My nostrils filled with the scent of the inn before I even opened its doors. The mead, the wine, the smoke and the lovely, wet stench of body odour. A real feast for the senses! Well, one of them anyway but I was doubtless to encounter more as I entered. As I threw back the small wooden doors I was greeted by a young woman who seemed very eager in talking to me, so naturally I assumed she was a wench and as politely as I could, shooed her off. Wouldn’t want the missis upset now would we! I could barely see 3 feet ahead of me for the dark clouds of smoke that filled the entire room but from what I could tell it was a busy night. There were songs being sung, discussions being held and thankfully not a fight to be seen. I made my way past the crowds of people, almost blindly searching for the bar. There were lively discussions all round; this was not a place for talking in privacy.
“Did ya hear abou’ oul missis Crowshaw? She’s mad I says, always knew it! Lil’ Jick tells me she’s been a keepin one a them Bledglin’s in her basement the mad oul bat! They’ll sooner make a dead man walk than make one a them cretins house-trained!”
“Never have I ever laid a hand on that woman! A Thornesmoke? Me? I think not my friend! Hahaha imagine me with one of those poor fools! Not a chance my dear friend! Hahaha! Well… At least I hope I didn’t? I can’t very well remember what happened that night, I fear I had a bit too much of that Fillian wine for my liking! Oh dear…”
“So I says to ‘im, I says “Now lookie here Mr.! I ain’t been stealin’ none o’ them pine prickles from your nicely smellin fair establishment! You better has some good reasonin’ to be makin’ them bold accusations! Word gets out quickly about liars and story makers an’ trouble seekers it does!” He tells me he’s missin’ most of his stock and that I’m the only one he’s seen a’ snoopin’ back in his shop’s far room where he keeps ‘em. “That’s no proof!” I says to ‘im. “Look at you here tryin’ to ruin my fair name in public! Shame on you, you spinner of tales and lies! Be a bad day when good folk be makin’ lies on others!” With that he quickly apologised for the missunderstandin’ and went off back into his lil ‘ouse. Heh so what if my ‘ouse smells lovelier than usual? He doesn’t have to know!”
There was a great eruption of laughter following that and some old man slammed his drink on the table and emitted a throaty chuckle which drowned out the rest. Now I know what you’re thinking. It’ not that I like to eavesdrop or anything, no! I always like to think of it as having sensitive ears! …And a curious mind. Eventually as I pushed past the last drunken old sod I reached the counter. The wood was sticky under my fingers and I had to slowly push an intoxicated young stable boy off his stool onto the ground where he lay in a slump, but I had a seat nonetheless! I squeezed in past two pairs of burly shoulders and secured myself into my spot and ordered a pint of the new harvest beer. With a smile (that looked as forced as ever) the bar keep turned and set about pouring my drink. As I waited I looked around to see if there were any of my old regulars here. Klod, with his bright red beard, or even Hol the giant who never even drank, just liked the company. Actually thinking about it now it’s a shock that he ever managed to fit through that door! I wondered why I never questioned that before… Anyway, none of them were there. Perhaps I was early that night and they would arrive later. I never found out so it doesn’t really matter. The bar keep slammed the mug on the counter and I turned quickly.
“That’ll be a Denerak, please.”
I reached into my coin purse and pulled out a red square and handed it to the man. Without a thank you he turned once more and set about his business. I relaxed and took a sip. It was as horrible as it ever was, sour, rotten and reeking, but I liked it nonetheless. Don’t ask why. Old habits die hard.
“You and your stories again, you oul geezer! Get away from me with your fanciful tongue and your excitable mind; I’ll be having none of that tonight thank you!”
“Stories? I wish they were friend! Do you not believe me? Night after night it visits my house and perches at my bed, staring at me with its terrible green eyes! I fear to sleep for thoughts of it tearing me apart! Oh the fear, the fear my friend! Will you not aid an old man? It’s taken to stealing now, oh yes it has! My own wedding band! Snatched from my fingers before I knew it was there! Oh will you not help me find this beast and rid me of my fears?”
“I will not!”
“Ohhhh…”
This last story was not something that one would usually hear in a place such as this and I happened to become, dare I say interested? His voice was tired and frightened, with a strong pleading tone. I felt pity for the old man and wished to seek him out. Was it the beer that made me dream up visions of adventure and tales of beasts or just pure curiosity? I don’t know, perhaps I never will. Still I picked up my mug, stood up from my stool and looked around for a sign of the man. He wasn’t hard to find, head in hands, close to tears and hair as grey as a mare’s. The man he had been speaking with just left his seat as I began to walk over to his table. I took a seat and greeted him.
