Night 0
Night falls and the village is quiet. The villagers are in bed and even the drunks have passed out in pools of vomit in the alleys. A door slams shut and the last light in the village is extinguished as its owner retires.
But not all is still. Padded feet prowl the dark streets. A drunk starts up, bleary-eyed, at a noise in the darkness. A huge black shape flits past the alley and is gone. The drunk falls back, asleep again.
Several isolated huts sit on the edge of the village, home to the poorest inhabitants. The dark shape pads toward them. A dog barks and one of the villagers turns over in his sleep, but relaxes as no more barks are heard.
The dark shape tosses the headless corpse of the dog to one side and prowls closer to the nearest house. The shape circles it, sniffing the air, catching the scent of the two villagers inside. Shaking its furred muzzle, it pads toward another of the isolated homes and sniffs again, smelling only one human inside this hut. It moves closer.
The villager sleeps peacefully, dreaming pleasant dreams. Something disturbs him and he sits up. There is nothing there. Grumbling, he gets out of bed and reaches for the chamberpot. The door explodes inward in a shower of wood and fur. The villager screams and runs into the back room, reaching for anything he can use as a weapon. Grabbing a pitchfork, he turns to face the furred, wolf-like shape as it stalks into the room. He thrusts his weapon but the creature grabs it and snaps it into kindling. It bares its teeth in a monstrous grin. As the werewolf's fangs sink deep into his neck, Perth draws his breath for one final scream...
