Axel's face had gone pale, his voice rising in anger. "I warned them repeatedly not to enter the mountains after dark, but they didn't listen. And now look what's happened."

The Patoajo warrior, Buzz, spoke in a deep, rumbling tone. "Chief Flintspire, we found the bodies right outside the forbidden zone. I think those city folks may have entered the sacred area."

His voice grew quieter with each word as if even speaking of it filled him with fear. By the end, he was barely audible, and he ca