Chapter 3 (Patreon)

The bodies of the dead hunters were torn to pieces, their entrails eaten. Earlier, there had been cases when careless hunters suffered from wild animal's fangs. But here there were neither wolf nor bear traces around the mangled bodies. The clearings were covered with hoof marks. The position of the marks left no doubt that victims tried to flee from someone and in no time the hunters became prey. Even the most experienced trackers were perplexed, because ungulates hadn't been found for a long time. When people began to inhabit these forests, they had wiped out all the ungulates.

The mayor of Winslow City, Black-Beard by name, was forced to act under pressure from angry citizens. On the one hand, the hunters and the families of the victims demanded to find the beast. On the other hand, believers insisted that people had forgotten ancient deities, and sacrifice was needed to stop deaths. The mayor ordered several armed detachments to search for the mysterious beast, but they all returned empty-handed. And at a recent meeting, someone reminded those present that; “By the way, the fauns living in the lake valley have hooves too.”

“My father tried to prove that the Hoyun tribe is peaceful,” Losse lamented. "Yes, they are rather stubborn and stupid! But not enough to eat people ... In addition, their tracks look more like those of goat than those of deer.“

Daniel nodded, showing he knew the forest folk. The Hoyuns often worked as postmen and were frequent visitors to the cities.

Nobody listened to Bilron. He was considered eccentric. People disapproved of his union with a Kettu woman. And some even voiced fear that such an alliance could bring trouble. So Bilron was almost an outcast in his hometown. However, Black-Beard respected him for his tracker skills and even helped him escape exile.

“You are a brave soul, Losse", said Daniel. “Under the circumstances, I wouldn’t talk to strangers.“

Losse scowled at the elf with displeasure.

“Do you have long claws and fangs that tear through bones like a nettle stalk?”

Daniel smiled.

“No? So, don’t stop me!“

A detachment of scouts that came to the Lake Valley encountered contemptuous attitudes and spears directed at them. The hunters had not been planning to attack the Hoyuns. On the contrary, their aim was to talk to them and dispel doubts about the Hoyuns' involvement in the mysterious deaths. However, something went wrong. One careless word, an awkward movement, and they got severe problems. The Maylud hunter lost his eye, and the young snooty Hoyun remained lying in the grass, studded with arrows. The detachment had made a hasty retreat.

“The mayor organized a combat group of free hunters. My father joined them.“

“Maybe this will solve the problem?“ the elf suggested.

Losse rolled her eyes.

“Oh God! Why can’t you just be quiet? My father and I visited Lake Valley many times. I played with small Hoyuns! It’s not like them.…“

Losse looked down and sighed sadly.

Daniel didn't ask any more questions. For a while they walked in complete silence. In some places, through dense grass thickets, the songs of the first, most impatient crickets could be heard. The sun came down on the tops of the trees to illuminate the forest with reddish glow. Ahead, near the path, one could see a white birch.

"We're almost there,” said Losse, and brushed a strand of white hair from her face. "Maybe you are hungry? Can I bring you something to eat?”

”Did you say something?” Daniel seemed to be completely lost in his own thoughts.

”Would you like some tea?”

The elf smiled and bowed slightly in his usual way.

“No, kind Kettu girl, thanks! I think I have to go.”

“Well, if you need to,” Losse shrugged her shoulders, “Then go.”

Daniel made another bow, turned around and started for the woods. After walking a couple of steps, he turned his head and asked:

“You said there were hoof marks there, right?”

”Yes, that's what my father told me.”

“It’s interesting..." the elf said thoughtfully and continued on his way.

Losse watched the receding shape of the wanderer until it disappeared into the twilight.

***

The flame embraced a dry ash-tree log and crackled joyfully, devouring its new prey. The bright dancing flame tongues were reflected in the wet eyes of the elderly Kettu woman Sina. She closed the tiny oven’s door, picked up a shabby oven fork and placed a pot completely black with soot on the fire. When the pot took its usual place, Sina gasped and pressed her aching arms against her chest. The pot filled with rabbit stew was as heavy as lead. It contained a lot of food, too much for one old woman. Sina knew it, but she wasn’t used to cooking less food. For thirty years, every day, she cooked as much stew as her ever-hungry great stew-lover Nihlo Hooktail needed to eat his fill. Five days ago, her husband, ignoring his wife’s entreaties and shutting his torn ear to her pleas, took his ash-tree bow and headed to the forest. That day, Sina decided to put him in a better mood with his favorite dish. But for the fifth night in a row, the pot in the oven puffed and rattled its lid in vain since the food stayed untouched. Meanwhile, supplies in the Hooktail house cellar were dwindling. Sina sliced a bitter radish, dashing away the tears accumulated in deep facial wrinkles.

