Foul Stench

Towering trees, whose tops are lost in heavy gray mist, block out all but a death-gray light. The tree trunks are unnaturally close to one another, and the woods have the silence of a forgotten grave, yet exude the feeling of an unvoiced scream.

Inverna’s keen senses catch a whiff of decay on the stale air. Tracking the sickly scent, she spots a body collapsed in the underbrush just off the road.

The foul scent leads you to a human corpse half-buried in the underbrush about fifteen feet from the road. The young man appears to be a commoner. His muddy clothes are torn and raked with claw marks. Crows have been at the body, which is surrounded by the paw prints. The man has obviously been dead for several days. He holds a crumpled envelope in one hand.

Inverna halts, raising a hand to stop the others. “A body. Seems we have found one of the missing.” She gestures to the envelope. “Galandro, can you retrieve that without disturbing the scene further?”

Galandro nods and carefully works to extract the envelope from the corpse’s grip. “Poor soul. Hopefully this letter holds some clues.”

Once secured, Galandro steps back and opens the envelope. Inverna and Donnabella look over his shoulders to inspect the contents.

Nib trembles. “Oh dear! What a terrible way to go. We should say a prayer over him.” She bows her head and murmurs softly.  

Inverna frowns. “These claw marks…this was no accidental death. And I doubt it will be the last we find unless we can stop whatever evil dwells here.”

She turns her attention back to the letter. “What secrets do you hold?” she mutters. “We must press on and unravel this mystery.”