Nikolay Chudikov

A guy named Egor, along with his uncle Nikolai and aunt Marta, heads to the Perm region in search of his parents, who had traveled there and gone missing. Upon arrival, they team up with two philology students, Nadya and Tanya, and continue their journey together. While walking through the forest, they encounter a hermit named Shura, who gives them shelter for the night. During the night, she wakes Egor and leads him somewhere. At the same time, she wakes Nikolai and tells him to step aside. He does so and falls into a trap—specifically, a pit with stakes—but miraculously survives without being impaled. Afterward, she wakes Nadya and Tanya; together, they find Egor, who in turn has discovered his parents' jeep, and the group drives away in it. Shura tries to catch up with them, but to no avail. They all arrive at a village where, according to the locals, strange things are happening. Additionally, according to the local police officer Konstantin Murzin, a certain Bear Shaman is operating in this village, killing people and performing some kind of rituals. This Bear Shaman turns out to be Nikolai himself; only Marta knew about this, as she was a witch herself. Marta begins to notice how Kolya has started getting closer to Nadya and talking to her frequently.