck forward, I craned my head, tilted it from side to side to get an idea of what it was. Finally, I was able to puzzle together the shapes into one big shape – a body.

Shocked, I drew in breath and stepped back. I knew this would make enough noise to alert her, so I quickly recovered by covering my mouth. But I stepped on dead leaves and the crunch made her turn her head toward my direction. I saw her eyes flash with the setting sun behind me, she was wearing God Stag antlers, her mouth was covered in blood and flesh. Covered in the insides and puss of the dead man that lay before her. The abominable noise she was making was her hands pulling at his gore, at her mouth chewing on him, her teeth snapping and scrapping his bones.

Flight took hold of me. I didn’t hesitate to turn around and run as fast as I could out of the woods. I didn’t check behind me to see if she was following. I didn’t even listen to hear if she was running after me. I just ran.

When I made it home, I reflected. What had I seen in the woods? An Ofandyr-fearing human being eating another human being! Now I hear odious snaps and creaks outside, I fear my family is no longer safe.