The Old Forest was always bustling with life; even at night, quiet whispers and louder laughter echoed under the dense treetops. For many generations, the forest's inhabitants had lived here in harmony, sharing fruit, stories and secret paths. This spring, however, the peace was disturbed. Lena, a red-haired vixen, woke up earlier than usual. Something was keeping her awake. She had always been curious and adventurous, but that night her heart was beating faster than usual. A quiet rustling sound came from behind the thick ferns, as if someone was watching her every move. Lena tuned her ears and slowly slid her muzzle out of the mink. The forest seemed different - quieter, as if the birds had suddenly fallen silent and not even the squirrels were causing a morning scramble on the branches. Beneath her burrow, Miro the badger was waiting. His fur was turning grey in places, but his eyes were still sharp. "Lena, can you smell it? The air smells ... different. Something's going on, and I don't know what," he whispered, looking around a little nervously. The small group was soon joined by Erwin, an old owl. He usually didn't leave his hollow before dark, but this time he flew down to a lower branch, fluttered his wings and looked at Lena and Mir. "There's something circling the forest. I spotted a shadow by the Spring Glade.... At night. Even the deer didn't dare approach there." The animals no longer felt safe. On a recent evening, a strange grey-purple smoke rose from the marshes, and ants carried maggots further than ever before. Even the old wolves, masters of nocturnal wanderings, avoided certain paths by a wide margin, whispering incomprehensible words among themselves. Lena decided to act. "We need to find the source of these changes. If something is threatening our forest, we need to find out what it is." Miro agreed without hesitation, and Erwin, though reluctantly, promised to pilot them through the darkest groves. Before they set off, Lena took another look around the burrow, as if she wanted to remember every detail in case she didn't return here for a long time. The three friends set off towards the marshes, where not only rodents but even snakes had already disappeared at night. The trek was not easy. The fog was thickening and every sound seemed suspicious. Suddenly, from behind an old boulder, Lena spotted something moving among the grasses. They stopped, frozen in stillness, watching something emerge from the grasses that they had never encountered before in their forest....