Following the chilling success of their first collection, Lady Eckland, Glenn Riley, and new collaborator, Bella Darkwood return to guide you through the shadowy corridors of fear with their second compendium, *Whispers In The Dark 2*. These master...
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The great hall echoed with the frantic pleas of the disheveled man kneeling before the Saxon king's throne. Thorkel's wild eyes darted around the dimly lit chamber as he recounted his horrific tale between ragged breaths.
"Please, my lord, you must send warriors to Fenbury! The entire village has vanished into the cursed fog!"
King Aelfric's brow furrowed as he adjusted himself on his carved oak throne. Though still a relatively young ruler, the weight of the crown had long etched lines of concern across his face.
"Collect yourself, man, and speak plainly," the king commanded, his voice a low rumble. "When did you first notice this devilish fog?"
Thorkel trembled, his thinning hair slick with sweat. "Three nights past, my lord. I had been traveling the old forest road after visiting my mother's kin. As I crested the final hill before the village, an unholy mist began rising from the damp hollows, quickly swallowing the land."
Aelfric sat forward, his interest piqued. "And you saw nothing out of the ordinary before then?"
"N-no, my king," Thorkel stammered. "The sun was sinking on my approach, but Fenbury's thatched roofs were clearly visible through the twilight. Until the fog came rolling in, thick as a winter's breath. An unnatural dread took hold in my chest as it passed the tree line."
The warrior Haeldric, one of Aelfric's most trusted lords, narrowed his eyes at the trembling peasant. "You hardly seem the craven sort to be frozen by a mere fog, farmer. Speak on."
Thorkel flinched as if struck by the soldier's gruff tone. "This was no mere rising mist, great lord. An otherworldly chill hung in the air, and foul, shapeless forms seemed to writhe at its edges."
A murmur rippled through the handful of nobles and guardsmen assembled in the shadowed hall. Aelfric raised a calming hand.
"Peace, Haeldric. Let him give full account." The king turned his penetrating stare back to Thorkel. "Continue."
With a shuddering breath, Thorkel pressed on. "I tried to press onward, to reach my family. B-but as the fog closed in around me, a terrible screaming pierced the gloom. Like a hundred tortured souls given voice in the mist."
He paused, fresh terror flickering in his hollow eyes as the memories resurfaced. "I froze on the road, straining to behold the source of those anguished cries. That's when the wailing took on human tones – my wife's screams and my sons' voices raised in panicked shrieks, seeming to call my name in torment..."
Tears streaked the farmer's grimy cheeks as his bravery faltered. "That's when I knew some devil's work was afoot. I turned and fled like a craven back along the road, abandoning my loved ones to whatever dark spirits laid claim to our home that night."
Somber silence consumed the hall as the warrior Haeldric shook his head, openly skeptical. But Aelfric remained attentive, stroking his neatly trimmed beard in contemplation.
