A Stranger Comes Calling.

Snow fell hard this harsh winter night as a lone rider pushed his steed down the forest pass. He was nearly covered from head to toe in fresh snow, as was his horse Luka. A fine black stallion, and his most loyal companion. In truth his only companion, for in his profession it was not uncommon to travel alone. The pair traveled at a steady safe pace, with the only source of light coming from a lantern strapped to saddle bags. Further up ahead in the distance, lights could be seen as the pair neared the edge of the forest path. Before them a good mile away was a mansion perched atop a cliff overlooking a small village. Faint lights could be seen coming from the mansion, but not the village.

“That’s odd, eh Luka?”

He had a habit of talking to his steed, an act he felt was not unusual. After all, on these long journeys throughout the land, he needed to talk to someone. Else he would go insane in the silence. Luka snorted in response, and the rider tugged on the reins maneuvering them both down a slope towards the village. His stomach growled for it had been hours since he had eaten. On their journey they came across a few corpses of reindeer, upon inspecting them, it seemed like they were killed by hunters. So, he hoped that he could pay for a good meal in the village up ahead.

At the edge of the forest the village was in sight now. The thick wooden walls were covered in snow, the gate left open and worse, unguarded. “No guards?”

He maneuvered Luka towards the entrance into the village, fresh snow covered the ground. There were no footprints, no lights could be seen in any of the homes. This place appeared abandoned. “Hello,” shouted the rider. He was greeted by only an eerie silence that hung around like a fool that had been put to the noose. He dismounted but he still held Luka by the reins. “Hello” he called out again, nothing.

“What happened here?”

Every home he passed was made of old wood and covered in snow. Due to the buildup of snow, he could tell the porches and steps had not been swept in days. Abandoned carts in the streets, and a stable with no horses. It was quite clear something happened here.

A chill rose up his back and this was usually a bad sign for him. Ever since he was child that feeling meant trouble, but right now he was cold and assumed it was due to the harsh wind blowing through this quiet place. He shook his head and mounted Luka.

“Damn it” he said out of frustration “we don’t have time to look around, the weather is growing worse.” He pulled on the reins and led Luka out of the village “come on, we’ll have to come back tomorrow.”

Once outside the village the two circled around it and headed for the trail that led up towards the mansion on the cliff. He hoped they could find shelter there and maybe even answers as to what happened back there. The trail twisted and turned along the rocks, but it was wide enough for both of them. Stone walls were the first thing he saw as they slowly made their way towards the entrance. An open stone archway covered in snow like the rest of the wall greeted them. Oddly there were no guards here either, but light could be seen from the windows. The mansion was quite large, at least three stories high. An impressive work of stone architecture whoever lived here was quite wealthy. Beyond the archway were a few statues, but it was hard to make out what they were due to the snow. Bushes that had withered due to the weather surrounded both sides of the stone deck that led up to the main door. It was quite large and looked to be made of solid oak with ornate steel handles.

Far to the left was a stable and that’s where he led Luka. It was dark and two wooden doors that could be opened into the stable stood in front of them. “I’ll tie you here till I talk to the owner” he removed his sword from the saddle and hung it over his shoulder. He rubbed Luka’s muzzle “wish me luck.” Luka neighed in response and right away went to nibble on some hay that was nearby. The young man made his way towards the front door, inspecting the statues as he passed them. Each was a woman in very different provocative poses.

Now at the large wooden doors the young man knocked hard and then used one of the steel knockers on the door. “Hello” he yelled as he knocked again, a few minutes passed and no one had come to the door. “Is anyone home?”

“I’m coming,” an elderly voice called back.

He nodded and was glad someone was home. He didn’t want to have to break in despite how desperate he was for a warm place and a fire. He heard the sounds of the locks being undone and the loud creak as one door was slightly opened. A heavy-set elderly gentleman had come to the door, he wore a long red robe that looked very warm. He was quite tall, taller than the young man who was at his door. This gentleman’s hair was very long as was his beard, and both were as white as the snow that fell. His pale face contorted into a smile and his long slender nose wrinkled upward as he looked this stranger up and down. It had been a while since he had met someone new. Although he had seen many winters come and go, something was different about this young man. He stood at least 6 feet tall, which was still a foot shorter than him. But he wore a mixture of dark metal armor, leather straps, and a long dark cloak. Hanging over one shoulder was a sword still in its scabbard. His cloak much like the rest of his attire was covered in snow and grim, a clear sign this man was a traveler. His belt had various pouches strapped to them, and leather belts around his legs also had smaller pouches. The old man found this to be very curious and wondered why someone would need so many pouches. Yet this was not the strangest thing about this young man. What the old man found to be the strangest thing was how handsome he was. Even with the scar running down his right eye and the other smaller scar on his left lip. These didn’t change how handsome this pale young man was, it was strange he had an almost inhuman beauty to him.

