The edges of Ravenclaw lands had never been entirely safe, but now the feeling was growing increasingly intense and frightening. The reports kept coming in—strange smells on the breeze, footprints in the earth where no friend should be, and catches of eyes in the night darkness of the woods. By the time the scouts had made it back to the leadership council in the big house, the camaraderie inside was almost tangible.
The leaders gathered again in the stone room, the atmosphere thick with a sense of concern. Evelyn sat beside Damien, her hands clasped together on the table, as they listened to the scouts' report on what they had discovered.
"Not just one bad guy," the head scout replied, his voice gravelly from days on the trail. "But more than one. They stalk together for a reason and not just because they're hungry. It's organised."
