"Enter unto the unknown with the torch, but beware of those who are unknown and draw the blood of the scholar." -unknown
Three trucks drove into a village stopping in front of a building that was once a stagecoach station. A door opened on the lead truck and out stepped a wolf. The wolf looked around and sniffed before completely exiting the truck. "Alright everyone let's get this dig started." Says the wolf before it headed to the second truck to retrieve something. The doors on all the trucks opened and out came several mammals, however, most of them were wolfs.
"Ahh, smell that clean ruins air." Asks a wolfess to a rabbit. "Ya its great shame we're here only for dig up artifacts of a long-dead species…" says the rabbit before looking to the wolfess, "…what was the name of the species again homans." Asks the rabbit before going to also retrieve his working gear. "It's human, not human, silly rabbit." Says the wolfess going to get her own dig gear. "Sorry, it's just…" says the rabbit before gesturing to the surrounding ruins," …ya know it's not every day that a new ruin of a dead race is found especially when most of them have been picked clean of artifacts." Says the rabbit now retrieving his gear. "I know but…" says the wolfess now with her own gear in paw she bends down to the rabbit, "…I have a very big surprise for my husband when I get back." Says the wolfess trying and failing to tap the tip of her nose.
"Alright everyone you know the drill we'll start closest to camp and work our way up to the ruined manor on the cliff." Says the wolf standing on top of a truck bed. "Sure boss…" says a rabbit who looks to the wolf with minor disdain, "…that is if you don't go feral on us." Says the rabbit under his breath setting up his workstation for cleaning artifacts. A rabbit walks up to him and nudges him with his elbow, "C'mon jack, the night howler crisis is over and we came prepared with tranquilizer rounds and antidote to cure anyone who encounters that flower…" says the rabbit before he leans into the other rabbits' ear, "…don't tell me that your afraid of the fact the leader of this little escapade is a wolf now." Says the rabbit with a smug grin on his face. "It's not that…" says jack before he looks around, "…it's just that I feel like we're all being watched." Says the rabbit looking around to see only ruins and the dig crew.
However, on a rooftop where none of them can see is a tiny, white lamb with a mask and bow and with it a black wolf also with a mask but with sharp claws and teeth. "Little lamb do you see what I see." asks the wolf looking over to several species taking tools and boxes from metal carriages. "Indeed, I do wolf…" says lamb looking in the same direction as the wolf, "…new inhabitants to the mire, but that gives a new question…" says lamb looking to her bow, "…are they here to rebuild, loot or reclaim the mire and if not, are they running from something from beyond the mire." Says lamb returning her gaze to the new comber's campsite. "I say we attack and rend their flesh from their bones then eat their bones and afterwards eat their flesh, lamb." Says the wolf look at his claws to judge their sharpness. "Now, now wolf there will be time for that…" says lamb taking her hand and scratching a spot between the wolfs ears," ... but right now we must wait and see what they do…" says lamb before she stopped scratching between the black wolfs ears, "… for now." Says lamb getting up and jumping down to the ground before being followed by the black wolf. "Very well lamb…" says wolf before walking in a seemingly random direction, "…I shall wait." Says the wolf before he faded into the shadow of the lamb. "Fore we are one of the…" says the lamb before the lambs' voice became double toned with wolfs voice mixed into it, "…KINDRED." Says the lamb while walking to a bell tower in the center of the ruined hamlet.
Several hours later
"Ugh, I wish the city would let us bring a bigger crew." Says wolf who then picks up a bag and makes his way to a well. "I hope the water here is still drinkable. "says the wolf before taking a still semi-intact bucket from beside the well and tossing it down into the well before a slunk. "please don't let there be mud…" says the wolf pulling up the bucket to just to see there is only mud in it, "…and there is only mud…" says the wolf before turning and waking to a ruined building, "…just great." Says the wolf sarcastically and one he reaches the building he pulls out a flashlight and turns it on. "Well, might as well start my search for artifacts here at the blacksmiths." Says the wolf starting to look for any artifacts that might be salvageable.
Several minutes later the wolf opens a cupboard to find a book. "Well it's not exactly what I'm looking for but it will have to do." Says the wolf before he places the book into his bag before turning around to head to camp.
However, known to him another was watching him. "So, one has finally found the Forge Tome." Says the creature watching over the wolf as he left the blacksmith shop. "The priestess will want to know this." Says the creature before vanishing into the shadows to return to its leader.
Meanwhile several miles away at the same time
"Hmm, so life still flourishes outside of the mire…" says a deep voice looking into an orb of black fire. "Ha ha ha, looks like I will need to build up an army and conquer the world outside the mire." Says the voice before the room goes dark.
