The Native Americans were busy again today.
Not long after they had successfully driven away the white ranchers who came to invade, a young Native American manâan unfamiliar faceâcame running hurriedly out of the reservation. He found Karl in the crowd and spoke to the old man in a low voice for a few moments.
Afterward, Karl waved to the surrounding Native residents, gathering them around him and giving a few instructions.
Once the crowd dispersed, just like yesterday, they headed to their respective farms, drove some livestock out of their barns, and brought them into the reservation.
From beginning to end, everything was shrouded in mysteryâno one knew what they were doing.
The Winton tribeâs reservation was not open to outsiders, and Everly had no intention of trespassing, so as not to provoke the Native Americansâ displeasure. In any case, once today passed and tomorrow arrived, she would be able to ask for the information she wanted. There was no need to risk complications at the last moment.
In the afternoon, it was a rare day without snow. Since Karl had gone to the reservation and there was no one to keep Old John company, the three of them decided not to stay cooped up in Karlâs house. Instead, they got into their rented car and went for a drive around the area.
The village lay near the edge of the Great Plains of Yanifly State. To the east and south were all farms; to the west stretched a coastal saline-alkali land; and to the north stood a mountain range called the Dekakulo Mountains, extending from southwest to northeast. This range intersected with the Iramore Mountains in distant Dwight State, and on the map, the two together roughly formed a mirrored âćâ-like shape.
The Kamas River, which irrigated vast areas in the northern Great Plains, originated at the foot of the Dekakulo Mountains.
Originally, the three planned to visit the riverâs source and take a look at the mountains and snow-capped peaks in the background.
However, after the car finally made its way over the undulating hills and reached the vicinity of the Dekakulo Mountains, they discovered that a large area at the foot of the mountains had already been enclosed with metal fencing and turned into a mining site.
âWhat theâ? The travel guide I found didnât mention anything like this!â Misha complained, pulling up the guide on her phone. It had been published two years ago.
âItâs probably a newly built mining site. Didnât Grandpa Karl mention before that a mining company once wanted to cooperate with the Native Americans to mine in the reservation? This is likely that company.â
With the land already fenced off, it was naturally impossible to enter at will. The ugly barriers and the massive metal frames of mining machinery completely ruined the majestic and striking atmosphere of the mountains.
The three of them spent quite a while holding up their phones, trying to find a good angle, but no matter what they did, they couldnât capture the kind of scenery shown in the guide. In the end, they could only turn back in disappointment.
On the bright side, although the drive was a failure, at least they had successfully wasted some timeâgreat!
By the time they returned to the village, it was almost dinner time. The Native Americans who had gone to the reservation had already come back, but Quilla wasnât at the dinner table. It was said that she had stayed behind to help complete the final ritual.
After staying here for a few days, Everly had learned that these Native Americans worshipped a sacred tree. Rituals like this were held every year and counted as a routine activity for the Winton tribe.
Since every time the ritual was mentioned, her internal âdanger radarâ had never reacted, Everly figured it probably wasnât anything bad.
After dinner, she browsed the forums with Misha for a while, then returned to her bedroom and went to bed.
Late at night.
Everly was fast asleep when she suddenly heard a series of urgent dog barks.
The sound came and went, as if filtered through a thick layer of frosted glass, muffled as it seeped into her dreams, tugging her out of the haze of sleep.
The sensation was strangeâlike being pulled out of a warm, soothing hot spring just as you were enjoying it, your whole body abruptly leaving that cozy warmth and entering a cold, crisp environment.
Her mind, muddled and hazy with sleep, snapped awake. Everlyâs eyes flew open, and she could still hear Buddy barking.
âWoof! Woof woof!â
Whatâs going on⊠is there danger?
Everly reacted on instinct, reaching under her pillow to grab the handgun and protective charm she had hidden there in advance, then sprang out of bed in one swift motion.
Buddy was a spiritual dog, but not of any special lineage, so its spirit was quite weak. Everly couldnât see Buddyâs spirit formâshe could only hear the dogâs barking constantly coming from beside the bed, now on the left, now at the foot. She could practically picture an invisible dog anxiously jumping around and spinning in circles where she couldnât see it.
However, although Buddyâs barking was urgent, it wasnât sharp or piercing. Rather than a warning of danger, it sounded more like it was trying to get her attention.
Everlyâs âdanger radarâ also showed no reaction. She looked around, but found nothing unusual in her surroundings.
So whatâs going onâŠ?
Thinking it over, Everly suspected that Buddy might be trying to convey some kind of message.
In her distant, carefree childhood, there had been one time when Buddy had accidentally discovered a nest of young kangaroo rats in the wild that had lost their mother. Back then, Buddy was still very young and curious about everything. It had run excitedly to Everly, circling around her feet and barking nonstop, eventually leading her to that nest of plump little baby kangaroo rats.
Those kangaroo rats hadnât even been weaned yet and were especially difficult to care for, but Buddy had liked them very much. So Everly ended up rescuing them, even bringing them to her elementary school, where the energetic class took care of them together⊠if she remembered correctly, they were eventually eaten by cockroaches.
