The Serpent in the Abyss

Prologue

Prologue

After a week they finally reached the village but what they saw when they arrived was what they hadn't expected.
The village was laying in ruins and houses were burned down. The streets were filled with the villagers' corpses. They rushed to see if someone was still alive. Without luck no one was and all the villagers were simply dead. Most of them were pierced by arrows or had their limbs cut off, to be precise legs, arms, and heads. Swords and arrows laid there on the ground in lifeless hands. People had tried to run away as body parts were scattered on the muddy ground.
The leader of the group noticed that there were only the bodies of men and children visible, so he ordered the others to look around in the area.

A few minutes passed and one of his subordinates came running towards him. He told him that he found survivors in a house located at a small distance from the village. The leader ordered once again and asked to get shown the direction to the house. The other people of the group were told to continue searching.
The leader followed the moving subordinates and they arrived at the house. A stench of blood filled the air and they decided to enter the house to understand the situation.
A horrifying scene was displayed. The women hanged down from the ceiling with ropes tied around writs and feet. The clothes seemed to have been ripped off as if they had been raped and their legs were decapitated. Gosh, what had happened was easy to assume. All those poor women. To give them a slight rest of respect he ordered for a different subordinate to help him get them down onto the ground. He added words of respect.
"As soon as we are finished searching the village let's bury all those poor souls. We also need to report to the Capital."
The subordinates and he walked back to the rest of the group. At arriving, he asked for news.
A child appeared behind the people serving the leader. The leader looked surprised.
"You did find a survivor? Does he know details about what happened here?"
A subordinate answered.
"Yes, Sire. We found him in a closet in one of the remaining houses but he didn't say a single word."
The leader went over to sitting on his knees in front of the child.
"Can you tell me what happened here, boy?"
The child only looked him in the eyes and said one single word.
"Snake."