“Oh good morning to you, fair squire!” he replied. He’s absolutely gone, I thought, as it was neither morning nor was I ever a squire. This made me think twice about talking with him further, but before I could leave he continued.
“Ever hear of me? I used to be quite wealthy I dare say. Used to own Farn’s mill north of here. Those were the days! I mean when I say owned it, I didn’t lift a finger around there! I had workers you see. My father left me a handsome sum in his will when he died, kept me from working at all yet helped keep the money coming in. Oh and there was Yiela… Ever heard of her? She was the fairest maiden I have ever seen, I was immediately struck by her the second she batted those eyes at me and said hello. It wasn’t long before we were married, in the church of Azieth as my mother always wanted. Oh what a splendid day that was! I had never been so happy in my life and I like to think she felt the same. It was a grand ceremony, cost me a fair few coins I must say but the memories are worth it. That’s all I have now anyway…”
“I heard you say something about…”
“Gone now she is. She didn’t stay long I’m afraid. One day she tells me she’s received a letter from the prince of Berlay, begging her counsel. I never asked what a prince would be wanting to do with her, a miller’s wife, but I didn’t wish to offend. I offered to go with her to keep her safe on her travels but she refused. Stubborn girl she was! A few days later she had set off on that lovely white mare I bought for her as a gift, promising to return within the week. She never came back I fear. She left with all our money too, without telling me! She never would tell me important details like that… I decided I would go to this palace and ask for her, but after studying every map I could find, I couldn’t for the life of me find Berlay! Maybe it just wasn’t on those old, dusty maps? It was just one of those new kingdoms they’re always making, yes yes. She’ll come back someday and I’ll be waiting! I should hope someone tells her I’ve had to change address seeing as the mill was too much rent with all my money gone… Maybe we can buy it back when she arrives!”
Because that’s going to happen, I thought to myself. Poor guy, swindled by his own wife… Tricky things they can be!
“You mentioned something earlier to that previous man about visiting’s to your house at night? I didn’t mean to overhear but you know how the ears tend to wander and the mind tends to follow!”
At this, he jumped a little and became more alert.
“Oh yes friend, yes the visitor! Have you seen it? Terrible thing it is with its fearsome fangs and its horrible stare! Stuff of nightmares it is! Oh but its real boy, real as the ground we walk on. Speaks to me it does, really quietly like a whisper. It speaks of its home and how I can go live with it someday. I don’t reply to it though, I just curl up under the sheets and try to ignore it! It stays most the night, just staring from the end of my bed, perched on the bedpost like a gargoyle. Leave me, I told it at first but it just stared blankly back with those eyes. Gives me the creeps it does! Makes me fear to go home every night knowing that it’ll be there later. How it gets in is unknown to me as I lock my doors and shutters twice before bed! I’ve searched everywhere for where it’d be coming in, or even where it might be hiding but no luck! Oh would you help me? Help me make it go away. Help me get my ring back! Yiela won’t be happy when I tell her it’s gone. Would you kind friend? I’d pay you what gold and ruby square I have left.”
This guy’s crazy, I thought. He’s obviously having re-occurring nightmares each night of some fanciful mystic being visiting him and believing it to be true. Oh, poor sod.
“Of course I will!”
Wait, what? Did I just agree? I thought. To help this crazy old stick of a man find an imaginary being? The promise of red Denarek helped I suppose.
“You will!? Oh Azieth bless you my friend! Kind boy, oh yes! You will come with me now to my house and we will wait for it to come and make it stop coming? And maybe you could follow it back to its house and get my ring back! Oh that would be such a help to an old man.”
“Sure why not! We all need a bit of adventure now and again! Let’s go.”
With a cry of joy the man leapt from his seat and danced a little. Oh what have I agreed to? Adventure? Lunacy more like! What made me dream up such notions of “adventure”? At least Fiae is out of town or she’d have me slapped around the ears for such nonsense! I thought.
We pushed our way past the drunks and the wenches and exited out into the night. The moon was full and the stars were out casting a pale glow on the street before us.