“Good evening” said the old man with a slight bow as to properly greet him. He stared into the young man’s dark purple eyes “how may I help you, young man?”

“Uh…. greetings” he nodded to the old man “We have been traveling all day and most of the night.” He motioned to Luka out by the stable. “I was wondering if it was possible to stay here for the night?”

The old man looked towards Luka “eh I normally don’t let strangers in, but I also know the village below would be no place for either of you to stay.”

“So, you know what happened down there?”

The old man paused for a moment and looked into his eyes. The young man felt like this man was trying to read him in a way, or peer into his soul. It was uncomfortable to say the least.

“Alright,” the old man nodded “come on in and warm yourself by the fire.” He opened the door more and held it so his guest could enter. “Wipe your boots on the rug and follow me.”

He did as he was told and stepped inside. The interior was well taken care of, wooden walls decorated with paintings and weapons. He followed the old man down a hallway and around a corner, past a couple of rooms that were closed. This was a very large mansion for one man to live all alone in. Ahead of them was a large and welcoming fireplace with a fancy rug placed in front of it. A circular table with two seats was positioned not far from the fireplace and where the old man led his guest.

“Have a seat young man, I was just about to get me dinner. Care to join me?”

“If you’ll have me. Thank you” he placed his sword against the chair, untied his cloak and then placed it across the back. “My name is Kanan, and yours?”

“You may call me Nicholas” answered the old man with a bow. “Relax and warm yourself, I will return momentarily.”

Nicholas walked off towards his kitchen leaving his guest to relax. Kanan, meanwhile, took the opportunity to look around this living area. The table had been set for just one person with a book near the wine goblet. This confirmed what Kanan had been wondering; it seemed Nicholas did in fact live alone. On the far back wall were sturdy looking bookshelves with rows of books on all manner of topics. A good amount of them were historical in nature while some of the more interesting ones were of the arcane nature. “Interesting,” said Kanan who diverted his attention to the large painting hung above the fireplace. The painting depicted a portrait of the village and from the angle Kanan could tell the artist had taken this view from the nearby lake. The detail was incredible, every home in the village was present. The mansion was also present in the exact position that it would be from that angle. Yet, there was something odd about the whole thing. No people were in the painting, but there were reindeer. He counted eight in total, though oddly enough four of them were laying down on the forest floor. Two of those reindeer were near each other, while two others were further away. The other four were in the village. Much like the forest, two were laying still on the ground, but two others were standing. Kanan stared at the painting trying to figure out what exactly was going on in it.

“Do you like it?” Nicholas’s voice snapped him out of his focus on it. He was carrying a silver tray with two salads and all manner of fruit and vegetable as well as an additional plate and goblet for him. He placed the plate near Kanan and served him some food before he placed some on his plate. Without asking he poured some wine into the goblet and placed it in front of him.

“Thank you” said Kanan as he sat up “I do actually” he motioned to the painting. “Who painted it?”

“Oh, I did years ago”

“So, you’ve lived here for quite some time huh?” Kanan ate a few strawberries and took a sip from his goblet.

“Oh yes I have lived many winters in the place” Nicholas ate and drank as he watched his guest barely pick at his food. “What’s the matter? Don’t like vegetables?”

Kanan chuckled “truth be told I have never been a big fan of them”

“Ahhhhh I understand, but please forgive me. I am a vegetarian, so I don’t have any meat in my home and never at my table”

“Oh, that’s not a problem at all” Kanan said respectfully “this is your house, I’m just a guest.” “I would like to thank you for taking a chance and letting in a complete stranger in your home” he drank some more wine but barely touched his food.

“It’s my pleasure and as your elder also my responsibility” said Nicholas nodding at his guest. “Tell me Kanan, what were you doing wondering about these woods so late at night?”

