Chapter 4: The Wolf Tearing The Moon

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The next few chapters will be quite underwhelming. It might come off as filler to some people. Hope it does not.

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Gale turned in circles, the rings around his arms slightly illuminating the area. Other than that, everything was obscured in a black viscous fog. Stepping forwards, he heard the squelching of mud against his feet as he sunk down slightly.

Waving his hand through the fog, it stung his fingers slightly but did not seem to do anything else. Gale walked forwards, swinging his hands down once more.

With a loud boom, the fog was repelled back allowing Gale to see his surroundings somewhat. It seemed like he was in a wet mud-filled marsh of sorts, a few dying bushes strewed about. Just as he was about to move forwards again, the fog began to close in once more.

"Ugh." Gale groaned. This was a pain. He had no idea where he was, and there was a thick magical fog that was preventing him from really judging his location.

Unleashing more shockwaves, Gale moved on through the landscape for a while. Nothing happened for a good three minutes before Gale stopped suddenly. Nose twitching, he thought that he had heard something moving…..

They were light faint footsteps, but Gale could hear them. Turning around in the fog, he felt the sound coming closer, and closer.

And then out of nowhere, Gale heard something.

"YARGH!!!!"

A loud hatred-filled scream, scratchy and nasal. Whipping around, he raised his arm in time as something collided against the Ten Rings.

*Clang!*

Not even looking, Gale punched out with his fist, a streak of silver smashing into the assailant.

*BOOOOOM!!!!*

The power of the Ten Rings, even in the hand of a novice, was not to be underestimated.

Not giving the enemy a chance to rest, he ran forwards once more, yelling.

Smiling a little, Gale raised his arms and swung down.

*BOOM!*

The being was sent back flying through the fog, a wretched scream following in its wake.

Another shockwave spread throughout as the Ten Rings floated about around him.

"Go." He said simply, and the rings shot forwards.

*THOOM! THOOM! THOOM! THOOM! THOOM!*

The rings went in flying, dust, and mud flying in the air as they met their target, sparks flying out.

Another harsh scream echoed across the landscape, followed by a thud. And then, silence reigned once more.

He raised up his arms, and silver blurs shot back out from the fog, returning.

Jogging forwards through the darkness, Gale found the enemy in question. It was a grotesque being. Humanoid in form the being was, with inky black fur and the stature and head of a wolf. The creature's eyes, much like the card, were a dark red. Basically a werewolf. Quite fitting actually. The fog seemed to shroud the "werewolf" lightly in shadow.

While still a fearsome sight, the creature was already completely decommissioned, with its skull caved in and acrid purple blood spilling on the ground.

Gale stiffened a little but didn't say anything. He'd seen the dead in the past after all. And could this be counted as a human…?

Shaking his head, he moved around, having no idea what he was doing. While Gale was mostly making up excuses, to be fair, the werewolf or whatever it was had attacked first. Self-defense. So basically, this was another excuse.

Stepping through the mud, his sandals squelched against the wet dirt. He grunted in distaste at his mud-caked shorts. Had taken him a while to find any "muggle" clothes in Hogsmeade. Around him, was complete void-like silence, of course apart from his feet.

Face stinging from the fog, he waved his hand about, dispersing it partially.

And then, in the awkward atmosphere, he saw something. It was a faint orange light in the near distance. He couldn't see it very well, but it was close by. And right in front of him. Gale was extremely suspicious but continued on in the direction of the source.

Soon Gale arrived in front of a door. It was a wooden one with a brass handle, the wood seemingly freshly painted, and one of those old brass door knockers embedded in the middle. In view of the door, he could now hear music. The song was detached and unsettling…. The sound of a piano was unlike anything that he had ever heard before.

"Hmm…. Wonder if I should go in there." Gale stroked his chin as if contemplating something. But already, the answer was obvious. Break down the door and go in blazing. Was most likely that this place was the den of more of those werewolf things.

If it wasn't and was actually the adobe of some random aspiring pianist, then... Whoops.

Without a second thought, Gale punched out with his fist, blasting the door off of its hinges and through the room.

Charging in, he looked around. This place seemed very familiar to him… The floor was made up of solid wooden tiles and the base of red brick. An elegant piano sat in the corner, with a candle sitting atop it, and a brick fireplace sat at the side, those tongues of flame crackling a bright vibrant orange.

Whipping around, Gale noticed many other additions to the place. A few wooden drawers, a portrait on the wall, and so on. The layout was simple, with everything in view.

Immediately, he knew where he was. This… Was the Shrieking Shack.

Scanning his surroundings, he once again noticed that purple card and pedestal. This time though, it was somewhere different. The card levitated above the pedestal, which sat on a wooden playing stool. The place one would normally sit when playing the piano.

But no one was playing. The music had stopped, and only the sound of the fireplace roaring could be heard.

A strange turn of events if he were to say. There was something unsettling about this place. Seemed straight out of a horror movie or novel in some aspects. A homey, inviting, and warm place in the middle of the dense stinging fog. Not suspicious in the slightest, right?

*Tchk.*

Behind him, the door slowly eased to a stop, closing.

"Well…. This is quite the unexpected turn of events!" Gale exclaimed almost mockingly.

And then, he branched himself. But nothing happened. He just stood there, looking around warily as the fireplace just kept on going, cinder and smoke drifting through the chimney out to who knows where.

Seven minutes later…..

It seemed to Gale, that whoever and whatever had transported him here, definitely wanted him to touch the card on the pedestal. It vaguely reminded him of a portkey in some senses. No doubt had something to do with the "string of virtual words". That part was determined and very obvious.

He'd inspected every cranny of the room, apart from the piano that is. The piano, was as the young ones said it, very "Sus". Well, he himself was very young, at the age of fifteen….

