Slowly, the Vilkas family made their way towards the edge of the small town. It was hard to see what was going on, as there were trees surrounding them in thick numbers even after they got into the town proper. The only places that were really cleared had either cultural or societal reasons to the people who lived there. After all, this town was upon the grounds that were given to a first nation group known as the Dene Th'a that had been a nomadic group for majority of their history. Due to this being land reserved for them, not many other people came up and visited the area, but the Vilkas' had spent time and grown familiar with them and their way of a life. After all, other than them, the nearest person with veterinarian knowledge and experience was all the way over in Fort Vermilion. Due to that, they had seen one another many times over the years on both emergencies and general checkups.

The people here have been hunters for generations, using horses and dogs to go out and both track down moose, as well as set up traps for the smaller prey. They were always incredibly resourceful with the bodies of those they hunted, making sure to use every part of the animals that they had slain. It was with them that Matis actually learned how to make better use of his hunts, as well as be more effective when he was in the bush. Some of what he had learned from them had even helped him understand a bit more when it came to caring for animals on a medical level. In recent years, there had been a drop in their population that actively hunted, but the tradition and training they had to do so still continued. It was a part of who they were, and was seen in all of their day to day life. After all, they had only stopped being nomadic back in the nineteen-fifties, choosing to settle down for a multitude of reasons.

Those roots were clear as day when the two of them walked out of the trees and out to the Chateh Band Office. Kids were being escorted by groups of adults towards the center building of the community. The crazy thing to Matis and Charlene were the fact that all of the adults were armed with either spears, bows, or guns. As they carefully moved towards the building, a shriek rang out in the tree line beside them. Turning to look, they saw a small and green humanoid dangling from a rope upside down. As they stood there in shock, one of the Dene came over with a spear. As he noticed the two, he waved to them, before quickly returning his attention to the creature caught in the trap. With brutal efficiency he ended the weird creature in front of them, spilling its viscous black blood all over the ground and himself. He quickly reset the trap, wiped the bits of liquid that had splattered onto him, and then made his way over to the still stunned couple. "Matis, Charlene, it's good to know you two are safe."

"Ethan, what is going on? What was that?" Charlene asked immediately after snapping out of her state of shock. The entire scene felt surreal to her, as if it was pulled out from her child hood. 'That looked like a goblin!' she thought to herself.

"Come see the Chief and the council, they should be able to give you the clearest description of what we know." Ethan replied. Silently, the two followed him towards the large building that everyone was congregating to. The whole walk over, they looked for more info all around as they tried to make sense of the situation. Pools of black liquid doted the landscape here and there, showing that the creatures had been all over the place. Most of them however were nearby where buildings were, with cracks and deterioration being there that weren't before. The part that broke their hearts the most though were the bodies that were left behind. Some kids and adults that they had at least met in passing over the years now were being prepared for a burial. A good number of others were injured, waiting for those with more serious issues to be dealt with by the doctors first. The one thing that they found weird was that there were far less animals sitting around than usual. The only ones they saw were the horses that some people were riding around while doing patrols around the area.

As they made their way into the building, a group of elders turned to see who entered. When they saw who it was, smiles could be seen from their faces. "Charlene and Matis, it is good to see you both well. Especially with all that has been going on." the man in the center called out to them. The gap between them closed quickly allowing the two parties to exchange hugs. As they were hugged, the two Vilkas could feel the compassion and relief being transmitted.

"It is good to see you too Chief Ahnassay, though we are both confused and worried about all that is going on. Ethan said you could possibly shed a light on what is going on for us." Matis explained. They heard the door close behind them, only to notice Ethan heading back out.

They turned their attention back as Chief Ahnassay started to talk once more. "Of course, I will share what we know with you, just as we hope that you share what you know with us. After all, I am assuming that the reason I do not see Sheera with you two is due to her residing inside one of you two?" As if on que, Sheera popped out of Charlene and snuggled up beside her. Sitting down together, the Vilkas felt as if they had a blanket on, due to Sheera lounging out across their laps. As everyone else was already used to this scene, they just continued on with the conversation. "We as a council and as a people have agreed that what is happening is a sign. One to go back to the old ways of travelling nomadically and not rely on the modern way that we currently have. As from these modern buildings that have been put in place over the last few decades seem to be the source of the disturbances you no doubt noticed on your way in. Monsters spawn from the buildings, threatening the people, animals and land around them. Therefore, we plan to leave this settlement, and continue travelling around as we did in my youth." the Chief explained.

Huge thanks to my Elder Wolves Viktor, Saganatsu, Eeleater, John, Hades, Sir Hellington, Onean, Sebastian, Adam, and Kevin for supporting me and my writing! Remember that I keep Patreon ten chapters ahead at all times. Our next goal on Patreon will be getting up to 50 patrons, which I will then spend more time each month writing some side stories and shorts that show other perspectives throughout my stories!

 

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