Ruins both new and ancient were on either side of the road's end. We had driven until we reached the last place on Doctor Imbrium's map. It was a dry countryside with the coldness in the skies precipitating no snow.

I stared at the vast wilderness of alien growth, some of them like giant eggplants, none of them like anything I'd seen grow in such a desert, or anywhere else. It seemed the rains had come for their centennial downpour and left. What had sprung forth had no place in the natural world.

Ravenrock Pack looked right at home in such a place. The town was abandoned, and not far from where we parked was a massive excavation, with the remnants of an encampment. A knocked-over sign read: 'Fetter Industries'. I looked around and saw an abandoned military vehicle near a badly damaged motel.

"This is where General Stone authorized the deployment of units of specialized soldiers to deal with some kind of supernatural threat. I took note of it after I was consulted about the nature of this excavation." Doctor Imbrium explained.

"Split up, search for clues about this place, and then meet back here in one hour." Lieutenant Colonel Rose ordered. The pack broke up into smaller groups and pairs and a few went off on their own, like Halo and Jack the Ripper.

I went with Bruna and we searched the half-wrecked motel. Inside it looked like they had set up some kind of research area, there were abandoned papers and maps and half the wall looked like something had ripped it off the side of the building.

"What do you suppose happened here?" I asked Bruna.

"Says this motel was named 'La Cucharacha'. And that was before it looked like this." Bruna sounded mildly amused.

"None of this worries you?" I asked Bruna, trying to get her to be serious.

"Not really. Whatever happened here is over. We are just looking at the wreckage." Bruna told me.

A large cat was watching us and I met its gaze. It seemed to be interested in our visit. I remembered talking to a fox and a crow, so I gave it a shot:

"Hey there, little fella. How are you?" I asked. The cat came to me and rubbed itself on me, seemingly unaware or unafraid that I was a werewolf.

"Made a new friend, huh?" Bruna sat on the dirty couch and pretended to be jealous of the cat's affection.

"He seems really nice." I decided. I knelt down and the cat put one paw on my hand.

Then I heard the voice of the crow we had met before. "My wolves have met the cat who is my friend. As a crow flies, it was easy enough to find you here." Cory hopped towards us from the open part of the motel, where the wall was sheared away.

"What happened here?" I asked.

"Too many crazy nights. Monsters and mayhem, the birth and death of a god, the madness of many good men. I watched friends die here, it was a bad time. This is where I lost my Lord. It is why I followed you, to see what you are doing here." Cory seemed to think he had answered my question. I realized I had asked a bird to tell me some kind of long story, and from his perspective, he'd done so.

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"And this cat is your friend?" I asked.

"His name is Mister Melty Cheeses, Good Lovin' Jesus, Mittens. We just call him Mr. Melt. He used to be a great sorcerer among the cats. They have powerful magic users of their own. My Lord and I once went to the moon and we had to be very careful, the giant shadows of cat sorcerers will flay someone alive if they look away for even one second." Cory hopped up towards the cat.

"Cats and crows are natural enemies, but I am not worried about this cat. We've become friends. Isn't that a funny thing, for a cat and a crow to be friends?" Cory asked.

"He made friends with Atanarjuat. You know, 'my wolf'." Bruna told Cory.

"That is very funny, I like her." Cory made a noise like something getting caught in a lawnmower's blades and rattling around. I realized he was laughing, but his laughter was a peculiar sound.

The cat started to meow at us and Cory translated: "Mr. Melt says that there is something still here that could help you. I am guessing it is the lacuna, part of the Book of Sercil. We went through pains over the book of evil, but if helping my wolf means that I might find my Lord, it is worth it."

Mr. Melt walked over to a small pile of debris and I followed the cat. I moved it aside and found a notebook underneath, handwritten. It was a copy of part of some ancient text. I flipped through it and saw a diagram drawn on one of the pages that was labelled 'Majara'.

"This book is instructions for the weapon the Elders are trying to make." I trembled, realizing how dangerous the contents of the notebook actually were.

"That is correct. Don't ask what it takes to create such a book. My wolf does not wish to know too much." Cory flapped his wings slightly. With his feathers splayed out I saw that just one feather was white.

"Thank you for this. What can I give you in return, Mr. Melt?" I asked.

The cat meowed at me and Cory told us: "He says that the moon will do nicely."

"It's all yours." I said.

The cat meowed something and then left us there.

"Mr. Melt accepts the trade. Why would my wolf agree to that?" Cory wondered.

"I don't really care what a cat would do with the moon." I shrugged.

"Cats have long tried to conquer the moon. It vexes them so. My wolf might find that in time, the arrangement made today becomes regrettable." Cory sounded sassy.

"It's just the moon, and it's not mine to give anyway. It doesn't belong to me." I protested. It seemed absurd.

"There is magic in bargaining with the cats. I wouldn't be so sure that the promise my wolf gave should be taken lightly. Does not the light of the moon change a man into a wolf? Suppose the magic of that belonged to a cat, and he had use for it? You never know." Cory outlined.

"Sure." I growled slightly. I held the lacuna to my chest and realized the hour was almost up. Our search had revealed something very useful. Bruna and I headed back to the rendezvous point where our vehicles sat.

Everyone began reporting what they had found. All around the area many strange things were described. It was Lieutenant Colonel Rose who told us:

"There's what appears to be some kind of temple, assembled somehow from the wreckage of the rest of the town. It has creatures wandering around, so we were unable to get inside. We'll all go and explore it in the morning, to find out what is behind all of this."

Cory was perched atop the bus and said:

"That's the Temple of Araek. Be very careful, those undead things are dangerous."

"What have you found?" Lieutenant Colonel Rose asked Bruna.

"Atanarjuat found a notebook with instructions for how to build the magical weapon that Grandpa wants." Bruna gestured to what I held.

"Good work. How'd you even find that?" Lieutenant Colonel Rose asked

"Well, a little bird told me what a cat was saying, and I only had to promise it the moon." I replied.

Dreich thought such a promise was funny and laughed.

"Alright. What did you find?" Lieutenant Colonel Rose asked Dreich.

Dreich chuckled and said:

"There's a cave down the road that direction. Should be a good place to camp. Keep us out of any hazardous moonlight."