The Winter kingdom

Version 2.0

The village square buzzes with anxious energy as the accused five sat in the centre, surrounded by a sea of angry faces. Villagers form a tight ring around the makeshift courtroom, and despite the freezing cold morning, the entire village was out. The hushed whispers of the crowd gaggled around them, laughing with glee.

The worn cobblestones square dug into their bodies, and they awkwardly shifted on the floor. Ageing buildings, leaned into encircle the space, as the few fish stalls, now temporarily abandoned, line the periphery, their fresh produce forgotten, as fish and food lingered in the air.

As the villager eyes the accused, a new figure steps forward, breaking through the crowd. Adorned in fine and pristine furs with freshly shined leathers. Underneath his impeccable dirt-free cloths was a shining bronze armour through only covered his chest. He parted the crowd easily as the crown spoke 'chief'.

With moves of grandeur, he inadvertently reveals his well-worn weapon which hangs from a decorative belt. A blend of leather and bronze mixes well together as his fine sword glistens from his waste. With a solemn expression, the chief assesses the five of them. The villagers hush and finally fall silent for the first time.

"So, these are the murderers," he says in a gruff and snarky voice. "Did ye think you could come into our village and murder one of us? I tink not. You have been caught for ye crimes and shall face te punishment for em."

"Riverside Village chief, I am Brandon; these are Jon, Lyanna, Edric, and Jocelyn, and we are just simple travellers trying to get by in these difficult times. We did not commit this murder, so let us help you find out who did," Brandon asks.

"Let the most suspicious people in the village help me, no laddie, I will not."

"Then how can we prove our innocence to all of you?"

He seems to contemplate for a moment. "Tat one would be a difficult one, laddie. Ye have the family ring with ye; I talked to Alda, and she said that you were in da village around te time that we believe the murder happened. I also know every family in this here village, and ney one has a grievance with the Brydens that would warrant tem killing em. I tink myself a just man, so ye tell me how ye would prove your innocence."

"I would ask myself the why. As you have rightly said, we do have the family ring, which I would point out we got from a young man in the market. However, why would we murder that family? You seem a smart man; do we seem like insane people who would murder a family just for a ring?" He looks at the group of them and nods along with what Brandon says.

"You have done some looking into us and know that we do not lack food, and we were perfectly fine camping out in the wilds. We did not need their food, items for food, or a place to stay. We have no reason for why we would murder them. I know we look suspicious as travellers in your village, but I would ask of you to look into this person who sold us the ring." Brandon says as he can hear the chatting of the villagers around them.

"Ye make a fair argument, laddie, and ye are right that I looked into ye, and everything you said is true. But this wee laddie ye talk about, no one matches te description. No one matches a short hair, no beard, fair, medium height laddie. Well, at least no one alive dat is; in the murdered family, their nephew partially matches your description, but he was murdered as well." Many of the villagers nod along with this some even calling out commanding they pay for their crimes.

"He would have had access to the ring and sold it to us," Brandon said as the villagers continued to increase in volume.

"I agree, but if you are going by ye why? Why would he sell the ring and then go back te the house which he stole from, carrying the food he got for it, and sit back down with te family before getting murdered? He is not the bravest of folk I grant ye, why would he steal from his family and then suddenly grow the balls to go back there and face te family? Te family was also not in dire straits of food, so why would he do what he supposedly did."

Trying his best not to get flummoxed by the village chief's question, he continued. "I can't say why he did what he did, but I can say what we did. Whilst he was trading us that ring, we stayed in the market and traded with the locals for fish and other goods. That at least proves that we did not murder him. That means that there would have to be someone else who had done it, and if they had done it, why would they murder the family and then let the nephew go with the ring to get food and come back and then murder him."

This seems to stump the village chief and the villagers as they fall silent and contemplate what they said, it even managed to silence the loudest of voices that cried out for their punishment.

"Alright, I won't execute you now; you at least proved yur innocence somewhat, but I am still suspicious of ye, so you lot are staying locked up heer until this is all worked out." He said whilst gesturing to some guards nearby who seemed to be the unlucky ones who have to watch over them.

Suddenly a ringing clear out the battlefield, metal striking metal clangs out across the entire villager.

"The alarm?" asks the chief as he turns around, looking towards the outskirts of his village only to see fire and smoke rising from houses.

"The alarm! We are under attack," shouts the village chief. "Rodrik, gather the men and get to the gates."

The villagers scramble, cries of parents calling for kids, villagers darting for homes and refuges as guards part their way through. The air starts to fill with the clatter of footsteps, shouted instructions, and the distant crackling of flames.

The guards, initially focused on the detained group, shift their attention to the unfolding chaos. Some glance nervously at the prisoners, torn between their duty and the imminent threat. The chief, abandoning the discussion entirely, dashes towards the commotion, his bronze chest plate gleaming in the chaos.

"They forgot about us, come on," Jon whispers as he starts to move about.

However, that is lost when from behind them they can hear the screams and shouting of men.

"Fucking finally, get'm lads!" someone shouts.

Brandon shuffles to see that from behind him, groups of men emerge from turned-over boats. The men are clad in ragged clothing, with tattered garments that hang loosely from slim frames. Some wield crude weapons, like rusty swords and clubs, while others brandish bows and wooden spears.

Chaos ensues as these bandits spill into the village, unleashing a barrage of arrows and hurling spears at the guards and villagers alike. The attackers move with reckless ferocity, driven by an unrelenting desire to plunder and wreak havoc.

As the villagers and guards scramble to defend themselves, the chief shouts commands, organizing a makeshift defence. The air is starting to become thick with the acrid scent of smoke as more homes catch fire, the crackling of burning structures adding to the cacophony of battle. The once peaceful village now becomes a battleground, with the clash of weapons and desperate cries of the wounded drowning out all else.

The captives watch, as guards reach the marketplace and tell of the breached palisade, overwhelming the guards, and infiltrating the village.

They also tell of how other locations also have unseen bandits attacking surprising the guards. This group of bandits are now free to ravage the village and under to their heart's content.