The old man hobbled down the road...

The old man hobbled slowly down the road, gasping at the gust of cold wind that blasted through the village and bit to the marrow. With weary eyes he surveyed the landscape around him, listening intently, as though waiting for a sound or a signal of some sort.

The thundering of hooves brought the old man out of his trance, as his eyes quickly searched for the familiar twin boulders. Peering out from behind them, his eyes darted everywhere, waiting, waiting for the men to come.

The sound of several men yelling, accompanied by the thunder of horse hooves could be heard in a distance. He turned to see a small force heading toward the center of the village, knocking over things and mowing down anybody in their path.

His fist clenched in fury, and his eyes radiated bitter agony as he watched a little girl trampled to death by the powerful stallion, not getting out of the way in time.

"What have we done, sirs, that you should destroy our village so? We have given you all the supplies that we can afford, and all the possessions we treasure, why do you come back on horses and armed so heavily?" asked Pelias, a peasant and widely seen as a leader in this area, being one of the eldest and wisest.

"We are here on orders from the king, all men shall have to join the army. Yes, all men from age seven and up" he accentuated the all to impress upon the people on what was required of them. "The Great King Meilo has decreed that all men must join his army, and all money or valuable possessions must be given to aid the cause of his army! If you do not submit, then you shall be killed!" the knight announced with zeal, unsheathing his sword to give more substance to his statement.

The old man’s eyes widened in disgust and in fear. Meilo was growing far more powerful than he had expected, and in much a shorter time as well. The features of his face hardened to an expressionless mask. Action must be taken now! He thought, as he dug slowly and quietly in the snow, save alerting the men to his presence.

"We’ve already contributed all that we could give to King Meilo, if we were to give you anymore, then the houses we live in and the food that we eat will all be lost, vanquis-" before he could finish his sentence, Pelias was sent barreling into his fellow villagers, receiving a massive backhand from the outstretched arm of the knight.

"The would be a good idea indeed!" he turned around and ordered his men "Destroy all the houses and cut the wood for the army, pillage all the food that you can from this miserable village!" with that said, the men gave a mighty yell and charged at the helpless peasants.

"Nooo!" Pelias cried, as he watched the men rob his village, taking out axes and chopping up their frugal huts.

"Do what you want with this miserable village, we’ve earned a rest, men." The knights cheered to this order, and they rode around, setting alight houses and looking for women.

A bloodcurdling wail for help was heard, and the old man stopped digging, realising that it was the voice of Katren, daughter of Pelias.

"You bastards! Don’t you dare touch her!" Pelias yelled.

The old man stopped digging, as he found what he had been seeking. With a bitter smile on his face he raised the greasy sack from its cache in the snow.