“This way friend,” he called and walked up the cobble stone walkway. For a man of his maturity, he walked fast. I had to slightly jog to keep up with him as he tore down the streets, getting odd looks from passers-by. At last we came to an old terraced house which looked in disarray. He slid a chain from under his coat, unlocked the door with the key at the end of it and asked me to enter. It was dark inside and smelled musty as I walked in. My pupils pained me slightly as he lit a candle, being used to the dark of the inn.
“Welcome to my home,” he said proudly. “It may not be much but its home nonetheless.”
“It’s very nice” I lied. There were cobwebs and dust everywhere and the paint on the walls were peeling. There was a staircase leading upstairs to his room and for some reason, I got a chill as I saw his bedroom door. He walked to the kitchen and rummaged in some presses, most were empty.
“Would you like a Mirwhip?” He asked, holding out a roasted lizard on a stick. I declined and he pushed it into his mouth, gone within seconds. I never liked them, too dry.
“It normally shows up about now. You have to see that I will lock everywhere twice! I hope it won’t show up now you’re here anyway, maybe with another person here it won’t want to visit un-announced. You know, politeness and all that.”
He did a lap of the house, locking every door, shutting every window and even locked away the keys. He did another lap making sure he had done it correctly.
“Never can be too careful you know! Now, shall we go upstairs? There’s a chair for you to sit in while I stay in my bed. It’s nothing too fancy now but it’s comfy!”
I thanked him and we ascended the staircase. He began to tell me about his cat Muffis, I tried not to listen. We reached the top of the stairs and his candle set flickers of light dancing on the hall. There was only one room upstairs, and the light sent eerie shadows playing on the wood of the door. It was an old, battered door and I wouldn’t have been surprised had it been there centuries.
“Here we are!” he said as he opened the door to his room, twisting the golden doorknob slowly with frail hands. It took a while for the light to show the contents of the room as we entered, but even without the light we would have seen the eyes.
“Hellooooo…” came a whispering voice. It sent a chill down my spine and seemed to make the air colder. I won’t lie; I held back a yelp of fear as I saw yellow fangs open as the creature formed its words.
“You’rrrrre… Late.” It whispered. There it perched not too far away on the bedpost, hunched over like an ape, its clawed feet tapping away at the wood.
“What! How did you get in here?” the old man asked, shocked. “I have everywhere locked! Twice!” The creature only stared back at him.
“Whooooo… Is this?” it asked as its eyes turned to me. I couldn’t hold its gaze and my eyes turned to the carpeted floor.
“Just a friend I have over! I would’ve thought you would’ve given us some privacy and not visited, you know, politeness and all that.” The creature continued to stare at me with its piercing emerald eyes.
“I… don’t like him.” It whispered.
“Right so, I’m off!” I yelped and made for the door. The old man grabbed my arm and looked at me pleadingly with his tired, terrified eyes. I couldn’t leave him, could I? Not with that thing! If I was in his position I would’ve strapped me into the chair and never let me leave.
“Please,” he begged. I turned again.
“Who are you?” I asked, voice shaking.
It didn’t answer.
“Why are you here, bothering this old man, scaring him senseless every night?”
It didn’t answer.
I was terrified. My legs shook, my arms were like jelly and my stomach was clenched tighter than a sailor’s knot. I wanted to leave more than anything.
Its gaze turned to the old man. It bared it’s long, sharp teeth and spoke again.
“Will you come with me tonightttttt?” it rasped. “My home waitssssss… Always waitsssss…”
“No! As I’ve said before I won’t ever! Leave me alone please! You terrorize me night after night… No sleep ever! Leave…”
It just stared blankly back as if there was no reply.
“Where is your home?” I asked, voice cracking awkwardly.
It turned to me again and finally answered.
“Not too far, not too far. Just in the woodsssss… by the creek. Nice placcccccce…”
“Why don’t you stay there? It sounds lovely!” Every syllable was a struggle.
“Companyyyyy… Yes. Like the companyyyyy.” It snapped it’s jaw and refused to answer any more questions. For a few minutes we just stood silent as the creature continued to stare. I decided I would stay as the creature didn’t seem intent on harming either of us, so I took the chair and the old man got in his bed. How he was able to with that thing perched at the end, I have no idea. Soon, the candle burned out. Fear struck me yet again, but the creature made no move, just staring with its luminous eyes. Even in the dark they shone like stars. Hours must have passed before I opened my eyes and saw that it was day. How I managed to sleep so gripped with fear, I will never know. The creature was gone. I pushed the old man to wake him and he woke startled.
