Three days had passed since the Neslah first made camp. As far as the hanuk were concerned, nothing of significance had occurred in that time.
This was by design.
The supplies of meat, snacks, and other necessities in the houses on or near Cattle Pass Avenue diminished each day, but incrementally, so the losses could easily be blamed on the hanuks themselves or even go unnoticed.
The animal world was a different story.
An army of frogs lost half of its members, unable to find more than grotesque bits and pieces of them.
Six grackles fell into crude snares and met a similarly gruesome fate.
Occasional losses were not unfamiliar to any of the animal populations, but killed animals typically disappeared or were devoured.
These new hunters killed without warning, and they left mutilated remains behind. Fear ran through the entire community. They could not make sense of these senseless, violent killings.
There was one exception. The sizable tikimi1 population barely noticed their losses. However, after two days, the Neslah found this hunt too easy and began to search for larger targets.
Sikas2 were too numerous and formidable to hunt with a small force, and the meat wasn’t worth the effort, but Marth told Keres that he had reason to believe a pack of larger tikmo lived nearby.
Keres gave Marth leave to seek and destroy any tikmo he could find.
If he found sufficient numbers, he was told to come back and bring the full razkod to reap a harvest of meat and blood.
Keres sent Azrail and Balo on a separate mission to search for any rivals or forces that might pose a threat to the Neslah.
He remained behind with Cleon to strategize and guard their current position.
The brute wasn’t good for much, but he could fight like a caged beast.
Keres’ plans were unfolding exactly the way he intended. He was the hub of this wheel of chaos and carnage, and it was good to be king.
Kefita for smaller, less intelligent mice.
Kefita for rats or similar vermin.