The County of Void

ALEX C

Hey Voidian, one is alive?

“Still alive.”

“Alive… again,” cried out the Drudgen warrior.

“What’s happened here? Why is Alisa breathing so oddly?” Madam Rose inquired.

“Quiet, Madam, and douse that light. We’re under attack,” warned the warrior. Swiftly, Madam Rose extinguished the lantern and took cover under a cluster of pine trees.

“Speak. What transpired?” pressed Madam Rose, her eyes now shimmering an eerie hue.

“It was a nightmarish ordeal. Several warriors fell to an unrecognizable force, others went missing. I’m the only one left…” The warrior faltered, overwhelmed.

Madam Rose, now in her late 40s, retained a beauty intensified by her wild aura that mirrored her fierce nature. A native Merkaantian, she peddled Groscht in the heart of Void. Groscht, a staple of the Voidian diet, was a blend of stale bread moistened with hot water, mashed with butter, and seasoned. Her recipe was the talk of the town.

Observing the warrior, Madam Rose noted his mix of urgency and reluctance to divulge the night’s horrors.

Gathering himself, the warrior whispered, “They descended amid thunder and lightning. It was like nothing I’ve ever seen. Pure terror.”

“But who?” Madam Rose prodded.

Just then, movement amidst the pine trees caught the warrior’s sharp eye. The vast pines, a signature of Void, stood tall beyond the town’s limits. This rocky, uneven landscape marred by human detritus presented a defensive challenge.

“Pig Men! I saw one! There, behind the trees!” the warrior exclaimed.

Half-human and half-pig, the Pig Men were once believed to be farmers from Void’s outskirts. These desperate farmers, during brutal winters, fed their starving pigs with their own children. The Gypsum, in wrath, transformed them into the beasts they became, dooming them to feast on children eternally.

“Pig Men? Legends, nothing more,” scoffed Madam Rose.

“I swear, Madam Rose, they are very real,” the warrior insisted.

But as he pivoted, another warrior was in his sight, gasping, seemingly in agony.

“It’s truly them,” the first warrior said. Yet, when he searched for Madam Rose, she had vanished.

“Madam Rose! Where are you?”

Suddenly, a familiar voice trailed off, “You are not Madam Rose, you’re…” The warrior’s voice crescendoed into a scream, interrupted by the searing smell of burning. The Pig Men’s haunting chants filled the air, and the warrior’s scream echoed once more.