“What! It’s gone did you see it go?” I said I hadn’t. “Darn! How does it do that! I have no idea how it enters and leaves!”
Curiosity struck me again and I devised a plan to learn more about it. It spoke of going to its home and even said where it lives so I thought that as good an invitation as any. Even though I was terrified of it, it made me intrigued. At the first notion of it the old man was totally against it, until I told him we could get his ring back if the thing wasn’t there. He then agreed with a huff.
Now I never go out into the woods. It’s not my place really. I have no reason to go there and never appreciated it being there but when we reached it, it was beautiful. The autumn sun shone golden rays on the red and brown leaves that scattered the ground and birds chirped a merry song in the trees. We made our way down the path that the traders use from time to time. I had been on it once, and it led down to the creek so it was easy to find. The leaves crunched beneath our feet as we walked, me in front this time. We stood at the edge of the water and looked around. There was nothing really out of the ordinary, and I began to suspect the creature had given us a false address. Until we spotted the tracks. To the untrained eye, or the one that wasn’t looking for anything, the just looked like wolf tracks. We knew better though as the feet seemed to have sharp, taloned claws. We followed them up into the trees and eventually came to a small cave, almost buried by leaves. The tracks ended there, so we pushed apart the leaves and called in the entrance.
“Hello? Are you home?”
There was no answer. I wasn’t expecting one and began to think that I imagined the whole thing, but I stepped in the dark cave anyway. From what I could see, it wasn’t very large at all but the dark filled everything. I called again. No answer. I began to turn back before something caught on my foot and I tripped, sliding down deeper into the cave. I screamed out and franticly tried to get up. There were hard things about me, like sticks. It smelled awful too. Worse than the inn. I grabbed onto something nearby that was poking into me and picked it up to see what it was. I tried to hold it up to the light and held it close to my face. It felt like a smooth rock. I felt around it some more and found holes in it, and a row of smaller rocks. Oh my… I thought. It was a skull. I was surrounded by bones and skulls everywhere. My heart stopped. I shrieked and ran as fast as I could for the exit, into the light. I didn’t stop once I got out. I ran all the way back to the village and after a while the old man caught up with me.
“What? Was it there?” he asked bewildered.
“You’re lucky you never accepted its offer!”
I explained what happened and before the day was done, he had packed up and left Filton never to return. I wonder where he’s gone sometimes, probably gone looking for the city of Berlay and his wife, without luck no doubt. But more often I wonder where the creature went. Is it still there? Will it visit me and my family next? I shudder at the thought. Who is to receive its terrible offers next? Whoever it is, I hope to never encounter the Clottersnark again.
“Did ya hear abou’ oul missis Crowshaw? She’s mad I says, always knew it! Lil’ Jick tells me she’s been a keepin one a them Bledglin’s in her basement the mad oul bat! They’ll sooner make a dead man walk than make one a them cretins house-trained!”
“Never have I ever laid a hand on that woman! A Thornesmoke? Me? I think not my friend! Hahaha imagine me with one of those poor fools! Not a chance my dear friend! Hahaha! Well… At least I hope I didn’t? I can’t very well remember what happened that night, I fear I had a bit too much of that Fillian wine for my liking! Oh dear…”
“So I says to ‘im, I says “Now lookie here Mr.! I ain’t been stealin’ none o’ them pine prickles from your nicely smellin fair establishment! You better has some good reasonin’ to be makin’ them bold accusations! Word gets out quickly about liars and story makers an’ trouble seekers it does!” He tells me he’s missin’ most of his stock and that I’m the only one he’s seen a’ snoopin’ back in his shop’s far room where he keeps ‘em. “That’s no proof!” I says to ‘im. “Look at you here tryin’ to ruin my fair name in public! Shame on you, you spinner of tales and lies! Be a bad day when good folk be makin’ lies on others!” With that he quickly apologised for the missunderstandin’ and went off back into his lil ‘ouse. Heh so what if my ‘ouse smells lovelier than usual? He doesn’t have to know!”
