There was a castle,
It was a forest of stone,
One could enter,
And become lost within it.
The castle once belonged to a Warlock,
Named Leistung the cruel.
It was said that Leistung made the walls grow,
That he pulled the inside of the castle,
And stretched it out upon the land,
So that it became impressively big,
But remained deceptively small on the outside.
This is where Leistung kept his prey,
For he was a proud hunter,
Who liked to keep his trophies alive.
It was said that Leistung made seven keys,
Out of his own bones that he removed,
And carved them in such a way,
That each key would open one door in his castle.
He asked his servant Diener to take the keys,
And throw them into the nearby river.
The master died,
And once he was gone,
Diener was free.
No longer a servant,
No longer needing to obey,
And so Diener ventured further into the castle,
Towards the corridor where the rooms were,
And one by one,
He unlocked each door.
The first door,
Led to a cold room,
Freezing,
Chills that pricked the body like a thousand pins.
There, in the first room,
Sat a red furred ape-like creature,
Rocking back and forth,
Howling,
Whimpering to itself.
Diener reached out to it,
And as he touched it he saw it’s home,
A vision of a magnificent forest,
Hot and damp,
He could see the creature roaring,
As it swung through the trees.
And he knew it’s name was Mapinguari.
Diener hated to see the creature suffer,
He reached for the chain and loosened it from the creature,
And then, he walked away from the room,
Leaving the door wide open.
He returned to his bed where he slept through the night,
Only to be awoken the next morning by a knock,
Shuddering the wood,
Pounding fists,
And so he opened it.
The local law maker was there,
Informing him of a horrific attack,
How a silent killer,
That stank of the sess pits,
Had killed four people during the night.
One soul had seen it,
And described it as red-furred and ape like.
Once the law maker had left,
Diener cried out.
He rushed to the first room,
And there he saw it to be empty.
The second door,
Led to a dark room,
Pitch black,
Devoid of all light until the door had sung open.
There, in the second room,
Sat a tiny winged horned-rabbit like creature,
Licking its paw,
From a wound,
Whimpering to itself.
Diener reached out to it,
And as he touched it he saw it’s home,
A vision of wondrous hills and valleys,
Lush and plentiful,
He could see the creature flying,
As it soared through the skies.
And he knew it’s name was Wolpertinger.
Diener hated to see the creature suffer,
He bandaged it’s paw using a tear from his shirt,
And then, he walked away from the room,
Leaving the door wide open.
He returned to his bed where he slept through the night,
Only to be awoken the next morning by a knock,
Shuddering the wood,
Pounding fists,
And so he opened it.
The local law maker was there,
Informing him of a horrific attack,
How a bird of prey,
That appeared to have horns,
Had killed two children during the night.
One soul had seen it,
And described it as winged and fanged rabbit.
Once the law maker had left,
Diener cried out.
He rushed to the first room,
And there he saw it to be empty.
The third door,
Led to a slippery room,
Damp and wet,
The surface lacked friction which caused any who walked on it to fall.
There, in the third room,
Sat a white serpent with wings,
It could not move,
For it slid about,
And so it whimpered to itself.
Diener reached out to it,
And as he touched it he saw it’s home,
A vision of mighty and old trees,
Quiet and still,
He could see the creature launching,
As it bolted through the forest.
And he knew it’s name was Jaculus.
Diener hated to see the creature suffer,
He threw down sand to soak the water up,
And then, he walked away from the room,
Leaving the door wide open.
He returned to his bed where he slept through the night,
Only to be awoken the next morning by a knock,
Shuddering the wood,
Pounding fists,
And so he opened it.
The local law maker was there,
Informing him of a horrific attack,
How a dragon of old,
That appeared to strike like a javelin,
Had killed five woodsmen during the night.
One soul had seen it,
And described it as a serpent like dart.
Once the law maker had left,
Diener cried out.
He rushed to the first room,
And there he saw it to be empty.
In the fourth room, he found an Akkorokamui, a giant octopus, drying out.
He released it and it killed one person.
In the fifth room, he found a Cat Sith, a soul sucking feline, drowning.
He released it and it killed three people.
In the sixth room, he found a Nuckelavee, an elf, dowsed in fresh water.
He released it and it killed six people.
The law maker,
Upon his sixth visit,
Had grown suspicious of Diener,
He had heard his cry each time.
Each death had happened,
Around the site of the castle.
The law maker inquired,
But Diener panicked,
He ran.
He ran through the castle,
And the law maker chased.
He reached the seven rooms,
And headed to the final room.
He rummaged around for the last key,
And managed to grab it,
Unlocking the door,
Before the law maker got to him.
He swung it open and stared inside,
To find,
His room.
In the seventh room,
He found his bed,
He found his clothes,
And he found his books.
He sat upon his bed,
He touched his face,
And as he touched it he saw his home,
A vision of great plains,
Burning fires,
Dancing around the flames as they roared,
As he called out and sang.
And he knew his name was yee naaldlooshii.
Diener began to change,
His skin peeled away,
And he began to change.
He morphed,
Red fur,
Fangs,
Wings,
Tentacles…
Something of every creature he had touched.
The law maker approached the room.
Diener fought the mortal,
And beat him,
Until he was out cold,
And then he locked the door to his room.
Diener made his way to his master’s old chambers.
He grabbed his cloak,
And draped it,
Over his shoulders,
And then sat in his master’s old chair.
The tables had turned,
Now Diener was the master,
Now Diener was the hunter,
Now Diener kept the trophies.