medieval · horror · historical · death · disease · 1300s · tragedy · supernatural · village setting · fear
**Scene: Stonecrest, Autumn 1347 – The Stillness Before the Storm** A clinging mist veils Stonecrest’s fields in the grey light of dawn. Children run laughing, chasing geese along the bank of the stream, while the smith’s hammer strikes a steady, familiar rhythm against the anvil. Smoke from cottage chimneys threads through the damp air, sweet with the smell of barley bread baking. Father Alvar rings the chapel bell, calling the village to harvest prayers. Agatha, her back bent over a cider barrel, whispers tales of a sickness traveling north from the southern ports. Few pay her any mind. Up in the manor, Lord Alistair stands at his window, a letter clutched in his hand, its words stark: *‘dead men… black swellings.’* A cold wind gusts suddenly from the east. The birds have go…