There was a great eruption of laughter following that and some old man slammed his drink on the table and emitted a throaty chuckle which drowned out the rest. Now I know what you’re thinking. It’ not that I like to eavesdrop or anything, no! I always like to think of it as having sensitive ears! …And a curious mind. Eventually as I pushed past the last drunken old sod I reached the counter. The wood was sticky under my fingers and I had to slowly push an intoxicated young stable boy off his stool onto the ground where he lay in a slump, but I had a seat nonetheless! I squeezed in past two pairs of burly shoulders and secured myself into my spot and ordered a pint of the new harvest beer. With a smile (that looked as forced as ever) the bar keep turned and set about pouring my drink. As I waited I looked around to see if there were any of my old regulars here. Klod, with his bright red beard, or even Hol the giant who never even drank, just liked the company. Actually thinking about it now it’s a shock that he ever managed to fit through that door! I wondered why I never questioned that before… Anyway, none of them were there. Perhaps I was early that night and they would arrive later. I never found out so it doesn’t really matter. The bar keep slammed the mug on the counter and I turned quickly.
“That’ll be a Denerak, please.”
I reached into my coin purse and pulled out a red square and handed it to the man. Without a thank you he turned once more and set about his business. I relaxed and took a sip. It was as horrible as it ever was, sour, rotten and reeking, but I liked it nonetheless. Don’t ask why. Old habits die hard.
“You and your stories again, you oul geezer! Get away from me with your fanciful tongue and your excitable mind; I’ll be having none of that tonight thank you!”
“Stories? I wish they were friend! Do you not believe me? Night after night it visits my house and perches at my bed, staring at me with its terrible green eyes! I fear to sleep for thoughts of it tearing me apart! Oh the fear, the fear my friend! Will you not aid an old man? It’s taken to stealing now, oh yes it has! My own wedding band! Snatched from my fingers before I knew it was there! Oh will you not help me find this beast and rid me of my fears?”
“I will not!”
“Ohhhh…”
This last story was not something that one would usually hear in a place such as this and I happened to become, dare I say interested? His voice was tired and frightened, with a strong pleading tone. I felt pity for the old man and wished to seek him out. Was it the beer that made me dream up visions of adventure and tales of beasts or just pure curiosity? I don’t know, perhaps I never will. Still I picked up my mug, stood up from my stool and looked around for a sign of the man. He wasn’t hard to find, head in hands, close to tears and hair as grey as a mare’s. The man he had been speaking with just left his seat as I began to walk over to his table. I took a seat and greeted him.
“Oh good morning to you, fair squire!” he replied. He’s absolutely gone, I thought, as it was neither morning nor was I ever a squire. This made me think twice about talking with him further, but before I could leave he continued.
“Ever hear of me? I used to be quite wealthy I dare say. Used to own Farn’s mill north of here. Those were the days! I mean when I say owned it, I didn’t lift a finger around there! I had workers you see. My father left me a handsome sum in his will when he died, kept me from working at all yet helped keep the money coming in. Oh and there was Yiela… Ever heard of her? She was the fairest maiden I have ever seen, I was immediately struck by her the second she batted those eyes at me and said hello. It wasn’t long before we were married, in the church of Azieth as my mother always wanted. Oh what a splendid day that was! I had never been so happy in my life and I like to think she felt the same. It was a grand ceremony, cost me a fair few coins I must say but the memories are worth it. That’s all I have now anyway…”
“I heard you say something about…”
“Gone now she is. She didn’t stay long I’m afraid. One day she tells me she’s received a letter from the prince of Berlay, begging her counsel. I never asked what a prince would be wanting to do with her, a miller’s wife, but I didn’t wish to offend. I offered to go with her to keep her safe on her travels but she refused. Stubborn girl she was! A few days later she had set off on that lovely white mare I bought for her as a gift, promising to return within the week. She never came back I fear. She left with all our money too, without telling me! She never would tell me important details like that… I decided I would go to this palace and ask for her, but after studying every map I could find, I couldn’t for the life of me find Berlay! Maybe it just wasn’t on those old, dusty maps? It was just one of those new kingdoms they’re always making, yes yes. She’ll come back someday and I’ll be waiting! I should hope someone tells her I’ve had to change address seeing as the mill was too much rent with all my money gone… Maybe we can buy it back when she arrives!”
Because that’s going to happen, I thought to myself. Poor guy, swindled by his own wife… Tricky things they can be!
“You mentioned something earlier to that previous man about visiting’s to your house at night? I didn’t mean to overhear but you know how the ears tend to wander and the mind tends to follow!”
At this, he jumped a little and became more alert.
