Snippet #2746139

I've been wandering the woods for a few days now using the form of a dire wolf to keep me on the trail of the lost squad as well as utilizing the greater speed. And I haven't seen anything yet, but the stench is certainly growing stronger. And the closer I've been traveling to the smell of my comrades, the less birdsong I've been hearing. Indeed, wildlife of all kinds have been an increasingly scarce sight.

I am shocked when I run through a patch of tall grass only to be greeted with a smoldering, black circle. It looks like some fire of some sort created a perfect circle before being put out instantly. I sniff around before transforming back into my human self for a better look. I poke around with my staff, trying to dig beneath the black, charcoal-like substance. I sense it before I see it: someone is peeking at me through the tall grass to my right. When I make eye contact they immediately run away. I transform into a dire wolf again with great haste as I set out into a blinding run, following the scent left behind by the perpetrator. My form swiftly outruns the man as I tackle him to the ground, I transform my wolf face into a human one so that I can talk.

"Who are you?"

The man has no notable features, except for an expression of fear. He is exceedingly homely, his eyes and hair are a dark brown and his skin is tanned. His eyes are wide in fear at the horrifying sight that I must propose. He wears clothing made of animal hide with a knife strapped to the bottom of his left leg.

"Who are you?" I claw at him with one of my paws.

"Ah!" He screams out in pain, "Please, no, stop. My name is Matthias Dawidz and I am a hermit from these parts, please let me go!"

"What do you know about the black circle?"

"Nothing, nothing at all. I found it shortly before you did, I thought you caused it."

"Stop lying to me!" I claw at him again with one of my paws and he screams again in pain. "I can see into your mind! Now tell me the truth!"

He looks at me with a mixture of fear and disbelief before he audibly sighs and a look of resignation appears on his face. "Okay, okay, it was me. I am a hermit in these parts because I killed the rest of my tribe. I used to live in a collection of criminals who had escaped from the cities to live here. They wanted to live a new life where there weren't rules, where they could make their own rules. It actually worked very well, we had a functioning society. But then, I met a shadow man who lived in my hut, his name was Azelaz. He hurt people for me, he protected me, and he gave me an enchanted dagger that could do magic. All that he asked for that final gift was the lives of my tribesmen. So, I killed them all and gave them to Azelaz as a sacrifice."

Then it felt as if someone was grabbing my heart and squishing it from within my chest. I transformed into my human self and used the power of my enchanted staff to heal my self, it was enough to ward off whatever dark magic had attacked me. Then, Matthias got himself above the ground and grabbed his dagger all in one fluid motion.

"What are you?" Matthias asked, "I've never seen anything like you. Are you a wolf or a man?"

"Neither, I am a Demon Lord, a king among elder demons."

"Ooo, and elder demon." Sang an unfamiliar voice, "We found several of those a few weeks ago."

"Almost a month," added Matthias.

"Then you have sealed your fate. My voice quivering with rage. I smacked him over the head with the blunt end of the staff, he cried out in pain.

"Azelaz, help me!"

And then, a shadow moved through the tall grass, and it stood between Matthias and I.

"You must be Azelaz. A daemon, I suppose?"

"And you must be Abraxas. Your men told me that you would come eventually, they said that you have a true form so large it dwarfs the mountains. Bring it out, I want to fight you at your full strength."

"Your pride will be your death, but as you wish. You might want to take a few steps back or you'll get squished by my transformation."

I began to transform into my true form. A titanic, skeletal giant with a horn upon my head and bone spikes jutting out along my spine. Trees, underbrush, and tall grass all crushing as my body grew substantially in size. When I am fully transformed, I look down with my excellent vision, even for so high, but I could not find them. I take the time to transform back into my human form and I see their crushed corpses a few feet away.

"I should probably go back to my village and explain our unfortunate situation."

I transform into a golden eagle and fly back to my camp.