Crimson Nightmares

Cord gripped the slippery rocks pulling himself up onto the ledge of the mountain. The wind whipped at his clothes. A cold hard rain splattered against his upturned face as he took a deep breath of the harsh air. The smell of sulfur and rot filled his nostrils. He closed his eyes and let the moment wash over him as the rain beat against his body, soaking the few remaining dry pieces of clothing he still wore. Even the rain could not suppress the stench of his enemies.

Near his present location, he could hear the scrambling of claws on rocks as his enemies closed the distance to him. They never stopped. No matter how many he put down, more always came. Still, he had to try. He had to put down as many as he could before heading home to lick his wounds. Cord crouched down, one hand on the rocks, powerful legs tensed as he watched them come around the bend towards him. The wind carried their stench towards him.

Their bodies were covered in blood-red fur. A small pack, only half a dozen. Some carried axes, others carried polearms, and some carried no weapons at all, trusting in their fists to do their dirty work for them. All the weapons were crusted with the dried blood of their victims. Dirty, and spotted with rust and gore, it was a terrible sight to see, but not one that Cord was unprepared for. Their eyes caught the light, an evil yellow. Some licked their lips as they spotted their prey and advanced. Others craned their necks back and howled into the dark, stormy sky, as their brethren advanced.

Cord waited, crouched, letting his rage and anger build within him. These abominations of nature do not belong in these lands and must die before their evil spreads. Someone must make a stand and push them back. Letting his anger wash over him, Cord grinned, relishing the thought of destroying these monsters. His vision started to go red in anticipation as his rage started to boil over.

Then he leaped forward, as claws extended from his fingers. Fur burst from his skin. A savage howl ripped from his lips. His clothing shredded as his body expanded, muscles rippling. As he soared through the air, his body continued to shift.

He crashed into the first abomination, his claws shredding its chest as it toppled over. Even as it fell, Cord lashed out, his claws catching another in the throat. It went down with a gurgle. A foot lashed out, crashing into another sending it flying off the cliff. In a violent flurry of claws and teeth, Cord ripped the remaining creature's limb from limb.

With nothing left to fight, Cord sat down cross-legged and took a deep breath. He focuses his thoughts inward, forcing his pulse to slow, pushing the rage back. His muscles popped, tendons and ligaments strained as his body reverted to its normal form. Once fully calm, Cord stood and surveyed the spread of bodies around him. Already their forms were dissolving, slipping between the cracks, and running down the side of the mountain.

Disgusted, Cord started to walk down the trail as the wind continued to howl around him. In the distance, he heard a sound he did not recognize. A strange pop, followed by a cry cut short. He turned the corner to find another spread of dissolving bodies. Though there was nobody else there.

Puzzled, Cord looked at the corpses as they started to dissolve. Their limbs twisted at odd angles; holes punched through them. No claw marks, only clean edges. He wondered what could have caused this as the bodies dissolved around him.

Stepping up to the edge of the cliff, Cord looked down at the twisting trail that led up the mountain to his perch. He saw more packs of creatures coming up the way. Turning his head he looked at where the trail led. They would expect him to take that path. He crouched down, letting his rage build. Then he leaped into the air, unleashing his rage, and transforming him again as he hurtled towards the unsuspecting creatures.

Just as he was about to make contact, a rift of energy opened behind the group. A tall figure in robes came walking through the rift, a book in his hand. Without even bothering to look around at his surroundings, the figure flips through the pages of his book and immediately starts to read aloud.

The hair on Cord's arms stood on end as tendrils of energy encircled around the figure. The monsters turned as one and started towards the reader. They were too slow. The energy suddenly erupted into a swirling maelstrom of color. The tendrils of energy swirled forward yanking the creatures off the ground and tearing them limb from limb.

Unable to stop himself, Cord crashed into the maelstrom. His howl was cut short as the tendrils swirled around him. He was smacked, hit, beaten, and pushed. One punched clean through his stomach while another snapped his right arm backward at the elbow. While Cord tried to hold his intestines inside his stomach, he cried out as another tendril severed his left leg at the knee. Cord crashed into the ground, feeling his life draining from him.

As suddenly as the tendrils came, they vanished. The figure stepped forward, looking over his handy work. A crooked smile played across his face. Then he spied Cord lying in a pool of his own blood. His eyes went wide, and the smile vanished. He stepped forward and looked down at the dying figure. He flipped through a few pages of the book and smiled again.

"Chaos is as Chaos does", he said. Then he read arcane words from the book. A soothing light fell across Cord. His wounds started to close; his limbs snapped back in place. Then the figure snapped the book closed and crouched next to Cord. He playfully ruffles his hair before standing up straight again.

With the wave of his hand, the stranger caused another rift of energy to open and with a casual stroll started flipping through his book again as he walked through. Just before the rift snapped closed with a pop, Cord heard the stranger mumbling to himself,

"I had a rock,

A pretty little rock,

He smelled like purple and tasted of oranges,

So, I named him Dan,

Gave him wings,

And let him fly..."