As the different powers of the world found themselves back in their dimension, lacking any memory of what had happened during the previous hour, a small cart was rolling through the hills on a small coarse road leading away from Devil's Fang.

The cart was drawn by two poor excuses for horses, barely more than skeletons, yet bafflingly enough, they managed to keep the cart moving. On the driver seat, sat a hunchbacked old man, draped in a cloak. He was softly humming to himself as they made their way across the land.

After journeying for a long while, they the first signs of people, appeared along the road. It was a small farmstead, encircled by tall pole fences. It consisted of a small thatched cottage and a few sheds. Various house animals and cattle was running about in the yard, but no people were out.

Naturally enough, this was due to people having gone into hiding. People around these parts, were of the superstitious sort. Having seen what looked like doomsday, they did what every peasant would do in such a situation. Run home with the wife and kids, gather as many of their livestock as possible and finally, barricade the doors.

As the road went on, farms like this, became more and more frequent. Having journeyed a whole day, they came to a small village. The village was one of little importance in the land, and the people here were largely independent and free of the law. It could even be said they were forgotten by their liege lord, as tax collectors never came to these parts. Only the odd trader and such would bother with this remote location.

The village, small as it might be, were filled with a hardy folk. Those who dared to live here were used to the harsh requirements of living in isolation, and were a tight-knit community. Therefore, it came as a surprise to them that on this day, a horse drawn cart came rolling in, stopping next to the small inn.

Although travellers were strange, they would not be overly excited about the newcomers, but these would usually come from the south. Nobody ever came from the north, except those who already were settled in those parts, and those were mostly known to all.

The strange party consisted of an old man wearing a grey cloak, sitting hunchbacked at the driver seat, two ragged horses, a kawing raven and two massive hounds. What made the people feel completely put off, finding it even ominous, was that every animal was as black as coals. Which to the common folk, was a sign of bad luck. Especially the menacing raven staring at them with intelligent eyes.

Black birds, were generally the worst omen one could find.

“H-hello good sir, where come ye from? What do ye be wanting?” A rather unintelligent looking, yet bold man, was the first to approach them. He was a fat balding man, short and stocky, and at his hip, he was carrying a small cudgel. The man looked fairly nervous, and his unintelligent appearance did not improve, with eyes the size of pinholes.

“Good day to you sir. We are travellers who have come far, we have been living close to the mountain for many a generation. Last winter, however, cold weather took half the household. Only myself, and my grandson survived. Now we are looking for warmer climate. There is not much to live on next to the Devil's Fang, but here you seem to do fairly well. Is there an innkeeper here? I wish rooms for two and place in his stable, for the horses.” The old man in grey replied with a dull and hoarse voice heavy with age.

“So ye are from the mountain are ye? How come ye speak like higher born than us, who be living here? Strange times this is, not long past, it seemed the heavens were falling down, and now fair spoken folk from the Devil’s Fang? Can't have been easy getting here!” the man looked at them, a bit suspicious, but eventually his face widened into a broad grin.

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“Well enough about that. I suppose ye be needing food, but room for two? Where be yer grandson?” The man looked puzzled by the lack of presence, by this fabled grandson.

“Ah! Yes, i nearly forgot, my grandson is asleep in the back. The journey has been long and hard for him, it would please me greatly if you could help me carry him to his room. Meanwhile, I shall have a word with the innkeeper.” The old fellow looked amused at the mention of his grandson.

As soon as the old man dismounted, he did not look so crooked any more, he was quite tall for an old fellow, six foot at the very least. The bald fellow with the pudgy face and squinting eyes had to bend back just to peek up under his hood. What greeted him was a bearded and weather-worn face. He was paler than usual, and his face exuded a sort of grace. After seeing this, the little baldy felt a bit better. This old man did not look like a bad person.

After looking at the old man for a time, he turned his attention back to the carriage. “Say mister, those horses of yours look so scrawny, I cannot imagine how they managed the journey from the mountain to this place? Did ye feed them on ground fairy dust? They have not even broken a sweat yet!” The baldy was apparently amazed by these two animals, whom already looked near death.

The old man smile, and without a word, walked past the pudgy fellow and headed inside the inn. After a bit of bartering, things were settled. Soon the horses were in the stables and things looked in order. That was until the pudgy man saw the boy sleeping soundly in the back.

“I say mister, that is an interesting boy you have. He is pale as snow and what colour is his hair? I'd mistake this young man for one of the walking dead, if he was not so fair in the face. Alright I guess I better get him up to yer rooms.” The man looked fascinated by the boy sleeping peacefully in the cart.

The moment the man touched the boy, all hell broke loose.

Until now, the raven, who had been quiet and watching, suddenly started a furious racket. Cawing and clawing at the man from inside its cage. If that had been all, the man might just have got a fright, but that wasn't it at all. The two massive hounds, whom also had looked docile until now, charged at the man. Howling and growling furiously, as if he had just dragged them by the tail. In the split-second before the man was torn to shreds, the old man stepped in between.

“My apologies, I forgot, all these animals are raised by my grandson and are loyal only to him. I hope you can excuse their behaviour.” The old man commented with a helpless tone.

“N-no t-trouble at all s-sir. I have seen many a hound in my day, but those s-sure are big. I'll carry the boy now.” The pudgy man was sweating profoundly, and thought to himself that; involving himself with strangers with who owned hounds nearly the size of a bear was a bad idea.

Soon after this he managed to get the boy up to his room, behind him followed the two hounds, clearly distrustful of the man. It was as if they thought he would take their master away at the first opportunity. The innkeeper intended to chase them two beasts out, but then thought better of it. With a sigh, he resigned himself to his fate.

Not long after, the raven came, along with the old man. They all gathered in the boys room, it appeared quite crowded. The massive hounds, as soon as the boy was in bed, put themselves right next to him, appearing as small wall of fur. It became quite clear that anyone who had bad thoughts about the boy, would have to take it up with his furry guardians. The raven was also quite annoyed by the presence of others in the room, as soon as it was set down at the little nightstand beside the bed, it started scrutinizing the pudgy man.

It was as if the raven was eyeing a prey, which it found quite below its own high standards. Soon enough the man started getting very annoyed by this feathered demon, but after thinking it through a couple of times, he gave up on scaring the creature. After all, he might spook the massive beasts by the bed, and he doubted anyone would be able to save him from those two hostile creatures, once thoroughly riled up.

Soon, after some small talk, everyone left. The only ones left being the animals and the boy. Soon enough, the little village was covered in dark of night and everything was quiet...