“Oh yes friend, yes the visitor! Have you seen it? Terrible thing it is with its fearsome fangs and its horrible stare! Stuff of nightmares it is! Oh but its real boy, real as the ground we walk on. Speaks to me it does, really quietly like a whisper. It speaks of its home and how I can go live with it someday. I don’t reply to it though, I just curl up under the sheets and try to ignore it! It stays most the night, just staring from the end of my bed, perched on the bedpost like a gargoyle. Leave me, I told it at first but it just stared blankly back with those eyes. Gives me the creeps it does! Makes me fear to go home every night knowing that it’ll be there later. How it gets in is unknown to me as I lock my doors and shutters twice before bed! I’ve searched everywhere for where it’d be coming in, or even where it might be hiding but no luck! Oh would you help me? Help me make it go away. Help me get my ring back! Yiela won’t be happy when I tell her it’s gone. Would you kind friend? I’d pay you what gold and ruby square I have left.”
This guy’s crazy, I thought. He’s obviously having re-occurring nightmares each night of some fanciful mystic being visiting him and believing it to be true. Oh, poor sod.
“Of course I will!”
Wait, what? Did I just agree? I thought. To help this crazy old stick of a man find an imaginary being? The promise of red Denarek helped I suppose.
“You will!? Oh Azieth bless you my friend! Kind boy, oh yes! You will come with me now to my house and we will wait for it to come and make it stop coming? And maybe you could follow it back to its house and get my ring back! Oh that would be such a help to an old man.”
“Sure why not! We all need a bit of adventure now and again! Let’s go.”
With a cry of joy the man leapt from his seat and danced a little. Oh what have I agreed to? Adventure? Lunacy more like! What made me dream up such notions of “adventure”? At least Fiae is out of town or she’d have me slapped around the ears for such nonsense! I thought.
We pushed our way past the drunks and the wenches and exited out into the night. The moon was full and the stars were out casting a pale glow on the street before us.
“This way friend,” he called and walked up the cobble stone walkway. For a man of his maturity, he walked fast. I had to slightly jog to keep up with him as he tore down the streets, getting odd looks from passers-by. At last we came to an old terraced house which looked in disarray. He slid a chain from under his coat, unlocked the door with the key at the end of it and asked me to enter. It was dark inside and smelled musty as I walked in. My pupils pained me slightly as he lit a candle, being used to the dark of the inn.
“Welcome to my home,” he said proudly. “It may not be much but its home nonetheless.”
“It’s very nice” I lied. There were cobwebs and dust everywhere and the paint on the walls were peeling. There was a staircase leading upstairs to his room and for some reason, I got a chill as I saw his bedroom door. He walked to the kitchen and rummaged in some presses, most were empty.
“Would you like a Mirwhip?” He asked, holding out a roasted lizard on a stick. I declined and he pushed it into his mouth, gone within seconds. I never liked them, too dry.
“It normally shows up about now. You have to see that I will lock everywhere twice! I hope it won’t show up now you’re here anyway, maybe with another person here it won’t want to visit un-announced. You know, politeness and all that.”
He did a lap of the house, locking every door, shutting every window and even locked away the keys. He did another lap making sure he had done it correctly.
“Never can be too careful you know! Now, shall we go upstairs? There’s a chair for you to sit in while I stay in my bed. It’s nothing too fancy now but it’s comfy!”
I thanked him and we ascended the staircase. He began to tell me about his cat Muffis, I tried not to listen. We reached the top of the stairs and his candle set flickers of light dancing on the hall. There was only one room upstairs, and the light sent eerie shadows playing on the wood of the door. It was an old, battered door and I wouldn’t have been surprised had it been there centuries.
“Here we are!” he said as he opened the door to his room, twisting the golden doorknob slowly with frail hands. It took a while for the light to show the contents of the room as we entered, but even without the light we would have seen the eyes.
“Hellooooo…” came a whispering voice. It sent a chill down my spine and seemed to make the air colder. I won’t lie; I held back a yelp of fear as I saw yellow fangs open as the creature formed its words.
“You’rrrrre… Late.” It whispered. There it perched not too far away on the bedpost, hunched over like an ape, its clawed feet tapping away at the wood.
“What! How did you get in here?” the old man asked, shocked. “I have everywhere locked! Twice!” The creature only stared back at him.
“Whooooo… Is this?” it asked as its eyes turned to me. I couldn’t hold its gaze and my eyes turned to the carpeted floor.
“Just a friend I have over! I would’ve thought you would’ve given us some privacy and not visited, you know, politeness and all that.” The creature continued to stare at me with its piercing emerald eyes.
“I… don’t like him.” It whispered.