“Honestly once it started to snow me and Luka, my horse, were simply trying to find a place to hold up for the night”

Nicholas nodded as he continued to eat “Well you certainly picked a bad time to stop in the village.” He shook his head as he gulped down the last of the wine in his goblet, and as he filed it from the pitcher on the table he continued. “A plague spread down there over a week ago. I had tasked a couple of young boys to head off to the city nearest here. It’s a good 5 day's journey from here, and when you knocked, I had hoped they had finally returned. Alas it was just you.”

“Sorry to disappoint you” Kanan said bluntly and rather rudely, but Nicholas did not seem to mind his tone. Instead, he shrugged and went on “those boys are probably dead just like the rest of the people down there”

“It was that bad?”

“Oh yes” Nicholas nodded furiously “at least that’s what I assume. I am old and by no means am I going to tempt fate and venture down there. I can make due for myself just fine”

“So, you really don’t care that all those people could be dead?”

This time Nicholas turned towards Kanan and looked at him in his purple eyes. “Young man I am old and have known many men and women in my life. The people down in that village were not the best people. I do not plan on risking my life to see if any have survived.”

Kanan nodded as Nicholas went back to eating. The two sat in uncomfortable silence for a while, until Kanan decided to break it. “I could look into it for you?”

Gulping down a large portion of food with wine Nicholas looked at him “and why would you want to do that? Why risk your life?”

“I risk my life in my profession every day, and frankly if there are any survivors, they should be given the chance to live.” He hadn’t eaten anymore, but he was helping himself to the wine.

“And what is your profession young sir? I noticed the sword, mercenary?”

Kanan shook his head “no, not exactly. I’m a hunter”

“A hunter” blurted out Nicholas “Ha, I don’t see a bow lad”

“Not that kind of hunter. My guild specializes in tracking and hunting the monstrosity of this world”

“Ho ho, is that right?” the old man chuckles, wipes his beard and pours himself more wine. “I’ve never heard of a more foolish line of work. I’m honestly surprised you're still alive lad.”

“Perhaps I’m not bad at what I do,” he says with a smirk.

“Perhaps not” Nicholas nods, “look lad if you want to go and get yourself sick, I won't stop you. But know not only did I warn you, but you won't be lodging here if you head down there.”

“It can wait till tomorrow morning after the storm has passed. Maybe I can make my way to wherever it was you sent those boys to get some help”

Nicholas nodded “Aye maybe you could.” By now the contents on his plate were all gone and very little wine was left in the pitcher. “You’d best get some rest if you’re going to be so busy tomorrow lad.” He took one last gulp from his goblet and stood. “You can lay your head in any of the rooms upstairs”

“Thank you,” said Kanan sincerely, “do you mind if I put my horse in your stable for the night?”

“Oh, not at all, feel free. I’m going to the shitter, I trust you can see yourself in and out, eh?”

Kanan nods “of course” and doesn't waste a moment to gather his belongings. He sets out back to the stable where Luka is eating hay. “He’s a strange old man that’s for sure, but at least he is going to let us stay here for the night.” He takes the reins and leads Luka through the wooden doors into the stables. It's dark in there with no light coming through, so Kanan lights the lantern he left on the saddle. The stable is in good condition and he moves Luka to one that he deems would be best for his friend. “Alright this lo….”

Before he could finish something catches his eye, far off to his left out the other end of the stable are fresh tracks. That chill rises up his spine once more as he nears it with a lantern in hand. He doesn't even need to kneel down in order to tell what kind of tracks they are. “Reindeer tracks?”

These fresh tracks were headed down the cliff towards the village. “Luka stay here” with sword in hand Kanan heads down the trail back to the village. He followed the tracks which led him through to the back entrance of the village. That’s when he saw two reindeer, whose eyes glowed crimson. What's worse is they were eating, feasting on corpses they had pulled out from under the snow. Kanan was beginning to understand what had happened in this village. Earlier he had not even gone halfway in and if he would have kept going, he would have seen the bodies scattered about. The light from the lantern he had attached to his belt fell upon a family. A mother and father who tried to protect their child from the reindeer rampage, their wounds were evident of being trampled to death. Kanan turned his attention back to these creatures as he reached into his pouch.

