The village was in uproar when Ethan returned. The air buzzed with fear. Villagers gathered in tight circles arguing loudly. Some shouted about strange sounds coming from the woods. Others claimed they saw glowing light moving through the trees like spirits. Children cried while parents tried to calm them. Even the animals used by the villagers paced nervously.

Mira ran toward Ethan the moment she saw him. She placed both hands on his arms and scanned his face as if checking for injury. When she found none she let out a tremble of relief. Ethan squeezed her hand gently then headed toward the shelter.

The wolf rushed out the moment he opened the door. It pressed its glowing head against his leg repeatedly as if scolding him for leaving. The giant bird extended its wings in a worried gesture and touched Ethan’s shoulder with its beak. The bark creature tapped its hooves anxiously against the ground.

Ethan sat with them and let the wolf nuzzle against him, let the bird lean its heavy head on his shoulder, let the bark creature curl against his foot. They felt the tremor in the forest too. Their bodies responded like tuning forks to the great creature’s call.

He whispered to them about what he saw.
The glowing lake.
The ancient creature rising from beneath the roots.
Its cry of pain.
Its trembling shell.
Its weakening glow.

The wolf hummed sadly.
The bird lowered its head.
The bark creature tapped three times then stood completely still.

Ethan sighed and stood. He headed to the main hall where the elder and council waited. Mira followed close behind. The hall was dimly lit with candles though it was daytime. Shadow patterns flickered across the walls. The elder gestured for Ethan to speak.

Ethan used drawings again. He sketched the lake and the massive creature beneath it. Then he showed how the energy pulsed through the roots and how the glowing water linked everything. Mira translated each gesture and added the words she could. She told the council that Ethan believed the disturbance was not a roaming beast but a deep wound in the forest itself.

The council murmured anxiously.
One asked if the ancient creature could attack the village.
Ethan shook his head firmly.
He drew the creature lying weak not aggressive.

The hunter burst into the hall again interrupting the meeting. He claimed Ethan saw a monster and now tried to protect it. He shouted that glowing beasts should be destroyed not saved. His voice cut through the air like a blade. A few villagers outside the hall nodded nervously.

Ethan stepped forward and pointed directly at the hunter.
His gaze was steady.
His stance firm.

He held up his hand and mimed the trembling of the ancient creature.
Then he pointed at the roots on the drawing.
Then at the forest.
Then at the village.

He was saying the creature was connected to the land itself.
Hurting it would make everything worse.

The elder finally shouted the hunter into silence.
He slammed his staff hard enough that dust drifted from the ceiling.

After long discussion the council made a decision.
They declared Ethan the chief investigator of the forest disturbance.
He would lead a larger team to the lake in the coming days.
Not just guards this time.
He would have healers and mages and scouts.
People who could help him understand the ancient creature’s condition.

But first Ethan needed to prepare the creatures in his care.
They reacted more clearly to the forest’s shifts than anyone else.
Their instincts would guide him.

When Ethan returned to the shelter he found the wolf pacing again.
The bird stood tall with wings half spread.
The bark creature pressed its wooden body against the corner like listening.

He knelt among them and spoke quietly.

“I need you,” he said even if they could not understand the words.
“I need all of you.”

The wolf placed its head against his chest.
The bird lowered its giant wing to wrap partway around him.
The bark creature pressed its forehead against his knee.

Ethan felt something heavy settle inside him.
The burden of a keeper.
To protect creatures who could not speak, to guide villagers who did not understand, and now to face a wound in the world itself.

The tremors shook the ground again lightly.
The creatures reacted instantly.
Ethan stood and breathed slow.

Tomorrow he would prepare the team.
Soon he would return to the lake.
And the ancient creature below the roots would not face its suffering alone.