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Tales from the Woodfolk

A shadow passes between two trees as you hear scurrying across the leaves. A wind blows through a curtain of swaying ivy. Flowers fall as a maiden kisses her lover's cheek, only to disappear in the light of dawn. Have we really listened to the trees when they rustle in the wind? Or hear the gossip of swallows as they rest in their nests? The woods are dark with secrets, we just haven't really listened to them yet. This is a collection of short stories inspired by both human nature and the nature of the Earth in which we live. There is a story behind every crushed bark, gnawed bone, raven's quill, giant's skull, and fallen wreath. If you like Fantastical Beasts, Grimm's Fairytales, or the Book of Khaidan, this may be for you. Lily is a sickly 6-year old child, knowing little of the outdoors. She has been sick for most of her short lifetime. One day when her parents have to leave for a very long business trip amidst the pandemic, her grandmother comes to stay, offering her stories to feed her imagination, and calm her anxiety. As they recount the stories, they encounter adventures of different measures and forms. However, the stories can only last for so long, before reality strikes....(what happens? We shall find out).

DreamyLark · Fantasie
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10 Chs

The Gobbler - Part 5: Just a grub

Something was moving in the near distance, it looked large, and struggling. When the dust had cleared, their eyes grew large and their mouths drew long.

There sat a giant worm, the height of eight floors and the width of twelve beds, smack in the middle of the hall.

Its eight grubby legs, each as large as a carriage, was grabbing something familiar, yet sorely out of shape.

It was the mean, big man! His eyes were closed as though in slumber, his face twisted in a crooked smile, red as if he had drunk too much wine.

The grub took its mighty head, now as smooth as an egg. Then, it opened its mouth. First a tiny, black dot emerged from the rumples of flesh.

Quickly, it grew larger and larger, the size of a dark, black star. And down it gobbled the man's head, full and whole. With the head swallowed, the rest of the body followed. Limbs, arms, legs, torso, everything merged like a lump of swollen, brackish skin, so tight and stretched it looked like it would rupture. It all went down the giant gobbler's mouth, moving in giant, rapid ripples down its belly, until the last toe was sucked, and a shoe dropped down.

Thud! The giant shoe fell in front of the villagers, their face pale as sheet.