#i made strahd a woman cause women vampire hot and i am a simple humble lesbian

[witched-kid-writer]

Day Twenty-One: Fog

TW: death, violence

31 Days of Horror prompts

note: if you are one of my curse of strahd players you should consider not reading this

They don't see it roll in in the night. That, of course, is by design. If they see it all coming then they might leave, then they might try to get away and then the plan cannot go ahead, and she has been so bored as of late. The last group who came wandering into her lands didn't last nearly as long as she had wanted, which meant the game of it all was over far too fast. 

This new group, a small group of four just starting their life at the burgeoning new university, seemed to have more of what she was looking for. They wanted power, strength, adventure, everything she needed to make this all work. Everything she needed to make playing with them so much more fun.

She watches as they each wake, one by one, to an empty campus coated in a layer of fog that seems to go on forever. Concern flits across each of their faces as they stumble out of their dorm rooms and come face to face with nothing, not even the warmth of the sun they are so used to. She watches as they all find one another, all ask if they had seen anyone else or if it was just them. There is a moment she wonders if they might just stay on the campus and try and wait it all out, but then there is a cream from out in the woods.

The timing couldn't be more perfect. It makes her smile as she watches them all look to one another for just a moment before taking off towards the sound. They don't know there is no one to rescue, they don't know that they are already well within her trap and there would be no going home for them.

She watches as they make it to the old road, to the gate, to the body, to the town. She gets to revel in the look of horror on their faces once they learn that there is no escaping this place. She cannot watch always, there is too much that needs to be handled but every time she has a spare moment she looks to them.

She meets them a few times, egging them on, pushing them to try harder, to see if they can actually do anything at all.

She watches them plan, she watches them problem solve, she watches them make allies and friends. She watches them gain hope that they might win. That they might actually beat her. That there might be a chance for them to tear her down and take this world from her. She watches her subjects begin to gain a little bit of light behind their eyes as they follow these dear, sweet adventures lead.

It makes it all that much sweeter when she tears their hearts from their chests.