Serys, Patwin, and Jaksor cautiously rode their way into the woods. They tried their best to move quickly while not disturbing any other creatures that may be lurking. For some reason, the creatures they did encounter mostly left them alone.
Trekking their way through dead branches and mud, Serys felt a coldness in the air. She couldn't place what it was, but it felt...inhuman. She kept it to herself, as no good would come of her fearmongering about something.
As they made their way deeper and deeper into the woods, exhaustion was starting to settle in for both the group and the horses. Serys, Patwin, and Jaksor started arguing over whether they need to rest, with Patwin adamant that they must.
"Rest? Here? Are you insane" Jaksor said, practically redfaced.
"There is no other option." Patwin insisted.
"Perhaps we can go another hour or too." Serys interjected
"NO," Patwin said as angrily as Serys had ever heard him. "We cannot fight anything if our bodies give out on us halfway through the fight. We rest here, and if we're here in the morning, we move forward."
Tying their horses to whatever they could find, the group rested against the tree trunks, silently praying they would wake in the morning.
---
As Serys awoke, she could see the bright sun overheard. Her joy at seeing this was brief as a foul smell quickly overwhelmed her. Patwin quickly came to as well.
"Serys, do you know what thatWHAT"
The words caught in Patwin's throat as he quickly realized where the smell was coming from. All three of the horses the group had ridden in on were dead, their bodies mutilated.
Jaksor felt his eyes flitter open. As he awoke, he suddenly realized something was standing over him. A corpse-like man with grey skin and rotting body parts stood inches away. Jaksor did all in his power to not scream.
"You cheated." the man spoke. As he said this, two other creatures exactly like him walked towards the group.
"You thought you could outsmart us. Out think us."
"Your horses belong to us. You all belong to us."
With those words, the creatures vanished into thin air. Trembling, Jaksor started to speak.
"We go back, we die. We go forward, we die. Well, I say I will not die like a dog with his tail between his legs. I will die on my feet." Jaksor shouted.
Serys, Patwin, and Jaksor picked up the rest of their belongings and headed further in. Two hours later, they reached a creek which somehow had fresh running water. Covered in blood and dirt, the group decided to clean up a little. As they did so, Patwin heard something rustling in the trees. Patwin, Serys, and Jaksor all pulled their swords out, not wanting to be caught off guard.
In a matter of seconds, a giant snake descended out of the trees. Twenty feet long, bright yellow with black markings, and coral blue eyes on BOTH of it's heads, it went straight for the group. Patwin started laughing hysterically. "A snake with two heads! I've gone stark raving mad" he said almost in tears.
The three started attacking the snake. As Jaksor thrust his blade against the snake's skin, he quickly realized it would have no effect; the hide was practically made of rock. The group tried to assess their options, with Serys and Patwin facing one head and Jaksor the other. Patwin pulled out his flint and attempted to set his blade on fire. Jaksor redirected his tacks towards the creature's eyes, but it simply moved too quickly. Doing her best to keep the creature from devouring them all, a thought came to Serys.
"It's vulnerable from the inside." she yelled. "We have attack with it's mouth open."
Jaksor started backing away from the creature. He starting picking up rocks and throwing them directly at the snake's face. This angered it, and it went directly at Jaksor. Trying to avoid a direct attack, Jaksor moved to his right. The snake followed his lead, taking a large chunk out of Jaksor's right leg. He screamed in pain, just barely holding himself up.
"COME ON YOU DISGUSTING FREAK!" Jaksor bellowed. "HAVE AT ME"
The snake's head opened it's jaw wide and started swallowing Jaksor. Taking his opportunity, Jaksor rose his blade above his head. As he felt the darkness overwhelm him, Jaksor started dragging his blade through the creature's insides. In his last moments of life, Jaksor felt the snake's blood and ooze start to cover him. He started smiling, knowing he had gone out a hero.
Serys and Patwin stood stunned. After it finished swallowing Jaksor, the snake's second head started looking uneasy. It's head started to wobbly slowly, and then with a thud fell to the ground. However, the snake's first head still appeared to be in attack mode. Patwin attempted to bait the creature's mouth open, when it suddenly made quick strike against the left side of Patwin's abdomen.
"Patwin!" Serys screamed.
"I'm fine!" Patwin screamed back. "Get it's mouth open."
As the snake prepared for another quick strike, it started looking dazed, it's eyes opening and closing rapidly. Serys and Patwin raised their blades. The snake lunged down at the both of them. The two raised their blades and stuck them in the insides of the snake's mouth. Pushing their blades ahead, they started vivisecting the snake's upper jaw from the rest of it's body. In a second, it fell off the body entirely. With the two heads non--functional, the rest of the body dropped to the ground.
Serys went over to Patwin and started wrapping his wounds.
"How did you handle this?" Serys asked. "All of this horror, all of this bloodshed."
"I reminded myself that there was something to go home to." Patwin replied wearily. "None of this matters if you don't have people you care about."
After Patwin was properly wrapped up, Serys rose up and started walking forward. "I can't think about this, I have to meet what's to come, no matter the outcome."
Patwin, grimacing, walked slowly to join her.
------
Four hours later, Serys and Patwin were trudging through the mud when Serys thought she saw something up ahead. Moving faster and faster, Serys and Patwin moved towards the object until it came in clear view.
Sitting on a short hill about 30 yards away was a sword wedged in a golden hilt.
"The sword of Avytir" Serys said stunned.
"It actually does exist" Patwin said in awe.
As they moved towards the sword, they heard something behind them. Walking through the mist, a monstrous being appeared. Standing seven feet tall and holding a rusty sword, the humanoid creature appeared to be composed of mismatched body parts. Blood dripping from every part of it's body, it started to speak.
"I am Avytir, guardian of the sword. I will consume you whole, piece by piece, chunk by chunk."