Syth and Axe: Snippet: Paul Bunyan meets the Headless Horseman
1945 “What brings you to the Barrens, Cole.” The hammering ceased for a moment, and the man, up until this moment stooped over the blacksmithing anvil, rose to full height. His duster flared out behind him, dark and ominous, carried with a nonexistent wind. A high collar rose up around his face and neck, a bandana covering his mouth. He removed his hat and pulled down the bandana. Paul sneered at the sight. He’d seen his share of ghastly sights through the years, and this didn’t compare with some of them, but a lesser man would have retched. A gaunt face stared back, flesh clinging tightly to the shapeless remains of what had once been high cheekbones, but that had somehow worn thin from years of use. Paul didn’t want to think of what that meant. Had this man really been wearing the rotting face of his victim for so long that it had become a shapeless mess atop his shoulders? A light green glow flickered from inside the hollow sockets, and the rictus grin cricked into pla