Ahem. Anyway, comparing Buddy then to Buddy now, Everly had reason to believe that Buddy might be trying to lead her somewhere.
With that thought, Everly got out of bed, stepped onto the floor, and cautiously took a couple of steps forward.
âWoof! Woof woof!â
As she moved, Buddyâs voice also shifted slightly toward the direction of the door.
That was enough for Everly to confirm her guess.
âWait for me, Buddy.â
Everly called out into the air, then quickly walked over to the coat rack, taking down her jacket and pants and putting them on.
Once dressed, she slung her backpack over her shoulders, stuffing it with all kinds of usefulâand not-so-usefulâself-defense items. Following the sound of Buddyâs barking, she carefully and quietly opened the door.
Her grandfather was old, and Everly herself was still confused about where exactly this trip would lead, so she didnât wake Old John or anyone else.
Pushing her stealth to the limit, Everly stepped cautiously down the creaking wooden stairs, making her way to the first floor of Karlâs house. Guided by the dogâs barking, she slipped out through the front door and into the freezing village.
A gust of icy wind immediately enveloped her.
Fortunately, thanks to her usual training, even on such a cold night, wrapped in her down jacket, Everly still felt warm all over.
With the recent blood-sucking monster incident at the nearby farmsâand having seen that branch-like, slender creature through the telescope the night beforeâEverly was extremely alert to her surroundings at night.
Moving through the darkness, she stayed on guard while trudging through the uneven, snow-covered ground. Before she knew it, a man-made barrier net and a conspicuous sign came into view aheadâthe entrance to the Native American reservation.
âYouâre taking me into the reservation?â
Everly muttered in surprise.
âWoofâ!â
Buddy responded, already darting further ahead. By the time the next bark sounded, it was coming from deep inside the reservation.
Everly had no choice but to follow.
After all, no matter what, Buddy would never harm herâŠ
The entrance to the reservation wasnât locked, and the surrounding fence was only symbolic, marking the land as belonging to the Native Americans and warning outsiders not to enter without permission. As long as Everly could overcome the psychological barrier, all it took was a single step to cross into the reservation.
Following Buddyâs barking, Everly stepped onto a slightly dry dirt path, weaving between the low trees on either side as she ventured deeper into the reservation.
Every so often, Buddyâs voice would ring out ahead, guiding her along the way.
Tonight, the moon hung in the sky, and after her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she could just barely make out the path.
Besides the village outside, there were also some Native Americans living within the reservation. As an uninvited intruder, Everly didnât dare turn on her flashlight. Using the faint moonlight, she pressed forward along the dirt road, moving quietly in the dark.
After about ten minutesâclimbing a few hills and passing several forks in the pathâthe surrounding trees visibly thinned.
At the same time, the air began to carry a familiar, briny scent of seawater. Listening closely, she could occasionally hear the soft âwhooshâ of waves breaking against rocks and sand.
So she must be approaching the beach?
Everly, still puzzled about where Buddy was leading her, crested a hill and looked down. Below, in a small mountain hollow, a fire glowed.
Her thiefâs instincts flared. At the sight of the fire, she immediately crouched low, hiding in a cluster of trees and using the low saltbush to conceal her body. Peeking out cautiously, she observed the glowing center.
The hollow lay between two slopes.
It was about the size of a basketball court. Around its edges, wooden frames had been set up, each holding a metal brazier. The firelight she saw came from the burning wood in these braziers.
Inside the circle of braziers, at the edge of the hollow, stood a small, conical bark house.
From its shape, it matched exactly the kind of Native-style dwelling Misha had been so eager to see when they set out for Tunumo. The entire house was made of wood and bark, resembling a half-sphere of chocolate but with a slightly pointed roof. Outside, on the walls and the porch, hung ornaments made from feathers and animal teeth, and nearby stood a tall, painted totem pole, giving the place an ancient and mysterious air.
Everly guessed that the bark house must be where the priest lived, because not far from it, a small altar had been constructed.
The altar was built from pale gray bricks, shaped like a four-sided pyramid with its top cut off. At the base, four torch holders burned brightly at each corner. The top platformâwhether due to the lighting or something elseâlooked pitch black, coated with a layer of something resembling tar.
Besides the bark house and the altar, the rest of the hollow was entirely dominated by an enormous banyan tree.
Its trunk was extremely thickâby rough estimate, it would take five or six Everlys to wrap their arms around it. The bark was gray-white and deeply fissured, draped with dense arrays of feathers, animal furs, and skeletal remains.
Following the trunk upward, the banyanâs canopy nearly covered half the clearing. It spread like a giant umbrella or a floating green cloud, majestic and imposing, with countless pale-red aerial roots hanging down.
Like the trunk, the canopy also had scattered ornaments of feathers, furs, and bones, giving the massive banyan not only grandeur but also a sense of mystery and strangeness.
However, the tree was not in good condition.
Whether from external damage or pest infestation, nearly a third of its canopy was marked by withered yellowing leaves, dusted with powdery, mold-like substances.
The aerial roots hanging from these yellowed areas were weak and sparse, often breaking before even reaching the ground.
Half of the tree was vibrant and thriving, the other half decayed and witheringâthis was the first impression the giant banyan left on Everly.