RP:The Bone Eater
Part of the Creepshow Arc
Red Ogre Inn
Note: This story was told orally by Josleen to Ezekiel at the Red Ogre Inn. She improvised the story on the spot. There is an cute date-night scene surrounding this story, but only the story itself is preserved here to facilitate speed-reading.
This rp took place on December 13th, 2013.
Have you ever head of The Bone Eater?
The Bone Eater was a creature who stalked the forests north of Larket not so long ago. They say it started out as a man once, not so different from you or I. This man and his friends decided to go hunting one day in the dead of winter, when suddenly, a blizzard blinded them. They lost their sense of direction and sought shelter in a cave. Unbeknownst to them, this cave was the home of the forest’s spirit bear, one of the guardians of the forest. The bear saw the men from his sleep in the shadows, and he took pity on them. He could have eaten them, but he did not. He saw they were in need, and the forest provides for the unfortunate. The bear did not make himself known to the men.
It snowed so much and so fiercely that they were forced to hide for days in the cave. They quickly ran out of rations, and sadly, one of the men died from cold and hunger. His friends, after a difficult, tear-filled discussion, decided the only sensible thing to do was eat this man. The bear saw this and thought it was sad but good, for nothing should go to waste. Indeed, he agreed, it is sensible. He remained hidden. Although he too was hungry, the bear did not partake in the meal. He did not want to scare the men. One of the men particularly enjoyed the bones, especially the smooth texture of the skull. He gnawed on it in the dark, unseen by the other men.
Then, a second man died, and this time, the two remaining men discussed again what should be done with the body. The inevitable decision was reached much more quickly. One man in particular, the man who loved the bones, seemed keen to the feast, having already developed an unnatural taste for human flesh. The spirit bear saw this and frowned on the darkening soul, but allowed it. It was a desperate time; he understood for the Spirit Bear is wise and patient. Perhaps the man could redeem himself later.
Two men remained, two were eaten. Soon, the blizzard was beginning to let up. The pair of men see hope for the first time since they entered that cave. They could leave soon and would likely survive. When the storm ended, they began to dig a tunnel through the snow to the surface. When sunlight finally filtered in through that tunnel, carrying with it the promise of salvation, one man rejoiced but the other, The Bone Eater, grew dark and anxious. He knew that when he returned to Larket he would likely never taste human flesh again. Unable to live with that propsect, he grabbed a rock and bashed in his friend’s skull to kill him and eat him so that he may enjoy the taste of human flesh one last time – and gnaw on his bones. This angered the spirit bear greatly who now charged forward with a deafening roar and sought to punish the wicked man. But the bear, starved for weeks, was weaker than the well-fed human and in that moment, the man was stronger than the bear and killed him too. And although he was not hungry, he ate of the bear’s flesh to claim the kill as his own.
But this was no normal bear, this was a spirit bear, and a spirit bear can seek revenge not only in life but also in death. The bear saw that the man was a monster on the inside and wanted to make it known on the outside as well so that the good creatures of the forest would know the true nature of the beast which would now walk among them. And so he changed the man’s flesh so that he had the body of a gator, the feet of a goat, the tail of a rat, and the snout of an anteater. This last choice made the man’s mouth so small so that he could only eat insects and not be able to bite human flesh ever again. But the man’s desire for bones was so great he was determined to find a way to consume his addiction. He soon discovered his snout was small enough to fit in the human ear, and chomp at its victim’s skull. And so, The Bone Eater would sneak into Larketian homes, pin victims in their beds, and slowly eat their skull through their ears.
Gnawing and gnawing, slowly killing its prey, sucking up the entire skeleton to meet its mouth within the ear. Spine, ribs, hips, gnaw. Chomp. Crack. In the morning, the victim’s relatives would find only a boneless suit of flesh, the face of their loved one deformed in a wrinkled pile, void of any shape.
Ezekiel has doubts Ok- that's just physically impossible. Unless he had some sort of venom in which he injected through their ear, and even still it's hard to imagine; anteaters don't have venom, it would have to liquify every bone, but not the flesh? There's not even enough nutrients in the bone to sustain. He'd need the flesh, too. I think?" The topic at hand didn't seem to lessen his appetite.
Josleen is undeterred Why is it physically impossible? And he didn’t liquefy the bones, her ground them with his tiny, sharp, anteater teeth.
Ezekiel's doubts persist It would take him days to grind up that many bones. And wouldn't the victim scream out in pain? People would hear- there would be resistance. Besides, if it had the body of a gator, wouldn't that make it a cold blooded creature? He'd have a horrible time in the snow. Or at night; think about it. It would be slow, sluggish, then taking that time to grind down and digest their bones?
Josleen's amusement never wanes The say The Bone Eater preys on disbelievers first because they are the most unsuspecting.