Quietly, Quiggly stepped into the darkness as he stealthily approached and steeled himself to make his kill.
Caught off guard by Quiggly's appearance, the rat took off running towards him. The kobold stood quietly in the water, waiting for him to approach.
When the rat came within reach, Quiggly swung his stone-tipped spear. The spear sliced through the rat's abdomen and the blade embedded itself into the rocky ground. Blood oozed from the wound, steaming in the cool night air. The rat was dead before he even hit the ground.
A sudden breeze swept through the graveyard. The sudden movement caught the attention of a nearby owl that heard the commotion. The raptor had caught sight of the spear in the ground. Fearing the worst, the bird flew in for a closer look.
The kobold had been waiting for the owl's appearance and was more than a little surprised when the bird turned on him and his quarry instead.
The owl had never tasted kobold before and was enjoying the meal that had fallen into its talons. It started to dive for Quiggly as he sprung to his feet and began running away as fast as he could.
It was the unexpected that caused his demise. While the owl was focused on the rat, Quiggly had dashed across the water and leapt from a boulder into the lake. The water was shallow and gave way to strong footing.
The kobold splashed and thrashed to keep his head above water. He felt himself rising above the waves, which brought a momentary sense of relief and security. With a final push, Quiggly's arms broke the surface and his head popped up into air, only to be quickly and brutally pulled back down by his left foot.
Quiggly struggled and twisted but the force of the water and the foot dragging through the water tore his left leg from its socket. Quiggly could no longer stand on his own. Still trapped in the water, he grabbed hold of the kobold foot that held him in the lake. The creature's foot was still wearing its hobnailed boot, which acted like an anchor pulling him down.
It took some time for Quiggly's one good eye to notice a wooden floating toy boat nearby. He had barely enough time to move and lean into the water as the wave finally crashed down over him and held him underwater. As he struggled to get free of the water, he had little time to ponder what he had done to deserve his fate.
When he felt himself surfacing, he panicked and opened his mouth to the waiting air, water filling his lungs at the same time. It was a sudden shock as the air, water, and kobold all fought for dominance.
Slowly, but surely, Quiggly could feel his body failing. Through blurred vision he could make out the owl circling above him. Quiggly could feel his muscles starting to relax, his heart rate slowing, and the pain in his body and mind finally disappearing.
The kobold sank beneath the waves for what was to be the last time and drowned. Quiggly was now free from the chains of life.
Cursing, screaming, and pleading to a higher power, the owl circled the water several times until the last of its prey was swallowed up by the sea. The owl flew away, leaving the scene and all that was there for the next of kin.
Time had no meaning in this place and water covered the kobold's body, sealing him into oblivion. With his passing, the curse was lifted and no longer held the one who spoke the unspeakable upon the earth.
# EPILOGUE
Many years later and a great distance away from the town of New Orleans, down the eastern shores of the great freshwater lake that held the city, were the shores of a small town called St. Mary's. It had the typical assortment of shops and small businesses that graced all the small towns in the area. However, that day, a dark and ominous feeling hung over the town.
For weeks, a vicious killing spree had taken hold of the small town. No one knew what, exactly, was behind this seemingly unstoppable wave of violence. Yet this was only the latest in a series of small towns and cities along the east coast that had been stricken with a similar terror. One by one the villages and towns were being wiped from the face of the earth.
A couple days after the deaths of the kobolds and the owl, and the strange, unexplainable disappearance of the kobold hunters, strange events began happening in and around the town of St. Mary's. A series of accidents would occur. Everything from cars flipping over to entire police stations on fire. Then the murders started to occur. Everywhere the kobold hunters walked death would follow.
Two weeks after the murder of the kobold hunters, St. Mary's was thrown into chaos by a sudden invasion. One minute everything was normal and the next the whole town found itself under attack by what appeared to be an army of small gray men.
The town's entire force was wiped out and the invasion lasted only a few minutes. One by one the town's residents were hunted down and murdered. The town had a large gulf coast population and over 300 people perished that day, all at the hands of the little men.
The only exception was a young girl named Maria. She had been hiding in a closet when the town was attacked. With the town and its inhabitants under attack, she had no where to go. Running for her life, Maria ran past the old graveyard that sat in the center of town. It was near the graveyard that she came across the dead bodies of the kobold hunters.
The bodies were mutilated and many were missing limbs and heads. There were no signs of battle, as if the kobold hunters were caught off guard and ambushed. All of the bodies were covered in what looked to be blood. Maria saw the dead bodies of her mother, father, and all her friends lying there lifeless. There was something odd about the bodies.
Maria froze for a moment as the sight of what lay before her eyes took her breath away. She stared at the bodies lying before her, the first thought that came to her mind being, "Are they dead?"
No one in town had heard or seen anything and that was the least of Maria's problems. With no where else to turn, she ran back into town, seeking refuge. Before she could find a place to stay she was confronted by her father. The man looked at her with a stern expression and was not happy to see her return.
The old man grabbed his daughter's arm, spinning her around and leading her back out into the open where she could be seen by any of the townspeople. They walked back to the town square, where a crowd had gathered at the cemetery. The crowd had been watching Maria since she appeared from the graveyard. They followed behind her.
The old man brought her to the town's marshal.
"Who are you?" the marshal said.
"My name is Maria."
"Where did you come from?"
"The graveyard."
"You weren't at the graveyard when the attack happened. How did you get there?"
"I ran from the town. I saw the dead bodies of the hunters in the graveyard. I hid in the woods behind the church for a while and waited for everyone to leave. I couldn't take it anymore so I ran back to the graveyard."
The marshal looked at her with a confused look on his face.
"Sir, please...I saw something in there..." Maria said. "I saw that my mother and father were dead. That and...and there was...blood everywhere."
The marshal turned to the crowd and raised his voice to gain their attention. "Is anyone else able to confirm this?" he said. No one responded. "Alright, leave her be and let her go."
The crowd parted as the marshal waved them away.
"Please go," the marshal said, once they were out of earshot. "Anyone that's not from here, leave. Go back to where you belong. We don't need any trouble now."
As the crowd slowly dispersed, leaving Maria standing alone, the marshal turned to her and said, "I'm not sure if I believe you. However, that can wait for later. I need to know what happened to the townspeople, I don't see anyone else around."
"I don't know," Maria said. "It happened so fast. I've never seen anything like that. If you've seen anything out of the ordinary, please let me know."
The marshal made her wait for several hours before he returned. The town was empty, everyone having fled to different parts of town. There had been two more deaths since she ran away and Maria was at the center of it all.
The marshal found her where he left her sitting on the ground in front of the town's graveyard. The marshal waited for her to speak first.
"What did you see in there," the marshal said.
Maria's voice was nervous and high pitched. She cleared her throat. "There were dead bodies