“Right so, I’m off!” I yelped and made for the door. The old man grabbed my arm and looked at me pleadingly with his tired, terrified eyes. I couldn’t leave him, could I? Not with that thing! If I was in his position I would’ve strapped me into the chair and never let me leave.
“Please,” he begged. I turned again.
“Who are you?” I asked, voice shaking.
It didn’t answer.
“Why are you here, bothering this old man, scaring him senseless every night?”
It didn’t answer.
I was terrified. My legs shook, my arms were like jelly and my stomach was clenched tighter than a sailor’s knot. I wanted to leave more than anything.
Its gaze turned to the old man. It bared it’s long, sharp teeth and spoke again.
“Will you come with me tonightttttt?” it rasped. “My home waitssssss… Always waitsssss…”
“No! As I’ve said before I won’t ever! Leave me alone please! You terrorize me night after night… No sleep ever! Leave…”
It just stared blankly back as if there was no reply.
“Where is your home?” I asked, voice cracking awkwardly.
It turned to me again and finally answered.
“Not too far, not too far. Just in the woodsssss… by the creek. Nice placcccccce…”
“Why don’t you stay there? It sounds lovely!” Every syllable was a struggle.
“Companyyyyy… Yes. Like the companyyyyy.” It snapped it’s jaw and refused to answer any more questions. For a few minutes we just stood silent as the creature continued to stare. I decided I would stay as the creature didn’t seem intent on harming either of us, so I took the chair and the old man got in his bed. How he was able to with that thing perched at the end, I have no idea. Soon, the candle burned out. Fear struck me yet again, but the creature made no move, just staring with its luminous eyes. Even in the dark they shone like stars. Hours must have passed before I opened my eyes and saw that it was day. How I managed to sleep so gripped with fear, I will never know. The creature was gone. I pushed the old man to wake him and he woke startled.
“What! It’s gone did you see it go?” I said I hadn’t. “Darn! How does it do that! I have no idea how it enters and leaves!”
Curiosity struck me again and I devised a plan to learn more about it. It spoke of going to its home and even said where it lives so I thought that as good an invitation as any. Even though I was terrified of it, it made me intrigued. At the first notion of it the old man was totally against it, until I told him we could get his ring back if the thing wasn’t there. He then agreed with a huff.
Now I never go out into the woods. It’s not my place really. I have no reason to go there and never appreciated it being there but when we reached it, it was beautiful. The autumn sun shone golden rays on the red and brown leaves that scattered the ground and birds chirped a merry song in the trees. We made our way down the path that the traders use from time to time. I had been on it once, and it led down to the creek so it was easy to find. The leaves crunched beneath our feet as we walked, me in front this time. We stood at the edge of the water and looked around. There was nothing really out of the ordinary, and I began to suspect the creature had given us a false address. Until we spotted the tracks. To the untrained eye, or the one that wasn’t looking for anything, the just looked like wolf tracks. We knew better though as the feet seemed to have sharp, taloned claws. We followed them up into the trees and eventually came to a small cave, almost buried by leaves. The tracks ended there, so we pushed apart the leaves and called in the entrance.
“Hello? Are you home?”
There was no answer. I wasn’t expecting one and began to think that I imagined the whole thing, but I stepped in the dark cave anyway. From what I could see, it wasn’t very large at all but the dark filled everything. I called again. No answer. I began to turn back before something caught on my foot and I tripped, sliding down deeper into the cave. I screamed out and franticly tried to get up. There were hard things about me, like sticks. It smelled awful too. Worse than the inn. I grabbed onto something nearby that was poking into me and picked it up to see what it was. I tried to hold it up to the light and held it close to my face. It felt like a smooth rock. I felt around it some more and found holes in it, and a row of smaller rocks. Oh my… I thought. It was a skull. I was surrounded by bones and skulls everywhere. My heart stopped. I shrieked and ran as fast as I could for the exit, into the light. I didn’t stop once I got out. I ran all the way back to the village and after a while the old man caught up with me.
“What? Was it there?” he asked bewildered.
“You’re lucky you never accepted its offer!”
I explained what happened and before the day was done, he had packed up and left Filton never to return. I wonder where he’s gone sometimes, probably gone looking for the city of Berlay and his wife, without luck no doubt. But more often I wonder where the creature went. Is it still there? Will it visit me and my family next? I shudder at the thought. Who is to receive its terrible offers next? Whoever it is, I hope to never encounter the Clottersnark again.