Sitting on an old leather couch, Gale sunk in sighing. The fireplace gave off warmth, but to him, it gave off unease. He was completely sure that something drastic would happen were he to touch the floating purple card. Was really enticing too. Just floating there, emitting a purple hue.

He'd tried the door and the chimney. Neither of them was escapable. Still regretted trying the fireplace though. If not for his quick thinking, Gale would have truly experienced second-hand smoking… And carbon monoxide poisoning.

"God… Screw it. I'm doing it. Can't find a way out of this otherwise." He said out loud, walking over and slapping the purple card.

Like the green card, this card dispersed, but the outcome was rather different. As it dispersed into purple sparks, with the pedestal suddenly poofing out of existence, a loud howl echoed outside.

And then, the fireplace went out. It stopped emitting that warm glow, stopped crackling and burning. The room became dead silent.

As darkness enfluged Gale, he sighed, lamenting. What had he done to warrant this crap? Touching that purple card in the first place was something he was rather regretful of. Readying himself, the Ten Rings hummed and vibrated.

A few seconds passed before suddenly, there was light once more. But it was rather puny compared with the vigor the fireplace from before possessed. The candle atop the piano had been lit, expanding Gale's vision by a bit.

Steadily making his way over, he leaned against the piano, bracing himself for what was to come. Idly looking around, he began whistling a small tune.

It was something that Gale would do often in the face of primal fear and desperation. In the face of something unknown and possibly dangerous, he felt it was best to smile and laugh, talk to himself and sing.

Why? It helped him take his mind off of things. Which was not exactly that good of an idea, but for him, this helped calm the nerves.

As Gale began to whistle in the dim light, the wolf's howls sounded once more, as if beckoning for him to continue. Which he did, a matter of fact, warbling an old Japanese folk song. His heart rate was erratic and adrenaline was pumping through his veins. While the setting did seem like a classic horror novel, it was still exciting, the whole mood at that moment.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

Then, Gale heard it. Three quick taps coming from his right. Slowly turning the head, Gale looked at the piano, eyes glaring.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

It happened again, those three solemn taps. Like a person's nails drumming away against hollowed wood.

Gale walked forwards, eyes still narrow. The candle illuminated the area, casting grim shadows across the floor, but what was even stranger, was the fact that the light only seemed to extend to cover the radius of the piano. And the peculiar noise seemed to be from inside the piano. Strange.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

Three consecutive taps arose once more, with more and more questions popping into Gale's mind.

Should he…. Just destroy the piano? On second thought, it didn't seem to be a very good idea…. Seeing as things had not really been going his way so far, Gale did not want to open another Pandora's Box.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

Touching the side of the piano, Gale could feel the very vibrations that each subtle tap presented.

Bending down a little, Gale smiled, hands twitching. And then, he played. Fingers dancing across the keys, and feet tapping the ground, as he played "Mary Had A Little Lamb". In Gale's late childhood, he'd played quite a lot of piano, and people had said that he was quite good at it. Unfortunately, later on, he'd quit.

The tone of the song was supposed to be playful and light, but with this piano, it gave off a shrill and rich sound, something not normally presented in a modern grand piano. The song in itself was simple, but the piano gave it a complex tone, unlike anything he'd ever heard before.

Haunting, yet beautiful, was a way to describe it…..

In the darkness, with the candle quivering on and on, he finally finished the tune, and silence reigned once more. So nothing happened basically.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

"Bloody hell…." And then, the tapping began once more, as of nothing had happened. There wasn't any rhythm or increase in tempo to it. Whoever was doing this had kept it at the same beat…. Extremely unsettling, in Gale's opinion.

Inspecting the rest of the piano, his eyes suddenly fell on something. The lid of the piano. An entrance into the heart, brain, and organs of the musical instrument.

Well, that was what he liked to call it. Probably an incorrect way of calling it though…. He was no piano expert.

"Phew…." He exhaled one of his hands reaching for the lid. As his arm came forwards, the howl of a wolf could be heard once more, sorrowful and full of hatred.

Then, he reached out, and slowly grasped the lid, pulling it open…..

Inside of the piano was nothingness. The internals was nowhere to be seen, at least from Gale's eyes. It was a pitch-black void in there.

*SKARGHAERH!!!*

Suddenly, a loud bestial scream erupted from within the lid, and looking inside, Gale widened his eyes, as hundreds of beady glaring eyes, glowing a blood red stared back up at him.

*Crash!*

He jumped back, startled as a shadowy claw-like hand attempted to reach out at him, forcing Gale backward and onto the piano stool. The lid snapped shut, severing the shadowy hand, a screech of pain echoing from inside the piano.

Looking down with wide eyes, he watched in horror and fascination as the detached hand faded away into an acrid purple liquid, slowly dissipating away into the planks below.

Straightening himself, Gale stared at the lid in shock.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

His heart rate quickened once more, and cold sweat drenched his back.

The candle flickered furiously, its yellowed wax dripping down and onto the piano.

'Well…. This is extremely fun.' Gale thought, sitting at the stool. Sort of reminded him of a pop-up dungeon, with a horror-inspired twist to it. That also had a lack of directions. BUt, that was to be expected.

*Awwwoooooo!*

The howls of wolves picked up once more, seeming almost as if they had surrounded the house. Which, they probably had, those werewolf things most likely.

Turning back from the door, Gale noticed a new addition to the piano. Sheet music. Weathered and yellowed, the paper was in much disrepair, with many tears and stains across its surface, though the notes were readable.

How it had appeared. Magic, probably.

Squinting, Gale looked at the title.

"Wolf Tearing The Moon."

Sounded sort of ominous, in Gale's opinion.

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Was this chapter decent? I tried my best, but I feel like the execution wasn't that good.

As always, please tell me of any grammatical or spelling errors!