Howls echoed out from the forest. It sounded like hundreds of wolves. The nearest patrol stood outside camp and watched as wolves poured forth from the forest, stopping just outside the treeline, and howled up at the crescent moon.
The general arrived at the edge of camp. "Archers!" he said. Archers lined up in front. Spearmen lined up behind them, ready to take their place if the wolves charged.
As the soldiers watched, tense, tiny points of light appeared above the wolves. Scores of them. The pinpoint lights expanded to yards across, large enough to be seen from camp. They displayed images of horror: skeletons, decaying flesh, men on fire. The largest, at the center, displayed a huge flaming skull with fire in its eyes.
The fiery skull laughed like the scraping of metal on stone. It boomed across the open field. Flames shot from its eyes, setting the makeshift stockade on fire in several places. Soldiers rushed to douse them.
A hue and cry went up from the camp behind them.
The general turned around. He gazed in wonder as horses and mules ran free, trampling tents and smashing wagons as they went. He heard men shouting.
Across camp, William ran out of his tent and saw David.
"What’s going on? Who set the animals loose?" asked William.
David just shook his head, looking around in confusion while he grabbed his weapons. "Let’s look around."
The two did their best to marshal their men in the midst of the confusion.
"Cats — or something — are invading our camp!" said one.
"They’re chewing through ropes and leather straps, setting the animals loose," said another.
"They took my food!" said a third.
"We have to kill these things," said David. "Grab your weapons and hunt them down!"
The men collected themselves and took up arms. Right about then, a massive cloud of moths descended from the night sky, blinding everyone.
They heard the high-pitched shriek of bats three seconds before the company’s terrorized equines began their stampede out of camp.
After ten minutes of chaos, the bats and moths flew off into the night sky. The mysterious images of horror vanished, and the wolves retreated into the wood.
In the aftermath, soldiers and camp followers cleaned things up and tried to recapture their beasts.
David briefed the general. "Sir. I spoke to the other captains," he said. "We’ve lost a few horses. Some equipment has been destroyed. But the most devastating blow is that they ate, destroyed, or stole a third of our food."
"What were those things?" asked the general. "How did they get in?"
"I’m not sure," said David. "We managed to kill a few of them. They look like big cats, but they have hands. They must have snuck over or through the fence between patrols, when all were distracted by the wolves and demons to the east."
"What madness is this?" asked the general.
Deep in the forest, one hundred fifty-three kuchibu had the greatest feast of their lives. Bigfoot and Sugar cuddled up and went to sleep with full bellies.