Sir Onedra/Lore

The Sslayer; the Sskinner

There was once a man by the name of Benjamin Abner, so elegant and charming, so charismatic and well loved, he was enjoyed by the many races whenever he traveled among the racial cities. He made many friends of all kinds, even a dragon or two could be humored by his joyful presence and wise jokes. He was even known to be quite handsome, with his bright blue eyes and golden hair, with a fierce braveness as he was an adventurer by trade. A great specimen of a human man. Many wanted to know him, many wanted to be him.

It happened to be Benjamin's downfall. During one of his travels, he found himself in Sslanis talking to one of the local trophy collectors. He could never go without an easy pretty penny, especially with his skills.

Just when he was about to part from the Sslik offering him the job, the scaly fellow handed him a paper. It was rough around the edges and stained, with a hole at the top as if it had been nailed to a post at some point. In the center, a quick rough sketch of a Sslik hiding in a hood, bright eyes visible and maw too. Their pupils were small, almost crazed.

"Watch out for this one," The trophy hunter warned, pointing a claw at the page in Benjamin's hand. "This one has the taste for blood."

Ben smiled and laughed, as if it was nothing but a practical joke. He had faced worse fears than a Sslik thinking they were big, he thought. "Name your price, and I can get rid of him too for you."

"Benjamin does not understand what comes before him," The Sslik said. Their eyes were very serious, unfaltering. "This one has had many a hunter come after. This one always makes sure they never return."

The warning should've chilled Benjamin to the bone, but his positive traits could not go without a negative one. His ego was much too large to let such a tale put fear into him.

"Worry not, my friend. I will scout around Sslanis until I find him. I will bring peace to your city, I'll show you."

He turned around, but before he could step a foot down the steps, the Sslik reached out quickly and grabbed a hold of his gauntlet. "Please, do not-"

"I will be fine!" Ben yanked his arm out from the other's grip, and waved his goodbye. "I will return to you with his head!"

This time, the Sslik did not move, but instead retreated to their spot, defeated. "Good luck on your adventure then. Sslanis hopes for Benjamin's safe return."

The adventurer hummed and walked off, not deterred a bit. He had his handy sword at his side and a shield to protect him. He left the city and wandered around the area, neglecting his original bounty for the Sslik he was warned about. It came to a point he sat and rested as the sun set, until it was dark and he could not see much.

Right as he was going to give up and return home for the night, he saw torch light in the distance. It glowed brightly and illuminated the area and the person carrying it. That is when Benjamin saw it: it was the person he was searching for. He got to his feet, hoping they could not see him along the path, but the Sslik looked right on at him, eyes seemingly glowing in the dark.

How lucky was he? All he had to do was wait until night, and they would show themselves? It was almost too easy. They didn't even appear to be armed.

The mysterious body turned then, and began to run off in the opposite direction. Ben wasn't going to let them get away that easily, and he took off after them. They took him down the path and off into the woods, where Ben had to slow down because he couldn't see and the brush and roots were thick. He followed the light, and it felt like the strange Sslik was slowing down to wait for him in the times it slowed to a crawl.

Many minutes passing, and many frustrated curses from Benjamin later, he spied the Sslik running into a cave. It must've been the hideout. Ben drew his sword, emerging from the trees to enter the cave himself. It was a long cave, taking him down into the ground with winding tunnels and nothing but the soft glow of the torch ahead of him. It was still too dark to start running in.

Finally, they entered a large chamber, lit with more torches along the walls and decorated with weapons and tools. Though, disturbingly, there was something else pinned to the cave walls that had Benjamin nearly retching.

The stretched skins of many races, all held up like they were nothing but scary fall festival costumes and masks. The one closest to him was a Dryad with its face stretched so far it was hardly recognizable, with the edges of its used-to-be chest ripped, and above it written in blood, "TOO SMALL." Its once beautiful butterfly-like wings hung beside it, like a trophy.

There were more, tons of them. Human, Fiend, Gnome, Dwarf, even Saris-all skins ripped right off bodies and stretched and malformed as if to fit a stranger's own face.

The disgusting scene left Benjamin uneasy and the confidence he had before dripped away like the blood stained on the floor. He could hear loud ringing of metal, bringing him out of his shock only to notice the Sslik had moved behind him, closing a heavy gate down to lock them both inside.

"This one is Ssahn," The Sslik spoke, voice rough. "Ssahn is uneasy in their own skin..." They dragged their claws over their scales, pulling at the rough flesh, over and over like they could tear it all away. "Ssahn likes to wear other skins, in hopes of finding one that makes Ssahn happy. Ssahn wants to...fit in."

Benjamin's eyes were wide, but he clutched his sword tightly and raised his shield. "Don't worry, you won't have these worries much longer!"

"Ah, ah, ah! Ssahn has more to do in life, this one wants to try being Benjamin Abner! The mighty adventurer with good humor and impressive human looks. Won't that one help Ssahn feel the love of many races?"

Ben did not want to hear any more. He lunged forward with his sword to propel it into the sick Sslik's chest, but the tall lizard was far too fast. They leaped to the side and grabbed an axe, staying low and swinging it at Benjamin's legs. They landed a hit, and Ben let out a loud wail as he went down, the pain sinking into the bone.

In a daze, Ben could only look up at the ceiling of the cave, and the face of the hooded Sslik. Before he could throw his sword again, the quick Sslik brought the axe down on his arm.

"Ssahn is glad screams cannot leave this cave," They speak over the tone of Ben's hollering, "Ssahn is also glad this one can sew all the pieces together again. A complete look for Ssahn!"

Before long, Ben couldn't see anything anymore, and the last thing he saw was the toothy grin of the mad Sslik.er the disappearance of Benjamin Abner, a strange being showed up in Dalimond, the home city of the humans. A strange creature walking with a hunch, claws jutting out of the fingers and toes, yet wearing the stretched skin of a human. Not only a human, but the very flesh of Benjamin. They tried to break their way into the local tavern, frightening all, leaving women screaming and children crying, and they were chased off by the guards who spoke about it being a demon for days. The only thing more terrifying than Ssahn, is the thought of if Ssahn had turned out to be Gifted. No world deserves someone like Ssahn to be immortal.