“It started months ago,” I say, my voice quiet but steady. “I was traveling through the eastern woods, tracking someone—or something. People said it was a monster, but I never believed that. Not at first.”
I pause, my fingers absentmindedly tracing the scar that runs across my empty eye socket.
“It was supposed to be a simple hunt. I had my crew with me—good people, trusted. We tracked it through the thickest parts of the forest, deeper than anyone dared to go. Days went by, and the deeper we went, the more twisted everything became. The trees weren’t right. The animals weren’t right. We started hearing things at night. Whispers… laughter.”
I rub my face, the memory still fresh. “Then we found it. Or rather, it found us. I never got a good look, but it tore through us like we were nothing. My crew… they were gone before they even knew what hit them.”
I swallow, forcing the words out. “I fought it, but it was too fast, too strong. That’s when I lost the eye. Clawed out of my skull like it was nothing. I should’ve died there with the others.”
The hag watches, silent, though I can feel her attention sharpening. “But I didn’t. I woke up later, alone. Half-dead, blinded, but alive. And as I lay there, I heard it—the same voice I’m hearing now.” I glance around the tent, half-expecting the whispering to return.
“That voice told me to come here, to this cursed town. It said you would have answers.”
I lean forward again, my good eye locking onto hers. “So here I am. What is it? What am I hunting? Why did it let me live?”
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