Meanwhile back at the camp
"C'mon jack…" says a rabbit to his companion, "… do you really need to carry around wolf repellant." Says the rabbit holding up a spray canister. "Hey, you never know when you might need wolf repellant especially when inside of an old ruined settlement of a long-dead race." Says jack who takes back the wolf repellant. "ugh, fine…" says the rabbit crossing its arms, "…just what's it even made from." Asks the rabbit who goes to get his own digging equipment. "Let's see…" says jack who looks to the manufacturing details on the side of the canister, "…skunk musk, jalapeno-ghost pepper extract concentrated, and dried rabbit blood." Says jack as he read the label. The other rabbit stops what it's doing and looks to jack and asks, "really…dried rabbit blood." "Dried rabbit blood is known to block a predator's sense of smell rather effectively." Says jack who finished setting up his workstation and is now waiting for artifacts to work with. "Whatever jack…" says the rabbit who turns toward a building that resembles a bank, "…I'm going to go see about finding human currency." Says the rabbit before leaving to a building that was probably a bank at one time.
The rabbit enters the building and begins his search for the ancient, golden currency of the humans. Several minutes of searching later and nothing but a vault door is found. "ugh, great…" says the rabbit looking to the vault door, "…I have to go get a cutting torch." Says the rabbit before he walks off back to camp to get a cutting torch. When the rabbit returns with a cutting torch he notices that there is a faint lingering scent of blood in the air. "Hugh, guess something wounded crawled in here as well…" says the rabbit reaching the vault door and lighting the torch and focusing the flame to a blue hue, "… oh well, it's probably dead by now." Says the rabbit as he starts to cut away at the vault door. After several minutes of cutting off bits of the vault door until there is a hole large enough for the rabbit to just walk through. "There now that I have an entrance…" says the rabbit before turning off the cutting torch and placing it down and entering the vault to see massive stacks of twenty-four karat gold coins, "…I can retrieve the treasure in this ancient vault." Says the rabbit looking over the gold coins in the vault.
However, unbeknownst by the rabbit, the smell of blood wasn't coming from a dead animal but a group of very much alive blood-red wolfs. "New, fresh blood this is promising." Says a female who is looking to the hole in the metal door. "Yes, it is sister…" says another female looking to the cutting torch, "… but we must gather the packs fore the others are showing greater resistance after each of our raids on them." Says the female turning to look at the hole in the metal door. "We follow the small, grey thing to its home then we tell mother." Says a male looking at the hole in the metal door. "Agreed." Says both of the females who continue to watch the hole for the small, grey thing to leave and return to its home.
A short time later the small grey thing comes out of the hole and picks up the flaming torch and leaves. The three blood-red wolfs follow the small, grey thing to its home. When they see its home, they see grey versions of themselves but with stuff on them. "Who are they." Asks the male eyeing them for any sign of leadership. "Are they a lost pack." Asks a female who is looking to them with eyes trying to pick up on a conversation from their camp. "They must be a lost pack but that raises another question…" says the other female who looks for a female from among the group of other wolfs, "… where did they come from." Says the female who turns toward the male. "We know their location…" says the male before turning around and leaving, "… we just need to tell the mother so all will know to what to do now that new creatures are coming to the mire." Says the male before running away on all fours toward the weald.
The following day at the camp
A wolf came out of a tent and breathed in before letting out a deep sigh. "Well, good morning everyone." Says the wolf even though no one else was up. The wolf goes and starts a fire and starts to cook. "Alright, a vegetable and fruit meal for the bunnies while the fish and chicken goes to the wolfs." Says the wolf as he cooks the food in two separate caste iron skillets over the fire with a kettle of coffee also over the fire.
A few minutes later the rest of the crew start to appear out of the tents to get food and talk about idle things such as weather and how each other is doing out in the middle of nowhere. After eating everyone heads off to perform their tasks from searching for artifacts, cleaning, cataloging and packing them away in wooden boxes awaiting transport back to the city and so this was how things went for the next weeks with the expedition dig until one day. "Alright, we need to address the elephant in the room." Says jack over breakfast. "What elephant." Says one of the rabbits who's reading a book. Jack glares at the rabbit who doesn't even look away from their book, "what I mean is that weird stuff is going on figures moving in the shadows, lights appearing just to fade away seconds later, heck even some of the food is going missing…" says jack who's pointing at the provisions truck, "…how is no one else noticing this." Says jack looking around at everyone.
"Actually, jack we did notice that but…" says a wolf who gestures to their surroundings, "…we're in unexplored territory so it's only natural for our minds to play tric-," says the wolf before the side of his throat bursts with blood as is splatters those sitting next to him and he falls to the ground clutching the wound trying to stop the bleeding. While several military-style trucks enter the camp side and out hops soldiers who train their weapons on the dig crew as snipers appear from around the corners of buildings. A door opens on one of the trucks and out steps a tiger in green fatigues while smoking a cigar.
"So, this is the fabled mire…" Says the tiger before smirking, "… and I must thank you for collecting all the artifacts in the hamlet…" says the tiger taking a drag from his cigar before exhaling. "We'll be taking a visit to the farmstead next to the next area for the sake of collecting the more mystic artifacts." Says the tiger before looking to the bell tower. " And someone get a magnum rifle and sidearm…" Says the tiger who then looks to the wolf who is trying to keep from bleeding out, "…and tend to the wolf…" says the tiger before being handed a rifle and pistol while a medic tended to the wounded wolf, "…I will need you to collect the artifacts after all." Says the tiger before everyone entered their respective vehicle. The dig crew in their trucks between the military trucks leading the team to their next dig site whether or not they want to dig there.