Beady red eyes turned towards him all at once as he removed a small circular bomb he had bought a while back, it was nothing fancy and not nearly as powerful as magic. But in moments like this it would prove useful. He opened the lantern, lit the fuse, and quickly tossed it towards the two beasts. His aim was off and the bomb landed far to the right. The explosion tore through the remains of not just people but also the fallen reindeer who had been slain in their assault. Shrapnel hit one of the two still remaining and destroyed its hind legs. The other acted against a normal animal's instincts and charged Kanan. He held his stance, sword pointed towards the beast. As it neared, he spun to the left but misjudged the distance. One of the beast antlers cut into his side, Kanan screamed out but managed to swing his blade at the same time. His cut ran deep into the beast's side, causing it to fall. Its blood flowed like a river through the snow. Kanan held his side as he looked around, blood and guts had decorated the side of some of the huts. While in other places it remained frozen in time, just as the villagers it had come from. Deep in his stomach, he knew Nicholas had lied to him.

It didn’t take long to reach the front door and despite the fact that he was wounded, he kept going. His anger pushed him onward, he wanted answers, wanted to know why those people deserved to die like they did. Kanan made his way into the living area where they had sat and ate. He knew it. The painting had changed, the reindeer in the village were now all laying down almost exactly where he had left them. “NICHOLAS! GET DOWN HERE!” He yelled out as he stared at the painting. Whatever magic was used to make that must have been quite powerful, but worse yet Nicholas must have known what those creatures were doing in the village.

"Stop yelling boy” his voice had changed; it was deeper and not nearly as joyous as before. He moved into the room opposite Kanan who was bleeding all over the floor. The young hunter held his side tight and gripped his sword tighter. “You should have minded your own businesses.”

“What the hell did you do? Why did you let those creatures kill all those people?”

“Creatures?” Nicholas shook his head and glared at the boy. “Those reindeer were my family; they were eight in total.” The two began to slowly circle each other, Kanan did not stumble but it was clear he was in pain. “All the winters I have lived here, I had a good relation with those people in the village. They would bring me food, and I would use my magic to aid them in whatever way I could.”

He lifted a hand and the floor around Kanan twisted and warped. Planks shout out and in midair turned into thick wooden vines. They wrapped themselves around him, from chest down to feet, Kanan was trapped. “Arrghhhh. What?”

“I used my considerable gift for them, and every year we all would even celebrate the holidays together.” Nicholas tightened the grip of the vines and moved closer. “So, a week ago one of the families gifted a new bow to their son, of course father and son go hunting. They knew the rules, never harm my reindeer. Yet they killed two of them!” Roared Nicholas as the veins tightened even more.

“Those monsters murdered two of my family, and more soon followed. So, I used my magic to set the rest of my family upon them all.” He stood right in front of Kanan, moved closer to his face, and watched as this young hunter slowly started to fade. “I know what monsters are boy, I’ve seen them in the forest. Talked to some even, and you know what? There is no worse monster than humans.”

His sight was slowly fading and the vines had only tightened again, everything was being crushed. “Yo….ur right” he said struggling to speak “bu…...but...I…. know…...something about…..mon…..sters too.”

“Oh? What is that boy?”

“I…. know…..wh….what it’s…...like…..to….be….one!” Kanan’s purple eyes flashed red and he turned his left palm up. It was covered in blood from his wound, and that’s exactly how he needed it to be. His guild not only specialized in hunting monsters, but also in using blood magic. A crimson sigil appeared in the palm of that hand, and the spell forced Nicholas to stand still. His blood was forced stiff within his body and the grip of his vines loosened. That was the moment he needed; Nicholas watched in horror as Kanan changed. Fangs sharper than a dagger jutted out through his lips and found their way into his jugular. His purple eyes were gone, replaced by a deep crimson. That first drink was enough to start to heal his wound, and that’s all he needed. Biting down harder, Kanan ripped Nicholas’s jugular clean out of his throat. The old mage howled in pain and stepped back as the blood spell had already worn off. “Wh….at…...ar…..” his speech was as broken as he was. He was holding his neck in a pathetic attempt to stop the blood gushing out like a river breaking through a dam. Kanan didn’t bother to answer him. Instead, he gripped his sword and in one motion cut his head clean off.

The old mage Nicholas lost his head that night, and his mansion burst into flames after his demise. Kanan had led Luka outside the mansion's gate, and both watched it burn to the ground. The young hunter had come here for a peaceful night's rest, and instead was greeted by death. Fitting as death is the only constant companion, he has every truly known. He mounted Luka and together the two set off to get as far away from this place as they could. As the ashes rode by on a harsh wind, he wanted very much to forget everything that had happened here. He vowed to never trust a stranger again….