MOON'S DOOM.The wolves enter the "Forest of Death" and find it full of dead trees and no animal life except for giant bugs. Sunlight can't break through either. Cheza collapses from being without sun and water too long. Hige hears an owl and goes to hunt it, followed by Tsume. When they find it, it has no scent and it taunts them before flying off. Toboe howls for them to come back and they return to find Cheza is starting to wither. Kiba carries her as they hurry to try to find an exit. The owl returns them to taunt them with riddles before flying off. They follow and end up at a cave which the owl says has the answer. Inside the cave, they find the owl's dead skeleton before being attacked by hundreds of giant pill bugs. The wolves try to fight the bugs, but are vastly outnumbered. Cheza suddenly runs through the bugs and leads them to a group of venus fly traps. The bugs stop following to avoid the plants. Nearby they find the exit to the cave and the forest, emerging under a full moon by a pond. Back at the city, Quent is beaten and questioned repeatedly by the soldiers about his encounter with the wolves. The Commander asks about the bites on his men and Quent says they were from wolves. Cher wakes up in Darcia's keep, and he tells her that Lord Orkham stole Cheza from them without knowing what she was and shares more information about Cheza and the Book of the Moon with her. He also tells her Cheza will only live a short life and won't survive more than a few more full moons.