The noise outside distracted her from her sad thoughts. She put down her knife and, on reaching the window, looked out of it. The window was fogged up. The old Kettu woman wiped it with a handkerchief and saw a crowd gathering near her fence. Someone in the center was gesticulating actively, and his hoarse voice reached Sina's gray ears. The speech, prickly as a heather tuft, could have come from nobody else than Elster, the sinister thicket shaman.

Maylud residents were not very fond of him, however, it’s fair to say that they feared and respected him. Among them were the Old Believers, and this fact brought him to the level of priests. It was rumoured that the shaman had lived in a wet ravine even before the first people came to found the city there. Elster followed his ancestor’s customs. He despised buildings and lived in fox holes. The shaman traded his potions and amulets for food and supplies. He did this with reluctance and malice, so people tried to use his services only in extreme cases, and he was a rare guest in the city.

Now Elster stood on the pavement surrounded by more than a dozen residents, which meant there was a valid reason.

”Here! Another house where grief has come! I feel it!”

The crowd surrounded the stooping figure wearing a cloak. The people hung on his every word.

“Woe to us if we fail to calm down the ancient!”

The shaman cut off his speech and looked at the crowd from under his eyebrows. The people around held their breath. A soft female cry was heard. Someone, unable to stand it, shouted:

”What are we to do now? Tell us!”

“Calm him down! Appease him! ” replied someone.

The shaman watched the crowd's tension rise for several seconds  Straightening his back, he glared at the guy standing closest to him, unceremoniously grabbed a fistful of his shirt and, baring his teeth, blurted out into his face:

“TO FEED! ”

The man began to squeal like a frightened rabbit, fell on his ass and, without stopping screaming, crawled away and hid behind people's backs. The crowd wailed:

“The spirits in the forest cry in fear. We have to give the ancient what he wants! Food and gifts!”

Enjoying the effect he had achieved, the shaman continued:

"Otherwise he'll exterminate you! He’ll exterminate everyone!"

"Isn’t he full yet?" said Sina, quietly approaching the crowd.

She couldn’t keep her indignation. People began to whisper.

"How many more "sacrifices" does he need? Tell me!"

Sina was a bit afraid of the shaman. In Maylud, she was one of the few Kettu living there. And she knew more about the shaman than the young residents gathered around him.

“They came to him with weapons!” Elster seemed to spit out the words. “To hunt the forest master as if he was a wild beast! They made him furious!"

Someone's crying has already turned into hysteria. Ignoring the crowd, Elster continued:

“I believe it could have happened by accident,” he lowered his voice slightly. "You can’t change what has already happened. And there is only one thing we can do: appease the ancient with a sacrifice!”

Sina flung her arms up.

“You want to give one of us to the forest god?” she unceremoniously interrupted the shaman.

The shaman fell silent and blew air out of his nostrils loudly.

“The spirits marked one of you long ago. Once they wanted to take her away, but I saved the girl. Now her father owes me. She shouldn't have been born... she’s a half-blood.”

Soft whispers came from all sides:

“Who are we talking about?”

“The hermit's daughter?”

“Bilron’s child?”

“Bilron and the other hunters left for the lake valley. To hit the damned goatmen.”

Elster clicked his tongue and said thoughtfully:

“Well… old Winslow didn’t want to wait and began to act on his own.”

The shaman clenched his black-haired fists and said with a suave voice:

“This is all for the better. No one will embark on the path of destiny. The child will become a sacred sacrifice! ”

Shouts and disputes erupted. Some people strongly objected, but the majority approved of the shaman’s words.

“Don't even think about it! You can't give a girl to be eaten by those forest creatures!” cried out Sina. However, everyone had already forgotten about her.

Sina rarely met Losse. Though the girl made a positive impression on the old woman. She saw Losse as a friendly albeit eccentric friendly young Kettu. There were many rumors about a strange family living outside the city walls. However, Sina didn't remember Bilron and his daughter causing trouble.

“Poor woman,” muttered the shaman and shook his head. He seemed to relent. “ She has gone insane with grief.”

Sina gaped her eyes and stared dumbfounded at the shaman.

"Did you really decide to do this? Oh God! But Losse… is your…” the old woman shut up abruptly in the middle of the sentence.

"There is no time to spare!" the shaman exclaimed sharply and waved his paw. "I am sure you’ll make the right choice."

The shaman's eyes twinkled. He straightened up and walked towards the city gates. The Maylud residents followed him, leaving Sina to stay alone by her fence.