Norm's Unleashed Fury

When I first heard the stories, I was afraid to sleep, certain that Norm would find me. So I stayed awake, listening to every creaking branch in the forest and every crack of thunder in the sky. The villagers told stories of him, how he'd stalk the roads and highways, luring people into his home with smooth words and a handsome face. They said he'd trap them inside his fortress and devour their flesh one piece at a time.

I had heard those stories before, of course. But they always seemed too fantastical to be real, more like propaganda meant to scare children away from dark places than anything else. But now I saw first hand how violently Norm could snap a man's neck and how quickly he could eat through a calf's leg. No blade could pierce his thick skin. I knew my own sword wouldn't do much good against him either, but I forced myself to keep it close by, just in case.

As night after night passed, I began to grow weary of my vigil and it was only when I started to fall asleep that I realized how tired I was. Where before my eyes were wide open and alert to any hint of movement or sound, now they drifted shut almost as soon as they closed. And it was then that I heard the voice calling out to me.

"Master Videleaux," It said. "Master Videleaux." The voice repeated itself again and again until finally my eyes opened once more. There was no one there, but the voice came from behind me somewhere in the woods so without thinking, I followed my ears into the dark trees where moonlight didn't reach.

The voice called out again and led me further on until finally we reached an old hut hidden behind some dying bushes at the edge of a hilltop clearing in the middle of a dense forest. The door swung open on its own accord as if by magic as soon as we touched it and we went inside together. Once inside, the door slammed shut behind us with another gust of wind and then fell silent again except for the sound of whimpering from within it's walls.

I wondered what kind of trick this might be; perhaps Norm had lured me here himself to feed on my flesh when no one else was around to stop him? The thought made me feel weak in my knees and I leaned hard against the wall for support while I tried to catch my breath. The whimpering grew louder as if sensing that someone had entered their prison cell so finally steeling myself up again, I crept forward into the darkness until suddenly out of nowhere a small girl jumped out at me with a knife in her hand! A loud shriek escaped her lips as she lunged towards me with wild abandon but before she could get near me, she screamed even louder when something grabbed her arm tightly and twisted it behind her back until she dropped the weapon onto floor beside her feet. She looked up at me with terrified eyes as if begging for help but all she got instead was a sharp slap across her face for her trouble which made her drop down onto all fours where she continued sobbing uncontrollably until she finally dropped off into unconsciousness next to her dropped weapon.

At once Norm appeared from behind what looked like a large boulder sitting atop a stone pillar next to the iron bars holding prisoner whoever had been making such a racket earlier. He smiled at me warmly before reaching inside the pocket of his coat and pulling out an ornate looking key which he used to unlock both doors leading into his dungeon cell block where he pulled free another key from around his neck and unlocked both doors on each side one at a time before walking inside ahead of me while motioning for me to follow him into this labyrinthine prison complex which held who knows how many souls within its walls? As we walked deeper into this labyrinth he explained how all these cells were occupied by victims he had captured over time whom he kept alive here so that he might torture them slowly over months or years before eventually finishing off their lives in whatever cruel way took his fancy that day so that he might enjoy watching them suffer before ending their suffering for good all at once once he decided they had suffered enough! If this wasn't madness itself then what was? For if there was such a thing as evil then surely Norm was living proof of what mankind could potentially become without restraint or morality keeping him honest? Even worse than King Louis XIV who had set these cells up in the first place during his reign over France? Surely nothing could be more evil than imprisoning hundreds of innocents just because you wanted to watch them suffer day after day until you got bored with your new toy? Just because you thought you were entitled to their suffering? And yet there he stood right in front of me looking like some harmless old man who couldn't possibly hurt anyone even though we both knew different! Couldn't possibly cause anyone harm despite being responsible for so much pain already! Couldn't possibly have murdered over thirty people since arriving here in France ten years ago! Ten years during which not a single person has dared cross his path lest they regret doing so afterwards! Ten years during which not one soul has dared risk meeting his gaze lest they welcome eternal damnation for daring such boldness! Yet here he stands right in front of me with so much blood on his hands that you'd think collecting shed blood would be too difficult anymore given how red everything around us is already! Red as blood under this darkened moonlit sky! Red as blood surrounding us wherever we go until we are swallowed up by it entirely! Red as blood on this soil beneath our feet! Red as blood flowing beneath our feet like some underground river carrying us away with it's flow struggling against gravity trying not to spill out onto this ground where we stand fighting against gravity itself just trying not to fall right into its depths! And yet there we stood: Man against Evil struggling against his own nature deep within this abyssal pit crawling back towards our light wherever possible no matter how often we must fight against ourselves for all eternity on account of our human natures alone without God's grace keeping us tethered somehow towards goodness despite ourselves deep down underneath layers upon layers upon layers upon layers upon layers upon layers upon layers upon layers upon layers upon layers upon layers upon layers upon layers upon layers ...