The Bog-Thing of the Seeps

The unnamed shapeless predator in the seep bogs below Stocktarn that the Hollowfold shepherds blame for the missing ewes — moist, patient, and best left alone in the soft ground.

Nobody in Hollowfold has seen the whole of it at once. What they have seen: an ewe dragged into a seep pool with no struggle sound, a boot full of dark water left at the bog edge, and once a flash of something wide and pale under the surface when the tarn was low. The shepherds call it the Bog-Thing because naming it further feels like an invitation. It does not pursue onto dry ground. It does not need to — the seeps are soft going and the ground gets softer the closer you get to Stocktarn's shore.